When trying to determine which 3D Modeling program you should use for your project, it can be a little daunting. To help determine that decision you can check out how Blender help you, whether you are an experienced modeler or just a beginner, Blender can get you started creating models and assets for whatever your needs are.
Blender was initially intended to be an internal tool. It was initially a failure, unable to gather enough attention and produce enough sales through its usage. The initiative was shut down. Later, Ton Roosendaal, the original creator of Blender, founded the blender institute and the Blender Foundation that allows him to hire developers to continue support and move features forward. The community-driven and funded support has been hugely successful and has allowed the tool to be adopted as a production-ready 3d modeling software in the same quality as Maya and 3ds Max. Blender is Open Source and completely free to use. Many game developers and filmmakers are using it today to create their next hits. There is a large community around Blender and tutorials all over the internet that can help you get started with Blender. Before 2.8, Blender was much harder to get started due to the confusing user interface. As of 2.8, Blender has a completely redesigned user interface that helps make the experience more reachable to those that use to the other modeling programs and beginners that are starting to learn to model.
The Blender team and the community have done a lot to bring the tool to a place it can compete with the more popular tools that are out there. In the past, I had an exercise that had me creating stools in Maya, and when I decided to do the same thing in Blender, it took me a very long time to do it. These days I am more comfortable with Blender and able to work on models without the tool getting my way. I am so glad this tool is available for indie game developers, hobbyists, and even the professional studios.
Use With Your Favorite Engine
With Blender, you can create your entire scene, animations, and models for your needs for your game. Then when you are ready to put them into your engine of choice, you can do so by exporting to the appropriate type for your engine. Many game engines generally support the FBX format, but there are other supported types you can use, so you are not locked into a format choice.
I have listed out the supported file formats that can be exported from Blender for some of the more popular engines.
Godot
- glTF 2.0
- OBJ (wavefront)
- DAE (Collada)
- FBX – Supported via the Open Asset Import library, Godot recommends using the other formats before attempting to use FBX.
MonoGame
- FBX
- OBJ
To import your models and other content into MonoGame you can use the MonoGame Pipeline Tool to import your assets. You can export to FBX and OBJ and import them here if you have any issues feel free to reach out to the community and check out this post that goes into more detail of importing the content.
Unity3D
- FBX
- DAE (Collada)
- OBJ
FYI – Unity can import proprietary files from Blender, 3ds Max, Maya, Modo, and Cheetah3D. But be warned Unity will convert them all into fbx files during the import. It is recommended to export to FBX instead of relying on the native file import.
Also – Unity and Blender handle coordinate planes a little differently, so to properly fix importing your blender assets into Unity, I recommend checking out this blender addon that makes exporting to Unity easier from the unity forums.
Unreal Engine
- FBX
There should technically also be support for OBJ, but everything on their documentation site points to using FBX exclusively. If you want the best compatibility, I would say use FBX. Otherwise, your results may not be guaranteed.
Advanced Modeling tools
The standard modeling workflows such as the knife, loop cut, edge slide, beveling, and more are easily accessible on the left with the latest version of Blender. They now in a more intuitive and cleaner spot and more visible for everyone to see. Prior there was a problem with things being buried in menus. With the latest version of Blender, the workflow has been streamlined, and I no longer have to continually dig through menus to get the effect or result I want.
Beyond the tools on the left, there is an expansive list of modifiers that allows you to take your models and create what you need in half the time. From a mirror tool that ensures you have perfect symmetry to arrays that would enable you to duplicate your model for things like stairs, tires, and other models that need a lot of the same primitive shape repeated. There many techniques that use modifiers to create amazing models.
Sculpting Workflows
I am by no means an expert, and I am still improving my skill like many other aspiring indie developers. But there are so many tutorials and sites dedicated to teaching you modeling and the sculpting workflows. If you have never done sculpting before in 3D programs, think of it as if you were working with clay in the real world. You try to Sculpt it to be the model you want. You can then do more specific detail work in combination with the sculpting tools provided.
Sculpting has been apart of Blender for quite a while, but the latest version has improved the experience. You can now change to sculpt mode at the top as a tab or in the drop-down and have a clean way to jump between the sculpt tools. It took me a while to get the hang of sculpting. It is nice to see some improvements done to make this feel more accessible.
Enhance Your Models with Python
Another benefit that Blender gives you is access to the Python API for Blender. Which at first you will not use. It might not be used for a long time until you get to know the application and your skills at modeling. But potentially, there will come a time where you have a technique that you do over and over again. This is where the python scripting comes in handy. The scripting language has access to all of your mesh data you could determine how you need to modify your mesh and have the script just apply it immediately.
When it comes to what you can do with the Python script API, I would say the ceiling is your imagination. At first, it is a struggle even to figure out what you would use the scripting in my blender project. But eventually, you find small things that help speed up your workflow. It is not cheating if you find ways to speed up getting your end product done. Make your model as you normally would, and when you have a routine down, patterns will start to emerge that you will want to make easier. Then the usefulness and power of the scripting addition to Blender will become extremely apparent.
Thank you
There are so many resources out there to help you get started creating your masterpieces. There is no best program or technique. It is all about your drive, principles of design, and, most importantly, practicing as much and as often as you can that will help you to create your vision.
Head over to Blender.org and download Blender today and get started! and Welcome to the community!
Some Helpful Resources
- Getting Started Tutorials – Blender.org
- The Blender Community
- Blender.org – YouTube
- Andrew Price – YouTube “The Blender Guru”
- Grant Abbitt – YouTube
- YanSculpts – YouTube
- … And so many more!
Totally Worth It Resources, But Cost Money
- The Blender Cloud – Monthly Subscription
- CGCookie.com
- There are more tutorials on Udemy, Skill Share etc.
Thank you so much for checking out this article, I hope it has helped inspire, or at least think more about how you can accomplish your indie game goals, get into 3d modeling design or even just an appreciation of 3D Modeling design. If you found this article helpful, please share with your favorite social media.