Hi I´ve been a Blender user for around 1 year and some months. The first time I opened Blender, it was a very daunting experience. I think It will be safe to say that most of the Blender users come to know the software because a close colleague (given enough patience) has taught the software and it´s shortcuts to at least make our first geometry render.
In general, I´ve thought about making this short survey to know how was your first encounter with Blender? It doesn´t matter if you´re new or if you have many years using Blender: What was your first install and run of Blender like?
When you finish the survey, there´s a little surprise for your time and kindness to fill the questions. I intend to use the data to address issues (wherever possible) in future video tutorials. I intend to keep making -to the point- video tutorials for you to view the full range of possibilities with Blender. I got a Blender Foundation Certified Trainer profile you can check at: https://www.blendernetwork.org/david-rivera and with your support on this survey we can all make efforts to create a better Blender software. Thank you.
*** THIS SURVEY WILL CLOSE ON FRIDAY MARCH 16, 2018 ***
If you sent your reply to this survey, you´ll get a special surprise on your mail after that date. Stay tuned.
27 thoughts on “Blender users´ survey on first impressions after install”
Nice idea to start this survey!
Thank you for your input. The objective is to show real data to the development team.
Nice too meet this survey..my support fully for blender
I appreciate what you’re doing here. Thanks
Great survey, I hope Blender Institute take this in consideration.
We are in contact with developers. Mailing list. Bug fixes, so we hope they will listen to some of the things we mention here on the survey.
Such a good idea, this.
Thank you for giving us, the users an opportunity to give our honest opinion.
This survey is biased a lot, like the question “what to do with the cube” all option to choose from is somehow negative, to be honest I prefer that when you open it up their is some kind of 3D object, it make you see something concrete straight away, instead of just a blank canvas.
Well, everyone has fields where they can express their point of view, and they do, certainly to clarify or emphasize or correct what they think of Blender by themselves. So, how´s that biased?
Because these options are mandatory and you can’t select what you actually thought about the cube.
The options you listed are all variations of “the cube is stupid”, so when you present this to the developers you can say that 100% of the users surveyed thinks that the cube is stupid.
Or make it really easy to add something. And also add a material to it. And get it rendered.
Good thing you started this; please have them look at Andrew Price’s Improving Blender’s UI proposal (2nd video) —
Yes, actually that video motivated me several years ago. I learned how to do some pyhon, to help the cause.
I’m glad you’re doing this survey. I truely hope that This makes a difference because I’ve been trying to learn Blender since I was 20 something yrs old & I’ll be 45 in Oct. Long time not to have it perfected.
Excellent idea this survey!
Yes, accurate observations there.
Most of the questions were not relevant for my first experience with Blender, which was I think about version 1. No tutorials, no modeling experience, and I don’t think there was a cube. I poked a few things, went ARGH!!!! and didn’t come back for about 5 years.
Thanks Rowan, for your post here. I guess we can say: How was your -specifically you- experience in the recent Blender 2.79a. ? 😀
Thanks for the chance for letting my voice heard. As a hopeless beginner I like the idea of improving the interface, though I’m not sure if I could give any useful insights – I rather learn than change what there is, I don’t fully understand the pipeline yet.
Some simple features though would be great. Like alignment buttons and a simpler normal mapping, and a sculpting engine with better outcome in regards of topology. I hate rebuilding what i have created already.
Well, 2.8 will bring some nifty changes and the faculty to simplify with Blender 101 theme a reduced (visible) set of main functions. Once you feel confy, you can then switch to the complete gui aspect of Blender. It’s like training wheels before the motocross championship! Blender 101 theme comming up on October this year.
I don’t think that the complexity is the real issue here. I found it rather easy to get used to it. My ui related problems stem from the developer” assumption that I know anything about the 3D pipeline. The 101 theme could solve it but I don’t have high hopes for it. Maybe if through some magical way the program could suggest steps… But I know it’s ridiculous. I’m pretty sure more learning and practice will be the only cure.
Developers are putting the bests efforts to make the 101 theme easy enough to be tought at school. That is a lot to say.
I hope you give context to the developers when you send them your data. Your survey was unfortunately very biased. I thought none of those things when I saw the cube, for example, and I also didn’t delete it. I also don’t see how those survey questions are even relevant to the developers.
Why do you refered to be “biased” when you can answer freely in the two open questions? I am also taking that as context on the survey because your observations/workflow/opinions on the software’s first encounter are important.
Like Rowan above, I downloaded Blender, looked at it and didn’t come back to it for years. Now after many hours of tutorials I am still finding it difficult but love each new discovery.
3D is hard. But Blender also has a very steep curse as there are no material libraries that make for easy nice results from cobbling together some objects. Having to learn modeling and creating a material and render settings and and and makes for a very steep learning curve. So let’s also add some HDRI feel-good lighting as well. Adding some default scenes also allows for easy experimenting. Make these scenes layered – a cube with lighting and material, something with texture, some simple animation, and so on.
I know it feels impure to add standard materials to such flexible software – add data to the code – but most major software does this with a reason.