Learning Blender and Texturing
polycounter lvl 6
Hi everyone, I need your help to hopefully find the tools and learning material I'm looking for.
So, despite I already know how to use 3ds Max, given its exorbitant cost and mine being simply an hobby with 0 income, I've decided I should learn Blender instead.
Trying to tackle the first issue, I'm looking for a top-tier course made by a top-tier artist that covers both hard surface modeling and more organic environment-art oriented kind of stuff.
I'm OK with it being paid, but all I'm finding is Udemy tutorials with subpar results (or cartoon style, which is not something I'm particularly interested in).
Admittedly, one or two I've found looked good, but looking at the course program, they had you use imported assets and textures in order to get those results... I'm not looking for the "feel good, give yourself a pat in the back" validation by clicking two buttons and shoving the issue under the rug thanks to someone else's amazing texturing work, I'm actually looking to learn *how to do the thing* myself.
And so the course I'm looking for, should ideally span from blender, to the free texturing software - the complete workflow, and get you from not knowing the tool to getting professional results.
I know I've put already an high bar and a lot of requirements, but if by some miracle someone actually created this amazing course, please point me to it.
Thank you
So, despite I already know how to use 3ds Max, given its exorbitant cost and mine being simply an hobby with 0 income, I've decided I should learn Blender instead.
The problem is two-fold because I also need a free or one-time payment industry tested texturing software that goes with it.
I'm OK with it being paid, but all I'm finding is Udemy tutorials with subpar results (or cartoon style, which is not something I'm particularly interested in).
Admittedly, one or two I've found looked good, but looking at the course program, they had you use imported assets and textures in order to get those results... I'm not looking for the "feel good, give yourself a pat in the back" validation by clicking two buttons and shoving the issue under the rug thanks to someone else's amazing texturing work, I'm actually looking to learn *how to do the thing* myself.
And so the course I'm looking for, should ideally span from blender, to the free texturing software - the complete workflow, and get you from not knowing the tool to getting professional results.
I know I've put already an high bar and a lot of requirements, but if by some miracle someone actually created this amazing course, please point me to it.
Thank you
Replies
Hi,
The problematic part here is that you want a professional course where you'll use tools that aren't professional. I think you shouldn't focus on the tools. It's not about learning Blender and texturing, but about understanding two things: how 3D graphics works and how visual art in general works. That way, you'll understand what looks good, what tells the story... and how to interpret it in any 3D. Of course, you can be a expert in technical solutions just for Blender, but I don't think that's what you want.
So you're not learning which button to press, you're learning how 3D and visual art works. If there's a masking feature in Substance Painter, there's also one in Marmoset Toolbag, InstaMat, 3DCoat, and so on. You just need to understand what masking is.
I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to learn, but my advice would be to watch professional courses on 3D modeling, texturing, art theory... and then check documentation and YouTube tutorials to learn how to achieve that in specific tool.
Right now, The Gnomon Workshop is the way to go.
So I need a course to remove some rust and learn the new tool, but also I'm really looking for proof that moving to Blender is a sensible decision and not a massive waste of time.
Sorry, I don’t have an answer for your original question.
No worries ^_^
I've actually read of people complaining about that because it messes a whole bunch of other keys, making it harder to use in the long run... but I've just learned you could also right-click on the Move/Rotate/Scale icons here:
to assign a shortcut only to those, and to me that's enough to feel home, without need to mess with everything else
It will conflict with E used for extrude, or R used to rotate, so I've only manually disabled those.
If anyone wish to try it, this is my "Industry Compatible minimal keybinds", and hopefully I haven't messed up anything else.
And then from there, you have filters to limit things around a given axis (tapping x y z with or without shift), and in different spaces (double-tap). And as an added bonus there is no need to hold down the click while performing the transform, that's great for your wrist.
Do not rebind anything until you've completely learned how to do all that. Check this out :
Having used Max and Maya for years before moving to Blender, this revolutionary (IMHO) way of moving things around in space struck me as way more efficient and faster than any other software. It takes root in oldschool keyboard-centric CAD, and it's been in Blender since forever.
"Aside from the software itself, also the confirmation you could compete with someone professional in a better known tool while using Blender, even from a productivity point of view."
Yes, confirmed.
The only (massive) issue is that there is no proper documentation maintained for Blender, meaning that new users have to hunt around for info like the above - and some may miss it completely. This is very unfortunate but it won't change anytime soon.
I could achieve the same speed from the clip in Max, but with the guarantee of the extrusion moving only in the Y axis.
I've also seen your stunning portfolio so I have no doubts you know what you're talking about and I'm inclined to follow your suggestion about learning the default first, but regarding that axis confirmation every time, I have my doubts...
Where do you usually keep your left hand?
Mine out of habit would have the middle finger on W and index reaching for E/R (Move/Rotate/Scale), but with Blender I get the feel the default position would be one where you have the middle finger on F and pressing R with it, and G with the index... or something like that?
My setup is highly customized, in part inspired by habits from both Max and Maya while also keeping it compatible with Blender unique systems (like the off-hand manipulation discussed above). I started by first using the default keys and navigation for a while, then modified them manually to have Maya-style viewport nav, and then gradually changed things further from there as needed over time.
I personally wouldn't trust any so-called "industry standard" preset as such a thing doesn't really exist. And as you noticed, there's indeed the risk of it making some of the clever UX Blender concepts harder or even impossible to use.
As for axis-constrained transforms and accuracy : that's where the x/y/z keys, the gizmo and view switching come in, as well as numerical inputs and snapping of course. That said the gizmo isn't the greatest, it certainly isn't as intuitive to grab the handles of as the Max one for instance. And the little yellow square for axis constraints in Max is great for sure. In my personal experience the off-hand manipulation is just too good to not use and makes up for it.
Regarding hand placement : I am a lefty, using the mouse and stylus with the left hand, and having the habit of using the keyboard one-handed with my right hand for CG software. For Blender my keyboard "home base" is the right thumb on the left alt key, and the right middle finger on W. Hence QWER right under the fingertips for transforms, and 123 just above for component switching.
Overall, learning with the defaults first doesn't mean that one needs to stick to them long term. I personally use W for move, not G, as actions being bound to the keys representing their first letter isn't optimized for speed. The point is to use these default at first, in order to learn the ins and outs of the software without disabling important features. If anything, even just the mere act of remapping keys is a bit of an involved process in Blender, so if you rush in and start changing things you'll likely break your keymap. That stuff is for later.
Regarding learning ressources, this old video aimed at people coming from Zbrush is fantastic. It dates back to the pre 2.8 days but it's still worth the watch.
https://masterxeon1001.gumroad.com/l/VHMCw
This 3-part timelapse series is fantastic too, as it leverages the unique ability of Blender to switch modes on the fly - meaning being able to blockout, model and sculpt a posed character non-linearly.
Lastly, about "what worries me is ..." : worrying about such things is pointless IMHO, since you don't know the software well enough just yet
Got you, under the premise of not knowing what I'm going to break and what great feature I'm going to miss out on, that's really solid advice and a strong argument to learn the default first - (in fact on my first key-bind attempt, I already had to disable 20 or 30 things I had no idea about, just to not conflict with my WER usage... :S )
I'm going to watch those videos, thank you for the links and for all the help!
You haven't given any info on what it is you want to make as an end product. Why do you need a texture program? There are texturing tools already in Blender. You should start at the other end and concentrate on what masterpieces you want to make, The hotkeys will solve themselves.
11 years ago the hobby/challenge was 3D, this was my level back then. Then I've switched hobby to drawing and learning C++, with mixed results. Then I've switched hobby to learning Japanese - now after having completed 92 games in that language (mostly JPRGs), I feel I need to cycle challenge again (but also because I've only recently realized playing games all day probably is not the best plan in life), so now it's wrapping back to C++ programming inside Unreal Engine and 3D to make my own assets as well
There is no goal other than killing time while improving honestly, although it's annoying that while you're focused on a challenge, all the other skills rust away
...although, if I had to name something I know I'll be making... probably rocks and vegetation to dress up my scene while advancing the UE C++ course, maybe even a basic character (with rig and animation being another rabbit hole).
There is this optical illusion called "Hering Illusion", where two straight parallel lines appear to curve outward:
I'm getting the same effect with blender because of the gradients when you select vertices:
Does anyone knows a way to remove the gradient? It's messing with my perception/judgement xD
EDIT: I've found it - Themes > 3D Viewport > Edge Selection (set to #000000)