Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Know What You're Doing
The following tips may improve your chances of enjoying a successful project with Blender.
Organize early, organize thoroughly
[edit | edit source]In Blender projects, you may work with complex scenes containing hundreds of items: models, lights, cameras, scripts, materials, and more. This can be overwhelming if it is not properly organized.
We suggest that you organize as you go, giving each item a descriptive name. There will be ways to search for items by name, so start early. Similarly, give each file a descriptive name and organize files into folders (or directories): a separate folder for each project, with sub-folders for renders, texture images, background images, and so on.
Don't bite off more than you can chew
[edit | edit source]One of the greatest challenges faced by Blender users is their own imagination. While it's great to be creative and imaginative, you have to pace yourself. Be aware of your limits and the limits of your computer.
When making something from scratch, start with a very simple version of it and add details gradually.
Test frequently; see how well your recent changes work before proceeding to the next step. In this way, you will meet with fewer problems, and the ones you do run into will be simpler and easier to fix because there will be fewer possible causes to consider.
Monitor the complexity of your projects, watching for "lag" or excessive disk activity which might mean you are nearing your computer's limits.
When working on the computer, take frequent breaks to rest your eyes and stretch your muscles. Eat, sleep and exercise regularly. While focused time at the computer is necessary, inspiration and solutions to problems often come when our bodies are relaxed and our mental focus is elsewhere. While you may be tempted to go wild, keeping a level head while swimming in your imagination will give you a much more satisfying result with fewer headaches along the way.