123D Design is a free 3D design and modeling software developed by Autodesk, it’s part of the 123D family software. 123D Design is available for Windows, Mac and iPad, it’s very suitable for creating simple 3D designs to be 3D printed as it’s capable of exporting the designs as STL.

Learning 123D Design as with TinkerCAD that was covered before is very helpful for tinkerers, hobbyists and even kids as it allows the user to demonstrate their ideas in a visual way and even 3D print it by just dragging and dropping without any complications.

The aim of this post is to present and compare between free online sources that beginners can rely on to learn 123D Design, the sources stated here are full-structured courses that beginners can follow along.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn 123D Design) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Getting Started with 123D Design from Scratch

Autodesk Website

Autodesk Website is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning 123D Design online through video tutorials, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 6 video lessons, each video lesson covers a certain topic in 123D Design, there’s also a link to their YouTube channel.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and the video will start right away.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized and structured for beginners.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover every aspect of the software.

Verdict: This is an excellent outlet for beginners to start learning 123D Design online through video tutorials.

SPO Learning Lab

SPO Learning Lab is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning 123D Design through a text-based training. You don’t have to register to have access to training.

Structure: The training is divided into 3 sections, each section is in a separate web page and there is an “Exercise” section.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just select the section you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the page that covers that section.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.

1. The training is well-structured for beginners.

Cons

1. Doesn’t cover every aspect of the software.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning 123D Design through a text-based tutorial.

Pikes Peak Library Distract YouTube Channel (C3 @ Library 21c)

Pikes Peak Library Distract YouTube Channel is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning 123D Design through video tutorials.

Structure: The training is divided into 12 video lessons, each video lesson covers certain topics in 123D Design.

Interface: Standard YouTube interface.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
3. The training covers most of the topics beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using 123D Design.

Cons

1. The training concentrates on using 123D Design on Windows computers, though that won’t be a big problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning 123D Design through a video tutorial.

Shapeways YouTube Channel

Shapeways YouTube Channel is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning 123D Design through video tutorials. It’s worth noting that Shapeways is an online outlet where anyone can submit 3D designs and sell them as 3D printed products, Shapeways will handle the printing and shipping, the user just submit the design.

Structure: The training is divided into 7 video lessons, each video lesson covers a certain topic in 123D Design. What is unique about this outlet is that it gives the user an introduction about 3D design as a whole.

Interface: Standard YouTube interface.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. As the above outlet, the training concentrates on using 123D Design on a computer and not on a tablet, though that won’t be a big problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is a very good outlet for beginners to start learning 123D Design through a video tutorial.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning 123D Design:

1. Pikes Peak Library Distract YouTube Channel is the best outlet for beginners to start learning 123D Design through a video tutorial.

1. SPO Learning Lab is the best outlet for beginners to start learning 123D Design through a text-based tutorial.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in learning 123D Design.