Computer Animation

I love Computer Animation. I have been experimenting with various Animation software packages since 2004. I have started with 3DS Max (Autodesk) and tried Maya (Autodesk) before I found Blender.

Blender is an open-source 3D Animation program that can be used in virtually any OS. I do have to admit that I started and stopped using Blender two times before picking it up again the third time and not putting it down. The reason for that, Blender is hard to use! The user interface is not terribly easy to navigate, nor is the file browsing/saving structure very user friendly.

Having said that, Blender is VERY powerful for a free program. Just head over to the official Blender Gallery and check out some user made images and videos.

Just this past January, I starting teaching an online Computer Animation course through Infinity: Minnesota's Digital Academy. So far it has presented a lot of unforeseen challenges, but I am working out the bugs and really enjoying it.

Another great feature of Blender is the active community and tons of free online resources. Check out a small sampling of resources that I have found and bookmarked on my Delicious.

I found this old animation that I created two years ago with Blender (that inspired this post) for an example in one of my classes. Enjoy!