COVID-Era Blender Portfolio

I started learning Blender during my first Erasmus semester in Portugal. It was not exactly the Erasmus experience I had imagined. Because of COVID, the university was closed for most of the semester, and social life was very limited. I suddenly had a lot of time, but not many places to go or people to meet. So I started looking for a way to use that time properly and teach myself something useful.

I had always liked 3D modeling. As an engineering student, I was already familiar with traditional CAD software, and I appreciated its precision. CAD is excellent when the goal is to design a manufacturable part, define constraints, control dimensions, and build something that behaves like an engineering object. But I was also often frustrated by its limits. Sometimes I wanted to model more freely, make organic shapes, create visual concepts, build scenes, experiment with materials, or simply make something that looked good without every surface having to begin as a sketch and a feature.

That is when I discovered Blender.

For me, Blender opened a completely different way of thinking about 3D. I could sculpt, model, texture, animate, render, rig, light scenes, and prepare models for 3D printing all in one place. Compared to traditional CAD, it felt less rigid and more experimental. I could still use engineering logic, but I was no longer limited to engineering workflows. Blender gave me the freedom to create mechanisms, decorative objects, printable parts, CGI assets, animations, and visual explanations in the same software.

I got really deep into it. At first, I was just following tutorials and experimenting, but very quickly I started making my own models. Since I was already a big fan of 3D printing, many of my first projects were designed with printing in mind. At the same time, I also started learning the CGI side of Blender: materials, UVs, texturing, lighting, basic animation, and eventually rigging. It was a rabbit hole, but a very productive one.

After a few weeks, I uploaded some of my models to platforms like CGTrader, TurboSquid, and Cults3D. I did not expect much. Then my very first Blender model sold. Someone somewhere had found my model, decided it was useful, and paid for it. For a student sitting in a mostly closed Erasmus dorm during COVID, that was a pretty strong motivation boost. I spent the rest of the semester creating models and uploading them as a small side income project.

Looking back, it was a funny kind of business. As a student, I saw potential in it, but in reality the money I made was tiny compared to the time I spent modeling, preparing files, making previews, writing descriptions, and answering messages. I probably would have made more money selling overpriced sandwiches outside the faculty building. But as a learning experience, it was absolutely worth it.

My CGTrader profile still exists under the name Atypical-Engineer. At the time of writing, the profile shows a 4.7/5 rating and around 42.8k model views. Some of the uploaded models also show the direction I moved toward later: mechanical animations, engineering mechanisms, low-poly assets, and educational models. Examples include a cryptocurrency model pack, cam mechanisms, ratchet drives, intermittent motion mechanisms, and other animated engineering concepts.

After Erasmus, I stopped making models only for the purpose of selling them. I still make a sale here and there, and I still upload something very rarely, but I now use Blender more pragmatically: for work, engineering communication, visualization, prototyping, and my own projects. It became less of a side hustle and more of a permanent tool in my engineering toolbox.

I am genuinely grateful that I found Blender during that strange semester. What started as a way to fill empty COVID days became one of the most valuable self-taught skills I have. Blender is still my favorite software to this day.

What people said about my models