5 Blender Mistakes I’d Never Make If I Started in 2026

If I could restart my Blender journey, these are the five mistakes I’d avoid. They cost me years of progress, and most beginners are making at least a few of them right now.

1. Getting stuck in tutorial hell
Tutorials feel productive, but copying clicks isn’t learning. The moment you close the video, you’re lost. Use tutorials to understand concepts, then close them and rebuild from memory. Getting stuck is not a failure. It’s the learning.

2. Abandoning projects when they get hard
The projects that force you to learn rigging, cloth, or geometry nodes are the ones that actually make you better. Easy projects feel good. Hard projects build skill. Finish them, even if the result is ugly. The value is in what you learn, not the final render.

3. Avoiding addons and external tools
Using tools isn’t cheating. Professionals use them to save time and focus on creative decisions. Learn the fundamentals, yes, but don’t handicap yourself for ego. Efficiency matters.

4. Not picking a direction
“Getting better at Blender” isn’t a strategy. If you want to make money, you need to be good at something specific people pay for. Explore early, but once you have a foundation, choose a lane and tailor your learning toward it.

5. Treating Blender like a sprint
This is a long game. Years, not months. Most people quit because progress isn’t as fast as they expected, not because they aren’t improving. Skill compounds slowly. Consistency beats intensity every time.

If you avoid these five mistakes and stick with it long enough, progress becomes inevitable.