New to 3D software, basic question

My employer needs some animations done, so I'm trying to learn how
Blender and Maya work. Other types of software offer basic models and
objects that are the kind of thing you need to work with. Like a draw
program has rectangles, cubes, circles, etc. The demo that my employer
needs is pretty simple: some basic avatars moving in a very simple 3D
space. So I envision a procedure like this: I select something like
"new space", and it makes a space that I can customize. Then I select
"new avatar" and it gives me a default avatar in that space, which I
can also customize. Does the software allow working like that? Do any
other programs do this besides Blender and Maya? Thanks.

Chris Brewsrer