December 15 2013
Other Articles Related to 3D Printing
In the previous articles in this series, I have mentioned that I am a big fan of the 3D modeling software Blender when it comes to 3D printing. While other professional 3D modeling software programs would work great for 3D printing, they can be very expensive. However, Blender is not an easy program to use. Like all professional pieces of software, its user interface layout favors an efficient work flow over ease of use. Instead of writing a tutorial on how to use Blender, since there are plenty of awesome ones out there, I thought I would go meta and write an article on how to best learn Blender using the tools that are already available.
For this article, I am going to assume that you do not have any experience with 3D modeling. Therefore, the best place to start is Blender’s own website. Start by getting the software installed and running. Then, in my opinion, the best way to learn a complicated topic is with a book. Blender’s online store offers several from which to choose. I have never read any of the books in that store as the one I initially read is old and out of date, but I will trust that the Blender team knows how to select some good books. What ever book you choose, make sure it was designed for Blender Version 2.5 or later. Beginning with version 2.5, Blender redesigned their user interface and older books will not be much help at this point.
Not only do I recommend a book, but I recommend a paper book for this purpose. I love e-books and they are great for linear flow books like novels and non-fiction books. But with technical manuals, I find myself often flipping back and forth between pages and e-books are just not good enough(yet) for this type of use.
The reason that I do not recommend learning Blender from a collection of Internet tutorials is that random Internet tutorials do not provide any context between one another. A book with sequential chapters can build upon one another and slowly expand your knowledge base, but a book can only help you solve a limited number of specific problems. Once you get to a point where you can phrase the problem you want to solve in “Blender Speak”, for lack of a better term, you are ready to starting using Internet tutorials to solve your very specific problems.
It is important to point out that most Blender tutorials simply focus on 3D modeling. Turning your 3D model into a 3D print does require some additional steps and it also applies additional constraints on what you can create. However, these details can be sorted out later. Get out there and start learning 3D modeling.
Don’t forget about the Kalidasia models that are available for download if you want to see what complete 3D printable models look like.
