Is Blender 3D Hard To Learn?

Is Blender 3D hard to learn? That is the question. You might be a complete noob looking to get into the world of 3D or maybe you are a CAD user who wants to diversify their software background. You might be wondering is Blender hard to learn, What it takes to learn it and is it for you. I hope to answer all of these questions and more in this article. But before we start, if you have no background in 3D yet, may I be the first to welcome you to the glorious and sometimes scary world of 3D design and creation. Let’s go!

How I Started In 3D Design.

When I was in secondary school in Ireland, I really enjoyed the hands-on, practical subjects. One of these subjects was Technical Drawing (Technical Graphics). Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and discipline of composing drawings that visually communicate how something functions or is constructed. Technical drawing is essential for communicating ideas in industry and engineering. So from a young age, I was creating engineering drawings using a Tee square, set squares and a pencil, a bit like the image below. I have fond memories of being in class and learning about 2 and 3 point perspectives, how to turn a 2D sketch into a 3D sketch and how to essentially cut a model in half using only your mind and a pencil.

After that, I transitioned to 3D engineering design with Solidworks while still in school. After graduating I went and studied Mechanical Engineering at a Technological institute where thankfully there was a strong focus on 3D design. Here I was able to design buildings, pipework products, car parts, products and mechanical systems using a selection of design packages. All of these were CAD-based and they would continue on into my professional career up until 2021.

In 2021 I wanted to expand into other software for more creative output. Cad based packages are for more professional use and are great if you have a product or are doing serious engineering design. But what happens when you just want to design some cosplay items.

This is where Blender3D comes in.

What Is Blender

Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software tool set used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, virtual reality, and computer games.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software)

Blender’s features include 3D modelling, UV unwrapping, texturing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animating, match moving, rendering, motion graphics, video editing, and compositing.

It is essentially the jack of all trades for 3D design, rigging and various modelling techniques. I mostly use Blender for creating my props and cosplay designs.

Why You Should Learn Blender

Blender is a fantastic software option for all artists hoping to create projects using 3D technology. Blender offers endless potential for projects and is excellent for those eager to craft something unique, high-quality, and detailed from scratch.

It offers a lot to everyone, there are many areas to Blender, like modelling, video editing, compositing, rigging, sculpting etc. so you will have many different options to work with, and the best part is that it is completely free to use. Blender is also open source, we love open source projects and so should you.

So no matter what part of the design process you are in, I am sure you will find something in Blender to use.

How I Learned Blender

Now I was at a bit of an advantage before I started using Blender. I have 15 years of experience using CAD-based packages so, I am very familiar with modelling in 3D and moving around in the 3D viewports. But Blender as a package is completely new to me. The shortcuts, modifiers, selection tree etc is completely alien, so I could move around at the beginning but I couldn’t do much more than that.

But I do think with some extra hours you can learn Blender too. I started with the Donut Tutorial by Andrew Price on Youtube. It is a great introduction to Blender and covers a lot of the start to finish of creating models. You can find a link to the tutorial below.

From there I would look at completing some more tutorials that will allow you to get a good base. This will allow you to take on more challenging work in the future. You can look a specifying down to what you like doing after that. Do you prefer sculpting, hard surface 3D modelling, rigging etc? I started with simple cosplay props designs and quick and easy modelling. This will allow you to get used to the UI and modelling continuously in the software. Setting small but consistent goals will really help with learning Blender.

After a while, you will be able to take on more difficult designs, which I bet will look fantastic.

Is Blender Hard To Learn?

Blender is a great choice for beginners who want to in 3D design. Learning Blender provides a strong foundation for the fundamental skills and concepts of 3D design and 3d design packages. A lot of Blenders basic functions like moving in the viewport are transferable to other 3D software products.

Blender is quite challenging to learn. It has a lot of different areas that are new to most fresh users, even if they have experience with other 3D design software. In my personal opinion, I think new users will typically begin to feel comfortable with blender after a few weeks of use. In terms of mastering every aspect of Blender I really don’t know how long this would take.

Price

The fact that you get an industry-standard package completely for free is absolutely amazing. So it costs you nothing straight out of the gates. A lot of the time the cost of the package can turn a lot of people off. This will stop them from pursuing a career that could change their lives. So with that said, go download it.

Conclusion

To wrap it all up, if you have any interest in learning or getting into 3D then Blender is a great first step. Blender can really unlock your creativity and can set you on a course to make some amazing props and designs. Just as long as you are consistent. Finally, I would like to welcome you to the world of 3D design, you will get frustrated and the road may seem long. But you won’t progress unless you start.

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