I think Blender is very good for its price :). The geatest thing is its speed, becouse you have evereything vere you need it. The non-overlaping windows work excelent. And if you know, what you want to create, it is as hard/easy as in other software. There are lots of good tutorials, so i don not see any problem in learning it. The learning curves are good for nothing, the first software you begin to use will dictate what is “normal” (or standard).
When I was 14, I tried out 3ds max. I have learned about cg by myself, only by reading or watching tutorials. 3ds is good, but it has a bit too much functions to begin with. If you work in a studio, then it is good, because the output is good with the support of renderers as v-ray. Also there are many other plugins, that allow you to work with professionaly looking particles or whatever. But the cost then… And that applies to all commercial software, because companies that made them have to make their living form something.
Althought Blender is lacking some funcions/tool, it is sufficent, if you know it, its pros and cons. And this is what makes any software good for particular person: if he/she know the capabilities of the software. The speed then is the reason, why to use it. I have figured that out when i realized that hotkeys are great in Blender. They are million times better than in 3ds max.
Blender is just great. It differs from other software, but it is great.
Every program has its strengths/weaknesses, advantages/disadvantages. When it comes to all the big 3d programs, they all can get the job done, just depends on how you get it done. Blender’s main advantage is…well it’s free and open-source! I’m not sure whether you can compare it fairly to commercial software. Take 3ds Max for example;. 3ds Max is linked to the other Autodesk products (Combustion, AutoCAD etc.) and when used in combination it all just comes together. Blender does not have any other products around it. One of the biggest factors in software is the support from the community and integration (how well the program fits in the workflow).
And like stated, the inferface is largely user-preference. For me I like using menu’s than shortcut’s (I’m more of a visual person).
As for it being open-source, that seems more useful for programmers than most artists?
The way I see it is Blender is more for the solo artist (free but powerful) and the other programs are for commercial studios (integration). Personally to me all the programs are all the same (for amateurs at least); it’s the skills and techniques the user has is what’s most important than the program itself. Interfaces are easy to learn, they just take getting used to. You can have the “best” interface but unless you have the skill it’s pretty much pointless. As long as you have good techniques you’ll be efficient in any prorgam. When it comes to fine tuning those skills then program choice and preference might help. However, I would learn the program that’s most dominant in the industry because that’s how you’re going to get a job :rolleyes: Right now I’m learning 3ds max mostly because of that reason (also because of it’s relation to AutoCAD and also has some cool features/plugins, for example I’ve been playing around with this plugin (AfterBurn) that can be used to create really amazing Fireballs). Although, I plan to dive deeper into Blender after I get used to 3ds Max.
Maby why blender lacks huge productions is because most professional artests will see that Blender is free and think that free=lowquality and never even download it.
Idea: make new website that sells Blender under a different name, for $500, but includes a free demo (fully functional except that the splash says “demo”. If they try to buy it say: as of Mar 2006, it is released as free, redirect them to the main site.
But we NEED good tutorials.
I think he means we need an ebook complete with videos and files which accompanies Blender users through their journey of learning Blender.
Tutorials are great and all, but we need tutorials explaining the particle system, materials, fluids etc. we don’t really need to know how to make a specific thing (which is what most tuts do - teach us how to make ONE thing).
I think it would be a great project, such a complete course for the community. Including lessons in general composition (which all kinds of visual art have in common) lighting in the real world (what kinds of light create what effects, how to create moods by lighting…) and so on.
Not a small project, but such documentation would be - ah, it would put an end to many complaints.
But for that we would need several people who know Blender well and who are willing to put in time into it.
We could pull it off. After all, we created an entire short movie, didn’t we?
If by “we” you mean the Blender Foundation, then they did pull it off, with the Summer of Documentation. People who need good tutorials should definitely make their way through all that material. There are hundreds of pages of up to date, very well done documentation there, and I don’t think many people have yet read all of it.
Also there’s the blendernewbies.com website, which has great tutorials and is being updated regularly, also Greybeard’s video tutorials page is still full of a really comprehensive set of video tutorials. And Cog’s… admittedly the tuts aren’t all in one place (although a lot are on the wiki), but they are around…
I agree that there’s a need to bring the information together into an accessible format, but I think the BSoD did a very admirable job at this. There’s also the Blender Basics book by Jim Chronister and the, uh, Blender Basics book edited by Roland Hess coming up. And then of course there’s… wait for the shameless plug… mine (see sig). So I really think that the documentation problem is slowly but surely getting taken care of. (If my book does well, by the way, I think Sybex, and probably other publishers, will be very motivated to publish more Blender-related material. So, uh, hint-hint.)
Maby why blender lacks huge productions is because most professional artests will see that Blender is free and think that free=lowquality and never even download it.
I don’t think this is a big problem. The big studios and production houses have their pipeline and the price they pay for software isn’t nearly enough to justify changing software (and the costs that go with making such a change) even if the software is free and just as good. Artists who are professional Maya users and have access to the tools they need have no motivation to switch. I think Blender is getting pretty much exactly the amount of attention it deserves, and it will continue to grow. I don’t think there’s any need to try to trick people into not paying for it…
