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There was an article on here a couple of months back that was an intro to blender from a geek / vim perspective. I felt a bit inspired and downloaded it to have

by aidos 10y ago

There was an article on here a couple of months back that was an intro to blender from a geek / vim perspective. I felt a bit inspired and downloaded it to have a play. It's an absolutely brilliant application - I highly recommend giving it a try. Edit here's the post https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13379597 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13379597

thomastjeffery 10y ago
Having learned blender first is likely why Vim was so appealing to me. Blender's UI is so much better this way. The idea that the functionality of any professional software tool should be immediately visible is just silly. Photoshop, GIMP, Autocad, 3DS Max, Maya, etc. all follow that philosophy, and just end up with way too many buttons and menus for anyone to want to sift through. Blender shows functionality only where it is needed in the most beautiful modular system I have ever used.
- Razengan 10y ago
  One starting out on Blender may find this cheatsheet helpful: http://i.imgur.com/yzI2U9e.png http://i.imgur.com/yzI2U9e.png
- aidos 10y ago
  Agreed. It felt really streamlined and the mental model felt instantly comfortable. If you want to rotate something you can select - rotate - fix axis - choose degree, all in a very programmatic way. One thing I ran into was it seemed there are some shortcuts that are essential and basically wired to the number pad so I had to buy an external keyboard (and non trackpad mouse). I haven't had time to get back to it again but I'm looking forward to sitting down and having another good play. Edit I'm not super familiar with autocad but I make software for construction companies so I've seen it used a bit. You can do everything in a vim like command manner. I think it had a lisp prompt.
  - thomastjeffery 10y ago
    > Edit I'm not super familiar with autocad but I make software for construction companies so I've seen it used a bit. You can do everything in a vim like command manner. I'll admit, I'm even less familiar with AutoCAD. I really just assumed from my experience with every other AutoDesk software I have seen. > I think it had a lisp prompt. AFAIK, AutoLISP is still one of the most prevalent lisps.
  - mikenew 10y ago
    If you toggle `File -> User Preferences -> Input -> Emulate Numpad` you can have the usual number keys work like the numpad. I actually prefer it that way to so I can change the camera without having to move my hand all the way to the right of the keyboard.
- minifigmaster 10y ago
  Having learned vim first, I think these two comments have made me realize why it was so easy for me to pick up blender in the first place. I never even thought about it, but blender is indeed very "mode" like. I'm just so disgusted with the massive interference that the interfaces in maya and other programs cause. This comment thread makes me strangely happy.
  - thomastjeffery 10y ago
    I really wish that modal interfaces were more popular. Modal interfaces are a fantastic way to make complex (or even simple) systems accessible and usable. There is an irrational fear of modal interfaces that is prolific in teaching software design. It seems like everyone has agreed that Caps Lock sucks, and therefore modal interface is inherently awful.
hashmal 10y ago
Blender is an alien in the world of software, but I agree -- it's brilliant. Never stopped using it since I tried it 15 years ago. Took a long time to get productive, but it was definitely a good time investment. It's also very dev friendly. And exploring its file format makes for very good nerdy times.
kakarot 10y ago
Blender currently has the best UI I have ever experienced in a desktop app. Their design philosophy is highly modular. But have you tried an older version from the Blender UI dark ages? Things weren't always so intuitive and everything was a big unstructured mess. I also highly recommend trying out the Pie Menu addon addon in the settings. It's more or less becoming an official part of the Blender UI flow
- p0nce 10y ago
  Good to hear. I can remember some years ago Blender's UI was incredibly annoying to use. It's great to hear there have been efforts in making it easier to use.
Jach 10y ago
Interesting post and analogy. Maybe it's time for me to look at Blender again too! I think the last time was somewhere around 2007-2009. In 2010 I found http://www.vim3d.com/ http://www.vim3d.com/ and have kind of been hoping it would take off since that seems like an interface I might enjoy more, but I never devoted any time to learning it.

by aidos 10y ago

thomastjeffery 10y ago

Having learned blender first is likely why Vim was so appealing to me. Blender's UI is so much better this way. The idea that the functionality of any professional software tool should be immediately visible is just silly. Photoshop, GIMP, Autocad, 3DS Max, Maya, etc. all follow that philosophy, and just end up with way too many buttons and menus for anyone to want to sift through. Blender shows functionality only where it is needed in the most beautiful modular system I have ever used.

Razengan 10y ago
One starting out on Blender may find this cheatsheet helpful: http://i.imgur.com/yzI2U9e.png http://i.imgur.com/yzI2U9e.png
aidos 10y ago
Agreed. It felt really streamlined and the mental model felt instantly comfortable. If you want to rotate something you can select - rotate - fix axis - choose degree, all in a very programmatic way. One thing I ran into was it seemed there are some shortcuts that are essential and basically wired to the number pad so I had to buy an external keyboard (and non trackpad mouse). I haven't had time to get back to it again but I'm looking forward to sitting down and having another good play. Edit I'm not super familiar with autocad but I make software for construction companies so I've seen it used a bit. You can do everything in a vim like command manner. I think it had a lisp prompt.
- thomastjeffery 10y ago
  > Edit I'm not super familiar with autocad but I make software for construction companies so I've seen it used a bit. You can do everything in a vim like command manner. I'll admit, I'm even less familiar with AutoCAD. I really just assumed from my experience with every other AutoDesk software I have seen. > I think it had a lisp prompt. AFAIK, AutoLISP is still one of the most prevalent lisps.
- mikenew 10y ago
  If you toggle `File -> User Preferences -> Input -> Emulate Numpad` you can have the usual number keys work like the numpad. I actually prefer it that way to so I can change the camera without having to move my hand all the way to the right of the keyboard.
minifigmaster 10y ago
Having learned vim first, I think these two comments have made me realize why it was so easy for me to pick up blender in the first place. I never even thought about it, but blender is indeed very "mode" like. I'm just so disgusted with the massive interference that the interfaces in maya and other programs cause. This comment thread makes me strangely happy.
- thomastjeffery 10y ago
  I really wish that modal interfaces were more popular. Modal interfaces are a fantastic way to make complex (or even simple) systems accessible and usable. There is an irrational fear of modal interfaces that is prolific in teaching software design. It seems like everyone has agreed that Caps Lock sucks, and therefore modal interface is inherently awful.

hashmal 10y ago

Blender is an alien in the world of software, but I agree -- it's brilliant. Never stopped using it since I tried it 15 years ago. Took a long time to get productive, but it was definitely a good time investment. It's also very dev friendly. And exploring its file format makes for very good nerdy times.

kakarot 10y ago

Blender currently has the best UI I have ever experienced in a desktop app. Their design philosophy is highly modular. But have you tried an older version from the Blender UI dark ages? Things weren't always so intuitive and everything was a big unstructured mess. I also highly recommend trying out the Pie Menu addon addon in the settings. It's more or less becoming an official part of the Blender UI flow

p0nce 10y ago
Good to hear. I can remember some years ago Blender's UI was incredibly annoying to use. It's great to hear there have been efforts in making it easier to use.

Jach 10y ago

Interesting post and analogy. Maybe it's time for me to look at Blender again too! I think the last time was somewhere around 2007-2009. In 2010 I found http://www.vim3d.com/ http://www.vim3d.com/ and have kind of been hoping it would take off since that seems like an interface I might enjoy more, but I never devoted any time to learning it.