3D modeling is a popular art form used by designers to transfer their imagination into digital objects or actions. It can be a character, product, architectural model, or any other creation.
With digital media ruling our lives today, most people prefer immersive, visually appealing content. 3D modeling has become the basis of gaming, engineering, film, augmented/virtual reality, and architecture.
Creators and designers use 3D modeling to achieve different visuals, including animations and graphics, to accomplish tasks and actions. Most are ready-to-use 3D models from different websites for graphic design, video games, 3D printing, and animation projects.
The 3D models come in different categories, including 3D buildings, 3D people, 3D vehicles, 3D household items, 3D weapons, 3D technology, 3D drinks and food, and more. They are made using various techniques and expertise from various software.
With the help of 3D models, content creators can simplify information, making it easy for the audience to understand.
Here are websites with 3D content repositories that you can download for free.
Graphic Design & Virtual Staging Sites
These are websites with realistic 3D models that resemble real-world people, nature, and furniture.
1. Syncronia
Syncronia is a free virtual staging and graphic design website with more than 3,940 models you can download at no cost. This 3D model repository contains quality content produced in collaboration with Autodesk.
Syncronia content comes from kitchen appliances, furniture, and bathroom equipment manufacturers directly. They want to showcase their products by letting their models be accessed freely from Syncronia.
Autodesk promotes Building Information Management (BIM) technology, which facilitates planning. Here you’ll find professional BIM and CAD models for designer furnishings.
2. 3DSky
3DSky has over 90,000 free 3D models in various categories available to download. The models are meant for architectural visualization and virtual staging. Most of them are for photorealistic product renders provided by the original manufacturers.
At 3DSky, you’ll find models in furniture, kitchen, lighting, decoration, and more. There are modern, classic, and ethnic styles you can render in Corona, MentalRay, and Vray.
You also have a variety of materials to choose from: concrete, gypsum, stone, wood, paper, leather, fur, brick, liquid, rattan, plastic, metal, glass, organics, and more.
They come in different textures and colors. If you’re looking for endless possibilities, this is it.
3. Evermotion
Evermotion is a 3D archive full of virtual staging and graphic design model types. The VFX company has more than 415 free models specializing in photorealistic 3D renders. You’ll also access its assets with articles, portfolios, and designer profiles here.
Going deeper into the Evermotion archives, you’ll come across a selection of models for virtual staging, which you can download freely. All of its models are high quality, acquired from a community of expert designers.
4. 3D Warehouse
3D Warehouse is for creators looking for scale, architecture, or product design models. This website hosts all the models created by the renowned 3D modeling tool, SketchUp.
With content creation in high demand, 3D Warehouse has stocked all kinds of 3D pieces for professional use.
SketchUp users are at an advantage because they can import models instantly into their projects. Its integration with SketchUp makes it a rich repository with excellent models to import into your designs.
Available categories include architecture, electronics, animals, interior design, stage and events, film, recreation, art, transport, industrial, and more.
3D Warehouse also has templates that you can upload, share, and unlock numerous design applications. You have to log in with your Google account to access all of its features.
5. CGTrader
CGTrader is another 3D model archive for animation & game assets, virtual staging & graphic design, and 3D printing models.
It has over 260,000 free models available for downloading and a commission system that comes in handy when you can’t find the model you’re looking for. Download formats include MAX, STL, BLEND, MB, MA, FBX, OBJ, 3DS, and C4D.
If you can’t find the exact model you’re looking for, you can commission CGTrader’s designers to get you one. And if you’re a designer, you can share your work or find jobs here.
Available model categories include augmented reality, plants, scanned types, CG textures, space, furniture, virtual reality, animals, military, cars, and more.
6. 3dmili
3dmili is host to over 4,000 models and designs for real-world home furnishings in different textures and categories. It lets you browse through technology, lighting, decoration, interior, furniture, kitchen, and many other categories. You can also browse other people’s posts and submit your own.
Its selection of free models is impressive and focuses on interior design and furniture, with plenty of objects to download. You’ll also access other design resources such as textures and use them in your projects.
3D Printing Sites
These 3D printing model repositories have creative models optimized specifically for 3D printing.
7. YouMagine
YouMagine is a completely free content bank with 19,000+ free models for 3D printing. The repository was first launched in 2015 as a resource for sharing open-source models specifically for community iteration. Right now, it’s based on issue tracking for in-progress 3D models.
YouMagine is built with a unique issues section for GitHub where designers receive feedback in structured ways. Each model here shows derivatives that allow other designers to design newer versions of the same and give credit to the originals.
The site focuses on deeper projects such as the OpenBonics’ Brunel Hand, a printable prosthetic hand for amputees, and other fun models for 3D printing.
8. Thingiverse
Thingiverse was created by MakerBot and is a thriving 3D design community that allows you to discover, create and share things. It has a collection of printable files, and you can share your own designs with the community.
Thingverse has a broad range of makers dedicated to uploading free 3D models in various complexities and categories. It is a popular repository in the 3D printing realm, with more than 5,261,132+ models available to 3D print.
The repository has remixes, random, and customizable models in toys, art, gadgets, games, fashion, tools, and art categories. It’s also home to educational projects and various tutorials and topics for STEM.
9. Instructables
Instructables is a free 3D printing site for downloading free 3D models. This site focuses on large projects in the electronics and programming section. It’s a great community portal for sharing your DIY projects with other users.
It’s also ideal for users skilled in other complementary areas. Instructables offers instructions and tutorials on how to build projects. These tutorials are found on project pages. Designers also take time to answer any questions regarding your projects.
The tutorials at Instructables are quite extensive. Besides that, they also provide guides and online classes for other projects beyond 3D printing and a very helpful, active community.
10. TurboSquid
TurboSquid has royalty-free 3D models for animation & gaming, virtual staging & graphic design, and 3D printing. Its models are mostly used by visual effects studios, creative professionals, advertisers, game developers, architects, news agencies, etc.
This popular marketplace contains quality assets for downloading. It also allows artists to sell their creations.
TurboSquid’s CheckMate feature, its quality control feature, has objective requirements that evaluate each 3D model’s quality in terms of clean UVs, scale, and texture resolution to ensure every buyer receives their money’s worth. It offers indemnification for purchases.
TurboSquid’s repository contains more than 1,043,000 models, some are free while others are paid. They come in different formats, including FBX, C4D, 3DS, OBJ, and more in anatomy, industrial, airplane, technology, furnishing, man, woman, food, and drink categories.
11. Cults
Cults is a marketplace and 3D model repository at the same time. This site has quality downloadable 3D models for printing. If you’re looking for originality and quality, this is the place to look. Since 2014 when Cults was founded, it’s been an independent marketplace run by three people.
It contains more than 19,000 curated 3D model collections and an active marketplace for selling your models. Categories include jewelry, home, tools, architecture, gaming, gadgets, art, fashion, and more.
It also allows you to participate in contests that test your skills. You also get to join the creators’ community to share your projects and look at what other creators are doing. Cults gives you various resources related to 3D printing and modeling. You can read through and learn more about this skill.
Its marketplace connects you with designers skilled in CNC machining, 3D printing, and laser cutting technologies. It highlights their work, giving you the chance to learn more about models such as Lego, IKEA, GoPro, etc.
12. Printables
Printables is a fast-growing repository from Prusa Research. It is host to more than 102,942 free 3D models optimized for printing. It focuses primarily on its community.
At Printables, you can join contests, find important events in the community, and participate in conversations that aren’t exclusive to groups. It allows you to upload pre-sliced G-code to the site.
13. MyMiniFactory
MyMiniFactory is a repository and community managed by iMakr, a large 3D printing and scanning company. It displays over 45,000 free downloadable 3D models. The objects are fully tested and often uploaded by the global community.
MyMiniFactory provides models from different categories, but its major focus is on tabletop gaming figures. The models are made by expert designers and guarantee quality prints through software checks. Before they are published, these files are test printed first.
The site has a subscription service and will allow you to set up your very own store. You can also join contests and win prizes as a 3D modeler. Share ideas here, curate pictures, publish designs, write blog posts, and partner with a museum. The site has a lot of great things you can do for yourself and the community.
14. Free3D
Free3D is a page with over 17,000 free files to choose from. They come in categories like plants, human anatomy, architecture, vehicles, etc., for downloading in OBI, MAX, 3DS, and FBX outputs.
The side has model types in virtual staging & graphic design, 3D printing, and animation & game assets. For a community-driven platform, Free3D has a very clear and structured interface with models neatly organized in categories and subcategories of 3D modelers, rigged, low-poly straightforward, and animated.
The free models are highlighted on the front page.
15. Thangs
On Thangs, you’ll access free animation, graphic design, gaming, and 3D printing model types. Using its sophisticated search engine, you can search for geometric 3D models among the millions available.
Thangs is also a workspace for hosting remote collaboration on invitation-only files and other projects. When working on models, version history and a to-do task list will display on the 3D viewer.
Overall, Thangs is a repository, a 3D model search engine, and a file hosting workspace. It allows you to search its vast library and that of other repositories like Thingverse.
ShareCG is a free 3D model marketplace with 9.800+ quality downloadable files. It has detailed filters that help you choose the model design’s skill level to display the quality you’re looking for. It also offers sections for poser and the 3D rigging program Daz.
The filters make ShareCG easy to navigate. The platform has a wide selection of resources, and you can share your files too. You can also go through art tutorials, books, and videos to deepen your knowledge.
17. RenderHub
RemderHub offers over 67,603 free 3D models for 3D printing. It, however, focuses on Daz content, which is beneficial for users working with 3D rigging software.
Like other repositories for 3D models, this platform has a selection of categories and subcategories to help you navigate faster and find the model you need. It has a forum to answer your questions regarding the 3D design or using 3D models.
18. 3DExport
3DExport lets you sell your 3D models and textures. You can also download free models in over 15 formats, including MAX, OBJ, C4D, STL, Cinema4D, MA, MB, Lightwave, Softimage, FBX, and more. It’s an excellent platform with resources to inspire and educate.
In this marketplace, you can download content in 15 different languages. It is meant for 3D artists, beginners, and professional designers. There are over 10,000 free models to download and approximately 300 community-created tutorials that are free to use.
Download your 3D models in science, art, miniature, furniture, architecture, fashion, tools, gaming, and more. All models are 3D printing ready.
Architecture & Engineering Sites
These are 3D models of parts for engineers and architects to implement into their new buildings and product designs.
19. GrabCAD
GrabCAD is a platform for engineers, manufacturers, and designers looking to scale their additive capabilities in manufacturing production.
Its community library has about a million free models and designs from the engineers, students, and designers using GrabCAD. It’s a nice place to showcase your designs or share them with others on the platform.
Its tutorial section contains case studies, instructional guidance, workbench tools, and useful eBooks to satisfy your needs. The site often hosts design challenges that award winners with great prizes.
GrabCAD’s mission is to help mechanical engineers design excellent products faster. Their free 3D model library is vast, having been created by a community comprising a million-plus engineers. The 3D model types available are for 3D printing, architecture & engineering, and virtual staging & graphic design.
Categories of 3D models available include mechanical engineering, robotics, automotive designs, rendering, cars, and looking for job opportunities.
20. Autodesk Online Gallery
Autodesk Online Gallery is an official site where engineers and designers download and share 3D models, CAD files and models, rendering pictures, and other useful visualization and animation materials.
This is a free platform with 69,070+ models available. The site has no restrictions, so you’ll find designs of different qualities. You can show off your current projects or give others access to your 3D files.
Besides the free 3D models, Autodesk also has files for 3D printing, VR, and engineering projects.
21. Bibliocad
Bibliocad is another architecture & engineering site where you can download various free models. It has a comprehensive library with over 139,048 assets, including BIM blocks and AutoCAD’s CAD. There’s a broad selection of free and priced complex DWG files for architects, engineers, and designers.
Bibliocad offers specialized content that targets architectural projects. Its models are organized in categories making it easy for hobbyists and professionals to navigate. With its free tier, you can download 20 files each day.
Its database is vast, with AutoCAD blocks readily available in DWG, RVT, MAX, SKP, 3DS, and various other formats.
22. PARTcloud
PARTcloud is another free platform for downloading architecture & engineering 3D models. This site offers a comprehensive database of designs, with many CAD catalogs for engineering.
You’ll find most parts in the catalogs, including parts for electrical, BIM & architecture, and mechanical engineering purposes.
The site has a shape search function that helps you determine the model to search with excellent outcomes. All you’ll do is sketch the part you want to find and let PARTcloud present similar pieces geometrically. How exciting!
CadNav is a site with an extensive online 3D models database for CAD/CAE/CAM engineers and CGI graphic designers. It contains more than 50,000 free CAD and 3D models for downloading.
The website provides quality textures, polygonal mesh 3D models, Vray material, 3D CAD solid objects, CAD drawings, 3D works, and more.
24. 3Dfind.it
3Dfind.it has 4,366+ models for architecture and engineering. It’s actually a search engine for BIM and CAD catalogs.
What happens here is that manufacturers will list their catalogs while you, the user, will access them by searching for specific keyword classifications, parametric templates, photos, sketches, functionalities, etc.
The site also provides integrations for Solidworks and FreeCAD to help you search quickly for the part you want and implement it into your design directly. You don’t need to leave your modeling program to do this.
3Dfind.it has a wide variety of CAD integrations and search options to help streamline workflows.
Animation & Game Assets
These sites have free 3D models that help to satisfy the growing need for realistic-looking games and animated works.
25. Sketchfab
Sketchfab is a favorite marketplace where you’ll find user-generated 3D content of very high quality. They emphasize sculpture and character design, but there’s more than everything you need from the Sketchfab database of more than three million free 3Dmodels.
The site has a wealth of designs in its ‘explore’ section, which is easy to navigate. It offers an interactive 3D viewer for each model to simplify your search.
Clearly, Sketchfab is empowering creativity in users by simplifying the process of publishing and finding 3D content online. It has a community of creators with millions of published models for interactive and immersive 3D.
26. ArtStation
ArtStation is a marketplace and repository owned by Epic Games. It’s a popular website with top-quality assets to download for your projects. ArtStation’s database constitutes over 59,521 designs.
Given that this platform is managed by Epic Games, most 3D models here are ready for use in animation or video game assets. The site categorizes applications so you can find the best model for your project.
Artstation is a one-stop shop for game and animation assets. Its community is large, with many things you can do after joining.
Explore the best alternatives to ArtStation here.
27. Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock has millions of royalty-free assets, including customizable 3D models, materials, and lights. All these assets are created by world-class 3D artists, designers, and 3D specialists. You can use them to produce 3D scenes for architecture, gaming, visual effects, design, and so much more.
You can use Adobe Stock assets in all creative projects, including presentations, print ads, and more.
28. Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine is a robust game engine from Epic Games. It comes with a marketplace with plenty of game assets.
Unreal Engine offers upscale search flexibility when looking for the right 3D models. Its search bar is pretty intuitive too. If you’re looking for high-quality 3D models for games and animations, this site will do you justice.
29. Unity Asset Store
Unity Asset Store is a virtual reality environment for the seasonal architect and a tool that every game developer would want to utilize.
It has assets useful for video games and animations. Overall, it is a game engine with over 72,000 3D designs in the database, 2,800 of them are free to download.
In Unity Asset Store, you’ll never run out of assets, scripts, textures, and tutorials. The free assets are high quality since most are created by the platform managers. You’ll find many more things to use in your creations, including audio and VFX.
30. OpenGameArt
OpenGameArt is an excellent forum for game development enthusiasts. It comes equipped with tutorials and message boards to help you find your way.
Its downloads section is loaded with thousands of free assets, including textures, 3D models, sound effects, and music from many different sources.
It is a beginner-friendly site that is education-oriented to help you build your skills. It is meant for that enthusiast looking for 3D models to up their creativity. Its community is very helpful when you have burning questions you seek answers to.
Final Thoughts
3D modeling is an art form that has revolutionized many industries, including the graphics, architecture, film, art, engineering, movie, and medical industries.
Making 3D models freely available for download helps boost creativity in business and projects.
The websites we’ve listed here have vast resources to help you advance your design skills and improve your projects.
Most have free tutorials and learning resources for your benefit. They also have community forums where you can share and exchange designs and acquire more knowledge and inspiration from other artists.
Cassie Riley has a passion for all things marketing and social media. She is a wife, mother, and entrepreneur. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, language, music, writing, and unicorns. Cassie is a lifetime learner, and loves to spend time attending classes, webinars, and summits.