How did everyone get here?

Here it's an on off story, during college (2006) I tested out 3Dsmax, Rino and maya, but given that youtube wasn't a thing and that I wasn't studying art, but marketing, I quickly gave up as it was all way too complex.  During my career I often wondered what if I had continued then up to a day that I burnt out.  During the recovery I stumbled upon the donut tutorial and it was like it sparked an old fire.  Now I get nervous when i'm not building stuff in Blender and I just love it.  CGcookie has been really helpful to catch up all those years not doing any 3D.   And the CG Cookie community are top people to get to know.  

I landed here last year, after dabbling in Blender for a couple of years with interruptions due to hardware. I got my skills to a certain point but struggled to get over the first hump with Youtube tutorials, because I find many of them don't go to the depth of the matter like explaining why something is done. It's more often than not more a "Here's what I did, you can copy it" kind of thing. I was missing the structure in the learning process. Then eventually I dove deeper into some of the Cookie content on YT and decided to sign up here and do some courses. I don't regret it for a second since I finally found the instructions I was looking for and along with that an amazing community. And I just made sure I'll be here for a very long time. :)

I have been working in a bad job for many years and this year I felt personally exhausted. So I decided to buy a computer to relax and clear my mind. Initially, I thought playing games would help me unwind. However, when I couldn't find the satisfaction I was looking for in games, I took my cousin's advice and got interested in 3D modeling.

I researched several training centers, but none of them offered comprehensive training; everything was fragmented and incomplete. While searching online, I came across Kent's Human training and found myself here. The main reason I stayed in this community is because I feel that the administrators are not just motivated by making money but genuinely aim to educate people. This is not just a theory; they demonstrate it very well in practice.

The sincere and supportive atmosphere of the Blender community has kept me engaged. I have no intention of leaving here for a long time. My goals include quitting my current miserable job and building a career in this field. I aim to continue improving myself in Blender and 3D modeling to achieve this goal.

Hi folks,

I've enjoyed CG Cookie's professional quality content for a long time, but have only recently decided to subscribe. I think it's going to be great.
I remember playing with Blender version 2.49b back in high school. I was really keen on the game engine, which is now no longer integrated, although the Cycles renderer and the overhaul of the UI, amongst other features, have made it worthwhile.

I still need to improve my ability to model, fix topography, and become a better artist. I hope CG Cookie will aid in those areas.

i tried a few free tutorials from other places, i would quit either cause i was stuck and there was no support or cause it was boring/ i felt i was just following a set of instructions and not really learning. ive been wanting to learn for several yearsn, then somehow, probably a facebook or google ad, i stumbled on the Press start tutorial and i was hooked, 

After doing IT for 4 years, much of it out of tenacity and necessity, I started looking into 3D!
While doing full-time, I did a foundational course in Think Tank Training Center, but realized that I like Blender better due to its ergonomics, tactility, and aesthetics. Plus, I decided to go into the games path after struggling hard with fragile and legacy Maya, VRay and Mudbox.

Now, I'm here in CGCookie and it's so nice the courses are structured so well! With the pricing much much much cheaper than conventional CG courses, I am so happy that I am a student here!

lleifdux Good to hear! I actually looked at Think Tank awhile back actually. I actually just stayed a few blocks from their campus in Vancouver a couple month back. I wondered how they were but the pricing is terrifying if your not sure if CG is your thing. 

Good to see you here at the Cookie, It's a great community here and everyone is willing to lend a hand, give some tips, or just simply to fire you up after your last render!

Theebline

Wow that's cool! Have you ever visited their campus before? Looks so unique...
You are right that the pricing is terrifying! If you want, you could always just try the 16 week Foundational Course! If you do wish to continue, you can always continue the path for either film or games! Personally, I couldn't decide whether it was worth the investment or not, so I just did it as I'm more by doing.

Thank you for the welcome! I love the community of Cookie and everyone is so helpful! I hope I can contribute something back too!

(PS: Lemmie know if you need more information about Think Tank!)

Hiya.

I've always dabbled with 2D visual arts (photography, illustration, colorgrading..) and I was never interested in learning 3D. Then one day I decided to take a 3D modelling course in my University because I needed more credit and I fell in love with Blender and the magical world of 3D Art.

So here I am, pursuing 3D Art hoping to get better everyday and finally working in this industry.

Also while looking for tutorials I found the Press Start! and I really liked their way of explaining the workflow and the small things without gatekeeping.

(Now I'm finishing the Fundamentals of Blender's playlist and I discovered I despise sculpting)

Hi All - I've been messing with Blender for about ten years, but never really taken it that seriously - hence I'm always starting from scratch again. I'm especially interested in natural environments, mimicking landscape photography (though I'm not pigeonholing myself - interested in learning more than just that) 

hey there! I started using blender just a few months ago, I really like it! i am struggling with the youtube tutorial and all of that, because i feel like that i need more Blender foundamental, like topologies, geometries and all that stuff but i really enjoy my time learning all of these. About me, im currently working as a developer, that can be quite complicated especially if you started it out as a self taught just like me, i'd like to focus on a more creative field just like 3d rendering, and eventually getting a job as a generic 3d artist (is that the one making random shapes, correct?), or maybe a 3D Architectural Visualizer, that would be cool

Hello everyone!

I've been dabbling in 3D since I was introduced to a learning version of Maya 7 back in the day. I loved everything about it, but was too scared to take the plunge into the industry straight out of High School. I ended up in a different career and regret not following my passion back then. I recently quit my job and decided to change careers and dive back into 3D graphics and animation (wish me luck)! I've been aware of Blender for years, and have tried learning the software in the past, but I kept getting stuck trying to match functionality from Maya. I found CG Cookie and recognized the quality and passion involved. It has been great for learning how to use Blender, but more importantly the fundamentals of the tool and how it works! Blender is an amazing tool, and CG Cookie is a wonderful community and learning environment!

Hi! 

I've loved everything to do with animation for a long time. I started off around 11 with stop motion. Me and my younger siblings watched the Lego movie and were inspired to create our own videos with Legos we had accumulated over the years. It was a valiant attempted, but was poorly executed. We didn't give up and after showing our mom, she helped us find a way to make our filming dreams come true! She bought us an app called Stop Motion Studio Pro. Our seconded attempt though better, still lacked any form of readable actions or interpretable story. It did not deter me in the slightest, as for the next 6 or 7 years I continued to teach myself to animate with my little plastic people, and became (in my opinion) pretty good at it. I was not allowed to roam the internet freely until I was about 16, so most of what I knew at the time I taught myself. After I was taken of my leash, I consumed everything that had anything to do with animation. 

At around 17 I did lose interest in stop motion a little, but my love for animation as a whole grew continuously. I used some money I had saved up to buy an iPad and taught myself to draw. I'm sure you can see where this is going. I wanted to learn 2D, which is something I have barley even tried to follow through with. I loved drawing so much that I forgot what I was originally indenting to do with that skill. My bad :), I still want to learn it, but my endeavors in 3D have taken up most of my time. 

After I graduated high school, I was homeschooled by the way, I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't see animation as a tangible career path, but as a hobby that I was obsessed with. My mom again stepped in to help me in my conquest of dream job in animation and found the soon to be nightmare (for ME) Animation Mentor. (I'm not saying its not a great school, it just didn't work for me ;) 

I was excited at first, I couldn't help but imagine how awesome it would be to work as an animator, and I would learn from people who helped to create the movies I watched as a kid. (How to Train Your Dragon was my favorite :) I made it to the third week of the second course. 

I am a happy person most of the time, I try not to sweat the little stuff. I have my moments, but don't we all. I was not a happy person during the time I was at Animation Mentor. I was stressed out all the time, and I knew if I failed it would cost a bunch of money to retake the class and try again. My parents were paying for the courses, and they told me not to worry about it, but it did get to me. It didn't help that I didn't feel like I was learning the same worth I was paying. The lectures that they provide could basically be summed up to story times about the experiences of those in the industry, which are nice, but not helpful to my assignments. I did learn some things, some of the videos were helpful, and I did get some good tips from the mentors I learned under. I do not regret what I did learn, but I do feel like I could have learned the same stuff on YouTube for free. I also feel like I was missing somethings that would hurt me later, but I didn't have anytime to go back and redo projects to make sure I was getting it, without sacrificing my current assignments success. Which is silly because all I did was study and work on my projects for hours on end. I kinda lost the love I had for animation, and it made me really sad.   

I was going to finish the course I was doing even if I did fail it, but I changed my mind after my mom showed me this really cool site called CGCookie. Where they would teach me everything I needed, and if I felt like I wasn't getting something, I could retake the course as many times as a wanted and it wouldn't cost me anything! The quality of the videos are impeccable, and they go over everything. I don't feel bad about not getting something right away, because there are no consequences if I don't. It's amazing what CGCookie is doing! I love animation again, and I love CGCookie! Right now I'm going through all the basics just to make sure I've got them down. I can't wait to get into the more of what CGCookie has to offer!       

bboxergirl05 Welcome to CG Cookie!! Don't feel bad about not running with the 2D. When I picked up blender, my original purpose was to be able to model better (if at all) for 3D Printing. Here we are, about 8-9 months later and I haven't even thought about models for printing. Down the long, deep rabbit hole I dove. But discovered there was so many more things that peaked my interest over trying to make models for printing. It also rejuvenated my love for film, animation, and SFX that I had had as a teenager. 

The best part about blender (if you enjoy learning that is), is that you're never done learning. There's always faster ways or more efficient ways to do things, and always new things to learn. Looking forward to seeing your work in the gallery!

Cheers!

Theebline, Thank you! I'm super happy with what I'm learning by getting "distracted" by 3D. I actually always wanted to learn 3D first anyways. I just never thought I would be able too. I have thoroughly proved my past self wrong I'm happy to say! I still want to learn 2D though. I am also an aspiring author and script writer. I have many ideas for thrilling tales of my own creation, but I have yet to produce anything tangible. I would love not only to turn my stories into 3D animations, but also 2D! I do have a tendency to get ahead of myself though so I am making sure I keep to a specific path, learning things one at a time! I hope I'm able to rise to the tasks of completing my goals, as they excite me greatly! Again thank you for being so welcoming! I hope my long form of explanation is not too much. I like writing, as I've mentioned :), and tend to go over board with large words and arranging the sentences for a more pleasing story reading experience. I don't know if it works or not, but it fun and makes me happy ;b.         

I had a few attempts with blender in my past. 15 years ago I had a demo reel of Cinema4D somehow on my hard disk. I remember telling my mom back then that I wanted to do something like that. I was 14 or so.

But I can't remember making anything in 3D at that time. I preferred to play games. :)

I just did some research. I still had an invoice email from 2018 from CGCookie in my inbox. That's when I took “my first steps” with Blender. But I was very arrogant and thought after the first tutorials that I would animate the next Pixar movie, then quickly fell flat on my face and let it go again. Then I came back to Blender 3 years later (2021). I remember I was a student and had hardly any money, but I really wanted it and wanted to force myself into it with the 1-year subscription. I think I did it for 3 months and that feeling came back. I wanted too much, too quickly.

Now, 3 years later, a funny coincidence happened. I now work as a programmer for warehouse software and at the beginning of the year we planned to change our visualization. Instead of 2D, we wanted to switch to 3D and generate our objects in Blender

I hadn't given it much thought in all those years, but I immediately said, “I'll do it, I've got a bit of experience”. Since then I've been using Blender every day and having the time of my life. I don't know why I didn't have the fun back then that I have now or if I've changed in some ways or if it was just too forced back then and Blender just came to me now haha

To answer the actual question of how I got into CGCookie, I remember watching a video of Jonathan 6,7 years ago. I think it was about modeling a cup or something. I like how he teaches and explains things and then I wanted to see more videos. My parents also taught me early on that education is important and that you can achieve much more and faster with good teachers.

Happy blending : )

wod Good on ya! Some things just cant be forced. Sometimes you just need to be in that place for it to all click just right.

Totally agree about the teaching. A good teacher can go so far, and CG Cookie has a stacked roster! That was one of the biggest things for me too, I had tried so many different tutorials on youtube and it wasn't until I found CG Cookie and Kent's courses that I realized Blender is so much simpler when you have a instructor that walks you through what you're doing opposed to just saying click this and set this setting to that. 

Cheers!

Blaine

hey everyone I absolutely love the community feel and family feel of this site its amazinG!

I have always been into drawing and designing but never really locked myself down, I always loved the way Pixar and games and everything was put together but never would of thought you could learn to doit and it be so accessible

I started about 3 weeks ago by getting into 3D printing! like all things I like to delve deeper and try and learn where 3D prints came from and how they were made! lots of googling and YouTube brought me to blender. I was watching so many tutorials from so many people, one day CG Cookie popped up from somebody reviewing and reccomending the best places to learn from.

My day job is videography and I also do photography but now iv dipped my toe into this world I think I want to pursue it anyway possible, although I have no clue about it and id not know how to get any work from it, im going to try my best haha 

love

Viking 

TTheVik1ng Welcome to the community! It really is a family here, everyone is willing to lend a hand when you're stuck or give you some cheers on your most recent project. I also came here originally because of 3D printing. What printer did you get?

Anyway, you started at the right time! The Core courses just came out and they're perfect to get you started! Also, if you haven't gone through already, the Blender Basics course is a great start for just figuring your way around blender. It looks daunting, but I'm sure you'll catch on fast. Not to different to photo editing or NLE software. Looks like a lot but you get in the swing of things fast. Check out the Sessions courses as well. Short 2hr builds that create stunning final renders. Not crazy advanced either so a great place to start once you've got your feet under you.

Happy Blending!

Blaine