Interesting stuff #1

Hey everyone, so here's my first overview of interesting stuff I found! I hope to post an overview like this every two weeks or so. Let's get started! For this post, it's all YouTube channels or playlists.

Blender tutorials

Like I said in my previous post, I finally want to learn Blender properly this year. Version 3.0 has just been released, but luckily, there are already a few excellent up-to-date beginner tutorial series up on YouTube. It's important to use recent tutorials, because over the last few releases, the UI and certain menu items have been changed, so if you use older tutorials, it might get confusing and frustrating!

The first one is a 24-video series by CG Cookie. It covers the basics, starting with installation and navigation, all the way up to sculpting and animation. 

Blender 3.0 Basic Course - CG Cookie

The second one is a bit shorter, and only covers basic modeling, materials and lighting, but you make a complete scene during this tutorial. It's an updated version of an older tutorial series, and it really does a good job explaining all the basics.

Blender 3 for Complete Beginners

The creator of this series, Grant Abbitt, has lots and lots of other tutorials on his channel, mainly aimed at game development and game assets.

These tutorials are only the tip of the iceberg, and I got lots and lots more in my "Watch later" list.

Woodworking

I've been dabbling in woodworking for quite a while, although I don't have much finished projects to show off yet. My goal is to build a complete gaming/dining table one day. I'm working on a coffee table as a practice project, but it's been sitting in my workshop half-finished (actually way less than half) for months now.

Of course, basic woodworking skills always come in handy for prop building. For example, I recently built a full size replica of the Giant Key from the Locke & Key comics, and it's mostly made from wood. It required some accurate cutting, glueing up panels, and the most difficult of all, cutting out a large circle.

So, here are a few good woodworking channels to check out:

• Steve Ramsey - Woodworking for mere mortals
• Jonathan Katz-Moses
  
• Inspire woodcraft
  

Makers to follow

And to finish my first list of interesting things, here are a few makers that I follow!

To start, there's Nerdforge. A couple from Norway, they make all sorts of usually fantasy-themed projects. Diorama's, costumes, paintings, ... Especially their most recent projects are quite spectacular!

Next up, Hacksmith Industries. They build real-life versions of fictional items from movies, tv and video games. Their builds are quite spectacular. To name one, they have built an actual, working power loader from "Aliens"! Not entirely the same as in the movie, it runs on tracks instead of walking, but besides that, it's an actual, working power loader! Needless to say, these are not hobby level prop builders, these guys are pros with every tool imaginable at their disposal and the skills to use them.

And to finish, there's Colin Furze. If I was a kid today, this would be the person I wanted to be when grown up. His projects are far from boring! To name a few: a screw tank, a Star Wars AT-AT playhouse, a turbojet powered scooter, and his most recent project, a secret tunnel to connect his underground bunker to his house.