Design – Why Blender is the Best Free 3D Tool Ever?

Blender may seem a bit hard to grasp at the start, but it is the best free tool out there. It still amazes me that such a powerful software is completely free.

Blender is truly limitless. You can do almost anything with it: modeling, sculpting, drawing, animating, video editing, designing game assets, and even creating full cartoons. That’s exactly why I chose Blender when I started my 3D design journey. I didn’t know where the path would lead, but with Blender, I never had to worry about switching tools if I wanted to explore something new. It can handle everything! Check out this video to get a glimpse at its capabilities. I believe you can forge an entirely new career path just by learning Blender to its full potential. But for 3D printing you really just need to know about 10% of it.

Learning Blender

Blender can feel tricky at first, but with practice (especially if you have a project in mind) you’ll get the hang of it. The best part? YouTube is packed with free tutorials that can teach you everything you need.

At some point, I invested in a few courses for a more structured learning approach, which helped me progress faster.

If you’re thinking about getting into 3D design, Blender is the only tool you need. And did I mention it’s FREE?

Learning 3D design has never been easier, thanks to the wealth of resources online. The key is to sit down and practice.

Take a look at this 60 seconds of a very simplified process overview of using Blender specifically for 3D printing to get an idea.

List of recommended YouTube channels

To get you started, here is a list some fantastic YouTube channels for your Blender journey. While there are many incredible creators out there, these are the ones I’ve personally used for years. As you advance, you’ll start searching for more specific tutorials and discovering new experts you enjoy. I highly recommend checking out the Playlist section of these channels for a more structured learning experience. Start exploring and see where your creativity takes you!

CG Cookie

CG Cookie is a fantastic channel. Starts from absolute basics.

Blender Guru

Blender Guru starts you off with a fun way to design, it all begins with a donut.

Grant Abbitt

Great for game asset designs, character sculpting, proper topology, and simple animation.

The CG Essentials

This channels covers basic and complex tips, tricks and tutorials.

Blender Secrets

Under one minute Blender secrets that quickly get you to the next level in your projects.

Ryan King Art

Great to learn scene creation, toon style animations, procedural setups, etc.

Courses

You don’t need to purchase any courses to get far in Blender, there are plenty of free resources available. However, courses offer a structured learning path, where each lesson builds on a previous one, helping you progress smoothly instead of jumping around and trying to identify gaps in your knowledge.

The courses from CGBoost are really well done. Of course, there are many other great options out there, but these are the ones I went through personally and really enjoyed.