Which software for character animation

Hi.

I was wondering which software would be the best choice for character animation (the sculpting would be done probably by ZBrush). Unfortunately I am beginner in 3d area.

The idea is to create 3d interactive virtual advisor therefore scripting language is crucial is such software. The 3d model should be responsive to environment changes.

I am convinced the Cinema 4D would be the best choice due to MOCCA and C.O.F.F.E.E. features. However the price of it is quite high. On the other hand there is Maya which is cheaper and it's quite powerful as well. There is also 3ds max, modo... Going further there is a Blender which is free and might be suitable as well. I have seen Sentinel movie and it looks really good.

So my dilemma is which one is the software only for character animation.

Thank you in advanced for any suggestions.

Well, i'm just like you 'Started learning 3D modeling', And all people advised me to go on Blender, I'm currently learning it from YouTube, So my advise is same, Give it a try with Blender!

I work with max but for animation I started use Messiah Studio - http://www.projectmessiah.com/x6/index.html