I'm new to the world of animation, but not new to the world of filmmaking. I have a project I want to get going to submit to film festivals but the cost of it is just too expense to try to film in real life or to get an animation studio to hand draw.

I've decided to look into 3D Animation, learning the skills myself. Looking at iClone it looks like it's up my alley, it seems fairly "easy" as in its got camera movements etc. in mind, instead of being an after thought like some programs I've learnt of. I also think it will be very useful for my future directing work.

However I have some issues:

1) There are no reading material on the matter in book shops. I've very worried I will shell money out only to find I've dove into the deep end and can't figure the program out. Is there fan tutorials, helpful discussion boards etc?

2) How customizable is it? As I want to use my produced film(s) into festivals I need to design all characters myself and some will not resemble humans (think aliens and monsters) and so won't even resemble their bone outline. Is this possible?

3) How much will it cost? I know its only meant to be the pro one... but how much will additional programs, plugins etc. that are pretty vital to creating a good animation cost me?

I hope someone can help because this program seems pretty good but I'm a struggling filmmaker with no income and little budgets so this is a pretty major purchase.

Or... am I just barking up the wrong tree and do I need another program/s all together?

Thank you for any and all help!