Ian Nichols

------- An EXCELLENT course.... with a few catches. ------ I bought this course after having already completed an 8-hour Revit course from another creator on Udemy, as I was wanting more information that what was provided in that smaller course.... and BOY did I get it. This course, by Ian, is an extremely valuable asset to the digital community. It acts as a full undergraduate-level university course on Revit. Ian covers essentially every topic you need to know, and will leave you with zero questions by the end. Unlike many of the other courses offered on Udemy for Revit, Ian is clearly a very experienced teacher and communicator. His English is articulate and crystal-clear, his accent is pleasing to the ear, and the way he explains concepts is straightforward and easy to understand. Considering the low price of the course, I'd recommend absolutely ALL Revit learners purchase it. HOWEVER..... there are a few catches: The most important thing here to know is that THIS COURSE DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY TESTING OR PRACTICE FOR YOU TO DO. You will NOT be following along in what Ian is doing on-screen, you will NOT be building your own property at the same time as him, you will NOT have any guided opportunities to practice what you're being taught. This course is equivalent to university LECTURES, where you sit in class, and just listen. It's just video content, there is no work to do. This was okay for me, because I had already accumulated 8-hours of hands-on practice from the other course I did... but if you have never used Revit before, you will NEED to purchase another course to get an opportunity to actually practice any of the stuff Ian is covering. This is the major shortfall of this course, but given its low price, and the sheer volume of information it contains, I won't deduct any stars from my review for it. Additionally, as another reviewer above/below me here has written, Ian includes SO. MUCH. DETAIL. on absolutely every topic, that it becomes a nuisance. Many sentences and concepts are repeated again... and again... and again... WELL beyond what I would call reasonable, and into the realm of annoyance. Please understand that, without even the SLIGHTEST exaggeration, I watched the ENTIRE 19 hours of this course at either 1.75x or 2x speed, simply to make it bearable. Ian also describes absolutely EVERYTHING he does on screen, whether or not it's painfully obvious: if he has filled out a window, and is going to close it, he will say "alright, now let's close out of this" as he goes and clicks on the "X". It might sound like a nothing complaint, but please understand that there's 19 HOURS of this. Of the total 19-hour runtime, I would estimate that there is approximately 14 hours of actual content, with the rest being filler sentences and repeated concepts. This course is detailed as all hell, but it is NOT concise. Again though, I can't take stars off for this, as having too much information is always better than having too little, since you can simply skip ahead if you already know what's being described, and since you can change the speed the video is played at. I personally found it too slow, but if you're a first-time learner with no CAD experience (I had about 130 hours), then you might LIKE how slowly and comprehensively Ian explains things. Overall, this course is excellently prepared, comprehensive as all hell, and pleasingly delivered by an articulate presenter. Just... don't expect it to go by too quickly, and be SURE to buy another course that will actually have you walk through and build your own property, so that you can practice all that you learn here. Please also note that this course does NOT cover walkthroughs, renders, or site/terrain creation.
- Review by Ty Tonus-Burman on The Complete Beginners Guide to Autodesk Revit Architecture