How to Import Non-Blender & Blender Models into a Blender Project

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Easy guide for importing 3D models into Blender
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This wikiHow teaches you how to import and add 3D models and objects from saved files to a Blender project using a computer. You can import a variety of file formats into a Blender project, or import a single object from a blend file.

How to Import 3D Models into Blender

Open Blender and click on the File menu. Select the "Import" option from the menu and choose the file for the 3D model you're using, such as a .dae, .stl, or .obj. Click the Import button to open the file in your Blender window.

Section 1 of 3:

Importing Non-Blender Files

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  1. You can find this button on Blender's menu bar in the upper-left corner. It will open a drop-down menu. [1]
  2. A sub-menu will pop up with a list of the compatible file formats. [2]
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  3. This will open Blender's file navigator and allow you to select the file you want to import. [3]
    • Collada (.dae)
    • Alembic (.abc)
    • FBX (.fbx)
    • Motion Capture (.bvh)
    • Stanford (.ply)
    • Wavefront (.obj)
    • X3D Extensible 3D (.x3d/.wrl)
    • STL (.stl)
    • Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg)
    • glTF 2.0 (.glb/.gltf)
  4. Use Blender's file navigator panel to find your file, and click on its name.
  5. It's the blue button in the lower-right corner of the Blender navigation window. This will instantly import and open the selected file in Blender.
    • If you don't see the object, try to zoom in closely. Sometimes objects are imported really small and need to be enlarged.
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Section 2 of 3:

Importing a Blender File

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  1. This button is located on a menu bar in the upper-left corner. It will open a drop-down menu. [4]
  2. This will open a new menu panel, and allow you to navigate the files on your computer to select the object to import. [5]
    • Alternatively, press ⇧ Shift + F1 on your keyboard. This keyboard shortcut will open the Append menu.
  3. Use the file navigator in the Append window to find your Blender (.blend) file, and click on it to view its components. [6]
  4. It's the blue button in the lower-right corner of the Blender navigation window. This displays a new set of folders that contain the different components of the Blender file or scene.
  5. Most object meshes can be found inside the "Object" folder. The following folders contain the following objects:
    • Armature: This folder contains armatures (bones) used to create animated characters and models.
    • Brushes: This folder contains any custom brushes used in the Blender file.
    • Camera: This folder contains all the cameras used in your Blender scene.
    • Freestylelinestyle: This folder contains line data for the Freestyle engine.
    • Image: This contains any images used in your Blender scene. This includes world images like a sky, as well as diffuse texture images and UV images.
    • Light: This folder contains all lights used in your Blender file.
    • Material: This contains folder materials for objects. Materials control the base color of an object and how light is reflected off the object.
    • Mesh: This folder contains the geometry for the 3D objects in your Blender file.
    • Object: This folder contains 3D objects in your scene. This is where you will go to import most objects.
    • Scene: This folder contains scene data for your Blender file.
    • Texture: This folder contains custom textures applied to objects in your Blender file.
    • World: This folder contains world data for your Blender file.
  6. Click on the object's name in the Append window to select it.
    • You can hold " Shift " or " Ctrl " (" Command " on Mac) and select multiple objects at a time.
  7. It's the blue button in the lower-right corner. This imports the object into your new Blender file. [7]
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Section 3 of 3:

Troubleshooting Common Issues

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  1. Different 3D programs have different default scales. If the imported model is either too small or too large, follow these steps to fix it:
    • Click on the model.
    • Click on the Object Properties panel in the sidebar (which has an icon of an orange square).
    • Adjust the scale under the "Transform" header. To uniformly scale the object, change the Scale X, Y, and Z sliders to the same number. [8]
  2. This is likely a filepath issue, and you can fix it by rerouting where Blender is looking for the model textures. Here's how to fix it:
    • Click the model.
    • Change the viewport shading to Material Preview .
    • Click the Material Properties panel in the sidebar (which has an icon of a red ball).
    • Click the yellow dot next to "Base Color" and choose Image Texture , if it's not already selected.
    • Click Open and choose the texture of the model.
    • Click UV Editing at the top of the screen to edit the UV, if needed. [9]
  3. If you want to lower the number of polygons in the imported model, follow these steps:
    • Click on the model.
    • Open the Modifier Properties tab (which has an icon of a blue wrench).
    • Click Add Modifier and choose Decimate .
    • Adjust the settings in the Decimate modifier to lower the poly count while maintaining the model's integrity.
    • Click the drop-down arrow next to the camera button and click Apply to apply the modifier. [10]
  4. This is likely due to non-manifold geometry. Here's how to fix it:
    • Click the model.
    • Enter Edit mode by pressing Tab ↹ .
    • Select all vertices by pressing the A key.
    • Click Mesh at the top of the screen.
    • Hover Clean Up and choose Merge by Distance .
    • Adjust the merge distance.
    • Click outside the pop-up window to apply the merge. [11]
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    Un-compress your file into a folder and then upload your file into Blender.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/2.93/files/import_export.html
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/i3_bT9rLwtA?t=13
      3. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/2.93/files/import_export.html
      4. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/files/linked_libraries/link_append.html#append
      5. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/files/linked_libraries/link_append.html#append
      6. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/files/linked_libraries/link_append.html#append
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/ldHOfvE52QA?t=85
      8. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/properties_editor.html
      9. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/freestyle/material.html
      1. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/modeling/modifiers/index.html
      2. ↑ https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/2.81/modeling/meshes/editing/vertices.html

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open Blender.
      2. Click the File menu.
      3. Hover over Import .
      4. Select your file type.
      5. Select the file you want to import.
      6. Click Import on the top-right.

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