# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Hotkeys

|next=Output Formats
|subcat=Reference
}}
```
Blender\'s user interface is very flexible and often provides more than
one way to do something. Many operations that can be done by clicking on
buttons and menus can also be done with keyboard shortcuts called
\"hotkeys\". The hotkey is usually much faster than the corresponding
mouse action, so it\'s a good idea to learn them as soon as possible.

An entire WikiBook (titled *Blender 3D:
HotKeys*) is devoted to Blender
hotkeys. We encourage you to refer to it as often as necessary.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Output Formats

|previous=Hotkeys
|subcat=Reference
}}
```
Blender can render still images and video to many different file
formats. Here is an alphabetical list:

-   **AVI Codec** - AVI codec compression. Available codecs are
    operating system dependent. When an AVI codec is initially chosen,
    the codec dialog is automatically launched. The codec can be changed
    directly using the Set Codec button in AVI Codec settings.
-   **AVI Jpeg** - AVI but with Jpeg compression. Lossy, smaller files
    but not as small as you can get with a Codec compression algorithm.
    Jpeg compression is also the one used in the DV format used in many
    digital camcorders.
-   **AVI Raw** - Audio-Video Interlaced (AVI) uncompressed frames.
-   **BMP** - Bit-Mapped Paint is an early lossless format.
-   **Cineon** - format produced by a Kodak Cineon camera and used in
    high-end graphics software and directed toward digital film.
-   **DPX** - Digital Moving-Picture eXchange format; an open
    professional format (close to Cineon) with meta-information about
    the picture; 16-bit uncompressed bitmap (huge file size). Used in
    preservation.
-   **FFMPEG** - Fast Forward Moving Pictures Expert Group is a
    collection of free and open source software libraries that record,
    convert and stream digital audio and video in numerous formats. You
    must have the proper codec installed on your computer for Blender to
    call it and use it to compress the video stream through FFMPEG, but
    there are preset formats to choose from, such as DV, SVCD, and DVD.
-   **Frameserver** - Blender puts out frames upon request as part of a
    render farm. The port number is specified in the OpenGL User
    Preferences panel.
-   **HamX** - Blender\'s own self-developed 8 bits RLE (Run Length
    Encoded bitmap) format; it creates extremely compact files that can
    be displayed quickly. To be used only for previsualization of
    animations (Play button).
-   **Iris** - the standard Silicon Graphics Inc (SGI) format used on
    Unix OS machines.
-   **JPEG** - Joint Photographic Experts Group (name of the consortium
    which defined it), an open format that supports very good
    compression with little loss of quality. Only saves RGB value.
    Re-saving images results in more and more compression and loss of
    quality.
-   **JPEG 2000**
-   **MultiLayer** - an OpenEXR format that supports storing multiple
    layers of images together in one file. Each layer stores a
    renderpass, such as shadow, specularity, color, etc. You can specify
    the encoding used to save the MulitLayer file using the codec
    selector (ZIP (lossless) is shown and used by default).
-   **OpenEXR** - an open and non-proprietary extended and highly
    dynamic range (HDR) image format, saving both Alpha and Z-depth
    buffer information.
-   **PNG** - Portable Network Graphics, a lossless image format often
    used in web design.
-   **QuickTime** - A proprietary multimedia framework for video and
    images.
-   **Radiance HDR**
-   **Targa**
-   **Targa Raw**
-   **TIFF** - Tagged Image File Format created by Aldus for desktop
    publishing.

If the selection seems daunting, here are pointers:

If you need transparency in your images (i.e., an alpha channel that
allows any part of the rendered image to have varying degrees of
opacity), or you will be compositing, you generally want to use:

-   Multilayer
-   PNG
-   OpenEXR
-   Targa

Of the above four formats, you will find that PNG and Targa images can
be opened and edited by most any bitmap editing application, such as
GIMP or Photoshop. However, OpenEXR and Multilayer offer more options
within Blender, and may produce smaller, lossless files.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Image Portfolio

|previous=Output Formats
|subcat=Reference
}}
```
## Summary

This is the Blender 3D: Noob to
Pro image portfolio page, where all
the categories of the images used in the book are here in one place for
your reference.

## Categories

Blender 3D

Blender 3D icons

Blender 3D
screenshots

Non Blender 3D
screenshots

Blender 3D splash
screens

Blender 3D viewports

Blender 3D suzanne
primitive

## A sampling of images from the above categories

Heres a random sample of 200 images from the over 1,800 images in the
above categories

![](Blender-light-spot.png "Blender-light-spot.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_tips_cube_subsurfed2.png "Blender_tips_cube_subsurfed2.png"){width="100"}
![](Select_image.jpg "Select_image.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_2.45_screenshot.jpg "Blender_2.45_screenshot.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_com_key_chroma.jpg "Blender3D_com_key_chroma.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_uv_paint_pinsel.jpg "Blender3D_uv_paint_pinsel.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_StepOfASpiralStair.png "Blender3D_StepOfASpiralStair.png"){width="100"}
![](Beizersharpturn0003.png "Beizersharpturn0003.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_con_color_ramp.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_con_color_ramp.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Handicon_blender_2.49a.png "Handicon_blender_2.49a.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_MultipleUV-Textures.jpg "Blender3D_MultipleUV-Textures.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_pasto.jpg "Blender_pasto.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-curve-circle.png "Blender-curve-circle.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-3d-cursor.png "Blender-3d-cursor.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_Documentation_1.png "Blender3D_Documentation_1.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender241.png "Blender241.png"){width="100"}
![](MakeTrack.png "MakeTrack.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_nod_com_mapping_kacheln.jpg "Blender3D_nod_com_mapping_kacheln.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-mesh-cone.png "Blender-mesh-cone.png"){width="100"}
![](Vgroups_but.jpg "Vgroups_but.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_edit_buttons.png "Blender_edit_buttons.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_Roehrenabzweig.png "Blender3D_Roehrenabzweig.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_nod_com_scale.jpg "Blender3D_nod_com_scale.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Pfanne_Abbildung1.jpg "Blender_Pfanne_Abbildung1.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-auto-perspective.png "Blender-auto-perspective.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-browse-button.png "Blender-browse-button.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-outliner-cube-group.png "Blender-outliner-cube-group.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_tastatur.jpg "Blender3D_tastatur.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_icosphere_textured.png "Blender_icosphere_textured.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_nod_com_flip.jpg "Blender3D_nod_com_flip.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_nod_com_glare.jpg "Blender3D_nod_com_glare.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_uv_menueleiste.png "Blender3D_uv_menueleiste.png"){width="100"}
![](C_track.gif "C_track.gif"){width="100"}
![](Blender3Dview.jpg "Blender3Dview.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blenderscene.png "Blenderscene.png"){width="100"}
![](Bl35.jpg "Bl35.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Bl2.jpg "Bl2.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-windows-header.png "Blender-windows-header.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_icosphere_LSCM.png "Blender_icosphere_LSCM.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_BKFootRig2.png "Blender3D_BKFootRig2.png"){width="100"}

![](Blender_real-time_shadow.png "Blender_real-time_shadow.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-show-video.png "Blender-show-video.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_con_combine_YUFA.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_con_combine_YUFA.jpg"){width="100"}
![](After_add_new_F5.jpg "After_add_new_F5.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_map_input.png "Blender_map_input.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_WIKI-HEAD.jpg "Blender3D_WIKI-HEAD.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-browser-show-more.png "Blender-browser-show-more.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_emulate_numpad.jpg "Blender3d_emulate_numpad.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Dropdown_-_2.png "Dropdown_-_2.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_Weight_Spec.jpg "Blender3D_Weight_Spec.jpg"){width="100"}
![](ExtrudedCube1.png "ExtrudedCube1.png"){width="100"}
![](BlenderGE_StrgA.png "BlenderGE_StrgA.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D-userPrefs-AutoSave.jpg "Blender3D-userPrefs-AutoSave.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Bcup1.png "Bcup1.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D-joiningWindows.jpg "Blender3D-joiningWindows.jpg"){width="100"}

![](BlenderPanoramaF.jpg "BlenderPanoramaF.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_Limit_selection_to_visible.png "Blender3D_Limit_selection_to_visible.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_load_image_2.jpg "Blender_load_image_2.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_3D-cursor.png "Blender_3D-cursor.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Actor.PNG "Blender_Actor.PNG"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_uv_composite_preview.jpg "Blender3D_uv_composite_preview.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-show-python.png "Blender-show-python.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-meta-ellipsoid.png "Blender-meta-ellipsoid.png"){width="100"}
![](C_ik.gif "C_ik.gif"){width="100"}
![](BlenderCommonButtonswindow.png "BlenderCommonButtonswindow.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-system-openGL-panel.png "Blender-system-openGL-panel.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_-_Penguins_to_spheres_-_feet.png "Blender_-_Penguins_to_spheres_-_feet.png"){width="100"}
![](ObjectEdit_select_1.gif "ObjectEdit_select_1.gif"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_tonemap.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_tonemap.jpg"){width="100"}
![](BufShad.png "BufShad.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-edit-method-panel.png "Blender-edit-method-panel.png"){width="100"}
![](BlenderCommonLSTV-on.png "BlenderCommonLSTV-on.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_ObjectBlockSelection_2.46.png "Blender3D_ObjectBlockSelection_2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Settings.png "Settings.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-header.png "Blender-header.png"){width="100"}
![](BlenderExtrudedLeg.png "BlenderExtrudedLeg.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-oops-shematic.png "Blender-oops-shematic.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_ausschnitt_sw_muster.png "Blender3D_ausschnitt_sw_muster.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_math_beispiel.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_math_beispiel.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_edge_slide.png "Blender3D_edge_slide.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_knob.PNG "Blender_knob.PNG"){width="100"}
![](Blender-mesh-panel.png "Blender-mesh-panel.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_texture_value.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_texture_value.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_normalize.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_normalize.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_li_schreibtischlampe_screenshot.jpg "Blender3D_li_schreibtischlampe_screenshot.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Wikibooks-logo.svg "Wikibooks-logo.svg"){width="100"}
![](BlenderGE_T1.3.png "BlenderGE_T1.3.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-appli2biped-workstation.png "Blender-appli2biped-workstation.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-curve-tools-convert.PNG "Blender-curve-tools-convert.PNG"){width="100"}
![](BlenderCureur3D.jpg "BlenderCureur3D.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Dent.PNG "Blender_Dent.PNG"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_uv_mercatorprojektion.png "Blender3D_uv_mercatorprojektion.png"){width="100"}
![](Vertex_groups.jpg "Vertex_groups.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_draw_edge_angels.png "Blender3D_draw_edge_angels.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_ThisCubeIsNotPossible.png "Blender3D_ThisCubeIsNotPossible.png"){width="100"}
![](Bl7.jpg "Bl7.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Ginger-smoothall.png "Ginger-smoothall.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_bangers_and_mash.jpg "Blender_bangers_and_mash.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-mesh-torus.png "Blender-mesh-torus.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-refresh-pyton-menus.png "Blender-refresh-pyton-menus.png"){width="100"}
![](Skybox_tut6.png "Skybox_tut6.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-meta-plane.png "Blender-meta-plane.png"){width="100"}
![](Objects_bent_initial.jpg "Objects_bent_initial.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_FreeNote.png "Blender3D_FreeNote.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_draw_wire.jpg "Blender3d_draw_wire.jpg"){width="100"}
![](BlenderGE_T1.5.png "BlenderGE_T1.5.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_HSV.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_HSV.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_AligningTwoObjects.gif "Blender3D_AligningTwoObjects.gif"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_uv_paint_menue_a.jpg "Blender3D_uv_paint_menue_a.jpg"){width="100"}
![](AfterSpinning.png "AfterSpinning.png"){width="100"}
![](Blenderradio.png "Blenderradio.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_draw_bounding_box.jpg "Blender3d_draw_bounding_box.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_rotate.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_rotate.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_BridgeFaces.png "Blender3D_BridgeFaces.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_alpha_over.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_alpha_over.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_3d_Show_normals_and_vnormals2.jpg "Blender_3d_Show_normals_and_vnormals2.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-parent-outliner.png "Blender-parent-outliner.png"){width="100"}
![](Ie_IK_limit_buttons.jpg "Ie_IK_limit_buttons.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Commons-logo.svg "Commons-logo.svg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Pfanne_Abbildung6.jpg "Blender_Pfanne_Abbildung6.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_CreaseACube.png "Blender3D_CreaseACube.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3DNoobToPro-FirstMountain.png "Blender3DNoobToPro-FirstMountain.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_KissingFaces3a_2.46.png "Blender3D_KissingFaces3a_2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-transform-properties.png "Blender-transform-properties.png"){width="100"}
![](Twoleg-ginger.png "Twoleg-ginger.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_2ObjectsSameMesh_2.46.png "Blender3D_2ObjectsSameMesh_2.46.png"){width="100"}

![](Blender3D_ObjectSnapping-2.46.png "Blender3D_ObjectSnapping-2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_AnimatedBumpMapApplied0022-2.49.jpg "Blender3D_AnimatedBumpMapApplied0022-2.49.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_kachel_color_picker.jpg "Blender3D_kachel_color_picker.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3DFeet-3.jpg "Blender3DFeet-3.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_KissingFaces6_2.46.png "Blender3D_KissingFaces6_2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_draw_Vnormals.png "Blender3D_draw_Vnormals.png"){width="100"}
![](Blenderediting.png "Blenderediting.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_WaveModifierParameters.png "Blender3D_WaveModifierParameters.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_tut_vid_mesh.png "Blender3D_tut_vid_mesh.png"){width="100"}
![](BlenderGE_T1.6.png "BlenderGE_T1.6.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_sky_menue.jpg "Blender3D_sky_menue.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_nod_com_color_spill.jpg "Blender3D_nod_com_color_spill.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d-ejemplo_curvas_bezier_puntoC.jpg "Blender3d-ejemplo_curvas_bezier_puntoC.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_-_Penguins_to_spheres_-_wing_complete.png "Blender_-_Penguins_to_spheres_-_wing_complete.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_math.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_math.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_TuerklinkeTutorial-Part1-2.48a.png "Blender3D_TuerklinkeTutorial-Part1-2.48a.png"){width="100"}
![](BlenderCommonEditing-on.png "BlenderCommonEditing-on.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3DDarkShot_0013.jpg "Blender3DDarkShot_0013.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_AligningTwoCubes.gif "Blender3D_AligningTwoCubes.gif"){width="100"}
![](Blendermaterial.png "Blendermaterial.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D-Jute_zugeschnitten.png "Blender3D-Jute_zugeschnitten.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_CHF_EmitterObject.png "Blender3D_CHF_EmitterObject.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_3D_Procedural_Wood_1_Colors_Window.jpg "Blender_3D_Procedural_Wood_1_Colors_Window.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Stick_bone.jpg "Stick_bone.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_TransformationConstraintAnim.gif "Blender3D_TransformationConstraintAnim.gif"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_image_generated.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_image_generated.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_PositioningWithTwoEmptys_F19-c.png "Blender3D_PositioningWithTwoEmptys_F19-c.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-default-scene.png "Blender-default-scene.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_2MaterialsSameTexture_2.46.png "Blender3D_2MaterialsSameTexture_2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Grass.jpg "Blender_Grass.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_Objectplan_2.46.png "Blender3D_Objectplan_2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_SimplePerson_Scale_Pelvis.png "Blender3D_SimplePerson_Scale_Pelvis.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Pfanne_Abbildung2.jpg "Blender_Pfanne_Abbildung2.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-2dlogo-rough-trace-final.png "Blender-2dlogo-rough-trace-final.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3d_nod_com_difference_key.jpg "Blender3d_nod_com_difference_key.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3DNoobToPro-SharpVsSmoothFalloff.png "Blender3DNoobToPro-SharpVsSmoothFalloff.png"){width="100"}
![](Bl13.jpg "Bl13.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Bl31.jpg "Bl31.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Controllers.PNG "Blender_Controllers.PNG"){width="100"}
![](C_rot.gif "C_rot.gif"){width="100"}
![](Skybox_tut5.png "Skybox_tut5.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_draw_creases.png "Blender3D_draw_creases.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-add-menu.png "Blender-add-menu.png"){width="100"}
![](BlenderBoutonsScene.jpg "BlenderBoutonsScene.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D-userPrefs-SaveSettings.png "Blender3D-userPrefs-SaveSettings.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_draw_bevel_weight.png "Blender3D_draw_bevel_weight.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_KissingFaces5_2.46.png "Blender3D_KissingFaces5_2.46.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_2.4.7-screen.jpg "Blender3D_2.4.7-screen.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_Hair_Brushed.png "Blender3D_Hair_Brushed.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D-buttonsWindow-editButtons.jpg "Blender3D-buttonsWindow-editButtons.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_SelectionModes.png "Blender3D_SelectionModes.png"){width="100"}
![](Penguin_from_sphere_-_wing_start.png "Penguin_from_sphere_-_wing_start.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-curve-path.png "Blender-curve-path.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_SimplePerson_Snap_Pelvis.png "Blender3D_SimplePerson_Snap_Pelvis.png"){width="100"}
![](3rd_face.jpg "3rd_face.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Ginger-smoothbody.png "Ginger-smoothbody.png"){width="100"}
![](Coulours.png "Coulours.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-export.png "Blender-export.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_bev_ausfuehrung.png "Blender3D_bev_ausfuehrung.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_PositioningWithTwoEmptys_F22-_a.png "Blender3D_PositioningWithTwoEmptys_F22-_a.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_ShuffleStride4.png "Blender3D_ShuffleStride4.png"){width="100"}
![](Bl12.jpg "Bl12.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_RetopoPaintExample.png "Blender3D_RetopoPaintExample.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender-mesh-suzanne.png "Blender-mesh-suzanne.png"){width="100"}
![](Blender3D_BillboardAnimationColor-Frame-50.jpg "Blender3D_BillboardAnimationColor-Frame-50.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender-mesh-cylinder.png "Blender-mesh-cylinder.png"){width="100"}
![](Bl26.jpg "Bl26.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_Blue_Marble.jpg "Blender_Blue_Marble.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Bl9.jpg "Bl9.jpg"){width="100"}
![](Blender_icosphere_TexFace.png "Blender_icosphere_TexFace.png"){width="100"}
![](Oneleg-ginger.png "Oneleg-ginger.png"){width="100"}

Image Portfolio


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Blender Glossary

|previous=Image Portfolio
|subcat=Reference
}}
```
Please add words and phrases to the alphabetical glossary at Blender
3D: Noob to Pro/Glossary.

\_\_TOC\_\_

### General Terminology

-   **2D** (adjective): two-dimensional (flat)
-   **3D** (adjective): three-dimensional
-   **axis** (noun): one of the primary directions used to define a
    coordinate system; plural: **axes**
-   **coordinates** (noun): a string of numbers (usually two or three)
    which denote a location
-   **coordinate system**: a scheme for denoting locations by means of
    coordinates
-   **disappearing taskbar**: a taskbar which appears only when the
    mouse pointer reaches an edge of the display
-   **geometry**:
    1.  the branch of mathematics concerned with positions, directions,
        angles, lengths, areas, volumes, and so on
    2.  the portion of a 3D model that deals with shapes
-   **GIMP**: an open-source software tool for editing 2D computer
    graphics
-   **illusion of depth**: the human propensity to imagine a 3D scene
    when presented with a flat (2D) picture of it
-   **light** (verb): to describe the intensity, color, direction, etc.
    of the light sources in a 3D scene
-   **model** (noun): an abstract description of a 3D object (or scene)
    which is suitable for rendering
-   **model** (verb): to create models
-   **numpad**: a numeric keypad
-   **orthographic view**: a 2D view which represents a scene\'s
    parallel edges with parallel edges; from \"orthography\"; contrast
    with: perspective view
-   **perpendicular** (adjective): forming a 90-degree (right) angle
-   **perspective view**: a 2D view which represents a scene\'s parallel
    edges with edges that converge toward a vanishing point
-   **pose** (verb): to position objects and their parts in a 3D scene
-   **render** (verb): to generate a 2D view from a 3D model of a scene,
    by means of a computer
-   **rig** (noun): to describe how different parts of an object are
    capable of moving relative to one another
-   **texture** (verb): to describe how a 3D object interacts with light
    (scattering, bending, etc.)

### Blender User Interface Terminology

-   **active window**: the window currently responding to keystrokes
-   **blender unit**: the height and width of each grid square in a 3D
    View window
-   **header**: a row of controls along the top or bottom of a window
-   **panel**: a rectangular area in a Buttons window which can be
    rearranged relative to other panels
-   **window** (noun): a rectangular area of Blender\'s user-interface
    which can be split or resized
-   **window type** (noun): one of the sixteen varieties of windows in
    Blender\'s user interface:
    -   **Scripts Browser** - This window is used to initiate any
        Python scripts saved in Blender to add
        functionality.
    -   **File Browser** - Browses the files on your computer in
        Blender.
    -   **Image Browser** - Browses the files on your computer in
        Blender with visuals of images displayed.
    -   **Node Editor** - The enhanced material editing system in
        Blender in which you can customize the input/output of materials
        or scenes and composite them together.
    -   **Buttons Window** - Displays the Blender scene and object
        editing options.
    -   **Outlines** - Breaks down the entire collection of objects and
        their properties in an organized list.
    -   **User Preferences** - Allows you to change Blender\'s controls
        and preferences.
    -   **Text Editor** - Simple text editor for any notes/Python code.
    -   **Audio Window** - Allows you to upload, enhance, and save audio
        files into the Blender library.
    -   **Timeline** - Shows the animation\'s beginning, ending, and
        current frame, as well as a timeline with marks indicating all
        the key positions of an object.
    -   **Video Sequence Editor** - Feature for the composition of
        sound, scenes, videos and other cinematographic elements.
    -   **UV/Image Editor** - Allows you to add and alter image files in
        Blender and also apply these images onto the faces of meshes in
        an editable fashion as a material.
    -   **NLA Editor** - Allows you to change the key positions of all
        actions/IPOs.
    -   **Action Editor** - Allows you to alter the key positions of an
        armature and it\'s collection of bones.
    -   **IPO Curve Editor** - Allows you to insert saved key points of
        the positions, transformations, and settings of objects of the
        course of a series of frames.
    -   **3D View** - Window through which you work with, add, and place
        objects in a 3D world.

### Blender Modeling Terminology

-   **Quad *n.*** - A face with four sides.
-   **Mesh *n.*** - A collection of faces, edges, and vertices which can
    be modeled and manipulated in Edit Mode.
-   **Vertex *(pl. vertices) n.*** - A 3-dimensional coordinate, which
    in groups comprise a polygon. With default settings, it is
    represented in Blender by a purple dot when unselected, or a yellow
    dot when selected.
-   **Edge *n.*** - A wire-like line representing the boundary of 2
    adjacent vertices.
-   **Face *n.*** - A planar connection of edges representing a
    boundary, field, or solid surface. Identified individually in Edit
    Mode as a black box in the middle of the corresponding face.
-   **Icosphere *n.*** - A sphere composed of *n* triangular faces
    composed in a manner to give the best \"smoothness\" for the lowest
    memory consumption.
-   **UVSphere *n.*** - A sphere composed of *n* square faces arranged
    in rings to allow the smoothest application of real-time movement of
    vertices/faces and application of images onto the spectrum of faces.
-   **Lamps** - Category of 5 light-emitting objects:
    -   Lamp - Light is emitted in the scene with a uniform spherical
        output which fades with distance, decreasing eventually to 0.
        The distance can be specified in its options.
    -   Sun - Light is emitted in the scene with a uniform spherical
        output and remains uniform regardless of the distance from it.
    -   Spot - Light is emitted in the scene in a predetermined conical
        area with light properties similar to lamp and also initially
        calculates the shadow (lack of light) present behind an object
        (Known as ray shadow).
    -   Hemi - Sun-like light emitted in a 180 degree arc. Works just
        like a Sun lamp, but with less functionality. Best used for
        quick, broad illumination.
    -   Area - Light which works similar to a Spot lamp but shape of the
        cone is definable.
-   **Ray shadows *n.*** - Method of generating shadows cast by light by
    calculating the angle and faces of the interfering object to create
    a smooth, sharp and complete shadow. Memory-intensive, best quality.
-   **Buffer Shadows *n.*** - Method of generating shadows cast by light
    by calculating the angle of a mesh\'s edge and creating a set amount
    of shadow \"squares\" on the shadow-receiving objects which are
    calculated from a set buffer-ratio. Memory-friendly, while possibly
    lower quality.
-   **Camera *n.*** - An object which acts as the viewpoint (when
    active) for the scene when the scene is to be rendered.
-   **Armature *n.*** - An object which contains \'bones\'. Bones are
    sub-objects which are connected with each other in a chain, each
    bone-link is parented to the bone before it. The purpose is to
    parent any objects to the bone, and also you may parent a mesh to
    the entire armature and have selected vertices of the mesh parented
    to bone(s) percentage-wise (0% means no effect, 50% means vertices
    copy half the transformation value, 100% means vertices transformed
    as full child of bone.)
-   **Empty *n.*** - An object with no mesh or relating object data. It
    is useful for using in object input fields where the object needs no
    specific properties e.g. parenting it to an object for
    organisational purposes.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Every Material Known to Man

|previous=Blender Glossary
|subcat=Materials
}}
```
## **\"Every Single Material Known To Man\" Project**

Want to share your material settings with the world? This is the place!
This page is going to be turning from a page to a chapter, but to do
that we need your support! If you have an idea for a material, even if
you don\'t know how to make it, just put it in the list to help! Someone
out there knows how to make it, and if they come across this page with

### Etiquette

-   Explain the basics of every material (such as Color, Spec, and
    shading, but not necessarily specifics such as Emit or Trans), even
    if it is with standard \"Add New\" properties.
-   IF you provide a picture, _explain_ in the
    method _all details_ to get us to make ours
    look the exact same way, do not omit any detail (including anything
    done in out tabs, or in other categories like Rendering. Also, say
    if you use something like RayMir or if you have additional lighting
    or objects to enhance the look!.)
-   Make sure you explain the \"Tab\" and the \"Category\" for a
    material alterations, because not everyone might know what you mean.
    Be as formal as possible, categorize and organize, and try using the
    blender-used words instead of your own lingo, if possible.

_Example:_

-   Bad explanation:*Set the material\'s texture\'s normal to 0.4*
-   Good explanation:*Under the \"Map To\" Tab, Select the \"Nor\"
    Slider and set it to 0.4*
-   Best explanation:
    -   ***Map To:***
    -   *Output-_Nor_*
    -   ***Nor**Slider-_0.4_*

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Do NOT replace or delete other people\'s method on your own. If you
    believe you have a better way, simply label their explanation
    \"Method A\" and create another sub-headline with your method as
    \"Method B\" (and so on). If you believe a method is incorrect,
    insufficiently detailed or plagiarism, appeal to the original author
    (if able) or on the Discussion page and get support for a removal.\
-   Do NOT say your material is better than anyone elses\-- everyone has
    a right to their own opinion and preferences \--you may say your
    method is more \"detailed\" or \"memory-efficient\" or
    \"adaptable\", but _DO NOT SLANDER_ other
    people\'s methods.\
-   Add or link the texture image file (png), if there is.\
-   Add or link a render example image of the material (just a sphere or
    a cube or a monkey) with a background for contrast.

## Metals and Minerals

-   /Alloy/
-   /Asphalt/
-   /Brass/
-   /Brick/
-   /Bronze/
-   /Cast Iron/
-   /Ceramic/
-   /Chrome/
-   /Glass/
-   /Gold/
-   /Iron/
-   /Concrete/
-   /Copper/
-   /Hard Plastic/
-   /Linoleum/
-   /Marble/
-   Reflectives
-   /Modeling Clay/
-   /Rubber/
-   /Rust/
-   /Steel/
-   /Tile/
-   /Trampoline material/
-   /Realistic Silver/
-   /Jewels/

## Cloth and Fabrics

-   /Cotton/
-   /Silk/
-   /Leather/
-   /Spandex/
-   /Wool/
-   /Carpet/
-   /Denim/
-   /Mothball/
-   /Lace/
-   /Dusted Latex/
-   /Glossy Latex/
-   /Felt/
-   /Kevlar/
-   /Snake Skin/
-   /Velvet/

## Particle-Based

-   /Fire/
-   /Smoke/
-   /Fog/
-   /Feathers/
-   Fur
-   /Rain/
-   /Mist/
-   Grass (Patch)

## Earth and Home

-   /Moss/
-   /Water/
-   /Soil/
-   Grass (Strand)
-   /Woods/
-   Textured Ceiling
-   Textured Wall
-   Paint (Matte)
-   Paint (Gloss)
-   /Sand/

## SSS-Used

-   /Crayon/
-   /Wax/
-   /Fruit Skin/
-   /Milk/
-   /Juice/

## Other

-   /Lunar Surface/
-   /Bubbles/

## Abstract

-   Light Effects
-   Misty Globe

## Human

-   African Skin
-   Latino Skin
-   South Asian Skin
-   Caucasian Skin
-   /Head Hair/
-   Other Hair
-   /Teeth/
-   /Bone/
-   /Blood/
-   General Organ Skin

## Elemental

-   /Selenium/
-   /Mercury/

## External material libraries

Additional materials can be found at:

-   Blender Open Material
    Repository
-   Copper, Brass, Platinum,
    Silver
-   Fire, Snow, Carbon
    Fibre
-   Glass, Chrome, Gold, Brushed
    Alloy


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Asking for Help

|previous=Materials, Textures, Photos
|subcat=Advice
}}
```
So you\'ve come to learn Blender, eh? You\'ve made a great choice.
Blender 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!** With the help of
this wikibook, you can become a Blender power user and put those Maya
folks to shame.

If you ever get stuck in a tutorial for some reason, 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.

-   ```{=html}

    ```
    #blenderwiki

    ```{=html}

    ```

-   ```{=html}

    ```
    #blender

    ```{=html}

    ```

-   ```{=html}

    ```
    #blenderchat

    ```{=html}

    ```

-   ```{=html}

    ```
    #blenderqa

    ```{=html}

    ```

-   ```{=html}

    ```
    #gameblender

    ```{=html}

    ```

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 help.

If you\'re still not getting help, try asking for help in the
BlenderArtists.org forums.

es:Blender 3D: novato a profesional/Clases particulares de
principiante


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Know What You're Doing

|previous=Asking for Help
|subcat=Advice
}}
```
\_\_TOC\_\_

The following tips may improve your chances of enjoying a successful
project with Blender.

### **Organize early, organize thoroughly**

In Blender projects, you may work with complex scenes containing
hundreds of items: models, lights, cameras, scripts, materials, and
more. This can be overwhelming if it is not properly organized.

We suggest that you organize as you go, giving each item a descriptive
name. There will be ways to search for items by name, so start early.
Similarly, give each file a descriptive name and organize files into
folders (or directories): a separate folder for each project, with
sub-folders for renders, texture images, background images, and so on.

### **Don\'t bite off more than you can chew**

One of the greatest challenges faced by Blender users is their own
imagination. While it\'s great to be creative and imaginative, you have
to pace yourself. Be aware of your limits and the limits of your
computer.

When making something from scratch, start with a very simple version of
it and add details gradually.

Test frequently; see how well your recent changes work before proceeding
to the next step. In this way, you will meet with fewer problems, and
the ones you do run into will be simpler and easier to fix because there
will be fewer possible causes to consider.

Monitor the complexity of your projects, watching for \"lag\" or
excessive disk activity which might mean you are nearing your
computer\'s limits.

When working on the computer, take frequent breaks to rest your eyes and
stretch your muscles. Eat, sleep and exercise regularly. While focused
time at the computer is necessary, inspiration and solutions to problems
often come when our bodies are relaxed and our mental focus is
elsewhere. While you may be tempted to go wild, keeping a level head
while swimming in your imagination will give you a much more satisfying
result with fewer headaches along the way.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Modeling Realistically

|next=Modeling tips
|subcat=Advice
}}
```
Everyone who starts a new career or hobby in 3D Modeling also seems to
look around their immediate environment for things to model. Things like
your computer monitor, your keyboard, and even the desktop which they
are resting are all common \"first models.\" Developing an eye for
geometry takes time and this is a great chance to practice.

For this tips and techniques discussion, I\'ll start with the concepts
of furniture and walls, but the ideas really extend to anything and
everything you can model in Blender, from spaceships to fantasy
demon-women, from your barbecue deck blueprints to biologically accurate
squids.

## Assemble Things, Don\'t Chisel Them

Let\'s start with the furniture around you.

You may think it\'s easy to model your desk using a couple of boolean
operations on cubes. But it rarely comes out looking quite right. It
seems like such a good idea at first. Then you find that the drawers
won\'t open realistically. The corners are all amazingly sharp and
crisp. The writing surface seems to be at the wrong scale for thickness.
The woodgrain goes in the same direction everywhere. You then realize it
will be hard to bevel just the few edges that need beveling. The more
you look at it, even with good render settings, the more it looks like
dollhouse furniture instead of a real life, full size desk.

Real furniture is not chiseled out of a half-ton cube of mahogany,
because trees don\'t grow that thick, and it\'s a real waste to chip out
the spaces for drawers. Instead, cabinetmakers tend to assemble a piece
of furniture from many component parts. Think of those \"self-assembly\"
kits from the local superstore, or even the showroom examples from a
nearby unfinished knotty pine store.

Model several kinds of boards and fittings, then copy and assemble them
appropriately. You don\'t need to model every nail and dowel, and you
don\'t even need to know what a dovetail
joint is. But you can make realistic
furniture when you build things from their natural components.

-   Cut lumber in a variety of sizes and thicknesses.
-   Measure real example furniture and take note of the construction
    details.
-   Choose varying woodgrains by duplicating materials and adjusting
    them to be more individual.
-   Align those woodgrains or other materials in an appropriate
    direction and scale for the model.
-   Bevel just the parts or edges which are naturally worn or
    intentionally beveled.
-   Any cloth, glass or metal fittings are separate components using
    their own materials.
-   Create an \"Empty\" type object, give it a descriptive name, and
    parent all of the pieces to it.

There are a couple more benefits to this form of component modeling:

-   Working with things made from multiple real materials is easier: one
    object, one material.
-   The model is more flexible, because they can be reconfigured to
    other styles more easily.
-   Components come in handy for other models: adapt a desk\'s drawers
    in kitchen cabinets and bedroom furniture.

## Separate Objects for each Material

right\|thumb\|300px\|skateboards, modeled in
parts

A common question for new modelers is how to make one mesh that uses
more than one material. For example, a skateboard with metal trucks,
rubber tires, and a wooden deck. While Blender does provide an interface
to allow such a combination, it is not usually the best approach for
modeling realistically.

If you model the skateboard as separate parts, based on the way
different real parts are assembled, then you have a lot more control
over the final model. You can replace the wheels or use trucks of
different styles later. You can adjust the mesh that defines the shape
of the deck, without having to reassign the areas that should be one
material or the other. And lastly, you can choose to use subsurface
tricks on the various parts, while avoiding them on other parts. Even if
the whole model needs subsurfaces, it becomes a bit hard to control
where one material starts, and another material ends.

## Removing the Fourth Wall

Just as with furniture, you may model your first building interior as a
hollowed-out cube. It seems straightforward to make a big cube, turn it
inside out, and call it a living room. There are a lot of drawbacks to
working with a room that was carved out of a single chunk of solid rock.

Buildings and rooms are assembled from parts. Just like the furniture
modeling tip, design your rooms as a collection of separate pieces.

-   You don\'t need to measure out the internal beams and joists, but
    remember they\'re there.
-   Each interior or exterior wall should be its own object or assembly.
-   Take care to note the correct dimensions and placement of doorways,
    windows, ceiling.

The benefits of a component-modeled interior include:

-   Easier to see inside, just hide some walls on a different layer.
-   Walls are much easier to move around to reconfigure the room layout.
-   The same modeling work on one area can be copied to other rooms more
    easily.
-   A more realistic architecture with consistent scaling is achieved
    quickly.

## Proportions and Measurements

For realism, it\'s vitally important to get the right proportions for
familiar objects. If your audience sees a bookshelf with 5\" thick
shelves, or a human hand which has a 5\" long thumb, their brain is
going to tell them that something is wrong. They might not be able to
decide why, but they\'ll tell you it looks fake.

Even when you\'re animating fantasy characters, you should develop an
understanding for proportion. Many cartoon characters have very large
heads when compared to their bodies; this allows room for greater
expression and makes the characters seem younger. Deciding how many
\"heads high\" each character should appear will ensure that your
figures all maintain proper proportions to each other and to their
environment.

right\|thumb\|300px\|soda cans and glass, modeled in
parts

To get good proportions, you need to think about measurements.

-   Grab a ruler or find some existing blueprints.
-   Think in terms of those measurements for the duration of the
    project.
-   Choose a base scale that will let you work comfortably within a
    500x500x500 unit volume.
-   Blender limits cameras to 1000 unit distances, for better numerical
    accuracy.

You can mix and match base units, by using Empty objects as parents. For
example, you can model your furniture in inches or centimeters, and
model your house in feet or meters. Then when you append your
bed.blend\'s objects, just parent that bed to a new Empty object, and
scale the Empty. This will conveniently scale all of the separate
component pieces of the object together.

There\'s only one big wrinkle with working with multiple scales:
materials should be designed with a certain base scale in mind. Many
material surface properties are scaled according to the units you choose
for a given object, or the world units. Just consider this as you
design, and check your work critically.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Modeling tips

|next=Cheat the 3D
}}
```
This is not really a tutorial, but a list of handy tricks you will
probably use a lot when modeling.

1: Extrusion: To extrude, press  in
edit mode with the vertices selected, move and click to place the
extrusion. You\'ll basically need this for every model in blender,
without it, most models would be really hard to create.

2: Set Smooth: Enabling smoothing on the face of a mesh will create a
smooth gradient between it and the faces around it. To enable smooth
shading on a face, select the faces you want to smooth and then go to
*Mesh → Shading → Smooth Faces*.

3: Merge by Distance: Sometimes when editing, you might accidentally
create duplicate geometry or have small holes in your model. To clean
these up, select your entire model (or part of it) and then go to *Mesh
→ Clean Up → Merge by Distance*. The Merge Distance variable when
performing this action determines the maximum distance between vertices
for them to be merged.

4: Topology Flow: One of the most important things to keep in mind while
modeling is the topology of the model. Topology is the arrangement and
flow of the edges and faces that make up a mesh. Generally, you want to
make your model with quads (faces with four edges) so that it is easy to
perform actions such as loop cuts or ring selections. This isn\'t to say
that triangles and faces with more than four edges shouldn\'t be used,
but quads are preferable.

Example use of these techniques:

Topology Flow:
<https://web.archive.org/web/20210423191525/https://topologyguides.com/loop-reduction>

If you want to add more handy techniques, please add them.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Cheat the 3D

```{=html}
<div class="noprint">
```
```{=html}
</div>
```
## Ways to Improve Performance

In 3D Graphic Design, there are many issues to consider. First, consider
how the project moves, how the project performs. Next, consider how you
create objects in your project, especially when working with meshes and
lighting.\

### Mesh

**Modifying an object\'s properties**

When you add a modifying property to an object, the computer has to
calculate that property every time it moves in the animation. These
modifying properties include soft bodies, particles, or mirror textures.
They can significantly slow down the computer.

To make things move faster, pre-calculate and \"bake\" the modifier into
the object. To bake a modifier, such as a soft body movement, save the
modifier as a permanent animation. That way no matter how the object
changes, it moves the same way. As a result, your computer does not
calculate how the object moves. The move is already set.

There is a drawback. If the object moves and hits another section with
different slopes, it will continue to move as if it was in the original
baking site. You will have to calculate and bake the section again to
get new results.

**Making 2D backgrounds**

Scenes will have a foreground, background, sky, and more.

Your computer will take more time to render a scene that is big, open,
and filled with modeled objects. This wastes time and memory, especially
when modeling an object far in the distance. I\'m guessing however, you
do not want to make a quick, plain model. So what do you do?

That is easy. You make a 2D background.

-   Put the distant image or background on a plane.
-   Verify that everything on the plane around the image is black.

If it is not black, set the Alpha to 0 if the image was saved in a
format that supports Alpha. This will retain the detail but reduce the
number of faces the computer must count in the scene.

-   Set the image to Billboard to prevent the image from skewing by
    perspective.

### Materials

**Using UV maps**

For those who do not know the term, a UV map is an image applied to a 2D
plane. The 2D plane is then applied to the mesh.

Here is how to create a UV map:

-   Spread out the image onto a 2D plane.
-   Apply the 2D plane over the face of the mesh using the 3D view.

```{=html}
<div class="noprint">
```
```{=html}
</div>
```


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Performance vs. Quality

|previous=Cheat the 3D
|subcat=Advice
}}
```
### Mesh

:   **Polygon Count** - when you work with meshes in 3D, be aware that
    the memory usage in Blender with reference to meshes comes from the
    number of faces (or vertices) the mesh contains. That means that if
    you have many useless faces (such as 55 faces on the side of a mesh
    that are as flat as one face), the number of faces will directly
    affect the Render time of Images and Animations. Also remember that
    for smooth rounded meshes, you do not need an infinite number of
    faces to make it look really nice and smooth. You actually don\'t
    need that many faces to keep a smooth slope looking smooth when
    viewed from the side. The viewer\'s eye will not actually identify
    every flat face, but will trace it as a smooth curve.\
:   **Face Structure - 4-side (quad) vs.3-side (tri)** - Poly Count is
    very important when working in 3D graphics, and depending on the
    type of mesh you are making you could be wasting a vast number of
    faces because they are not the right structure. For example, if you
    want a smooth object, you can make it look mostly smooth when viewed
    from the side if you make it with well-structured 3-vertex faces.
    You will also yield the same results with fewer faces than if you
    use 4-vertex faces. Another example is that if you need to apply
    UVTexture, or have something to animate, a mesh being evenly
    deformed will yield a lower face-count if it is a 4-vertex versus a
    3-vertex face-structure.\

\
It is worth bearing in mind, however, that most graphics libraries deal
exclusively with triangles. This means if you are planning to export
your mesh to a game or other external 3D application, whether you use
quads or triangles will make no difference as all quads will likely be
converted into two triangles anyway.`</br>`{=html}

### Lighting

:   **Using RayShadows or Buffer Shadows** - There are a few options you
    have for using shadows. Ray Shadows use an advanced algorithm to
    trace the edge of any interfering objects and create a perfect
    shadow onto the receiving object(s); however, the Ray Shadow
    calculation is memory-intensive and can seriously slow down your
    Render-Time. Buffer Shadows, on the other hand, use a different
    algorithm for similar results. The difference is that buffer shadows
    use a bit-rate of shadow \"pixels\" that fill in the shadowing area.
    You can adjust the bit-rate to make the shadow higher or lower
    quality. This calculation is much more memory-friendly, and your
    Render-Time will not jump up as much as with Ray Shadows. An
    interesting topic because this will change with better hardware
    performance and eventually won\'t matter. Until we get into 3D.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Modeling a Gingerbread Man

|previous=Performance vs. Quality
}}
```
In this tutorial you will learn how to make a simple gingerbread man. In
a later tutorial you will be able to make an animation with this
gingerbread man.

In this tutorial we will tie together everything we\'ve talked about up
to this point, including extruding, subdividing and rendering, and throw
in basic lighting.

## Modeling

First, start Blender. You should see the usual top view of a cube in the
3D window, surrounded by a grid \'floor\'.

:   Review--- Zoom in or out with **SCROLL** or **CTRL+MMB**. Pan with
    **SHIFT+SCROLL** and **CTRL+SCROLL**. Make sure you are in
    orthographic view. Press **NUM5** to toggle between orthographic
    view and perspective view. You can tell you\'re looking at an
    orthographic view while looking down from the top (**NUM7**) of the
    cube: wherever you pan the window, you never see any part of the
    cube except the top.

-   Display editing controls in the buttons window by clicking on the
    Editing context button ![](Editing.png "Editing.png") or by pressing
    **F9**.

### Adding Vertices

-   Select the cube by clicking **RMB** on it. (It may already be
    selected.) Remember, selected objects are outlined in pink.
-   Switch from object mode to edit mode by pressing **TAB**, which
    toggles between object and edit modes. In edit mode, at first,
    you\'ll see colored dots at the vertices of the cube. Selected
    vertices are highlighted in yellow. Unselected vertices are pink.
    (You\'ll see the dots when editing in vertex select mode. In edge
    select or face select mode, you\'ll see colored edges and faces
    instead.)
-   Select all vertices of the cube. Press **AKEY** once. If the
    vertices are yellow, you\'ve selected all of them. If they are pink,
    you\'ve deselected all of them. If necessary, press **AKEY** again
    so that all vertices are selected/yellow.

![](BlenderCubeEdit.png "BlenderCubeEdit.png")

-   Subdivide the faces of the cube, using any of the following methods.
    (All vertices of the cube should still be selected.)
    -   Click the Subdivide button in the Mesh Tools panel in the
        buttons window.
    -   With the mouse pointer in the 3D window --
        -   Press **WKEY** to display the Specials menu, then choose
            Subdivide.
        -   Press **SPACE** to display the toolbox, then choose Edit →
            Edges → Subdivide.
    -   Click the 3D window\'s Mesh menu, and choose Edges → Subdivide.
-   Your cube now has more vertices. **Subdividing** edges adds vertices
    so you can create more complex shapes.

![](BlenderSubdividedCube.png "BlenderSubdividedCube.png")

### Selecting a Subset of Vertices

We\'ll select six vertices on the upper half of one side of our cube,
where we\'ll extrude an arm.

-   Deselect all vertices by pressing **AKEY**.
-   View the cube from the front (**NUM1**).
-   Select the six vertices on the top half of the left side of the cube
    (see below) using one of the following methods.
    -   Press **BKEY** and drag a rectangle around the top left and
        middle left vertices (viewing from the front).
    -   Press **CKEY** to see a circle around your mouse pointer.
        **SCROLL** to change the size of the circle. Position the circle
        around the top left and middle left vertices, together or one at
        a time, and click **LMB**. Click **RMB** to finish.

```{=html}

```
-   Take a closer look at the selected vertices by viewing the model
    from a different angle (drag with **MMB**).
-   If you find that you have only selected two vertices and not six,
    make sure the \"Occlude Background Geometry\" button is off. That
    button is the right-most of the selection mode buttons, below.
    (It\'s called \"Limit selection to visible\" in Blender 2.45 and
    earlier. It doesn\'t appear if Blender is drawing in wireframe
    style.) Try selecting the vertices again.

![](BlenderSelectionModesInSolidMode.png "BlenderSelectionModesInSolidMode.png")

-   If you still selected just two vertices, change to a wireframe
    drawing by pressing **ZKEY**, which toggles between wireframe and
    solid drawing types. Try selecting again.
-   Yet another way to select the six vertices is to select the two
    faces they define. Click the Face Select button from the selection
    mode buttons (above), or press **CTRL+TAB** to display a Select Mode
    menu and choose Faces. Rotate the cube to view the left side and
    click **RMB** in the center of one of the two upper faces. Hold
    **SHIFT** and click **RMB** in the center of the other upper face.

![](BlenderGingerBreadManExtrudedCube3D.png "BlenderGingerBreadManExtrudedCube3D.png")

### Extruding Arms

-   View from the front by pressing **NUM1**.
-   Extrude the selected vertices/faces by pressing **EKEY** to display
    an Extrude menu, then choosing Region. Hold **CTRL** to snap your
    position to the grid, then move your mouse left to put the new
    vertices on the adjacent gray line of the grid one unit to the left.
    Click **LMB**.
-   Repeat so that your model looks like below (from front view,
    **NUM1**).

![](ExtrudedCube1.png "ExtrudedCube1.png")

-   Deselect all vertices/faces with **AKEY**.
-   Perform the same extrusion on the right side of the cube, selecting
    six vertices and extruding twice as explained above.
-   The gingerbread man\'s arms are in place, as in the illustrations
    below.

```{=html}

```
![](ExtrudedCube2.png "ExtrudedCube2.png")  ![](BlenderGingerBreadManExtrudedCube3D.png "BlenderGingerBreadManExtrudedCube3D.png")

```{=html}

```
### Extruding Legs

-   Make sure all vertices are unselected, using **AKEY** once or twice.
-   View from the front (**NUM1**).
-   Select the six vertices on the left half of the cube\'s bottom.
    Extrude them downward to a point in between the first and second
    heavier gray lines beneath the cube. (The gray lines in the grid
    represent Blender units.) Holding down **CTRL**, the extruded region
    may snap to the heavier gray lines---hold down **CTRL+SHIFT** and
    the region will snap to tenths of Blender units. Click **LMB** to
    finish.
-   An alternative to positioning the extrusion with the mouse is simply
    typing the distance. Enter 1.5 to extrude 1 1/2 units out. On a Mac,
    enter the number 1, press fn with the key that is right under
    **LKEY** and **MKEY** on Azerty (the one with /:,), and press the
    number 5.

```{=html}

```
![](BlenderGingerbreadManLeftLeg01.png "BlenderGingerbreadManLeftLeg01.png")  ![](BlenderGingerbreadManLeftLeg02.png "BlenderGingerbreadManLeftLeg02.png")

```{=html}

```
-   Extrude the same region again, to the third gray line (1.5 again).
    It should look like this:

![](BlenderExtrudedLeg.png "BlenderExtrudedLeg.png")

-   Shift the lower leg to the outside as follows.
    -   Select the bottom 12 vertices of the leg (which look like 4 from
        front view), using **BKEY**.
    -   Grab the selection with **GKEY**. Press **XKEY** to limit
        movement to the x axis. Move the vertices to the left by half a
        square, holding **CTRL** or **CTRL+SHIFT** to snap to the grid,
        and click **LMB**.

```{=html}

```
![](Oneleg-ginger.png "Oneleg-ginger.png")  ![](BlenderGingerBreadManOneLegGinger3D.png "BlenderGingerBreadManOneLegGinger3D.png")

```{=html}

```
-   Create a second leg on the right side, in the same fashion.

![](twoleg-ginger.png "twoleg-ginger.png")

### Dropping the Groin

Lengthen the groin (where the two legs join):

-   Deselect all vertices by pressing **AKEY**.
-   Select the 3 vertices at the groin (which look like 1 from front
    view), using **BKEY**.
-   Grab the vertices by pressing **GKEY**. Press **ZKEY** to limit
    movement to the z axis. Move the vertices down 1/2 of a square, or
    type -0.5 to specify the distance. (Older versions of Blender
    require **NKEY** before typing -0.5.)

```{=html}

```
![](twoleg-ginger-pulled.png "twoleg-ginger-pulled.png")  ![](BlenderTwoLegsGingerPulled3D.png "BlenderTwoLegsGingerPulled3D.png")

```{=html}

```
### Adding a Head

-   Switch the 3D window from Edit mode back to Object mode by pressing
    **TAB**.

Noob Note: I found it easier to remain in edit mode while creating the
cube as this makes the cube part of the original mesh. This allows you
to add the subsurf to all parts at once.

-   Click **RMB** on the object to select it then press **SHIFT + SKEY**
    and select *Cursor → Selection*. This will make sure the cube
    you\'ll add next will be near where you want it.

```{=html}

```
-   Press **SPACE** and put your mouse on the mesh option and select
    cube. In others versions, you can also hit **SPACE** and , in the
    menu that comes up, choose *Add → Mesh → Cube*.

```{=html}

```
-   Press **GKEY** and put your new cube about 1/3 of the way down the
    neck (to achieve this, you can press **GKEY** and **ZKEY** : enter
    1.33).

![](twoleg-ginger-head.png "twoleg-ginger-head.png")

Now we will make it look more like a ginger bread man by making it
thinner.

-   Select all with **AKEY**.

```{=html}

```
-   Go to side view with **NUM3**.

```{=html}

```
-   Press **SKEY** for scale and press **YKEY** for Y-axis and then move
    your mouse to the middle until it is about 0.3 (use **CTRL** for
    fixed values).

```{=html}

```
-   Remember X-axis is the Red arrow/line, Y-axis is the Green one, and
    Z-axis is Blue (like RGB video mode).

center

-   Use the **MMB** to spin the view around and examine your handiwork.

At this point, it doesn\'t look entirely like a gingerbread man, does
it? It\'s a bit too \... chunky. For the last bit, we\'ll smooth it out.

-   Make sure you\'ve selected the body in object mode.

```{=html}

```
-   Select the editing panel in the buttons window (or hit **F9**).

```{=html}

```
-   In the Modifiers tab, Add a \"Subsurf\" modifier.

```{=html}

```
-   Set the level of the subdivisions to 2, and the number of render
    levels to 3.

**Noob question: When I add the cube for the head, it stops me from
being able to edit the body - it will only select the head to apply
subsurf to, even if the body looks like it\'s selected!**

**Answer: When you created the cube you made a second object. To select
a different object, press tab to enter Object mode. Select the body.
Then enter edit mode again if you want to edit the body.**

-   You can press the **ZKEY** to switch back and forth between
    wire-frame view and solid view.

```{=html}

```
-   (Noob Note: Easiest way to really get a feel for what is going on in
    the 3d world is to split into four screens and setting each one to
    **NUM7**, **NUM3**, **NUM1**, and **NUM0** to see all angles and
    what it will look like at render.)

**Noob Question: *How?***

**Answer: To split an area move the cursor to an area between two
current areas (e.g. between the 3D view and the buttons), when you see
the double ended arrow (used to move the divide) click RMB and select
*Split Area*, you will then see a line appear dividing the area in two.
Move this to where you want the divide and click LMB.**

-   In the \'Link and Materials\' section, select \'Set Smooth\'.

**Noob question: Where? Assuming this refers to the \'Materials\'
section on the \'Properties\' window, there is no \'Smooth\' setting.**

*(Note that here I had the same problem as before, with superposed
vertices. Select all vertices, then press **WKEY** and select*Remove
Doubles*to clean your model. You will see that it will look much better
after removing the extra vertices with Remove Doubles)*
center

-   Press the **ZKEY** to return to wire-frame view.

```{=html}

```
-   Now repeat the process above to smooth the head.

center

Looks a lot more like a gingerbread man now, doesn\'t it?

## Camera Positioning and Rendering

This guide will show you how to intuitively get the best frame of your
3D scene with no effort!

-   Press **TAB** for Object view mode.
-   Press **NUM0** to get the Camera View.
-   Select the camera by clicking **RMB** on the outermost rectangle.
-   Press **GKEY** and move your mouse to adjust the position of the
    camera (**XKEY**, **YKEY**, **ZKEY** and **CTRL** may be useful
    here).
-   In addition, you can press **NUM7** to get the Top View and press
    **RKEY** to rotate the camera to the best angle.
-   After you are happy with the position, press **F12** to render it.

If your render comes out a little dark, try moving the lamp closer to
the gingerbread man.

Noob note: Another way to move around the camera is pressing **SHIFT +
FKEY** after pressing **NUM0** to enter Fly mode. The keys for fly mode
appear in the header of the 3D view pane.

Noob note: **Ctrl+Alt+NUM0** \"teleports\" the camera to your 3d view.

![](BlenderGingerRender.png "BlenderGingerRender.png")

Noob Note: By pressing X, Y or Z twice you will use a local base of the
space, with those it\'s much easier. For example if you are facing the Z
axis from 45 degrees, and you want to go left 1 unit, using the global
base, you will have to go 1.72 (around sqrt(2)) along X and the same
along Y, instead moving by 1 in the local frame of reference.

## Applying Textures

\
This builds on the previous guide: Modeling a
Volcano.\
\
Note: It seems that textures can only be applied to one object at a
time, so this must be done twice (i.e. The head and body are two
separate objects.) The settings that were chosen can successfully be
applied to each object for a consistent result. Some settings can not be
applied equally for consistent results.

N00b Note: if you join the 2 objects before applying the textures you do
not have to do the process 2 times, just select the 2 objects, CTRL+J
and the accept\
\
\*In \"Object Mode,\" select the body (or the head.)

-   Press **F5** to open the shading panel or use the shading panel
    button.
-   In the \"Links and Pipeline\" panel, under \"Link to Object,\" click
    \"Add New.\"

![](LinksPipeAddNew.png "LinksPipeAddNew.png")

-   Press **F6** to open the \"Texture Buttons\" panel or use the
    textures button.
-   In the \"Texture\" panel, click \"Add New.\"

![](TextureAddNew.png "TextureAddNew.png")

-   Change the \"Texture Type\" to \"Stucci.\"

![](StucciType.png "StucciType.png")

-   In the new \"Stucci\" panel, change \"Noise Size\" to something near
    0.025 and leave the \"Turbulence\" at 5.00.

![](SizeTurbulence.png "SizeTurbulence.png")\
Note: When finished with this section of the guide, come back to this
panel and try different combinations of \"Plastic,\" \"Wall In,\" \"Wall
Out,\" and \"Soft Noise\" / \"Hard Noise.\" Press **F12** to render
after each change to see the effect.\
\
\*Press **F5** again or use the \"Material\" button directly on the left
of the \"Texture\" button. Then look for the \"Map To\" panel.
![](LookForMapTo.png "LookForMapTo.png")

-   In the \"Map To\" panel, deselect \"Col*\[or\]*\" and select
    \"Nor*\[mal\]*.\" and change the \"Nor\" Value to approximately
    1.30.
-   In the \"Map Input\" panel, change the texture coordinates to
    \"Object\" by clicking the corresponding button.
-   In the \"Material\" panel, change the \"R*\[ed\]*\" slider to
    approximately 0.400 and the \"G*\[reen\]*\" slider to approximately
    half that, about 0.200. Blue can be set at 0.00.

![](MapToChange.png "MapToChange.png")
![](MapInputChange.png "MapInputChange.png")
![](MaterialChangePreview.png "MaterialChangePreview.png")\
Note: While it is true that textures can only be applied to one object
at a time, textures as well as materials can be shared between objects.
In this case it is best to let both the head and the body share the same
material.\
\*To do this, simply select the object without the materials(head or
body).

-   Press **F5** to open the shading panel or use the shading panel
    button.
-   In the \"Links and Pipeline\" panel, under \"Link to Object,\" click
    the arrow next to(left of) the \"Add New\" button.
-   Select the brown material.

\
The steps in this section give a nicely textured, brown surface to the
\"Gingerbread.\"

![](BlenderGingerTexturedRender.png "BlenderGingerTexturedRender.png")

Now all you need to do is add eyes and gumdrop buttons!


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Modeling a simple space-ship

|previous=Modeling a Gingerbread Man
}}
```
## Modeling a simple spaceship using Blender 2.49b

**This is a simple tutorial on how to build a simple spaceship using
blender 2.49b.** One of the best things about blender is the
adaptability that can be accessed through its user interface. This
tutorial will give you a look at some of the included blender scripts.
If you would like to make your own, however, you can refer to the
scripting chapter of this wiki book. So now, I guess we can get started.

**Step 1:** First, open blender. You should get the default blender
scene with the cube in the center. If you don\'t, try resetting your
blender settings. Select the box in the center of the screen.

**Step 2:** Now we\'re going to shape the box into any shape we want.
For now, we are going to shape it into a sort of triangle. If you want
to use it as a box, that\'s fine, but I suggest following this tutorial
using it as a sort-of triangle. To be able to modify it, in the lower
buttons area (with stuff like Modifiers, Shapes, Multires, Mesh, and
Link and Materials) you should see a drop-down menu that is currently on
Object Mode. Change that to Edit Mode or hit the **tab** button. Now you
will be able to modify different aspects of your box.

**Step 3:** With your box selected, hit Ctrl+Tab, and choose Faces. This
allows you to modify the different faces. Faces are basically the
different sides of your object, Edges are the edges of your object, and
Vertices are points on your object where edges connect.

**Step 4:** Now, on your box, right click on one of the sides to select
that side. If you want, first take a look around the box and then choose
a side, but don\'t select the bottom or top face. To rotate around the
box, hit the 8, 2, 4 or 6 button on your number pad, the one to the
right of the arrow keys usually. Those buttons allow you to rotate
around your objects and change your view. After you select the face you
want, then rotate so that the face is facing towards you and looks like
a square, and so that the grid around it looks like a flat horizontal
line.

**Step 5:** There should be three arrows converging in the center of
your face (or in the center of your box), and either the red or the
green one should now be in the center of your face, and the other should
be going off to the left or right, with the blue arrow going straight up
or straight down. Use the 4 or 6 number pad button to rotate your view
so you can see whichever arrow was in the center of your face, and left
click mouse button on it, and hold the left click button, and drag the
arrow around. Drag it until you have a rectangle.
<http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/bryguy336/uh.png>
<http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/bryguy336/box.png>

**Step 6:** Now to resize that face. With that face still selected, hit
the S key, and move the mouse around. This should enable you to change
the size of the face, and once you click, it should stop resizing and
stay at that size. Experiment and get the hang of it, and then resize it
so that it is an itsy bitsy teeny tiny box, and your rectangle more like
a triangle. Congratulations! You have just made your first shape/object


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Part 1 - Preparing the Scene

|previous=Create an animated GIF wallpaper (Blender/GIMP)
}}
```
\_\_TOC\_\_

## Start a new scene in Blender

-   Delete the default cube.

## Prepare the individual particles

Go to layer 2 -

!`centre|The layers buttons`.PNG "centre|The layers buttons")

Add a UV Sphere with 8 segments and 6 rings(Go to the toolshelf and
change the values)

!`The Toolshelf`.PNG "The Toolshelf")

Add a new material with any bright color. Change the emit value to 2 or
higher -

!`Material settings`.PNG "Material settings")\
`Note - if you want a single-coloured version, `\
`you can skip a few of the following steps - `

### Duplication of the particles

Duplicate the sphere and move it nearby (
 ). Duplicate the material by
clicking on the \'plus\' button indicated in the picture below. Change
the color to another bright color

`Important note - Not clicking the plus button will change the`\
`color of the previous sphere also.`

!Material
settings.png "Material settings")
!Single-coloured
version.PNG "Single-coloured version") Repeat
this process until you are satisfied with the no. of spheres with
different colours. Now create a group
() Name it anything you like in
the toolshelf ( toggles the toolshelf).

Now you\'re ready to start creating the animation and particles!

## Defining the motion of the particles

Go back to layer 1.

### Creating the path for the particles to follow

If you haven\'t learnt about Bezier
curves
already, go ahead and do so now.

Add a bezier curve, and tab into edit mode. Now you have to model the
path by extruding and subdividing the curve. The shape of the curve
defines the path of the particles. After you are done with the curve,
you can proceed to create the emission object.

### Creating the \'emitter\' of the particles

Add a UV Sphere with 32 segments and 16 rings. This is going to be the
emitter, i.e. the object that gives out those coloured spheres.

This is going to have a completely transparent material since hiding it
hides the whole thing.

So go to material properties, add a new material. Scroll down to the
Transparency panel, check it and change the alpha value to zero, making
it completely transparent. Also change the specular intensity to zero.
Leave everything else as such.

### Making the sphere follow the path

In this part, you are going to make the sphere follow the curve you had
modeled earlier. Select the cube, and add a Follow Path Constraint.
Select the target, i.e. the curve and click on Animate Path. All these
steps speak for themselves, there\'s no need for me to explain. You
could check follow curve, but since this is a sphere this is not needed.
All it does is make the object face the direction it is moving towards.

As for the speed of the object, you can change it by -

-   Select the curve.
-   Go to Object properties -

!`The Object Properties`.PNG "The Object Properties")

-   Scroll down to Path Animation panel.
-   Change Path Animation Frames value to the no. of frames you want the
    animation to last. I prefer it to be 150.

In the end, make a few changes until you are satisfied with the result.
Now you are ready to proceed to part 2.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Creating Weapons based on 2D Images

Alright, this is my first tutorial here, I made this a while back, but
hopefully it will be a good addition to this Wikibook. It was originally
made for a game called Fable - The Lost
Chapters "wikilink"), but I think it is worthy of
another place in the world. Please note that this is a WIP and will be
updated time to time.

## Modeling Technique 1

Modeling Technique 1 Part 1
Video

**Part 1:**

1.  After emptying the screen, go to view and click background image,
    load, then choose a picture of the weapon you want
2.  Go to top view and add a square, then delete two of the vertices and
    place one of the remaining on a point on the picture, and the other
    out of the way.
3.  Select both vertices and subdivide.
4.  Move the generated point to the next good-looking spot on the
    picture
5.  With that selected still, select the outside vertex also, and
    subdivide.

(Note: A much easier way is to select one vertex, move it to where you
want it, select the other vertex, move it to the next spot, then extrude
the second vertex to the next point, rinse and repeat. This requires a
lot less effort.) Another guy\'s note: For an easier way, just click
CTRL+LMB where you want the next point to appear.

1.  Continue until you are on your third to last one, then select your
    outside vertex and move it where you would move the next vertex.
2.  Select the first and last vertices and go to mesh\>\>make edge/face
3.  Extrude to half your preferred thickness, then extrude the rest of
    the way.
4.  Select the center vertices on the blade, and scale up.

Modeling Technique 1 Part 2

**Part 2:**

cont.)

1.  Then move vertices to your liking.
2.  Select the vertices of the handle, go to
    mesh\>\>vertices\>\>separate.
3.  Add a modifier, choose subSurf, turn up the level until it looks
    close to what you want without too many vertices. Click apply next
    to the modifier.
4.  Modify vertices (using proportional edit helps) to your liking.
5.  Go to object mode, and turn off double-sided on any meshes that are.
6.  If black appears on any parts of the mesh, highlight it, go to edit
    mode, select all vertices, go to mesh\>\>normals\>\>recalculate
    outside.
7.  If there is still black, select those faces and go to
    mesh\>\>normals\>\>flip.
8.  If there is still black, then you are missing a piece of mesh.
    Highlight the vertices around the hole, go to
    mesh\>\>vertices\>\>fill.
9.  If black did not appear, then select everything (in object mode) and
    go to object\>\>join objects and say yes.

## Modeling Technique 2

Video
Here
Download it for high quality.

Blade:

1.  Select all with the \'A\' key, and delete everything.
2.  Go to view and choose background image \>\> use background image
    \>\>load and pick the sword you\'ll be doing.
3.  Close the dialog after you see it in the background (you can change
    the brightness of it by changing the \'blend\' option)
4.  Make a bezier circle by pressing spacebar and going to
    add\>\>bezier\>\>bezier circle.
5.  put a bar at each main point of your weapon (anywhere the curve
    changes direction)

Bezier
Controls

1.  Modify the bars until they match.
2.  You might want to go into wireframe view.
3.  Go down and turn up the bevel depth a little, to give it some
    sharpness.
4.  To lower the poly count you should turn down the DefResolIU number.
5.  Go back to object mode, hit spacebar, go to object\>\>convert object
    type\>\>to mesh.
6.  Modify vertices to your liking.

For the handle:

1.  Do steps 1-7.
2.  Turn up the bevel resolution, to give it some roundness.
3.  Repeat steps 8-10

For That one thing (see video):

Just watch the video, but here is a summary.

Extrude and flatten a circle, use proportional edit to make it easier on
you when you curve the circle.

For hilt guard:

1.  Repeat steps 1-6
2.  Add some extrusion.
3.  Repeat steps 8-10.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Making Your Creation Smoother

## Getting started

To begin, open a new scene in Blender. Let\'s clean up the scene a
little by selecting the lamp and camera in the scene, press M to move
them to a different layer and click on the fifth layer from the left to
place the objects. Go back to layer 1 and delete anything else. You may
also want to get rid of the grid by opening the View Properties and
turning off the Grid Floor and X & Y axes.

To block out our character, we\'re going to use an object type that is
probably the least used and useful of any known to mankind. Let\'s hear
it for\... Metaballs!

## Sculpting With \"Lumps of Clay\"

right\|200px Go into the
top view (important), press Space and add a **metaball.** Metaballs are
a nifty, ancient piece of 3D technology that is useful for creating
blobs. (Similar to lumps of clay, eh?) You create simple primitive
shapes and scale and rotate them to block out your character\'s shape.
When the primitives come close to one another, they \"bleed into one
another\" in much the same way that water droplets merge when they
touch. Cool.

If you\'re using an earlier version of Blender that jumps out of Object
mode into Edit mode when you create an object, then press Tab to switch
back to Object mode, as you won\'t be able to scale your Meta primitive
non-proportionally in Edit mode.

In Object mode, you can change these options for the entire Meta object,
while tabbing into Edit mode gives you more options for the selected
meta primitive, such as changing the type from Ball to Tube, Plane,
Cube, ;;etc.; (You can also make \"Negative metaballs.\")

right\|150px Press
**Shift+D** to duplicate the Metaball, and place it where you like.
Continue blocking out your character, building enough blobs to represent
the limbs or forms you will need to sculpt your masterpiece.

The balls at the end of the limbs, were scaled **SKEY** larger, and then
moved **GKEY** out a bit more.

Don\'t get carried away and put in too much detail at this stage: use as
*few* shapes as you need. (This is supposed to be quick and fun, after
all\...)

## Meta-mess!

You should still be in object mode.

Now that you\'ve got something that resembles what you\'re after, select
all the Metaballs and ( be in object mode) type **ALT+C** -\> \"delete
original\", to convert it to polygons so you can actually do something
with your blob.

**Noob note:** if you pick \"keep original\" you will still have the
meta balls present, plus have a mesh version of the metaballs sharing
exactly the same space. When you select \"delete original\", the meta
balls are turned into the mesh, and the circles that the metaballs were
originally in hang around, but are empty.

right\|200px

Still in object mode!

Delete any of those black rings left over from the metas and select your
new polygon mesh.

If you Tab into Edit mode you will see terrifying ugliness instead of
nicely gridded mesh. \"Surely we can\'t be expected to create anything
useful out of this!\" you shriek. Take it easy, my friend. It\'s time to
add a *Decimate* modifier (make sure you\'re in object mode when doing
this to see changes).

Switch back to object mode!

The **Decimate** modifier (you will only see things change if you\'re in
object mode) will do two things for us. Its primary job is to *reduce*
the poly count of a mesh. A pleasant side-effect for our purposes is
that it will begin to *rearrange* the topology into a more manageable
heap of triangles and quads. Keep reducing the Ratio slider below 0.5
until it becomes as coarse as you can stand. You want the lowest polygon
base you can have that still maintains enough detail in the limbs and
shapes you made with the Metaball phase.

One thing to watch for is that this process sometimes creates holes as
it does its best to simplify the mesh. I find that usually you can
slightly change the Ratio to fix the problem, but if you\'re still
finding holes, check out the \"Tips & Tricks\" section at the end.

As you can see, this step greatly reduces the Face Count, which will be
good later. Next we need to get rid of as many of those triangles as
possible. Click Apply (in the modifier panel)

Switch to Edit mode!

Press A until all of the vertices are selected (turn yellow) and hit
Alt-J to convert the faces from triangles to quads, which will subdivide
better. Now you should have something you can work with.

## Beginning to sculpt

Right next to the Modifiers panel is the **Multires** panel. (Note: In
recent versions of Blender this is not its own panel\-\--it is a
Modifier.) A multires object has the options to add numerous levels of
smooth subdivision to a mesh. While you can use the sculpt tools on any
polygon or nurbs mesh, the great strength of sculpting with Multires is
the ability to jump back and forth to different levels, quickly
sketching out the gross form at lower levels, and adding finer detail at
the higher levels. Add the Multires and Add a level; we\'re ready to
sculpt!

:   **Noob note:** If nothing seems to be happening while you\'re trying
    to sculpt your mesh, it\'s because you haven\'t applied your
    Decimate. it must be locked down and applied before you\'re actually
    allowed to do anything to your mesh.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

:   **Noob note:** Only apply multires once, doing it a few times will
    quickly increase the polygon count to amounts that will really slow
    blender down

In case you haven\'t noticed, Blender\'s different modes offer different
tool sets and options. To make the sculpting tools available you need to
be in **Sculpt** mode, accessible through the Mode drop-down in any 3D
window header. You\'ll see two new tabs next to the multires panel,
*Sculpt* and *Brush.* Sculpt has most of the options you\'ll need to
begin shaping your mesh. Note that most of the different brushes in this
panel have hot-keys which will save a lot of time(**G**=Grab,
**D**=Draw, **S**=Smooth, *etc.*). Most important here is changing the
brush size and intensity. Pressing F and dragging the mouse will resize
the brush, while Shift-F will allow you to adjust the Brush Intensity.
You can also turn on **Symmetry** to paint, for instance, both sides of
a face at one time. This can speed up tasks tremendously, as long as
your mesh is aligned to the axis properly.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Match Moving

|previous=Modeling a simple space-ship
}}
```
Match moving is the technique of recreating the position of the camera
used in recording live action footage. This information can then be used
within Blender to merge 3D objects with live action film. For a more
detailed discussion of the concept, take a look at the Wikipedia
article on Match Moving.

Blender cannot perform match moving itself, you must use a 3rd party
tool to determine the camera position and the way it moves, then import
this data into Blender. While there are many software tools to do this,
this page references two free options: Voodoo and Icarus.

## Icarus

Icarus is a
discontinued University of Manchester project which can be used for
non-commercial work. The download links from the official page no longer
function, but Windows and MacOS X versions are available from this
Icarus video
tutorial by
Colin Levy.

## Voodoo

Voodoo is an
actively developed free match mover available for Windows and Linux.
Here is a tutorial on using Voodoo and
Blender


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Motion Tracking with Icarus

|previous=Match Moving
}}
```
**Motion tracking**, also called **Match
moving**, is an essential
element when integrating 3D elements with live footage. Motion tracking
software is usually pretty expensive, but the Icarus application
(Windows and Mac) is available for free for educational use. Icarus,
which hasn\'t been updated for while, was later replaced by the
commercial application
PFTrack.
Other popular motion tracking applications are
PFMatchit
and PFHoe(both also from The Pixel Farm),
Voodoo (for
Windows/Linux; free for non-commercial use),
SynthEyes,
Boujou and
3D-Equalizer (commercial).

The excellent CG prodigy Colin
Levy hosts Icarus(by kind
permission of The Pixel Farm Ltd), the Icarus import script for Blender,
as well as a splendid video tutorial (see Download Icarus and Video
Tutorial).
However, I lacked a brief text tutorial about motion tracking, so I
decided to write my own. This tutorial is extremely brief and
high-level, and requires some previous knowledge on video editing, 3D,
and Blender.

**Note:** this tutorial was created using Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Blender
2.46, Icarus 2.09, and the Icarus Import Script for
Blender
v1.07e (for Blender 2.41, written by Alfredo de Greef).

### Tutorial

#### Phase 1: Preparing the Video Footage

**Note:** this tutorial explains the *Auto-feature Tracking* mode in
Icarus. There are other options which gives more user control - see the
Icarus **UserGuide.pdf** for more information.

1.  Record your video footage. Having the camera on a tripod (thus
    limiting to just panning/rotating) simplifies the tracking, but
    Icarus can handle a hand-held camera as well. Filming a background
    with orthogonal lines (that can align to X/Y/Z dimensions), such as
    a room, also helps the tracking.
2.  Capture/import your video footage to your computer. Icarus handles
    video up to DV resolution (720\*576 pixels).
3.  Start the Icarus *Calibration* application (there is also a
    *Distortion* and a *Reconstruction* application).
4.  Create a new project (Project-\>New).
5.  Import your video footage (Project-\>Import Movie).
6.  Fill in the *Camera Parameters* information in the window that pops
    up - especially the *Camera Motion* and the *Pixel Aspect* options.
7.  In the left panel, expand the group called *Coordinate Frame*. You
    should see X Axis, Y Axis, etc.
8.  Click the Z Axis tool (blue) and mark vertical lines in your video
    footage. Use the X Axis (red) and Y Axis (green) tools to mark
    horizontal lines (up to you to decide which should be X and Y).
9.  Estimate the focal length (Camera-\>Estimate Focal Length).
10. Navigate in time in your video footage using the time slider
    (beneath the video image). Add more X/Y/Z marker lines on a few key
    frames, especially as new pieces of the background are revealed when
    the camera moves.
11. Save your project (Project-\>Save).
12. Start the tracking process (Camera-\>Track and Calibrate). This will
    take some time.
13. Export the results in human-readable form (Project-\>Export 3D
    Motion, select *Human Readable (\*.txt)* as file type).

#### Phase 2: Importing the Motion Tracking Data into Blender

1.  Start Blender, and open a Text Editor view.
2.  Open the Icarus import script **ICARUS_import241.py** (File-\>Open).
3.  Start the script (File-\>Run Python Script). You should now see the
    Icarus Import screen.
4.  Press the *FSEL* button, and open the results you exported from
    Icarus.
5.  Press the *Create Curves* button. This imports the camera motion
    from the Icarus data and applies it to the Blender default camera.
6.  Press the *Feature Points Mesh* button. This imports 3D shape dots
    from the Icarus data, which helps as reference when you want to
    align your own 3D elements to the video footage.

You are now ready to add your own 3D elements to the Blender scene.

#### Phase 3: Compositing 3D Elements on top of Video Footage

If you want to easily composite the 3D elements on top of an image, you
can add the image as the rendering back buffer in Blender (Scene tab in
the Buttons view). However, this doesn\'t work for videos, so we need
another solution.

1.  In Blender, switch to *SR:4 - Sequence* in the layout dropdown menu
    at the top of the screen.
2.  In the *Video Sequence Editor* view (middle of screen), add your
    video file (Add-\>Movie). Move the new strip to layer 1, frame 1.
3.  Add the current scene to the sequence (Add-\>Scene, Scene). Move the
    new strip to layer 2, frame 1.
4.  Select the scene strip on the second layer (right-click).
5.  Open the *Scene* panel in the Buttons view, and then open the
    *Sequencer* sub-panel.
6.  Change the *Blend Mode* dropdown from *Replace* to *Alpha Over*.
    Your 3D elements should now render over the background video in the
    top-right preview screen.
7.  In the Render panel, enable *Do Sequence* just below the ANIM
    button. This will enable the background video when rendering.

### Troubleshooting

-   If your imported Feature Points Mesh looks a bit spherical, you need
    to generate camera distortion data using the Icarus *Distortion*
    application.


# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Create a Clayman

## Create a Clayman

**(under construction)**

**This Tutorial was made using Blender version 2.41**

Upon completing this tutorial, you will have made something like this:

![](Clayman.jpg "Clayman.jpg"){width="300"}

Completed Clayman Render

## Making The Clayman

Upon start, delete the default cube (X-KEY) and switch to front view
with NUM1. Now add a mesh plane and under The Edit Buttons Window, Mesh
Tools Tab click the subdivide button. Now select the 3 vertices on the
left and delete them. (B-KEY for Border Select Tool)

If you can\'t select the vertices then deselect the Limited Selection to
Visible button.

![](LSTV.jpg "LSTV.jpg")

Now select/deselect all vertices with A-KEY (we want them selected). In
the Modifiers Tab in the Edit Buttons Window, Click *Add Modifier \>
Mirror* You should now see something like this.

![](Mirror_Modifier.jpg "Mirror_Modifier.jpg")

Now select the 3 right vertices and extrude them on the X axis by
movement of 1.0 units by pressing E-KEY (*Extrude \> Only Edges*), X-KEY
(to constrain it to the X axis) and holding CTRL to constrain it to
simple movements. Do this twice.

![](2.0.jpg "2.0.jpg"){width="150"}

Now extrude the legs by selecting the 3 bottom-right vertices and
extruding them on the Z axis by 1 unit. Do this twice as well.

![](2_Legs.jpg "2_Legs.jpg")

Now extrude the top of the clayman on the Z axis (in units of 1.0) 7
times so that it looks like this.

![](Clayman_Body.jpg "Clayman_Body.jpg")

Now let\'s make the arms by extruding the 2 boxes that are 3 boxes down
from the top. Let\'s extrude it on the X axis by 1 unit 4 times so that
it looks like this.

![](Clay_Arms.jpg "Clay_Arms.jpg")

Now comes the extrusion of the whole body. As you can see, we only have
a flat shape of a rough \"Block\". so lets move our view around with the
NUMPAD arrows and extrude it on the Y axis. Select all vertices with
A-KEY. *Extrude \> Region* on the Y axis until it reaches 2.0 units.
After done correctly, it should look like this.

![](Extruded_Clayman.jpg "Extruded_Clayman.jpg")

With the Clayman successfully extruded, its now time to add some
definition to him by adding a subsurface modifier. In the Edit Buttons
window, under Modifiers, click *Add Modifier \> Subsurf* and set the
Levels bar to 2. It should look somewhat like this.

![](Subsurf_Modifier.jpg "Subsurf_Modifier.jpg")

Now, Select all vertices with A-KEY, and click the Set Smooth button in
the Links and Materials tab. Let\'s get to shaping the Clayman.Using the
Border Select Tool (press B to get the Border Select Tool), grab the
according vertices to make a shape like this.

![](vertices.jpg "vertices.jpg"){width="200"}

after that\'s done, select the head vertices and grab them on the Z axis
and move them up by 0.2 to make it look like this.

![](Moved_up.jpg "Moved_up.jpg")

Now select all vertices with A-KEY, and scale them down (S-KEY) on the Y
axis until it reads 0.6000. And finally, select the underside of the
foot (the vertices that make it up) and subdivide it to make it more
flat on the bottom.

## Adding Materials

Start by going to the Material Buttons window (F5) and Clicking on Add
New, and going down to the collumn of 3 rectangles that have one gray
one and two blank white ones. Click on the gray one and in the top-right
corner of the pop-up window, you\'ll see a Hex Code. Click on the
current hex code and type in this new hex code to get the right color:
73BCF7. Now hit F6 to go to the Texture buttons window and click on Add
New. Change the Texture type to Stucci. Now you\'ll see a new tab
appear. On it, for NoiseSize enter 0.150. Now go back to the Materials
Buttons window. On the far right there will be three tabs in one. On the
Map To tab, Deselect Col and select Nor. Now your example should look
like this.

![](Texture_sample.jpg "Texture_sample.jpg")

## Inserting Armatures

Now lets move on to inserting armatures in our clayman. Lets start by
going into object mode (alternate between Object and Edit mode with TAB)
and adding an armature. Press *Space \> Add \> Armature*. It
automatically puts you in Edit mode upon adding the object. Switch to
Object mode and grab it along the Y axis by 1.0 units so that it\'s
inside the clayman. Sure, you can\'t see it now, but turn on X-axis
Mirror Edit and X-Ray in the Edit Buttons window.

![](Buttons_window.jpg "Buttons_window.jpg")

Now switch back to edit mode, and select the top of the bone. Etrude it
on the Z axis by 1.4 units two times so that the tip of the second
extrude is right in the center of the two arms. Now extrude it on the X
axis by 3.0 units, then grab the tip of it and move it on the Z axis by
0.1700 units. Now extrude it on the X axis by 2.0 units twice. And do
the same to the other side. It should look like this.

![](Extruded_bones.jpg "Extruded_bones.jpg")

Now let\'s extrude the neck. Extrude the top bone along the Z axis by
1.0 units to make a pretty good size neck. Then extrude it up on one
side so that the position reads like so. If you can\'t get it exact then
at least try to get it as closest to the number as you can.

![](Correct_Position.jpg "Correct_Position.jpg")

Then do the same to the other side so that it looks like 2 antennas. Now
let\'s extrude the hips and legs. Lets start by extruding the bottom
bone by 2.0 units on the X axis and for the Z axis, -1.0 units. Then
extrude the foot by -2.0 on the Z axis. And last, select a forearm bone
(select a whole bone by clicking the middle of it) and in the Edit
Buttons window, you\'ll see a tab called Armature Bones. Deselect the
Con button in that tab, and do the same with the other forearm bone.
This allows us to be able to move the forearm out, instead of having it
locked to another bone.

## Applying The Armature

Ok, now we\'re going to apply the armature to the mesh so that when we
move the bones, the mesh moves along with them. Lets start by switching
to object mode and selecting the clayman mesh, and under the Modifiers
tab, click apply on the Mirror modifier. You may see a pop-up, just
click OK. Not only have we just made room in the Modifiers tab, we
applied the mirror modifier to the mesh, so now we will have to edit
both sides if we want to change something. But worry not, we wont need
to change anything from here on. With that new space in the modifiers
tab, let\'s add an Armature modifier. You may see a line that says
\"OB:\" type in the name of the Armature in here (the default name for
an armature is \"Armature\" unless you have made more than one) also,
deselect the Envelopes button,for we will not be using envelopes in this
tutorial. Here is what you should have.

![](Armature_modifier.jpg "Armature_modifier.jpg")

Now, select the Armature and press CTRL + TAB. If you already have a
bone selected, it should be highlighted blue now. We have just switched
to Pose Mode. Now, while in Pose Mode, select the clayman mesh (if you
cant select it, zoom in closer to get some of the bones out of the way)
and press CTRL + TAB on the clayman mesh. We have just entered Weight
Paint Mode. This allows us to assign vertices to the bones so that the
mesh moves with the bones. Let\'s start by setting up the weight
painting. You should see a new tab called Paint in your Edit Buttons
window. Adjust your settings so that they conform to this.

![](Correct_settings.jpg "Correct_settings.jpg")

Start by selecting the top-right bone of the head and start weight
painting the front and back (you\'ll have to switch your view so that
you can see the back to get the painting in there) Weight Paint it
according to this.

![](Front_and_back.jpg "Front_and_back.jpg")

Now Weight Paint the Neck. (pictures not shown of back view, but be sure
to get the back anyway)

![](WP_Neck.jpg "WP_Neck.jpg")

Now the Shoulder.

![](WP_Shoulder.jpg "WP_Shoulder.jpg")

Now the Forearm.

![](WP_Forearm.jpg "WP_Forearm.jpg")

Now The Hand.

![](WP_Hand.jpg "WP_Hand.jpg")

And after getting the other side of the body, let\'s get the upper
chest.

![](Upper_Chest.jpg "Upper_Chest.jpg")

Now the middle chest.

![](Middle_Chest.jpg "Middle_Chest.jpg")

Now the lower chest.

![](Lower_Chest.jpg "Lower_Chest.jpg")

Now for the hips.

![](WP_Hips.jpg "WP_Hips.jpg")

Now the Feet.

![](WP_Feet.jpg "WP_Feet.jpg")

After doing the other side of the leg, switch back to Object Mode with
CTRL + TAB, and select the Armature. You should already be in Pose Mode
with the Armature. Now select a bone and grab it to move it. if you have
Weight painted correctly, the Clayman mesh should move with the bone.
There\'s two tips to moving the bones around in Pose Mode.

1\) In the Edit Buttons window, whether Automatic IK is turned on or not
affects how the bones move.

2\) Where your view is affects how the bones rotate. (unless you have it
constrained to an axis)

If you find that a part of your clayman isn\'t moving, just switch back
to Weight Paint mode for that bone and repaint it.