One of the main issues that faces beginners in 3D graphics, and specifically, that are new to blender is that they lack the resources at hand to explore Blender. Yes I know there is the wiki and tons of resources available, but don’t be surprised at the number of people who doesn’t google for information on their own. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the blender downloads gets uninstalled within the first 10 minutes after launching the program due to the sheer complexity of the UI. (I did that for a COUPLE of times in my days) Well, in order to better propagate Blender, I thought we could bundle together some useful material and make it available as another Blender download. Call it Blender - Learner’s Edition or whatever you want. It should contain items such as:
Blender and all related binaries
Some of the best demo files from the Blender and GE regression suite
More example scenes, possibly an array modifier blend since that seems to the ‘thing’ lately.
Links to ‘10 most useful blender resources site’ and place the shortcut on the desktop, etc.
I agree with you mpan3,
I started with blender about two weeks ago and had help from a friend who has been working with blender for a couple of years. I had downloaded blender a couple of times before, had a glance at it and uninstalled it.
And I have years of experience with 3D ( 3ds max)
Now it’s getting better and better, but mainly because I know the principles of 3D. (modeling, texcturing, lighting, etc)
And that is exactly the point…
an absolute beginner in 3d has no idea where to start, because he doesn’t oversee the internal structure of 3d programs.
And that makes it difficult to make a learning edition , in which a noob can immediately find it’s way…
but maybe I´m wrong about this…
A load of great videotutorials will help for shure…
I’ve always found the most help from video tutorials. I wish there were more of them, but it takes a lot of work to create a video tutorial and then the file sizes can be an issue as well.
Maybe if there was built in “Demo” mode in Blender which you could activate to show you around the UI and to demonstrate what the program can do and how, I think beginners would learn much faster.
Yeah, an python driven, event based interactive tutorial would be really nice for beginners, something like ‘to place a cube, click here and here’, and if there is no light in teh scene, the ‘wizard’ warns the user of this before rendering. Of course, this is all for the benifit of the beginners and must be able to be turned off for people who doesn’t like pseudo-AI to interfere with their work flow.
Meanwhile, we can bundle as much resources as we can into one package for easy access. As blender is already world’s smallest 3d package, a few megabytes of helpful info wont’ hurt.
Meanwhile, we can bundle as much resources as we can into one package for easy access. As blender is already world’s smallest 3d package, a few megabytes of helpful info wont’ hurt.
But that is the paradox…
you want a shipload of information for the noob to start with…
but hell, where to start??
And yet … look at it from this point of view… all of us managed somehow to get by the first obstacles and are now working with blender, each at his own level of skills, and everyone is getting better and better, thanks to forums like these
Some of the best demo files from the Blender and GE regression suite
I don’t think demofiles will learn newbies a lot, but they can be great to show what can be done after learning Blender for a while.
More example scenes, possibly an array modifier blend since that seems to the ‘thing’ lately
This isn’t going to help a newbie a lot either. Does show what can be done but doesn’t learn how to model, texture, lighten or render a still or animation.
Yes I know there is the wiki and tons of resources available, but don’t be surprised at the number of people who doesn’t google for information on their own…
Links to ‘10 most useful blender resources site’…
No need to Google, links are already there, at least a few. Look in the Help menu, it’s been there for a while, to me the logical place to search for help.
I wouldn’t be surprised if half the blender downloads gets uninstalled within the first 10 minutes after launching the program due to the sheer complexity of the UI
I just can’t understand why people think they can learn a new program by opening and looking at it for a few minutes. There is even a Quickstart.pdf installed with Blender to give you the basics of the interface, but like most of the other documentation, most of the newbies apparently don’t think this is worth reading, I guess.
How about a welcome screen (with a “show on startup” check box) that says something like:
No! Wait! Really. Just try this tutorial and it will make sense.
I just hooked my 10-year-old up with Blender and a shortcut to Noob-to-Pro. He had one question “Are there any video tutorials? I’m not really a reading kind of guy.” To which I responded, “Give it a try.”
For the last couple of days he’s spent some time in the evening with blender and he truly gets it. He’s reading the tutorial - the only reading we don’t have to fight with him to do - and he’s learning Blender.
Win-Win.
I agree that there is an issue, but I don’t think that it needs too big a hammer to fix. Just get people started - right out of the box.
Speaking for myself, I learnt a lot from demo files in the older days when documentation was far less accessible, particularly those files that has text editor instructions to accompany it. I think the great thing about demo files (and why I try to share my own myself) is that it breaks down a psychological barrier - i.e. rather than just looking at a marvellous render and thinking “how on earth could you ever make something like that, it seems like mysterious voodoo”, if you can actually open up the scene and press render, and get something out of it, it seems so much more accessible.
A specific example is with one of the old demo files from 2.2 or earlier, there was a halo spot shining down through a grid, making the halo shadows. I’d seen that effect in renders before, but had always assumed it would be too difficult for me, or was some complicated technique, and didn’t really know what to search for about it either. But looking in the demo file showed me how simple it really was, and that the ability to do it was within my grasp. To me, that sort of thing is empowering, in a very positive way.
Speaking for myself, I learnt a lot from demo files
So did I. You can learn things from Demofiles, but is it a good way to teach newbies (without any Blender or 3D knowledge) how Blender works? Learning from Demofiles is IMO a ‘next step’ after you’ve learned the basics.
I agree, you have to know where to look at in a demofile, what parameters, etc, so you’ll need to have a basic understanding of the principles to “read” the demofile…
Being the creator of the GE logic bricks I always hoped to get the responses like brokens one. I think tutorials are nice, but they take up a long time and take you to just one result. Unlike little demo’s that teach tips and tricks fast.
I think the great thing about demo files (and why I try to share my own myself) is that it breaks down a psychological barrier - i.e. rather than just looking at a marvellous render and thinking “how on earth could you ever make something like that, it seems like mysterious voodoo”, if you can actually open up the scene and press render, and get something out of it, it seems so much more accessible.
That’s very well put, instead of following a lengthy tutorial to create something, the user can get started right away by loading the demo file, looking around, render it, and start modifying the scene, which is, imo, much easier and more fun than starting from scratch. You learn in the process, too. Some/lots of text accompany the demo file is also a must.
So what do we do now? I can start put together a relatively simple(no yafray, softbody, character animation, etc.) collection of work from various authors… But we need to have blender.org cooperating with us on this one by hosting the files.
One of the most marvelous things blender has is its download size. Texture sets, scene files, and tutorials are additional things that you can find easily around if you know how to use a search engine, but should not be included in the main package; it will just make it bigger and turn it into an unattractive download. Everyone knows that if you want to learn a package you have to study it. When I got my first version of 3dsmax it came with 3 books, one of them was more than 500 pages big! What did I have to do? read it! Or at least consult it whenever I had a doubt. The tendency nowadays, and for cost-saving reasons, is to include the manual and tuts in pdf. So no more printed books in max, but you still got a lot to read on the screen. So my point is, if anyone is interested in learning a package he will be willing to dig for info. Besides, things are pretty much easier nowadays; just take the noob to pro wiki book!
I do believe this would be useful as a startup:(sorry couldn’t find the "quote option)
Maybe if there was built in “Demo” mode in Blender which you could activate to show you around the UI and to demonstrate what the program can do and how, I think beginners would learn much faster.
Yup! take google sketchup as an example. Its animated tutorials get you up and running in less than 5 minutes!
If something similar is doable in python it would be a plus.
Damn, with the amount of ressourses on this earth/Net, you get again some difficulties?
You can’t move your mouse alone? Maybe you never learned to read?
wow, it’s fkn’ astonishing how people are so, so unable to follow a simple how-to.
Damn, with the amount of ressourses on this earth/Net, you get again some difficulties?
You can’t move your mouse alone? Maybe you never learned to read?
wow, it’s fkn’ astonishing how people are so, so unable to follow a simple how-to.
if you can’t read, forget 3D, it’s harder!
WOW!!!
Please lets not turn this into that. Its a level headed discussion about ways of improving the learning resources for blender.
Perhaps there should be a “Beginners download” in which there are only few of the basic areas to work with: Modeling, Materials (including texturing), Lights, Rendering. A few simple tutorials with this simple interface would be enough for beginners to grasp the root areas of blender.
then they can download regular blender, and see the new stuff, but still be able to at a glance recognize the core stuff and not get overwhelmed. If they want to mess with more advanced stuff, they can. But until they do, they will know exactly where to go to do what they can and ignore the things they dont’ need.
One of my big concerns when I got blender was: Do I actually have to use all of this?
Demo files with advanced stuff in there are a great way to learn Blender, I concur. However, that’s only true on the subject of materials, lighting, rendering, or any stuff that requires a combination of settings. Modeling is a different subject. I can’t see myself learning how to model just by looking at a demo file.
