5 beginner projects you should try out in Blender

Opening your first project in Blender can be extremely daunting if you’ve never worked on a 3D modeling program before. But as overwhelming as it can be for a beginner, the best way to learn the ins and outs of the software is to start with projects that are fun and tailored to your preferences.

Of course, in the beginning, try to learn the basics before you jump onto projects that require more skill. However, you should also prioritize finding projects that you are passionate about so that it pushes you to keep learning and practicing in Blender.

5 Doughnut

The standard Blender tutorial

Of course, to start this list, we can’t leave out the most basic Blender project that almost everyone starts on, the Blender doughnut. There is no shortage of videos out there that can help you with this design.

If you haven’t created a model in Blender before, then this is where you should start. If you have worked on Blender before but are jumping back in, then you might want to try a variation of this model. Try making it as hyperrealistic as possible, creating multiple different (flavors) of doughnuts, or doing what I did: making the doughnut from The Simpsons.

4 Coffee Cup

Any cutlery or crockery will do

After the doughnut tutorial, most beginners will want to try to make a slightly more complex model. This is where the coffee cup comes in. Most tutorials will use a coffee cup for this project, but if that isn’t your cup of tea, you can do any kind of cutlery or crockery you want.

This beginner project will teach you the basics of combining different meshes and require you to play around with texturing your models. Other variations of this model include making a glass of wine, a cup of tea, a bowl of noodles, or a stack of pancakes on a plate.

3 Pokeballs

Gotta catch them all!

This is quite a niche project that not everyone will want to do. But if you’re one of the millions of Pokémon fans in the world, then this is a perfect project that starts off simple and then gets slightly more complex with each different design.

Creating a regular Poké Ball is a simple project that will take even a beginner only five minutes to complete. Luckily for you, there are 32 different Poké Balls in the anime and games, each with their own unique colors, textures, and design traits. If you don’t like Poké Balls, you can make the dragon balls from Dragon Ball Z or Pal spheres from Palworld.

2 Weapons

Take inspiration from movies, games, or anime

We all have a favorite movie, series, game, or animation that we love watching/playing, and taking inspiration from these can help when starting more intermediate-level blender projects. So, think of your favorite fictional character and try to create a model from the show or game.

Scale this to your current ability on Blender, as it might not be possible to make weapons that have intricate designs this early. But there are so many popular shows and games to choose from that it won’t be difficult to find a simple design you can create on Blender.

For example, you could create different sword types from the Demon Slayer, Captain America’s shield, or Thor’s hammer from Marvel movies. You could also create the ray gun from Call of Duty, a lightsaber used by your favorite Star Wars characters, or even the wands from Harry Potter. (Yes, these are considered weapons as well!).

1 Characters and creatures

Keep it simple to start

Character creation is not an easy feat as a beginner project in Blender, but if you start small, it is entirely possible to do. Of course, we are not discussing trying to create an intricate character or creature model you would see in a modern AAA game.

First, you need to find a simple design that can be completed in a single sitting. Think of characters from a game like Animal Crossing, Super Mario, Crash Bandicoot, Rayman, or earlier generations of Pokémon. Think 2000s Lara Croft rather than 2018’s Tomb Raider. If it still sounds too complex, make characters from Minecraft; even if you don’t play it, it’s just cubes and textures.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew on your first attempt. Start off small and work your way up; by the time you’ve completed a project or two, you will have learned so much about sculpting, modeling, and rigging your designs that it will be much easier to start on more complex creations. If you also have a 3D printer, you can always print your models.

Make it personal!

Creating a generic 3D model you don’t care about is a sure-fire way to give up before your project is complete. Make it personal! Build something in Blender that you actually care about, and make something that you want to get right, no matter how long it takes. This doesn’t mean that you have to do everything by yourself. There are tons of Blender tutorials out there, so just choose the ones that align with your interests, and the entire process will be a lot more fun.

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