Blender 3D is an Open Source 3d graphics animation and rendering system which can do many of the things that commercial software can do but its for free. Anyone here use it or have heard of it?
http://blender3d.org
http://blender3d.org
Anyone here use Blender 3d?
Yeah, I have got it for a while... But I still haven't really got the hang of it... Anim8tor is easier...
Yes, a long time ago. It's free, poweful and has a very enthusiastic community behind it. Blender has also grown in capabilities since I last used it, lots of enthusiastic developers as well.
As to using it, it's interface isn't easy, it can take a while to figure stuff out. But once you get that one hand on the mouse, one on the keyboard combo, it can move real fast. And much of the basic stuff isn't that hard. Lots of online tutorials should help you. I moved to Cinema 4D becasue of its easier, more logical UI and I got a student discount, oterwise I might still be using Blender. The price is hard to beat!
As to using it, it's interface isn't easy, it can take a while to figure stuff out. But once you get that one hand on the mouse, one on the keyboard combo, it can move real fast. And much of the basic stuff isn't that hard. Lots of online tutorials should help you. I moved to Cinema 4D becasue of its easier, more logical UI and I got a student discount, oterwise I might still be using Blender. The price is hard to beat!
I've messed around with Bleder from time to time but I never seem to be able to get the hang of 3D graphics... It doesn't seem that much harder to use than some of the multi-thousand dollar packages which I have evaluated through "unofficial" channels, though.
Frankly, I prefer the combo of DAZ Studio (freeware, deals with people) and Bryce (commercial, but cheap, does landscapes) to make 3D artwork. Some people swear by Poser as well, but it's been made mostly obsolete by DAZ Studio anyway...
Frankly, I prefer the combo of DAZ Studio (freeware, deals with people) and Bryce (commercial, but cheap, does landscapes) to make 3D artwork. Some people swear by Poser as well, but it's been made mostly obsolete by DAZ Studio anyway...
I've messed around with Blender from time to time but I never seem to be able to get the hang of 3D graphics... It doesn't seem that much harder to use than some of the multi-thousand dollar packages which I have evaluated through "unofficial" channels, though.
Frankly, I prefer the combo of DAZ Studio (freeware, deals with people) and Bryce (commercial, but cheap, does landscapes) to make 3D artwork. Some people swear by Poser as well, but it's been made mostly obsolete by DAZ Studio anyway...
Frankly, I prefer the combo of DAZ Studio (freeware, deals with people) and Bryce (commercial, but cheap, does landscapes) to make 3D artwork. Some people swear by Poser as well, but it's been made mostly obsolete by DAZ Studio anyway...
Seems that a lot of people that try blender get scared away by its formidable interface. I still get confused sometimes about the interface, especially when things move from version to version even though I've been using blender for over a year now. I think that the interface may soon get an overhaul in a future version because there has been much discussion about it in the blender community forums but don't take my word on it.
i was using it to model for a game i was working on one time. Then i quit. Later i downloaded it again, and started using it in a few sigs and stuff, then quite again. Now i just use it for c4d's 
I've never used Blender but I used to use Bryce a good bit... I should get back into 3D modeling cause it's pretty rewarding.
I've done some stuff in Blender3d.
Here's a lo-res copy of an animation I did...
and a hi-res still frame of that same part...
Blender3d is difficult to use, but one of (if not) THE most powerful 3d apps I've seen.
Here's a lo-res copy of an animation I did...
and a hi-res still frame of that same part...
Blender3d is difficult to use, but one of (if not) THE most powerful 3d apps I've seen.
the more I look at this Blender3D program the more I want to try it out. And, hey, you can't beat free! It looks a little intimidating, though...
| brevity wrote: |
| the more I look at this Blender3D program the more I want to try it out. And, hey, you can't beat free! It looks a little intimidating, though... |
It can be, but there's some good tutorials available for it.
I've been using Blender for a few months now and just love it. As said above, it is very intimidating at first. However, once you learn how to use it, it's so easy, yet a very powerful program. Better than some professional programs (I think). For anyone starting blender I recommend you read this
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro
I had originally used Anim8or for my 3D animations, but now all I need is Blender
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro
I had originally used Anim8or for my 3D animations, but now all I need is Blender
defenitely blender is the best.
I like its render engine a lot.
And: free is good.
try it.
Its light and confortable
I like its render engine a lot.
And: free is good.
try it.
Its light and confortable
I use blender for the odd project, but I haven't got to use it too much lately. Once you get the hang of all the tools it has, it's a really good and quite powerful interface. I mainly do modeling and then have someone else do the textures, becase I suck at them. But it is a really good program, especially at it's price.
I use Cinema 4D. YES, I KNOW THAT IT COSTS A WHOLE CHUNK OF MONEY, But it really is so so so so much more easier to use and learn than blender. Blender is great and powerful no doubt, but it really does take a lot of time. If learning and becoming pretty good with Cinema 4D takes 2-4 years I'd say, then with blender probably even double that time...
If you want to see some of my work you can find it here.
http://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Index.cfm/FuseAction/ProcessSmartSearch/istIncAuthor/Whong/blAuthorExact/y
That's all been done with Cinema 4D!
If you want to see some of my work you can find it here.
http://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Index.cfm/FuseAction/ProcessSmartSearch/istIncAuthor/Whong/blAuthorExact/y
That's all been done with Cinema 4D!
| Whong wrote: |
| If learning and becoming pretty good with Cinema 4D takes 2-4 years I'd say, then with blender probably even double that time... |
I've learned most of Blender fairly quickly although I only really pay attention to the Game Engine most of the time. Getting good at using any 3d modeling program would practically the same amount of time. Once you have an eye for creating 3d images, you can basically apply this skill to any 3d program in a short amount of time.
The thing about Blender is that most users won't ever use many of its advanced features because they don't know how. New features get added with practically every release. Even the most experienced of Blender users probably won't know exactly what every button or slider does. However, once you grasp the organization of the interface it is fairly easy to find a feature that you know about.
blender is not that hard to learn and there are plenty of tutorials out there.
And a really good thing about it is that it is growing fast.
give it a try.. its free.
And a really good thing about it is that it is growing fast.
give it a try.. its free.
Blender is really strange to use, I'm sure if you stick at it, but everything is very wire like, I like to model with shadeded things and in one perspective view, which you can do in blender, but it is really hard to get into if you are older, and not so open to reinventing interfaces, which is what blender does.
| zakarykinnaird wrote: |
| Blender is really strange to use, I'm sure if you stick at it, but everything is very wire like, I like to model with shadeded things and in one perspective view, which you can do in blender, but it is really hard to get into if you are older, and not so open to reinventing interfaces, which is what blender does. |
Yeah, I agree with that, it really is hard to get into!
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