AutoCAD has been a godsend for me as an artist, and thanks to Google with Sketchup, CAD software is cheap as free. You also get a hellacious discount if you're a student ($200 for $6000 worth of software...totally worth it, and there's no "education only" overlay stuck on the files).

It's a great way to make props and port over other props. There are even free 3D CAD models and blocks if you want to look. Alex's new crib came from such a site, and the license allows for unlimited use. Appreciate these people...

AutoCAD helped me build such things as  chazor's spines.