Is there such a thing as tutorials that cover progressive chapters in the Blender 2.3 Guide? I’m about a third of the way through part two, and I find myself reading a lot of theory with very little practice. I’m finding myself with a bit of a glaze on my face (and my head). Are there tutorials that address the topics discuss on a chapter-by chapter basis? Just some simple, static object creations that allow you to apply the processes discussed in some (at least semi-) real-world application?
Am I looking at this from the wrong perspective? I see a lot of tutorial links out there, but I’m uncertain as to how to apply the guide studies to them. If there is a list of progressive tutorials. not necessarilly tied to the chapter progression, then I suppose that may be as best as I can expect. I’m just trying to make Blender work for me.
Well, there are video tutorials.. They are organized in the same way as the documentation, and my tutorials go along perfectly with the documentation. I also try and remove some of the theory. Like who really needs to know that this:
is what happens when “If both Quad and Sphe buttons are on”. Although I do get a big technical if it’s important.
The way I learned is not so much by doing some step by step tutorial on how to make a human head or make a castle. I learned by learning the software. With my knowledge of what does what, I knew what I was capable of, and I could come up with solutions to modeling or texturing problems because I knew the program. It’s called creativity. I only read those kinds of tutorials unless it’s something that I’m specifically struggling with. Because that’s how I learn that’s how I teach. I may include a few examples just so that it will sink in but I don’t find “Okay, let’s make a tea pot using every modeling technique at the same time” a good use of my time. Hopefully no one made a tutorial about that, in that case no offense :).
Well, I guess I’m not creative, eh? I’d to see examples of some real-world compositions instead of just abstract functions on a cube, plane, or sphere. For instance, the screw function might have been more tangible to me if the docs actually showed how to make (for instance) a screw. As it stands, the screw function looks rather nebulous to me.
I guess I’ll just roam around the available online tuts.
I don’t mean that in a personal way. It’s just my opinion that understanding the tools is what really makes you proficient in a program. It’s a creative process when you use your knowledge of the tools to create something that you’ve never seen a tutorial for.
I’m glad that you are reading the manual cover to cover. That shows that you are not impatient and a tutorial to help it sink in just might be what you need. It is hard to make a tutorial that will cover every topic about the software, or on the other hand it’s hard to make tutorials for every chapter of the documentation.
I’m trying to do that now in video form. I’m also trying to see what the DocBoard guys would think about combining the web-based manual with the tutorial section and the video tutorials (we are already planning on combining the video tutorial section with the other tutorials). I’m convinced that having all learning materials grouped by section would be better than by seperating them by media (although we’ll give peopel the option).
I feel strongly about how I teach people this software. I guess a lot of my reasoning behind this is due to the fact that I read so many posts about people asking me “How do I model a chair?” “How do I make a tree?” “How do I make a wood texutre?” and so on. And these are what I see a lot of tutorials for. I just want to go in front of everyone and tell them, “Learn the software, then you’ll know how to do it on your own. You can solve the problem.” It’s not that I’m lazy or that I don’t want to help, it’s just that I beleive there are faster ways to learn. I guess I’m assuming that a good number of people are just impatient. They get the program and they want to start making 3D scenes right away before they understand the program well enough to hold their own.
I might find one day that I’m wrong but it worked for me, I think it works for others, and people are excited about where I’m going with it (at least the video part). That’s my reasoning behind it.