Hello,
I am new at using Blender and was wondering if anyone could answer a question I have. I subscribe to Lynda dot com a site that has a lot of great tutorials on a lot of different kinds of software and I noticed that there are a couple dealing with Blender. The one I was interested in is called Blender 2.6 Essential Training but noticed that it was produced in late December of 2011 and uses v2.6a of Blender. Are there a lot of differences between this version and the current version 2.66 of Blender, has there been a lot of interface changes or have the various versions just fixed bugs and added functionality? Would I have a lot of problems if I were to use the current version or should I download the earlier version?
Thanks, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Robert
Not much, I have worked through the tutorial, it is really good and covers a lot of information that a new user to Blender must know. I would recommend you also look at Blender Guru.com, cg cookie, cg masters, cmi vfx, blender tutor and blender geek. Those guys all offer superb tutorials and Blender Guru is free, mostly. George Maestri really covers a large topic for Blender, but he doesn’t go into the compositing part, that’s where CG Cookie has a tutorial on just the compositing aspect and Blender Guru has an introduction to the blender compositor.
There’s also a great Blender support program on the blender website, where you can gain access to contact Blender Certified Instructors, that’s how I found two people here in South Africa that uses Blender full time.
Here are some links I frequently visit for help and assistance as I am also rather new to Blender. I would highly recommend that you get the DVD by Lynda.com, it will really speed up the rate at which you learn Blender and you will gain a solid foundation of the software.
http://www.blenderguru.com/
http://www.blendertutor.com/
http://www.blendergeek.co.za/
http://blendervse.wordpress.com/
http://blenderstuff.org/
Hope this helps.
Neal
Hi Neal,
Thanks so much for your response to my question and also for the many useful links. I am not just new to Blender but also to the whole 3D modeling scene, I have used Painter for years as well as Photoshop. I am discovering that there is a whole new vocabulary of terms, technologies and techniques associated with 3D modeling, animation, and rendering that just do not exist in the 2D realm. I am on a medical retirement so I have lots of time to devote to learning new things and I look forward to the challenge that Blender brings to the table.
Once again thanks for your help,
Robert
I would recommend you look at Digital Tutors for learning fundamentals on 3D, they have a CG 101 lecture that handles about the terminology and the fundamentals of 3D without limiting their lesson to one specific software.
You’re welcome and all the best, looking forward to seeing your creations.
Hey Robert
If you are completely new to blender, my advice would be to check out the CG cookie link Neal_Albert posted first. If you click on tutorials theres a getting started section, where jonathon williamson, goes through all the basics, even installation.