Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Printable Version
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[edit] Beginner Tutorials
So you've come to learn the Blender, eh? You've made a great choice. This is one of the most powerful 3D animation and 3D creation tools out there, especially if you're short on cash. Learning how to use Blender can be a daunting task, so don't give up! But with the help of this wikibook, you can someday become a power user and put those Maya folks to shame.
If you ever get stuck for some reason in a tutorial, there are a number of places you can turn for help. The best way to get help is with an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client such as X-Chat. Connect to irc.freenode.net and talk to blender users in the following channels.
If you can't get help there, click the "discussion" tab at the top of the page that you're having trouble with, and explain your problem on that page. Wait at least 24 hours for some help.
If you're still not getting help, try asking for help in the BlenderArtists.org forums.
[edit] Tutorial Syntax
As you go through these tutorials, you will find yourself running into cryptic codes quite often. These codes refer to keys you need to press on the keyboard and buttons on the mouse you need to press. They are pretty standard throughout the Blender community at this point. You may wish to print this page for quick reference throughout this book.
[edit] Keyboard
There is a big difference between the numbers on the number pad of your keyboard, and the numbers along the top of the keyboard: In Blender, they're actually different keys! There is no relation between the two and confusing them will be largely unpredictable. If you don't have a Numerical Keypad (numpad) see Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Non-standard equipment. There you will find further information on emulating that functionality.
| Abbreviation | Key |
|---|---|
| ALT | Alt key |
| CTRL | Ctrl (Control) key |
| CMD | Command key[1] |
| F1 through F12 | F1 through F12 |
| SHIFT | Shift |
| SPACE | Spacebar |
| TAB | Tab |
| ENTER | Enter |
| ESC | Escape |
| FN | Function[2] |
| Abbreviation | Key |
|---|---|
| AKEY through ZKEY | corresponding letter on the keyboard |
| 0KEY through 9KEY | corresponding number (above the letters) on the keyboard |
| NUM0 through NUM9 | corresponding number on the numpad |
| NUM+ and NUM− | corresponding key on the numpad |
[edit] Mouse
If you don't have a three-button mouse, see Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Non-standard equipment. That includes those with an Apple one-button mouse. There you will find further information on emulating that functionality.
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
| LMB | the left mouse button (typically) |
| RMB | the right mouse button (typically) |
| MMB | the middle mouse button or mouse wheel (clicked, not spun), or you can use ALT + left click |
| SCROLL | refers to scrolling the wheel of the mouse |
[edit] Path menu
SPACE → Add → Mesh → UVsphere
means:
hit SPACE, and, in the menu that comes up, choose Add, then Mesh, then UVsphere.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ On an Apple keyboard, the key with the Apple logo, and on a Windows keyboard, the key with the Windows logo on it.
- ^ FN is generally found only on laptops, and often in the lower left corner of the keyboard. (Some "ergonomic" keyboards use the laptop-style pseudo-numpad to reduce the distance between the normal keys and the mouse. On these, the FN key is often in the top row.)
[edit] Become Familiar with the Blender Interface
[edit] Learn the Blender Windowing System
[edit] An Interface, Divided, Will Surely Stand
The Blender interface can be a bit intimidating at first, but don't despair. We will explore the power and flexibility of the Blender windowing system, and how to adapt it to suit your needs, one step at a time. First, we're going to talk about manipulating the 3D Viewport and the Buttons Window.
The 3D Viewport's grid represents Blender Units (BU). A BU can be as large as you would like it to be: an inch, a centimeter, a mile, or a cubit. A BU lets you decide the scale.
[edit] Window Headers
Every window has a window header. The window header can be at the top of a window, at the bottom of a window, or hidden. Let's take a look at the window headers for our 3D Viewport and our Buttons Window.
The header for the 3D Viewport is highlighted in red. Notice that it's actually at the bottom of the 3D Viewport, and not at the top.
The header for the Buttons Window is highlighted in blue.
The active window is the window that will respond to what you type on the keyboard when you're using keyboard shortcuts. One of the windows in Blender will be active at all times.
Making another window active is simple: simply move the mouse over one of the windows to make it active! Try changing the active window by moving your mouse rapidly between the 3D Viewport and the Buttons Window now. You'll notice that the window's header lights up when it becomes active.
[edit] Changing the Window Type
There are many window types other than the 3D View and the Buttons Window, and you can easily switch any window to any other window type at any time.
[edit] Resizing Windows
Resizing windows is easy and fun.
You'll notice that as you increase the size of one window, you decrease the size of the other. Blender does not allow the windows to overlap, as they may in other programs. This is why Blender's interface is known as a non-overlapping window interface.
[edit] Splitting Windows
Splitting windows is just as simple as resizing them, and will give you two windows of the same type.
Splitting a window on a vertical division will give you two windows stacked vertically. Splitting on a horizontal division, as we have done, will give you two windows side-by-side horizontally. While in step 3, to comute between vertical and horizontal division, just use the TAB key.
[edit] Joining Windows
Rejoining two split windows is just as easy as splitting them. We'll rejoin the window we just split.
Joining to the left means that the window on the left will be erased, while joining to the right means that the window on the right will be erased. Keep this in mind when joining different window types.
[edit] The Buttons Window
[edit] What's with all the buttons?!
[edit] Mini-Windows
You'll notice that within the Buttons Window there are Mini-Windows (i.e., panels) such as those outlined here. Many manipulations can be performed with these windows, but for now we will only teach you the most important two.
The first thing you can do is click the top of the Mini-Windows with the LMB and drag them around. Try it! Also, try dragging and dropping them onto other Mini-Windows to make them join together (as tabs). You can separate the tabs into individual windows again by dragging the active tab over to an available space. Also if there are too many mini windows and you can't see a certain one, use the MMB (or the mouse wheel, SCROLL) to pan across until the desired window is visible.
[edit] Button Types
[edit] Logic Buttons
[edit] Script Buttons
[edit] Shading Buttons
The Shading button set allows you to apply and manipulate colors and textures on your objects, and control lights and world settings. When you press this button (or the F5 key) you will see five additional buttons appear. These are for lights, general material settings, textures, radiosity, and world settings (handy for giving your renders a quick background). Pressing the F5 key will cycle through these buttons.
[edit] Object Buttons
You can press F7 to cause the Object Buttons to appear. It should be noted that these are not the same buttons that appear when you choose Object Mode in the 3D Window. Some tutorials may refer to pressing the F7 key to change to "Object Mode," and some will say you should press the Tab key to change to Object mode.
The Tab key changes from Edit Mode to Object Mode in the 3D Window, and F7 changes the Buttons Window to show the Object Buttons.
[edit] Edit Buttons
These are buttons used to edit objects in edit mode. You can press F9 to get the edit buttons. To get to edit mode (in the 3D View window) press TAB.
[edit] Scene Buttons
Basically these are for rendering (taking pictures) and animating (making movies). You can press F10 to get the scene buttons. We'll get back to these later.
[edit] The 3D Viewport Window
Blender's 3D Viewport Window (3d Viewport) gives you total control of how you visualize your world. You'll spend most of your time in this window, so here are a few things to know about the 3d Viewport.
[edit] Rotating
Here you'll be able to fly around your 3D scene, rotating the planes as you see fit. You'll see that the default object is actually a cube, and half of it lies above the X-Y plane, and half below it.
Make the 3D Viewport active by placing the mouse pointer anywhere inside it.
- To free-form rotate (any way), while holding down the MMB, move the mouse
- To rotate around a vertical axis (sideways), leaving objects' vertical orientation unaltered, use CTRL+ALT+SCROLL, or using the keyboard, NUM4 and NUM6
- To rotate around a horizontal axis (upward), leaving objects' horizontal orientation unaltered, use SHIFT+ALT+SCROLL, or using the keyboard, NUM8 and NUM2
It's a cube! Holding down the MMB is the quickest and easiest way to rotate your view and get a new perspective on things. Right now you're looking at the cube in what's known as Wireframe Mode. Pressing ZKEY (yes, on your keyboard, the 'Z' key) will toggle back and forth between Wireframe Mode and Solid Mode. Pressing NUM5 while NUM LOCK is on will toggle between Orthographic and Perspective (perspective looks more natural). This does not affect how your final product will appear, only the way you see your scene while you're creating it.
As you move the view around, you will see the following three objects:
Camera, Lamp, and Cube.
We'll get into more in depth details about these later.
| Object Icon | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
Camera | The camera location and rotation will determine what you will see at render time. To see in your 3D viewport what the camera will see, activate that window by pressing the NUM0 key. (Remember the 0KEY is different.) You may need to make sure NUM LOCK is on on your keyboard. To switch out of the camera view, drag the MMB. |
 |
Lamp | A lamp is simply a light source. It will not be rendered, but the light it provides to the scene will be rendered. |
 |
Cube | This object will be rendered. The camera should be pointing at the cube so that you will see it at render time, if the camera is not pointing at the cube, or if it is somehow partially out of frame, the picture will reflect this. |
Here is a table of some simple key combinations that will result in a perfect view.
| Key Combo | View | Key Combo | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUM7 | top | CTRL+NUM7 | bottom |
| NUM1 | front | CTRL+NUM1 | back |
| NUM3 | right side | CTRL+NUM3 | left side |
The object the viewport orbits around (the object you see) can be changed to a new object by first selecting it with the RMB and then pressing NUM. (the period key on the numpad) or NUM, (the comma key on the numpad) on some keyboard layouts.
[NOTE: selecting an object with the RMB will only work if your viewport is set to 'Object Mode.' Press the TAB key to toggle between 'Edit Mode' and 'Object Mode.']
In Blender there is a big difference between the number keys on your numberpad (numpad) and the number keys along the top of the keyboard. For example, NUM7 refers to the number 7 on the numberpad, while 7KEY refers to the number 7 that's above the YKEY and UKEY on the standard US keyboard.
If you accidentally pressed 1KEY, 3KEY, or 7KEY during this step and it appears that everything disappeared, you have been changing the layer that you are viewing instead, press the 'key (backtick key -- on US keyboards, this is the key to the left of the 1KEY) to return to viewing all the layers, or press the 1KEY to get back to viewing layer 1 which should have been originally active. The 1KEY through 0KEY and ALT+SHIFT+1KEY through ALT+SHIFT+0KEY switch layers.
[edit] Panning
To pan is to move the camera on its X axis or Y axis. This results in the user being able to view more, or more aptly, to view something else. Think of a side-scrolling video game, such as any classic Mario or Sonic, the effect that your character's avatar always stays on the viewable screen while giving you the illusion it's running off the screen is because the character runs at the same pace the camera pans. This is evident in the background's continuous motion relative to the static avatar and camera which remain relatively synchronized.
To pan in Blender press SHIFT+MMB. Make sure to press and hold shift before the MMB, or your view will rotate instead. If you have a scroll wheel you can use SHIFT+Scroll to pan up and down, and CTRL+Scroll to pan left and right.
You also have choice of keyboard alternatives:
CTRL+NUM8 NUM: Up
CTRL+NUM4 CTRL+NUM6 Left Right
CTRL+NUM2 Down
Panning is an important skill to master; try it now.
[edit] Zooming
Blender offers you several ways to zoom in and out:
- If your mouse has a scroll wheel, scroll it.
- CTRL+ALT+LMB and move up and down (not left or right)
- CTRL+MMB and move the mouse up and down (not left or right)
- MMB
- NUM+ and NUM-
[edit] Placing the 3D cursor
A Useful User Discussion
(Reader - I found that I would select the cube when left clicking on it in object mode, if the "Use 3d transform manipulator" button was enabled. To toggle this off, you click on the gray pointing hand in the 3d panel header, or (Ctrl Space).)
(Yet another reader: When you want the cursor back into the cube, just select the camera with RMB, put the cursor into the cube following the steps above, and re-select the cube with RMB.)
(Reader:- I've discovered it helps a lot if you are in Object Mode and not in Edit Mode. I wrote the following before discovering this:- The problem with this exercise, for me, is that left clicking on the cube selects the cube instead of moving the 3d cursor. If I click on the cube outside of its central white circle I can get the cursor to move there, but only to outside of this white circle, and even then this only works sometimes.)
(I failed at this until I had zoomed in close enough to the cube. When I was too far zoomed out I kept selecting the cube rather than creating an edit point. Another reader: I had the same problem and found it was because the cube was selected. I made sure I was in object mode, right clicked on the camera to select the camera instead of the cube, and I could then position the edit point in the cube. However, doing this messed up the next part of the tutorial because you cannot switch into edit mode with the camera selected! Perhaps the suggestion of trying to put the 3D cursor in the cube should be dropped as it raises too many questions at this stage.)
(Yet another reader: you can deselect all by pressing the AKEY or the select button in the 3D View)
(Reader-use wireframe mode works better to get the cursor in)
Reader - To get it back in the cube: 1. make sure you're in object mode 2. select the cube 3. Object -> Snap -> Cursor to selection (cursor refers to the 3D cursor here so it puts it right in the middle of the cube)
(Reader - I think it's an essential point to note that in order to place the cursor inside the cube, the cube must NOT be selected. AKEY was probably the best way to deselect the object.)
(Reader - I would find an "undo" command of great use while learning and experimenting with the various keys. Sometime you do somthing you didn't intend to do. It would be nice to undo that undesired effect.)
(Another One - The "undo" comand exists, but it doesn't seem to be in any menu or key. On Macs you can undo using Command-ZKEY, on other systems I suoppose that CTRL-ZKEY will do the thing.)
(Reader - Ctrl-Z does undo, but Blender doesn't seem to store nearly so many previous actions. I think it's only one or two.)
(Reader - If I remember correctly, undo history gets cleared when you switch between object and edit mode.)
(Reader - I wasted a lot of time here. _Thank you_ to the reader who suggested (on the 3D view header) object->snap->cursor to selection. It was the only thing that worked to get the cursor visible again and placed where clicked.)
(You can set the number of steps the undo command can do as mentioned in earlier pages)
As with an ordinary text cursor (the vertical line that indicates where you type), the 3D cursor is the insertion point for new objects. It is represented as a red and white circle. It is just an 'editing point' in the 3D environment.
Click the LMB to the right of the cube, half-way between the edge of the window and the cube. The red and white circle (the 3D cursor) moves to where you clicked. Orbit the view again and notice that the 3D cursor marks a point in 3D space. "So I can move the 3D cursor, but what if I want to put it back in its original spot?" you may be asking. To do that, just press SHIFT+C and the cursor will jump back in place.
In any given rotational perspective, the set of possible 3D points where you can place the cursor is defined by the plane of your screen. If you're looking at the standard plane straight-on (meaning the standard plane is exactly parallel to your screen), you will place the cursor at the same height above or below the standard plane no matter where you click. Think of a square sheet of glass, you view the '3d world space' through it, clicking on a part of that square places the cursor there, like placing chess pieces. Don't worry, you'll understand this point soon enough.
A more interesting experiment is to rotate the standard plane so the left end is farther away from you (and thus farther away from the plane of your screen) than the right. In this view, placing the cursor on the left will put it more toward the front of the plane, and placing it on the right will put it more toward the back.
Make sure the 3D View is in "Orthographic" mode by clicking "View" and selecting "Orthographic" (or NUM5), and then try the following exercise: put the 3D cursor inside the camera (the pyramid-shaped object situated to the bottom left from the cube by default in top view). Be sure to view the scene from different angles to make sure the cursor is in fact inside. Now put the cursor back inside the cube. Make sure you are in object mode and that the '3d Transform Manipulator' is off. This ensures we can move the '3D Cursor' into the cube without selecting the cube by accident. To toggle the '3d Transform Manipulator', click the small index finger button 
in the 3d View Window/Bar, or use the keyboard, CTRL+SPACE. Toggle it a few times to get the hang of the difference.
If you're finding this difficult, try this: Press NUM7 to get to the top view and click on the position at which you want to place the 3D cursor. This will set two of the axes of the cursor precisely (X and Y), but the Z could be above or below the point you want. To fix this, press NUM1 to get to another view, and click again on the position to place the cursor at. With these two clicks, Blender will have all the 3 coordinates of the cursor position and you will have placed it exactly.
[edit] Layers
In the 3d viewport window, both in edit and object modes, everything you create is assigned to a visibility layer. This system has several uses:
- Divides up different elements of a scene, so you can put scenery, characters, particles and lights all in different layers. They can then be viewed separately or in various combinations to simplify your screen.
- When rendering, only the currently visible layers will be included. You can use this to render your scene in separate bits to review how they look.
- Lights can be set to illuminate only objects that are in the same layer as they are, giving you more control over them. (This can also be done with grouping, but layers are faster to use at this stage).
To control layer visibility, the number keys on a standard keyboard will switch you to viewing the layers numbered 1-9 and 0 (0 being the rightmost layer). Holding ALT while using the keyboard numbers will give you access to the second row of layers.
Alternatively, there is a grid of buttons at the base of the viewport that does the same thing.
Holding SHIFT while selecting a layer (by keyboard or mouse) will, instead of making only that layer visible, toggle the visibility. You can use this to select combinations, or to disable individual layers from your current view.
To select all layers at once, press the [' for UK keyboards, ` for US] key on your keyboard. Holding SHIFT and pressing the key will return you to the last set-up you had before making them all visible.
An object you create will automatically be assigned to the layer you are currently viewing, if only one is selected, or the last layer you added to your selection. To move a selected object to a different layer, press the MKEY and select the new layer from the pop-up box.
[edit] Exercise (3D space in 2D output)
Follow these simple steps to get a feel for a 3D representation of space in a 2D output device (your monitor):
- Change to "Object mode" using the pull down option in the 3d viewport's window header bar. Or, hit TAB to toggle between "Object mode" and "Edit mode".
- Disable the "Use 3d transform manipulator" option by using the icon located on the 3d viewport's window header (shaped like a pointing hand). Or, hit CTRL+SPACE to toggle.
- Hit NUM7 to change to top view. This can also be accomplished through the view menu.
- Click between the cube and camera using the LMB.
- Choose a different view by hitting NUM1 (front view), or NUM3 (side view). [3]
- Click between the cube and camera with LMB again.
- Rotate the view around to see how it turned out.
For the part where you are to get your cursor into the middle of the cube, just follow steps 3 through 6 again. Except this time, you'll of course be LMB clicking inside the cube, instead of between camera and cube, during step 4 and step 6.
Notes
- ^ Because we are working in a 3D space you'll need to have two different views that intersect each other. For instance, viewing from top and then from bottom wouldn't be of much help to figuring how high up from the "standard plane" the 3d cursor is going to be. These views can also be selected through the view menu.
[edit] Adding and Deleting Objects
Make sure you are in Object Mode. If not, press TAB. (When an object is selected in edit mode, the TAB key switches between the edit and object modes. If you are in another mode, TAB toggles between that mode and the edit mode.) A status bar at the top-right of the user preferences window will indicate the current mode by displaying 'Ob' or 'Ed' depending on the currently toggled mode. Another way to check which view you are in is to check the bottom of the 3D view.
Also, remember to reactivate the '3d Transform Manipulator' if it's still toggled off from the previous step.
Make sure you have your cursor in the center of the cube. See the previous section (in the reader's notes) if you don't know how to do this.
Click RMB (Cmd+LMB on Mac) on the cube to be sure it's selected. Press the XKEY or DELKEY to delete it. A window will prompt you to erase object. Click "Erase Selected" (or "Erase All").
The reason for having your cursor in the center of the cube is that any object you add to the scene will be located where your cursor is.
To add an object, use the Add menu located in the menubar above your 3D View window, or press the Spacebar to access the same menu. Why not add a monkey? Choose Add > Mesh > Monkey. [If you prefer the monkey to be facing frontwards, make sure to be in FRONT view (NUM1) before adding the mesh]
A new object will be added, and you will be in what's known as Edit Mode. Press TAB to get out of Edit Mode, then CKEY to center the screen on the cursor (where the monkey appeared). Press the ZKEY to toggle the 3D Viewport between solid and wireframe modes. Zoom in and out for a closer look (SCROLL, NUM+, CTRL+MMB, or ALT+CTRL+LMB).
[edit] Non-standard equipment
- Further information: Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Non-standard equipment
[edit] Mouses lacking MMB
For simply rotating around the object, enable the "Emulate 3 Button Mouse" option in the View & Control Preferences, and press Alt+LMB and drag.
[edit] Tablet PCs
In the Viewport, holding the ALT key while dragging your pen around will achieve the same effect as MMB.
[edit] Other Windows
Just when you thought that you were getting the hang of the Buttons window and the 3D Viewport window, there are several more windows to learn about. Have no fear; we will gently guide you through this book and teach you about these windows as the need arises. For now, you only need to know one of them to be aware of your many options.
In the 3D viewport window, you'll see a button on the header all the way to the left that has a grid on it (if not, click on a window separator with the RMB or MMB and choose "Add Header"). That button allows you to switch window types. Click on it with the LMB and you will see a number of different window types to which you can change. Try some of the different window types; you will learn about their relevance in time.
Change the window back to the 3-Dimensional Viewport before moving on to the next tutorial.
[edit] Learn to Model
The most fundamental part of 3D development is modeling, because this is where you create content, or 'models'. Creating 3D models is fun and sometimes challenging.
On the next page, you will take the first step in learning how to model. If you're excited, great! But if you're scared, don't worry; it starts out very easily. Give yourself time and patience; Pixar and Dreamworks will still be in business when you're ready for them!
[edit] Beginners Tips
These are some basic tips that are often asked for in one form or another. Sometimes it is in reference to something completely different, but the basic methodology will work.
[edit] Starting with a box
Tutorials will often start with the default cube you see right after opening Blender. Here are two ways to reset the scene without quitting the application:
- Ctrl-X (while holding the Ctrl key, press the X key);
- or select File -> New from the menu.
Then, you will see a prompt box asking OK? under your mouse pointer. You can confirm that you want to erase your current scene by clicking Erase All (or move the mouse around to dismiss it).
The cube shows as a square in the 3D viewport. If you rotate the view while holding down MMB (middle mouse button), you'll see it is actually a cube. It is selected by default. Also, the text manual of Blender states "holding down the Alt key and using a left click will simulate the Middle Mouse Button". Navigating in 3d space is assumed, please see the excellent tutorials on Blender about User Interface Tutorial [4] , The Blender Windows[5], and Navigating in 3D Space[6] which are located on the Blender Quickstart page here: http://www.blender.org/education-help/quickstart/
 |
You can change the default scene (and return to a personalized one when clicking on Ctrl-X). Just modify the scene and arrange dialogs to suit your needs, then click File > Save Default Settings. Your current scene will now be used as the default when you click File > New. This is very handy indeed. To return to factory defaults, you can delete the file which contains those settings: .B.blend in your home directory. Starting from version 2.44, a new Load Factory Settings item is available from the File menu. |
[edit] Subdivision Surfaces
Subdivision surfaces, or subsurfing, is a common technique in 3D modeling. It uses a mathematical process of simulating a curved plane in space according to the placement of control points, or vertices. What this means is that you can create an object with a smooth surface that is easily controlled by relatively few vertices.
[edit] Adding a Subsurf modifier
First, select the cube by clicking RMB (right mouse button) on the cube in the 3D window. Now choose the Editing panel set in the "Buttons" (bottom) window:
- click on the
icon in the panel list: 
- or press F9.
If you're not seeing a bunch of windows in the button view panel, such as Link and Materials, Mesh, Multires, Modifiers, Shapes, then there's a good chance you haven't got the cube itself selected.
In the Modifiers window, click on the Add Modifier button and select Subsurf. Click on the area to the right of Levels:1 to increase the subsurf level. With each increment the cube becomes more smooth, and more planes are added. If you hit apply the original form of the cube becomes lost. If you don't apply the changes they remain on the cube as if it was a filter, of sorts.
The remaining examples on this page will be dependent on NOT applying the Subsurf.
[edit] But I want a box!
Often, you will want to render with your model having some sort of subsurf turned on. Face it, most things in real life just do not have super sharp edges. Unless the object is a knife edge, objects in the real world will have some sort of softer edge on it. It is just this fact that is often overlooked by people starting out in 3D: CG can sometimes look too perfect, resulting from impossibly sharp, clean, and well defined edges.
This effect can be fixed by telling Blender that we want our cube to retain more of its original shape. We'll do this using a tool called Edge Creasing. Each edge in a Blender model has a crease value associated with it, which is used to tell the Subsurf modifier how sharp we want that edge to be. By default, all edges have a crease of 0, which is why our cube has lost all its sharp edges.
[edit] Show subdivision surface's cage
Now, remember what we said about the Subsurf modifier remembering our original cube shape? Press TAB to go into edit mode and you'll see that the original cube has come back to haunt us as a wire frame around the smoothed cube. (unless you're using version 2.45 of Blender)
Before we fiddle with the creasing, set the Subsurf Levels up to "4" so you can see the effect more clearly.
[edit] Choose an edge to crease
Enter face mode by either:
- Placing the cursor in the 3D View → changing to Edit Mode [7] → CTRL+TAB → choose Faces
- Changing to Edit Mode → click
(Face Mode Icon).
Select one of the sides of our wire cube with RMB by clicking near the dot in the center of the face. You'll know when it's been selected because the other faces will change colour to grey, and the face you've selected will be highlighted.
Note that, although we are in Face mode, it is really the edges that we are creasing; selecting a face is just a quick way of selecting its four edges.
[edit] Crease selected edges
Now crease the edges of the selection by either:
- Press SHIFT+E
- Select Mesh → Edges → Crease SubSurf.
Your mouse will be tied to the cube with a dotted line. Move it gently left and right to see the effect it has on the mesh.
In the style of Blender, click LMB to apply the changes, or RMB to cancel creasing.
[edit] Finally build a real box
Either cancel the above edge crease or start from scratch to get back to our simple subsurfed cube. Then press the A key twice to select all faces. Crease them with SHIFT+E like before, until your cube looks like the image on the right.
Press TAB to cancel out of edit mode. Behold: your smooth cube.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ You can change to Edit Mode by selecting it from the drop down list on the 3D Viewport's header. Or, you can toggle between the current mode, and Edit Mode by using TAB.
[edit] Quickie Model
Your first model is easy.
[edit] Selecting objects
Start with the default scene. It has three objects: a cube, a light source and a camera.
The cube is selected: pink outlines indicate the selected objects. You can select or deselect all objects by pressing A, the mouse pointer being inside the viewport. Select a single object by right-clicking on it (RMB or CMD+LMB on Mac).
AKEY - Toggles between selecting all or selecting none.
RMB - Selects a single object
[edit] Edit Mode
Right now you're in what's known as Object Mode. In Object Mode you can move the cube around the 3D environment in relation to other objects. With the cube selected, hit TAB. This puts you in what's known as Edit Mode.
Note: if instead of the cube you've selected the lamp or the camera, you won't be able to go into Edit Mode (Cameras and Lamps are edited differently).
In Edit Mode, you can change the shape and size of the cube. You could turn the cube into a puppy… or at least soon you'll be able to.
TAB - toggles in and out of Edit Mode of the selected, active object.
[edit] Selecting vertices
Now that you're in Edit Mode, you have access to the individual vertices. Vertices are control points that you can connect to create edges and faces. Edges connect two vertices, and faces connect three or more vertices.
Vertices show up as pink dots when they're not selected, and yellow dots when they are selected. If you change the G.U.I. theme, these colors may change. For example, the Rounded theme uses orange and white for selected and unselected vertices respectively.
If all the vertices are yellow (selected), press AKEY to deselect all vertices (as seen above, this key toggles selection depending on the current mode). Go ahead and hit RMB (CMD+LMB on Mac) over one of the vertices and you should see it change to yellow, which means that it is selected. On the Mac OS X version of Blender (2.4.4) LMB selects. RMB moves the cross-hair. (This setting can be changed under View & Controls in the User Preferences window.)
If all you see is a big blue dot:
- Make sure the 3D transform manipulator is off; if not: depress the hand button
on the header. You'll know it's off when the icon showing the 3D axes disappears.
If you cannot select a vertex:
- Hit the ZKEY and make sure you are in transparent mode.
- If you can't get the cursor over the vertex, adjust your mouse/trackpad's tracking speed to minimum.
- Make sure you're in vertex select mode: if you can only select faces or edges, either press CTRL+TAB to select Vertices or click on the Vertex select mode icon as shown below.
Now try rotating the view to see what's actually going on. You can hold ALT key and drag (while holding the left mouse button, move the mouse) to rotate your view. If instead, it moves the Blender window, drag with the MMB (without holding the ALT key).
ZKEY - Toggles between drawing the scene in wireframe and solid mode.
CTRL-TAB - Opens the selection mode menu.
ALT+LMB or MMB - Rotates the view
[edit] Moving vertices
With a vertex selected, use the grab tool:
- Mesh > Transform > Grab/Move,
- click and hold LMB on an empty space and draw a line,
- or just press GKEY.
Move your mouse around: you should see the selected vertex moving with the pointer! Click the LMB to drop the vertex at the current spot, or press ENTER or SPACE key. While moving, you can cancel the move and drop the vertex back where it came from by pressing RMB (CMD+LMB on Mac).
You can also grab a selection using the mouse by holding RMB (CMD+LMB on Mac) and dragging it around: release the button at the desired spot. Then, clicking on the same button cancels the move.
Now use the MMB to rotate the view around to see the incredible impact your small change has undoubtedly made.
GKEY - "Grabs" the current selection and allows you to move it around with the mouse. Use LMB, ENTER, or SPACE to drop it in place. Use RMB or ESC to cancel the move.
[edit] Creating Vertices
While in mesh edit mode, simply hold the CTRL key while left clicking where you wish to create a vertex. Subsequent left clicks will create a series of vertices with connected edges.
[edit] Extra Practice
Video Tutorial on Edit Mode [8]
[edit] Quickie Render
If you haven't completed the previous tutorial, (the Quickie Model tutorial), do so now. Keep the same file open from that tutorial because we will be using it here.
A render is the creation of a picture from the camera's point of view, taking the environment's effects on your scene into account, and generating a realistic picture based on your settings. This first render will finish very quickly, but you'll find that as your 3D scenes become more complex, the rendering can take a very long time.
[edit] Rendering the current scene
Now that you've created your first model, undoubtedly you'll want to render it. Rendering is quick and easy. Make sure you're in object mode (press TAB if you're not), put the mousepointer in the 3D view window and press F12! On Macintosh OS X 10.4 and Gnome you can use ALT-F12 (or fn-F12 on the new Apple Keyboard) to avoid the Dashboard and the Gnome Search Dialog, respectively.
If you have more than 1 processor, there is a way to speed up your renders. In case you do have more than one processor core, then read on. If not, just skip this paragraph. Hit F10 to go to the render settings tab and in the bottom left corner, there is a threads button. Adjust the number of threads according to the number of cores in your processor (e.g. a dual core processor would be two threads, one for each core). Now, try re-rendering and you should get much faster results.
You can also use the menu: Render > Render Current Frame.
Then, you can interrupt the rendering at any time by pressing ESC while the rendering window has the focus.
(If you've accidentally put the render window behind the main window, you can get it back several ways: you can use the Windows taskbar or, under Windows and most other operating systems, you can use ALT+TAB (CMD-~(tilde) on Mac).)
This is a relatively quick render. It can be cleaned up a bit but it will give you a good idea of what your model currently looks like. Feel free to use the F12 key as often as you would like.
Note: If your cube is completely black, you may not actually have a light source in the scene. Some versions of Blender don't create a lamp (source of light) by default, and you'll need to add one. To add a lamp, enter object mode (TAB) and then press the spacebar while your mouse is over the 3D window. Select Add > Lamp which will give you a choice to add several different types of lamps. Remember to place the lamp in position where it is not inside the cube. This can be achieved using the RMB and pressing G.
F12 - Starts the rendering from the active camera.
[edit] Saving a render
At some point you will probably want to save your renders. Above the 3D Viewport, select File > Save Image… or just hit F3. A menu with a directory list will appear; the upper text line denotes the directory and in the lower one you type the name of the image, like "myfirstrendering.jpeg". Note that earlier versions of Blender (before 2.41?) will not add the ".jpeg" extension automatically if you leave it out.
JPEG images, as opposed to PNG images, will contain unwanted artifacts (imperfections around edges). You can change the format by going to Render -> Render Settings. Then under format change the Type from Jpeg to PNG and hit F3 again to update the file type in the file selector.
F3 - Opens the Save Image dialog (if an image has been rendered).
[edit] Mesh Modeling
Mesh modeling is the most common type of modeling in all of Blender-dom. If you did the Quickie Model tutorial, then you've already participated in mesh modeling. A mesh is simply a collection of vertices that define a three dimensional object. This exercise will further help explain mesh modeling.
- Get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
- Draw three dots that are no more than 2.5 cm (about an inch) apart from each other
- Each one of these dots is called a vertex. (The plural of vertex is "vertices")
- Now connect two of the dots with a line segment. The line segment is called an edge.
- Draw two more edges so that the three vertices are all connected. You should now have a triangle drawn on the paper. Fill the triangle in. This is called a face.
- Now draw another vertex (dot) on the paper. Connect it to two of the vertices (dots) you previously drew. You have another triangle. Fill it in to create another face.
Could you imagine doing this same sort of activity in 3D space? Essentially, mesh modelling is just that. The details are on subsequent pages in this tutorial.
You can keep filling up the paper with more vertices, edges, and faces if you want. You may want to try and create something interesting with your triangles. Blender also supports faces with four vertices (called quads), but faces with five or more (so-called N-gons) cannot be created.
Look closely at a 3D video game character some time. Believe it or not, every part of the character is created from little triangles joined together (of course, the triangles are much harder to see in newer games using more detailed technology).
When you're creating your models, remember that the whole point of having edges and vertices is so that you can have control points in 3D space for your faces. When the scene is rendered, only the faces will be seen. Any edges or vertices not connected to a face will not appear.
[edit] Modeling a Simple Person
Now, we will create a simple character, learning about selection and extrusion along the way. Extrusion is one of the most widely used modeling tools available.
[edit] Creating a New Project
Start with the default scene (as explained here). You should have your default beginning cube.
Reminder:
- Select the cube with RMB (CMD+LMB on Mac).
- Drag with the MMB (ALT+LMB on Mac) to have a look at the scene from different angles.
- Press NUM7 to go back to the top view.
- Toggle between Edit Mode and Object mode with TAB; the option button shown on the image below tells what mode you are in at any given time:
Mode button/indicator
[edit] Selection Methods
This section proposes five methods for selecting the default cube's top four vertices. The image on the right shows the view rotated a bit with the correct vertices selected.
Limit selection to visible Button
|
Before we start, make sure the Limit selection to visible button is on. You'll only be able to find this button when you're in Edit Mode. It is not available in Wireframe Mode: hit ZKEY if you cannot find it. It'll appear on the bottom of the 3D View window, far right, just before the Render button. |
'Note:' In Blender 2.42 for Mac OS X running on a MacBook, there is a display problem with the box and circle selections: the selection box and circle do not appear on screen (this is valid for both the Intel and the PowerPC versions).
The default is Object Mode. The cube should be selected; switch to Edit Mode then proceed.
[edit] 1. Box Selection
This tool draws a square that you resize to frame the top four vertices (or dots).
- Deselect all vertices by pressing the AKEY;
- Press the BKEY to activate what is known as the Box Border Select Tool (it starts as two dotted lines).
Now, when you click and hold LMB and move the mouse cursor, a selection border will appear. When you release the mouse button, the vertices that are inside it will be selected. Select the top four vertices. If you made a mistake, you can start again after hitting AKEY to deselect the selected vertices. Make sure all the vertices are deselected (pink, not yellow) before trying the next method.
BKEY - Activates box-select tool.
[edit] 2. Circle Selection
- Deselect all vertices by pressing the AKEY;
- Press the BKEY twice to activate the Circle Border Select tool.
A circle appears around the mouse cursor. You can resize the circle with SCROLL (the mouse wheel) or alternatively use the NUM+/NUM- or PgUp/PgDn keys.
- Select vertices either by dragging with LMB or clicking at several places.
- Deselect vertices by clicking or dragging with the MMB (or ALT+LMB).
To adjust your selection, note that SHIFT+RMB toggles a single vertex selection.
Note: If ALT + LMB moves the current window, then to deselect a vertex use CTRL+ALT+LMB or MMB instead.
The Circle Border Select tool will be active until you press RMB, ESC or SPACE.
BKEY+BKEY - Circle Select. If you press BKEY a second time after starting Border Select, Circle Select is invoked. Use NUM+ or NUM- or MW to adjust the circle size. Leave Circle Select with RMB or ESC.
[edit] 3. Lasso Selection
Like many graphics programs, Blender 3D has a lasso selection tool.
- Deselect all vertices by pressing the AKEY;
- Hold CTRL+LMB and draw a circle around the vertices you want to select. Release the LMB when you're done.
To deselect with the lasso, use CTRL+SHIFT+LMB.
[edit] 4. One By One Selection
You can also select the four vertices one by one.
- Deselect all vertices by pressing the AKEY;
- Select a single vertex with RMB (CMD+LMB on Mac);
- Select additional vertices by holding SHIFT while pressing the RMB. Clicking again on a selected vertex deselects it.
[edit] 5. Face Selection
In addition to those vertex selection methods, there is yet another option: on the right of your viewport header you can see selection modes. Choose the Face select mode (the triangle with a dot inside) and select the top face of the cube with the RMB (CMD+LMB on Mac). Then switch back to Vertex select mode (the four dots in a diamond formation). As you will see, all four vertices forming the top face are selected (this is also called "selection transformation").
Alternatively, with the mouse pointer in the 3D viewport, you can hit CTRL+TAB and select Vertices or Faces mode from the popup menu.
[edit] Learning Extrusion
The pictures below are in orthographic view. Depending on Blender's version, the default view is either perspective or orthographic. If you need to switch to the orthographic view, press NUM5 (or choose it from the VIEW menu, as shown in the picture). Also remember that NUM1 restores the front view.
[edit] Region extrusion
With the top four vertices selected (which will appear like the top two in your screen), hit the EKEY. Choose Region from the popup menu, then move the mouse: four -new- vertices attached to the four that were previously selected are moving around with the mouse pointer. You can drop them in place with LMB, SPACE, or ENTER.
Notes:
- In Blender 2.42a and 2.43a, you may not have the Region option; so just ignore choosing region and continue.
- If the menu doesn't popup, you are probably in face selection mode. Move back to vertex selection mode by clicking the right icon.
- If the popup menu only presents the Only Edges and Only Vertices choices, you probably have not selected four vertices that make up a face. (It can also happen when some of the vertices are doubled: try selecting all vertices while in Edit Mode and hit the WKEY to display the Specials menu. Then choose Remove Doubles; it can also be accessed through the Rem Doubles under the Mesh Tools tab).
EKEY - Extrude selection
[edit] Starting with a simple leg
More likely than not, wherever you extruded the vertices to is not the right spot for this tutorial. Hit the UKEY or CTRL+ZKEY (CMD+ZKEY Mac) to undo your last edit. You should see just your original cube with the top four vertices selected.
Now hit the EKEY again. Again, choose Region. This time, as you're moving the extruded vertices around, hold down CTRL and you'll see that they will only move to certain spots. This is called snapping. The vertices snap predetermined positions. We'll talk more about snapping later, but for now, set the vertices in the right spot so that it looks like two cubes of equal size stacked on top of each other.
Repeat the process until you have five boxes of equal size stacked on top of each other. And that, my friend, is a very simple leg!
- Hint: Don't stretch one box all the way to make the desired shape - You must create all stacked boxes in sequence, or you won't get the nodes (a more detailed mesh) that are required.