Blenducation Rigging Class by Daniel Salazar
Daniel Salazar (ZanQdo) will be teaching a Blenducation class on the basic rigging of a human, including: building the armature, parenting, IK, revers footlock, action constraint, and skinning.
The entry fee is $20 USD and the class begins Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 1:00pm-3:30pm (GMT-5)
Every seat that is sold helps keep Blenducation up and running. A big “Thank you” to everyone for attending the Blenducation classes and for your contributions!
So … if I buy a “seat” and I can’t make the actual time, can I just download the vidcast and watch later?
I echo Tadd’s question.
@Tadd, Alex Blank: Yes, there will be a recorded version. If you pay for the class and sign up but are not able to attend the live web meeting, you will still be eligible to view the video recording of the class. :) Cheers!
No more free education for masses? Sad. 20$ hmm in my country that’s 67,63 PLN xD I’m out. I beter buy a book from Blender shop :D
Why live lessons are not just for money and screen-cast from them for free?
@n-pigeon: I know that the classes I have been reporting here are commercial classes, but there are free classes as well. I just taught another free class yesterday evening, and it went very well. :) Anyhow, if you keep up with the Blenducation website (register to it,) then you should get notifications about upcoming classes – commercial and free classes.
Even though there are commercial classes, there are free classes as well, so education is still free for the masses.
Why? Well, for one reason, because they are live. You can ask questions during the class.
n-pigeon,
You live in the age of the internet, go cut a living.
Btw.: how high is the price for the video download? As high as for attending the class? I can’t tell because I have attended all classes I registered for…
Please send me the link for the free classes. I’m from South Africa and the currency value is 1 to 10 – too much.
Someone please setup an e-shop for these poor boys to get selling international products :)
@ccherrett: go check salary rates in South Africa or Poland before scoffing at people who don’t have the money to spend 20 bucks. Some are the cheap labour guys like us economically (ab)use to be able to spend 20 bucks without problems…
I’d advise to check out the Blenducation site for all those who can’t afford it, and set some cash aside in future – if you’re halfway comfortable with Blender, you won’t regret the money. Btw.: it’s in fact 21$ – the US sales tax is always a hidden pleasure ;)
Hey all,
We are working very hard on getting all the recorded classes set up for both Download and streaming from the web site ( I could use help form a PHP website guru if any are listening). The cost of the recorded classes will be less expensive than the live classes due to the fact that the recorded classes do not provide live feed back (a $20 class will be around $15 and some will be $10).
We understand that $20, although much less than buying a DVD and most books, is still out of reach of many of you that would benefit from these live classes. But due to the fact that it costs us so much to provide this service, we can not provide all the classes for free at this time. We would however like to know what people think would be a more affordable price. As we grow and we get more educators form different parts of the world, we will provide both more convenient times and lower prices in native languages.
My hope is to provide education to everyone regardless of income level or location. We intend to do that with on going free classes that cover a lot of the same topics covered in the “paid” classes. We also count on individual support from those that can afford it.
Our long term goal is to apply for non profit status and receive support from other resources so we can provide this service at no cost to the students. Although, at this point we have not had enough time to investigate this option thoroughly.
Please understand that we are listening to all of your concerns and doing our best to make this a community project.
It’s ok to charge! I’d rather say it’s necessary, because things that come for free are never that much appreciated and people tend to suspect a lack in quality.
Charge us $5. I am in the same country as Anemotion. I understand the price thing very well.
But having brought a $5 video tutorial from you guys before, i’d say keeping around the $5 mark is pretty sweet, $10 the most. i bet Anemotion might agree with me on that one. But i guess it depends on the content of the download also (Depth when covering the subject, file size and all that)
Keep it up.
@banor
Thx for response :) I’ll check it.
@dipingo
Maybe some Ads from google for example in the begining :)
@ccherrett
For 67,63 PLN I can buy 2GB RAM in my country in US 67,63 $ but if I would like to buy in US that ram I have to pay 3 times more. Just wait until Poland will be in Euro zone ;]
Corniger n-pigeon,
You typed in an this forum so you have access to the internet.
You can tell everyone how poor your country is or you can take advantage of the global economy on the internet that is mostly run on US currency.
I have never let my local economy drive my income since I have been able to go online.
The time you spent telling me how bad off you have it you could have been starting your own online business.
I hope is stirs you to do something.
how do you make money online then ccher?
Hello n-pigeon,
I agree with what you say, but also remember that people ahve to pay to rent a place to give a talk about a subject, which can be quite expensive.
A way needs to be found to put forward the arguement that Blender is actually an international community and get access to civic sites for free to give talks / lectures regarding Blender.
The sooner your country Poland, as well as Slovenia, Czech republic, Lithuania, Sweden, United Kingdom, Slovakia and Hungary are in the eurozone the better:)
The Sooner, Ukraine, Iceland, Serbia, Norway and Switzerland join the European Union and the Euro, the better:)
When I lived in Northern Ireland, I shopped through some Polish people I worked with for goods from Poland. I did the same with people from Czech, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Ukraine and Slovenia. Good value. I got some really good bargains, for furniture and aother items, as did my friends and relatives.
Most people on the Western Seaboard of Europe, do not realise how big the difference is in prices and wages are with the East of Europe. Although thankfully that difference is starting to reduce.
Also a lot of people who are in the USA in particular have no idea of the reality of different currencies or living standards outside the USA.
A thing to remember as well, is that more people are using the Euro every day. Soon the Euro and Chinese currency will be the main currencies, not the Yen or Dollar. The world is changing, more rapidly than most realise.
I also spend my money on blender books and the rest on hardware. Blender allows all money to be spent purely on reference books and hardware, increasing the value of what Blender really is. That is the great thing about Blender. The books make great central reference points and teaching aids. The online tutorials and help are also of very high quality.
At the end of the day Blender and Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org ) makes us all equal in CGI/Art. Blender allows us all to compete purely on our skill levels. Blender allows someone from a very poor country who has access to a computer, to compete purely on there skill level against people from rich countries.
In the next 2 months I expect to own an i7 with a quadro, yet I know full well, that because of Blender, someone in another country with a P4, will produce something well beyond my skill level, purely on there own skill. That actually works in my favour as it will push me into a higher learning curve and make sure I do not get complacent. I welcome the competition as learning and competing keeps me sharp.
That is one of the reasons I like Blender, it raises the skill bar higher. It allows people who would never have access to 3ds max, maya, etc and the computer equipment needed to use them, to compete directly with those who can afford expensive systems.
Blender breaks down the barriers between rich and poor, allowing us to show our skills as equals, as it should be.
Before I immigrated to Sweden, from were I was raised in Northern Ireland. I used to purchase artwork by Polish, Czech, Chinese, Thai, Iranian, Slovenian, Chilean, Serbian, Lithuanian, Norwegian and Finnish artists, who sold drawings door to door, to earn money. I used to think I was a good artist, until I saw there work.
That was a wake up call for me, to start learning again and to experiment with my work, to improve it.
In Eastern Europe alone, there is a massive amount of talent that is available, let alone the rest of the world.
As Blender becomes better known around the world, I expect to see people with talent, well beyond my own skill level, show there work, raising the possiblities of what is possible.
I look forward to seeing Polish Blender work.
Nemesis
This has become a very moving and enlightening conversation.
I do realize that the world’s economy is very slanted and that there is a great divide between the rich and the poor. I have seen this divide first hand. I grew up in one of the poorest social classes in the US. My family never had much of anything. I have worked very hard to advance myself and get everything I have, which still isn’t that much.
I know that in the US poor doesn’t come close to what others define poor as, but my family was very low in social class.
That said, it has been my experience with any learning venue there are expenses one must endure. For some Books are the best choice while for others it is one on one learning that is most helpful. Either way Blenducation is set up to help anyone that needs the help that is why there are free classes. Those free classes should not be over looked because they are free. The quality and content of those free classes are of the same standards of the paid classes.
I also feel that somewhere in the world there is someone with the innate talent to tell a story that can move the world but they may not have access to the tools to learn how to create it. I want to meet that person. I would like to help that person reach for that goal.
In closing, Blenducation doesn’t only offer the opportunity of learning Blender but offers those with the skills and access the opportunity to teach and earn income. So once you feel that you are comfortable let us know.
Lastly, the world economy is too big of an issue for me to fix. Even teaching you all may prove to be too much for the Blenducation team to do, but know one thing, we are going to give it our best attempt.
@Nemesis
True, true, but United Kingdom will never be in Euro zone they are very proud of they currency :) Well I don’t remember when we are going to be in euro zone I thing in 2012 but I’m not sure.
“Also a lot of people who are in the USA in particular have no idea of the reality of different currencies or living standards outside the USA.”
Yes, that is true, living standard are very good in Poland, not worser than in USA, but we have low currency, now when we are in EU we just have to wait to Euro, my brother who is living in Germany told me that when they changed to Euro, on the begining, was very hard, everything started to be more expensive, but I think it’s worth of it, then is stabilizing process.
Blender is great, that’s true, I have 2 Blender books, but thanks god that we have Blender Wiki :)
@dipingo
I watched the free ones and they’re grat, helped me a lot! Keep great work :)
@ccherrett
Yeh, online business why I don’t think about that! Don be silly.
I’m still a student and I want to be an artist working in game and postproduction industry, not working on my own ebay or something. Rather tan working on my own business I want to work on my skills.
@ccherrett: I’m not living in an eastern country. I’m quite well off and I’m not complaining about how bad off I have it, I just stated that I think it’s not nice to basically tell someone “to get a life” when he maybe just can’t. I have been to Poland, and I don’t know where you’r from. But it’s definitely something I had to get used to compared to Western Europe. What do we know about n-pigeon? He could be 12 years old, working on a PII wih 256MB Ram, go to school, be very poor and god knows what else. Some people also may not be able to run an online business – that’s not everyone’s talent. Some just want to create ART and only are good at that. If someone who HAS 20$ to spend says “nah, that’s too much for a Blender class”, then scoff away ;)
@n-pigeon: my polish friends shop where I live, because it’s CHEAPER than in Poland sometimes… And that makes me angry. How can they do that to you people!
Euro-Bubble: *burst* it will take many years to RECOVER from Euro introduction. This Eu thing is a big scam. I remember that VERY, VERY well from the mid-90ies. 80% propaganda, 20% truth. But there’s no other choice, anyway. So be prepared to have foreign investors buy out your whole country “helping you” – WELL, my country did that, hahaha, and now , in the “crisis”, that was the biggest mistake :) Anyway. Economy to me reflects the evil in man in many aspects.
The East will kick our butts, because the have to be excellent to excel and make it out of the EX-communist swamp (that was also propagated and funded by the “helping” western countries…)! Just like the Chinese, when they don’t WANT to work for no money anymore. They all have EXCELLENT people! In almost every regard I have until now encountered!
So full props to Nemesis for stating the equality Open Source gives us all. That’s absolutely correct AND right!!
@Dipingo: absolutely right! That’s why, although it isn’t any of my business, I get upset when people debate Blenducation cost who could afford it. You are a very correct and nice businessman with good intentions, unlike many others. All the best to you, your life and family!
@Corniger
Nothing more or less to say :)
Economy is evil, and Open Source is good for people :)
n-pigeon, Corniger,
My problem with both your posts is that you make out like it is evil to make money. I believe it is evil to love money, however Blenducation is practically giving the training away so stop complaining about it.
Funny how some “poor” folk demand free.
Interesting……….
@ccherrett
Maybe some, reading with understanding.
“Interesting……….”
Yes, it is, but that’s even more.
@ccherrett: It’s not about demanding that things have to be free, but you can’t deny the fact that what 20 bucks mean to you doesn’t necessarily mean to people who live in other countries.
I put a simple example: The BBB DVD costed 35 euro. It’s unexpensive for people who earn 3000 euro a month. It’s even afordable for people who earn 1000 euro a month (and that’s in Europe a very low salary). But…
In my country, 1 euro is equal to aproximately 5 pesos. And the average salary is about 2000 pesos (or probably less). 400 euro!
So, spending almost the 10% of your salary on a DVD isn’t an easy choice. It’s not “35 bucks”.
So think again before putting quotes on “poor”.
I’m not saying that blenducation is evil because it charges for a class. It’s fair and the cost isn’t high at all. But there is people who can’t afford that and lose the oportunity to learn because their economic situation isn’t like yours. And that’s not fair, if you ask me.
Gez-,
Do you think it might be a bit of a thread hijack to continue telling Benducation that the price is too high? Blenducation offers a high end training service that has real costs and real people to pay.
I have never participated in Blenducation, except when it was being developed. That said I have become very skilled with blender. How did I do this? With free resources on the web as well as some paid:
Here is a list for anyone needing free training:
http://www.tsiwebdesign.com/blenderlinks.html
If that does not do it for you then I do not know what will.
On the side of paid training Blenducation offers a fast track to education for anyone who does not want to fight through the hard learning road. That takes time and resources from real people with real families. If you think that is not fair then I don’t understand how you think at all.
This is my last post because I think that beyond this anyone who still thinks $20 is unfair or wrong somehow wants to be ignorant. Again:
http://www.tsiwebdesign.com/blenderlinks.html
I compiled the list myself for you so don’t be so quick to think so bad of me for not buying into your story. Trust me, I have my own.
Wow, interesting conversation. Thank you, everyone, for your views on this.
@ccherrett: Thanks for the resource list. Someday it would be awesome to build a site or have a place totally dedicated to a full-fledged list of every single great Blender tutorial out there… maybe any great tutorial for any app. Anyhow, someday I may do that (or help start it.)
Thanks, everyone,
-b
@ccherret
If you had actually READ what I posted, you would understand that I did NEVER state Blenducation have an unfair pricing policy, nor did I complain about the price or anything regarding Blenducation. If it passes off as Blenducation critique, I’m sorry, that was unintentional.
What I complained about were your statements about people you don’t know anything about, excluding myself.
I’m there for any class I can take, also for some I can’t, and I’m very willing to pay for training. Just accept that there are people who can’t afford 20USD – who are not idiots. That’s all I wanted. Actually I think that nobody in the whole thread complained about Blenducation prices, but about their economic situation, which is something that needs to be understood as a fact.
I would like to access your sourcelist but the domain is not reachable??
I took the class – let me say – it was well worth the 20 bucks. (Comparatively speaking, one 3-hour 3D class’s worth of instruction at my alma mater comes to about $360.00 — if you don’t have a scholarship.)
Anyhow, I especially appreciate that they’ll be making available the video to anyone who took the class free of charge (and to anyone else, for a few bucks) and have offered advice/help if needed.
Thanks guys :)