LibGuides: Free Apps &amp; Software: 3D Modeling & Animation

Animation and game design software

Autodesk
Did you know that as a student you can obtain a FREE renewable, 1-year license for a variety of Autodesk software? This includes AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, Inventor Professional and Revit. Take advantage of this offer while it lasts!
Unity
This real-time 3D development tool is popular for creating video games and other interactive experiences
GB Studio
free, drag & drop retro game design tool

Tinkercad
(Beginner) Free online editor. One unique feature is the ability to import vector graphics and turn them into 3D objects
Blender
(Advanced) 3D modeling and animation program for Windows and Mac. There are lots of helpful tutorials and examples on the website.
SketchUp Free
(Intermediate) A free, web-based 3D modeling tool that allows users to import SKP, JPG and PNG file types and export as SKP, PNG and STL
Womp
free, user-friendly web-based tool for creating 3D art, using digital sculpting techniques
Meshlab
(Advanced) open-source program for processing 3D models (useful in preparation of files for 3D printing)
Free Autodesk software for students!
Did you know that as a student you can obtain a FREE, renewable 1-year license for a variety of Autodesk software? This includes AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, Inventor Professional and Revit
Substance Share
Free textures for 3D modeling

MonkeyJam
MonkeyJam is a digital pencil test program for Windows (or for Macs running Windows in BootCamp). It is used for creating 2D animations by capturing images from a webcam, camcorder or scanner and assembling them as separate frames into an animation. You can also import images and sound files already on your computer. Although it's primary intended use is to capture images to create cells for traditional animation, it can also be used to capture 3D objects or cut-out images for stop motion style animation or use clay-mation techniques. The finished animation can then be exported as a video file.
Pencil
Pencil is a another free open-source 2D animation drawing program for Macs, Windows and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics.
FrameThief
(Mac only) FrameThief is another camera capture utility for creating animations from captured paper cells or 3D objects - similar to MonkeyJam, but only runs on Macs.

Animation Factory
Animated clipart, templates, backgrounds and video for presentations, websites and video production