book

Blender For Dummies®

Name: Blender For Dummies®
Author: Jason van Gumster
ISBN: 9780470400180

by Jason van Gumster

February 2009

Beginner to intermediate

424 pages

10h 17m

English

For Dummies

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Copyright
About the Author
Author's Acknowledgments
Publisher's Acknowledgments
Introduction
About This BookFoolish AssumptionsHow This Book Is OrganizedPart I: Wrapping Your Brain around BlenderPart II: Creating Detailed 3D ScenesPart III: Get Animated!Part IV: Sharing Your Work with the WorldPart V: The Part of TensIcons Used in This BookConventions Used in This BookWhere to Go from Here
I. Wrapping Your Brain Around Blender
1. Discovering Blender
1.1. Getting to Know Blender1.2. Discovering Blender's History1.3. Making Open Movies and Games1.4. Getting to Know the Interface1.4.1. Fast to use versus fast to learn1.4.2. The Blender non-blocking interface
2. Understanding How Blender Thinks
2.1. Looking at Window Types2.1.1. Understanding the Buttons window2.1.2. Working with screens2.1.3. Setting user preferences2.1.3.1. View & Controls2.1.3.2. Edit Methods2.1.3.3. Language & Font2.1.3.4. Themes2.1.3.5. Auto Save2.1.3.6. System & OpenGL2.1.3.7. File Paths2.2. Navigating in Three Dimensions2.2.1. Orbiting, panning, and zooming the 3D view2.2.2. Changing views2.2.2.1. The View menu2.2.2.2. Behold the power of the numeric keypad!2.2.2.3. Ways to See Your 3D Scene2.2.3. Selecting objects2.2.4. Taking advantage of the 3D cursor
3. Getting Your Hands Dirty Working in Blender
3.1. Grabbing, Scaling, and Rotating3.2. Differentiating between Coordinate Systems3.3. Transforming an Object by Using the 3D Manipulator3.3.1. Switching manipulator modes3.3.2. Using the manipulator3.4. Saving Time by Using Hotkeys3.4.1. G, S, and R: Transforming with hotkeys3.4.2. Hotkeys and coordinate systems3.4.3. Using gestures to work faster3.4.4. Numerical input3.4.5. The Transform Properties floating window
4. Working in Edit Mode and Object Mode
4.1. Making Changes Using Edit Mode4.1.1. Distinguishing between Object mode and Edit mode4.1.2. Selecting vertices, edges, and faces4.1.3. Blender's #1 modeling tool: Extrude4.2. Adding to a Scene4.2.1. Getting to know the toolbox that lives in your spacebar4.2.2. Adding objects4.2.3. Meet Suzanne, the Blender monkey4.2.4. Joining and separating objects4.2.5. Creating duplicates and links4.2.6. Discovering parents, children, and groups4.2.7. Saving, opening, and appending

II. Creating Detailed 3D Scenes
5. Creating Anything You Can Imagine with Meshes
5.1. Pushing Vertices5.2. Working with Loops and Rings5.3. Simplifying Your Life as a Modeler with Modifiers5.3.1. Doing half the work (and still looking good!) with the Mirror modifier5.3.2. Smoothing things out with the Subsurf modifier5.3.3. Using the power of Arrays5.4. Sculpting Multi-Resolution Meshes5.4.1. Sculpt panel5.4.1.1. Brush types5.4.1.2. Brush controls5.4.1.3. Axis-related controls5.4.2. Brush panel5.4.3. Texture panel
6. Using Blender's Non-Mesh Primitives
6.1. Using Curves and Surfaces6.1.1. Understanding the different types of curves6.1.2. Working with curves6.1.2.1. Editing Bézier curves6.1.2.2. Editing NURBS curves and surfaces6.1.3. Understanding the strengths and limitations of Blender's surfaces6.2. Using Meta Objects6.2.1. Meta-wha?6.2.2. What meta objects are useful for6.3. Adding Text6.3.1. Adding and editing text6.3.1.1. Working with text frames6.3.1.2. Controlling text appearance6.3.2. Changing fonts6.3.3. Deforming text with a curve6.3.4. Converting to curves and meshes
7. Changing that Boring Gray Default Material
7.1. Playing with Materials7.1.1. Changing colors7.1.2. Adjusting shader values7.1.3. Reflection and transparency7.1.4. Assigning multiple materials to different parts of a mesh7.2. Coloring Vertices with Vertex Paint
8. Giving Models Texture
8.1. Adding Textures8.2. Using Procedural Textures8.2.1. Distorted Noise8.2.2. Voronoi8.2.3. Musgrave8.2.4. Noise8.2.5. Blend8.2.6. Magic8.2.7. Wood8.2.8. Stucci8.2.9. Marble8.2.10. Clouds8.2.11. EnvMap8.3. Understanding Texture Mapping8.4. Unwrapping a Mesh8.5. Painting Textures Directly on a Mesh8.6. Baking Texture Maps from Your Mesh8.7. Using UV Textures
9. Lighting and Environment
9.1. Lighting a Scene9.1.1. Knowing when to use which type of lamp9.1.1.1. Universal lamp options9.1.1.2. Light-specific options9.1.1.2.1. Sun9.1.1.2.2. Spot9.1.1.2.3. Area9.2. Lighting for Speedy Renders9.2.1. Three-point lighting in Blender9.2.2. Creating a "fake" Area light with buffered Spots9.2.3. Outdoor lighting9.3. Setting Up the World9.3.1. Changing to something other than bright blue9.3.2. Understanding ambient occlusion9.3.3. Mist, stars, and sky textures9.3.3.1. Mist9.3.3.2. Stars9.3.3.3. Sky Textures
III. Get Animated!
10. Animating Objects
10.1. Working with Animation Curves10.1.1. Inserting keys10.1.2. Editing motion curves10.2. Using Constraints Effectively10.2.1. The all-powerful Empty!10.2.2. Copying the movement of another object10.2.2.1. Copy location, scale, and rotation10.2.2.2. The Child Of constraint10.2.3. Putting limits on an object10.2.4. Tracking the motion of another object
11. Rigging: The Art of Building an Animatable Puppet
11.1. Creating Shape Keys11.1.1. Creating new shapes11.1.2. Mixing shapes11.1.3. Knowing where shape keys are helpful11.2. Adding Hooks11.2.1. Creating new hooks11.2.2. Knowing where hooks are helpful11.3. Using Armatures: Skeletons in the Mesh11.3.1. Editing armatures11.3.1.1. Parenting bones11.3.1.2. Armature panels in the Editing buttons11.3.2. Putting skin on your skeleton11.3.2.1. Quick and dirty skinning with envelopes11.3.2.2. Assigning weights to vertices11.4. Bringing It All Together in a Single Rig11.4.1. Taking advantage of parenting and constraints11.4.2. Understanding the difference between inverse kinematics and forward kinematics11.4.3. Making the rig more user-friendly
12. Animating Object Deformations
12.1. Working with the Action Editor12.2. Animating Shape Keys12.3. Animating with Armatures12.3.1. Principles of animation worth remembering12.3.2. Making sense of quaternions (or, "Why are there four rotation curves?!")12.3.3. Copying mirrored poses12.3.4. Seeing the big picture with ghosting12.3.5. Visualizing motion with bone paths12.4. Doing Non-Linear Animation12.4.1. Mixing actions to create complex animation12.4.2. Taking advantage of looped animation
13. Letting Blender Do the Work for You
13.1. Using Particles in Blender13.1.1. Knowing what particle systems are good for13.1.2. Using forces and deflectors13.1.3. Using particles for hair and fur13.2. Giving Objects Some Jiggle and Bounce13.3. Dropping Objects in a Scene with Rigid Body Dynamics13.4. Simulating Cloth13.5. Splashing Fluids in Your Scene
IV. Sharing Your Work with the World
14. Exporting and Rendering Scenes
14.1. Exporting to External Formats14.2. Rendering a Scene14.2.1. Creating a still image14.2.2. Creating a finished animation14.2.3. Creating a sequence of still images for editing or compositing
15. Compositing and Editing
15.1. Working with the Video Sequence Editor15.1.1. Adding and editing strips15.1.2. Adding effects15.1.3. Rendering from the Video Sequence Editor15.2. Working with the Node-Based Compositor15.2.1. Understanding the benefits of rendering in passes15.2.2. Working with nodes15.2.2.1. Input15.2.2.2. Output15.2.2.3. Color15.2.2.4. Vector15.2.2.5. Filter15.2.2.6. Converter15.2.2.7. Matte15.2.2.8. Distort15.2.2.9. Group15.2.2.10. Dynamic15.2.3. Rendering from the Node Compositor
V. The Part of Tens
16. Ten Problems for New Users in Blender (and Ways around Them)
16.1. Auto Saves and Session Recovery Don't Work16.2. Blender's Interface Is Weird or Glitchy16.3. A Notorious "Black Stripe" Appears on Models16.4. Objects Go Missing16.5. Python Not Found16.6. Edge Loop Select Doesn't Work16.7. A Background Image Disappears16.8. There's a Limit to Zooming16.9. Lost Simulation Data16.10. Blender Doesn't Create Faces as Expected
17. Ten Tips for Working More Effectively in Blender
17.1. Use Blender's Tooltips17.2. Constantly Check Models from Different Views17.3. Lock a Camera to an Animated Character17.4. Occlude Background Geometry in Edit Mode17.5. Name EVERYTHING (Organize Your Projects)17.6. Use Layers Effectively17.7. Do Low-Resolution Test Renders17.8. Mind Your Mouse17.9. Turn on Passepartout for Your Camera17.10. Have Fun, but Take Breaks
A. About the CD
A.1. System RequirementsA.2. Using the CDA.3. What You'll Find on the CDA.3.1. Author-created materialA.3.2. Big Buck BunnyA.3.3. BlenderA.3.4. VLCA.4. TroubleshootingA.5. Customer Care

Content preview from Blender For Dummies®

About the Author

Jason van Gumster got into animation when he realized that he wanted to create movies ... but that actors are generally intolerant of having pianos dropped on them. Using open source tools at nearly every step, Jason has produced animations and visual effects for television, film, and video games in his official capacity as a Production Monkey for Hand Turkey Studios, the company he helped start in 2005. A Blender user since 1998, Jason has given numerous live demonstrations and workshops on Blender internationally and his Advanced Blender Fluids training DVD from cmiVFX is recognized as one of the best learning resources for Blender's integrated fluid simulator. In January of 2008, Jason worked with the Blender Foundation to assemble the Blender Certification Review Board and lead the launch of the Blender Foundation Certified Trainer (BFCT) program. He also periodically writes for BlenderNation (www.blendernation.com), the primary news Web site for Blender users. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Jason can often be found in cafés and diners drawing, espousing the virtues of open source software, or catching confused looks from strangers as he contorts his body to better visualize a scene he's animating.

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Blender For Dummies®

by Jason van Gumster

About the Author

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.