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Index
Blender 3D Basics Beginner's Guide
Blender 3D Basics Beginner's Guide
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more
Why subscribe?
Free access for Packt account holders
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Time for action — heading
What just happened?
Pop quiz— heading
Have a go hero — heading
Reader feedback
Customer support
Downloading the example code
Errata
Piracy
Questions
1. Introducing Blender and Animation
Welcome to the world of Blender 3D
Discovering Blender and animation
Learning Blender will literally change how you think
Installing Blender
Using Blender
Time for action — rendering your first scene in Blender
What just happened?
Time for action — closing Blender
What just happened?
Top 10 reasons to enjoy using Blender 3D
Learning from your animation heros
Have a go hero — making a folder of your animation heroes
Going back to the year 1922 on an animation field trip
Time for action — searching on Felix Turns the Tide + 1922
What just happened?
Pop quiz— analyzing pioneer animators
Moving ahead a few years in time, to 1928
Time for action — searching on Plane Crazy +1928
What just happened?
Pop quiz— analyzing early animators
Arriving in 1938, the animation industry is at a peak
Time for action — searching on Goonland + 1938
Pop quiz— analyzing what animators had learned in 16 years
Have a go hero — studying the masters
Starting to use computers for animation in the 1960s
Beginnings of 3D animation in 1963
Time for action — searching on Ivan Sutherland + Sketchpad
What just happened?
Pop quiz— analyzing pioneer computer animators
Going to the late 1970s, a few companies are doing 3D animation
Time for action — searching on Triple I demo
What just happened?
Pop quiz— analyzing early computer animators
Time for action — watching Information International,Inc. (Triple I) 1982 demo reel
What just happened?
Introducing Pixar — 1984, and everything comes together
Time for action — searching for the video of The Adventures of André and Wally B
What just happened?
Pop quiz— analyzing mature computer animation
Have a go hero — educating yourself about animation
Back to the present time
Animation principles
Using 3D skills, what can you do with them?
Making 2D animation
TV and video
Films and pre-visualization
Stereoscopic 3D
Web animation
Games
Flight and driving simulators
Digital signage
Displaying scientific data
Legal evidence display
Architectural walkthroughs
Virtual reality
Virtual sets
Interactive instruction
Showing what can't otherwise be seen
Creating a portfolio to get a job
Product development and visualization
Summary
2. Getting Comfortable using the 3D View
Exploring the Blender 3D interface
Setting up Blender the way you want it
Using the three basic Blender controllers
Using the numeric keypad with Blender
Emulating the three-button mouse and Numpad
Understanding how to use Blender Windows
Time for action — playing with the Blender windows
What just happened?
Time for action — resizing windows
What just happened?
Time for action — flipping the window header
What just happened?
Time for action — maximizing and tiling the window
What just happened?
Time for action — splitting Blender windows
What just happened?
Time for action — joining Blender windows
What just happened?
Have a go hero — joining windows horizontally
Have a go hero — making windows with parallel edges
Pop quiz— learning about Blender windows
Have a go hero — making and removing windows, the secret way
Exploring the 3D View window, the heart of Blender
Time for action — discovering your tools
What just happened?
Looking at the 3D View window, what do you see?
Making pictures with computers
Making colors with a computer
Making millions of colors with just red, green, and blue
Measuring things in 3D
Pop quiz— learning basic computer graphics terms
Navigating in the 3D View
Time for action — rotating the scene in 3D View
What just happened?
Time for action — zooming the scene in 3D View
What just happened?
Time for action — panning the scene in 3D View
What just happened?
Have a go hero — navigating the scene in the 3D View
Have a go hero — navigating for those who have a mouse wheel
Using the Numpad to change the angle in the 3D View
Time for action — seeing the top view, front view, and right side view
What just happened?
Time for action — seeing the bottom view, rear view, and left side view
What just happened?
Time for action — seeing what the camera sees
What just happened?
Time for action — verifying the Camera View
What just happened?
Time for action — rotating the view with the Numpad
What just happened?
Time for action — rotating the view in another direction with the Numpad
What just happened?
Time for action — zooming with the Numpad
What just happened?
Time for action — making the camera see what you do
What just happened?
Pop quiz— knowing how to get different views
Understanding Perspective and Orthographic views
Time for action — toggling between Perspective and Orthographic views
What just happened?
Have a go hero — playing with Perspective and Orthographic views
Displaying the Quad View and Full Screen
Time for action — toggling the Quad view
What just happened?
Navigating in the 3D View
Summary
3. Controlling the Lamp, the Camera, and Animating Objects
Understanding lamps
Time for action — moving the lamp
What just happened?
Time for action — moving the lamp close to the cube
What just happened?
Time for action — moving the lamp far away
What just happened?
Time for action — seeing how the lighting looks without rendering
What just happened?
Adding color to the lamp using the Properties window
Time for action — adding color to the lamp
What just happened?
Using multiple lamps for better lighting
Time for action — adding a second lamp
What just happened?
Light color mixing
Have a go hero — experimenting with multiple lamps
Saving your work
Time for action — saving a file
What just happened?
Always have a backup file
Controlling the camera
Time for action — using the global axis and local axis
What just happened?
Time for action — moving an object in one plane in global mode
What just happened?
Time for action — moving an object in one plane in the local mode
What just happened?
Have a go hero — controlling location with numbers
Seeing through the lens
Time for action — setting up Blender so you can see what the camera sees
What just happened?
Using the camera as a canvas
Understanding the rules of composition
Applying the rule of thirds for well balanced scenes
Using positive and negative space to put the focus on the action
Using a limited palette for better results
Pop quiz— composing your scenes
Employing Blender's camera composition guides to make your work look better
Have a go hero — investigating the camera composition guides
Understanding the fundamental camera moves
Rotating and scaling the camera and other objects
Have a go hero — rotating and scaling objects
Making an animation
Time for action — loading a file
What just happened?
Time for action — making a simple animation with keyframes
What just happened?
Getting a video player so you can play your animation
Time for action — downloading the Blender video player
What just happened?
Time for action — installing a video player for Blender
What just happened?
Rendering your animation
Time for action — rendering the animation
What just happened?
Controlling motion in the Graph Editor
Time for action — exploring the Graph Editor
What just happened?
Introducing the F-Curve
Modifying motion with the Bézier curve controls
Time for action — working with a Bézier curve
What just happened?
Time for action — adding squash and stretch to the animation
What just happened?
Doing more with the Bézier curve handles
Time for action — refining the use of the Bézier curve handles
What just happened?
Have a go hero — experimenting with control handles to adjust motion
Selecting which channel to work on
Time for action — adding keyframes in the Graph Editor
What just happened?
Time for action — controlling the F-Curves with the Channel Selection Panel
What just happened?
Time for action — controlling channel display with the header
What just happened?
Copying, pasting, and deleting keyframes
Time for action — copying and pasting keyframes
What just happened?
Keyframes for properties
Time for action — keyframes for lights
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adding more keyframes
Summary
4. Modeling with Vertices, Edges, and Faces
Using Object Mode and Edit Mode
Time for action — going into Edit Mode
What just happened?
Investigating vertices, edges, and faces
Time for action — choosing the best display mode
What just happened?
Time for action — working with vertices, edges, or faces
What just happened?
Have a go hero — rotating and scaling edges and faces
Selecting multiple vertices, edges, and faces
Time for action — pressing A to select all
What just happened?
Time for action — pressing B for border selection
What just happened?
Time for action — pressing C for circle selection
What just happened?
Time for action — pressing Ctrl+LMB for lasso selection
What just happened?
Pop quiz— making selections
Creating Blender's basic objects
Time for action — making a basic object
What just happened?
Understanding what lies behind vertices, edges, and faces
Building vertices, edges, and faces from scratch
Time for action — making faces out of vertices and edges
What just happened?
Time for action — making a face from an edge
What just happened?
Summary
5. Building a Simple Boat
Turning a cube into a boat with box modeling
Using extrusion, the most powerful tool in box modeling
Time for action — extruding to make the inside of the hull
What just happened?
Using normals in 3D modeling
Time for action — displaying normals
What just happened?
Planning what you are going to make
Choosing which units to model in
Time for action — making reference objects
What just happened?
Sizing the boat to the reference blocks
Time for action — making the boat the proper length
What just happened?
Time for action — making the boat the proper width and height
What just happened?
Pop quiz— figuring out the best way to build the boat
Time for action — adding curves to the boat's lines by subdividing
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adding a curve to the profile of the hull
Have a go hero — adding a V-shape to the hull
Using clean building methods
Choosing between quadrilaterals and triangles
Have a go hero — making a non-planar polygon
Time for action — adding a seat to the boat
What just happened?
Time for action — making the other seat
What just happened?
Have a go hero — add a third seat
Making modeling easier with Blender's layers function
Time for action — introducing layers
What just happened?
Time for action — using layers for controlling rendering
What just happened?
Coloring the boat to add realism
Time for action — coloring the hull and the gunwale
What just happened?
Time for action — adding a texture to the seats
What just happened?
Time for action — naming objects and joining them
What just happened?
Using Basic Lighting
Summary
6. Making and Moving the Oars
Modeling an oar
Getting scale from an image
Making a cylinder into an oar
Time for action — making the shaft of the oar
What just happened?
Time for action — making the grip and guard
What just happened?
Time for action — making the base of the blade of the oar
What just happened?
Time for action — making the blade
What just happened?
Controlling how smooth the surface is
Time for action — controlling flat and smooth surfaces
What just happened?
Have a go hero — tidying up details
Making the oarlock
Time for action — making the oarlock
What just happened?
Assembling the boat, oars, and oarlocks
Time for action — loading all of the models together
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adding some blocks to put the oarlock in
Animating the boat
Time for action — timing a stroke
What just happened?
Have a go hero — figure out how long it takes you to row the boat
Pop quiz— calculating how long a frame lasts
Parenting and kinematics
Time for action — animating the oarlock and oar
What just happened?
Animation cycles
Time for action — copying keyframes to make a rowing cycle
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adding more cycles
Moving the boat
Time for action — moving the boat in sync with the oars
What just happened?
Have a go hero — rowing your boat
Tracking the boat with the camera
Time for action — tracking the boat
What just happened?
Have a go hero — tracking with a light
Making Stereoscopic 3D Animation
Summary
7. Planning your Work, Working your Plan
Using templates for modeling
Have a go hero — inspecting the templates
Time for action — adding a template
What just happened?
Time for action — scaling and aligning the template
What just happened?
Time for action — building the mast
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making the boom, the gaff, and the bowsprit
Modeling with Bezier Curves
Making an object with a single Bezier Curve
Time for action — making the rudder with a Bezier Curve
What just happened?
Using multiple Bezier Curves to make an object
Time for action — making the path and the cross-section for the tiller
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making the keel
Keeping everything organized
Pop quiz— organizing Blender files
Making an index of your files
Saving your Blender files
Pop quiz— saving Blender files
Planning your animation
Discovering the story you want to tell with your animation
Bringing your story to life with storyboards
Making a storyboard
Have a go hero — making your own storyboard
Using animatics to plan the timing of your animation
Using charts and guides to help you plan your animation
Staying in TV limits with Safe Title-Action zones and Lower Thirds
Time for action — adding a Safe Title/Safe Action guide to Blender
What just happened?
Transitioning from Standard Definition TV to High Definition TV
Laying out your motion with Timing
Planning what work must be done to make an animation
Guiding animation production with an audio track
Time for action — adding an audio track to Blender
What just happened?
Have a go hero — animating to a boogie woogie beat
Summary
8. Making the Sloop
Modeling with Subdivision Surfaces
Time for action — making a simple Subdivision Surface
What just happened?
Using Edge Tools to make modeling easier
Time for action — turning a Reference Block into a sloop
What just happened?
Time for action — making selection easy with edge loops and edge rings
What just happened?
Time for action — creating the shape of the sloop from the top
What just happened?
Time for action — giving the hull a hull shape
What just happened?
Pop quiz— remembering Edge Tool commands
Time for action — flattening the transom
What just happened?
Time for action — making the bow sharper
What just happened?
Time for action — finishing the hull
What just happened?
Getting the most for your rendering time with Levels of Detail
Time for action — making the boat simpler
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adjusting the rear of the cockpit
Modeling the hull as a mesh
Time for action — converting the surface to a mesh
What just happened?
Time for action — making the cockpit
What just happened?
Time for action — making the cabin
What just happened?
Using Boolean modifiers to cut holes in objects
Time for action — detailing the cabin using the Boolean modifier
What just happened?
Time for action — applying the Boolean modifier
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making doors and portal windows
Adding materials and textures to the sloop
Time for action — coloring and texturing the sloop hull
What just happened?
Have a go hero — creating vertex groups for the cabin
Time for action — using the same materials for two objects
What just happened?
Making the ship's wheel with the Spin tool and DupliVerts
Time for action — using the Spin tool to make the rim of the ship's wheel
What just happened?
Time for action — making the hub
What just happened?
Time for action — making the circle
What just happened
Time for action — making the spoke
What just happened?
Time for action — assembling the ship's wheel
What just happened?
Summary
9. Finishing your Sloop
Making sure you have the files you'll need in this chapter
Finishing the sloop
Time for action — setting up the boom and gaff so they swing
What just happened?
Time for action — adding the rudder, tiller, and keel
What just happened?
Time for action — adding the ship's wheel
What just happened?
Time for action — adding the boat name
What just happened?
Time for action — using a NURBS surface to make the mainsail
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making the jib
Detailing the sloop, adding a door and portals
Time for action — adding a line to control the mainsail
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adding the door and a portal
Time for action — adding the portals
What just happened?
Summary
10. Modeling Organic Forms, Sea, and Terrain
Getting ready to make the island
Creating the ocean
Time for action — making a surface for the water
What just happened?
Making an island
Using the ANT Landscape add-on
Time for action — using ANT Landscape to make the island
What just happened?
Have a go hero — playing with ANT Landscape
Detailing the island
Time for action — understanding the proportional editing control
What just happened?
Time for action — using proportional editing to create the port
What just happened?
Time for action — building the breakwater
What just happened?
Time for action — adding contours to the back side of the island
What just happened?
Painting the island
Time for action — painting the island
What just happened?
Have a go hero — painting your island
Making the island ready for habitation
Building the pier with just four objects
Time for action — creating the pier frame rails with Bezier Curves
What just happened?
Time for action — adding planks to the pier with DupliFrames
What just happened?
Time for action — using arrays to create the pilings for the pier
What just happened?
Appending the boathouse
Time for action — appending the boathouse and building pilings for it
What just happened?
Building modular houses
Have a go hero — assembling a house from a kit
Creating trees with the Sapling add-on
Time for action — adding trees to the landscape
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making your own trees
Making rocks
Have a go hero — making rocks with subdivision surfaces
Assembling your world
Have a go hero — putting your world together
Time for action — using groups to organize your scene
What just happened?
Pop quiz— optimizing rendering times
Summary
11. Improving your Lighting and Camera Work
Getting ready to do lighting and camera work
Using lighting
Pop quiz— remembering about lighting
Lighting with three lights
Time for action — introducing the three point lighting system
What just happened?
Time for action — lighting with only the key light
What just happened?
Time for action — lighting with only the fill light
What just happened?
Time for action — lighting with only the back light
What just happened?
Time for action — using color to separate what you see
What just happened?
Have a go hero — changing lighting intensity
Time for action — using cookies
What just happened?
Time for action — preparing to adjust falloff
What just happened?
Time for action — adjusting the falloff
What just happened?
Time for action — using the Custom Curve to tailor light
What just happened?
Have a go hero — using three point lighting
Using the camera to best effect
Changing the field of view
Time for action — zooming the camera versus dollying the camera
What just happened?
Using perspective
Using depth of field
Time for action — creating depth of field
What just happened?
Getting variety in your camera work
Comparing long and medium shots
Using close-up and two shots
Applying the rule of 180
Using motion blur
Have a go hero — using motion blur
Planning your animation and making sure it comes out right
Storyboarding your ideas
Have a go hero — making your storyboard
Laying out your animation
Have a go hero — laying out the rough animation
Proofing your work
Doing a preview
Using hardware rendering to see the motion
Have a go hero — doing a hardware render
Inspecting details by rendering only part of the frame
Have a go hero — rendering only part of the frame
Glimpsing what the animation will look like with the quick render
Time for action — reducing render times
What just happened?
Have a go hero — testing the effect of changing the number of tiles on Rendering speed
Have a go hero — proofing the animation
Making corrections
Time for action — using the Dope Sheet
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making corrections
Summary
12. Rendering and Compositing
Preparing for Chapter 12
Editing with the Video Sequence Editor
Time for action — dissolving with the Video Sequence Editor
What just happened?
Time for action — editing individual video strips
What just happened?
Time for action — using K and Shift+K to make your trims
What just happened?
Making stereographic 3D with the Node Editor
Time for action — creating the red image for the left eye
What just happened?
Time for action — making the right-eye view
What just happened?
Have a go hero — making a cross-eye stereo image
Rendering your animations
Making your computer ready to render
Making rendering more beautiful
Using Anti-Aliasing for more beautiful renderings
Time for action — displaying aliasing
What just happened?
Getting realism with subsurface scattering
Putting a sparkle on your animations with ray tracing
Time for action — seeing ray tracing
What just happened?
Choosing the proper number of tiles
Using alpha channels
Time for action — exploring the alpha channel
What just happened?
Time for action — using transparency in the Video Sequence Editor
What just happened?
Choosing the dimensions for your animation
Time for action — selecting render presets
What just happened?
Time for action — seeing what fields look like
What just happened?
Pop quiz— rendering with fields
Choosing what gets rendered
Selecting the best file format
Rendering with the Cycles renderer
Time for action — simulating the glow of a kiln
What just happened?
Have a go hero — adjusting render quality in Cycles
Summary
A. Pop quiz Answers
Chapter 2, Getting Comfortable using the 3D View
Pop quiz— learning about Blender windows
Pop quiz— learning basic computer graphics terms
Pop quiz— knowing how to get different views
Chapter 3, Controlling the Lamp, the Camera, and Animating Objects
Pop quiz— composing your scenes
Chapter 4, Modeling with Vertices, Edges, and Faces
Pop quiz— making selections
Chapter 5, Building a Simple Boat
Pop quiz— figuring out the best way to build the boat
Chapter 6, Making and Moving the Oars
Pop quiz— calculating how long a frame lasts
Chapter 7, Planning your Work, Working your Plan
Pop quiz— organizing Blender files
Pop quiz— saving Blender files
Chapter 8, Making the Sloop
Pop quiz— remembering Edge Tool commands
Chapter 10, Modeling Organic Forms, Sea, and Terrain
Pop quiz— optimizing rendering times
Chapter 11, Improving your Lighting and Camera Work
Pop quiz— remembering about lighting
Chapter 12, Rendering and Compositing
Pop quiz— rendering with fields
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