2) Autodesk Maya — animation, rigging, character pipelines
Strengths: Industry standard for character animation, rigging and complex pipelines (film & AAA games). Strong plugin support (Arnold, Bifrost) and deep toolsets for animators. (YouTube)
Weaknesses: Higher cost; steep learning curve for complete pipeline (but essential for many studio jobs).
Typical workflow: High-res modeling/sculpting (ZBrush) → retopo → rigging in Maya → animation → rendering (Arnold/RenderMan).
Autodesk Maya — overview / what’s new demo
(Source: Autodesk Maya overview.) (YouTube)