Take your ideas into three dimensions
Blender from fundamentals to environments, characters and texturing, plus precision modeling in Rhino.
Why this school
Model, texture and animate in 3D.
3D looks intimidating from the outside, but it's a sequence of learnable steps: model, texture, light, render. Blender is free, professional, and runs on a normal computer, which makes it the best place to start, and our fundamentals course assumes zero experience.
From there, go where your interest points: environments for scenes and worlds, character modeling for games and animation, texturing to make surfaces read as real. Rhino covers the precision end: product design and architecture-grade modeling.
The courses
Start where it makes sense for you
CertificateStart at the download page and finish with an object modeled, sculpted, unwrapped, textured, lit and rendered.
77 lessonsSelf-pacedCertificate
CertificatePlan, block out, model, unwrap, texture, scatter and light two complete Blender scenes, start to finish.
133 lessonsSelf-pacedCertificate
CertificateTwo game-ready characters in Blender, from the concept sketch through sculpt, retopology, textures and final render.
217 lessonsSelf-pacedCertificate
CertificateBuild nine procedural materials from nodes, paint a face in layers, then animate and render a finished clip.
31 lessonsSelf-pacedCertificate
CertificateLearn NURBS modeling in Rhino by typing commands, from the first curve to dimensioned drawings and printed layouts.
57 lessonsSelf-pacedCertificate
All 5 courses are included in the one subscription. See pricing
Before you start
Questions people ask about 3D Design & Animation
Is Blender good for beginners?
Yes, and it is where most people should start. Blender is free, professional, runs on an ordinary computer, and Certificate in Blender 3D Fundamentals assumes you have never opened it. The one thing it genuinely needs is a three-button mouse, because almost every operation uses the middle button to orbit and pan. A trackpad works and it is worse, so get the mouse first.
Do I need a powerful computer for 3D modeling?
Less than you would think for modeling, more for rendering. Sculpting and modeling run fine on an ordinary laptop, and Rhino is lighter still. Long renders are where a slow machine costs you time. A three-button mouse matters more than a graphics card, and for the sculpting in Certificate in 3D Character Modeling Using Blender, a pressure-sensitive tablet does more than any hardware upgrade would.
Should I learn Blender or Rhino?
Blender for organic shapes, Rhino for precise ones. Characters, creatures, environments and anything sculpted belong in Blender, which is also free. Parts that have to fit, product design and architectural work belong in Rhino, which is built on curves and exact dimensions. If you want game assets or a portfolio scene, no amount of Rhino makes that comfortable, so start with Certificate in Blender 3D Fundamentals instead.
How long does it take to get competent in 3D?
Months of practice, not weeks, and the courses say so plainly. Certificate in Blender 3D Fundamentals takes roughly 25 to 35 hours with Blender open beside the video, and the character course runs to 217 lessons of uncut real-time work. Watching without the software open teaches almost nothing. If another course is still unfinished, finish that one first. Two half-done courses teach less than one you got to the end of.
Free course guide
Not sure where to start?
Leave your details and we'll send the course guide for this school: every course, what you'll build, and how to pick your first one.