Oh yes I used blender for a couple of years a couple of years ago. Then I started using it again last month, but I'm disappointed with the internal renderer and it's a mess to set everything for externals (even with the new beta version wich is a lot better then the old ones). I thought I'd give a try at another sw and so far I have to say maya is way more user friendly. I still can't figure out how nodes and the hypershade work, but I'm working on it.

Joni