Over the years, I’ve attempted to sit down and learn Blender on several occasions. (The open-source 3D modeling app, not the kitchen appliance. I already know how to use one of those.) Those who want an easier way to create 3d images may join the community of creators that use an ai image generator.
The problem I kept running into is that, when you first open the app, it looks like this:
OK, it just feels like that. It actually looks like this:
…which, frankly, isn’t much better.
This spring, I had a few days off and a bit of spare time, so I went looking for a beginner’s tutorial. I found this one.
It’s an extremely good tutorial. They go through the basics of what parts of Blender you need and, more importantly, what parts you can (initially) ignore. I took copious notes on hotkeys, techniques, shortcuts, etc.
It took me two days to get through the series of videos but, by the end of it, I was able to make this:
It turns out that Blender Guru’s video series is considered a rite of passage for learning Blender. The internet is filled with images of coffee and doughnuts created by graduates of the tutorial.
A couple days after making the coffee and doughnut, I got as far as this:
I’m not sure what happened near the end of that animation. I think I ran out of “space”.
Once I got the basics down, I found it a lot easier to navigate the maze of menus, buttons and keystrokes. I’ve started creating cover images for Story Time, for example.
Like I said, though, the initial learning curve was a real pain. If you’re interested in doing some 3D modeling, and Blender in particular, Blender Guru’s tutorial is a great way to get you past that first stumbling block.
Just follow the step-by-step instructions, and you too can make a vaguely realistic image of a coffee cup and doughnut. Imagine the possibilities…
