I am brand new to the Blender Artists boards. Please forgive my ignorance if I am posting to the wrong group.
I have recently watched a couple of tutorials/informational videos on for Blender 2.8 . The question I wish to ask MAY already have been asked, and addressed on either the boards or on other Blender Discussion Groups. If so, or if this is simply off-topic, please forgive…
It seems that there are fundamental changes to some very often used hot-keys that have been in use for years. There are currently hundreds, nee thousands of tutorials on Youtube, Vimeo and other sites. ALL of these tutorials use hot-key combinations that have been around for (evidently) years. Has anyone thought of the problems that the major reworking of the hot-keys will cause as regards existing Tutorials. I am asking this question as someone who is NOT a beginner (THANKS to existing tutorials!), but someone who is far from expert.
Yes, it’s been considered. Here’s what one can say:
In all aspects of Blender - the features, the interface, the behaviour - if we worried about old tutorials staying relevant, we could never improve the software.
However, when making bigger changes to the UI, it’s best to do those in one go, because then tutorials for Blender 2.8 and forwards can stay relevant for as long as possible. Users can also accept some relearning if it doesn’t happen too often.
Blender’s UI has virtually stayed the same for about a decade since version 2.5. When Blender 2.8 ships, there will be tutorials on what’s changed. You’ll be able to quickly learn the differences, and start using Blender 2.8 in no time.
We’ll continue to try and make the best software possible.
Even so, Blender 2.8 ships with a 2.7x keymap, which is identical to what was in Blender 2.79.
Software development has nothing to do with tutorials, it shouldn’t even be mentioned.
Anyway, those tuts were made for a specific version of blender (are you still watching 2.4+ tuts?), this is a new version and obviously it has changes/new stuff, it’s up to the tut creators to update their stuff. Software development can’t be hold by those things, see how other softwares deal with it.
If it’s anything like 2.5 was, there will be hundreds of 2.8 tutorials before it’s officially out of beta. If there is one thing the Blender Community is really good at, it’s making video tutorials.
Discovering 2.8 features like in blender developers youtube channel are appropriate videos.
But producing tutorials, now, will be like Andrew Price UI video was : something that will confuse future users of 2.80,2.81,etc… during years.
People could leave comments on the videos saying that they are outdated like for 2.5 ; you will have lots of questions in forums, anyways.
As a new user, you should NEVER trust a tutorial that don’t refer to an official release with 3 digits (2.80,2.81,2.82,…).
These releases are supposed to be stable. There are release notes that are clearly saying what is their content. A more advanced user can help you and say if a change occurs in a more recent release.
Currently, no 2.8 build has been officially release. All hotkeys are uncertain. Buttons may be placed somewhere else with different names or icons, gizmos can have a different aspect…, in one month, one week or tomorrow.
2.7 and 2.5 may look similar, but nearly all the tutorials made back in 2.5 are already obsolete. Modeling, rendering, sculpting, texture painting, physics simulations—virtually everything has changed since then. Even the defaults were different. Trackball rotation for example.
Worst case scenario if a new user is confused by something, they can just ask for clarification like the rest of us. UI changes are at least obvious changes and easy to seek clarification on.
The change from Layers to Collections, and replacing the viewport render engine and Blender Internal with Eevee, are big enough changes that most tutorials will be somewhat outdated anyway. It really helps that you can easily search commands by name, and assigned hotkeys are visible next to the result. As well as in every menu, and every mouseover-infobox.
I regularly have to think “just a WIP… remember this is just a WIP” as I come across important commands that don’t have any hotkeys at all at the moment. But some basic changes - shift-space for play, ctrl+space for workspace maximize, 1/2/3 for vert/edge/face, are just “aaaah yeah, this is unfamiliar but actually immediately better!”.
But at the heart of it… this actually gives established tutorial producers a lot of opportunities to create new content, and an excuse to revisit old topics with a bit more tutorial-making experience.
And also an opportunity for new tutorial producers to get in on the ground floor. The first tutorial about Dynamic Paint in 2.8 will be THE tutorial about Dynamic Paint in 2.8, at least for a while!
Are you dutch or is nee used in english as well… (i’m dutch).
As for the shortcuts, well it isnt the first time blender got a radical change.
And there where also lots of confusing shortcuts not inline with other modes of blender.
So i think its good, and as a side affect it allows people to keep creating tutorials
Welcome to the community. I think you make a good point. But also many of us are in the same boat. We are going to have to learn a lot of things over. I think this is a more drastic change than even 2.5.
I myself was ramping up to do more tutorials when I realized they’d have a very short lifespan. Also I was going to prepare to train new interns next year. That means everyone in my studio is going to have to relearn Blender in many fundamental areas.
It will affect us all in drastic ways. In the end as the dust settles we will all be the better for it.
The shortcuts may change, the tools not so much.
Meaning that you still learn how to use the tools properly, finding out the corresponding new shortcut will be easy and not really a problem except that it will be less convenient when learning from old tutorials.
Then there is the 2.79 keymap and the option to change them to your liking.
All in all i would say if that is a problem for you, you need to toughen up a little. You are underestimating your capacity to adapt to change. The more you train that, the easier it will be in your life to adapt again. Its trainable.
I usually don’t disagree with you, but in this case…
I am been playing around with 2.8 and even with the constant change of the alpha, i do not perceive it as drastic…far away from it, its actually fun.
Blender 2.8 promises “very, very deep changes” which will change most things concerning tutorials.
But the interface – thank god you never saw 2.4x, I hope! – will remain customizable and you can certainly change it [back …] to suit your fancy. At least to some extent.
As for myself, I don’t use hot-keys very often: it’s easy to mash the spacebar, begin to type in the name of the command I want, and presto. For things that I find myself using very often, I define my own hotkeys and simply use that in my own preferences-file which I copy and use repeatedly. To each his own. Whatever works best to make you most-productive. Thanks to the massive re-designs that Blender experienced circa 2.5 (“thank you!” “thank you!” “thank you!!”) that choice is now … yours.
Cool man. Good to hear. For me though it will be pretty cold turkey. I don’t have time to play. And we use Blender in production at the studio. So that means even though we try to use it we always have to go back because features are missing or it is crashing, or otherwise buggy.
Same thing was true for me wirh 2.5. I just had to wait. Because I was making a living at Blender. And I had to wait for a stable release then switch.
So just for me it will be a fairly abrupt and drastic change.
You’ll be fine. Just go into it with a positive attitude. I’ve had the pleasure of using blender 2.8 since early alpha stage, and i like blender more and more week by week.
I’ve also used blender since 2.40… There’s already been lots of changes since then, but usually only for the better.
same and i have never used blender before 2.80 besides few looks at 2.79 and i am enjoying learning it along the way , no tutorials,no docs, nothing, just following the development as it happens
Just go into it with a positive attitude. I’ve had the pleasure of using blender 2.8 since early alpha stage, and i like blender more and more week by week.