How much time do you spend on tutorials/courses?

Deniell

Hi everyone!
I would like to ask someone who already works for game company or someone who has some experience in 3D. I bought course about modelling a weapon which has about 50 hours. It goes from basic modelling up to rendering with UV. It has 20 videos a most of them are 2-3 hours long. The longest video was the first one and it has almost 4 hours. This video took me almost 2 days. I'm wondering if it's too much time for 4 hours long video or not but I know that I can't watch entire video without pause and I need some time to absorb new information. And I want to how long it would have took you? I know it's not easy to tell because every tutorial/courses are different but atleast your best guess. For example how many hours did you spend on tutorials on weekends when you have plenty of free time?
Thank you a lot, it's really big help to me.

Alex_J

A mans virtue is measured not by the intensity of his emotion by rather by it's duration.

In other words, just don't quit. You got this dog.

Deniell

Don't worry, I won't quit. I really enjoy making 3D stuff. Just want to know other's way of learning and implement to myself.

Alex_J

I usually do a tutorial three times. First I skim watch it. I don't pay attention to details, just big picture. Lotta times that means watching at 2x speed.

Then I do the tutorial and follow along. I pause it whenever i need to do stuff.

Then I do the same thing I did in the tutorial but with my own content. I just keep the tutorial open to refer back to if i need.

It's slow, but I remember shit this way. And the result of repition is that you gain familiarity. Then speed comes. And then you can do more, which means you can experiment more. Try more stuff, make more mistakes. It compounds. Next thing you know, you can't believe how much you know.

So go slow. Take your time and focus on learning thoroughly. It is the fastest way. If you worried that oyu have a learning disability or something -- I mean you would probably know that by now right?

Deniell

Yeah, I heard that watching tutorial twice (and more times) is for many people useful but on the other hand I just think about that it would take more time, especially when tutorial is too long. But I think you made a point... I'll try it with some shorter tutorials. If it works I'll use it also in the longer ones.
And about my learning disability... I doubt I have anything like that. I think my problem is that sometimes I'm postponing my "self learning" because I fear to fail or I fear that I will struggle so much with something new that would discourage me to carry on. Do you have/had similar problem like me?
I'm sorry that I kinda changed the subject...

zachagreg

Depends on what it is honestly. For in depth or subjects that I don't have a lot of experience I basically do what Alex does with the last part being the most important. That you take the things you learned from following along and adapt to a different situation.

Other times I find myself on like 2x or 3x speed skipping big portions because there is a hole in my knowledge that I just need to see what they did so I can understand it.

Alex_J

@Deniell yes  i think literally everybody faces that struggle on day to day basis. It's just completely normal. It's why there is so many "how to overcome procrastination" videos on youtube.

I have consumed a lot of tutorials in the past two years. Usually there is going to be several tutorials covering the same thing. So you got options. If one is a major drag, just find another. It is good to learn from many teachers anyway. And don't be afraid of text tutorials and reading the manuals. A lot of times that is the fastest way to learn. It can be a bit daunting if you are still getting your sea legs, but if you got a little grounding a lot of times the video tuts just go too slow.

Just blast forward like a mad bull. You'll be fine.

Ashervisalis

A 50 hour long tutorial is going to take a long, long time, especially at beginner level. When I was a beginner, a 1 hour tutorial would take me 3 hours minimum due to always needing to pause and such. Honestly, if you are a beginner, it might be best to focus on smaller tutorials. I think the longest tutorial I've ever followed was 16 hours.

Deniell

@Alex Javor Thanks Alex for kind words. I'll do my best!

Deniell

@Ashervisalis Well I wouldn't consider myself for beginner. Atleast not for the total benigger. I've been modelling for 6 months or so but now I want to take really seriously. I do mostly hard surface modelling but I also started to focus on Zbrush for more organic models. But for example in texturing I have zero experience.
I leave my link to artstation if anyone is curious about my level. For some reason I cannot to link it under my posts like you guys...
https://www.artstation.com/deniell

Ashervisalis

I would say you're still in the beginner stage. Really push forward. But honestly, avoid a 50 hour long tutorial unless you have all day, every day to work on it. I'd probably pick up a tutorial on Substance Painter, texturing a military gun or something, and use that knowledge to texture the models you've made. That would progress you faster than spending the next 4 or 5 months chipping away at a tutorial.

Spag_Eddy

Have you tried modeling anything on your own, by chance? All the stuff on your ArtStation, is that your own work, or tutorials that you followed along with?

Deniell

@Spag_Eddy Most of what you see on my Artstation I modeled from reference photos or from another 3D model (the car for example but I couldn't find the name of author). The only thing which is from tutorial is the high poly character. It is written in the description including the link for the tutorial.

Deniell

@Ashervisalis You're right, still the beginner but I want to say that I have some basics that I can work with. I aso appreciate your advices but I want to carry on the course. I've already watched 7 hours so far and I'm happy with the things I learned. It will also teach me how to texture which I'm really looking forward because so far my models looks lifeless without proper textures.
Here's the link to the course if anyone would be interested.
https://cubebrush.co/marketplace?q=simon&product_id=7czaew

Spag_Eddy

Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure you weren't making the same mistake I made during my first six months of 3D modeling where I mostly only stuck to doing tutorials because apparently I'm an idiot. I didn't learn crap from doing that, and only started learning once I took the training wheels off and threw myself into the fire. I wish I could go back in time and kick myself silly for wasting so much time, but it is what it is.

Anyway, the others have already provided pretty solid advice. It really kinda just comes down to the individual in regards to the amount of time spent learning via tutorials. Take whatever time you need, and use whatever method works best for you. My only other real advice is to continue figuring out your strengths and weaknesses, and seek out specific tutorials that strengthen those weaknesses. Rinse/Repeat. I learned a shit ton just through a combination of doing daily art challenges on https://www.reddit.com/r/Daily3D/  and various online tutorials that pertained to areas I knew I needed work on. The daily art challenges kept me inspired/motivated and were a great resource for getting daily feedback from other artists. 

If you're passionate and you love doing this artsy fartsy thingy, you'll keep at it and you won't give up. Eventually it will pay off and you'll be a stud! What you have already is a pretty solid foundation for someone still new to this and I have no doubt that you possess the talent. So spend whatever time you need to grow your skills, try to have fun, and don't let that giant scary learning curve frustrate/scare you away! Good luck, mate!

Deniell

@Spag_Eddy I think it depends on the tutorials. Someones can be really bad and others can be totally awesome. But the most important is that now you know how it's the best for you. Thank you for the link a inspiring words. Wish you the best luck, too.

Ashervisalis

OK, good luck! You should start a thread in the 3D Art Critique part of the forum showcasing your progress with the tutorial.

Deniell

Good idea. I will. Thanks.

TheGabmeister

Alex Javor said:

A mans virtue is measured not by the intensity of his emotion by rather by it's duration.

Awesome quote. Will share it with other aspiring 3D artists.

sacboi

...basically for me it's as long as it takes, pretty much.

(...fundamentally, I'm a slow learner so on average 4+ hr long sessions are exactly my speed...slave too the grind I guess ; )

Eric Chadwick

Make sure you're actively doing, not just watching. 

Deniell

Thanks guys. It's nice to see that you still respond even though this topic is old. If anyone is interest to see the results of the gun tutorial I was talking about in comments, here it is. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lVvEGV

Andreicus

I always try to learn as much as possible so i watched and read a lot of tutorials and articles. I still do it nowadays after 4 years of self teaching.

For a beginner my adivse would be to follow the tutorial and at the same time actively do what it's shown in the video. So basically start watching---> the teacher makes something---> pause and do it---> unpause and continue watching---> repeat.

When you will reach a more advanced level i noticed that there is no need to do that anymore. In my case i watch videos and advanced modeling techniques or tips & tricks to improve the workflow be it modeling, materials or whatever and i simply watch it and i learn it.
But yes i have like 300 gb of videos on my HDD+all the books and articles that i read+online videos...so i spent a lot of time on them

I'm also naturally curios and i like learning new stuff more than practicing however it's not a big deal because when you will start get your hand dirty you will have all the theory to back you up and it makes a huge difference, trust me ( one simple example: deep understanding of topology for detailing and avoiding shading errors ).

PixelMasher

for me, a good rule if you really want to master the skills you are trying to learn via tutorial is this ratio: for every hour of content watching...there should be 10+ hours of actual execution practicing what you learned. repetition and actually doing what they are showing until it clicks in your head leads to eventual mastery.

unfortunately a lot of people spend 20 hours watching tutorials, then only 3-4 trying to execute on that info, get frustrated and give up. this leads to them searching for more tutorials, looking for that "silver bullet" that is going to quickly get them up to master level in the skill they want to be good at, rather than just putting in the thousands of hours of actual work they need to to attain mastery. like if the tutorial is a 3 hour tutorial on making rocks in designer, dont just follow along and then move on to something else, apply what you have learned to make 6 more different rock materials before trying to learn something new. 

tutorials can be a huge help, thats part of the reason I make them myself, but at the end of the day you really gotta avoid falling for the trap of just having tutorials on your hard drive, watching them and expecting that to make you industry ready. you really have to put in the hours of taking action on the content to get the value out of them. 

Deniell

@PixelMasher You are absolutely right. I have to admit that is (was) also my case. But I implemented this rule of yours in my learning and I can see the results. My models are becoming better and finally it has textures. Thank you for sharing.