It's true. You don't need to buy a course to learn Blender, because there are already thousands of free tutorials online.

But the reason you're probably here, is because despite this, you're still struggling. And I think I know why.

You're struggling because Youtube tutorials often teach you HOW to make something, but rarely WHY it was made that way. So, you could watch 10 videos on how to make a house but struggle to make a city, because the techniques are different.

That’s why you so many beginners feel like they're treading water. They hop from tutorial to tutorial, frustrated at their lack of progress. But it's not their fault. They're just starving for a real education.

Break the Tutorial Habit: Learn Why, not just How

The Blender Guru Beginners Academy is different. Instead of teaching you what to click, I'll teach you why it's clicked. Through practical lessons, theory, homework and challenges, you'll learn the foundational skills to think like an artist.

This course is for you if...

• You finished the donut tutorial and want the next step.
• You want a structured curriculum, not a random assortment of tutorials.
• You want to learn on your own schedule from pre-recorded content.
• You want to pay once, NOT have another subscription.
• You want to learn the latest version of Blender (5.0), with free updates for the whole 5.x series.
• You want a substantial course that you can sink your teeth into for 2-3 months.

Learn Core Modelling Techniques

You'll start by learning basic hard surface modelling, transforming a cube into a detailed sci-fi crate. Along the way learning core modelling tools that you can use to make most man-made objects from the real world, like electronics, buildings or props.

Next, you'll learn how to create Smooth Surface objects. You’ll model a sneaker with rounded curves, using the most common modelling technique in animation and VFX “SubD”. Along the way discovering how to tighten edges and connect geometry without creating shading artifacts. When you finish, you'll have the basic skills to make 90% of objects. Like furniture, plants, gadgets, vehicles, and most objects found in movies.

Next, you'll learn Organic objects. You'll learn how to use Blender's sculpting tools to create a fast and loose monster character, which you'll then convert into a polished model using a technique called "retopo". By the end of this module you'll be able to sculpt characters, creatures and practically anything intricate.

Learn Core Texturing Techniques

Texturing and Shading are the most important skills to making something look realistic.

The first thing you’ll learn is how to texture your shoe and monster character, by using the oldest technique in 3D, procedural texturing.

Next, you’ll learn how to paint textures. First UV unwrapping both an organic form (your character) and a hard form (your sci-fi box). After unwrapping you’ll then paint color onto the character but underneath the skin texture. Then you’ll get more detailed, as you learn how to create custom brushes to paint scratches and scrapes onto our sci-fi box.

And then finally you’ll learn how to take an image texture, and make it repeat all over, as well as along one specific section using a technique called "Trim Sheets". And best of all, there's no paid addons. Just vanilla Blender with free extensions.

Learn Core Lighting & Camera Techniques

After the hard work of modelling and texturing, you now get to make it look good!

In this module you'll learn how to use lighting and camera framing to effectively tell a story.

You’ll be provided with some ready-made environments for your scifi box and your monster, so that you can see a finished scene and how to explore it. Then we’ll explore how different lighting setups and camera setups can completely change the focus, story and mood of your scene. You’ll then add camera movements and learn how to render it efficiently so that it doesn’t take hours on your machine.

And finally, you’ll learn how to add a quick rig to your character so it can be posed. And although this isn’t a character animation course, you’ll also learn the basics of keyframe animation.

Course Outline

Below is a sneak peek inside the course, and what videos you'll see.

As the course teaches the newly released Blender 5.0, much of the course has not yet recorded. You can see the estimated release date of each module below.

I estimate that the full course would take the average learner 2-3 months to complete everything, if watching 1-2 hours per night.

Learn to think like an artist

Throughout the course are opportunities to fly solo, through Homework and Challenges.

Homework is peppered through the course as you learn new techniques. For example, if you've just learned about insetting, you'll be encouraged to try to inset the next feature all by yourself. And if you get stuck or make a mistake, don't worry, you'll see my answer in the following video.

Challenges are small projects that you can feasible create by yourself at the end of each module. So for example, after learning to model a shoe, you'll pick from a list of subjects in various difficulty classes like easy (stylized food) or hard (electronics).

There's also a dedicated mini-module to teach you the principles of analysis, to ensure you're taking the right approach.

And you won't be alone, as other students will be sharing their projects in the private members only discord.

🛟Help is on the way!

There's nothing worse than getting stuck in the middle of a course and having no way to proceed. That's why this course comes with 3 bonus livesavers:

1. Unstuck Yourself Guide - A constantly evolving index of the most common issues you may encounter, and how to resolve them.
2. Members only Discord - For when you can't find the answer in the guide or want feedback from students or moderators.
3. Tool Index - Need to relearn a previously taught tool or a technique, but forget which video it was in? The tool index lists the first time that every major tool or technique is taught. In one click you're back at the video with the exact timecode.

Course Grading and Certification

Upon completion of the full course, you'll have an opportunity to earn a grade and certificate. This can be used to help you land a job, look impressive on LinkedIn, or meet compliance at work.

NOTE: Certificates are only awarded when criteria is met, like your renders of a module and participation in challenges.

Training that's trusted by Hollywood

With 21 years of Blender experience, you can be sure you're learning the right workflow.

Some of my achievements include:

• Teaching Blender to Hollywood director David F Sandberg
• My donut tutorial was used in the Oscar Winning movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Presented at 6 annual Blender Conferences.
• Interviewing the world's best 3D artists in Los Angeles
• Working on feature quality short films.
• Creating Poliigon - a texture library trusted by the world's best VFX and Game studios.
• Creating the #1 Youtube channel for 3D (Blender Guru).

This course is a culmination of 21 years experience, ensuring the techniques you're learning are up to date, current industry workflows.

Ready to Go Beyond the Donut?

If you know the basics of Blender, but want to learn how to think like a 3D artist - this is the course for you.

Join the course to learn hundreds of tools and techniques that will help you create what you desire using Blender.