Hi Felix,

> But now, I don't see myself moving vertices around all day
> for weeks if not months each time and for each little item in
> a project. <...>
>
> Maybe there is a way in between?
>

Sub-d modeling is kind of fundamentally about moving vertices around, so it may not be the right path to pursue for you.

Probably the closest thing to an in-between would be the brush-based displacement sculpting apps like Sculptris, 3d-coat, and ZBrush. Their overall process I think tends to be easier to get up to speed with than vertex tweaking for sub-d modeling, it doesn't require as much finesse and discipline with topology like sub-d either.

Of those apps, it seems like 3d-coat may be a good one for you to focus on - Sculptris may be a possibility but it's somewhat more oriented towards characters. Well sort of all these things are more oriented on characters but 3d-coat has a wider set of functionality than Sculptris (like some basic spline drawing tools I think) and is still not too expensive, that could put it at a good balance for you.

There will still be a learning curve involved, but I think a fair amount less than vertex tweaking for sub-d modeling. It's worth a good try anyway...

- Michael