I used to work for years with Cinema 4D and then tried Blender. Although I know that Blender is very powerful and can easily compete with the industry standard, I couldn't access its powers - just because of that we-need-to-be-different user interface. It complicates things, isn't intuitive, hinders you more than guiding you.
However, there's another free modeler you shouldn't ignore: Sculptris
Easy said it works quite like in real life, where you would take some clay and form your model from it. Its approach is less technical, more artistic.