Introduction to 3D Modeling (Coursera)

Introduction to 3D Modeling (Coursera)

On this four-week practical course from the University of Michigan, you’ll not only learn how to use the Rhino software to create your 3D models, but you’ll also gain basic design skills to help bring your imagination to life. This course will guide you through 3D modeling within Rhino, so you’ll cover the fundamentals of the software as well as 3D modeling in general. You’ll first look at how to navigate the user interface and the different tools that you’ll be using to create models throughout this course. You’ll familiarize yourself with the 3D space and 3D objects before jumping straight in to create your own objects and building blocks.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Design is a vital part of 3D modeling. You can be a master of the software but if you aren’t aware of fundamental design concepts, you won’t be able to truly unleash your potential. You’ll build your basic design skills by looking at line, shape, form, and space, before creating and editing 2D line forms that you’ll transform into patterned mandalas and 3D tile wall designs.
This course will guide you through the concept of profile modeling and will allow you to utilize 3D surface and 3D solid modeling tools to create and edit more complex designs. To round out your foundational knowledge, you’ll dive into 3D rendering and creating 3D printable models. Then, once you’ve completed each step of the course, you can bring your newfound skills together into one final 3D modeling project.
This course has been designed for anyone interested in 3D design and learning how to use 3D modeling software. You don’t need any previous knowledge or experience to benefit from this course. It will be particularly useful to Architects, Designers, Engineers, or anyone studying in these fields.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
the building blocks
Following an introduction to the fundamentals of the interface, we will be exploring building blocks in 3D space, the Boolean Modeling and figured space.

WEEK 2
2D drawings
Week 2 focuses on compositional design and builds on tools used in week 1. This week primarily revolves around using 2D lines, curves and shapes to understand the concepts of 3D geometries.

WEEK 3
object modeling
In this lesson students will learn to create 3D models of given and found household objects utilizing techniques and tools that explicate the concept of profile modeling, putting into practice learner's geometrical understanding of objects as assemblies, axis, symmetries, and sections.

WEEK 4
surface modeling
This week we learn how to create and edit complex surfaces using various different commands like loft, patch surface, surfaces from 2 or more curves, etc.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Principios esenciales de diseño en Tableau (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Austral

Principios esenciales de diseño en Tableau (Coursera)

En este curso, analizarás y aplicarás principios de diseño esenciales para tus visualizaciones en Tableau. Este curso asume que comprendes las herramientas dentro de Tableau y tienes algún conocimiento de los conceptos fundamentales de visualización de datos. Definirás y examinarás las similitudes y diferencias del análisis exploratorio y estudio, así como comenzarás a hacerte las preguntas correctas sobre lo que se necesita en una visualización.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
BIM Application for Engineers (Coursera) Coursera
National Taiwan University

BIM Application for Engineers (Coursera)

In order to effectively reach the goal of learning, students will get familiar with the model-building process. The second module of the course will be on how to use Autodesk Revit to build BIM models. We will use an example case and guide students to build a 6-story BIM model from the CAD drawings step by step.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Healthy Urban systems Part 2 : Theories, models and tools (Coursera) Coursera
University of Lausanne

Healthy Urban systems Part 2 : Theories, models and tools (Coursera)

This MOOC is the second part (out of three parts) of the whole MOOC on Healthy Urban Systems. These PART II is very recommended (but not obliged) to take after the PART I and before the PART III. Once you understood the main concepts and visions of Urban Health, and the best practices of observation in PART I, you are ready to think about theories and to practice models for this PART II.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks
Calculus through Data & Modeling: Differentiation Rules (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Calculus through Data & Modeling: Differentiation Rules (Coursera)

Calculus through Data & Modeling: Differentiation Rules continues the study of differentiable calculus by developing new rules for finding derivatives without having to use the limit definition directly. These differentiation rules will enable the calculation of rates of change with relative ease the derivatives of polynomials, rational functions, algebraic functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, and trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Learning Experience Design: Orientation to the Profession (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Learning Experience Design: Orientation to the Profession (Coursera)

In Orientation to the Profession, you’ll be introduced to the “big ideas” of LXD. Begin with the essential aspects of the design process, from ideation to evaluation. During this section, you’ll also take a brief look at learning theories and design frameworks that help LXDs move from an initial concept to a completed course.

Sep 7th 2026
4 Weeks
Advanced Modeling for Discrete Optimization (Coursera) Coursera
University of Melbourne,The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Advanced Modeling for Discrete Optimization (Coursera)

Optimization is a common form of decision making, and is ubiquitous in our society. Its applications range from solving Sudoku puzzles to arranging seating in a wedding banquet. The same technology can schedule planes and their crews, coordinate the production of steel, and organize the transportation of iron ore from the mines to the ports. Good decisions in manpower and material resources management also allow corporations to improve profit by millions of dollars.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Digitalisation in Aeronautics (Coursera) Coursera
Technische Universität München - TUM

Digitalisation in Aeronautics (Coursera)

The instructors of the online course "Digitalisation in Aeronautics" present a spectrum of different aviation research and application areas, exploring the impact of digitalisation in this specific field, including the effects of digitalisation in simulating the interaction of aircraft components, in overall aircraft development and related decision-making and in the communication channels used within aircraft. A broad and varied range of applications and digital solutions are explored in detail in the individual modules of this course.

Sep 7th 2026
4 Weeks
Open Design (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Open Design (Coursera)

What is design? How is it a deeply human endeavor? How can we design better products, services, and experiences in our communities? If you’re interested in helping create a more equitable and accessible world, this Center for Computational Thinking module on Open Design is for you.

Sep 14th 2026
1 Week
Learning Experience Design: Development and Evaluation (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Learning Experience Design: Development and Evaluation (Coursera)

Development and Evaluation allows you to build on your knowledge of how people learn and use your understanding of learning design frameworks to bring your own learning designs to life! As you conceptualize assessment as a communication tool, you’ll consider the role of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments. Look at different assessment formats and how learners can use them to show what they know.

Sep 7th 2026
4 Weeks
Create video, audio and infographics for online learning (Coursera) Coursera
Macquarie University

Create video, audio and infographics for online learning (Coursera)

Multimodal texts make learning interesting. Video, podcasts and infographics not only have the capability to excite and engage, but to reach a broader demography of learners who don’t thrive on verbal language knowledge acquisition and exchange alone. Multimodal texts provide a variety of ways in which to communicate and provide information to learners, as well as meet the needs of different learners’ preferences.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Quantitative Formal Modeling and Worst-Case Performance Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Quantitative Formal Modeling and Worst-Case Performance Analysis (Coursera)

Welcome to Quantitative Formal Modeling and Worst-Case Performance Analysis. In this course, you will learn about modeling and solving performance problems in a fashion popular in theoretical computer science, and generally train your abstract thinking skills. After finishing this course, you have learned to think about the behavior of systems in terms of token production and consumption, and you are able to formalize this thinking mathematically in terms of prefix orders and counting functions. You have learned about Petri-nets, about timing, and about scheduling of token consumption/production systems, and for the special class of Petri-nets known as single-rate dataflow graphs, you will know how to perform a worst-case analysis of basic performance metrics, like throughput, latency and buffering.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks