I've always wanted to be able to do 3D modeling, but the professional tools are too expensive. There is an impressive open-source (free) tool available, Blender, but its learning curve is rather steep. But I've never lost interest, so when my wife and I started talking about remodeling our office, I finally had the spark that allowed me to actually learn and use Blender.
I relied heavily on the plethora of video tutorials available for Blender, and have read through many documentation sites about Blender. There is no way I could have ever figured anything out in Blender without those resources.
But after about a month of using it, I now feel like I'm competent with creating objects and scenes in Blender. I am still no good at animation or lighting, and only barely passable with materials, but I'm really pleased with my first finished product with Blender: a three-dimensional representation of our office (without all the piles of clutter that currently overwhelm the room). I can now reposition furniture, add new furniture, or remove walls, and see what that makes the office look like from any place in the room.
This desktop-picture-sized view of our office includes all the current furniture but has the closet removed.
