Hey mcpbowman! I just had the same thought a few months back and started looking in to this.
Check out Modo if you haven’t already. You can really get into more detail with rendering and produce some awesome results. I’ve been learning it for the past month or so, its really powerful. Since you’re already familiar with Solidworks type modelling, Modo offers more in depth rendering but also a different kind of modelling that makes organic forms more easy to work with. It’s a very different workflow from Solidworks but Modo packs a ton of value for the price which is why I decided to buy it. If you sign up to their newsletter they usually have a few good sales throughout the year on a seat of Modo for around 30% off.