This course takes a quick look at blender. You get to work on a small project without focusing too much on all parts of the software, but getting a finished rendered result in very little time.
The course takes you through the process of modelling a little slug-like creature with a tail, big teeth, and large protruding eyes. You’ll learn how to manipulate the shape of it, then add material to give it colour. Finally, you’ll be shown out to create a rendered image to save on your computer.
Link to Course Here
About This Course
- Title: Your First Day in Blender
- Instructor: Justin Marshall
- Released: 15 Sep 2014
Current Specifications
- Lectures: 13
- Video: 1h 18m
- Skill level: Beginner Level
- Software required: Blender 2.71 or greater
Pros
The instructor is good a explaining what he’s doing as he is doing it, without going on too much about the workings of Blender. He keeps to what is needed for THIS project and avoids information overload which can be too much for beginners.
This course shows you in a nutshell how cool Blender can be. The little animal you get to make gives you something real rather than just the theory behind 3d modelling. It’s a good project for beginners because you get to see the outcome in a couple of hours compared to several weeks. If you are only starting to use Blender, then it’s nice to get a feel for end results in short time.
Despite the simplicity of the project, he shows you several tools, and how to manipulate your 3D model’s faces, edges and vertices in order to change its shape as desired.
You also get to try out a couple of modifiers; which are useful tools that edit your model. He covers the Mirror Modifier – allowing you to delete one side of the model, work on the other side and have it mirrored across ‘magically’ making your work faster. The other modifier he covers is the Subdivision Surface Modifier which gives your objects a nice smooth surface – very useful for round objects.
In addition to modifiers, he introduces you to brushes that sculpt the surface of models in various ways. In this project, the brushes give the model a sort of bumpy and bulky appearance with lots of natural imperfections in the skin that you might expect to find on an odd little creature.
Cons
Considering I thought this was a great course, it’s hard to find any cons without being extremely picky. In that regard, the only con I can suggest is that it would have been nice to be told more about the different types of extruding that exist when you are shaping your model. I found it a bit unclear about knowing what to choose without experimenting. Again, this is just a very picky interpretation and not necessarily needed in a Blender beginner course.
This is the one I came up with. Cute, no?
Summary
This is a great course for anyone wanting to begin in Blender. You get to make something cool, and see the end results quickly. I’d highly recommend taking the course to get you started on your path in Blender.
