• Search
  • πŸͺ Blender Basics Explore Library Podcast Downloads Collabs Educators: Blender Teaching Guide What's Coming Soon Upgrade your membership
  • Questions & Answers Student Gallery Discord Channel YouTube Channel Paid Membership Perks ✨
  • Kent Trammell Jonathan Lampel Wayne Dixon Paul Caggegi
  • Blog
  • Search
    • Full Library
    free basicsbeginner-projectsmaterialsmodelinghard-surface

    PRESS START: Your Simple First Blender Project

    Instructor:
    Jonathan Lampel
    Start Course
    β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
     ( 67 )

    Looking for a simple modeling, texturing and lighting Blender project?

    This Blender course is...

    βœ… made for beginners (or those who need a refresh)
    βœ… perfect as your first Blender project
    βœ… possible to complete on a weekend
    βœ… designed to be customized by you
    ❌ for creating a real game console (sorry!)

    Oh, did I mention... we're keeping it lightΒ 
    Creating in Blender should be fun, first and foremost.Β 

    That is why we're bringing back an iconic 80s handheld gaming console from an alternate CG Cookie universe.

    This object, though eternal and glorious, is just an example for teaching you the Blender workflow... so you can get up and running on creating your own endless Blender projects.

    Totally new to Blender?

    Watch the Blender Basics firstΒ 
    Don't worry: it's quick. You'll learn to navigate in 3d space, move objects, and more.Β 
    Stream the Blender Basics

    1️⃣ First, we'll model the console

    In this part, you will learn how to...

    • model in Blender from a reference image
    • create your own mesh shapes
    • use the most important modeling tools
    • use modifiers (makes your life easier!)


    2️⃣ Next, we'll add materials and textures

    A model without textures is like a rhino without a pink bow on its horn. Just... boring.

    Learn how to:
    • add materials
    • apply and customize texturesΒ 
    • load an animation
    • use a generated pattern

    3️⃣ Let's light this and get to rendering

    To make our model shine, we will apply nice, basic Blender lighting and render it out for the ultimate beauty shot.

    Ultimately, you can make your own little pocket game console and customize and shape it however you want.

    Plus: Learn how to troubleshoot and avoid pitfalls

    Starting with Blender can be overwhelming. I'll show you the mistakes to avoid and the tricks I wish I knew when I was first starting out.

    Feeling lost? We're here to help.

    As CG Cookie member, you can ask any questions along the way and we will help you out with any roadblocks.

    We also want to see your result: share your final render in CG Cookie Gallery so the rest of us can see your masterpiece!Β 

    We love sharing your work on our social media, so make sure to tag your @ handles to your profile.

    Get Caught Up

    Are you brand new to Blender?

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

    Free

    Blender 3 Basics: Into To Blender

    Build and Animate a Low Poly Rocket in Blender for Beginners

    Want to learn more?

    Consider these courses next!

    Similar topics and workflows for continued learning.

    Fundamentals of 3D Mesh Modeling in Blender

    Fundamentals of Blender Materials and Shading

    POTHEAD: Create a Hard-Surface Character in Blender

    SESSIONS: Minimalism

    Awarded upon completion:
    100xp +
    Course Curriculum
    67 Reviews
    • F
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Werner Pienaar(FluffyUnicorn) ·

      This was such an awesome course! Learnt a bunch of things, wish I had done it sooner in my #D modeling journey.Β  This course should be in the top "must do" courses for beginners without a doubt. Looking forward in working through more CG cookie courses like this. Thank you very much

    • G
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Goose ·

      This was a great easy yet intresting project to help dip our toes into what blender can do! Definelty excited to dip farther in! :) Thanks for the great course!

    • v
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      vlad06 ·

      Hi, thanks a lot for this course. There was a lot to assimilate, but I took my time doing it, I now feel more confident doing other courses without getting lost or discouraged along the way.

      Vlad.

    • j
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Jordan LeBlanc(joralebl) ·

      This is an excellent little project if you just know the basic controls or have only done other beginner tutorials. Good job for making a project that any complete beginner can do with the basic controls and turns out looking very cool. Sometimes you need something a little more engaging than a donut to look at when you are done.Β 

    • c
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      miles mccrear(celestialmonsta) ·

      Total beginner and this was great to learn with. Some things I had to google just because of version changes but overall super easy to follow along

    • C
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Charge0113 ·

      Excellent Lesson!

    • k
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Ha The Khoa(khoalu) ·

      if you are new, there are so many useful things to learn. Good Course!

    • K
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Kiteso ·

      This tutorial was straightforward and informative. I was nervous about the version difference between 3.0 and 4.5, but the discrepancies were hardly noticeable. Namely, the shade autosmooth function in Blender has been moved to the modifiers tab. A few other menus rearranged slightly as well, but it hardly affected the overall learning experience.

      • author Kent Trammell(theluthier) ·

        Thanks for the review! We have tremendous respect for learners that take the leap of faith that older courses can still teach effectively. For powering through the confusion of version inconsistency, we salute you 🫑

    • f
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Frank K(fk) ·
      This course was great: easy to follow, well explained and well paced. I feel like I learned a lot and was glad when I completed it. Thanks a lot especially for the fact that this was free.
    • C
      β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†β˜†
      Chiara Glavina(Chiarita) ·

      Just finished it, it was amazing!! thank you so much jonathan, youΒ΄re a great teacher! canΒ΄t wait to keep learning :) i really recommend this course to anyone beginning like myself; instead of telling us which shortcuts to use, he actually explains the way blender and 3d modelling work in an understandable way. loved every minute, thank you again

    In playlist: Getting Started