ok for me ^^ LW, blender ,maya , Metasequoia, gmax, XSI mod tools
Look for free Blender is very good , xsi mod tools in stand by in this moment .
In a first time blender is confused because port be linux , but you can make all
for animation Character FX
Im designer
For texturing not need used photoshop , you have .paint or artweaver if you have a graphic tablet
Graphic tablet use one trust A4 (lats model) price 100 € very very good , not need to use wacom more expensive for same work
Its my "recomendation"
Nicolas