Reply To: Learning through different versions of Blender?

[Kent Trammell]

Hi @sivasu – Your perspective is understandable and quite common, especially early in one’s CG / Blender journey. As a crew we’ve debated a lot through the years about the best approach to dealing with Blender versions in our courses. The discussion session is a good idea, which is why we have Q&A like this thread. Often students ask a question about a version difference and these 3 gentlemen (Adrian, Omar, Martin) answer quickly.

But if a student follows every course with the Blender version used in the course, that eliminates a lot of need to ask questions. The reality is, while Blender updates frequently, the core methodology of computer graphics has remained essentially the same for the 20 years I’ve been doing it. Moving vertices around into models, laying out UVs, material parameters, simulation concepts, rendering characteristics…still the same.

I find a lot of new users think Blender is drastically different, version to version. As if Blender 2.8 -> 4.1 is like SNES -> N64. Again, the difference between versions is far less significance than the release hype makes you think.

I encourage you to look at Blender holistically. You’re learning the underlying methodology of computer graphics, not merely how to use a certain version. A holistic understanding makes your skills transferrable between Blender versions and even 3D software entirely. And don’t make the mistake of thinking previous Blender versions are obsolete. Treat each version like a chisel in a drawer of chisels. No carpenter has a single almighty chisel for every situation. They maintain a collection where each is useful in their own way.

Consider this too: As a student learning Blender holistically, you can learn from countless courses and tutorials throughout the years! If you limit yourself to only learning the latest version, you restrict yourself to a handful of courses and tutorials before the next version releases. Then your problem starts all over again: New version of Blender with zero tutorials recorded for it.

As every artists learns in time, developing a “blender-fluid” proficiency is the best – well – really the only way.