Blender Basics

For the next instalment of our Basics series, we take a look at the core digital content creation applications, starting with Blender.

If you are new to CGI, there are far too many tools to choose from in a dizzying array of software. This series aims to break everything in CGI down to the very basics so that every artist is armed with the knowledge of which tool is best. This month we look at Blender.

Blender for years has been one of the great paradoxes of the 3D creation toolset. It is completely free and has one of the most diverse feature sets of any digital content creation application, and with cutting-edge render options… why would anyone use any other application?

The reason was that Blender historically has liked to plough its path in the mechanics of how 3D is created. Blender is developed as an open-source application by developers from around the world. While this, on one hand, is great as it allows the previously mentioned diverse toolset. This way of developing did also lead to an application that, while as stable as many other applications on the market, lacked the refinement in terms of the user experience. This would mean that many 3D artists who came over to Blender would find that its ‘unique’ way of working would get in the way of the vast array of creative possibilities that Blender is capable of.