I Spent 100 Days Learning Blender

Here's why and how I spent 100 days learning Blender as a designer who normally uses CAD and KeyShot for modeling and rendering. I share my exact process so you can learn Blender on your own without quitting!
Read the full article on this topic here:
www.willgibbons.com/learn-ble...
Time Stamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:22 - My existing tools
0:41 - What is Blender?
1:22 - Why I learned Blender
2:22 - 100 Days of Blender Results
2:51 - Day 11-20
3:26 - Days 21-30
4:11 - Days 31-40
4:40 - Days 41-50
5:26 - Days 51-60
6:00 - Days 61-70
6:54 - Days 71-80
7:49 - Days 86-100
8:23 - How I learned Blender
8:34 - 1 - Define goals
9:05 - 2 - Sustainable goal
9:34 - 3 - Good mentor
10:28 - 4. Mini-projects
11:06 - 5 - Stay motivated
11:46 - 6 - Accountability System

[@WillGibbons]

If you're a designer interested in career, rendering and self-improvement topics, I think you'll like my free newsletter: pages.willgibbons.com/keyshot-rendering-roadmap/ Currently, most of my tutorials are focused on rendering in KeyShot, but many of the principals can be applied to Blender/Cycles or any other render engine. I do intend to create some beginner-friendly Blender tutorials in the near future. So, to make sure you hear about those, you can use the link above to join the email list. Cheers!

[@DerekElliott]

Awesome job and congrats on finishing. Enjoyed this wrap up video too... Great tips and advice for success!

[@WillGibbons]

You're the man! Thanks for dropping a comment on my video. Much appreciated!

[@kittyc4t679]

@@WillGibbons broooo, my two fav mentors in one placeee, wow.... i was always loved to export animation and models from blender to keyshot, i learned keyshot from WillGibbons

[@xanzuls]

that's a lot of progress in just over 3 months, great job

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you! I Really appreciate that.

[@pluto9000]

Do you think I could become proficient with Blender in 100 days if I worked on it each day for a few hours?

[@WillGibbons]

@@pluto9000 Sure... as long as you stuck to a specific area of the software. I've heard from plenty of others who've spent years learning it and they all will admit there's still plenty they don't know. But in the end, you likely don't need to know how to use all of what Blender has to offer.

[@Gercovl]

Congratulations on making it to the end! I really enjoyed observing your process. Your attention to detail is impressive, and as always, your tutorial was not only informative but also a delight to watch!

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you so much!

[@abirshakil]

Congratulations Bro for something new! I also started the blender 100 day challenge 2 days after you. After about 55-60 days of learning, I got a chance to work on a client's project, which made my Blender learning journey a lot easier! Now it's my good to go tools!

[@WillGibbons]

Wow! That's really great. I love that you had the confidence to use it on a client project. That's where the best learning happens.

[@Followcambro]

Its great to see you branch into more software options. Keyshot keeps adding great tools and features but creates a barrier as it becomes so widely used especially in the Industrial Design field. First, because Keyshot leaves people, mostly students, thinking drag and drop materials with an HDRI is all you need. Second, a lot of designers get good at Keyshot while missing key skills in animation, topology, and UV unwrapping. Keyshot is significantly more powerful when you have supporting skills in other programs like Blender, Maya, and Cinema 4D. Additionaly this kind of competition from other software will push Keyshot to add important features that you for example, found in Blender.

[@WillGibbons]

I think you make a lot of good observations and I can't really argue against them. Though, I'll add that it largely depends on the person and what they're doing for work. There will always be a group of designers who don't need to learn Blender as it would be too big a time investment without adding much to their core duties/roles in their jobs.

[@carlospaixao3242]

Thanks for sharing this experience!

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks for watching!

[@rbettsx]

Congratulations on an exemplary, disciplined approach.

[@guillemferrerpuiggros8593]

So cool! Super excited to see this compilation, I've been following your progress on Instagram and it's been really inspiring for me. When starting new challenges or trainings, I typically encounter problems like the ones you mentioned at the beginning of the video. The explanation of how you've handled it is something that I believe could be helpful to me. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. 😁

[@WillGibbons]

I'm stoked to hear that! My hope with this video was to convince others they can learn this software if that's what they want to do. Of course, it'll take time and effort. But all great things do.

[@grigorymarkov8775]

Another new world to explore! Congratulations! As a CAD user always felt a bit scared to start learning Blender. Thank you for this inspiring video!

[@WillGibbons]

If you can learn CAD, you can learn Blender. Just have to be patient and be willing to be confused at times, haha

[@ALSAHAFI13]

30K views in less than two weeks! This is massive compared to your Keyshot videos. The Blender community is simply unmatched in the 3D software world.

[@WillGibbons]

Yeah, I guess so...

[@Vladimir-po8qe]

Well done man! Awesome job, great progress

[@WillGibbons]

That's nice of you. Thanks!

[@TheeArtee]

Just found your channel. Awesome video! I’m excited to see more from you in the blender community. 👍

[@WillGibbons]

Hey, thanks! I really appreciate it!

[@CarrascoCristian]

Thank you!, ive been trying to learns blender for a couple of years and I been found myself in those road blocks and losing motivation as you descrive, this gave me the right path to follow

[@WillGibbons]

Great to hear! Just start and see how many days you can string together. You can do it!

[@buntrockstudios]

I’ve been following your 100 days of blender series on your KZbin shorts! Was looking forward to a video like this from you! Please do more ✌🏻🖤

[@WillGibbons]

Happy to hear that. Thanks for the support! I hope to as well. Just comes down to time.

[@danielbyme]

This was a great video and walkthrough of your 100 day Blender journey. Interesting to hear about your processes and how you approached this "challenge". Well done and thanks for sharing.

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks so much!

[@EdonGuraziuOfficial]

Great dedication and results Will!!!

[@WillGibbons]

Hi Edon! Thank you, that's really nice of you.

[@a.n.6084]

Great job man 👍

[@deepictd]

Your words go straight through my head. I can't thank you enough for how your teachings have helped me shape my career! And you inspire me to become a better person like yourself. Keep up this great work. You're like no other. Thank you so much!

[@WillGibbons]

Wow, thank you for such a such nice comment!

[@GangstaBoiiiiiii]

Great video - it's good to see how much work it all was! it's easy to assume that things are easy to whip up just watching instagram clips, but this makes it clear that it's a big journey

[@WillGibbons]

Yes, thanks for bringing that up. The instagram clips are very short and condensed highlights. I won't lie, this was a big undertaking and at times got difficult. But I learned through this process that we should not assume things should be easy or quick to learn.

[@Aanaartu]

Very good job with this project and video. Congrats on finishing it and sharing what you learned :) I actually have personally encountered several of these problems, and with time overcome some them. I am currently on the same path, with different subject matter, but this process will translate nicely to any (technical) learning challenge!

[@WillGibbons]

Awesome! I wish you luck. As you mentioned, time makes a big difference. If someone is rushed and loses patience, then it's much harder to have those breakthroughs.

[@okanyikmis7863]

You've explained the process very well! It could help a lot! Thank you very much!

[@WillGibbons]

You are welcome!

[@jcowle86]

Will, you are inspiring! I appreciate this video a lot and the guidance you provided!

[@WillGibbons]

I appreciate that! Thanks for taking time to comment!

[@KattyPrab]

Hell yeah! I loved seeing your progress on instagram! I will start blender soon.

[@WillGibbons]

Awesome, Thank you! And best of luck!

[@theGoogol]

Then you can ask me Blender-related questions if you find yourself in the situation of needing help 👍🏾

[@WillGibbons]

@@theGoogol Thanks!

[@theGoogol]

@@WillGibbons : np! Blender's learning curve is not necessarily steep, it's more broad. If you know what you want to do with Blender, learning the necessary skills is easy ... Blender's learning curve becomes a problem when you want to learn everything Blender has to offer (that's near impossible).

[@00mongoose]

Its amazing how much skills carry over across different tools. Color me impressed.

[@WillGibbons]

For sure. I think it's an easy trap to assume each software is super different. The UI changes, but the underlying function, logic and design skills carry over most of the time.

[@jas-jr3rv]

This was a really fun watch!

[@WillGibbons]

I really appreciate that! Thanks for watching.

[@hamzarafaqat4145]

Great work. Happy it worked for you!

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you! It's fun. If you're curious, you should give it a go.

[@the_ericklima]

This was great. I'm a Cinema 4D user, and I loved how you articulated your process and what you can accomplish with clearly defined goals. I'm a big fan, and I'm sure you will continue to succeed in this space.

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks so much for the support! C4D is a great tool! Cool to see you bothered watching this even though you're not a Blender user. Cheers!

[@spoon334se]

thanks much for your work and shared insights!... really helpful, cheers!

[@WillGibbons]

Glad it was helpful!

[@azafran7488]

good insights and inspiring process

[@WillGibbons]

I really appreciate it!

[@alunlloyd9812]

Very great video. Also good advice on how to approach learning a new program. Hope to learn blender myself soon to get into 3D modeling for advertising

[@WillGibbons]

I do recommend it! Thanks.

[@pv8685]

you are a freakin fast learner my friend... respect! if you keep up that speed i think its a matter of a short time to consider you a absolute pro!

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[@JamesSmith-jh4co]

I don't know if learning blender is something I will be diving into right now, but I am a programmer and I love your clear, concise style. I was inspired by your journey and your method and I will apply it to my next learning adventure. I am constantly jumping around and losing focus so this helped me thank you.

[@WillGibbons]

You're not the only one! It can be tough to stay focused on one thing with how much we have competing for our attention. Thanks for the nice words!

[@VyzdomLLC]

Excellent video, Will - you should be super proud of what you were able to pull off. If I weren't a daily Blender user myself, you would have totally inspired me to follow suit! 😀

[@WillGibbons]

Mission accomplished. Thanks David! And thanks for always being down to talk shop and help with random Blender questions.

[@troublebot]

I can't even tell you how well-timed this video is for me, you're a legend.

[@WillGibbons]

I can't even tell you how much I appreciate your comment! Cheers!

[@mvelentzas]

Awesome work!

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks a lot!

[@paulduan5533]

GREAT JOB WILL!! Thank you for sharing your experience and congrats for this very inspiring accomplishment. I wanted to move from Solid works to Blender but didn't as I thought (actually asked Blender) that it won't be rendered by Keyshot. Now I know it can! Solidworks is too serious for my needs (furniture) in so many places and a lot of time my time is wasted or stuck on how to get to needed looks, (for example a wicker / woven pattern on a chair) when at the end of the day my models are just reference to my factory who have to do their CADs anyway. So this is a major encouragement for me to pick up blender. THANK YOU AGAIN!!

[@WillGibbons]

You're welcome. As you saw, you can definitely render models created in either Blender or KeyShot. However, in furniture design, where you'll be dimensioning a lot and adjusting proportions, I don't think Blender would be an ideal software to use. But in the case of a realistic wicker material, sure. Or if creating cusions, then Blender would probably have some advantages. I think though, if I was tasked with designing furniture, I'd be using CAD. There are alternatives to Solidworks that are more affordable like Fusion 360, Onshape or a newer software that shows a lot of promise, Plasticity. I'd recommend looking at those, especially the last one I mentioned.

[@paulduan5533]

@@WillGibbons Well always value feedbacks Will! thanks a lot! yes I do pass my solidworks files to my factory or ask them to convert to CAD all the time. Looks like I won't be able to do that with blender!

[@LukeHomay]

This is cool. Thanks for the video. And good job with all the work you did. I went HARD on Blender for about 6 months and then died out. Now I'm back and lately I've been curious of a good route to take with it, so this was helpful to see. Like when I went to film school, I had teachers that gave us the perfect assignments to help us learn and that's what I wanted for Blender. Thanks for the information on your structure.

[@WillGibbons]

Cheers! I hope you are able to get back into it.

[@MetalGearMk3]

Very inspiring! You are a champ.

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you 😊

[@kaibe.design]

Great challenge Will! Definitely need to complete that as well. :)

[@WillGibbons]

You can do it!

[@TheSatzy6699]

Amazing resilience ❤

[@WillGibbons]

thanks!

[@fortimusprimefilms]

As a Software Engineering student who has struggled with Blender in the exact way you mentioned, and plans to learn it throughout this summer to make my own film animations, you are an inspiration that came at the right time! The goal-setting principle you shared, and the tactics to hold oneself accountable is absolutely brilliant. I have my own YT channel and sharing the days on what I learn and having my audience hold me accountable for this, and having a set time limit, and finding a good mentor, and most importantly, setting the clear & specific goals for learning is fantastic. I only wish someone taught me how to do this earlier on in life. I never learned to do things this way, and thus, a lot stays unfinished. This is a great plan, and I hope I can make the discipline to follow it through and learn this invaluable skill. I just found out about you, but know that you have inspired me to work on that goal. Thanks for making this video, and sharing with everyone on YT how to learn.

[@WillGibbons]

That means so much to me! Thank you. I wish you the best as you set out to create your own animations!

[@jacobsboringlife1334]

tf u mean u modeled that pocket knife with no tutorial

[@WillGibbons]

Yeah, it was a bit of a challenge, but mostly flat surfaces. So, just pretty much needed to focus on creating decent topology so I could make the holes. The blade was a bit tricky too where it comes to a point, but that battle axe I did early on was a good primer since that had a blade on it too.

[@jacobsboringlife1334]

great job, how about the animation when the knife opens and the metall things move to block the blade it looks so realistic do u have a background with animation or is it your first time ?@@WillGibbons

[@m4r_art]

I'm glad to have randomly contributed to your project by commenting here and there across those time-lapse shorts with acquired music choices in the background. 😂

[@WillGibbons]

Super cool! Yeah, picking music each time got to be a bit annoying because searching for good music in the KZbin and Instagram apps isn't the best experience. But glad you enjoyed the process and thanks for your comments!

[@roydavid5761]

Amazing work, i keep walking circles around blender, i’ll be borrowing your method starting next week, no excuses to get gud.

[@WillGibbons]

Happy to hear that! You can do it.

[@kennysponto6568]

True artistry here. Wow

[@Prathik1989]

what an insightful video, no fluff, subscribed!

[@WillGibbons]

Welcome aboard! Thanks :)

[@Prathik1989]

@@WillGibbons it's funny, I'm an industrial designer but I learned blender to do fun animations and such, but need to go re-learn solid works and CAD software again as it's been years @_@

[@giorgiobianchini]

Hey Will, well done! Watching your daily progress on instagram encouraged me to jump into blender to have more freedom on some 3D areas where some software are weaker or just too expensive. Thanks for sharing! Next step... Houdini? ;)

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks! Houdini is a rad tool. I spent some time learning the very basics of it a few years ago and really loved it. However, I didn't want to become a houdini specialist. The market for that is pretty much work on a team for VFX in films and TV (too stressful and competitive) or offer simulations and FX for a creative agency, which means focusing on freelancing which I don't want to do. So, probably no Houdini for me. Blender's geometry nodes and simulation nodes will give me enough to play with as far as simulations and procedural workflows go.

[@mutolibbusari979]

This is really inspirational! I believe this can be applied to a lot of things in life. I 've been in the cycle for years, I hope I'll be able to break out with these tips. Thanks

[@WillGibbons]

I hope you can too, if that's what you want. Just try to avoid making it an 'all-or-nothing' scenario. We all have good days and bad. But sticking with it is key. You got it!

[@mutolibbusari979]

Yeah. Really Appreciate. Thanks

[@voulazarpani7688]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience. So many things you say are true - I have faced the same difficulties when trying to learn Zbrush. I have done all these mistakes. I find it very useful to hear your list of 6 points. I can see how I have sabotaged my Zbrush progress! Like all your other videos, this also is very informative and helpful.

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks for your comment! It's something I've experienced too, so don't feel bad! Learn and keep plugging away. Glad this was helpful!

[@NoelLeeman]

Very impressive!

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you!

[@melissazelenz2143]

Thank you Will! I’ve been learning Sub D poly in MODO thru my design school. I am considering diving into Blender after my student license expires. I’ve been a Creo user for the last 3 years… Thank you for all the great tips. Congratulations!!

[@WillGibbons]

Nice! I would think you'd find Blender fairly easy to learn then. I did use MODO for about a year in 2014.

[@melissazelenz2143]

@@WillGibbons Thanks! I’m also curious if you have any thoughts about Cinema 4D? I find MODO to be perplexing… not intuitive at all. However I do like the UV features. I recently had issues with UV unwrapping in KS and I greatly appreciate the video you made on that topic. I would like to import the model into a poly program and see if I get better results.

[@JosephFutsum]

I just saw your 2 year old video on your first freelance client, and man you gained a lot of muscle right? that's another project for sure :)

[@WillGibbons]

Haha, crazy you could notice. I appreciate it. Yeah, been working on a very consistent routine 4 days a week for the past year or so.

[@sebastianmaggio9657]

you are amazing, so talented, you learned alot in those months, congrats for keeping the focus. The final part of the video is GOLD, sadly, im stuck on having a goal, or mini goals, like i want to learn all that i can, because I dont know what I want. I lost motivation because im working on retail sale, nothing of what I finished my college (3D animation and modeling on maya), so I lost motivation..., and i just stuck seeing tutorials..., I could make the donut, and the chair of blenderguru, but I don't know, it feels like, I dont have alot of projects to show, and work in some company, its just for hobby now... 😮‍💨😔

[@WillGibbons]

I understand. Thanks for your comment. If you're burned out, take a break. But if you want to learn, then find a specific time each day or week where you can set aside an hour here and there. Focus on making some of your own mini projects. Focus on volume. Just get some momentum so you can keep pushing to create more advanced things. If you stick with it for a few months, I think you'll be glad you did.

[@MrZadazz]

Awesome Will. I was waiting to hear your thoughts on the program and if you will be switching from Keyshot to Blender now that you have had a deep dive into in. I did the jump from Keyshot to Blender 2 years ago. Still happy

[@WillGibbons]

I won't be dropping KeyShot. Currently, my plan is to use the best tool for the job, depending on what I need. Glad you like it!

[@fazalfazi2141]

wow! your words inspire me alote 🎉✨

[@WillGibbons]

That's awesome. Thank you!

[@MysticalEmblem]

Ill use this as motivation for my journey

[@WillGibbons]

Cheers!

[@kennysponto6568]

Good stuff! Damn!

[@WillGibbons]

Cheers. That's really kind of you!

[@visualmaximum]

Congratulations! 🤝

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@mohammadayman28]

Extremely Inspiring.

[@WillGibbons]

Cheers! That means a lot :D

[@Fred-bf6qc]

Video couldn't have come at a better time. About to make the jump from Solidworks + Keyshot to Blender. Would love to hear blender tips for keyshot users, and what to expect when making the jump. Nice one

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks! good luck. I'll be happy to share tips for KeyShot users. That's 100% my plan, but I'm just going to have to get to it when I can. Probably in the next few months you'll see me begin to tackle topics like that in videos here. Best!

[@NestGFX_]

Awesome tips here! Take notes folks!

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you for your comment! :D

[@DigitalTwin3D]

Very cool! I think a lot of CAD designers would feel comfortable right away learning Maya because of the native CAD file support (IGES and STEP) and NURBS surface modeling.

[@WillGibbons]

I've heard this quite a bit. I've no experience with Maya, so I can't speak to this but that's quite interesting. I'm sure that's one other reason why it's become such a common tool in the VFX industry.

[@3dloom]

I have left using keyshot once I started to work on blender like you .. Happy to see, you start it too. 😍

[@WillGibbons]

My goal is not to move people away from KeyShot, but to show that learning Blender should not be so intimidating.

[@secretagentmandanV2]

Thanks for sharing your progress! I want to do the same.

[@WillGibbons]

You should!

[@deskreanimation]

very inspiring

[@bsv_za]

Thanks for making this video. Curious to know, since you've been working in other software for years, is it more efficient to model and render in blender or do you still see benefit in doing portions of the work outside blender?

[@WillGibbons]

Good question. For some form factors, I'd much prefer to model them in cad. Lots of hard surface items, anything with threads or lots of holes/extrusions. I prefer Blender for soft body elements, anything requiring complex patterns on organic surfaces or bending/deforming items that need to bend when animated or particles. Some years ago, I had a freelance project that required me to model some of those 3M dual lock strips. I could not have done that in CAD. So, for me Blender is additive. But I suspect in time, I'll spend more and more time in Blender and less time in other tools.

[@MrEe1010]

Great Job Will. I am also a SolidWorks, and Keyshot user and have been going down the same route as you - except I decided to go with 3ds Max and Corona Renderer. I tried Blender in the past and found the workflow to be very confusing and the emphasis on learning keyboard shortcuts in Blender (you can't really use Blender without keyboard shortcuts), was a huge barrier to entry for me. I found 3ds Max much more straightforward and easier to learn. Thanks for all the inspiration over the years with your videos.

[@WillGibbons]

Interesting! I've no doubt that 3Ds Max and Corona allow you to make some great work. Do you not use keyboard shortcuts in Max? You can use all menus in Blender since that's how I was introduced to it. But I find it easy to commit a new hotkey to memory every few days. Eventually, you get to the point where you've memorized enough. One thing that's also handy is you can just add almost any hotkey to a single quick menu. That's also super helpful for beginners since you only remember a single key to access all your most frequently-used tools. Cheers!

[@MrEe1010]

@@WillGibbons Hey Will. Yes, I use shortcuts in 3ds Max. I remember when I was trying to learn Blender, there was soooo much emphasis on memorizing keyboard shortcuts, it was just overwhelming! In 3ds Max, there is a lot less reliance on them. Most everything has a descriptive button which was just an easier approach to learning for me. I am not great a memorizing a list of shortcuts! Also I found Max much easier to use. I am also considering looking at Cinema as I hear it does motion graphics really well. But blender forces you into a peculiar way of working that really does not go with my learning style and it seems a lot more complicated to do simple tasks - IMHO. :)

[@AdilKhanDeshmukh]

Picked up Blender 4 years ago during the pandemic and fell into a similar cycle. In my career I have used CATIA predominantly and now really trying to make a proper concerted effort to learn Blender properly

[@WillGibbons]

Wow, definitely a different feeling tool than CATIA. But I could see it being a nice compliment as well. Best of luck! Consistency is key. I'm sure that's how you leaned CATIA.

[@ChrisScottNI]

Well done

[@WillGibbons]

Many thanks! :)

[@andilengqewu4903]

Hey, I am in the phase you were in at the beginning. Beeeeen trying to get into 3D in general, kinda dropped it in college. Figured Blender would be my best gateway. Did the dougnut exercise! Forgot everything again (work and life got in the way). Were all of these days solely dedicated to Blender? Or were you also doing your usual work stuff and Blender on the side?

[@WillGibbons]

Ah, yeah, it's tough in the beginning sometimes depending on how much you have going on. No, I limited my time in Blender each day to about 1.5 hrs. Some days were a bit more, others a bit less. But it took a fair bit of extra energy/time to document the process like recording myself, writing captions and posting each day on social media. That... I don't really recommend as it introduces extra friction. I was also doing other work, but thankfully, my schedule allowed me to start my day with Blender and then move to other work later.

[@FullyDefined-Design]

Great project Will, congrats. As a fellow SWX and Keyshot user, you've got my attention. I'm particularly interested in the dog collar, flexible parts animations. Could you model from SolidWorks then import to blender for the ani's? I'll have to go through your video library to see if you've mentioned it. Also, you allowed 1hr per day for learning, but what did you allow for documenting/editing/etc the process?

[@WillGibbons]

Great questions! So, the short answer to your question about, whether or not you can deform CAD models in Blender the same way I did in this example is.... not with great results. I'll go deeper into this topic later, but good topology helps ensure the deformations are smooth and correct. But after importing CAD to Blender, your tessellation will not be optimized for bending or deformations like this. And that is one of the biggest issues with interoperability. I created a templated process for filming and editing. I shot the video on a gopro. Those files upload automatically to the cloud via wifi. I would grab those clips and bring them into DaVinci Resolve where I just essentially made a new timeline and applied my templates and exported the video. I would write a caption in Notion each day explaining what I did. Then, I'd put the exported video in a google drive folder I have sync'd to my phone. Then, I'd schedule the posts in Instagram or KZbin and copy/paste my captions from the Notion app on my phone. Sounds like a lot, but that whole process only took about 10 minutes each day on average.

[@calvinhenderson1483]

⁠@@WillGibbonsHave you seen Plasticity’s mesh exporter? It looks like you can take NURBS bodies and export to quads/ngons with pretty good topology. I haven’t had a chance to check it out, but I’m wondering if it could be a tool in a SW to Blender pipeline. Right now my studio actually uses KeyShot to retessalate CAD before bringing into Blender (if we need to use it) because Solidworks’ STL/OBJ exporter doesn’t really offer any granular control. That process leaves a lot to be desired as we still end up with triangles and bad topology. It would be nice to not have to re-model something like that buckle if you just want to do a deform.

[@FullyDefined-Design]

@@WillGibbons very cool - thanks for the response!

[@Ataraxia_Atom]

As an engineer that uses solidworks and fusion for CAD/CAM, ive gone through the same cycle many times. Messing with blender just to get busy and forget everything i did lol so relatable

[@WillGibbons]

Happy to hear I'm not the only one! haha

[@chummu2]

So True

[@adamilyes961]

That’s impressive!! Btw what’s the roadster modeling course name?

[@WillGibbons]

Not sure it has a name. It's one of the courses included in the CGFastTrack membership.

[@tejiriamrasa3258]

Inspiring

[@rajendrameena150]

You should consider using Mira tools addon for tweaking the topolgy using curves. It will feel like tweaking nurbs curves...

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you! I hope to look into it!

[@covjeksirena6966]

How did you go about learning subdivision surface modeling? That’s a pretty tough thing to learn, very broad topic. Do you have any tips on how to start and how to improve?

[@WillGibbons]

Sure, great question. I followed a bunch of courses by CGFastTrack. They start very basic and by going through multiple courses, I built up some muscle memory. I'd still say I'm pretty basic at that. It takes a long time to be very efficient there.

[@networklamp]

10/10 good video!

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you very much!

[@uzairbukhari99]

Awesome! What course did you take for rigging?

[@WillGibbons]

CG Fast Track rigging course for beginners. They walked through how to rig that desk lamp in that course.

[@retiredtravazapper2827]

i always wanted to learn blender, my family runs a dental ofice here in brazil and my dad ask me sometimes to do some instagram posts to help the business, i have a great knoladge at photoshop but i always wanted to take it up a noch and make some cool animations and models to divulgate the business in a diferent way, but blender is a whole new area for me, i never toched anything realeted to that, im creating courage to start !

[@WillGibbons]

That's awesome! You can do it. It may take some time, but I think the end result would be well-worth it!

[@alextorhan]

Много работы и отличный результат!

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you for the compliment!

[@slicster]

I'm curious. Can't you build in fusion then import into blender to do the animation and texture stuff you want to do?

[@WillGibbons]

On a basic level, yes. But if you ever try to UV unwrap CAD data that's been tessellated into triangles, then you'll find it doesn't make life easy and in some cases it's prohibitively messy. Same goes for deformations where you're animating bendy stuff.

[@AmeJouten]

Solid video, definitely take s a lot to stay with blender for that long. The real pain of Blender when you start learning character creation and then the UV nations attack.😂

[@WillGibbons]

I completely understand. While the UVs were very simple in my projects, I can only imagine what character artists have to battle.

[@vishwaselvam486]

What a legend 👏🏼

[@WillGibbons]

😍

[@nicolasmiebach]

Great to see that! Now the final question! Would it be an option to switch over to blender? Do you think you could quit using Keyshot? I am using Keyshot and Maya for years now.. Keyshot is great for getting quick good results but as soon you want to animate anything it breaks.. Try to animate anything with a hinge.. it is so buggy to just use pivot points... scale something.. you get weired numbers in the atttibutes panels.. And they don´t want change it.. I tell them for years now... Now even the color window where you set your colors does not have a cancel button.. so if you try a color and don´t want it, you need to use undo... I really want quit using Keyshot but I have around 500 Client Files made with Keyshot and we need them on a daily basis.. so for now I have to stick with it.. but really I don´t want anymore...

[@WillGibbons]

Yeah, that's a tough spot to be in. If I were doing client work, I'd probably keep a license of KeyShot around. But I think you could probably make Blender work. It'd likely require some extra tools or add-ons to replace some KeyShot features though. Not sure if there's a good way to make Blender have a render queue or not. I'd say it's too soon for me to know for sure if I could truly only use Blender.

[@DEM3RZ]

Killer achievement, and some of those projects you showcased are NOT beginner-first 100 day type of projects, way to challenge yourself and push your own edge!

[@WillGibbons]

Yes, thanks for pointing this out. I had done some very beginner-friendly tutorials/courses over the years, so I had some foundational knowledge, not to mention 10+ years of using and learning about 3D in various forms. That cycle I mentioned in the beginning where I'd learn, but then take long breaks and lose momentum... even though that happened, it helped me move through the beginner stuff much faster. I wasn't sure of how to explain that succinctly in the video.

[@oscarrottink]

Great video Will! And while the Blender interface makes my eyes bleed, I think the points you address in this video are valid for every 3D modelling tool people want to learn. I'm one of those who learn things in a less structured way and like you say, it can be a waste of time. By setting the goals like you did it's easier not to get lost and distracted too much. It's awesome to see how much you learned in just 100 days as well and I can imagine it also feels really good you're not really limited by for example limitations inside KeyShot but you are flexible to get them done using another tool. A thing you didn't mention but I think is quite important while learning Blender is that there are plugins in Blender for almost every single thing you want to achieve. I think it's better to stay away from those plugins if you want to learn Blender since they mostly offer shortcuts which prevent you from learning the basics. It will also make it much harder to take your Blender/Modelling knowledge to another 3D modeller if you depend too much on plugins since the amount Blender has, is just ridiculous.

[@WillGibbons]

Thanks for pointing that out! Yes, 100% what I did here could and should be applied to any tool someone might want to learn. And lots of people ask me about plugins/add-ons. I'm purposely avoiding them for the exact reasons you mentioned. I don't like relying on software that is developed by an individual and becoming dependent on it. I'd rather learn the 'vanilla' version of the software and only use add-ons very selectively and once I know the workflow without said add-on as you mentioned.

[@rajendrameena150]

Some addons are not just time saver but they adds up blender functionality rather bloating the vanilla blender because blender is also made up of some code so i think after understanding blender, we can utilize some time saving tools, one addon called Mira tools should be a must have addon is missing in Vanilla blender which gives you total control over topology by giving you Nurbs like handles.​@@WillGibbons

[@vahicls]

Thank You! What do you think about this worfkflow idea: Modeling in Rhinoceros > Convert NURB to Mesh > Import and edit in Blender.

[@WillGibbons]

In theory, it's great. But converting NURBs to mesh leads to long, spiky triangles for surface mesh. Those become problematic when UV unwrapping, deforming or subdividing. It all depends on what you'll need to do in Blender. The topology of the mesh will affect how successful each tool will be.

[@IvinNayaYoesel]

Cool video

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you!

[@stewl6329]

For the mini-projects, how do you know, choose what kind of projects you want to tackle? How do you know the skills you will use are in that project you chose?

[@WillGibbons]

Good question. Kind of a gut feeling. I would look at the shape of the product and try to think of how I would make it in Blender. If it felt like I was confident I could get at least 80% of it right, then I would move forward with it. That means it should not be so hard that you get completely stuck and give up, but still have some challenges.

[@stewl6329]

@@WillGibbons That's what make it difficult. Do I know enough to tackle a project on my own!? There is doubt then I go back to more tutorials; Even though I know what I am supposed to do. Thanks!

[@SportzSwag]

Hello, I'm a beginner to Blender and was wondering how you have such good graphics while using Blender. My computer freezes up easily when I'm using Blender. and I was wondering if you bought a graphics processing unit for your computer?

[@WillGibbons]

I have a blog post about my computer hardware here: www.willgibbons.com/computer/ At the bottom of that post, I have my computer specs. I currently am using an RTX3090Ti GPU.

[@SportzSwag]

@@WillGibbons Thank you! Also, nice video!

[@abdelhamidbenmoussa8214]

inspirational

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you!

[@AbrahamLaria]

I'm willing to pay for CG FasTrack courses but most of them were created years ago with Blender 2.X versions. Did you find any issues following the tutorials using a newer version of Blender? Thanks

[@WillGibbons]

I didn't find any issues. They recommend using the older builds so there is a 100% match between the tutorial and your version of Blender, which makes it easy enough. They are also redoing some of the beginner courses in 4.0 and newer.

[@AbrahamLaria]

@@WillGibbons Thanks for your quick response!

[@chokichoka]

Very nice ! Do you use any Blender addon or feel the need for it ?

[@WillGibbons]

I haven't used many. Just UV Squares and Node Wrangler.

[@OBF497]

so realistic looking

[@WillGibbons]

Thank you!

[@youseferaky3939]

how did you get inspiration to make your own mini projects and how you know it test the skills you have learned ?

[@WillGibbons]

Mostly intuition and looking around the house for objects I had on hand to reference. Most of them turned out to be more difficult than expected, so keep those mini-projects conservative and simple to start!

[@patrykgrzyb2776]

I wish to move to bender from sketchup . I'm using sketchup to design kitchens and wardrobes. All objects are made to scale (mm) , all objects have cutlist setting "mateiral type , edgebanduing or other with price like hinges" , I can export csv list of the objects with settings to make nesting (cutlist) hope at some point blender developers will thing about people like me.

[@WillGibbons]

Ah, I see. yeah, while there may be some add-ons available that, I'm not sure how many of those needs can be addressed in the basic Blender build.

[@mediaeducativa3339]

I enjoyed your video & will be following your advice. I am in the same situation I've been using Fusion360 for a while and I like it very much. I have a question though, if Fusion is so much superior in making precise, sketch based and parametric hard surface models, why then make them in Blender where you have yes beautiful models but lacking in Fusion advantages? Is there no good way to import your models from Fusion360 into Blender? ( I think the link to your newsletter is broken)

[@WillGibbons]

You can import models from Fusion to Blender, if you first convert them to a mesh like FBX, OBJ or STL. This mesh is not optimized for everything you may wish to do in Blender, like UV unwrapping or deformation animations. There are steps you can take to try to retopologize, but it's a lot of work. I decided learning how to model in Blender would be worth it regardless. I will still have to set aside time to learn a process that works well for getting CAD into Blender with some useable topology. Will check the link. Thanks!

[@mediaeducativa3339]

@@WillGibbons I found out that with FBX and even STL I can quickly fix the mesh to obtain clean quads using MESH > CLEAN UP > LIMITED DISSOLVE

[@Rick-pi9zn]

huge respect.

[@WillGibbons]

Many thanks!