[Bf-committers] blender UI state

[Knapp]

On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 6:54 PM, Sanne <sanne at lavabit.com> wrote:
> I agree that the UI needs work, but let's not go overboard. For the most part
> it works well, it just needs some (or more in some areas, ok) polish.
>
> On Friday 20 January 2012, Jorge Rodriguez wrote:
>> I'd like Blender to be learnable without people having to go watch
>> tutorials.
>
> Not possible (IMO). Blender, like any other 3D software, is far too complex to
> be picked up on the fly.

I think you are correct, if we are talking about to a pro level but I
don't think it is impossible to make it so that you can play with the
basic monkey and learn a bit before going deeper. Giving the first
time user a positive experience is a great way to keep users and grow
blender's community.

> I can't understand why reading docs or watching tutorials is so awful. If
> somebody opens Blender and feels lost (as did I many years ago), what's so
> hard about clicking on the help menu, choosing the first entry and starting
> to read? While the manual also needs work, the introductory chapters should
> be enough to get anybody started. If not, the community provides free help.
> That's how open source projects work.

Not many really know anything about the greatness that is open source.
They could care less or want free as in beer. Watching or reading is
an investment and many people will not make it unless they have a good
reason to do so. We need to give them that reason by giving them a
great first experience.

> If somebody can't do that, I don't think he/she has enough drive to learn a 3D
> software anyway.

I dropped blender for two year because of the interface but then came
back because I really needed to do some 3d work and could not pay for
it. I also got lucky and found a vid that got me over that hump, now I
am good with blender and love it. Perhaps the first time blender is
opened it should start playing a 3 minute beginner's video. :-)
Seriously a big fat link to such a video on the start up image might
help a lot. A vid that is fast, exciting, shows cool results and
teaches some really basic stuff like how to select and stuff would be
great. A bit of marketing a bit of fun, a bit of learning. Andrew
Price makes the best vids of this nature that I have seen in the
blender world. Maybe he might be willing to take up the challenge of
making such a video.

> As a user, I'm very grateful for Blender and also for the documentation we do
> have. People really should use it.

2.4 was really wonderful! 2.5 is getting there slowly.

> To conclude, here's a post from a new Blender user who had a totally different
> experience than what is always assumed a new user would have. Maybe it helps
> to put things into perspective:
>
> http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?217431-Mind-Blown-Babbling-Rant

dead link

> Regards,
> Sanne

-- 
Douglas E Knapp

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