i also have a radeon 9800 but my manipulators are normal ... i do notice that when moving isoparms i get a red area where the isoparm is moving across the surface

try Amazon.com or buy it direct from www.alias.com

Grand --> Mother

wow thanks for the fast replies guys! i'll think i'll start off with character modeling first ... hopefully i'll be posting my first works for you to comment on soon. thanks for your help!!

Being a student I'm only able to spend $100 and if pushing it, up to $150 at the moment. I'm just wondering which would be a better place to start ... the organic modeling DVD or the apache...

I'm also new to Maya and I've been lurking around the forums trying out the free tutorials and I'm kind of getting the hang of it. Would the Organic Modeling DVD be a good place to start for...