Free Blender 2.5 Training

[Pete_SMS]

Hi everybody,

As a 3ds Max user, I am seriously thinking about switching to Blender, especially after the introduction of the new user interface. Blender seems to be the 3d modelling tool for X-Plane and more are less all export scrips are written for Blender, as far as I know.

After checking out Blender's functionality, I find it amazing that one is getting such a piece of software for free. Even better, because I don't like to pay the anual subscription for my Max software anymore.

So I bought myself a Blender 2.5 training DVD, which is extremly good. However, it is in german, so probably not useful for a lot of you guys. But after searching for more training material on the internet, I came across a very neat internet page, where they offer free Blender 2.5 training and the videos are very nice. All people new to Blender or are thinking about learning Blender will find it very helpful.

I just wanted to share the link, so you can have a look yourself.

http://gryllus.net/Blender/3D.html

Also, for the people who are already familiar with Blender  and/or Blender 2.5, here is a very nice car modelling tutorial. Car modelling is basically as complex as aicraft modelling, so the techniques can directly transfered to aicraft. So here is is and probably more useful stuff on the site.

http://www.blendercookie.com/2009/12/05/modeling-a-porsche-911-gt3-rs-part-01/

Enjoy!

Best regards,

Pete

[Simmo W]

Thanks very much for this Pete, I've started watching some of his videos.

I've just started playing with Blender seriously, Gawd it does have a big learning curve! But I'm starting to like it, so powerful and capable, for FREE.

It takes an awful lot of physical practice, getting used to its interface, but it does sink in. All I can do is admire all those pro devs who have mastered it. I've only got into rendering, lights and uv maps to learn the basics, but have managed to import our sketchup files and fiddle nicely. The below is awful, but I was just playing with the lighting and materials.

For scenery, I think we'll still use Sketchup to build, but I could see myself doing all the texturing in Blender, and if I can get an animation or 3 in...woohoo.

[Pete_SMS]

You are very welcome Simon and thank you for the feedback. I already thought that I posted something, and nobody is interested in it.

*just joking*

Yip, the learning curve for any serious modelling program is quite steep. I had the same feeling, when I started 3ds Max for the first time. All these buttons, options, menues etc. However, I had a very good training and after a short while, I was able to move around and find stuff and also knew the short cuts and mouse clicks and I could concentrate on the modelling procedures and techniques. After that uw unwrapping, texturing, lighting, rendering and animation. That training was fun and I learned a lot. I did different projects during that time, from basics, to character modelling, car modelling and animations. Practice is everything, I agree with you. You have to stay in the process to not get rusty and improve on your techniques. I did a break after character modelling, and when I did car modelling, it started a little rusty, but it all came back.

I even bought 3d Max and was lucky that I was able to buy it for less than the original price, because I did that training and could get it with a student discount. After that I got a subscription and use Max since version 2009 (2011 now).

I would love to use 3ds Max for X-Plane modelling, but unfortunately there are no official and documented export scripts available. I know some people are working on Max export scripts, but nothing is really easily available. I mean I would even pay for a stable and documented export script, but unfortunately there isn't anything like that, yet. Maybe we see something soon. Who knows

Because of that, I thought about switching to Blender. When someone is used to 3ds Max, Blender looks horrible with respect to workflow und user interface, but this is just because you are used to something else. The "old" user interface and workflow scared me away, but with Blender 2.5 I regained interest again. I thought about doing my modelling in 3ds Max, export it to Blender and do the animations and export from there. However, the exported mesh (3ds Max -> Blender) is not always the same as in Max and you have to spend time on the mesh in Blender to fix export errors, and tweak here and there. So I thought about starting directly with Blender, without all this extra work. The good thing is, that I already have a good knowledge about modelling techniques, texturing, lighting, animations and so on in general and have to find out how to do it in Blender. So it is more or less learning a new interface and workflow. The general concepts stays the same and Blender is free, which is amazing. Time will tell what approach works best for me. It is very hard to leave a modelling program which is VERY good, you know well and for which you paid a lot of money.

Why do you think the picture is awful? It is not, and everybody started like that. Nobody created a masterpiece right from the beginning. Just like you said, it takes a lot of practice to get into the workflow and improve on the techniques, but EVERYBODY can do it with practice, time and dedication.

So stay with it and have fun with all the modelling stuff.

Pete

[Pete_SMS]

As I am getting more and more impressed by Blenders capabilities and the new interface and workflow, I will make the change from 3ds Max to Blender. That also means no more expensive update costs, no subscription and actually Blender will offer me all things I need.

The reason for this post is that I want to make all Blender users aware that there will be free upcoming training series from 3dBuzz for Blender. If you don't know 3DBuzz, check it out here www.3dbuzz.com. My opinion is, that they offer the best 3D training out there. It's is thorough, to the point, very detailed, entertaining and fun. I have a lot of their training products like 3ds Max Fundamentals, Maya Fundamentals, C++, C#, Unity and I am a member sponsor.

The blender training will be completely free and you can check out the details in this thread http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?188332-Blender-Fundamentals-Update&p=1540543 and the first batch of videos is already available for member sponsors, and I can tell you, they are absolutely great and I am really looking forward for more. I think the first batch will also be available soon for no-sponsor users.

I had the feeling that this info might especially interesting for people starting with Blender, or even seasoned users might get a new trick and workflow here and there.

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?188374

So go ahead and check it out yourself, if you are interested.

[Pete_SMS]

Hi,

I keep posting here, because I want to share as much information as possible for new Blender users.

There are two very good sites with lots of Blender tutorials and most of them are free. Not all of the tutorials are for complete beginners, but once you find your way around the interface you can give it a go.

www.blendercookie.com

and

www.blenderguru.com

Have a look for yourself. Blendercookie is offering a membership as well. I think it is around $80 a year or so and there you have access to all videos, can download them and also have access to the source files. However, you don't have to become a member at all.

Since this thread is called "Free Blender Training", I don't really want to mix free and non-free training here, but I also want to make you aware of this training series from blendercookie.

http://www.blendercookie.com/2011/04/08/vehicle-series-complete-and-available-for-purchase/

I bought this training and it is very very good. Probably not for the complete beginner, but also here, once you get around the interface and know how to do basic stuff etc. you could start with it. Shows a very good workflow, pays attention to mesh topology and you will learn a lot.

And no, I am not related to any of these sites and I am not getting paid, but when I think something is good, I will support it and let everybody know that stuff like this is out there, especially most of this stuff is free.

[Pete_SMS]

Another website with useful Blender tutorials, if you are interested.

www.blendernerd.com

[Pete_SMS]

OK, here it is. As announced in one of my last posts, 3DBuzz released the first drop of free Blender training videos to the public. The first drop is related to the Blender interface.

I can highly recommend these training videos and you can look forward to the whole training series. I did a lot of training via 3D Buzz, mainly 3ds Max and Maya, and it is so cool that they work with Blender now as well.

So go and check it out yourself. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?188849

[hobofat]

Thanks for all the resources Pete.  I've played around a bit with Blender in the past and enjoyed it.  Will definitely be checking out these tutorials.

[Pete_SMS]

You are welcome!

Great if you find it useful.

[Pete_SMS]

Nice article you might find useful:

http://www.blendercookie.com/2011/05/11/blender-community-starters-guide/

[Pete_SMS]

The second drop of 3DBuzz free Blender training videos is available.

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?188994-Blender-Fundamentals-Drop-2-is-now-ready-for-download

Since I am a Member Sponsor, I already have drop 3 and you can look forward to it. 

[Simmo W]

Thanks Pete, good timing since I've started a new top secret scenery project, now that I have more time! Can't wait for the 3rd set. Blender Cookie is amazing too.

Stay tuned for stupid nOOb Blender animation questions!

My first is- for scenery, having a constant animation, that doesnt rely on triggers or datarefs, do you still need to associate it with a  dataref? I've never done one (yet), so I'm curious before testing. I've seen a few .objs that don't appear to refer to datarefs, so I assume just exporting it to xplane with the animations works?

[Pete_SMS]

Yip, agreed 3D Buzz and Blender Cookie have the best Blender training out there. This is why I am a Member Sponsor for 3D Buzz and a Citizen at Blender Cookie. First of, to support these guys, and second I will have access to a lot more training resources on their sites, model source code, exclusive member videos and so on. For me it is well worth the money.

Sorry, I can not help you with your animation question, because I haven't looked into Blender/X-Plane animation, yet. Just the modelling part. I will start with animation very soon and also have to check out the new Blender export script for the 2.57 version. Just post your question as a new thread in the 3D shop, if you like.

This way we also keep this thread clean for training related stuff.  

The comment from Zak, over at 3DBuzz

Really thrilled everyone's enjoying these. I know that (generally speaking) no one likes to have to sit through interface lecture, but Blender has such a fantastic interface that I think anyone who watches these videos will see why so many folks are making the switch (including us!).

So true. The new interface is just amazing and you can basically customize it completely to your needs. Also the modelling workflow is awesome. I don't miss my expensive 3ds Max anymore.  

[Dozer]

Pete thanks for putting all these resources here! I've attempted to learn Blender (following Dan Klaue's "how to build a plane" video tutorials) then gave up, deciding to retreat into the world of plugin design instead. But I'd rather like to be able to build 3d instruments - I'll give these links a detailed look! Thanks a lot!

Exclamation mark!

[Pete_SMS]

Hi,

I just wanted to update this thread, since drop 3 and 4 of the 3D Buzz Blender 2.5x training has been released some time ago. The videos helped me a lot to get started with Blender, after I used 3ds Max for a good amount of time.

You will find the videos here:

Drop3

Drop4

The next suggestion is no freeware, but I wanted to share that info too. I think I even mentioned it above somewhere. When you are familiar with the interface and the modelling tools, I can highly recommend this training DVD.

Vehicle Modelling Training DVD

From my point of view you won't find any better training. It teaches you alot about setting up bigger projects, how to separate your model into different objects, how to block in the basic shapes, refining your mesh, keeping nice topology and mesh flow and so much more. Jonathan is an awesome instructor.

Edited October 17, 2011 by Pete

[otto]

Just ran across this thread. Thanks for all the resources