Attempting to learn Blender

[Quinte]

Flare's thread finally motivated me to give Blender a go, so thanks for that, Flare, it's fun.

As always, I like to do things wrong and start with overambitious stuff. Did manage to get the hangs of the basics, I think, though. Here's the result of my very first attempt at modelling in Blender.
http://i.imgur.com/IbvQXVi.png?1

It's wrong on so many levels, but I can still recognize the shape, so it's good enough for now!

[Mysticpuma]

As a start that's pretty impressive. I was happy to make a Cube :)

From little Acorns great Oaks grow mate, so don't give up ;)

Cheers, MP

[♣_Spiritus_♣]

Now now MP, Blender starts you with a cube in the latest version on start up! :D

Quinte, keep going and learning. I know it is hard but you should hang up what you wish to model and just learn, learn, and learn some more.

From experience, this is the way to go. And the further you get in the learning process, the more likely you can start to really model what you wish. :thumbsup:

Feel free to PM me if you have questions or want to meet up on TS. I have a lot more spare time now that I have finished grad school (basically) so I can jump on TS and answer questions about blender in the next few weeks if you would like.

Keep at it, I'd suggest doing something a little less ambitious to start, especially when you need to learn uvmaps, unwraps, texturing, and about a million other things.

Good stuff! Try to convince others. It really is attainable to all and the more 3d modelers out there the better.

[ATAG_Flare]

Aw, I was making an Fw 190 . . . yours is so good . . .

Good work! It's always great seeing people take up blender. It's a great piece of software!

Flare

[Quinte]

Quinte, keep going and learning. I know it is hard but you should hang up what you wish to model and just learn, learn, and learn some more.

From experience, this is the way to go. And the further you get in the learning process, the more likely you can start to really model what you wish. :thumbsup:

Feel free to PM me if you have questions or want to meet up on TS. I have a lot more spare time now that I have finished grad school (basically) so I can jump on TS and answer questions about blender in the next few weeks if you would like.

Keep at it, I'd suggest doing something a little less ambitious to start, especially when you need to learn uvmaps, unwraps, texturing, and about a million other things.

Good stuff! Try to convince others. It really is attainable to all and the more 3d modelers out there the better.

That's the thing really, I will probably not have that much time to spend on Blender, and I know myself: if I don't get somewhat tangible results, I'll loose my motivation. I need to learn by doing, even if that means wasting time. That's why I started with this. Doesn't mean I intend to make this a finished model either, it's more of an exercise. I don't absolutely wish to model a 190, I just feel it's actually a way to learn a lot of things while enjoying myself.

With this little project , I've learned the basics in basically one afternoon (note that I've had previous basic experiences with CAD software, though):
- moving my view around, switching from object mode to edit mode, from perspective to orthographic...
- setting up blueprints/reference images
- editing a mesh by moving vertices, loop cuts, extruding, scaling, knife tool.
- creating multiple objects and layers
- Mirror modifiers
- Subsurf modifier and crease weighting

Now, for example, I could make the control surfaces more in depth (with an internal structure) and learn texturing/rigging on those. I could also try to make the canopy more realistic, transparent. Or I might just let this go and try and model an MG 151 in detail.

In any case, thanks for the kind words, and I do hope this can, like Flare's thread did for me, inspire people to start with Blender too.

[LizLemon]

Imho the hard parts aren't the basic shapes but the transistion areas. Stuff like the wing root, elevator fuselage intersection, ect. Often times these can be complex compound curves, and usually the blue prints are lacking detail on these areas.

This is where you should try and refine your model. Look at what the game has now for a guide.

[♣_Spiritus_♣]

Any new updates?