Hey everyone. I’m an experienced game artist and teacher. I have recently switched my personal work from 3ds max to blender and am loving it. I learned most of it on my own and though blender cookie. I get the awesome opportunity to teach a 3d modeling class with blender at a local college. I am researching text books at the moment and was wondering if I could get some good recommendations and reviews.
Thanks
It’s basic 3d modeling focusing more on game development. I’m browsing through some books, but was just trying to get some thoughts on some of them. It’s not for me, for first time students.
I would assume you’re going with 2.5x-2.6
I’d guess you’ll have to wait for the final release to get a large selection. I’m sure development is going on at a furious pace. Why not let them buy something the blender foundations sells so they get a cut and support their efforts?
If it’s for students, you could do a lot worse than the book in my sig below. I developed the material in it as I was conducting training with real learners. It’s been getting very good reviews.
You may want to try this book: http://www.cdschools.org/54223045235521/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=55205 . That’s from where I’ve learned Blender by myself:yes:(still, the very thing that helped me a lot was my good english(without my dad teaching me it wouldn’t have been possible)- It took me 2 weeks of about 3-4 hours a day(without rushing, and with a weak pc)-didn’t include rendering times-at the age of 12 to finish it). Good Luck with your students!
EDIT: Oh, and by the way, a very important thing-you should teach your students to Get(as a form of “requesting”) and Use Feedback(very few know about it at the beginning, the faster they get it, the easier it will be for you).
As a former college student, I gotta say the last 2 years I didn’t buy books, unless it was a math-based class. I think the students can learn enough from good lessons- that being said, Harkyman’s book, judging from his previous one, would be a good recommended supplement.
our teacher used to provide us with good video tutorials explaining everything. quite some of them he did himself. i think this is the best way to learn a CG software (btw it was maya). considering that there are many very good video tuts about blender (2.5) it’s just a question of collecting them for your students.
if you still want to recommend books: as some said before, wait a bit until 2.6 gets released.
books are boring. I think keepin them motivated, showcase stuf so they have something to strive for. and videos are the best. 
I haven’t used Harkyman’s book as a textbook in my classes but I’d highly recommend it as the best (and only?) 2.5x introductory source.
Couple that with Neil Hirsig’s awesome vids and you’re done! :-)))
I agree with all you guys. I plan on providing videos and all the good tutorials I can find, but I HAVE to choose a textbook, it’s a school policy. All the classes need a corresponding textbook. I was trying to find the best option. Thanks for all the replies.
This is the book with which I learned blender
It both a reference manual and a collection of tutorials, excellent for begineers.
If you dont want to buy it you can download it for free or browse it online here.
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.4/Books/Essential_Blender
Oh nice very nice, I might buy your own as well. I Looooove books, they are a good excuse to avoid a computer screen. And the tend to be alot more organised than net reference.
EDIT: Just realised you are the guy that edited Essential Blender, I want to congratulate you for your effort. Is the new book the reason that Essentail Blender is no longer available as a book , from blender shop ?
That’s a great book. another is “bounce, tumble, and splash:simulating the physical world with blender 3d” also "introducing character animation with blender.
I didn’t even know it wasn’t sold in the e-shop anyone. I’d guess that it’s because they sold out, and didn’t want to spend more producing books that are going to be extremely out of date.
On the topic of books vs. videos – some folks learn better reading. Some learn better seeing. There really are pros and cons of both, and it boils down to personal preference. For myself, I prefer books, because I often want to learn in an environment where I can’t have noise like a video, and I can drop something, come back and reference it later, etc. On the other hand, video conveys a ton of information, sometimes more than even what the creator intended.
I am for gettng a book, will be ordering Harkymans book. Cant beat a good Blender book on the bus or train, to and from work!