Getting ready for Blender 4.2 and beyond - An insight into CORE Blender Fundamentals impossible task.

Update: CORE is set to release on August 13th! 

When I heard that Blender 4.2 LTS was slated to be released this summer, I remember conversing with our education team to see if it would be possible to reboot our entire Blender 2.8 Learning flow in just a few months. 🤔

We’re a mighty bootstrapped team, but given the Blender 2.8 Fundamentals took us nearly 18 months to create, the quick answer was a reasonable “nope.”

But... our team loves a challenge, so we got to work. 

Today, I’m pleased to share that, thanks to the power of the Blender community, it’s becoming a reality. ❤️

Thanks to the external help of talent Blender creators Ewa Wierbik-Ziąbka, Kenny Phases, Phil Osterbauer, Kaizen 3D, and Sean Kennedy, along with the internal CG Cookie educators Jonathan Lampel, Wayne Dixon, and Kent Trammell, it's happening. 

Behind the camera the incredible custom design support from Kyle Unzicker, Community/Support from Amber Kelly and did you know each of these courses is being peer reviewed?

Kudos to Adrian Bellworthy, Omar Domenech, and Martin Bergwerf for watching each video lesson and working with the instructor team to not only catch technical glitches but also make sure the lesson is consumable and valuable to the Blender community.

A process CG Cookie is leading the way on. Together, the team of creative people is making it happen! 

In an unprecedented community first, NINE Courses from eight instructors will drop on the same day. 

These courses will be available for all CG Cookie paid members and available for individual purchase on the Blender market. 

Technically, there are ten courses if you include the Free Blender Basics, though the other nine courses are available for purchase through the subscription here or Blender Market. 

I like to think of it as a master class in Blender. Having a Bachelor of Fine Arts myself, I’d equate it to a year or more of solid university training in the field of 3D. 

Through these nine courses, we’ll teach you the fundamentals of Modeling, Digital Sculpture, Lighting, Materials, Shaders, Texturing, Animation, Rigging, Physics, and Compositing from a film VFX veteran. All at a fraction of the investment costs compared to traditional education costs. 

While it’s more knowledge than you’d likely get in a year of university, it’s nowhere near the cost.

CORE: Fundamental courses, exercises, and team mentorship are included in the paid membership for $22.99/mo and or $229/annually. Granted, taking these courses and fully digesting the material will take months, if not years. That may be the way to go, depending on how much time you can dedicate to the monthly or annual plan. 

For those not interested in a monthly subscription or any of our other courses within the CG Cookie Library, we’re offering them as a Bundle on the Blender Market for a limited presale price of $99.

Individual courses will also be for sale. Keep in mind that BM sales exclude mentorship and exercise feedback. 

We intend to release the CORE: Blender Fundamental series soon (within two weeks or so), maybe sooner. The priority is ensuring we’ve got it ready for everyone to digest. Jump in at the beginning or midway through to enroll in CG Cookie this summer. 

I’m grateful for the support from the Blender community in doing what we do here at CG Cookie.

From the relationships with Blender artists worldwide, customer support through memberships, and simply spreading the word about CG Cookie,

it’s incredible. 

This is just another step in that direction. Thank you for helping make it possible!

Wes Burke

Founder, CG Cookie, a project of Autotroph