Hi all!
I just discovered Shapeways recently and have become very fond of the whole concept and would love to get involved in this amazing community.
I'd really like to know how much time I should expect to invest before I can successfully model a few simple trinkets like small keychains with moving parts, maybe some jewelry, perhaps even a puzzle or something ( I already have several creative ideas in mind). However, I'm 19 years old and have my dreams set elsewhere. In other words, I don't plan to pursue 3d modeling as a career, but rather as a hobby or something to do on the side that could potentially make me a few dollars for college expenses.
So my question is: do you think it's WORTH it to learn a basic 3d modeling software if I'm not planning on becoming a pro at this. I don't expect to make a living off this, but can I expect to make a small income if I invest, say, a few months into learning it? Or is this market saturated with full time professionals and I'll just get pushed to the side if I'm not willing to dedicate ALL of my time to it?
And if so, which software should I learn that won't take forever to get me on my feet modeling some simple widgets? I'm leaning towards Rhino or Blender or GSketchup at this point, but any suggestions or advice on what each particular program is best at would be very much appreciated.
Thank you all.