Why do you use Blender?

[Ace_Dragon]

@SaintHaven

As for the comment about the artist not the tool. That is one of the biggest misconceptions I see people post on the internet. The tool is what limits the artist, just as a car can limit where you can drive and how fast, a software app is what limits the artist. The tool is just as important as the artist, if not more so. The artist is the vision, the tool is what makes it so the artist can accomplish that vision and how far that vision can be pushed.

If you plumb the depths of the forum archives, you will likely run into threads where people used that argument to question such basic features as raytracing (and when I say that, I mean just a basic set of features like reflections, not advanced stuff like GI).

Go ahead and take a good read of these threads if you dare, like those near the bottom of the page here.
http://blenderartists.org/forum/search.php?searchid=55344

And the bottom of page 1 as well as page 2 here.
http://blenderartists.org/forum/search.php?searchid=55347

You should also note that some of these threads were made at a time when the fanboy mentality was a lot higher than it was now, in part because this is back when the Blender feature set at the time was pretty much well behind all of the commercial apps in virtually every possible area.

EDIT: Oh, and if you happen to see posts by a user known as Kansas15, that’s actually me under my initial account (though my behavior went bad at times and got banned for it).

[ElDirector (Chris Tempel)]

I started with Blender in 2001 as a junior in high school. Like many others, I started with it because it is free. I am a filmmaker and use Blender to help augment the footage I shoot for my feature films. I’ve stayed with Blender all these years for a number of reasons. First, it’s cross platform. I have worked on Mac, Linux and Windows, so it’s nice that I always have access to the same 3D software. Second, it is free, so I can put my money towards software that I use daily such as the CS6 Production Premium. The other reason I’ve stuck with Blender is time. I just don’t have the time to learn something new and since I’m an independent studio, why bother trying to fix something that works?

[akajesus]

Truthfully, am a tight arse and trying to do the right thing by using and supporting open source software. Also the last time I used a CGI program was in 2000 and it confused me so I went back to 2D, So with Blender the price is right, it looks very good and some of the examples I’ve seen are great, am just scared of using it now.

[KnightsFan]

Initially, I used it because it was the first link in a “free 3D modelling software” google search. I continued using it because it’s free and doesn’t require oodles of knowledge to make simple scenes (ie the only scenes I can make). Also, the VSE is better than any free video editor I’ve used, and better than a lot of non-free ones. And, in the vein of video editing, it can do chroma keying, masking, motion tracking and a zillion other cool things.