I am new to grasshopper, i have seen the 13 videos on this site and a few couple videos on youtube. What is the best way to proceed ahead in learning grasshopper?..

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Stasiuk on October 3, 2016 at 10:22am

I would first ask: what is it that you want to do with Grasshopper? It's a very flexible tool, and supports a bewildering array of modelling approaches. The key is to be clear about what you want to get out of it (and if you're just learning, I would recommend focusing on one or just a few elements) and then focus specifically on them. Intermediate to more advanced Grasshopper learning (in my experience) comes through project-based work, where you are trying to develop solutions for problems at hand. You can invent projects that have these needs, or find tutorials that guide you through them, but it is always helpful to have a goal to strive for.

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on October 3, 2016 at 11:52am

In addition to that advice, I'd say you should pick a project you understand very well. If you have to struggle both with Grasshopper and the project at the same time the difficulties will be compounded.

Permalink Reply by Abhishek Bhaskar on October 3, 2016 at 12:03pm

So the best way to go about learning grsshopper is to take up individual projects and learn is it?. 

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on October 3, 2016 at 12:39pm

It's certainly true some people learn better by instruction than by action, but I'm certainly not one of them. Without a clear goal I find it very hard to remember things I learn because it all exists in a vacuum.

So yes, have a goal, make sure it's -to you- an absolutely crisp goal that you know how to achieve, and then try to make Grasshopper do it for you. Added benefit of working towards a familiar goal is that you can ask more relevant questions when you get stuck.

Permalink Reply by Abhishek Bhaskar on October 3, 2016 at 12:02pm

Thanks David, the reason i am learning grasshopper is to express my ideas better. I have a lot of form based ideas which i want to execute perfectly. So grasshopper , rhino can help me achieve that. So the problem is: i want to understand the potential of grasshopper and rhino.....and my question is: do i go through more youtube tutorials on understanding rhino and grasshopper, or as you suggested, do i take up one project at a time and learn from that.??

Permalink Reply by Armin Seltz on October 4, 2016 at 6:13am

For me by far the best way was to visit a grasshopper workshop. It was 5 days long and really went into detail. There is nothing like being able to ask questions and being forced to sit through stuff. Also so nice to meet other people who are at similar levels and discovering things together.

Of course its not always possible to go to a workshop.

There is good stuff on youtube, but be sure to follow along in a series from start to end. Just doing random tutorials wont be very effective.

If you want a video series of real in-depth tutorials, I can also recommend rese.arch tutorials. I have learned a lot from them and they are well worth the money.

Permalink Reply by ng5 Alex on October 3, 2016 at 12:02pm

Hello,

may i add another suggestion. After going through the basics, i found that it really helped me answering discussions in this forum. start with simple questions close to your level and gradually test the waters with more advanced. This will make you search the forum for similar discussions and browse other solutions before answering.

these discussions are kind like the problems at hand of others, when you don't have or cannot create yours.

best

alex

Permalink Reply by Abhishek Bhaskar on October 3, 2016 at 12:08pm

Thanks Alex.:). Yes will go through.

Permalink Reply by Kim hauer on October 3, 2016 at 12:29pm

One of the BEST video's, that shows how GH components and definitions work is by:
Luis Fraguada: Visual Programming in Rhino3D with Grasshopper

His home page http://www.grasshopper3d.com/profile/LuisFraguada

Its fundamental to understand GH components and how they interact with each other, before you learn to apply them to a project. In the same way you don't design anything that requires math without a basic understanding of math first.