One thing you will learn as you go is that there isn't always the "right" tool for the job, rather what works for you. If you are working in school, or a job, or have a very specific need, then maybe yeah there is a requirement to what software you use. But if it is for personal, hobby, or gamedev use where you get to use whatever you want, then the "right" tool is whatever you can use to get the job done that works best for you personally. It sounds like in your case(as in mine) money is a big factor. That means Autodesk stuff is out. I exclusively use Blender because it is free and more than capable of any 3d modelling job unless you are at the really high end of something. The same thing goes for texturing...Substance currently offers "Live" which is basically a $20 a month rent to own on their software. I can afford that, but I wouldn't be able to easily afford licenses all at once, so that is what I do, and the substance suite is great for texturing, including PBR style. If you don't care for PBR(which is probably a good decision if you are going solo because other styles can be easier to pull off), you can actually do pretty well doing the texture painting directly in Blender. I for one could never paint textures in 2d, I guess it just isn't very intuitive for me(though many artists do it).

The Pros all seem to use max and maya, with max probably most common.

i've used max, blender, truespace, and others.

all decent 3d modeling packages have the same basic capabilities, and techniques like creating rigged wardrobe are the same on all of them, the interface controls and ease of use are just different.

so for modeling techniques, you can learn and practice with blender.

but for resume bragging rights, you want max or maya saddle time.

high modeling skills honed with blender, combined with the basic ability to find your way around the latest version of max or may would probably be enough.

but that still does nothing about the high barrier to entry of the price of max or maya without a student discount, etc.

fact is you gotta be richie rich to play with the big boy toys. : (

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste".

There would be more max any maya artists if they didn't cost so much. I feel sorry for those aspiring artists who can't afford them.

I've owned max in the past. It was used to make Caveman v1.0 back in 2000.

Nowadays, i just use blender. It does what i need, at a price that can't be beat.

So I have been doing Game Development for school and I am about to go into 3D modelling for my second semester because I'm interested in environment art and modelling most out of everything.

At school we are using Maya and Unity to do models and stuff, we dont make actual games until second semester.

What i'm trying to get at, maya is expensive. On my personal computer I use blender and unity, and I was looking to learn more programs, but with limited budget, I was looking to more free - cheap programs that would give me more experience. Is blender enough? What other tools and software is good for my field? What will help me the most?

+1 on the blender/gimp train. I've been using blender since... maybe 2001 ish? and it's workflow has improved greatly since then. There is a large community of talented artists that share their skills and knowledge through online tutorials. Gimp is easily as good as illustrator(as it is a 2d drawing program) and can match most of photoshop's capabilities as well. you can't beat the price on these 2, and they are more than capable of creating everything you could ask for as far as art assets go.

side note: one piece of software i have no problems with price wise is CrazyBump. With that and the wife's dslr I can create beautiful seamless textures(in gimp) and generate normal, occlusion, bump, and spec maps in minutes.

For creating models you should really be looking at dedicated modelling packages such as ZBrush, Mudbox or 3DCoat.

They are more powerful, user-friendly and productive than an all-in-one package - such as Maya - because they are designed to cover only the modelling, sculpting and texturing phase. To top it all off, they are very affordable. The rest of the process can be finished off in Blender, and still achieve fantastic results.

For your situation, I would go with 3DCoat.

For creating models you should really be looking at dedicated modelling packages such as ZBrush, Mudbox or 3DCoat.

3D sculpting is good for a lot of modeling, however it isn't precise, It would be extremely difficult to make a sports car or a building using only ZBrush.

3D sculpting works best for organic forms, although I have used ZBrush for decorative architecture like pillars. Creating finished game ready models using only 3D sculpting software is not recommended.

For creating models you should really be looking at dedicated modelling packages such as ZBrush, Mudbox or 3DCoat.

3D sculpting is good for a lot of modeling, however it isn't precise, It would be extremely difficult to make a sports car or a building using only ZBrush.

3D sculpting works best for organic forms, although I have used ZBrush for decorative architecture like pillars. Creating finished game ready models using only 3D sculpting software is not recommended.

I think you misunderstand what I am suggesting here, and will clarify.

Our friend already has Blender to cover the low-poly/precision side of modelling, and it does a great job at that. They honestly do not need better at this stage. If its professional circles for "precision" then they should be looking at experience with 3DS Max or at least Modo. But once again, those packages are overkill.

Although Blender can cover the whole model process - from beginning to end - other packages such as ZBrush and 3DCoat make a lot of difference. If our friend wants to take 3D modelling to whatever level they desire, then a combination of ZBrush and Blender will allow that, and that combination is far more affordable than just replacing Blender with another general-purpose application, when even those packages cannot compete with ZBrush for sculpting and detail.

Once again though, If our friend wants bang-for-buck then 3DCoat is pretty much the "all-rounder" of dedicated modelling applications and the personal edition is about £80.