CORE | Fundamentals of 3D Mesh Modeling in Blender

Instructor:
Jonathan Lampel

Welcome to the Mesh Modeling Fundamentals, the first course in the Blender CORE Fundamentals series.Β 

This course has taken a few different forms and has evolved a lot over the last 10 years and has successfully taught thousands of people how to 3D model. Like the name implies, we’re going to talk about the foundational, most important tools and concepts that you’ll need throughout your modeling journey, whether you’re going into games, animation, visual effects, industrial design, architecture, or any field of computer graphics.

By the end of this course, you should be able to model basic objects with ease and have a good idea of how to approach more complex ones. If you’re an intermediate or advanced modeler already, you can expect to fill in the gaps in your education, learn good habits, and improve the overall quality of your models.Β 

Get Caught Up

Are you brand new to Blender?

These courses should help you get up to speed in no time.

Blender Course Overview

Chapter 1

Intro to modeling

Learn all about the tools and concepts that are essential for all types of modeling workflows, including advanced selection, mesh operators, and good topology.Β 

Chapter 2

Hard Surface Modeling

Whether your models need to be low poly or high, we'll talk about how the crisp shapes of hard surface modeling can be achieved with modifiers, n-gons, and altered normals.Β 

Chapter 3

Subdivision Surface Modeling

Smooth, highly detailed shapes that melt into each other are incredibly satisfying, and you'll learn all about the foundational rules of topology that will help you create them.Β 

We love modeling with Blender

Don't just follow along, think along with us.

Check out the first two free lessons

Get this course and 274 others by joining CG Cookie

Awarded upon completion:
100xp +
Course Curriculum
53 Reviews
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    Maya Krueger(Brawl499) ·

    As someone who went into this course with zero prior 3D knowledge except CG Cookie's Blender Basics and Press Start courses, this was a fantastic next step toward increased competency and knowledge in Blender.

    Jonathan, as in the prior two courses mentioned above, is fantastic at guiding you step-by-step through multi-step modeling processes, and I credit that heavily to him always pausing for a sec to call out the inputs when he does something. By always calling out what key/input-combination he's hitting or what menu he's going to and what dropdown selection he's clicking (IE saying 'Hit I to inset' instead of just 'Inset this face'), even after he's done it multiple times, it ensures you can follow along at his pace instead of getting left behind if you forgot an input. Not to mention constantly repeating the input out loud helps commit it to memory for the long-term.

    Never once did I feel like I was being left behind by a teacher going at their normal work-pace and forgetting they're supposed to be teaching a beginner, which was my experience with a prior teacher outside the CGCookie ecosystem. Not to mention, the final exercise was a great, low-pressure way to encourage independent modeling/creativity instead of strictly adhering to guided modeling.

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    Ayele Richmond(ARi) ·

    The best part of this course for me is that they not only explain the tools but also why they operate the way they do and what's really going on "under the hood". So before, whenever I ran into a shading problem I'd have to search on youtube for a fix, and even if the fix worked I didnt understand why so I had trouble applying it to other projects. But now I feel like I can troubleshoot those issues on my own or at least I know where to start. Also the hotkeys and menus. The amount of time i could've saved just from knowing the select menu existed is crazy to think about.

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    Nathi Tappan(nathitappan) ·

    I took the original version of this course when I was just starting on Blender and it made me fall in love with both Blender and the CG Cookie style of teaching. Now I'm a couple of years further in my journey but thought I'd come back to revisit some basics on hard surface modeling to go in hand with my new hobby on 3D Printing. I'm so glad I did!!

    I can recommend this course for both beginners and "comfortable with Blender" users alike! Jonathan packed this course with tips and concepts that are more advanced without ever making it complex. So easy to understand and follow along. Definitely worth taking!

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    Ismael Velez(Diyibo) ·
    Good course for begginers
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    Alejandro Machado(Chronos) ·

    The best approach on how to learn blenderΒ 

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    Eric Rothman(ericarthurrothman) ·

    Great course. A satisfying mix of step-by-step instructions and high-level concepts. Just challenging enough, yet I never felt lost or overwhelmed.Β 

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    KayaSilly0 ·

    Gave me an in depth look at all the tools I need to be able to succeed in mesh modeling as a beginner! I tried learning it other places and in other ways, but they just don't teach it like CGCookie!

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    Jamie Dodwell(mystifiedbytruth) ·

    I actually really appreciate the pace of these videos. I'm a beginner, and this was definitely a stress-free tutorial series. Thank you.

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    Chua Lawrence(aeiou) ·

    This course is very friendly for the beginner and easy to understand. This even help expanding more information and techniques I missed out during my self-learn progress.

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    safar muhammed(cgmaster9990) ·
    i learned quite a lot from this course each video is short and easy to understand