It's a lot to ask for somebody to learn Blender. But it is the best thing I invested time in. It took me a few days to get used to the user interface. But after that, simple things can be made in minutes. It has been almost 5 years since I started using Blender and have moved onto 3DMax. It was not really worth the money considering I can do everything in Blender almost in the same time and a huge difference in cost...lol. I suggest free is good. Blender is good. Both and others take the same amount to learn it. But it's not going to be an easy ride.

Good Luck

Benarius