Blender

[Sarah Daffy 4,578]

Has anyone used this animation software?

[Jeff Potts 532]

My kids use it for stuff like game mods and Minecraft.

 

They hate it.

 

That being said, there are people out there that consider it the bees knees.  So I guess it comes down to how comfortable you are using it.

 

(Yes...I I did use "bees knees.")

 

 

[Wes B 688]

YES!!!! IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! (Spoiler alert: Opposing view coming...)

 

...And you can do a lot more than just animation. You can use it to produce stunning 2D and 3D artwork, and go cartoon-simple, or eerily lifelike, with pre made textures and "shades" that mimic everything from stone walls, to ceramic, to fabrics. It contains a fully functional video editor, though it lacks the extreme bells and whistles of something like Adobe Premiere, and is backed by a huge user community. About the only thing it doesn't do is let you record the audio, though you can do some simple audio editing, once the audio is imported. Certainly enough to make the audio and the video mesh nicely, and add audio layers and such.

 

I've been trying to learn something from it almost every day, almost since the initial COVID lockdowns began, and I've only begun to scratch the surface! The thing's absolutely huge, and it boggles my mind that this is available for absolutely free, and that they produce a really, really good functional update every three months. It just keeps getting better and better.

 

Don't be intimidated by its vastness. Yes, it has enough controls to frighten a jet pilot, but they're all power you can learn to use, some other day. Once you get your feet wet, you only have to learn to use the bits and pieces you need, and that's important. 

 

My only problem is that I get sucked-in to wanting to learn more and more about it, rather than stopping and producing what I was originally intending to make. Back before the initial lockdowns, I was learning a lot of the Adobe suite, just for making simple explainer animations, as part of my writer's platform. Initially, Blender looked like a "simpler and faster" way to do the same things, and all in one program, so I switched to it. (Plus, it's free... free... free...)

 

What's happened is I keep seeing more and more amazing things I can do, to make my videos better and better than I'd imagined, and making the assets I produce more reusable for future videos. It's a strange problem to be in. Instead of getting my planned work done, I'm setting it aside so that the work (IF it ever gets done...) will be better and better.

 

Anyway, more info than you were looking for, probably. Did i mention that I've become a rabid enthusiast? It's bad enough that I babble on and on here about Bible history. If you go giving me excuses to do the same about Blender, I just might never get anything done...

 

 

Edited January 22 by Wes B

[suspensewriter 5,239]

Now that sounds absolutely amazing, @Wes B!!   Thanks for sharing that.

[lynnmosher 7,682]

I had to look this up. Wow! What a program! Wikipedia says it's free and open source. However, their site says it's $9.90 / pounds per month. It looks awesome!

[Wes B 688]

5 minutes ago, lynnmosher said:

I had to look this up. Wow! What a program! Wikipedia says it's free and open source. However, their site says it's $9.90 / pounds per month. It looks awesome!

 

The program is free. They have a special support service you can pay for, and that supports ongoing development of the software. But you can download and install it, right now, for free.

 

It'll take some time to learn, but it's well worth it...

Edited January 22 by Wes B

[lynnmosher 7,682]

So cool! How much space does it need?

[Wes B 688]

The Blender Foundation folder on my C drive is 530 Mb. that's for the latest version.  You might want to go back to version 2.83, which was a major release. There's TONS of instructional videos based on that release, and the interface does change slightly each time. One thing you don't need when learning is where to find the buttons after they've moved them...

[lynnmosher 7,682]

Hunky dunky, Wes! Thanks so much!

[suspensewriter 5,239]

Yes, thanks for that, @Wes B!

[Wes B 688]

1 hour ago, suspensewriter said:

Yes, thanks for that, @Wes B!

 

You would probably find it useful, just for the video editor alone, with the videos you're producing. You have to run a slight rat maze to find the video editor, but once in there, you could put in title slides, crossfade still images in and out, end with a link to your website, etc.

 

And once you get the hang of simple animations, you could add all sorts of extra flourishes. It will take time to learn, but if you do just a little every day, you get there.

 

(Hint from experience: take lots of notes...)

 

 

Edited January 23 by Wes B

[lynnmosher 7,682]

Sure wish I had enough room on my computer to get it. Phooey!

[Wes B 688]

Just now, lynnmosher said:

Sure wish I had enough room on my computer to get it. Phooey!

 

It has a portable version! I'm pretty sure you can run that from a thumb drive. The Blender team thinks of everything, and with the intended purpose of giving it all away. The guy who started the Blender Foundation is quite an interesting character...

[lynnmosher 7,682]

Oh, cool! Thanks so much, Wes. Will into that. Yay!