Learning Blender: A Hands-On Guide to Creating 3D Animated Characters

Shading Jim in Blender Render

So now that you know how materials work in Blender Render, let’s start shading Jim!

Setting Things Up

Before you start shading your character, you first need to make sure that you have a few important options selected; otherwise, you won’t see what’s going on when you start adding materials:

1. In the 3D View Properties Region (N), find the Shading panel and select the GLSL shading method (this is the one Blender uses to display materials in the 3D View).

2. On the 3D View header, set the Display mode to Texture, so Blender shows textures and materials in the 3D preview.

3. If you have no lights in your scene, add one (Shift + A). You probably want to add a Sun light; it’s directional and illuminates the whole ...