Practical Blender courses · Tom McDonald
3D printing in Blender — from model to print
Welcome to BlenderZen. Thomas McDonald teaches practical beginner–intermediate Blender courses here—3D printing, architecture, FreeCAD, Python, car modelling and rigging, and video editing—with enrolment on Udemy through instructor links.
150,000+students on Udemy
7core courses
15+ yrsdesigning in 3D
New course · Python basics
Sort Files by Type with Python
Automate file organising with Python: paths, loops, file types and a safe dry run to sort any messy folder.
A short first Python project from Thomas McDonald. It’s a beginner Python course, not a Blender course. You write a script that sorts a messy folder, like Downloads, into subfolders by file type, using the os and shutil modules, loops, if statements and dictionaries. A dry run comes first, so nothing moves until you’ve checked it. No programming experience needed, and every lecture comes with a downloadable workbook. It’s useful groundwork if you want to start scripting later.
Courses
Start with 3D Printing, or pick your path
Every course is a complete, project-based workflow. Enrolment is on Udemy through my instructor links.
3D Printing from Zero to Hero in Blender
Learn 3D modelling for 3D printing in Blender: FDM, MSLA resin, STL export, slicing, and models you can actually print.
You build real projects end to end (door grip, vase, phone stand, coin, phone case), check them with the 3D-Print Toolbox, and print on filament and resin machines, or send them to a print service.
Architectural Design & Animation in Blender
Model a house in Blender at real-world scale, add Archimesh doors and windows, then animate a walkthrough and a build-sequence reveal.
Interior 3D Modelling & Rendering in Blender
Model and light photorealistic interiors in Blender: PBR materials, stills, animation and 360° views.
Python Scripting for Blender
Learn Python in Blender with real tasks: custom UI panels, bpy, automation, and a CSV data-visualisation project.
Architectural 3D Modeling & Rendering: FreeCAD & Blender
Model in FreeCAD, then clean up and render in Blender and present in Twinmotion.
Model & Rig a Car in Blender for Beginners
Model a car body and wheels, then rig it with drivers and controls for a short drive.
Video Editing in Blender – Beginner to Pro
Edit video in Blender’s Video Sequence Editor: cuts, text, audio, transitions, motion graphics and export.
More courses Unreal, Twinmotion, character rigging and a free intro course
Free tutorials
Latest tutorials
- Make a Car Wheel Spin from One Control with a Driver
Keyframing wheel rotation by hand never quite works. You move the car, guess how far the wheels should turn, andContinue reading “Make a Car Wheel Spin from One Control with a Driver” - Rename 100 Objects at Once with Five Lines of Blender Python
Duplicate a chair 100 times in Blender and the Outliner fills up with names like Chair610x666x1134.001, .002, .003 and onContinue reading “Rename 100 Objects at Once with Five Lines of Blender Python” - Save furniture to a Blender asset library and drop it into any room
Mark as Asset alone doesn’t give you a library. Here’s how to save a chair once in Blender and drag it into any room file, with the setting that stops the Asset Browser looking empty.
Short Blender tutorials, now and then
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