Optimize blender for modeling only - noob questions

Support Modeling
1

Hello blender artists!

Recently I’ve decided to learn blender just for modeling and some motion tracking in the future. ( just box modeling + retopo from other apps )
I have couple of questions that i hope you will answer and help me in my ( correct ) learning path.

  1. Speaking of only modeling, is it better for me to use default blender or go with bforartists?
  2. I know blender has maya viewport style navigation ( and i’m most comfortable in that mode ), but will it kill other important hotkeys for me? Will it make watching tutorials or reading docs much harder than standard blender navigation?
  3. Are there must-have scripts or plugins that i should start using right away?
  4. Is there a way to strip down interface to only see modeling toolkit and most important stuff?

thanks in advance!

2

Default until you know what and how you’re improving your workflows

Maya developers can answer that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqSEtTF8hPE&feature=youtu.be&t=527
http://nimblecollective.com/learning-blender-why/

Addons that come with Blender:
Looptools (mostly for circle)
Images as planes
Add Mesh extra objects
Add Mesh bolt factory
Add Curve extra objects
Node wrangler

Already is. The interface becomes much simpler when you know where everything belongs, and pretty much disappears when using a subset of the tools in a workflow. It can also literally disappear with shift+space, with 3D view full layout, or with your own layout, in one window or multiple when using more than one monitor.

3

I’ll elaborate on this-

Keeping the default setting will allow you to learn where everything is using any tutorial because they all use the default settings.

4

Mira tools
Surface constraint tools
Loop tools
Display tools
Hard ops + boxcutter

5

Thank you so much for suggestions ;D
I’ll start watching / googling all of this ;D