What is Blender?

I am very excited to share that this month we are launching Blender Essentials taught by 3D designer Robin Ruud. Pre-register for the course here and be among the first to hear when it launches.

In this post, we will explore what Blender is, which are its main features, why it is the first choice for millions of users worldwide and how it compares with other tools like Cinema 4D, 3ds, and more! 

When you become a BYOL member, you gain access to this new Blender course as well as my 30+ additional courses on Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Figma, and more. As a BYOL member you will also enjoy personalized support, earn certificates, and tackle exciting community challenges. Head here to sign-up!

What is Blender?

Blender is hardly a new arrival to the 3D industry. It was founded in 1994, made available to the public in 1998, and finally presented as open source in 2002, after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Blender is a free 3D graphics suite, designed to run on Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems, and used for creating 3D models, animation, video games, and even visual effects for the movie industry. The list goes on and on!

I'm sure you've heard of the Oscar-winning animation film "Flow". Blender! Isn't that amazing? Thanks to its built-in features and powerful add-ons, it was possible to take this incredible story to the Academy Awards stage! Ah, I can almost see you dreaming out loud, now!

Hey, but that's not all! There are other awesome projects that used Blender as an active tool across the development stages, also known in the industry as 3D pipeline:

• Spider-Man: No Way Home (film) – Concept design and pre-visualization.

• Prey – (film) Visual Effects and environment design.

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (videogame) – Asset modelling.

• Cyberpunk 2077 (videogame) – Asset development.

• The Man in the High Castle (TV show) – Visual Effects

Here’s the good news: You can download, install, and start using this software right now, without having to subscribe to a monthly plan or paying a one-time fee.

If you are not familiar with the term, "open source" means that the software is publicly available. Fixes, improvements, and updates are developed by members of the Blender community, in a collaborative spirit that benefits all. Cool, huh? This means that you can now access Blender and explore its huge potential and features, no matter if you are a beginner to the world of 3D graphics or an experienced professional, using the software to learn, upgrade your business and reach new markets, or simply have fun creating 3D print models for a hobby! 

Awesome!

Why use Blender?

Blender is an amazing three-dimensional graphics suite, used by artists and designers, animators and film studios, game developers, and even engineers and scientists, because it allows you to work across the entire 3D pipeline -- or workflow stages of 3D design. Feeling a bit overwhelmed? We're here for you! Let's begin by having a quick look at the most common features available in Blender.

• 3D modelling – Allows creating new objects from basic shapes like cubes, spheres, or cylinders, cutting, stretching, and reshaping them into more complex objects. Think about building blocks or Adobe Illustrator’s Shape Builder tool but set in a three-dimensional world interface.

• Texturing and Shading – The next steps after 3D modelling, we can add texture, detail, or lighting effects, bringing realism to the designed 3D objects.

• Rigging and Animation – Think about animating a 3D character, making it walk, run, or sit down. Rigging adds a structure, a skeleton and joints to support the 3D model, allowing for setting poses and movement.

• Rendering – Converts the 3D model into a finished image or video, with high-quality shapes and textures, lighting, shadows, and reflections.

• Visual Effects (Compositing) and Video Editing – Now let’s think of a Hollywood blockbuster! Compositing is all about replacing a green screen background into a completely new landscape or environment and adding visual effects and CGI (computer generated imagery) to real-life footage. Video editors arrange, cut, trim, and edit the footage into a final visual product, like a movie or a documentary.

It sounds like a lot, I know, and when you look at all the interface options, menus, and panels it's perfectly fine to feel a bit intimidated, but that's all normal! If you learn consistently and practice your skills, it will all start flowing smoothly and be fun!

Next question!

Is Blender a smart choice for Beginners?

Blender is, for sure, a smart choice for everyone who wants to start learning and designing 3D graphics. It's free, available across multiple operating systems, and covers the relevant stages of 3D design and animation.

Keep in mind, of course, that there is a learning curve to Blender. First, you must realign your mindset with a new three-dimensional workspace (X, Y, and Z axes will become your new best friends).

Blender's all-in-one superpower also means that it takes time to get used to a complex user interface, to a considerable range of menus, tools, and shortcuts that require a step-by-step approach in the first days and weeks. As you learn and practice, things get easier and more comfortable, but it's important to accept that it takes time to get there. Don't begin by producing your own animated movie!

To help users across this learning curve, Blender benefits from a vast array of documentation, tutorials, courses, online groups and forums, in one of the largest communities in the 3D design industry.

Does Blender run on any computer?

Even though Blender is a bit lighter on computer resources than some of its competitors, 3D modelling and rendering is always demanding, so there are recommended software and hardware requirements for each operating system. Verify these requirements to ensure that the software will run smoothly and prevent crashes and frustration.

The software download on Blender's website, for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. Installing it on your computer is quick and easy, it will only take a few minutes!

Blender add-ons

If you are not entirely new to the design adventure, I'm sure you have heard terms like plug-ins and add-ons. These are additional tools, usually developed by third-party companies, that enhance a software's built-in features and help streamline your work, so you can be the first at the finish line in a very competitive market.

Blender is not an exception for this, and you can count on a huge and growing collection of add-ons and resources that will speed things up and brighten up your work, keeping your mind less worried about deadlines and more focused on creativity! Some of them are also free, others have a price tag on them, so take some time to learn what they do and if they fit your project's budget.

Let's scroll through some of these gems, just for you to know that no matter how complicated a project may seem, there is always an add-on to take you above and beyond.

 Modeling and Sculpting

• Sculpt Toolkit – Free – This add-on speeds up organic sculpting (awesome for characters and creatures), improves user interface settings, and makes mask creating and mesh extraction easier.

• HardOps & Boxcutter – Paid - Used by 3D modelers, game artists, and concept designers, HardOps delivers a toolkit that will make modelling a lot more dynamic and safer. BoxCutter allows for fast and precise shape cutting into 3D models.  

 Texturing and Shading

• Node Wrangler – free and built-in – Saves tons of time when working with materials by speeding up shade editing and providing shortcuts for quick linking, previewing textures, and managing shader nodes.

• TexTools – Free – Used by game developers, texture artists, and asset creators, TexTools improves UV mapping, baking, and texturing tools in Blender.

 Rendering and Lighting

• Easy HDRI – Free – Simplifies HDRI (High Dynamic Range Imaging) by allowing for only-click setup for lighting settings, for realistic lighting effects in 3D scenes.

• K-Cycles – Paid – Used by architects, animators, and visual effects professionals, speeds up to 2x rendering, denoising, and caustics processes, in certain scenarios.

 Animations and Rigging

• Animation Nodes – Free – Similar to Blender’s Geometry Nodes, but more focused on motion and effects, allows for complex motion graphics and procedural animations that include object animation, particles, and deformation.

• Auto-rig Pro – Paid – Allows for the automatic rigging of characters, creatures, and mechanical objects, saving hours of manual work in character design. Supports game engines like Unity and Unreal.

Blender vs Competition

Let’s see how Blender behaves in a side-by-side competition with other 3D design apps, based on a set of core features that may support you on how you plan your full journey from a first 3D cube with a light fixture to a Hollywood Oscar Winning production!

These are only some of Blender's competitors, but I believe this selection casts good light on how Blender can be a smart first choice to start mastering the Essentials of 3D design and how you can, soon, pick a specific field to become a specialist.

Let's finish with a quick recap!

Blender – Strengths and weaknesses

If you are considering stepping into the world of 3D design (and I know you are!), it makes sense that you understand why Blender can be the right choice of software for you as well as its limitations.

Pros

• Value – Blender is free for personal and commercial use. There are no plans or licenses surrounding its core functionality.

• All-in-One – Blender is a do-it-all solution, you can tackle a complex 3D project from early modelling to rendering or video compositing inside one single piece of software. Did I mention it’s also free?

• Updates and Support – For Blender, open source means there are frequent updates that fix bugs, improve its features and performance. Support from an expanding community and a wide array of learning resources add a layer of confidence in a software with a considerable learning curve. And it’s free!

• Lightweight and Versatile – Blender is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux and runs well without you having to invest in top notch hardware, like some of its competitors. For free!

• Add-on Collections – There is a huge library of free (and paid) add-ons for Blender that bring additional resources, assist on its limited collaboration features, and save valuable workflow time. Well, many of these are free!

Cons

• Learning Curve – Even if balanced with strong learning resources and community support, it is true that Blender’s unique interface, shortcut-based workflow, and the need for a certain level of previous technical knowledge to tackle tasks like animation rigging, makes it a bit harder for beginners and gets easier with time and practice.

• Freelance and Indie Power Tool – Blender is growing fast worldwide and is continuously evolving because of its open source side, but it is still not an industry standard. This is particularly felt in the major Film and Video Game producers and developers.

• Limited Collaboration – Blender doesn’t have built-in and real-time collaboration tools, some manual linking or third-party add-ons are required to compensate for this limitation.

• Performance and Stability Issues – Projects with complex meshes and high detail can be heavy on computer resources, when compared to some competitors that are more focused on specific steps in the pipeline.

• It’s a work in progress – Some features like character animation or sculpting still need further development, but again, its open source policy brings constant updates and improvements.

And There We Have It!

Alright, now that you have a clearer idea of what Blender represents in the 3D design world of wonders, join Robin and me at Bring your Own Laptop and sign up to the new course Blender Essentials! Remember, Blender is free, accessible across platforms, includes all the necessary features for you to explore all the steps in a 3D pipeline, and turn you into an all-round 3D designer! And don't let that learning curve scare you, that's what we are here for!

One last thing, if you want to meet Robin and get a preview of the Essentials course before getting started, check this exclusive video! Have fun! 

What 's Next?

Pre-register for Blender Essentials here and be among the first to hear when it launches. When you become a BYOL member, you gain access to this new Blender course as well as my 30+ additional courses on Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Figma, and more. As a BYOL member you will also enjoy personalized support, earn certificates, and tackle exciting community challenges. Head here to sign-up! 

See you in class! – Dan