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Throughout the past century, with every technological marvel, talented and inspired individuals have been able to not only share their creations more easily with the rest of the world, but also broaden their horizons in terms of the mediums through which concepts and feelings are expressed, with some of the most impressive breakthroughs being seen in the three-dimensional realm.

Given the latest accomplishments regarding photo-realistic graphics and the momentum gained by hardware powering virtual reality experiences, those who are eager to try materializing their ideas into the digital environment cannot go wrong with one of the most comprehensive animation and modeling utilities known as Blender.

While daunting at first sight, the user interface can be customized in a way that suits your workflow, thanks in part to its modular yet sleek design that allows you to pop up any sections into external windows and maximize them on multiple monitors to leave the scene area visible on your most color-accurate display while adjusting parameters ranging from Bloom and Ambient Occlusion to Indirect Lighting.

Blender’s greatest strength lies in the variety of use-cases that its feature set can mold itself to. The granularity of its settings coupled with the equally impressive range of functions let anyone willing to take the time to get accustomed to its capabilities to create breathtaking scenery for use in promoting upcoming video games, rendering highly-detailed 3D models of consumer-grade products for advertisements or creating architectural renditions of existing or currently unfinished homes that potential customers can explore through the use of virtual reality headsets.

The inclusion of a comprehensive physics engine also lays the groundwork for full-fledged animated movies whose gravity and object collision simulations can be altered to accurately reproduce all types of environments, depending on your needs. Finally, given its lack of subscription or add-on fees, the freedom it provides to its users led to the creation of a vibrant community filled with useful tutorials and accessible templates that can ease your journey into crafting a project that fits your artistic vision.

Whether you are on the lookout for an alternative to costly rendering programs with complex licensing requirements or you wish to make the jump from the two-dimensional to three-dimensional mediums for your art, Blender’s exhaustive list of features and customization options make it one of the best animation tools on the market for both veteran and inexperienced users.