Suggestions for good, easy to use 3d software

[Solauren]

Hey everyone,

I picked up a 3d printer at the beginning of April. (Ender 3v2 before anyone asks, and yes, I've installed a BLtouch and upgraded the springs).

I'm using it to print out weapons and parts for my Transformers. Stuff from Thingiverse and Cults3d mainly.

Eventually, however, I'm hoping to be able to create and print out my own parts, including Faces/heads. (I'm planning to trace them out of the Transformers G1 comics, screenshots of toys, and the like)

The problem is, I have no 3d graphics experience (and truth be told, I'm not great with 2d graphics. I'm acceptable only).

Anyway, I'm hoping someone can point me to a free/cheap 3d graphics program that I can attempt to learn.

Hopefully, one that will let me pull in existing STLS for editing/remixing, or 2d in 2d drawings to use as a starting point.

[snowblizz]

You can get Blender for free. That's effectively an open-source pro 3d gfx package.

I've also used Autodesk Fusion 360 for free for personal use. I think it still is.

Blender is probably best for making more organic looking things and actual 3D work. Fusion 360 is excellent for working more with mechanical things.

I've tried importing STL files in both but was never quite happy. Then again I have almost no clue of how to sue either software so I'm not ready to blame the tool here.


Don't forget there's a thing like photogrammy (sic?) where you can have software creating digital models off loads of normal pictures.

So I guess what am saying Blender and Fusion 360 are good, not necessarily easy to use. For easy to use, if you want to learn and practise, try Tinkercad.

[Telok]

Free, good, easy. Pick two.

Over the last 2+ years I've gotten better at blender. Managed to do a cloth drape and some other non-trivial bits by following instructions, plugged in a random spaceship generator too. Still wouldn't call myself any better than low hobbyist, mostly due to time constraints that stop me from working on it for hours.

Free, good, easy. Pick two. Blender is free and good. I can't comment on any others.

[Tyndmyr]

Free, good, easy. Pick two.

This is good advice. Blender is very good, but that learning curve is awful.

I use it, sometimes, sort of. I am not amazing with it. I *am* extremely good with Milkshape, which is a far easier to use tool, that is also extremely cheap.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been under active development for a few years, and it has...limitations. Especially compared to Blender. As options go, it's very strong on easy, and very nearly free, but you will run into a ceiling on the good.


There are other similarly limited, but free/nearly free tools that are more modern as well. Some are good at only specific tasks, like slapping text extrusions on models.

[Chronos]

Tinkercad is free, and about as easy to use as you can get, at least for basic needs. It's also sufficiently powerful to do, well, pretty much anything, if you get deep enough into it. Though for some advanced purposes, there are other tools which would probably be much easier to use.

In any event, it's powerful enough for all of my dice.

[crayzz]

I always liked OpenSCAD. Working with it is script based, however, which has its own quirks.

Whether it counts as easy, though, is a tough call.