For a long time, I tried to learn all about every piece of software that I was going to use before jumping into a project. I’d read the manual and watch tutorials before I ever tried to start. Often I ended up, as you say, a “software academic”. I could figure stuff out and create tutorials, but many times I didn’t create things with the software beyond test projects and tutorials.
Now I tend to do “on-demand” learning. I’ll watch a few tutorials or take a couple of courses in the software to get familiar with the basics, then I’ll dive in and start a project and seek help and learning if I run into difficulties (which I usually do pretty quickly). Software these days is so complex and can do so many things that it is virtually impossible to learn and be proficient in everything it can do, ever. It’s been said that a user spends 80% of their time using only 20% of the software’s capabilities. I think that’s especially true for Blender.
So no worries, Dwayne. You being a Blender academic has provided me with a ton of good information that has gone into my “book of words”, which is what I call my collection of notes on the software I use. Thank you! 😊
