CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #5 (Feb 1, 2018): The class is officially closed! Thanks to all who participated. Be sure to check page 43 for the closing "statement" and commendations.
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #4 (Jan 30, 2018): The timing worked out where this week's homework stretch is 10 days instead of the usual 7. So you've got extra time to complete the assignment! I'll look for submission through tomorrow, the 31st, and then I'll do a final post to close out the class.
BTW week 4's live event is archived if you missed it.
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #3 (Jan 15, 2018): Week 2 is done - We're halfway through the class! Today WEEK 3 begins where the focus is digital sculpting. This is a far more artistic method of shaping 3D models, so if you struggled in week 2, week 3 should be refreshing.
- Only 1 course to watch this week: Fundamentals of Digital Sculpting
- Live Event tomorrow at 2pm EST
- Please submit homework anytime between Jan 15 - Jan 21 with "BC1-1801 Week 3 Homework Submission"Â at the top of your post.
Keep up the awesome work, Class! So much creativity and hard work being contributed from everyone đ¤
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #2 (Jan 8, 2018): Week one is accomplished! Today WEEK 2 begins. We're moving forward from basic viewport interaction and into mesh modeling; into Edit Mode and the modifier stack.
- Reminder that you have 2 courses to watch this week: Mesh Modeling Fundamentals and Modeling with Modifiers.Â
- Live Event tomorrow at 2pm EST
- Please submit homework anytime between Jan 8 - Jan 14 with "BC1-1801 Week 2 Homework Submission"Â at the top of your post.
As always, don't hesitate to ask questions in this thread!
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #1 (Jan 2, 2018): The class has officially started! Today we held the first live event to kick things off. The recording will be published by tomorrow at the latest is now available in "Past Events".
That means it's now up to you to watch the Blender Basics Course and submit your homework to this thread. Please add a big, bold title to your homework submission reply so I can easily tell. Like this:
"BC1-1801 Week 1 Homework Submission"Also don't hesitate to ask questions along the way. I'll be checking this thread daily to answer questions, give advice, check homework.
This thread is for CG Cookie Citizens that are participating in the "Getting Started with 3D Modeling and Blender" class! Its purpose is to serve as central communication for all participating Citizens (excluding Hobby plan Citizens) to ask me and each other questions and to post homework. As the instructor of the class, I will be monitoring this thread on a daily basis (especially Mon-Thurs) throughout the month of January to review homework and answer questions.
This thread is intended only for Citizens who are participating in the class. Free members are welcome to observe the thread but please respect that communication is reserved for Citizens.
Welcome to the CGCookie Class: Getting Started with 3D Modeling & Blender! This is the first "Class" format where Citizen members are invited to focus together on a particular topic/skill together for a month. Participation is this:
It will take place from January 2nd through January 31st and the topic is for beginners that want to get into 3D modeling. The class is based on pre-recorded courses that students are expected to watch each week along with weekly Live Events.
Download the latest official version of Blender and watch the Blender Basics course. The goal this week is to simply get familiar with the application. Weâve all been there: Opening Blender (or any 3D package), gazing at all the crazy UI, trying to orbit in the viewport, crying...Ok, maybe you were stronger than me and didnât cry. But the reality is 3D software is daunting. Thereâs SO MUCH to digest especially when youâre a beginner.
This first week weâre going to overview Blender and 3D from an absolutely beginner perspective. What is Blender for? What can it do? Wait, this isnât a juicing seminar?
During the Live Event we're also going to open the floor, ask me anything (AMA) style, so I can answer all your questions about getting started with Blender.
HOMEWORK: Create a scene out of primitive shapes. It can be anything from a landscape to a spaceship to a character. Just get comfortable with creating and positioning mesh objects. Here's an example:
Take a screenshot of your scene and post it in a reply to this thread *during the week of Jan 1-6*.
Enter the world of mesh modeling! The oldest form of building objects in 3D, in the computer. Weâll discuss the technical art of âpushing and pulling vertsâ as modelers often call it. First, watch the Mesh Modeling Fundamentals and Modeling with Modifiers courses to be introduced to this wild, geometric world.
Practice makes perfect here and during this week's Live Event weâll be mesh-modeling a few objects to demonstrate tools and workflow available with Blender. Itâs ideal if you practice along with me!
HOMEWORK: Model either 1, 2, or 3 unique objects using mesh-modeling techniques. They can be as simple or as complex as you like, but they can't be primitives. I want to see that you've used mesh tools to significantly customize your shapes. For example, you could model a hammer, a cell phone, a keyboard, a game controller, a picture frame, a coffee cup - choose something fun!
Take a screenshot of your shaded model + wireframe-over shaded (as pictured above) and post it in a reply to this thread *during the week of Jan 7-14*.
Digital sculpting is the more artistically intuitive method of 3D modeling. If pushing and pulling verts felt like the hard way of doing things, sculpting will be a welcomed alternative! Watch the Fundamentals of Digital Sculpting course this week.
During the Live Event, we'll discuss the pros and cons of digital sculpting as well as how it compares to mesh modeling. Again, practice makes perfect with any craft, and we will also practice sculpting. Be sure to have your pen and tablet ready!
HOMEWORK: *Submit during the week of Jan 15-21*
Thereâs still much more to learn about modeling with Blender. Remember, itâs a craft. Time + practice is the only way to develop your modeling skills.
This week your challenge is to dive into the Modeling in Blender Learning Flow. While the class gives you a boost, the Flow takes you further into intermediate and advanced modeling techniques/workflows. Test the waters and see how far you can go this week.
During the Live Event we'll discuss the journey of becoming a skilled modeler as well as the potential for turning it into a career. Finally, Iâm going to sift through homework submissions to commend my favorites and offer critiques!
HOMEWORK: Model and/or sculpt something challenging this week! Try tackling a character or a complex vehicle, etc. Show me what you've learned; what you're capable of!
Take a screenshot of your shaded model and post it in a reply to this thread *during the week of Jan 21-31*.
Good stuff this week, 
choyce7! Your Melvin's expression reminds me of a peanuts character đ And the peach is lovely! A little mushiness in the primitives. Overall A-quality work though.
Congrats on finishing the homework this week and on your first Melvin! Melvin looks pretty good, recognizable and smooth. But it's suffering a bit from single-angle-favor. As in it looks good from the front but doesn't look so good from other angles.
It seems clear to me that you worked hard this week. Overall, deserving of an A in my book đ
Learning a lot is the victory! And your Melvin is good. Not much wrong with it aside from having room for shapes to be polished a little more. Did you submit this to the exercise?
Welcome to the class, ssnurker! Really good sculpts overall. Your shapes are strong and fairly polished. There's some mushiness/bumpiness, but it's a bit of a nitpick for me to say that. A-quality work for sure.
Thanks for the positive feedback on the class! I'm loving this format. Just finished my outline for a new class in March. Hopefully see you in the stream on Tuesday.
Beautiful sculpts and lighting! Good lighting covers a multitude of sins. Not much negative to say at all...a little mushy in spots but honestly it reads more like your style here. Maybe me looking for something to nitpick đ
Fantastic work 
nathangarduno: A+
Wow, the details in your sculpts struck me immediately. You're not afraid of high-frequency details, which usually takes more time newer sculptors to get used to. I love it!
Melvin looks like a 'wario version' of melvin haha. And that candle is legit! Really great submissions. A+ work.
So glad to hear you had fun with these!
Wow! Great work! Â There is a little crease about Melvin's wrist. Â Makes it look like a rage fist has just ripped through the flesh of his cuddly Melvin paw, wolverine style. Â I like it. Putting a light in the mouth cavity was also a nice touch.
Fantastic work.Â
When I saw the candle, I thought of @theluthier sculpting a flame in one of the workshops that was somewhere on here at CG Cookie at one point...
In light of 
motsu 's comment on feeling like his sculpt is a failure, I want to share an experience I had about 3 years ago.
Right after Leonard Nimoy passed away almost 3 years ago, I decided that I wanted to do a tribute sculpt. I wasn't aiming for a completely "realistic" version, but was also wanting to practice caricature. Â I found several references that worked from.
After just a few days, I had my first "version" -- and it looked NOTHING like him:Â
It's rough, crude... It looks kind of human. But I could have called this a failure and stopped here. But I didn't. I kept going. Kept refining. Kept comparing what I had from different angles to the references that I had pulled up. Â I kept pushing the sculpt further. Â Not in hours. Not in days. Â It took me weeks. Over most an entire month. Â After many hours of work, I eventually got him looking decent enough that people were recognizing not only the character, but also which actor's version of the character.
https://cgcookie.com/u/gradyp/projects/spock-leonard-nimoy-tribute
If I hadn't kept going, I would never have realized the eventual outcome, which is still, 3 years later, one of my proudest accomplishments and most favorite pieces on my hard drive.
So if it looks like crap after just a couple of hours, that's okay. Keep working on it. Keep pushing. Keep trying.  If it takes a month or two, that's fine.  You don't have to create a masterpiece in a single day.  In fact, several of the artists that I watch  on Twitch will spend several streams, 4 to 6 hours at a time, on a single character, working for a week or more just on one character.  Does it matter if it takes you 80 hours to do it if it turns out great?  I'd be willing to bet that most of the best pieces you see online took at least 40-80 hours to get there. You can do it, if you just give yourself a chance!
Kent thanks, yes submitted Melvin and passed :D
Regarding the polishing of the model I am somehow afraid of that, because my shapes are getting smaller by that. Is that common mistake at beginner sculpters and what might doing wrong?
BC1-1801 Week 3 Homework Submission
The latest of entries, but I've been avoiding it and just had enough time to finish Melvin tonight :)
https://skfb.ly/6vTqQ
P.s. to all those afraid of sculpting like myself, just watch the videos and follow along. It won't be perfect, but you'll learn something along the way and come out less afraid of it in the end... Trust me.
Thank you very much for the comment kkent.Â
Honestly, I did not manage the spine;) so I had left it - and then forgot to tweak it
I did not notice the leg - thanks for the hint
I have to learn some anatomy skills. Â even for comic characters.
I  try  to submit, got  an error and try agin. Now it is set  twice I think
