I want to share my frustration to learn blender, as many versions as blender has through years, I strive to follow tutorials, but I rarely get to the end of if without the frustration of not finding what it is described in the tutorial the way it is in the actual blender version I am using.
feejo,
Yes, that can make it difficult. However, if you post a link to a specific tutorial. some kind person on this forum will be happy to explain where and how the functionality described in the tutorial has changed.
Best of Luck! - Don’t give up!!
And to look on the bright side, you’ll be much less likely to ever forget where those items were once you do find them.
There’s very little point in banging your head against a wall over an old tutorial. Rather then fighting your way through, take a moment to ASK here about the differences. Or better yet ask about the tutorial here first and save yourself the hassle altogether.
Also, there are excellent and (relativily) current tutorials and books available through the Blender Foundation, I highly recomend using these as your refrence instead of the typical inacurate fan based stuff that’s all over the web.
Keep in mind that the technical side of 3d art is not about knowing which button to push, it’s about knowing WHY you should push that button.
Frustration happens… big time… when you have a goal you’re determined to reach, especially with a deadline!
Take time to relax and just… take time. Blender is one of the hardest programs I’ve ever seen in terms of it not being one any user can jump to and hit the ground running. I understand the GUI is going for an overhaul soon, so some things which are hidden might then be a bit easier to pick up.
In the meantime, don’t feel bad. First time I picked up Blender, I wanted to learn really badly, but after clicking buttons and finding out every other panel seemed to change, I put Blender down for eight months or so. I can’t quite remember what approach I used to learn the next time around.
Start with something small: like making different characters entirely out of cubes.
A lot of tutorials assume basics are known already… learn at least how to split the screen into different views, what G, R and S (grab, rotate and scale) functions do (inclusding hitting R twice, and what happens when you type M and the X Y or z) before moveing onto “intermediate” level tutorials.
If you can make a cube which mirrors (when you model one side, it makes the other… complete with “do clipping” to merge the centre points) then you’re doing well.
Try sculpt mode with multires and N-ley to show the sculpt brush options… it’s easy and fun to start with (although it will crash computers if you multires too high).
…okay I stop there. You get the idea.
Play and ask about things mentioned above and just have fun for now.
Good luck.
want to learn thru MSN, contact me
start with Blender noob to pro wikibook
you can always ask any questions on irc!
freenode
#blenderchat
http://www.mibbit.com/ if you dont want to download any programs for it
Hello feejo:
A few recommendations.
1.) Recognize Blender has it’s limits.
Blender is an extremely unusual application, and, when compared to other 3-D applications (like a CAD app, for instance), the methods you must know to drive it probably aren’t what you may be used to. Blender is also a very complex application, which is terrible at certain functions, such as alignment, dimensioning, offsetting, materials management, fonts, etc… I don’t know why the Blender Foundation doesn’t build a lot of these very basic features in, but then you get what you pay for.
That said, Blender’s bizarre functionality makes it a very interesting application to learn.
2.) Try learning by Trial and Error.
No kidding.
Experiment.
I used to have the same problem as you. I began learning blender at v2.43. I would sit learning lots of different tutorials over hours, days and months of time - only to find it would result in a partial understanding, which would not always be conducive to what I actually wanted to know anyway.
The problem was - I really wasn’t grasping how to drive Blender myself. I had to take more initiative on my own.
After I had had enough of it all, I one day just started almost randomly pushing buttons to experiment. And, it really began to come together for me. I’m at an intermediate level, but now I own the application.
Instead of wasting lots of time with tutorials - take the initiative yourself. And, when you get stuck on a specific point, waltz in here and unabashedly confess your ignorance. This forum is dedicated to “Basics and Interface”, so, if you have to ask - then ask! I’ve only gotten flamed once for asking basic questions, but this is still a forum to ask questions - and you have a right to participate. If someone criticizes you, then slam them back. And don’t let them tell you to essentially “RTFM”. Drive the conversation and drive the application, not the manual.
3.) Let yourself dream in terms of the app.
Sometimes you just have to let go of something you want for awhile to come back to it later.
I’m only at an intermediate level, and I cannot accomplish the projects I want. But, now, I LIKE LEARNING BLENDER, so I am more happy and consistent in the work I am doing. That’s what’s most important. Now, I know with enough time, practice and patience, I will in fact get there one day (perhaps not in the too distant future).
Once you “find your thing”, as they say, you will rise like the phoenix from the ashes.
Good luck, and always feel free to post any questions.
The Head
I’ve to disagree with the first point above posted:
1) Recognize Blender has it’s limits
Well, it’s true, but when learning you better dont think of limitations instead think of everything that blender has to offer you that any other program has not.
I really dont see any major problem with “alignment, dimensioning, offsetting, materials management, fonts, etc”, it’s just different and you have to get used to it.
Anyways, learning blender is addictive cuz everyday there’s something new to dig in and experiment with so dont be afraid. Blender is SOOOO different from other apps that is hard to start, but, once you get the basics it will be a lot easier.
@Blenderhead: yes, mostly because TFM is aso outdated or you (I) simply don’t know WHAT to look for, if you get things from an unexpected point of view or approach from the wrong direction, TFM is no real help (just like Help in Ubuntu, referring you to renamed/nonexistent menu items) and sometimes I simply don’t know what to look for.
Another frustrating thing with tutorials: you spend 45€ on a 14 hr Video tutorial. You go through step by step and end up with a huge list of errata. Shortcuts are pressed without reference or explanation. Terms are used that “have already been used many times in this tutorial” that haven’t popped up a single time. 45 Euros? No updates on the website? Hm. You get free tuts from Bruxy that never come up with cr4p like that.
Then you buy a Blender book for 50 bucks. You end up buying a better one for 45 bucks. That one has been written for 2.4 as well. The publishers claim to have updates and everything, but all you find are some files not missing on your DVD, some text corrections that are already corrected in your issue. Then you get totally stuck on an outdated article and have to hope to get some answers at Blenderartists (reminds me to push the thread up again…) which always works out but TAKES TIME that you try to buy back by spending your limited money resources completely on Blender resources for months. Then you spend another 45 bucks on a book about architecture and interiors only to find out that you just re-bought the first 20 pages of your first Blender Book 
Or you spend (a little) money for paid video tutorials, but you only get the first 3 parts out of 5, so you wait and wait and can’t finish what you started and hope you don’t forget it all again.
Then you encounter Windows related problems and decide to go for Ubuntu (cause you findally can get non-MS 64bits and can save hours of XP-waiting time 
). You install Ubuntu and say “WTFF” one whole day, and at 23:30 you manage to install your first package, causing broken dependencies, so you have to run sudo XYZ that deletes all Ubunto software to fix it - that means: re-install! And with the wireless not wanting to work in Ubuntu, you re-boot back to windows, research, re-boot back to Ubuntu to find out it doesn’t work like you thought. And again: circles, circles, circles.
Then your cellphone decides to re-boot itself after you typed all this crap and so you can shove it up you butt like a whole day of Ubuntu - and if you don’t like having stuff up your butt, that can get pretty frustrating 
Edit: before anyone misgets me: I LOVE BLENDER! And I WILL get as far as I possibly can. And I WILL get Ubuntu running (even though I have to spend more money to get a new WLan card And without blenderartists I would probably not have come very far. So excuse my rant, but this has been bugging me to no end and the bitching-thread was very welcome
Oh it is not easy.
When I started Blender I used the n00b to pro book. Things were going well until I reached that demonic wolf tutorial, and I almost quit blender altogether, and left the thing for a good six months. Blender does have a serious documentation problem, which is going to be exacerbated when 2.5 makes virtually every tutorial ever written obsolete. The series of tutorials I used to get “back on the wagon” were the ones over here:
http://www.gryllus.net/Blender/3D.html
They’re fantastic and, for some bizarre reason, seldom mentioned as a resource for Blender users.