Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/The 3D Viewport Window
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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.
Contents |
[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 Solid Mode. Pressing ZKEY (yes, on your keyboard, the 'Z' key) will toggle back and forth between Solid Mode and Wireframe 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. Or press NUM0 and then SHIFT+F to enter "camera fly mode" to position the camera interactively from the viewport using the mouse. Press LMB to finish positioning the camera. |
 |
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 (tilde key) 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+1KEY through ALT+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 synchronised.
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. If you do not have a scroll wheel or trackpad or a middle mouse button, press SHIFT+ALT+LMB to pan.
You also have a 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)
- NUM+ and NUM- zoom in and out.
[edit] Placing the 3D cursor
Useful User Comments
"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)."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"You can deselect all by pressing the AKEY or the select button in the 3D View."
"Use wireframe mode works better to get the cursor in."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"If I remember correctly, undo history gets cleared when you switch between object and edit mode."
"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."
"I missed the point of the exercise first time around. You can't set a 3D point on a 2D screen without technique. Orthographic views are crucial. I am just learning, but take that, at least, away from it."
As with an ordinary text cursor (the vertical line that indicates where the text you type will appear), the 3D cursor is the insertion point for new objects. It is represented by a red and white circle which indicates the location of your editing point in the 3D environment.
Try clicking the LMB in empty space to the right of the cube. The red and white circle (the 3D cursor) moves to where you clicked. Orbit the view 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 view of the 3D environment, the set of possible 3D points where you can place the cursor is determined through and limited by what is viewable through your screen. If you were to move the 3D cursor again while looking at your screen straight-on, the cursor would be placed at an unspecified distance beyond (or "behind") the screen, regardless of the view or where you clicked. This brings us to a problem common to all 3D design programs: "How do we work in a virtual 3D environment through a 2D screen?"
To illustrate, try to put the 3D cursor inside the camera (the pyramid-shaped object), then try to put the cursor back in the cube. Be sure to view the scene from different angles to make sure you have succeeded in placing the cursor inside each. If you try and put the cursor back in the cube, you select the cube instead unintentionally. So, while the cube is still selected, try going to the 3D view header and clicking on the menu options Object > Snap > Cursor to selection; this will snap the cursor to the cube you just accidentally selected. But try your best just to move it in the cube only using the mouse to place it, just for experience's sake.
Are you finding this difficult? That is because we need to clearly specify the 3 coordinates for the desired cursor location in the 3D environment. Try this: Make sure the 3D View is in "Orthographic" mode by clicking View > Orthographic (or pressing NUM5). Press NUM7 to get the top view and click on the position where you want to place the 3D cursor. This will set 2 coordinates of the cursor precisely (X and Y), but what about the third (Z)? Press NUM1 to get to the front view and click again on the desired location to position the cursor. With these two clicks, Blender will have all 3 coordinates of the cursor position and you will have placed the cursor 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 only illuminate 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 in the 3d View header that does the same thing.
Note to azerty users : standard number keys are &é"'(-è_çà keys (do not use SHIFT unless you want to toggle visibility as explained below).
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, ö for Swedish and German, æ for Danish, ù for AZERTY, ø for Norwegian, ò for Italian`] 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 a point somewhere between the cube and camera using the LMB.
- Choose a different view by hitting NUM1 (front view), or NUM3 (side view). [1]
- 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 in specifying the height or depth of the 3D cursor. 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 - note: in Blender 2.48a, it's complicated. If Blender is in Object Mode, the monkey is always facing up. If it's in edit mode then the direction the monkey faces depends on the view (top, side or front)]
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] Mice 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.
