The sculpting tool ZBrush has a new lite version ZBrushCore, stripped down to the core to make it easier for beginners. Currently set to launch October 14th, and on a special pre-order offer of $119.
Carrara 8 is DAZ Studio's official 'big sister' software.
Carrara loads all DAZ and Poser characters and scenes,
and supports LuxRender for top-quality realistic rendering.