Think of it what you will, but Blender is a useful (not to mention free) tool for creating models, backdrops and sprites etc.
There are alot of video tutorials out there but they can be hard to find and vary in quality. I thought I'd post links to tutorials I've found useful...
http://blenderunderground.com/video-tutorials/ - Well structured tutorials that cover the basics. Can't recommend these enough (just ignore the cringe worthy intros and outros).
http://blendernewbies.blogspot.com/ - A strange mix of subjects, but they're generally well covered.
http://www.geneome.net/index.php/blender-tutorials/ - Lots of useful stuff here. Many of these use older versions of blender so, to avoid confusion, they're probably best left until you're familiar with Blender's interface.
http://www.ibiblio.org/bvidtute/ - Most of these are pretty old so again, view these after you've become more familiar with Blender. Some useful stuff here, despite their age.
http://wikivid.com/index.php/Blender - Pretty eclectic mix of videos here with some being more useful than others. This site contains tutorials for many other packages too.
http://www.blenderart.org/ - No videos but there are lots of useful tutorials and .blend files to play with.
Feel free to add any useful articles/tutorials you've found on your travels.
There are alot of video tutorials out there but they can be hard to find and vary in quality. I thought I'd post links to tutorials I've found useful...
http://blenderunderground.com/video-tutorials/ - Well structured tutorials that cover the basics. Can't recommend these enough (just ignore the cringe worthy intros and outros).
http://blendernewbies.blogspot.com/ - A strange mix of subjects, but they're generally well covered.
http://www.geneome.net/index.php/blender-tutorials/ - Lots of useful stuff here. Many of these use older versions of blender so, to avoid confusion, they're probably best left until you're familiar with Blender's interface.
http://www.ibiblio.org/bvidtute/ - Most of these are pretty old so again, view these after you've become more familiar with Blender. Some useful stuff here, despite their age.
http://wikivid.com/index.php/Blender - Pretty eclectic mix of videos here with some being more useful than others. This site contains tutorials for many other packages too.
http://www.blenderart.org/ - No videos but there are lots of useful tutorials and .blend files to play with.
Feel free to add any useful articles/tutorials you've found on your travels.