   blender
  hello, i have dabbled in blender for a while as i quite like making 3d models but i have made only very basic items like a car tyre with the tyre treads and stuff like that. but i was wondering should i maybe learn it? i am getting a programming book in a couple of weeks(thanks for all suggestions going with c++ primer plus :D) and was wondering if it would possibly be valuable for  career in game/non-game programming?i was also wondering that if i learned blender could i intergrate those models into games and things like that? Or should i just go ahead and learn openGL and continue to just dabble in blender?   
Quote:Original post by emforcei was also wondering that if i learned blender could i intergrate those models into games and things like that? Or should i just go ahead and learn openGL and continue to just dabble in blender?Blender has a game engine that should work for simple things, and second it isn't and either or position(unless you are talking about doing art or programming.)  If you learn openGL the models have to come from somewhere so blender will still be useful.   ;  3d modeling concepts are the same regardless of what software you're working with: 3DSMax, Maya, XSI, Rhino, Milkshape, Blender, Silo ...you just use different buttons to create the same polygons.  I don't think learning to work in 3d will benefit you all that much in terms of programming, but should certainly help round you out in your skillset, and will provide balance to the fairly left-brain-oriented tasks of programming.Models made in Blender can be exported to almost any format, and can certainly be used in "games and things like that".  Learning openGL will enable you to write the code that lets you render those models, but it won't make them for you.   