Blender, a free 3d modeling program

So I mentioned Blender on my first post, mostly because this is where I hope to start spending a lot more time when my time allows it. As the title of this post describes, Blender is a free program used for creating 3d models (or probably 2d ones as well if you really want that). 4d models, you ask? Don't press, you might encourage my sister to actually try it. I will include artwork other people have created using Blender throughout this post so that you can see how powerful Blender really is.

Kajimba
ProMotion Studios
Blender Render

This example came from the gallery at blender.org.

When I say free, I am not referring to a "trial" version or a "limited" free version. I am talking about the entire program itself, courtesy of the Blender Foundation team. As you will see from the link, they earn revenue elsewhere, allowing them to continue developing this program free of charge. For anyone who has any possible interest in creating 3d computer art, please check it out!

http://www.worldstart.com/download-blender/

When installing it, I would recommend getting the zip archive version rather than using the installer. I tried the installer, but it didn't seem to give me read-write access to the program unless I had administrator privileges. Why is that a problem? Because it is safer to have your default (at least in Windows) login as an account other than your administrator account. I will ask my husband one of these days to write a post specifically on how to make your computer more secure from viruses and other digital intruders.

http://www.blenderguru.com/winners-hall-of-fame

Anyway, once you've installed the program, you may find the interface to be counter-intuitive (again, especially if you're a Windows user). That's where I recommend finding very basic tutorials, such as Blender 3D: Noob to Pro. There is a lot there and don't feel like you need to read it all. Just do enough until you feel comfortable navigating most of the interface. There will still be a lot of hotkeys to learn, but those can wait.

http://www.blenderguru.com/winners-hall-of-fame

Once you have a basic feel for Blender, head over to Blender Guru. This is an excellent website maintained by a fellow named Andrew Price. He regularly puts up new tutorials and most of his tutorials list experience level (beginner, intermediate, advanced), the topic being taught (modeling, texturing, animation, etc.) and the length of each video. Even being comfortable with the interface, I find myself spending about 2-4 four minutes following along for each minute of video. One nice thing about his tutorials is that even though Andrew doesn't take time to tell you every button he's pressing, he has his version of Blender set up so that you can see the hotkeys he is using on the bottom-left side of the screen.

Andrew has also held competitions for Blender artists and you can see many amazing works of art. The sand castle and Christmas pug pictures came from there.

http://www.blenderguru.com/products

Finally, check out the movies done by the Blender Foundation. I purchased the DVDs for one of them, Sintel. The DVDs contain all the material and models used to create the movie. Here is Sintel in movie form. The length is 15 minutes.

Again, if you have any possible interest in digital 3d modeling, please be sure to check out Blender!