I’ve started and stopped 3d art as a hobby mostly due to my just assuming I’m no good at it after a few attempts at trying to create anything. Part of my problem is, there are plenty of tutorials on the basics of blender, but in order to really understand the program I keep coming across these pay for sites that will only tell you about the program if you fork over x money per month. Doesn’t seem quite right for a program that is freely available. My other problem is I’ve asked a few times of others opinions and given the lack of response I just assumed that because of that I must be no good. Is there someplace free where I can actually learn about the more complicated aspects of blender and I don’t have to fork over money?
Depends what areas you are willing to learn about, there are multiple complicated aspects of blender each with their own tutorials. I suggest pick a topic you are interested in and then search it up in youtube. Its highly likely there is already a tutorial for it, whether it be ik rigging, complex lighting, or even visual effects done through the compositor.
For the basics of blender you really have to try push yourself more than anything, I watched a couple of Blenderguru tutorials and then started doing my own thing once i’d got the hang of it.
However even after this 3D art (in image form) didn’t really work for me either, and i found the amount of time putting the scene together and then waiting for it to render 1 lousy image was not worth it, especially when you find a couple errors and have to completely redo everything. For this reason i decided to look at another aspect of blender (the game engine) which is quite different from blender and offers instant results as soon as you start the game.
So I suggest finding the parts of blender you don’t know much about and just explore them, you might find something you really enjoy doing.
Just keep doing it. Keep following tutorials and make your own projects, and you will get better.
I’ve been using blender for a very long time, it was still at 1. something when I started, I’m really good at the basics like object manipulation and what not, but would like to learn more about actual object and scene creation, including creating more realistic textures for those objects, most of the videos I wind up finding that are free are stuff I already know.
Well, Blender - like most other packages - is very complex compared to most other kinds of software, so I would recommend starting out by focusing on the basics of modelling and rendering for the time being…
Start off by modelling small and simple objects lying around your house: a mobile phone, an alarm clock or even a kettle. With each model you go just a little further with detail. It is so important not to bite off more than you can chew because you end with loads of unfinished models and being discouraged.
Once you have models and renders you feel proud of go and have some fun with rigging and animation!