Hey Reader,

Zach here,

Today, I’ll start with a free robotic arm rigging tutorial, followed by an animated, solo-made short film. Next, I’ll share a handy 3D Anatomy Reference Tool, and end with a reminder of our ongoing Cubic Worlds Challenge.

Let’s dive in.

​How to Rig a Robotic Arm - with DemNikoArt​

DemNikoArt made a new free rigging tutorial. In it, he explains the ins and outs of a robotic arm setup, which contains all the basic rigging elements you need to understand to make efficient mechanical armatures.

If this looks too advanced for you, or you want to go a bit slower and more in-depth into rigging, our Robotic Planet course for Blender is the way to go.

​"Sen" - Beautiful Animated Short by a Single 3D Artist ​

​This 3D animated short film was not made in Blender, but it was made by a single artist (Maxim Gehricke) as a personal project, which is very impressive.

It has a lot of "Wall-E" vibes, with the small 3D robot as the main character, but the story is quite different and quirky. I can’t shake the feeling that the little robot would get along well with Louis’ Bots on our Robotic Planet. 😉

Making this movie took more than 5 years, and it had many ups and downs. Maxim shares how it developed in this article. If you want to make your own animated short films, it’s a great inspiration and a great opportunity to learn from his mistakes and successes.

​Free 3D Anatomy Reference for Sculpting​

If you’re serious about making 3D characters or 3D sculpting humans or animals, then having good reference is a must. I’ve shared Anatomy for Sculptors links in my Master 3D Sculpting in Blender course, but recently, I’ve found their great online tool for viewing 3D reference models for human and animal anatomy.

These include full-body models with muscles and bone landmarks, as well as detailed body parts (head, hands, feet, etc.). The models are very well structured, specifically aimed at artists to study and learn the shapes.

There is even more content to unlock if you decide on the paid subscription, but even the free content is a huge chunk of high-quality anatomy reference you can view from any angle.

​There’s still time to join the Cubic Worlds Challenge​

Lastly, a friendly reminder of our ongoing Cubic Worlds Challenge. Join the fun and create something unique from just simple cubes.

The deadline is March 5th, 2026 (16:00 CET), so there’s still plenty of time to make something amazing (especially with modeling kept simple and fast so you can focus on what matters most).

You can get some inspiration and see how far cubes can go by watching the results of our previous challenge.
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That’s all from me today. Have a great weekend, and until next time.

~Zach