My first 3D application ever was MS Office PowerPoint 2007. I got the Student version of MS Office, as I was in college at the time. I dug deep into PowerPoint, and discovered things that were possible in it that allowed me to create 3D models. I could only use those models in PowerPoint to make the images, but my Computer Professor was amazed that I found something he did not know about in the app. Before I graduated from college, I had discovered DAZ 3D in a search for 3D art programs. Bryce 7.1 Pro was available for free, and I snatched it up fast. So using it, I got into modeling the Bryce way, and did pretty good. I could not get the materials to export intact with exported models, and it took me a while to learn why. While Bryce can use those materials and make them look great, it has no UV Mapper built in. Without UV Maps, materials won't work well with exporting.
DAZ then put up the offer of a bundle that included Bryce 7.1 Pro, Hexagon 2.5, and DAZ Studio 4.0, all for free! Of course I grabbed the bundle, even though I already had Bryce 7.1 Pro. I was disappointed with Hexagon, and found another free 3D application that included modeling and a UV Mapper; Blender (cannot recall the version). Blender proved to be rather difficult as well, but at least the modeling was easier to understand. Then I discovered Wings3D.
Wings3D is the easiest modeling app I have ever found, and it is always free, just like Blender. It has a much different approach in use, based on context sensitive menus that depend on which mode you are currently working with. The modes are General (all four icons highlighted), Body, Face, Edge, and Vertex. Each mode has its own popup menu, accessed by right clicking on the mouse. In Body mode you can find the UV Mapping tool, which will bring up another window to give you the choices of how you wish to UV Map the selected model. Once that choice is made you will get the Map window itself, which can allow you to arrange your map the way you want it.
The latest version of Wings3D includes Boolean Test in Body mode, which has three different ways to do Boolean operations.
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