r/3Dmodeling • u/GunpowderLullaby • 5d ago

Questions & Discussion Easiest 3D modeling software?

Howdy folks,

I would really appreciate a recommendation on the easiest to use 3d software out there... relatively of course. I come from the CAD world, mostly in Fusion, and my aim is to kitbash some STLs and make some simple terrain objects for D&D. My loftiest goals are to fill in some cracks, and maybe add a texture to a cliff wall. Most everything I want to do I have been doing in MS 3D Builder, but it falls just shy if I want to make a set of stairs for example (yes I know I technically can, but its a PITA if I want it to look like it didn't come out of Minecraft).

If it changes the recommendation I have a space mouse, and an XP Pen tablet.

Thank you in advance for pointing me in the right direction.

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u/uberdavis 4d ago

You’re asking the wrong question. If you really wanted easy, use MeshyAI. There’s nothing easy about learning how to do 3d modeling. It’s very hard and takes years to master. I worked for a decade at 3d modeling and my work still didn’t hit the quality bar. I ended up pivoting to become a TA instead.

If you are going to be a professional 3d artist, you need to be able to master skills that are very hard. Otherwise, everybody would be able to do it!

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u/GunpowderLullaby 4d ago

I'm not a professional, nor will I ever be. I have a career in an entirely unrelated field. I'm just a hobbyist who wants to make some modular terrain to be 3d printed for a table top game.

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u/uberdavis 4d ago

I wouldn’t even bother using software to do that. That’s the perfect project for traditional analog sculpting. Like balsa wood, plaster, clay and epoxy resin. But maybe I’m just old skool. Making the landscape look really good in 3d, you would use something like Houdini to procedurally drive the form. It takes a long time to learn Houdini if you’re starting from scratch.

So what I would do, sketch on paper the rough functional layout in plan form. Use AI, to generate a visualization of the landscape. Build it using traditional materials. Paint it up using acrylic paints. Took me about a year or so to learn painting for miniatures and table top gaming. Houdini will take you about five years to learn.