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PC
Development
Design
Beginners
3D Design
3D Modeling
What is the best 3D modeling software for beginners?
10
Options
Considered
81
User
Recs.
Feb 5, 2024
Last
Updated
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9
Options
Considered
Best 3D modeling software for beginners?
Price
Dev platforms
3D
--
Wings 3D
Free
Windows, macOS, Linux
Yes
--
Blender
Free
-
Yes
--
Cinema 4D
from ~ 1000$
-
-
--
VECTARY
Free
-
-
--
SelfCAD
$9.99
Browser-based
Yes
See Full List
--
Wings 3D
My Rec
ommendation
for
Wings 3D
My Recommendation for
Wings 3D
All
6
Pros
4
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Doesn't take long to learn
Wings 3D is an intuitive program that is easy to learn, even for complete beginners.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Doesn't work with a graphics tablet like Wacom
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Specs
Dev platforms:
Windows, macOS, Linux
3D:
Yes
Top
Pro
•••
Free, open source & cross-platform
Works on all popular platforms.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Fast and easy
Making models is quick and intuitive. Standard mesh operations like Extrude, Bevel, Cut, Inset and more give you great control over model you trying to make - both organic and not.
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Top
Pro
•••
PBR material visualisation
It supports the most commons PBR maps and visualisations and also can exports in glTF file format.
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Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
15
--
Blender
My Rec
ommendation
for
Blender
My Recommendation for
Blender
All
23
Experiences
1
Pros
17
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Steep learning curve
Blender is not a very intuitive 3D modeling software. It has its own ways of doing things, and it is often hard to guess how to achieve simple tasks.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Large variety of learning resources available
Part of what makes Blender a great option for beginners is its popularity. You can find a variety of 3rd party tutorials and courses that will guide you through the different features Blender has to offer.
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GraciousNahundi's Experience
it was good this is a pro
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Specs
3D:
Yes
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD
Technology:
C, Python
2D:
Yes (as of 2.8)
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Difficult learning curve
Blender is not a very intuitive 3D modeling software. It has its own ways of doing things, and it is often hard to guess how to achieve simple tasks.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
Blender is licensed under the GPL.
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Top
Con
•••
The physics engine is a bit lagging behind, especially the destruction physics
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Top
Pro
•••
Keyboard shortcuts
Good keyboard shortcuts for everything. Keep your left hand on the keyboard and your right hand on the mouse.
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Top
Con
•••
Poor particle system
The Blender particle system can at times be a little limiting and finicky (and buggy) to get working. Even if it can get most straight forward jobs done, it is far from the most advanced system, and could benefit largely from advancements.
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Top
Pro
•••
Has a good rendering engine
Blender runs the Cycles path tracing engine under the hood. Cycles is a very powerful rendering engine capable of full path tracing (light fall off, caustics, volumetrics). It is mostly compatible with OpenCL and CUDA rendering, and is implementing mycropolygon displacement features.
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Top
Pro
•••
Powerful animation suite
Blender provides a full rigging system, and automates animation by interpolating between keyframe positions.
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Top
Pro
•••
Python extensibility
Blender embeds Python 3, which can be used to write add-ons, tools, extend the interface, rig characters and automate tasks.
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Top
Pro
•••
Very useful for a freelancer
It offers a round solution (it covers many areas and professional fields) for a freelancer, for free, constantly updated, very polished, and allowing high quality results that clients do require. After some learning, it becomes very useful for professional work.
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Top
Pro
•••
Has a large community
There's a huge community to help you get started immediately.
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Top
Pro
•••
Sculpting and 3D painting features
Although Blender's 3d painting and sculpting tools (mostly painting) are not at par with specialized software like Substance Painter, ZBrush, or Mari, it is more than capable of getting most jobs done if the user takes the time to learn and understand it.
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Top
Pro
•••
Has a powerful rendering engine
Blender runs the Cycles path tracing engine under the hood. Cycles is a very powerful rendering engine capable of full path tracing (light fall off, caustics, volumetrics). It is mostly compatible with OpenCL and CUDA rendering, and is implementing mycropolygon displacement features. The upcoming release has a viewport engine called EEVEE whereby you can see and interact with your work in render mode in real time!
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Wide import and export format support
Support lots of modern 3D formats including DAE and FBX - ideal for game developers.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Includes a complete game engine
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Regular release schedule
Releases are made every ~3 months.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
It has sculpting and 3D painting features
Although blenders 3d painting and sculpting tools (mostly painting) are not at par with specialized software like Substance painter, z brush, or mari; it is more than capable of getting most jobs done if the user takes the time to learn and understand it.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Includes video editing & compositing tools
Blender's node-based compositor has comprehensive video sequencing and post-processing features.
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Top
Pro
•••
Supports both low-poly and hi-poly modeling
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Top
Pro
•••
Node based modeling support
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Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
22
2
--
Cinema 4D
My Rec
ommendation
for
Cinema 4D
My Recommendation for
Cinema 4D
All
7
Pros
6
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to learn
Cinema 4D is known for its approachability. New users are not hindered by lack of familiarity with similar tools.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Expensive
Starts at $995.00 with the complete version costing $3,695.00.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Includes great tools for animation and motion graphics
Mograph is a set of tools in C4d that speeds up the process of making animations and motion graphics.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Clean UI
Customizable floating palettes and configurable view panels let screen space be dedicated to the artwork, not the interface.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Rendering
Is simple for making good rendering
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Top
Pro
•••
Useful content browser
Cinema 4D comes fully-loaded with an extensive library of preset objects, materials and scenes that make it easy to get started with your 3D project. Use this outstanding resource to quickly develop concepts without spending time modeling (or wasting money buying models), or dissect complete scenes created by top C4D artists to develop your own skills. These highly curated libraries are custom-tailored to specific markets, with a wide variety of assets including models, materials and customizable presets.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Great modeling and animation Software.
It's super easy to learn, and there are lots of tutorials online. What really ticks me off, is that it's always rated below Blender, by Blender fanboys. Sure Blender's UI is way better now, after it's 2.8 release but not better than C4D's. Blender is open source, and has really good 3rd party plugins, and is always being updated which is great.. But it's not better than C4D. Just because Blender is "FREE" doesn't make it a better Software, while again I repeat it is a good Software. C4D is also capable of the same things, and possibly even more. C4d is really underrated. And I don't understand why there wasn't a "YES" under the (3D) section on the list for C4D.
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Hide
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from ~ 1000$
Recommend
6
1
--
VECTARY
My Rec
ommendation
for
VECTARY
My Recommendation for
VECTARY
All
9
Experiences
1
Pros
6
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Simple user interface
See More
Top
Con
•••
You have to be online
See More
PopularDiJun's Experience
i like the simple interface, a lot less complicated than most software and a lot nicer
See More
Specs
Supported platforms:
Windows, Mac, Unix, Chrome OS
Service integrations:
Figma, Sketch
Exports:
More than 60 file formats, including USDZ, GLTF, FBX
Import:
3D and 2D formats
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy-to-learn
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Simple UI
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Visually stunning
The feel of this app is really good and the beautiful design helps the overall experience.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Great step-by-step tutorial for first time users
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
6
3
--
SelfCAD
My Rec
ommendation
for
SelfCAD
My Recommendation for
SelfCAD
All
10
Experiences
2
Pros
7
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Good UI
See More
lokorio's Experience
It's easier to use and yet more advanced. It's also free for students and teachers
See More
Specs
Dev platforms:
Browser-based
3D:
Yes
3D in Classroom:
Free for Students and Teacher
Top
Pro
•••
Free for students and teachers
See More
Sammy Ekaran's Experience
Had advanced Sculpting tools and in built Slicer
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Great editor
Has many advanced features and everything is online. It's very convenient. With SelfCAD, it is possible to modelling simple objects and more complex ones, the functional is adapted for easy use.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Slicer included
High-performance slicer allows you generate gCode for your 3d-printer easily.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
25,000 library of ready to print objects
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Image generator
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Advanced Sculpting Tools
See More
Hide
See All
$9.99
Recommend
17
--
Microsoft Paint 3D
My Rec
ommendation
for
Microsoft Paint 3D
My Recommendation for
Microsoft Paint 3D
All
3
Pros
2
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Very simple
See More
Top
Con
•••
Windows only
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Included with Windows 10
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
2
--
Substance Bitmap2Material
My Rec
ommendation
for
Substance Bitmap2Material
My Recommendation for
Substance Bitmap2Material
All
2
Pros
1
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Generates several outputs from a single image
B2M generates any output that you may need from a single image automatically (base color, normal, metallic, roughness, ambient occlusion).
See More
Top
Con
•••
Not a complete tool
B2M will only allow you to create a normal map from an existing image. You cannot create a custom texture from scratch with it.
See More
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
1
--
Makers Empire 3D
My Rec
ommendation
for
Makers Empire 3D
My Recommendation for
Makers Empire 3D
All
6
Pros
5
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use 3D modelling software
See More
Specs
Custom Solutions for education departments and districts:
Request quote
Makers Empire 3D software:
FREE for individuals
Makes Empire 3D Solutions for Schools:
Request quote
Top
Pro
•••
Designed for kindergarten to grade 8 students
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Simple, intuitive and engaging interface
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Works on all computers and devices.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Part of Makers Empire's complete 3D solutions for schools
Bundled packages include 3D software, over 130 curriculum aligned lesson plans, professional development for teachers, 3D printing hardware, and hardware training and support.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
2
--
Figuro
My Rec
ommendation
for
Figuro
My Recommendation for
Figuro
All
2
Pros
2
Top
Pro
•••
Free to use
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use for beginners
See More
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
3
Don't see your favorite option? Add it.
--
Paint 3D
My Rec
ommendation
for
Paint 3D
My Recommendation for
Paint 3D
Free
Recommend
1
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