Solidworks IS very powerful, but it IS a major pain to make any progress with.

Rhino3D is FAR more user friendly. There is a free tryout download available at:

http://www.rhino3d.com/eval.htm

25 saves is all you get, but that is enough to get ya going.

Also has great pricing for students and educators. The educational user price is $195.00 and which is non-transferable, but it can be used for commercial work even after the user leaves the educational environment.

No financial interest, but I use the crud out of it because it is so easy to work with.