Hi all. I'm a newbie and have a question about the best way to get into becoming a visualizer for architects etc.

I have been involved with photography, image retouching and photoshop for a good 10 years now and fancy a change of direction.

I've been reading lots of threads on here about how to start learning Maya (tutorials etc). But want to know if i'm headed down the right path.

I am always fascinated with the large posters with life like/photographic images of what a mall is gonna look like. I've always thought "i could do that". But now understand it goes a little deeper and 3D software knowledge is a must.

Is Maya and maybe Autocad all that i should start out with? Any tips would be appreciated.

Also i usually use Macs. But is it a PC based industry? Or does it not matter?