I think it's the worst tuto that i've seen.. Shape key issues that aren't mentioned in the video, the community have to solve this alone, and none of the fix tips work very well. On the whole internet, no one recommand to use shape keys before the bake of the multires, every forum and answers say the same thing. So i'm just stuck on this step without any solutions since 3 days of trying everything. I'm a begginer and i'm wondering, why does a course have to teach methodologies that nobody use everywhere else. I'm sad of this situation. Thx a lot for all the rest before that was good.
Hello Emmanuel. I'm sorry you feel that way. The course is actually extremely good and Kent is one of the best Blender teachers out there. Working with Blender or any 3D app will always always always have challenges like those, there is always a bug somewhere, always something breaks, you have to go around with hacks, etc. And when you're a beginner, one tends to get annoyed and frustrated when one encounter the common 3D hassles we all have to deal with. So give it some time, start from simpler tutorials and work your way up to HUMAN which is a very advanced tutorial. If you're a beginner, I suggest you start with the Core series:
After that, there's other courses from which you can build yourself up and just enjoy the journey. If you have already seen Core, then we can link other courses you can follow.
I also think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say it's the worst Tuto you've ever seen. Here I can only refer to the reviews.
I can only agree with Omar here. Maybe start with the Core Sculpt course. The Human course is not for beginners (in my opinion). The results from it look fantastic so I can understand why you would want to start with it but also need some basic knowledge.
Everyone gets frustrated at times and that's okay. Check out some other courses and come back, you'll be done sooner than you think.
PS: Kent is a legend
Hey AAtem_ekas,
You are absolutely correct about the shape key bug being an issue we wish didn't exist.
However, the best courses don't shy away from issues and refuse to teach workflows that present problems.
I disagree with "nobody uses", many advanced users and professionals use shapekeys effectively everyday, but it does have it's quirks when used in combination with other tools.
One lesson I learnt early on in my Blender 3d journey was copy and paste is not a thing in 3d, everything you do requires forethought, troubleshooting, hacks and workarounds, it's all part of the process.
The follow along tutorials, click this, enter that setting and viola, you have a donut, are not worth there salt IMO. They may be great for getting a handle on Blenders functionality and UI, but for me they don't teach much about 3d. Just knowing how to use Blender isn't enough, there are many skills required to create awesome 3d stuff, including problem solving.
As Omar suggested working your way through CORE and progressing through other courses levelling up along the way will give you a better chance of success.
Hi AAtem_ekas - First I want to affirm your frustration. 3D is a profoundly difficult artform and, as a beginner, you're in the most difficult season of your 3D journey.
I like to tell the story of my first few months learning 3D as a teenager. Back in 2003 I created my first character with sub-d modeling and added my first rig. Many HOURS of work leading up to the big moment where I could finally animate my first 3D character. I set some keyframes then pressed play on the timeline. My heart sank as the viewport played back at maybe 10 fps. That was my breaking point and I called my father at work with a shaky voice and tears in my eyes to vent that my computer can't handle 3D, I don't know what I'm doing, and my dream is on life support. After the poor guy talked me off the ledge (not having a clue what I was talking about) I discovered that A) the viewport couldn't playback a subdivided and rigged character (duh) and B) there's this thing called "rendering" which is how we get final beauty frames into movie format (i.e. not viewport playback). My dream was saved!
I tell you that to say: You're in good company to be frustrated. Everyone who has learned 3D has been exactly where you are. This art form is super hard with countless opportunities for things to go wrong. On top of that, the endless knowledge, skills, concepts, and tricks related to 3D take a long time to discover/learn/take root. It's a perfect storm to frustrate a learning journey.
What's more - realistic human portraiture is among the most complicated projects you will ever attempt. While I designed HUMAN with beginners in mind - and I've had numerous self-proclaimed beginners show me their complete portraiture as a result of the course - the truth is portraiture is far from a beginner project. This is also why I included the list of prerequisite course on the course landing page. They will get you up to speed with critical 3D / Blender concepts and skills. With a little more experience under your belt, you'll be able to approach this course better.
Another thing to keep in mind is it's best to use the version of Blender any given course was recorded with. You can spot this in the bottom right corner of the Blender UI and all prior versions of Blender are available here. Trying to follow a course while using a new/different Blender version is begging for confusion (and frustration).
Also, I always recommend folks watch HUMAN once all the way through (with popcorn at 1.5 - 2x speed) so they can develop a high-level understanding of the concepts and workflow as a whole. Then follow along with the course at regular speed to maximize the likelihood of a successful result. This is the best way to learn from any complicated curriculum.
Don't let the frustration get the better of you! Keep developing your skills and adaptability and you will experience the deep satisfaction of 3D creation.
@Kent: expert response. I'm working on my submission for CORE | Fundamentals of 3D Mesh Modeling in Blender, and I'll be seeing you soon in the CORE | Fundamentals of Digital Sculpting in Blender course, which is one of the courses I'm personally most excited for.
@Topic: it blows my mind just how complex 3D art really is...
I remember getting frustrated when I was just starting out, about each of my models having flat shading and not understanding why my projects didn't look like others. Then, I discovered smooth shading but became exponentially more frustrated when, after applying it, my models looked like aliens from another planet; with perseverance and instruction from the team here at CG Cookie, I learned how to get the results I was looking for by explicitly telling the program what needs to be identified as a sharp edge, etc...
This is to say...one of the hardest truths I had to come terms with as a beginner is that Blender is a tool; when wielded with inexperienced hands (like myself and my aliens) it yields inexperienced results. Kent and the other instructors do a fantastic job of teaching Blender, the tool (use this command here for this result; akin to your frustration with shape keys, etc) but where they excel, in my opinion, is teaching concept and theory, which is the knowledge base you can take with you to other platforms like Maya, etc and achieve the same level of success.
It's kind of like learning multiple programming languages. Each language uses its own syntax (a combination of braces, brackets, colons and semicolons, etc in predefined places) to achieve the same thing, but the syntax isn't the marketable skill, as every language will have its own documentation for syntax reference. The marketable skillset is defined by your understanding of the fundamental concepts and theories existing within the subject; i.e., why does every language utilize looping, conditional branching, variables, and constants, etc? The marketable skillset is understanding what looping is and how it is utilized; implementation will always be just a few steps away if you understand the fundamentals, because every software has documentation to refer to.
In 3D, we have modeling, sculpting, texturing, lighting, etc, so laser focus on the fundamentals, and once you've a solid foundation, come back to HUMAN and blow your own mind with how much easier it is than your first go around.