Models & Rigs

Quickly Build Science Related Blender Scenes With the Free CGFigures Scientific Asset Library

Bart ·

A growing collection of CC0 (public domain) licensed assets – from specialized models to useful tools and quick scene setups it’s everything you need to start making beautiful and effective figures.

Dr. Joseph G. Manion has a background in science and engineering, and has been involved in the Blender scientific community since 2018. He started by creating tutorials and has since also created an ever-growing library of scientific assets, which he shares freely with the Blender community. The library currently contains close to 250 assets. It’s easily accessible through Blender’s asset library system and it’s well documented with a large number of video tutorials.

 

For who

CGFigures is for everyone starting out with 3D. It’s for scientists looking for specific resources. It’s for generalists trying to make simple figures.

Library Contents

The library contains the following categories of assets:

  • Biology
  • Geonodes Assets
  • Chemistry Labware
  • Data Visualization
  • Figure Elements
  • Functional 3D Printing
  • Hardware Components
    Material Preview Lighting
  • Modeling Basics
  • Molecules
  • Physics
  • Scientific Shaders

Many assets are configurable geometry nodes, simulation nodes assets are planned (particle effects, growth effects).

Two .blend startup files are also included:

  • Blender Startup File. Adds some useful workspaces, like the asset importer window that’s been optimized for easy access to the asset library, random object colors, and several Eevee related settings.
  • Journal Render Presets – adds several default render sizes for rendering journal covers.

Press: Journal covers (add gallery)

Here are some examples of journal covers that were created using Blender and the CGFigures library. You can find more on the CGFigures website.

How to install:

  • Download the archive
  • Unzip
  • Go to Preferences / File Paths
  • Add the archive directory

Learn how to use specific asset types on their YouTube channel.

Support CGFigures

While the library is offered for free, you can financially support the project by joining their Patreon or by purchasing a licensed version on the Blender Market or Gumroad. All versions (CC0 and licensed) are 100% the same.

Link

Author Bart
I have a LONG history with Blender - I wrote some of the earliest Blender tutorials, worked for Not a Number and helped run the crowdfunding campaign that open sourced Blender (the first one on the internet!). I founded BlenderNation in 2006 and have been editing it every single day since then ;-) I also run the Blender Artists forum and I'm Community Lead at n8n.
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