...but just what is it? I know it's 3d modeling, but is it something a complete novice could learn and eventually become good at? Also, I understand rendering takes a lot of horsepower. Could my 2012 macbook pro handle it?

It's for 3D modeling and rendering, yes, but also scripting. You can create movies and games in it as well as rendered scenes. As for how quickly you would pick it up, that depends on how much computer work you've done before. But the basics of creating forms and rendering them is not too bad through the interface.

I recommend you pick up one of the free ebooks on the program, and a good set of online tutorials. The quickest way to learn (and to have the learning stick) is by doing.

3D modeling is in essence, sculpture, except that you start with nothing, or simple objects and there is no limit to what your imagination can create. It is not however, something you can just pick up and get good at quickly. It takes a lot of time to learn which-ever program you are going to use, Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, all of them have similar user interfaces and tools. On top of that you have to learn about meshes, and objects that you can use in those modeling environments and how to transform them.

Next you would probably want to learn how to put textures on the meshes, at the very least and learn how to put attributes onto those textures to make them appear translucent or shiny, as examples.

You might also want to learn how to animate models, and then there is how to set up scenes so you can control an entire environment with lighting or how to use shaders to make appear like flowing hair, or capes, or ripples of water and effects like fire and smoke.

It will take a lot of dedication to get good at 3d modeling, though it wouldn’t hurt to fiddle around with Blender, just to see if you have an interest in exploring it.

Try CgCookie tutorials for complete beginners: http://cgcookie.com/blender/cgc-courses/blender-basics-introduction-for-beginners/ There are also great tutorials on BlenderGuru, but they target more experienced users.

Another free program you should grab is Sculptris. It's pretty much just for modelling (though you can texture / colour in it too).

http://pixologic.com/sculptris/

I used Blender for my MA Thesis about 10 years ago. The interface is a bit complicated, but I picked up a Blender 2.0 book and set to learning it. With in a week I had a draft animation for my map. With in three weeks I had the final rendered and ready... I still did some tweaking afterward.

Because I wanted to render out multiple views of my map at high res, I used about 3 or 4 lab computers, running for several hours.

It is a great tool for the "money" :) , and really not that difficult once you get the hang of it. You will likely use only a small fraction of the tool anyway.


Final animation: Battle of Guilford Courthouse Final

Test render from the British view point:

British View



--Mike

Adding to what the rest have already said, you can also do video editing and compositing (motion tracking even) inside blender and it even comes with a game engine to be able to test models, it really is a wonderful tool.

The good news is it's free so there is no harm in trying. I will say it's not the easiest modeler to use, nor the one with the most potential. It feels very technical in comparison to most of what else is out there. I once had been able to get a few things done, and have since returned only to find out I can't remember how to do much of anything. A problem I haven't had with others. It's just a little bit different than everything else.

There are a number of skill sets and aspects of 3D content one can get into. Actual modeling, lighting, UV mapping, animation. Question is what is the most appealing? If it's modeling then maybe Sculptris is worth a try.
http://pixologic.com/sculptris/

if it's animation, and rendering then maybe DAZ Studio.
https://www.daz3d.com/get_studio

I can also say that Daz's Carrara is a good starter render program if you can score it for a 150$-200$. Anything more than that and I think Modo would blow it away. Though I haven't tried it, just seen the results.
http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/modo/

Obviously you probably aren't interested in the pay stuff just yet, but now you have a couple of names.

As people have mentioned above me, it's primary function is 3d modeling and rendering. It's also pretty beginner friendly, it's what my school uses to teach animation. If I can offer one piece of advice, when creating a model try to rotate it as little as possible. It's a quirk of the engine, it likes to glitch up if you rotate it a lot.

[Edit: sorry, didn't see the previous replies to your post.]

The one thing I can add to this is that your 2012 MB Pro should be able to work with Blender just fine, assuming you're approaching things as a hobbyist as opposed to wanting to make the next big feature-length CGI Hollywood blockbuster. I use an '09 MP Pro, and it's reasonable for beginner-level noodling around, so a 2012 model should be significantly faster. If you get serious later on, however, invest in a RAM upgrade (if you haven't already maxed it out). 3D work is a serious memory hog.

Blender isn't so intimidating for novices if you just need some quick basic models. I needed to create a few quick models for an OpenGL + Ruby project for school. During the creation a fellow classmate showed me that I could import the model as a series of shape points which allowed me to easily have them re-created in OpenGL.

Yes my avatar is indeed the untextured models made in blender (ran out of time to figure out how to add textures before it was due though it didn't matter as the animation part was the important part of the class)