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)
Also now that you are gradually tweaking things to your liking here's a suggestion : by default, recent versions of Blender perform selections on click release - meaning that the software waits for the mouse button to be released to perform a selection. I personally find this very unpleasant.
If you want selection to feel much more responsive you can play around with changing the selection behavior from "Click" to either "Press" or "Any".
It's a subtle concept that many may not even be aware of, but it does make the software feel much better IMHO.
This way the behavior is consistent when shift selecting from the second vertex forward in Edit Mode.
Also I swear I gave a fair try to the default controls, but they where driving me crazy... xD I was feeling paralyzed using those.
I haven't changed much, just the navigation essentials - right now I have:
Pan: MMB (which I have on the side of the mouse, so panning with the thumb)
Camera Rotation: RMB
And G is untouched for when I need it (Especially G+G for sliding on edges)
...only mildly worried it might contain outdated material... does anyone happen to know if that's the case?
I haven't read it, but from the material that I saw from it (and a simple fact that it was assembled over the years of constant updates), you probably going to see that some menus were shifted over time to different locations, or we now have new features that make some things much easier (like new Array modifier).
For example, sculpt brushes that used to be in the tool bar on the left, are now placed on a special shelf at the bottom. Or Active Spline menu used to be in Curve properties, but now can be found in the N-panel...
...etc.
Most features are still the same and can be learned in any Blender version (after 2.8), they just might be a little different. So if you don't see something, don't panic - it's probably elsewhere.
How do you do that?
That other mesh didn't had geometry inside, and somehow got fixed by just deleting one face and then Fill to close the hole. Oh well, if it happens enough times I'll find out eventually.
G+G only slide the vertex over edges, and Snap to Face only snap to other faces that are not the ones confining with the vertex...
I can do it using Transform Orientation > Normal and then the move Gizmo, but I was looking for a way to do the same just using G, no Gizmos involved.
You can:
- create Custom Orientation with Face selected and then move in XY plane (Shift + Z);
- place 3D Cursor on a face, then snap vertex to cursor;
- move along one of the corner edges, then another, and hope you'll arrive at the desired destination
Can anyone suggest some good tutorial that slowly explains how it all works? (no timelapses)
EDIT: after some thinking, I've landed on this setup:
Tablet left hand, right hand on Numpad.
Numpad mapping:
1 -> Rotate View
Blender certainly doesn't have the same level of performance (as far as I can tell from my brief experience with Zbrush forever ago), but 100k should not be a problem at all...
Are there any Modifiers on the sculpted object?
People usually suggest Grant Abbitt tutorials
oh, that's the dude I was watching earlier :S
Err... my bad, I had forgot before finding out about Remesh I had put a Subdivision modifier in there...
Now it sculpts smooth even with 2M faces, thank you
Follow-up questions: is it possible to rotate the view when touching on an empty space with the pen? (Zbrush like, essentially)
Right now I am holding Numpad 1 to rotate with the pen, but it doesn't come natural :S
I suspect you'd end up having to remap keys in ALL modes to preserve logic... But, of course, being able to change a lot of things to your liking is one of the most attractive features in Blender.
The issue is that you're trying to set up "main button + modifier key", and this is what happens:
A small price to pay to preserve my hands. Unfortunately my Wacom tablet (now over 10y old) has very rigid buttons, using those would destroy my index and middle finger.
Although I have still options left, I might end up trying using AutoHotKey to map Numpad 5 to the original shortcut.
EDIT: for anyone facing this same issue, it's possible to solve with AutoHotkey - just need to install it, create a .txt and paste inside:
Numpad4::LShift
NumpadLeft::LShift
Numpad5::Ctrl
(most numpad key need to be mapped in pairs like Numpad4 which is also mapped to NumpadLeft.
Failing in doing that will result in stuff like countless instances of blender being opened, Shift detected as constantly held down, unusable operating system with no choice but to restart. I just had all those three...)
Hey!
Even though you have a ton of 3D modeling experience, it doesn't mean you can jump into Blender right off the bat. Knowing topology and general 3D concepts is a huge plus, but the interface here is completely different, the commands are different, and even the names of familiar functions vary. Things like working with the 3D cursor, pivot, and origin point (which are three different things, but all generally about the same concept) can be quite confusing at first.
That's why I'd still recommend going through a few simple tutorials. Just to get a feel for where the necessary functions are hidden in Blender, what they are called, and what the hotkeys are. Don't sit there trying to memorize shortcuts, that comes naturally with practice. Plus, there's always the handy search bar via F3 (or spacebar, depending on what you chose during the first launch) where you can just type the name of the function you need. There's no need to model Notre-Dame right away when you can test things out on basic cubes.
Here are the specific resources I'd recommend:
Blender Guru’s channel, but not the donut. At least check out his chair tutorial series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf2esGA7vCc
It will give you a solid understanding of the UI using a simple object.
Blender Bros channel https://www.youtube.com/@PonteRyuurui/videos
You'll need to scroll back a bit to when the author was still modeling in Blender before switching to Plasticity. They offer great practice for hard surface and sci-fi. Hard surface modeling uses a maximum variety of techniques, making it the best school for mastering the software. In many videos, he use the HardOps addon (and I also recommend checking out the channel of its creator, masterxeon1001 https://www.youtube.com/@masterxeon1001/videos). This addon isn't mandatory, but I highly recommend it. It's not just for sci-fi, it generally simplifies and speeds up the workflow in Blender, making it much more convenient.
As for texturing, if you need a truly professional level, there aren't many options.
Either use Quixel Mixer https://quixel.com/products/mixer
It's great if you kept a library of materials from back when they were completely free, but even if you didn't, there is a decent basic set available.
Or look into Substance Painter https://store.steampowered.com/app/4329260/Substance_3D_Painter_2026/
It's the industry standard, and I highly recommend it. The software is paid, but you can buy a perpetual license on Steam
Great courses for Substance and the general pipeline:
A good free texturing course on ArtStation. It's highly regarded: https://www.artstation.com/learning/courses/owg/substance-painter-pushing-your-texturing-further/chapters/d3J/introduction
A fantastic comprehensive course (Blender + Substance) "Hero Game Asset Creation" by FastTrackTutorials https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/lqYj/hero-game-asset-creation-in-depth-tutorial-course
I've heard a ton of great reviews about it from acquaintances who were just starting out.
Hope this information helps, and good luck on your journey!