Reverse Engineer Anything - Kenny Phases

Kenny Phases breaks down a practical process for reverse engineering almost anything, effects, shaders, simulations, interfaces, even business ideas—and turning that process into usable Blender systems and real products.

Using examples like a fake aerodynamic simulation and a blueprint shader, he shows how observation, deconstruction, rebuilding, control, and market validation can turn curiosity into something people actually want.

This talk was recorded at the recent Blender Conference (BCON Austin), hosted by Autotroph: https://autotroph.com. Check out Kenny's YT channel here @KennyPhases

00:00 Intro: reverse engineering for product creation
01:08 Kenny’s background, products, and physics work
02:18 Projects inside and outside Blender
04:06 What reverse engineering actually means
05:21 Why reverse engineering is not just copying
06:16 Why Blender artists should learn this process
07:03 The first thought exercise: visualize how something works
08:02 Kenny’s reverse engineering workflow
09:07 Case study: fake aerodynamic simulation
10:07 Observe and deconstruct the effect
11:38 Rebuilding it with geometry nodes
13:21 The hardest part: reconnecting points into curves
14:27 Control, parameters, and making it a real product
15:19 Testing, feedback, and validating against the market
16:42 Nikola Tesla, nodes, and overcoming fear of complexity
18:02 Case study: the blueprint shader
20:04 Other places reverse engineering applies
21:54 Modeling, coding, art, and business examples
25:02 Unfinished projects are not failures
26:02 Final push: solve problems and sell the product

This talk is really about learning to see systems instead of just surfaces. Once you can look at an effect, a product, or a workflow and break it into controllable pieces, you stop relying on guesswork and start building with intent.

That matters whether you are making simulations, shaders, add-ons, apps, or something completely outside Blender. The core skill is the same: understand the thing, rebuild the thing, and make it useful.

#Blender #GeometryNodes #ShaderNodes #ProductDesign #CGCookie #ReverseEngineering