Project Conclusions By Terra:

     The idea of Animation had interested me before this project began. I had always been curious about how animators can move shapes and make scenes appear very realistic. For example, the movie "Monsters, Inc." made me especially curious about animation with regards to the movement of the hair on the main character, James P Sullivan, and the reflections of light off the character Mike Wazowski. Due to these reasons, I was especially excited to learn more about animation and 3D modeling and how I could apply theories I have learned in computer science and mathematics classes.

     When beginning use Blender, the largest difficulty for myself was the lack of help information. In order to learn how to use computer programs, I constantly use the Help sections to better understand how the programmer intended for me to use the program, and after a short time I am usually able to understand how the programmer thinks and thus, where certain buttons or actions would be located and what these buttons would be capable of. Blender is not as user-friendly as other programs I have used in the past. However, after using Blender only a few times I was able to better understand how to make shapes and how to manipulate these shapes.

     The most helpful part of using Blender was the Simple Winter Scene Tutorial. Although some parts of this tutorial were incomplete or vague, the tips I learned using this tutorial allowed me to explore Blender and understand where to start when using Blender. The importance of the camera view, lighting, and shading became increasingly apparent, and in this way, the animating became similar to video editing, with which I have a lot of experience. Also, the extensive information available on the internet provides the Blender user with many possibilities for research and learning opportunities.

     I also learned about the organization of the Blender Foundation and found this organization especially interesting. Most of the staff biographies provide that the Blender staff is made up of many young adults. As a graduating senior, the work of other young adults of my generation is increasingly relevant, and I am fascinated to learn that these people have created a program so intricate and detailed by working together so quickly after entering the work field.

     Most importantly, the insights I have gained working with Blender have pushed me to concentrate on the idea of how the computer program relates to the program user. While I find it easy to quickly understand how a program functions, I realize that this is not a common skill. In this way, I would like to utilize my skills both as a student and in the work field.

    Enjoy exploring Blender, and don't forget to ask for help!

Terra

Project Conclusions By Katie:

    I loved exploring this new program though we ran into lots of problems along the way. When we first downloaded the program, I remember thinking that it would be difficult to learn how to use. I was right in some respects, however once the key commands were learned, working with the simple aspects came easy.

    When Terra and I first found the program, we had anticipated making some sort of animation video similar to what groups had done before us in other programs. Once we realized the intricacy of blender, we knew it would take time to learn how to use it. So we devoted a lot of time to working with a specific written out tutorial we’d found in connection with the site. Both of us had our many ups and downs and lots of lost projects.

    As a computer programmer, I never really thought that my experience with theatrical lighting effects would ever be much use to me. Then I found Blender and learned that lighting is a very important part in 3D modeling and animation.

   I had certainly hoped to work more in actually animating objects, but the more we worked with it, the more we realized how much we needed to know just to create a simple animation. Watching the videos and looking at the games created in blender, I was a bit awed thinking about the time that must have been spent working on each tiny, little detail.

    I really liked finding out about the company this incredible freeware came from. I wouldn’t have guessed for a freeware program like this to have conferences and classes all over Europe. I was surprised to find the number of communities devoted to helping others learn how to use blender as well as the variety of projects to result from the program.

My words to you as a hopeful new blender explorer:

    Don’t let any of the other creations scare you away from attempting to use blender! There are so many ways to learn more and get help and there is so much you can do. Have fun creating!

Katie