Speaker A
All right game devs, I've been playing around with blender for a moment now, and I want to share with you how I would learn it as a game dev if I was to do it all over again.
A game dev shares how to learn Blender for game development: skip the donut tutorial's later parts, start low poly, learn from Grant Abbitt and Druid Mechanics, and finish personal projects or game ja
Key Takeaways
- Skip the donut tutorial after part five if your goal is game development.
- Learn low poly modeling first and get assets into the game engine early.
- Combine free tutorials from Grant Abbitt and Druid Mechanics with structured courses as needed.
- Finish personal projects and game jams to learn through trial and error.
What the video covers
- The donut tutorial is popular but mostly teaches the interface and controls, not game-focused skills; the speaker suggests stopping after part five.
- Blender is feature-dense, so beginners should focus only on what matters for game assets.
- The speaker's early models had too many polygons because they were made without understanding faces, a mistake to avoid for game assets.
- Get meshes into the game engine as early as possible, since export can be tricky.
- Start with low poly tutorials, learn the basics, then progress.
- Grant Abbitt's courses (Game Dev TV, YouTube library) are recommended: low poly, rigging, then sculpting and baking.
- Steven Ulibarry (Druid Mechanics) offers two good Blender courses and makes mostly Unreal Engine content.
- Paid structured courses are worth it for some learners because they are easier to finish.
- Personal projects, such as a birthday animation, build skills through trial and error and provide a sense of accomplishment.
- Joining a game jam to make assets is a practical way to apply skills to game development.
Chapters
- 00:00Intro: How to Learn Blender for Game Dev
- 00:15Why the Donut Tutorial Is Popular
- 00:39The Donut Tutorial's Limits
- 01:32Early Modeling Mistakes and Polygon Count
- 02:15Get Assets into the Engine Early and Start Low Poly
- 02:40Recommended Instructors: Grant Abbitt and Druid Mechanics
- 03:38Personal Projects and Game Jams
- 04:17Recommended Learning Path and Closing
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Blender is a 3D model software packed with so many features, but only a few are really necessary for game development.
Speaker A
I did a lot of tutorials like the donut tutorial, which we'll talk about in a minute.
Speaker A
I also did paid courses and some exploring by myself with blender. Okay, so let's assume we never opened the blender before and we want to learn it.
Speaker A
What is the first thing you see when you search for learning blender as a beginner a donut!
Speaker A
Everybody talks about the donut tutorial, but why? It's a very well made tutorial by a guy who knows the software like the back of his hand.
Speaker A
I remember doing the tutorial just like every blender newbie does and barely understanding what I was doing.
Speaker A
It's such a dense software with so many features. There is no chance that you will be comfortable with it.
Speaker A
Even on your second playthrough of the donut tutorial. The only thing I got familiar with after finishing the tutorial is following blender guru's directions and the very non-intuitive controls.
Speaker A
You know that button that you probably only use when scrolling on your browser? Well, now it's the button that you will use for everything, but I digress here.
Speaker A
This is not a tutorial about blender. This is a tutorial about tutorials. So if you really want to attend the donut tutorial, go for it.
Speaker A
The teacher is good, the instructions are clear and you'll get familiar with the controls and the interface.
Speaker A
But if you learn blender for game development, as we mentioned, I wouldn't bother going past part five.
Speaker A
It's about making a scene and going into more complicated stuff that isn't really game related.
Speaker A
Here's what I did once I finished the donut tutorial. I tried doing models by myself.
Speaker A
I didn't fully understand the concept of faces, so I wasn't bothered by how many triangles I had when I made my barbecue model.
Speaker A
This was not made as a game asset It was only to practice what I learned and play around with some of the blender features.
Speaker A
I went into as much detail as I could. It took me about 50 hours until I was somewhat satisfied with it, but now I'm looking at it and thinking of how much time and energy I wasted on it.
Speaker A
Look at how many faces it has. It's almost as many polygons as the mustache of snake in Metal Gear Solid 4!
Speaker A
What I'm saying is that you might want to skip the donut tutorial. Go straight to learning the fundamentals of game assets, where every polygon matters, and don't waste your time with features that you don't need in blender.
Speaker A
The best advice I got about blender for game dev is to get your mesh to the game engine as early as possible.
Speaker A
Blender is great at making assets, but sometimes exporting them to the game engine can be tricky and doesn't go as planned.
Speaker A
That's why you want to start with low poly tutorials. Keep it simple, learn the basics and go up from there.
Speaker A
One of my favorite blender professionals is Grant Abbitt. With his unmatched calm teaching skills and his UK accent.
Speaker A
I did most of his paid courses on Game dev TV, which sometimes goes on ultra sell on humble Bundle by the way, and they are very good.
Speaker A
But you don't have to pay to get good courses from him because he has an incredible library of videos on his YouTube channel.
Speaker A
Obviously, some of his videos are pointing at paid courses, and I don't mind paying for a course because I like how structured they are and there's more chance I finish it.
Speaker A
If I paid for it. I would suggest you to try a few of his low poly models tutorials, then try the rigging model tutorials.
Speaker A
And when you feel more confident with your blender skills, take a look at his sculpting tutorials.
Speaker A
This is a must if you want to make high detail models that you can then bake on low poly models.
Speaker A
If you don't mind shelling out a few dollars. There's also Steven Ulibarry aka Druid Mechanics, who makes mostly Unreal Engine content, but he also has two good blender courses that I recommend.
Speaker A
I like his teaching style. He's well-articulated, calm, and explains in detail, and if you go to his discord, he has coupons for his courses.
Speaker A
The last way to learn blender I want to share with you is by starting a personal project and making sure to finish it.
Speaker A
One thing I learned from the book keep going! Is that a good way to get good at making art is by gifting it.
Speaker A
It will force you to finish a project, and you will try to do your best for the people you love.
Speaker A
This is when I made an animation in blender for my son's third birthday. It's nothing to brag about and I didn't have much time to do it, but I had a lot of fun with it, especially making the camera move
Speaker A
and adding the sound effects to the animation. Now I look at it and see every single flaw and how bad the details are.
Speaker A
But my son was happy and I was too. I felt proud of my progress and it was an effective way to try a lot of blender features by myself.
Speaker A
You will learn way more by trial and error than by following a tutorial. My animation might not be a good example for game development, so a good way will be to join a game jam to create some or all the assets by yourself.
Speaker A
So go start with a simple tutorial to get familiar with the controls and interface.
Speaker A
Then try to do an easy model by yourself. After that, you can see where you need more practice and look into more specific tutorials or courses to finally push yourself to a full project.
Speaker A
Get that feeling of accomplishment. I'll see you at the next game jam!
Topics:blendergame developmentlow polydonut tutorialgrant abbittdruid mechanics3d modelinggame jamgame assetsbeginner tutorial
