3d models?

[Senjak]

I was poking around a bit and didn't see any directly downloadable 3d models. Does anyone have ones that they'll be willing to share?

I've a new 3d printer on the way, and I would like to make cool Traveller cube clutter. I don't intend to sell or even give the printer output away; however, I will send anyone who is nice enough to share copies of what I print.

Thanks,

Senjak

 

[Kiska66]

I'm in the same 'ship's boat' as you Senjak (except for the 3d printer) and haven't found anything to download or even buy. I'm wondering if I have the time (and intelligence) to spend delving into the blender traveller ship-making tutorials on youtube and trying my hand at making one from scratch to use in backgrounds... but it's not my forte like the artwork.

Can any of the experienced pros give an idea of the learning curve in blender?

I was poking around a bit and didn't see any directly downloadable 3d models. Does anyone have ones that they'll be willing to share?

I've a new 3d printer on the way, and I would like to make cool Traveller cube clutter. I don't intend to sell or even give the printer output away; however, I will send anyone who is nice enough to share copies of what I print.

Thanks,

Senjak

 

[HG_B]

Can any of the experienced pros give an idea of the learning curve in blender?

A friend of mine uses it for other stuff. I asked him and he said if you don't have prior 3D CAD experience it is very steep. Probably weeks of nightly study/practice to get the basics.

 

[Kiska66]

Cheers for that... I might still have a play down the road, but by the sounds of it I won't be facing a funtime (based on minimal CAD experience).

A friend of mine uses it for other stuff. I asked him and he said if you don't have prior 3D CAD experience it is very steep. Probably weeks of nightly study/practice to get the basics.

 

[BytePro]

Kiska66, you might want to check out http://www.wings3d.com/ *(its free open source, multi-platform)

Its a lot simpler than Blender - and more limited - but not only is it good for getting your feet wet and a useful learning tool to some fundamental concepts - a good number of folks use it to make the base model before importing into Blender, 3DS Max, etc.

A tut (not tried) - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2429938
Examples - http://tpemberton.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/annex-stuffer-quetzalcoatl-class/

 

[Kiska66]

Cheers for that Bytepro, I'm about to delve into Hexagon in the coming months to see if I can build a Hiver for Poser/Daz and modify some other models, so this looks pretty cool for building models to use in background scenes. I will check it out, so thanks for the link!

Kiska66, you might want to check out http://www.wings3d.com/ *(its free open source, multi-platform)

Its a lot simpler than Blender - and more limited - but not only is it good for getting your feet wet and a useful learning tool to some fundamental concepts - a good number of folks use it to make the base model before importing into Blender, 3DS Max, etc.

A tut (not tried) - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2429938
Examples - http://tpemberton.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/annex-stuffer-quetzalcoatl-class/

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I will second what BytePro says about Wings3D. It is great for some basic, simple things. Without working that first, I wouldn't even try Blender. (Which I still haven't found time to really try, yet........)

 

[HG_B]

Kiska66, you might want to check out http://www.wings3d.com/ *(its free open source, multi-platform)

Its a lot simpler than Blender - and more limited

BytePro to the rescue. Thanks for this.

 

[BytePro]

P.S. - youtube is a good source of tuts for 3D. Quick search for Wings3D - this one looks decent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRsFAk-M_XI

Note also that Wings3D has a good deal of Import options - so you can start playing with online shared models pretty easily. IIRC, you can also import Inkscape (2D for extrudes) at least as .ai/.eps.

BTW: for the OPs purposes I think Wings3D would be great for creating 3D printable stuff, as its designed to work with manifold objects (closed 'solids'). [Blender has tools to support 3D printing - like ensuring wall thickness, etc. - but its complex and after the fact cleanup...]

[My very first 3D programming was creating a 3D wireframe Traveller ship on 8-bit systems in the 80s - I independently began using a winged-edge data structure back in those days, so Wings3D has a certain nostalgic feel for me.]

 

[BTolputt]

Wings is very good for modelling... but that's it. Used that for a few years putting together stuff, importing it into Poser, then selling it for peanuts in those 3D markets the Poser users are so fond of.

Blender is far more powerful, has a built-in 3D printing add-on now, and isn't limited only to box modelling like Wings is. That said, it has a learning curve so steep as to be vertical. I'm not too bad at it myself, but I've been using it for years now (and even then I hate some of the "bright ideas" the developers had).

If you're looking at modelling only for 3D printing - stick to Wings. You get the basics of that learnt in under a day and you need barely more than those basics to make awesome models. Blender has only just got n-gons and the workflow 'hiccups' it has with them are still evident.