I used to use Blender extensively and enthusiastically, but life has a way of sidetracking one’s hobbies. I’m looking to get back into the game; however, the last version I used was 2.48!
Obviously a lot has changed and there’s so much to catch up on. Where do I start? What major additions since 2.48 should I take advantage of? Are there any good resources out there that will help me get my crusty old knowledge up to date?
Hey adenzerda,
Depending what your area of interest in Blender is, you should probably ask questions relating to that.
As RickyBlender mentioned, definitely the CG Cookie vids introduction to Blender 2.5 are going to be something to get a grasp on the main window and UI changes. You should be able to pick up on that fairly easy.
For me personally, aside the much improved UI, the biggest addition is Dynamic Topology in sculpting, Dyntopo. If sculpting is yuour thing, you’ll be happy about that.
Another one is the Cycles rendering engine. Most of the renders you see on BA nowdays are rendered in Cycles. Having never used it, there’s a steep hill ahead of you to climb. It will be very rewarding if rendering is your thing. Again CG Cookkie has a bunch of vids to get you going.
BMesh is the new mesh system that supports nGons. This has transformed poly modeling. Something to look forward to if you like modeling.
Texture painting has just gotten a major addition, but this is still not part of the official build, it’s on review.
Dynamic Paint is a very handy vfx tool for particle/mesh interacions.
Re-Topo has gotten very good with addition of some cool addons (bsurfaces), and BMesh of course.
That’s my take on it. There’s tons of other stuff, but like I said, you should probably ask that question in regards to specific areas of your interest and you’ll probably get a much more indepth answer.
Modeling and lighting are definitely my jam, so Cycles and BMesh sound super promising. With regards to BMesh, I’ve always been taught to avoid n-gons when possible*—*has the industry changed to accept them?