Hi newbie (nice name
)
I don't have a complete review for you, but I can answer some of your questions:
* Is this relatively easy (or really just not hard, I'm willing to spend some time learning how to use this) for somebody who's never used anything 3D before?
That's almost a loaded question, which boils down to whether 3D modeling
in general is difficult. Some folks find 3D modeling harder than others.
That being said, AC3D is by far the easiest and most intuitive modeler I've ever used. I have only used 3d Studio, Blender, Anim8or, trueSpace, Wings3d, RayDream Studio, and I've possibly tried a few more out, but AC3D is the best I've run across.
* Are there a lot of resources I can get about this product (i.e. tutorials in case I can't figure something out etc.)?
Compared to other 3d products, I have not seen nearly as many tutorials out there for AC3D. Some of the folks here have posted some tutorials:
http://www.ac3d.org/ac3d/tutorials/GettingStarted/
http://www.ac3d.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1155
http://www.ac3d.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1296
http://www.snickwerks.netfirms.com/Elric/AC3D_Wing.htm
http://thecontinuim.no-ip.com/AC3D/Tut1/column1.htm
http://www.ac3d.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=228
http://www.ac3d.org/ac3d/tutorials/heads/
Outside of this list, I haven't personally seen that many, BUT, once you get the techniques of 3d modeling down, you can use tutorials from other software packages and apply them to AC3D.
Also, this board is a great place to post questions if you're stuck trying to model something. I've never seen a question yet on "how do I make
xxx" go unanswered.
Also, check out the plugins/tutorials forum for other resources - there's a good list there.
http://www.ac3d.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=11
* Can this product animate in 3D?
This product currently has no animation support --- it is a modeler, and exports to POV-Ray (free renderer) and many popular file formats. I'm not too knowledgeable on animation support outside of products like truespace and blender, so cannot provide much insight there.
* Can it make hard surfaces as well as round blobby shapes?
Absolutely. Using Subdivision surfaces, organic shapes are quite easy to achieve. You won't find NURBS support here (I may be out of touch, but I haven't seen NURBS support in modelers under $100?).
----------------
AC3D is not an all-in-one solution like the more high-end modeling packages --- it specializes in modeling and does it very well. I've been doing work in other modelers recently, and abhor their modeling interfaces after using AC3D. However, because AC3D has not yet tackled animation, it's not the only tool in my arsenal...
Also, my frustration factor with other less-expensive or free modelers was pretty high --- the $60 for AC3D was well worth having such a stable, intuitive modeler on hand. Even if I hadn't stuck with it, it still taught me quite a bit about modeling (and is still helping me learn).
The best advice I can give is to download some trials (or free) 3D modelers along with AC3D, and get a feel for the one(s) you like. This is how I ended up sticking with AC3D.
Hope that helps.
Dennis