1: Learn the Interface

The tutorial below is a fantastic place to start. The guys at Blendtuts have loads of really great tutorials some of which I am bound to link to from time to time. But I will be very selective about the tutorials I choose, as this blog is a device to teach the novice on a step by step process. I will collect the best tutorials from the net and deliver them as a lesson by lesson system similar to a university or specialist college.This video tutorial by Oliver Villar Diz, is in my opinion one of the best Blender interface tutorials around.

AND WHO AM I ?

My background is that of a professional animator both 2D and 3D. I have worked for Disney, Nickelodeon and the BBC to name a few. I have been a lecturer at University and still work in motion graphics and animation in New Zealand.

Generally before starting any animating or learning about animation you need to understand the tools you are using, their importance and the navigation from one set of tools to the next. This video bellow pretty much does all of those things for the Blender software. This blog is designed to be navigable, if you know this stuff already you can simply review and move on.

By the way if you don't have Blender yet you can get it here

Blender 2.5 - Basic Interface from Oliver Villar Diz on Vimeo.

Another very good beginners tutorial is this one by PentaKackleAnimation. This tute gives some extra detail and will also give you details on where to download Blender 3D