Everyone starts somewhere.
You like something. You want to get into it. But you don’t want to come off as a poser. But you don’t know what you’re doing. Yet. Great news, though: You’ve got plenty of places to start. If you’ve got wifi, you’ve got thousands of resources to make your first steps a little less shaky! Let’s take a look at the resources out there for the freshest of 3D greenhorns.
Get the concepts down
You’ll first need to learn what you’re dealing with (if you already know what terms like “polycount” mean, skip this part!). That includes things like modeling, texturing, lighting, rigging, and animation. Here are some resources for this kind of background info:
- Glossary of 3D terms — straightforward list with definitions of common 3D terms
- Elements and principles of design — A slideshow mini course for familiarizing yourself with the principles of 3D design
- Wikiversity: CAD terminology — another dictionary-like resource for 3D modeling terminology
- Lynda.com course: Introduction to 3D — this is a 4-hour comprehensive course for the 3D space including information on the workflow, industry, and software as a whole.
Pick a software
Picking which 3D modelling software to learn can be a surprisingly hard choice. It’s a combination of the fact that there are quite a few, and that they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a very basic list of some of these programs:
- 3DS Max — Industry-grade 3D modeling and animation software with presentation capability
- Autodesk 123D — A collection of user-friendly apps for free use
- Autodesk Inventor — Professional software geared towards mechanical design
- Autodesk Maya — Professional software used extensively in the gaming and film industry
- Blender — An open-source software with modeling rendering, and animation capabilities
- OpenSCAD — A programming-based software with extensive modification possibilities
- Rhino — A versatile software used to across many industries
- SketchUp — An easy-to-use design tool
- Solidworks — A customizable software product geared towards engineering
- Tinkercad — An online software program for simple 3D printing design
- TurboCAD — Professional software for architecture and engineering
For a more in-depth comparison and feature analysis, try these resources:
- MatterHackers — breaks down each option by industry
- G2Crowd — guide to software based on experience level
- Wikipedia: List of 3D software — the most complete list of 3D software
Watch & learn
Easily the best way to learn 3D software is to watch someone else doing it! There are some wonderful tutorials and series dedicated to giving you a free education in the software of your choice.
On YouTube or Vimeo, a quality tutorial series is just a search away: like this AutoCAD 3-part series, or this 10-part Blender beginner guide. Besides these popular video hubs, there are also some dedicated websites where you can find video resources galore:
- 3dbeginners — beginner-level information for 3D printing CAD help
- 3dfordesigners — Great introductions 3D software
- Blender — Tutorials put together by the generous artists in the open-source Blender community
- Cineversity — Free and paid tutorials for specific modeling in Cinema 4D
- EJ Hassenfratz — Freelance modeler and animator
- Greyscalegorilla — Collection of tutorials and resources for all 3D artists
When all else fails — download!
We’re not saying you’re just giving up, but when the modeling gets tough, there’s always the option of downloading something complete and reverse engineering! Besides the paid 3D-model marketplaces of SketchFab and TurboSquid, check out these freebies floating around:
- Aaron Covrett — Personal resource collection of an animator from Stink studio
- Archive 3D: 3D Furniture — Check here for 3D models of furniture
- Artec3d — Models made from 3D scans
- British Museum Scans — 3D scans of various objects housed at the British Museum
- CGTrader: Free models — Large assortment of 3D models
- Clara.io — Resource for plenty of 3D objects and characters
- The French Monkey — Personal collection of French 3D artist Constantin Paschou
- Google: Poly — Google’s library of models
- GreyscaleGorilla: Free model pack — 3D models made by the GreyscaleGorilla
- Lincoln 3D Scans — 3D scans of objects from the Usher Gallery and The Collection in Lincoln
- The Mantissa: Resources — Personal resource collection of a talented graphics artist
- NASA 3D models — 3D models and other resources for all things outer space
- The Pixel Lab: Freebies — 3D model library available to newsletter subscribers
- Sketchup Warehouse — Library of models created in Sketchup which work ubiquitously
- Smithsonian 3D Scan — M3D scans of various objects housed at the Smithsonian Museum
- Sweethome 3D — Architectural model collection
- XOIO — 3D scans of all sorts, including humans!
Ready, set, model
In 3D, you never stop learning. And the sky’s the limit: the literal whole world can modeled. We just need to sit down and try our hands at it. So, don’t worry about your skills or lack thereof — just click a few of these helpful links and get going!
Want more info, news, and insight into the world of 3D? Read this article and others like it on iMeshup’s blog!
