Please help a beginner pick a computer for 3d animation and concept art!

This is what I would do, building the PC isn't that hard, and this is what you could get for your same money (quite a bit more).

Now, this is about as cheap as I could go for a full blown dedicated graphics workstation PC. This does not include Windows, if you need that, plan for another $100. If you need monitor/mouse/keyboard/etc. then you may need to shill out more money as well.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PGF3
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PGF3/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PGF3/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($114.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.68 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Corsair Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Corsair Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V5800 1GB Video Card ($362.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Gigabyte GZ-F5HEB ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1207.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-16 21:02 EDT-0400)

You could go to a cheaper workstation card there, and it would work; but the question is, are you doing this to make money professionally, or is this a hobby? If it's a hobby, you can drop down by about $200 to a lesser FirePro card. If you're doing this for money, I would really recommend going upscale to the V7900 for $600, as it's quite a bit more card for serious workstation usage...but you could start with this build and upgrade later.

EDIT: The 2 SSD drives I put into the build will decrease your render times by close to 50-60%. You setup the regular HDD as your "storage" of sorts and only keep your files there, when you render, you read from one SSD and write to the other SSD and it will cut your render time dramatically.