Learning Blender

[forrestcupp]

I'm trying to learn Blender, because I think that would be a useful skill to use with programming, no matter what platform I want to develop for. But Blender is a pretty complicated piece of software that you can't just figure out on your own if you don't have any experience.

I'm going through the Blender 3D: Noob to Pro (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro#Table_of_Contents) book, and it's pretty amazing. I don't think it's possible to learn everything about Blender in a better way than how they are teaching. It's very detailed from start to finish. I'm pretty grateful for the work people have put into that ebook.

[Sableyes]

One of the best things me and my partner did for leaning our way around Blender was the David Revoy DVD (Sintel creator).

http://www.blender3d.org/e-shop/product_info_n.php?products_id=134

I am told on his own website, the videos are free to watch now. Maybe worth a google too. :)

[thatguruguy]

As it happens, the latest Blender project movie was released today (http://mango.blender.org/production/tears-of-steel-download-watch/).

Rather than pure animation, this one matches live action with rendered, photo-realistic special effects. All rendered on a server farm using Debian and Ubuntu, and workstations running 64-bit Ubuntu.

[smellyman]

Watch Metalx1000 vids on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/metalx1000/videos?sort=dd&query=blender&flow=grid&view=0&page=1

[PaulInBHC]

I have no artistic talent but gave blender a try anyway for adding models to a 3D game that I have.

I got about half way through the tutorial wiki and gave up.

One thing that helped. google for keyboard shortcuts. I found some pictures of keyboards with all the shortcuts laid out in color. I'm too old to memorize them all.

[juancarlospaco]

She says Blender is pretty easy to learn...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-cECK8-w-AnM/T5jz5gzf5cI/AAAAAAAABUE/yk8g1PsR5HE/s800/Screenshot+from+2012-04-26+03%3A31%3A11.jpg

You always start just moving a cube...

[Sableyes]

As it happens, the latest Blender project movie was released today (http://mango.blender.org/production/tears-of-steel-download-watch/).


Ahhh! I thought it was another month yet! Awesome! Been waiting for ages for this one :guitar:

[forrestcupp]

As it happens, the latest Blender project movie was released today (http://mango.blender.org/production/tears-of-steel-download-watch/).

Rather than pure animation, this one matches live action with rendered, photo-realistic special effects. All rendered on a server farm using Debian and Ubuntu, and workstations running 64-bit Ubuntu.Pretty awesome. Do you know if they did the live action video editing in Blender, too?


I have no artistic talent but gave blender a try anyway for adding models to a 3D game that I have.

I got about half way through the tutorial wiki and gave up.

One thing that helped. google for keyboard shortcuts. I found some pictures of keyboards with all the shortcuts laid out in color. I'm too old to memorize them all.Were you using the same tutorial wiki that I linked to? It's pretty huge, so I can see how it would be hard to commit to it.

I've been thinking about googling a reference for the keyboard shortcuts, too. There are a lot of them. I think I could remember the ones that are the most used, but I'm sure there will be times that I'll need something that I don't remember.

[thatguruguy]

Pretty awesome. Do you know if they did the live action video editing in Blender, too?
I'm not sure, but I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't have. There's a lot you can do with the video editor in Blender.


Were you using the same tutorial wiki that I linked to? It's pretty huge, so I can see how it would be hard to commit to it.

I've been thinking about googling a reference for the keyboard shortcuts, too. There are a lot of them. I think I could remember the ones that are the most used, but I'm sure there will be times that I'll need something that I don't remember.
I tend to be a "learn by doing" guy, rather than a "read the entire manual first" kind of guy. Otherwise, all the new information can be overwhelming. As is the case with programming (or anything else, really), I think the best way to learn is to start out with a specific, obtainable project in mind, and then working towards that project and learning what you need along the way. For example, the first project I did with Blender was this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI35Gk2rmps), which was an anniversary present for my wife. Along the way, I picked up a lot of other stuff about Blender that wasn't directly related to what I was doing in that particular project.

[juancarlospaco]

I learned myself alone, with Documentation, not Tutorials,
one common problem that experienced users see on blender noobs is that get stuck on " Tutorialand ",
you may have start using your own style, techniques, and personality,
remember that making a game is just like the most inefficient way of writing a Book,
you are telling a immersive story, with unique characters, with playability and re-play value.

Theres tools to make CAD, Video, augmented reality on Blender.

[forrestcupp]

I think the best way to learn is to start out with a specific, obtainable project in mind, and then working towards that project and learning what you need along the way. For example, the first project I did with Blender was this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI35Gk2rmps), which was an anniversary present for my wife. Along the way, I picked up a lot of other stuff about Blender that wasn't directly related to what I was doing in that particular project.
You created all of the scenery and models in Blender? It's pretty nice looking.

I've got a project in mind, and right now, I'm just going through that wiki to try to get a handle on the basics. It's a pretty good resource.

[thatguruguy]

You created all of the scenery and models in Blender? It's pretty nice looking.

Thanks! Actually, each scene is from an actual photograph. The images were cut up using Gimp and then composited with Blender to make the scenes look 3D. The creek in the scene with the field was animated in Blender to make it look like actual flowing water.


I've got a project in mind, and right now, I'm just going through that wiki to try to get a handle on the basics. It's a pretty good resource.
Agreed. There are also some really good tutorials on youtube, as mentioned previously.