As a Blender user, I dove into a fun video editing project that leaned into a classic running joke in the Blender tutorial community: "Delete the default cube." If you’ve ever watched a Blender tutorial, you know this phrase is practically a rite of passage, almost every beginner tutorial starts with it. I wanted to celebrate this quirky tradition with a creative 3D intro for a planned Blender tutorial called Deleting the Default Cube FOREVER, which was meant to teach users how to save a custom startup file in Blender. Spoiler: the tutorial never saw the light of day, but the intro was a blast to create!

The concept was simple yet ambitious: a dynamic 3D scene that zooms into a monitor flipping through a montage of different Blender community members saying, “Delete the default cube.” I started by transforming a flat 2D image into a fully realized 3D scene, giving it depth and life. The monitor became the centerpiece, cycling through video clips of various creators delivering the iconic line, with on-screen credits to give a shoutout to each contributor.

To make the scene pop, I took on the sound design as well. I crafted custom music to set the mood and added a smooth fade effect that synced with the camera’s zoom into the monitor, creating an immersive transition. The goal was to hook viewers right away with a playful nod to Blender culture before diving into the tutorial’s lesson on saving a startup file to, well, delete that default cube forever.

Though the full tutorial never came together, this intro was a labor of love, a blend of 3D modeling, video editing, and sound design that celebrated the Blender community’s humor and creativity. Maybe one day I’ll revisit it and finally set that default cube free for good!