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I tried learning Blender again recently... it just seems so overcomplicated.

ur-whale 5y ago
> it just seems so overcomplicated. Sure, it's not Sketchup, and there is a little bit of a steep learning curve at the beginning (it used to be much, much worse). However, unlike Sketchup, the freaking depth of the software is nothing short of amazing. That investment you make at the beginning is really, really worth it. Also: there is literally a ton of tutorials on YouTube to get started with Blender, and it is rather easy to learn the basics nowadays by doing a bit of monkey see monkey do with Blender open on one monitor and the tutorial vid on the other.
karolist 5y ago
Are you familiar with any other 3D modelling software? If not it's not entirely fair to say Blender is overcomplicated, 3D modelling itself is a complicated field and Blender is like a swissknife, you can learn only the features you intend to use. Hard surface modelling, basic scene setup, lightning and you're already at a level where you can enjoy the process. Want more? Procedural, non-destructive modelling, sculpting, VFX, compositing, it even has a video editor built in (though most people just use Davinci Resolve instead). I think Blender is as complicated as you choose it to be, like Math, Physics or any other non trivial field.
mandmandam 5y ago
Did you do the donut tutorial?
- runevault 5y ago
  There are a few good options, this def being one of them. Grant Abbitt being another. Blender is software that feels complicated at first because, fundamentally it is doing a complicated thing. But once you start to understand it you cut through all the things that you don't need to worry about because 90% of the time you will be in VERY specific contexts (hard modeling, sculpting, painting, etc) and not worrying about large swaths of the features. But to do everything it needs to do all of those things have to exist. Being able to learn how to context switch and take advantage of the different workspaces helps a TON. Gotta get used to it though, and it is a big lift. I started messing with Blender off and on a year or so ago and while I'm no master, once I get in my groove I feel like I can move pretty quickly.
Arcanum-XIII 5y ago
I guess it depends on your motivation. When I was dabbling with 3D in 2000, all the major player at the time were way worse but I did manage because I was motivated. 20 year later, I can't even animate basic things like a ball :D Still, give you some clear goal about what you want. Blender can do nearly everything related to 3D, compositing and even some special effect. And then search a YouTube tutorial on this subject — it probably exist!
syntheweave 5y ago
3D is always super complex - the "stuff they pay you for" - if you try to make production quality materials. If your aim with 3D is a simple mockup or placeholder for illustration purposes, based off an existing reference image or floor plan, you can make big strides relatively quickly. And the same goes for most specific production tasks - you just have to break it down into the concepts that are relevant, and then getting comfortable with the selections and edits that apply those concepts. Blender helps things along by having defined workspaces for different tasks so that you can browse a little bit and find things without going too far out into unrelated stuff.

> it just seems so overcomplicated. Sure, it's not Sketchup, and there is a little bit of a steep learning curve at the beginning (it used to be much, much worse). However, unlike Sketchup, the freaking depth of the software is nothing short of amazing. That investment you make at the beginning is really, really worth it. Also: there is literally a ton of tutorials on YouTube to get started with Blender, and it is rather easy to learn the basics nowadays by doing a bit of monkey see monkey do with Blender open on one monitor and the tutorial vid on the other.

karolist 5y ago

Are you familiar with any other 3D modelling software? If not it's not entirely fair to say Blender is overcomplicated, 3D modelling itself is a complicated field and Blender is like a swissknife, you can learn only the features you intend to use. Hard surface modelling, basic scene setup, lightning and you're already at a level where you can enjoy the process. Want more? Procedural, non-destructive modelling, sculpting, VFX, compositing, it even has a video editor built in (though most people just use Davinci Resolve instead). I think Blender is as complicated as you choose it to be, like Math, Physics or any other non trivial field.

mandmandam 5y ago

Did you do the donut tutorial?

runevault 5y ago
There are a few good options, this def being one of them. Grant Abbitt being another. Blender is software that feels complicated at first because, fundamentally it is doing a complicated thing. But once you start to understand it you cut through all the things that you don't need to worry about because 90% of the time you will be in VERY specific contexts (hard modeling, sculpting, painting, etc) and not worrying about large swaths of the features. But to do everything it needs to do all of those things have to exist. Being able to learn how to context switch and take advantage of the different workspaces helps a TON. Gotta get used to it though, and it is a big lift. I started messing with Blender off and on a year or so ago and while I'm no master, once I get in my groove I feel like I can move pretty quickly.

Arcanum-XIII 5y ago

I guess it depends on your motivation. When I was dabbling with 3D in 2000, all the major player at the time were way worse but I did manage because I was motivated. 20 year later, I can't even animate basic things like a ball :D Still, give you some clear goal about what you want. Blender can do nearly everything related to 3D, compositing and even some special effect. And then search a YouTube tutorial on this subject — it probably exist!

syntheweave 5y ago

3D is always super complex - the "stuff they pay you for" - if you try to make production quality materials. If your aim with 3D is a simple mockup or placeholder for illustration purposes, based off an existing reference image or floor plan, you can make big strides relatively quickly. And the same goes for most specific production tasks - you just have to break it down into the concepts that are relevant, and then getting comfortable with the selections and edits that apply those concepts. Blender helps things along by having defined workspaces for different tasks so that you can browse a little bit and find things without going too far out into unrelated stuff.