3 ms·

A lot of Blender is completely customisable. It takes a few seconds to find user preferences, make the required change and even switch to a colour scheme to mat

by knolan 8y ago

A lot of Blender is completely customisable. It takes a few seconds to find user preferences, make the required change and even switch to a colour scheme to match Maya/Max etc. The thing is, however, Blender is more than just a Maya/Max replacement. It can do a hell of a lot more. It has After Effects capabilities like compositing and video camera tracking, 2D animation tools, render outlines to SVG, video editing and python scripting. It’s a bit of a jack of all trades, master of some.

TomVDB 8y ago
I wonder if I'm the only one who's extremely reluctant to change default key bindings? I find it very off putting that suddenly all existing tutorials and manuals might become bogus. Pretty much the only tool where I have custom bindings is Vim.
- bch 8y ago
  Same. Am always envisioning having to sit down at a default configuration or _somebody else’s_ custom config. Emacs was the one I (ironically) resisted the most.
- knolan 8y ago
  I also try to keep to default key mappings where possible. When you’re the one called on to help others in a variety of situations then keeping everything as default as much as possible is useful.
hbosch 8y ago
If the first thing you have to do to a software is customize it, you’ve already lost on usability. How many thousands of potential users simply created a cube and tried to click it, realize that on top of the already overwhelming UI you don’t even know how to click something in this software, then just exit and take to the internet to echo that Blender is unusable.
- knolan 8y ago
  You don’t have to do anything, I’ve taught several people how to use Blender and the right click to select thing wasn’t an issue. I won’t deny that it’s complex software but so are all professional 3D applications. Try and use Solidworks or (shudder) Creo/ProE or Maya or Max and selecting a cube will be the least of your issues. All of these tools require some degree of training that’s part of the landscape.
  - westoncb 8y ago
    As a counter point: I've used a bunch of 3d modeling applications, starting with the Max Payne and Unreal level editors back in ~2002, and have since used SolidWorks, 3D studio max, modo, zbrush and various iterations of Blender throughout the years. The controls in Blender are so terrible for me I've basically always given up in frustration within an hour or so. The reason I didn't customize the controls is because I shuddered at how awful the UI for doing that probably was, and feared other lurking UI terrors were I to invest in adopting the app.
  - franga2000 8y ago
    The people who are taught how to use it are not the problem. The problem is that they need to be taught. Personal anecdote: The first 3D software I used was Cinema 4D. I couldn't be bothered to watch a tutorial, but in a good 10 minutes of clicking around, I could already do more than half of the most common operations. I tried using Blender several times before and after that, but after the same amount of time, I couldn't do literally anything. Not even move the cube! After switching to Linux, I finally forced myself to watch a few Blender tutorials. I can now do things better and more efficiently than I ever could in C4D. But the moment I switch to another tool (Unreal/Krita/Inkscape...), I see just how non-standard Blender is. There's always the Blender way and the everything-else way. 2.8 is a huge step in the right direction. Maybe one day multi-select will make sense and then there will be no more reasons not to use Blender.
    - billreynish 8y ago
      What’s the issue with multi-select in Blender 2.8?
tjoff 8y ago
Yes, but a new user will not be aware and that is quite the turnoff for many (myself included). Even with that fix blender is plenty different to what most new users will be used to. That said I'm completely blown away by the quality of blender. It is among the most well polished applications I've ever had the fortune of using. And an open source software at that, and multi-platform at that. Truly amazing.
wybiral 8y ago
I don't do any 3d modeling at all but I use Blender for its sequence editor to produce my YouTube videos. Being free open source, Python scriptable, and cross platform makes it better than any alternative video sequence editor for me.
- gcb0 8y ago
  This so much. It is better than most commercial offerings on OSx, and yet, everyone still threats it as a poor hack by mangling the UI by default. Give blender a "copy after fx UI" default already.
alan_wade 8y ago
I have definitely quit blender because of being unable to bear the horrible alien ass-backwards UI, same with GIMP. I love learning new things, but when EVERYTHING in software works the opposite way from what you have expected, it's too much. ZBrush UI is also alien and counterintuitive, but after you learn it it begins making sense and feeling convenient, not so in blender, here I have to fight it for no reason.
- billreynish 8y ago
  In that case you may enjoy Blender 2.8 more than when you previously tried it.

by knolan 8y ago

TomVDB 8y ago

I wonder if I'm the only one who's extremely reluctant to change default key bindings? I find it very off putting that suddenly all existing tutorials and manuals might become bogus. Pretty much the only tool where I have custom bindings is Vim.

bch 8y ago
Same. Am always envisioning having to sit down at a default configuration or _somebody else’s_ custom config. Emacs was the one I (ironically) resisted the most.
knolan 8y ago
I also try to keep to default key mappings where possible. When you’re the one called on to help others in a variety of situations then keeping everything as default as much as possible is useful.

hbosch 8y ago

If the first thing you have to do to a software is customize it, you’ve already lost on usability. How many thousands of potential users simply created a cube and tried to click it, realize that on top of the already overwhelming UI you don’t even know how to click something in this software, then just exit and take to the internet to echo that Blender is unusable.

knolan 8y ago
You don’t have to do anything, I’ve taught several people how to use Blender and the right click to select thing wasn’t an issue. I won’t deny that it’s complex software but so are all professional 3D applications. Try and use Solidworks or (shudder) Creo/ProE or Maya or Max and selecting a cube will be the least of your issues. All of these tools require some degree of training that’s part of the landscape.
- westoncb 8y ago
  As a counter point: I've used a bunch of 3d modeling applications, starting with the Max Payne and Unreal level editors back in ~2002, and have since used SolidWorks, 3D studio max, modo, zbrush and various iterations of Blender throughout the years. The controls in Blender are so terrible for me I've basically always given up in frustration within an hour or so. The reason I didn't customize the controls is because I shuddered at how awful the UI for doing that probably was, and feared other lurking UI terrors were I to invest in adopting the app.
- franga2000 8y ago
  The people who are taught how to use it are not the problem. The problem is that they need to be taught. Personal anecdote: The first 3D software I used was Cinema 4D. I couldn't be bothered to watch a tutorial, but in a good 10 minutes of clicking around, I could already do more than half of the most common operations. I tried using Blender several times before and after that, but after the same amount of time, I couldn't do literally anything. Not even move the cube! After switching to Linux, I finally forced myself to watch a few Blender tutorials. I can now do things better and more efficiently than I ever could in C4D. But the moment I switch to another tool (Unreal/Krita/Inkscape...), I see just how non-standard Blender is. There's always the Blender way and the everything-else way. 2.8 is a huge step in the right direction. Maybe one day multi-select will make sense and then there will be no more reasons not to use Blender.
  - billreynish 8y ago
    What’s the issue with multi-select in Blender 2.8?

tjoff 8y ago

Yes, but a new user will not be aware and that is quite the turnoff for many (myself included). Even with that fix blender is plenty different to what most new users will be used to. That said I'm completely blown away by the quality of blender. It is among the most well polished applications I've ever had the fortune of using. And an open source software at that, and multi-platform at that. Truly amazing.

wybiral 8y ago

I don't do any 3d modeling at all but I use Blender for its sequence editor to produce my YouTube videos. Being free open source, Python scriptable, and cross platform makes it better than any alternative video sequence editor for me.

gcb0 8y ago
This so much. It is better than most commercial offerings on OSx, and yet, everyone still threats it as a poor hack by mangling the UI by default. Give blender a "copy after fx UI" default already.

alan_wade 8y ago

I have definitely quit blender because of being unable to bear the horrible alien ass-backwards UI, same with GIMP. I love learning new things, but when EVERYTHING in software works the opposite way from what you have expected, it's too much. ZBrush UI is also alien and counterintuitive, but after you learn it it begins making sense and feeling convenient, not so in blender, here I have to fight it for no reason.

billreynish 8y ago
In that case you may enjoy Blender 2.8 more than when you previously tried it.