I think that I would consider 3D design to be a subset of graphic design. You still use a lot of the 2D graphic design tools in 3D.
There are so many programs that are used in the Graphic Design field.
Page Layout: (listed in order of preference)
QuarkXPress, Pagemaker, & InDesign. These applications help you manage and create documents from a one page flyer to a 1000+ page book. They are very powerful, but the main core of these programs are their text and layout capabilities. 90% of the time you import images created in other programs to mix with your document.
Illustration:
Freehand, Illustrator, CorelDraw. These programs help you create vector art. A logo that you design in as a vector will have the same sharpness and quality on a business card as it will on a billboard. You can import images and work with multiple pages, but these programs are designed for single page jobs (like an Illustrated movie poster).
Image Manipulation:
Photoshop, GraphicConverter, (Gimp). These programs edit bitmap files. Photographs, scans, and the like. Absolutely needed for any graphic designer in any speciality field you go in (even 3D). I have not tried Gimp yet, but I hear it is pretty powerful.
Web Design:
Flash, Dreamweaver, GoLive, (and about a hundred others). Speciality programs for designing web pages and web content.
3D Design:
Lightwave, Maya, etc... Create animations or flat artwork (bitmap). You know...
It sounds to me that you are leaning toward 3D which is perfectly fine. My 15 year old brother is designing better stuff in 3D than I am now without a lot of experience with the other graphic design programs. Learning to design and think in 3D on a 2D screen is a big challenge at first (it would be a LOT easier if we had holographic monitors).
WhateverJoe posted:
ILM's
http://www.dvgarage.com version of ElectricImage at $269 is a great start.
I looked at their site, and while I do not know anything about ElectricImage, I would still recommend this package as a learning tool. 90% of everything that they teach you would apply to any 3D package, and the tools that they bundle with it would work with any other 3D software too.
Especially if money is no object, buy this package first to see how you like 3D. Then go by your 3D package of choice.