Hi Matt, welcome to simplaymaya I too an a newbie, I've been using Maya for a month or so now.

It may be a good idea to start with something a bit simpler if you have never used a 3d program such as maya before, learn the basics etc to give yourself a good foundation to work from.

I'm not 100% sure on this, maybe someone else can help clear this up, but are you sure the extra features like cloth & fur are included in the Personal Learning Edition?