Artist/animator Seeks Help!, what equip do i need to setup? Options

[rustik]

hey all you masters of music....i am an collage artist/flash animator seeking to come up with her own sound tracks for my animations. although i have had over 15 years on the mac working in graphic/web programs, i have no experience whatsoever in the music arena. I have read a few posts but i get dizzy because i know so little!:( i assume the basics of input are similar to art however.

i would like to find out what hardware i need to be able to compose..add to...and change my own songs...here are some questions:
1) is this mode of thinking correct?
you use a digi keyboard to input a basic "tune". this tune is then brought into the mac via a) the input audio on the back of the mac or b) "some hardware" maybe that MBOX box?
shall i assume the mac audio is lamo or inappropriate for most needs...and i would want some other part to bring in the sound? is it necessary? me thinkin costs here...you know.
2) then a software interface is needed to bring in the tune...as in photoshop being your interface to twain up a scanner....? is this protools? logic? reason? i have seen an mbox on ebay that came with protools...makes me think this is the interface...? really lost here.
3) finally, is protools ( or whatever software...) also able to warp out these inputted tunes¿ i would like to add sounds from my house, like beer cans smacking together, and add them to my tune. what will i need to make the basic tune sound like a guitar? or a sax? or a clarinet?
(please don't tell me, a sax, a clarinet and a guitar!!!!)

i know know i am lost with questions. i have looked all over for a decent "you need THIS" article, but the sheer volume of choices and equipments prevents me from finding it!

HELP!!! i am eager to melt visual and audio into one experience!

J>

[rustik]

hey! it is great to come into work and find all these answers!!! thanx one and all...now onto our discussion!
I shall be purchasing my equipment one piece as a time, as my money flows in from book sales. My future purchases will depend on whether I feel i can learn and assimilate enough about the music software scene to be competent ....as i get a handle on each thing...i will add my components. --esp. the more expensive ones!
So the first thing i think i should get would be the digi (digital-not digidesign necessarily!) keyboard-and probably some various cabling in order to hook this to the G3. am i right in assuming that almost immediately i will at least be able to create a simple tune on it and import it to the mac? is there any brand of keyboards to avoid? i.e. is Casio acceptable? or yamaha? or ???
I think at this point i would need a software interface for bringing in the music. Since i will not have an MBOX right away...what software would accomplish this? (and also, just for learning purposes, what item in midimantras list accomplishes the same thing as an MBOX?) would this software also be able to alter the tune in any way? or is something additional needed at THAT point?

thanx, all..and just for the record, i would be happy to answer anyone's visually related questions! i have been doing mac graphics since 1988! bring it on! there isn't much about visual software i haven't seen, done, or at least heard of!

J>