Beginner questions

Hello people,

I am very new to blender, I work in a science center, and recently we switched from optical to digital planetarium.
So here I am asking for ways to produce full dome video with Blender.

I do not expect to learn how to do 3D animation with complex models and scenarios in a couple of tutorial; I would rather start from simple shapes moving and dancing all around at music rythm.
Something like old light and laser show synced with music of '90.

My background in 3D animation and modeling is zero, but I know something about scripting and C/C++ programming.

My questione are:
Is this a realistic goal?
How long should it take to learn doing that?
Is Blender a good choice?
Where con I find tutorials of lessons of material to learn all that?

Thank you so much

Michelangelo

Cycles has some fish-eye or similar camera options. Outside of that, there is some compositor nodes that can produce lens distortion effects which may be the inverse of the hemisphere projection, thus getting regular shaped images as the two types of distortion act to cancel out. You’ll probably need to give specs of how the projector works, etc. to get better advice on what to do.

Not sure if this is an animation and rigging topic, the question might be better suited for “lighting and rendering” or “compositing and post-processing”. At least you’re more likely to get information or more help on specifics.

Is this a realistic goal?
Yeah, it’s doable.
How long should it take to learn doing that?
That depends, prior experience with similar software, technical proficiency in general, etc. YMMV.
Is Blender a good choice?
Good a choice as any. Some would argue that the way things are done with open source may make it better in some cases than just depending on commercial support. You or any programmer you can hire can modify it as needed.
Where con I find tutorials of lessons of material to learn all that? Here at Blender Artists is good, as well as Reddit, Stack Exchange, and YouTube. And there’s also Blender Cookie and Blender Guru. You’ve got the internet, the usual search engine skills and some phrasing of a topic such as “How do I do X in Blender?” usually works.

would recommend starting with these https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0AfIdK08E7_PKsXOO_yuAql9b3hdcwPR

Hi!
As a newbie myself I know how it’s tempting to be inspired by something you see, and you tend to want to jump straight in and see if you can do it yourself.

More often than not, you’ll probably be disappointed with your efforts because you soon realise that what you thought looked straightforward enough soon causes lots and lots of headaches.

My solution was to have an overall picture of what I wanted to achieve, and then to break that down into smaller more manageable parts.

For each part, watch as many online videos as you can find, and then only when you think you’ve learned the correct way to do things should you attempt to have a go.

Otherwise it’s always going to be a struggle if you don’t learn the basics first…