Admittedly I kinda skimmed the article ( aka I went straight to his negative comments ).
For all the man’s “superficial” rage on blender I hate to say that he’s absolutely right about a few things when you look at it from an outside perspective.
Ctrl+C ctrl+v not being copy/paste while almost every program known to man uses that universal shortcut is one of those amazingly strange things.
Right mouse button for selecting is another one of those oddballs.
There is a fine balance between making a program user friendly , and keeping it in line with other software.
Blender is somewhere in an alternate reality when it comes to that. An alternate reality I’m becoming fond of to be honest.
We all have enough arguments to throw at the guy that’ll defend blender and this and that. I just hope people don’t adapt his opinion without giving blender a try.
Maybe blender’s next release splash image should be this one:
The example he gave in the article wasn’t all that convincing though. I highly doubt you could model the dragon in Sintel twice as fast in another program. Just around that point I got the impression that perhaps he wasn’t that much of modeller and was perhaps having unfounded fantasies that it would be quicker in another app. The speed is not in the app its in the modeller, want to be a quick max, maya, lightwave modeller than learn you program inside out.
But who would you measure if modelling in one app would be quicker than another. I have an idea but I couldn’t be arsed to do it. Most modelling tools are equivalent across most apps. It would be really interesting to see for example how many steps it takes to excute things like extrusions, loop cuts, knife cuts, bevels, etc in all the apps.
I feel the original author has some valid points: There is no reason that Blender should stray from the UI conventions that 99.9% of all other software adhere to. Case in point: Selecting with the left mouse button, context sensitive menus with the right button. Window menus on top of windows. Ctr-A -> Select all. Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V -> Copy/paste. It’s understandable that Blender started out with different convenstions in ye olden days, but when everybody else (!) has agreed on some few standard UI conventions, it simply does not make sense to use something else. I feel the transition from 2.49 to 2.5 was a golden opportunity to adjust to modern times, albeit one that the BI missed.
Most professionals use more than one program, and having to reset your motorics from Photoshop and virtually all other programs on Earth when using Blender, simply is counterproductive, no matter that you can tweak some keyboard shortcuts a.s.o.
As a matter of fact it was quite a bad example, as both Sintel and ToS hardly weren’t a contest for the fastest modeller, but rather a trailrun to improve Blender.
And true, in the end it’s the artist who makes the speed, if one’s stumbling around like a headless chicken, or cutting a trench in the landscape like the Roadrunner.
However fast Blender is once you mastered it though, before you’re able to learn to walk or run, Blender breaks your legs to make it harder…
Once you know all the hotkeys by heart and got friendly with Blenders way of being special, you’re fast.
If you put someone having used any CG package in front of Blender and another CG package, I’d bet by the time he’s found out how to select and edit stuff in Blender, he’s done something already in the other package because it’s not that inaccessable and different.
And that hurdle is scaring people away from Blender and instead of trying to get people on board it seems it’s the “you need to pass 3 challenges to enter the castle” attitude
I would like to point out something though. He mentions CTRL C as a duplication operation. This is wrong. No 3D app I’ve used uses CTRL C for duplication. Thats usually the copy command (he does acknowledge its a copy function).
In Max duplication is SHIFT + transform the object you get a dialogue for full copy or instance.
In Maya duplication is CTRL D and instancing is edit->Duplicate special (I think, could be wrong about that one)
Blender is CTRL D and ALT D for instancing
After Effects (which he mentions, if I recall) is CTRL D
Claiming CTRL C is a standard for duplication, is a misunderstanding of the tool. CTRL C copies a value. It works the same in Maya, max and blender. Highlight a value in a field copy it, and paste it somewhere else. Duplication is a different operation.
(then theres some crazy ones, isn’t photoshop alt j or something??)
And yes the example he cites regarding the speed at which modeling can be accomplished is extremely flawed.
@Klutz
As far as mouse buttons go though, I agree the RMB default for selection is just confusing, but I don’t think the idea of adding context sensitive menus (at least in viewport) with right click is a good or even possible idea. If you did that how would you handle the 3D cursor? It’s quite an important concept in blender. Yes it confuses many new users, but it’s central to many operations and workflows in blender.
Although Blender’s UI takes things way off into left field, once I’ve worked with it long enough, I start to understand WHY it’s that way… with some things, at least. If I spend enough time with Blender, maybe I’ll eventually understand why all the design/UI choices were made.
Of course, if there was an introductory article somewhere that explained not just the how but the why…
I still wonder what kind of problem people have with Blenders UI and than praise MAX in the same post… I mean being able to model completely without the sidepanels with default keyboard layout with just using hotkeys can hardly be called “bad”. Sure there are quite a lot things MAX has over Blender ( a lot being third party plugins anyway) especially with regards to renderers and baking but a sane UI layout and workflow method definitely NOT
As it was an inhouse tool they did what ever the fcuk they wanted. The shortcuts they put in at that time ,because maybe only a hand full of people had to use the program and it wasn’t a necessity to come up with a nice layout for the masses, still dominate it today.
Also at that time inspirational programs looked like this. As you can see the cursor played a much bigger role at that time, and my guess is the shortcut for setting the cursor was LMB.
Just noticed…
I am curious, have you worked for NaN?
As Blender was GPL’d in 2002 and an inhouse tool before…
It still is the button to set the cursor… after 23 years… and people still wonder
And well, Traces was made in 1989 by Ton.
Blender was developed by NaN from 1998 on, still looking like Traces, and the competition there was stuff like 3ds max 2.5 already.
I know it’s easier said than done, but instead of “just” trying to stay up to date with the tech, thought should have spend on improving usability, which took up to 2.5 to even get it started…
Traces looks awfully familiar to anyone using Blender before 2.5.
I just wonder why the evolution of software usability was ignored, and why Blender had to be different.
It wouldn’t have been hard to drop the selection method and just go with the flow of the vast majority of software.
And it is a fact, the most criticized point common in every review,test or comparison out there is, Blenders entry level and that the UI lacks - and I doubt it’s just diffuse hate and/or flaming.
Yeh, once you learned Blender… well you get used to it, and you’re fast, but it doesn’t mean it’s good as it is and that everyone always has to make excuses for it.
One question: How does Max handle selection and operation? For example if you left-click on an object to select it, which input do you use for the operation? Also left-click?
A common in most programs I use is to have a special tool for selection, for example a button denoting a cursor. So after an operation, you move your mouse to the tool shelf, select the “selection tool”, go back to you work and select something, then you go back to the tool shelf, select the operation you want to do, move your mouse back to the workplace, do the operation and so forth. It’s tedicious. Blender’s philosophy of seperating selection from operation using the mouse buttons is so much faster. Drawback: You don’t have the right mouse button for menues…
For me, there is one extremely important reason that I’ve stuck with learning blender - the community. In particular, the wealth of FREE tutorials. David Ward, Johnathan Williamson, Andrew Price, Sabastian Koenig, Gottfried Hofmann (oh hi there ;), Ben Simmonds, blender nerd, 3d tuts and SO many others. Many of these folks will take time to answer questions via email from little peons like me and share their wealth of knowledge. Not to mention the fact that the open movies make all of their files available for anyone to use as well as all the commentary and tutorials on how they did stuff. How kickass is that?
I think it feels like a real community. The generosity of these folks have made me also give back to the community by making tutorials on fairly simple stuff for beginners to learn Blender.
Now granted, I haven’t looked carefully at what is available for max and maya, but from what I’ve seen it’s mostly pay to play. The stuff at gnomon is amazing. So many other sites have amazing tutorials. But for the love of god they are expensive.
For a hobbist, there are so many high quality FREE resources for learning blender that I can get the software (free) and learn it (free) with the only cost being my time investment. That is what attracted me and kept me.
I’d also like to mention that I’ve spent time learning zbrush and it is ridiculous how counter-intuitive the interface is. From what I’ve read, it’s because the function of the program was originally one thing and then morphed into something else. But no one can deny the power of zbrush and it’s impact on commercial studios. Damning an interface alone is not enough to damn the whole software package.
But I agree (as most people do) that Blender’s interface needs serious work. On the other hand, since it’s the only 3d program I’ve worked with an I’m now quite comfortable with it, I really like it and would be sad to see it changed
Changing the selection to LMB was the first thing I did when I started with Blender. Selecting with RMB is awfully strange, yes, but at the same time Blender is not a program for little girls, but for people with specific ((semi)professional) needs - and it should be expected from them to be able to get into the preferences and set up the UI behavior they want. Pointing out this as a problem is nitpicking. It would be a problem only if there was no way to change the behavior.
You must get used to Blender UI and then everything starts to make sense and feel right. And this is not something that should be specifically pointed out (with a negative or positive connotation) - because the same way you need to get used to every other UI of every other program, when you first start with it.
I prefer Blender UI look & workflow over anything that has:
1.) Hundreds of (similar) icons all over the place
2.) Huge menus, with sub-menus, with sub-menus…
3.) Specific “tools” that need to be individually selected and are visualized through graphical clutter (called also “manipulators” :D) to do the most basic things, like moving objects or scaling them
4.) Intrusive pop-ups that are thrown at you at every occasion
Can’t agree more! I first came to Blender because it was, and still is, free. And it didn’t have restricted licenses or a trimmed-down “Lite” version like so many other programs I’d tried previously. It was the whole deal - and this was back in the 2.47 days, four and a half years ago.
Two things kept me going, however, one of which lead me away from “It’s free, therefore it’s awesome” mentality. First thing that kept me going was finding the old Wikibook tutorials, and discovering the world of modelling. Still stuck in it today, as a matter of fact If I hadn’t found those I’d probably still be trying to figure everything out on my own, and would have long-since abandoned… I think.
The other, bigger change was finding both BlenderArtists and BlenderCookie. BlenderCookie alone (especially Jonathan’s tutorials) blasted me forward into a whole other phase of learning, where my projects started to make more sense and be of better quality. Still nothing compared to my Audi, but it was a big change.
BlenderArtists, on the other hand, introduced me to you guys, and lead me away from the “free = awesome” mindset. This “small”, tightly-knit community that, even when we’re heatedly arguing amongst ourselves, is one of the most awesome communities I’ve seen yet To be able to chat with other Blenderheads is, just on it’s own, an amazing thing to be able to do. And then you have the development threads, where great ideas are just bouncing off the walls there’s so many of them, and everybody gets pumped up and excited, it’s amazing. And the shear speed at which Blender is developing, and the dedication to Open-source and the sharing of knowledge, I just find it all mind-blowing, TBH.
And then you have the recurring projects like the Open-Movies, or GSOC, which are a great thing to be part of, even when you’re just a spectator. Or seeing people around you achieving incredible things with the same software you’re sitting in front of, and then sharing tips and tutorials on how to get a similar thing going.
Wow, I’ve gone on and on again… Basically, what I meant was, +1 to your post, blenderjourney
He wanted to CTRL-C an object (copying it to the clipboard) then CTRL-V to paste a duplicate. Although you correctly point out that other 3D applications don’t do this, I agree with him that this is a very logical assumption for people used to other types of programs.
Placing the 3D cursor can be done with any number of keyboard/mouse combo, e.g. Alt-click. Also, how often do you actually place the cursor in a place that isn’t determined by some other entity, like a vertex or a specific object? I may be going out on a limb here, but I bet freehand placing isn’t all that common. I certainly never use it, or only very rarely, and then mostly to get the cursor out of my way. And why are the window headers (they’re called headers for a reason) placed on the bottom of the windows? It annoys me no end, and what’s even worse, you can’t change the default! But this isn’t general Blender bashing, it’s just that these quirks are counterproductive, 's all.
Furthermore, to utterly confuse matters, Blender uses the standard shortcuts in some contexts, but not in others. Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V is an example. They work in text boxes, but not in the 3D window. Go figure…
Good point - I almost never use freehand placement, I always place it using Objects or vertices. So much, in fact, that Shift+S+3 (or 4) is a combination I can do quite quickly now… on the other hand I quickly got used to and like using RMB for object/vertex/edge/face selection, and wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact I often wish other applications like Kdenlive worked the same way, separating selection and operation. Not to mention clip-selection in Kdenlive kinda sucks if you’re trying to select only specific clips…maybe I just haven’t found the right keyboard+click combo yet
I personally don’t mind the headers so much though
Let’s play
If that’s what you do, it’s your issue moving inefficiently scnr
What I do:
Blender:
[INDENT=2]1) I rightclick the object to select it.
2) I press the hotkey for the tool I want (<M/R/S>), cancel with right, or confirm the operation with LMB[/INDENT]
Particularily 3dsmax:
[INDENT=2]1) I press the hotkey for the tool <Q> cylce selection modes , <W/E/R> select-move/select rotate/select-scale.[/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]2) You LMB on the object to manipulate, do your stuff either via keyboard or use the according transform gismo, apply’s on LMB release.[/INDENT]
Other tools:
[INDENT=2]1) I press the hotkey for select tool and and select the object like “pointing with my index finger”, with the RMB.
2) I press the hotkey for the tool I want, cancel with right, or confirm to apply what I want to do again by “pointing at it”. with the LMB.
[/INDENT]
move/rotate/scale in Blender: 1 Click, 1 Hotkey, 1 click - after that 1 key, 1 click.
move/rotate/scale in 3dsmax: 1 Hotkey, 1 click - after that 1 click.
[INDENT=2][/INDENT]
Pushing vertices:
in Blender I have to keep pressing g, g, g, g, g after selecting an vertex.
in 3dsmax, once switched to move mode, I just leftclick the vertex and move it.
downside, axis constraint, when not done via transform gizmo (the xyz keys) in Blender is F5,F6,F7 in max. But I am sure you can change it if you need it.
The winner is… wait what? No ones counting… People always say how efficient Blenders system is, but got no idea how to efficiently work with another tool.
With Max you can easily get carried away, you can click the icons, in Blender… not so much, you are practically forced to learn the shortcuts… might be an advantage
However, that’s what users are used to, that the right mouse button cancels or brings up a context and that the LMB selects and confirms.
Let’s look at another side…
If you have no experience in a tool it works that way:
Other tools:
[INDENT=2]1) You click the select tool, select the object with LMB as you’re used to.
2) You click the tool you want from the iconbar, or menu, or try to bring up the context with rightclick.
3) You select your tool and confirm operation with LMB if necessary. Profit![/INDENT]
Blender:
[INDENT=2]1) You try to find a select tool… none there.
2) You try to just LMB an object, nothing happens, just the cursor moves. Maybe I am in a wrong mode, not selection mode…
c) You check the menus, and wonder where the tool icons are.
f) You click RMB to see if there’s a context to switch to select mode.
8) You were lucky and tried it on an object and it’s selected… you RMB again… still no context.
WTF) Am I stupid or is this working oddly? Better google how to select stuff…[/INDENT]
And those WTF will happen for a year or so, and once you’re beyond them… Blender’s great and fast.
Conclustion? Compared to 3dsmax, Blenders RMB select makes it not more efficient, but odd.
Depending on what your daily tools are, YMMV.
Question is… easy entry access or supposedly faster workflow?
What use is a tool if it scares users away?
And imagine the moan in the community if Blender suddenly changed it’s usability paradigms…
You can’t make all happy, but at least try to please the majority
Personally I don’t care, I am friends with Blender already, but I worry for those coming after me…
