Modo is a 3D modeling, rendering, sculpting, texturing, painting and animation software, it’s available for most platforms (Windows, Linux and Mac).

Modo is widely respected and used in the games development, TV and movies industry. It was used in the creation of many games like; Borderlands 2, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Test Drive Unlimited 2. Modo was also used in the creation of many movies like; Resident Evil: Retribution and District 9. Some companies even use Modo in their product design process.

Learning Modo is an asset for any computer graphics designer working or willing to work in the games development, TV and movie industry. This post is a road map for anyone willing to start learning Modo online for free from scratch, the post will present and compare between the best online sources where beginners can start from and follow along, the sources stated in this post are full structured courses so you won’t find a link to a single video or a group of unrelated tutorials.

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

Start Learning Modo for Free from Scratch

The Foundry

The Foundry is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning Modo through video tutorials, you don’t heed to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 3 main sections, each section is divided into lessons (36 in total), each lesson covers certain topics in Modo. it’s recommended to start with the section entitled “An Introduction to Modo”, then the section entitled “Modo Basics” and finally the section entitled “Getting Started with Modo”.

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

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured for beginners.
3. The training material and assets are free to download, that makes it very easy for beginners to follow along.

Cons 

1. The training isn’t well organized, and some of the topics are even duplicated through the training.

Verdict: This’s the best place for beginners to start learning Modo for free through video tutorials.

Steam Community

Steam Community is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Modo through video tutorials, as the above outlet you don’t need to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 12 lessons (video tutorials) each video tutorial/lesson covers a certain topic in Modo. it’s worth noting that this training covers the Modo Steam edition which is a special version of Modo with some missing features (lite version of the fully featured Modo software).

Interface: The interface is simple, just click on the video tutorial you’re interested in and the video will start right away.     Now, the pros and cons:

Pros   

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

Cons 

1. The training only covers the Modo Steam edition.

Verdict: This’s an excellent outlet to start learning Modo through video tutorials, specially for indie developers who’re interested in the Modo Steam edition only.

Modopedia

Modopedia is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Modo through video tutorials, as the above outlets you don’t need to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 9 sections, each section covers a certain subject/feature in Modo (interface, modeling, sculpting, texturing, UV mapping, rigging, animation, rendering, projects). Each of the sections is divided into lessons “video lessons” that cover that Modo feature/subject.

Interface: The interface is quite simple, just select the subject you’re interested in from the top menu and then the lesson from the list of lessons.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros 

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

Cons 

1. This outlet only groups and organizes links to various YouTube channels, so the  user experience for beginners isn’t consistent and it’s not easy for beginners to follow along.

Verdict: This’s a good source for beginners (who don’t mind the inconsistent experience) to start learning Modo through video tutorials.

3D Tutorials

3D Tutorials is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Modo through video tutorials, as the above sources you don’t need to register in order to have access to the training.

Structure: There’s no real structure or organization for the training. The training is divide into 71 video tutorials, these tutorials cover many topics in Modo.

Interface: Click on the lesson you’re interested in and the video will start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros 

1. Free.
2. The training covers the topics beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using Modo.

Cons 

1. There’s no structure for the course.
2. There’s no way by which the training could be organized to make it helpful for beginners, though it’s worth noting that if you hover over Modo in the left hand side menu a sub-menu will appear that has the topics covered (e.g. animation, modelling, etc.), but that’s won’t be anough for beginners.

Verdict: Though this outlet covers most of the topics in Modo in depth; but the lack of structure and organization makes it not suitable for beginners, but again its an asset for any Modo user.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning Modo for free

1. The Foundry is the best place for beginners to start learning Modo online for free, from scratch.

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 Modo.