Does anybody use the program Blender? I've been trying it out lately and it's been a bit difficult, but I do find it fun to use. I look at tutorials and watch videos and I often find that some of the keyboard commands used don't work for me (because I have a different version maybe?).

I've used Maya and Mudbox,, but I've been interested in checking out blender, it's interface seems less..."quality" compared to Maya, lol. What have you been able to make with it so far? Are there any tools/functions you tend to favorite/find more enjoyable?

As for the keyboard commands, maybe there is an OS difference between your computer and the tutorials computer? Otherwise you might need a clean reinstall.

I don't get a lot of opportunities to use it due to my job and everything. Plus I tend to get distracted by games for hours on end.

The first thing I tried to model was a crude version of the kind of desk I believe would be optimal for my work environment and would allow me the best storage solution. I never really finished it because I decided I wanted to make a base human model. I found a decent tutorial and followed it as best I could. I used some background images to make sure everything was relatively correct as far as human anatomy. I've also modeled a head separately from the body and after I feel like both models are in good shape, I'm going to figure out how to connect them.

I'm not sure if it is an OS difference. I know Macs have different keys than Windows. Not sure if it could be that the version used in the tutorial is outdated. I can't imagine changing default keybindings on a program too drastically when updating it though. I have found a list of keyboard shortcuts that I usually have open while I use it. It's helped me a bit.

I messed with Blender a bit to try and make objects for Second Life. Blender, like Gimp, which is also a free program, is a bit tricky to get used to, not the most user friendly. There's lots of help out there though. I find some tutorials easier to follow than others so you can try different ones and see what you find the most helpful. If you use a Mac, that could be your problem with keyboard shortcuts. Maybe try finding Mac-specific tutorials?