First off, what is Blender you may ask? Blender is a suite of 3D tools used to create art, animations and games. But why would you want to use it?
1) It’s Free. And I mean completely free. There are no costs whatsoever involved with Blender. No demos, trial versions or extra software necessary. Just download and install it, and off you go. Most tutorials and extra features are also free. There are dozens of websites that offer plenty of free information.
2) It’s Open-Source. Open-Source means that the original source code of the program is freely available to anyone. This is very beneficial to us, however, as it means that hundreds or even thousands of people can help develop and improve Blender. This creates a very reliable and stable program.
3) It’s Surprisingly Powerful. Normally you would associate “free” with programs that are junk, have viruses attached, or are just plain faulty. Blender is not like that though. It is capable of creating some truly wonderful art. It can also create animations and movies such as “Sintel”, “Big Buck Bunny”, or “Elephants Dream”. There is even a game called “Yo Frankie”. You, too, can learn how to create amazing art with Blender.
4) It Works On Any Operating System. Whether your computer is a Windows, Macintosh or my favourite, Linux, you can still install Blender on it. This means that as long as your computer is generally not more than 3 or 4 years old, you can run Blender. It will often work on computers that are even older.
5) It Has A Built-In Video Editor. This means that you can do even more using only Blender, instead of having to run different programs to do each task. By doing it this way, you can spend more time working with less confusion, as well as having better integration.
6) It Is Compatible With Other Programs. Not only can Blender do so much in itself, but it can also import and export other types of 3D modelling files. This means that if you have other 3D programs that you like using, you can use Blender at the same time.
Bonus: The Blender Community. What is the Blender Community? It is where anyone, generally Blender users, can ask for and provide help with difficulties that they may be having, show other people stuff they have made, and look at what other people are making. This is incredibly useful for you as there are literally thousands of other Blender users who would love to help you with anything you might want to know. You can Google “Blender Artists” to find more information about the Blender forums.
