Blender 4.0 - Am I really learning it finally?

 I certainly hope I am! With the release of 4.0 Blender has updated it's interface to a point I thought I could  finally understand it and use it. I had no real choice, my V19 of Cinema 4D stopped being supported by the MAC OS and Maxon has gone the subscription route, including not very satisfying updates since. 

I started with CG Cookie's playlist of basics which introduces you to the layout, interface and basic concepts in a sort of an entertaining but text book way. I will go over it again as I begin to start a real short animation in my Lovecraft series... soon... soon-ish. 

I then went on to Blender Guru's famous Blender donut tutorial, updated for 4.0 and teaches the software by taking you through a project using all of Blender's most used features and tools. I didn't follow it slavishly, I have a lot of 3D experience already but it really helped to see it all done step by step in Blender. So I have joined the crowd and finished the donut tutorial. 

I do feel I can work or will be able to work in Bender now, gradually getting confidence and learning the things I need to to continue making films. The interface is more user friendly but not exactly intuitive or easy yet. It also crashed much more than C4D did for me. More positively working with the EEVEE live renderer it was much easier to see what I was working on clearly and with a big update for that coming very soon, I can see rendering my finished project quickly. Cycles was more slow but also, I thought, a better render than that of the native C4D rendering options. 

So see my donut thing in all it's donut-y glory above. 

What Makes a Good Tutorial?

Tutorials online have become an amazing resource to learn just about anything you want to learn. From installing a fence to learning new features in a complicated software package to making your own clothes, you can find it all online and usually for free. But what is it that makes a good tutorial, good? 

Here is a small list of general things I look for in a tutorial

Concise and to the point descriptions about the subject. Far too many people making tutorials spend up to ⅓ the length of the video just rambling about things not connected to the subject and takes away from what they are trying teach at  the moment. Get right into what your video is about and don’t muck around telling people how to turn the computer on, open the software… basically avoid the things anyone who wants to watch your lesson should already know. 

Uses editing of sound and video.  There is a tendency to think when making a tutorial that you have dot do it all in one go. I can be much better to film doing the thing apart from the narration which gives you the ability to take out the « umm and ahhs » present in normal speech and to refine what you are saying to be as clear as possible. You can also edit the  filming of the activity so it includes just the basic steps, not every second it takes to complete the task. Some people are using video to show of a creative process which would include how you fix mistakes and come up on the fly, but that’s a small percentage of what’s out there in my experience. 

The teacher speaks clearly and strikes a good balance between being a robot and a comedian. We all like to here a likeable voice and some witty remarks but when you are trying to learn something complicated, too many jokes and asides can make it impossible while a droning, colourless voice will just put you to sleep. If you have a strong accent, be sure it’s not so strong that no one can understand  what you are trying to say. 

Tells how to do something, not what to do exactly. I am sure there are plenty of exceptions to this but if you are going to show how to draw something that will look exactly like what you drew with no way to apply that knowledge into anything else, it’s sort of a waste. I find the best videos show me how not just to do something but how to use techniques I can use elsewhere and encourages me to find different uses for them on my own. 

Doesn’t play loud music in the background! This might be just a pet peeve on mine, but I don’t think so. Music drowning out the speaker’s voice can be very distracting, not to mention copyright infringing. So shut off the tunes while you are recording your narration! 

I am sure there is plenty else to talk about but these are the items I seem to look for the most when seeking help with something in the form of online tutorials. Really good lessons, especially for something you really need to know well for work are worth paying for and it’s just mean to be hyper critical to someone who is trying to give out information for free. So be kind in your comments to people trying to help you out and be constructive not cruel if you feel the need to critique what they’ve put online. 

Podcasts and online tutorials

Less and less companies and software developers are including manuals or any form of documentation with their products. Personally, I think this is a big mistake. How on earth anyone is supposed to actually learn the software or research something they have a question about is a complete mystery. For the prices they are charging for software these days, the least they can do is include a book telling you how to use it! If you do get a book (even a small “quickstart quide”) you’ll find as a rule, they are no help at all. Often they are poorly written or merely excuses to sell you additional software, which you won’t be able to figure out how to use either.

Luckily for those of us not able to hire private tutors or pay for extended and expensive courses provided by some software companies, the internet has been filling in the learning gaps with forums, online tutorials done by users and podcasts. These are great resources for information, to ask questions and to connect with fellow, frustrated end users struggling to find out what/how and when to use certain features in their preferred computer programs.

Podcasts require the free i-tunes program from Apple and that you make an account, but a vast majority of podcasts are free. Not all are created equal... some are terrible some are wonderful.. some are just ego venues for people who think they know more than they do so take what you hear with a grain of salt.

Forums, can easily be given the same cautions and offer additional interactivity and resources. You can actually ask specific questions on things that are making you pull your hair out. Another benefit of forums is you tend to find out which problems are really lack of knowledge and which are merely limitations in the software or worse... undocumented bugs. I can’t say how many times I’ve discovered in forums crippling bugs and work arounds to avoid them. Some forum members are quite generous with their programming skills and will even offer fixes they’ve made free to anyone who wants to risk using them. Virtually all the major companies have user forums now and they are usually not monitored so as a rule, you can get good, information without marketing spin.

Online tutorials give in depth, function specific instruction. Sometimes they are downloadable for free, sometimes you have to buy a dvd (which can be quite pricey). It’s hard to assess how helpful they might be before you buy them. Forums can help as fellow members are more than happy to share problems they had with things they wasted money on.

Some podcasts I use:
Photoshop User TV
Creative Cow

A couple of forums I use:
C4D cafe
C4D portal