Figureitoutedness - Blender Edition

I have a hefty, little six-month old nephew who is a bit too round to crawl. But, he wants to go places, so developed his own method for getting around. He positions himself perpendicularly to where he wants to go… and he rolls.

With starting this company, I pretty often feel like my nephew. I know there are best practices, and I know where I want to go – but I don’t always know, or I don’t have the skills to get there the normal way. So, I figure it out.

And, like my nephew, I’ll eventually develop the skills to start getting places in the traditional way. And sure, it’ll be easier and more powerful that way – but there’s nothing wrong with fumbling around with the tools I have until I get there.

Graphic Design

One of the broadest skill sets that I’m lacking in this industry is graphic design and a level of comfort with ubiquitous design programs: InDesign, Photoshop, and Blender.

I’ll never be a professional graphic designer – and will always be looking for amazing partners to bring our projects to life. I’m lucky to have found Christine Santana (Wingspan, Scythe, Tapestry) to do the graphic design for Nut Hunt, and Mike Hnath of This, Inc to help with the vision and product design for our next game SIGIL.

An early draft of a spell that Mike mocked up for SIGIL

Having some competency, though, is immensely important. It allows me to better communicate with our professional partners, save everyone time – by being able to do basic manipulations, allows me to organize my thoughts, and allows me to create less complicated assets.

I’m currently learning some basic Blender and want to highlight Ori Kegan’s YouTube channel. He has a wonderful series of videos to help board game creators master the basics of Blender – build a 3d box, make some meeples, and more.

With people like Ori on our side, it won’t be long before we are all walking, instead of rolling, to where we need to go.  

What are your favorite resources for learning about design?