[Bf-funboard] alt R

[Mal]

Hi Roger,

It's great to hear more opinions on this subject.

> If one works with 3 views on monitor screen then the inserted object 
> orients according to the active view, the view on which the mouse is 
> operating. I suggest to simply add an object ' within in the view you 
> wish it to be oriented to '.

This raises an imporant issue... Blender doesn't start with 3 views ( or 
more common in pro setups, 4 views - top, left, front and perspective ).

This means that, in order to explain this not so simple "simply add an 
object ' within in the view you wish it to be oriented to '." concept, 
the user firstly needs to know how to create a 3 or 4 screen setup in 
Blender - more complexity for new users.

> The misunderstanding of pre orienting objects comes form one's 
> training not from Blender.

I'd say it's more basic than that... most people starting to work with a 
3D app think of placing objects in the virtual world in the same way as 
placing objects in the real world on a table - facing in the correct up 
orientation, no matter how tall or short ( Z ) they are, or what angle 
they are facing the table at ( X and Y ).

Having objects added in an always up position would comply with this 
physical metaphor.

> If one comes to Blender from a 3D Solid Geometry background where work 
> planes are required on which to place objects then object placement is 
> simple as accepting the screen face (the grid) as the work plane.

True... due to previous training in this field, which is a great 
background to have, but may not be too common.

> If one comes from a 3D space background, the whole process becomes 
> confusing when trying to relate it to Blender.

Again, true, and this is where most people would be coming from ( 3D 
space = real physical world )

> May I suggest that in tutorials,  the first thought process would be, 
> to teach students is that the monitor screen face (view) is the 'work 
> plane'  upon which objects are placed.

I'm actually writing an article at the moment for BSoD ( regarding the 
GE ), and it's complex enough to teach the concepts of the tutorial to 
allow for beginners as well as more advanced users, without having to 
also bring in additional ( and potentially confusing ) workflow issues.

Of course, if the student sticks with Blender, then they will learn how 
to overcome all of these nuances, but if they don't stick with Blender 
and migrate to another 3D app, then the community has lost a potentially 
great 3D artist.


If you're a pro user, try teaching Blender to someone who hasn't used it 
before ( even if they have used another 3D app, but preferably coming 
from scratch and with a great interest in learning ), and you will soon 
see cracks in the UI for beginners that could be easily fixed.

Let the debate continue! :)
Mal