30 free 3D models

[Rss Bot 1]

Anyone who practises 3D art knows it can be an incredibly time-consuming process, so help in the form of free textures and ready-made, free 3D models is always welcome. In recent years, a large number of websites have appeared offering just that and, while you have to pay for the majority of them, there are many free 3D models online too. You just have to know where to look.

Here, we've scoured the web for resources and found a selection of free 3D models, which will hopefully save you time on your next project. Enjoy.

01. Bugatti Chiron

This 3D model's probably a lot less hassle to own than a real Chiron, anyway

The chances of you ever actually owning a Bugatti Chiron - or even a second-hand Veyron - may be pretty slim, but if you feel the need to validate your existence by being seen near one, here's your best bet. 

Download this excellent recreation, built in Blender by Kimz Auto, render it up and paste yourself in next to it, and Bob's your midlife crisis-afflicted uncle.

02. Octopus Tentacle

You'd be a sucker not to download this model

You might, quite reasonably, be asking why anyone would want a high end, photorealistic 3D model of a single octopus tentacle. Look at it, though. It's a beautifully detailed piece of work by Tornado Studio. 

And you never know when you might need one; maybe as a finishing touch for a plate of seafood, a pirate ship under attack by a sea monster, or perhaps to help out if you accidentally download a 3D model of an octopus that for some reason doesn't have any tentacles.

03. Lego Pirate

Grab this nine-part Lego pirate model for free over on Turbosquid

Speaking of pirates, why put up with a boring model of a pirate when you could instead have this swanky nine-part Lego pirate? It's the work of 3dlegobricks on TurboSquid, who has a range of great Lego-based models available to buy, with a few free ones like this for good measure. 

You can modify all of the colours easily, and the model comes in .obj, .dxf and .3ds formats.

04. Toilet

This model toilet is guaranteed to enhance your bathroom interior renders

Or to give it its full title, Toilet-Lavatory-Loo, which covers most of the taxonomic bases. Created by Ieve Lickiene from Lithuania, this is a 12-part model toilet that's guaranteed to enhance your bathroom interior renders. It comes in 3ds Max and V-Ray flavours, and it's free for non-commercial use only. Thankfully, Lickiene hasn't left the seat up on all models.

05. Ramirez classic guitar

This detailed classical guitar looks worthy of a quick strum

It's easy enough to find any number of ropey electric guitar models online, but if your tastes don't run to Flying Vs and knock-off Strats, this glorious acoustic model, based on a Ramirez classical guitar, ought to do nicely. It comes in obj, 3ds and blend format, and even has its own stand.

06. Dalek

It's a 2005 model Dalek so yes, it can go up stairs

Sharp-eyed Doctor Who fans will have instantly noted that this high-poly model for 3ds Max and V-Ray is a 2005 Dalek rather than one of the classic models from the original series. It's a good vintage, we reckon; much better than 2010's brightly-coloured New Paradigm models, and plenty threatening.

07. Rigged hand

This rigged, boned and muscled hand is ready to pose however you want it

Hands tend to look okay until you try to manipulate them, when their deficiencies start to show up. This shouldn't be a problem with this model for Maya; it's fully rigged so that you can pose it just like a real hand, and it even comes with its own muscle system to help you pose it realistically.

08. Animal collection

These low-poly animals are perfect for use in real-time environments

Available in every major 3D file format, this low-poly wild animals pack is perfect for use in a variety of real-time environments, such as a mobile games and apps. The pack includes a deer, bear, wolf and boar, with the geometry on all optimised for animation.

09. Male base mesh

This base mesh serves as a great starting point for you to create your own male characters

Humans are one of the hardest subjects to recreate in 3D, so save yourself some time with this male base mesh, which acts as a great start for sculpting and designing your own male characters. Available as an .obj file, this download is free for personal use only.

10. Goldfish

Bring your underwater scenes to life with this free goldfish model

Bring your underwater scenes to life with this free goldfish model from Turbosquid user Heidycurbelo. Available in .max and .3ds formats, this asset includes all textures and materials and should be used in accordance with Turbosquid's royalty free license.

Next page: more great free 3D models...

11. UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter

Download this cool UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter totally free

Free3D, formally TF3DM, offers thousands of 3D models that you can download for free. And this cool UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter by 3dregenerator is one of them. The four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter is available in .3ds, .obj, .mb, .lwo and .max formats and free for personal use only.

12. BB-8

Isn't he adorable? BB-8 here is ready rigged for animation

Everyone's favourite droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been recreated and made available for free from Free3D. This BB-8 model by Steve Lalonde is rigged two different ways for animation purposes and comes complete with high quality textures, and it's available on .obj, .max and .fbx formats.

13. Wine glasses

Save yourself lots of time by downloading these free 3D wine glass models

Creating realistic looking glass in 3D is both tricky and time-consuming. Here, 3D artist Mihai Panait has done the hard work for you, creating a set of various-shaped wine glasses. Available in .max, .obj and .3ds formats, the models are offered for use under a standard royalty-free license.

14. Henry and Caroline

Henry and Caroline are built with animation in mind, with plenty of controls

Created by students at Cogswell College in San Jose, this pair of adorable characters – named after the college's founder and his wife – are fully rigged for animation and designed to be both simple to use and extremely versatile. They're part of Project Avatarah, an ongoing programme to create an assortment of 3D characters for free download. It also includes a dragon because, why not.

15. Glasses

Want your characters to rock the Harry Potter look? Grab this free glasses download from Turbosquid

Not wine glasses this time, but spectacle-type glasses. Creating a convincing-looking pair of glasses in 3D is no easy task, but some interesting accessories like these can add personality to your characters. So, if you fancy completing your character with the Harry Potter look, save yourself some time and hassle and grab this free glasses download instead. Note: only for use in 3ds Max.

16. Animator Starter Pack

Get all the urban detail you need with this heavyweight starter pack

If downloading a load of 3D models one by one is a bit of an effort then this should be welcome: it's a free pack of 90 models by Shaun Keenan, a freelance rigging, modelling and texture artist. It's packed with handy resources for creating a city scene including cars, buildings, houses, fire hydrants and other miscellaneous items.

17. NASA space shuttle

Create your own space adventure with Nasa's extensive range of free 3D models

For everything space related, head over to the NASA website where you'll find an extensive library of free 3D models like this shuttle. There's astronauts, lunar modules, satellites and more. Most models are in the common .3ds format but there are also .lwo, .fbx, or .obj formats available in some cases. Usage guidelines apply.

18. House

Find this free cool house model at ShareCG.com

This cool house is offered by ShareCG, the site that hosts the web's largest collection of free computer graphics resources including thousands of free 3D CG Models. The house is offered as an untextured .obj file but the download includes separate material files for easy texturing. Note: registration to the site is required to download models.

19. Plants

Download over 100 free plant and tree models courtesy of vegetation generator application Xfrog

Help yourself to 130 free plant and tree models from Xfrog, the vegetation-generation application. Choose from a list of 30 species, then click the 'Try before you buy' button for a free model. Download formats include .obj as well as files for use in Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Vue, Terragen 2, modo and Lighwave.

20. Cinema 4D model pack

Find all of these models in this brilliant free pack from the guys at Greyscalegorilla

This brilliant collection of free Cinema 4D models from the Greyscalegorilla community are copyright free and ready to be used in your project. The pack includes everything from a VW camper to a Lego man from various 3D artists, including Rob Redman of Pariah Studios. There is also an accompanying demo video and details on how to install the pack.

Next page: even more great free 3D models...

21. Lamp

Download this free wall lamp to use in any 3D interior project

Not the most exciting of models, we know, but one of those items that will always come in handy. This wall lamp is provided by online store 3D Export, where you can buy and sell models, as well as find a library of other useful free items. This lamp, offered as a .obj file, was created using 3ds Max 2010 and rendered in V-Ray 1.5.

22. Truck

Visit TurboSquid for all your 3D model needs

Digital media supply company Turbosquid has literally thousands of 3D models available to purchase. But they also offer a percentage of them absolutely free of charge, although you do have to register with the site to take advantage of this service. This brilliant truck model comes in available in .c4d, .xml, .fbx, .ma, .mb and .obj formats. Photoshop textures are also available for this model. Available on a standard royalty-free license.

23. Robot

Download this cool robot character free of charge at Free3D

This cool character is available at 3D asset supplier Free3D. There site has a huge selection of products, organised into categories, with everything from furniture and plants to food and animals. One of our favourites is this little robot model, which is available as a .obj file.

24. T-Rex

Create your own version of Jurassic Park with this awesome, free T-Rex model

This awesome model is another from digital media supply company Turbosquid. Registration is required to download and it should be noted that this asset is only available for versions of Lightwave 7.5 and above (formats .lwo, .lw and .lws).

25. Mini Cooper

Download this cool Mini model for free from 3D digital art site Oyonale

Oyonale is a site about computer graphics and digital art and has a section dedicated to free 3D models. Included in this section is this brilliant Mini model, which is available either in .obj format or .c4d, the latter of which includes textures and UV templates.

26. Female head

This female head model offered by Turbosquid provides a great start for any character or sculpting work

From the over 300 free models offered by Turbosquid, included is this female head, which acts a great starting point for any 3D character or sculpting work. Available as a .max file, the site also has a male head available for sale.

27. Tricycle

Check out Flying Architecture to download this cool tricycle and many more free 3D assets

This gorgeous little retro tricycle was created by 3D artist Ivan Málek, who then shared it on Flying Architecture - a CG site that provides 3D models, materials and textures. This particular model is available for use with Rhino and Modo and there is also a .obj file for download.

28. Eames chair

Add a bit of designer class to your 3D project with this cool Eames chair courtesy of Rob Redman

Add a bit of designer class to your 3D creations with this iconic Eames chair, courtesy of Pariah Studios. Founder Rob Redman has generously offered this iconic post-war chair free of charge. File formats available are .3ds, .c4d and .fbx. Textures are also included.

29. The Other Nefertiti

This Nefertiti was scanned on the sly and released for free. Fight the power!

The famous ancient Egyptian bust of Queen Nefertiti is the subject of an ongoing ownership dispute between Germany and Egypt, and is on display in Berlin's Neues Museum where photography of it is prohibited.

But now it's available as 'The Other Nefertiti', a 3D-printed reproduction of the bust for display in Cairo, under a Creative Commons licence. It's free for download as 100MB torrent containing a super-detailed .stl file, or as a 20MB .obj file that you can download directly.

30. PixelLab

Joren Kandel has a vast collection of 3D models available to download for free

3D artist Joren Kandel runs PixelLab, a blog focused on motion graphics. Having worked in the industry for nine years now, he's built up a large collection of 3D assets, many of which he generously offers as a free download.

All you need to do is sign up to his newsletter and wait for an invitation to access his 3D model freebies, in which you'll find everything from Christmas decorations and digital camera lenses to robots and architecture.

Related articles:

• The 10 biggest 3D movies of 2017
• 30 inspiring examples of 3D art
• 37 brilliant Blender tutorials

View the full article