REVIEWING BLENDER 3D

Repository

https://github.com/sobotka/blender

Introduction

Blender is a professional, free and open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, interactive 3D applications, and video games.

Blender was initially released in January 1998. It is opensource and free to use for commercial and educational purposes. It has done well to survive about 20 years in a tough and challenging market.

System Requirements

Blender is a lightweight computer software which can run on most modern day computers because of its little-required hardware. It is available on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Windows which have a total market share of about 99.5%. The minimum requirements include:

• 32-bit dual-core 2 GHz CPU
• 2 GB RAM
• 1280×768 Display
• Mouse or trackpad
• OpenGL 2.1 compatible graphics with 512 MB RAM

From my personal experience with 3D design and modelling software, a three-button mouse is always the best for easy navigation and giving commands around the design plane. In rare cases, you would still see some few genii who are comfortable with using the trackpad that comes with laptops and portable devices.

Talking points

User Interface

The blender user interface is one that comes with mixed feelings. The interface in Blender is colourful but complicated in some aspects. For one, if you are coming from a Maya or 3ds Max background hoping to try out Blender, don't expect that your knowledge of those above will give you a smooth ride. They are set up in different ways. From my experience in Blender, some tools are difficult to locate.

Maya and 3ds Max come with a straightforward set of tools, most tools are made available for you or easy to set up. With drag and drop, you can still make some meaning out of it.

It is easier to move from Blender to Maya or 3ds Max than the other way around. The other way round is mostly full of regrets and disappointments.

Learning curves/materials
When someone is interested in any new software or technology, among the first thing they check on the internet is the number of resources available to them. These resources include books, videos, blogs and any material that they can lay their hands on to help them achieve their desired goal.

For Blender, it has a large community of users but it is lacking formal learning materials and procedures. Professional video tutorial makers don't make many tutorials on Blender because most of the Blender users depend on open source materials. They are open source materials on the internet but I personally feel they are not enough and most lack in quality. This makes learning difficult and challenging.

Whereas, for Maya and 3ds Max there are tons of books and videos on their training on reliable websites like www.lynda.com and www.infniteskills.com. You have books on this software published by renowned and globally accepted publishers like Pearson which gives credence to the training and software. A newbie will have an easier introduction and passage through Maya and 3ds Max than Blender which has a steep learning curve and requires a lot of self-learning.

Cost And Size

Blender is totally free to download and use for both commercial and educational purposes. The latest version of Blender v2.79b is less than 100 MB. If you compare this with other industry packages like Maya and 3ds Max, the difference in size and price is overwhelming.

The monthly license for Maya cost about $200 and for a year goes as high as $1,500. File size is about 4GB. This is a similar case to 3ds Max whose license cost falls in the same range with Maya and file size is about 6GB.

Blender is very light and loads in less than 8 seconds whereas Maya and 3ds Max take a longer time to load which is expected.

No matter the size or cost, there would always be people who hold a school of thought that the higher the amount or the bigger the size the better the software. Some others don't just feel comfortable using free software, they feel more satisfied with things they spend money on.

For me, if you compare the size and cost to output between Blender and the other market standards, Blender deserves a lot of credit for achieving much with the little resource it consumes.

Rate of Development
Because Blender is open source, the development comes from people with different ideas and suggestion. This actually makes the rate of development quite fast and encouraging. You have so many quality hands working to make the software better. The major challenge with this is that the output of such works can bring complications to end users. It can be likened to the saying too many cooks spoil the broth.

Conclusion

Blender is here to stay for a long time. It has a large community following and enjoying a lot of support. And because it is free and opensource, it would appeal to many who cannot afford the other software. For people who do large-scale work like movies and cartoon animation, there are likely to join or remain with well-known software like Maya or 3ds Max. Most people who are likely to take Blender as their primary 3D software are mostly graphics enthusiast and small-scale movie or animation makers.

lInks

https://www.blender.org/