Depends on what you mean, if you wanna make a 3D animation software. Or an animation software for Minecraft, i recommend learning 3D Game engines, Or make your own engine from scratch(Much harder, like.. Much harder) I don't recommend making a software like this as your first project.
I've used Unity, almost 24/7 for 6 months, now and i'm nowhere close making something that even looks/functions like an animation software.
I recommend starting small and build up from there.
if you don't wanna write an engine from scratch. There are alot of engines out there that can make it easier.
Unity3D - (C#, UnityScript) (My favorite)
Unreal Engine - (C++, Blueprints)
Cryengine - (C++, Lua, and some others)
Of course there are more but these are the ones i recommend.
Don't expect to make a million dollar game or software as your first game/software, it might take over 100's of projects.
Good luck though.