Eduard Martorell WGM #13 04/03/2011

Interface, Modelling & Animation Basics

Index

1. Introduction. 2. Interface.

Window layout. Input fields. Window types. 3D View navigation. Other considerations.

3. Modelling.

Object mode. Edit mode. Modifiers. Materials & textures. Lighting. Modelling tips.
Timeline window. Automatic keyframing. Graph editor.

4. Basic animation.

5. Things left to talk.

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1. Introduction

Where does Blender come from?

Initially a design tool for NeoGeo (Dutch Animation Studio). Later Ton Roosendal founded Not a Number (NaN) to continue developing Blender. In 2002 NaN went to bankrupt, and Blender became an open source product. In 2003 Ton Roosendal created the Blender Foundation, and Blenders source code became public. In 2009 Blender 2.5 Alpha 0 (Total re-design). Current version is Blender 2.56 Beta. Last stable version is 2.49b.

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1. Introduction.

At www.blender.org you can download all Blender versions for many OS. You can also read the latest news and find documentation, help forum and tutorials.

www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/

Other tutorial and resource sites:

www.blendercookie.com/ - Video tutorials. www.freezingmoon.org/tutorials/ - Video tutorials. www.youtube.com Search for blender tutorials. www.blendswap.com/ - Free blender models. www.cgtextures.com/ - Free textures (requires free account). www.plaintextures.com/ - Free textures.

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2. Interface.

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2.1 Window layout.

Layout management

Layout configurations.

Split / merge windows.

Many saved layouts.

Merge

Split

Create new window.

Save as default.

Hold Shift and split.

Ctrl + U. Scene data is also saved.

File > Load factory settings.

Ctrl + Up/Down arrow.

Restore to factory.

Maximize / minimize window.

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2.2 Input fields.

Input fields:

Numeric A

Numeric A:

Click on the center and type value. Click and drag horizontally to change value. Click on side arrows to increase/decrease one by one. Click and select from list or start typing to filter results.

Numeric B

Numeric B:

Reference fields:

Shared data:

Reference fields

1: Click to select from existing. 2: Data name. 3: Objects sharing this data. Click for single user copy. 4: Keep datablock. 5: Add new datablock as a copy of this. 6: Delete link to this datablock.

Shared data

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2.3 Window types.

Bottom left corner of a window shows its type.

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2.3.1 3D View.

Displays current 3D scene. Main working space. Also shows:

Tools (T).

Object editing tools.

Properties (N).

Object and view properties.

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2.3.1 3D View.

3D View buttons:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Working mode. Display mode. Pivot center. 3D manipulator. Layers. Proportional editing. Snap. OpenGL render.

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2.3.1 3D View.

Set a background image:

Open properties pannel (P). Check Background images. Press Add image. Expand Not set. Click Open and search for your image or click on image icon to select from previous loaded images. Adjust offset, scale and transparency. Background image will only appear in standard orthographic views (top, left, front) and in camera view. Each 3D View window can have its own background image (or movie).

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2.3.2 Properties.

Used for managing scene data. Tabs (L to R):

Render. Scene. World. Object. Object constraints. Modifyers. Object data. Material. Texture. Particles. Physics. Ligts, camera, mesh ,etc.
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Tabs can vary depending on the type of object selected.

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2.4 3D View navigation.

Orbit:

Middle mouse button. 4,2,6,8 (Numpad).

Ctrl + . (Numpad): Center view to 3D Cursor. Shift + C: Show whole scene in 3D View and center 3D cursor to origin. . (Numpad): Align view to selected object. Ctrl + 0 (Numpad): Assign selected object (camera, mesh, light) as active camera view. Ctrl + Alt + 0: Align current camera to view. Ctrl + F: Fly mode. Left Click (LC) to stop. Right Click (RC) to cancel.

Zoom* in / out:

Mouse wheel. Ctrl + Mouse middle button. +,- (Numpad).

Pan*:

Shift + Mouse middle button. Ctrl + [4,2,6,8].

7: Top view. 1: Front view. 3: Side view. 5: Perspective / orthographic. Ctrl + [7,1,3]: Opposite view. 0: Switch to active camera view.

Point of view:

* Zoom & Pan methods are valid for other window types, like image editor.

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2.5 Other considerations.

Active window is that wich the mouse is over.

There are no Ctrl+C & Ctrl+V commands, but there is a clipboard for some datablocks (access via buttons). Blender wont ask you to save your work before closing, it just closes.
Always

quit with Ctrl+Q, never close window.

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3. Modelling.

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3.1 Object mode.

Selected object

Object center

Active object Unselected object

Parent relation

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3.1 Object mode.

Add objects:

Shift + A.* Menu > Add.*

Select objects:

RMB.* Hold shift for multiple selection.*

Delete objects:

X.* Supr.*

Duplicate:

Shift + D: Create new stand-alone copy.* Alt + D: Duplicate with linked data.

Add object menu.

Parentship:

Ctrl + P: Active object becomes parent of the remaining selected. Alt + P: Selected object gets orphan.

*Also in edit mode.

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3.1.1 Basic transformations.

Translation, rotation and scaling are common operations not only in Object mode nor 3D View.

Transform restrictions.

Translation

Draw a line with LMB (3D View). Press G (Grab). Draw a circle with LMB (3D View). Press R. Rotate around view direction axis. Press R twice for free (trackball) rotation. Draw a V with LMB (3D View). Press S.

Rotation

Press X,Y or Z to restrict transformation to that axis. Press X,Y or Z twice to use LOCAL axis. Press Shift + X,Y or Z to restrict transform to other axis. Press Ctrl while moving mouse for discrete increments. Type the value of the transform. Press ESC or LMB to cancel. Press Enter or RMB to confirm.

Scale

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3.1.1 Basic transformations.

Examples:

Rotate an object 90 around its local X axis (the object has already a rotation).

Select object. Press R. Press X twice. Type 90. Press Enter.

Scale an object along its X and Y axis (Global).

Select object. Press S once. Press Shift + Z. Move mouse to achieve desired size. Hold Ctrl for discrete (0.1) increments. LMB to confirm.

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3.1.1 Basic transformations.

Transformations on object mode dont apply to mesh data.

If

you rotate your object 90.0, mesh vertex will have original non-rotated coordinates.

Press Ctrl+A to clear object transform and apply transform to mesh. Press Ctrl+[G,S,R] to clear object translation, scale or rotation.
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3.1.2 Object name.

Name all your objects so they will be easier to find and manage.
Select an object. Properties pannel search for Item. Set objects name.

You can also go to Properties window, Object tab. You can go to Outliner window to search for objects, make selections, show & hide...

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3.2 Edit mode.

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3.2 Edit mode.

Easiest way to enter/exit edit mode: TAB Key.

Vertex, edge and face select mode.

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3.2.0 Some Definitions.

Edge loop.
Path

of connected edges.
Selected face loop

Face loop.
Path

of connected quads.

Select them with Alt + RMB.

Selected edge loop
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3.2.1 Extrusion.

Select vertex, edge or face *1n+. Press E. Extruded elements will move along average normal (if any). Move and press LMB to confirm or RMB to cancel.

Face extrusion.

Edge extrusion.

(Multiple) vertex extrusion.

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3.2.2 Subdivision.

Select edge or face *1n+. Press W. Select Subdivide from W menu. Adjust number of cuts from Tools panel.
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3.2.3 Create face / edge.

Select multiple vertices / edges. Press F. Number of vertices selected:

From vertices

2 > Edge. 3, 4 > Face.

If there is any problem Blender will inform you. New face normal will follow direction of neighbour faces. W menu to flip selected face normals. Ctrl + N to recalculate selected face normals outside

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From edges

3.2.4 Razor & knife tools.

Razor allows you to cut along face loops.

In edit mode press Ctrl + R. Point with mouse to an edge from a face loop. Mouse wheel to select number of cuts. LMB to confirm, RMB to cancel.

Knife lets you cut edges with mouse.

Select faces / edges you want to cut. Hold K and draw cut path with LMB. One cut per edge.

Razor tool on a torus face loop (3 cuts).

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3.2.5 Proportional edition.

Apply a portion of transform to close elements (vertices, faces, objects) based on distance. On/off pressing O or using button on 3D View. Use mouse wheel to adjust radius while editing. Different types of falloff. Apply to rotation, scale and translation. In object or edit modes.

Adjust radius before confirming transform.

Enabled (L) vs Connected (R).

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3.2.6 Merge vertices & snap.

To merge selected vertices press Alt + M.

Select

from menu where to merge. Easy way to close cilinders.

Extrude final edge loop. Merge at center.

To snap press Shift + S.

Select

from menu where to snap. Use to snap vertices, objects, 3D cursor, etc.

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3.2.7 Join / split objects.

To join 2 or more objects.

Objects must be same type (e.g.: mesh). Press Ctrl + J. Resulting object keeps center and name

object before joining.

from active

To split an object.
In edit mode select part of the mesh. Press P and confirm. Selected elements form a separate object.
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3.3 Modifiers.

Modifiers make our life easier. Construct a new mesh from the base mesh. Modifier stack.

Each modifier gets as input the previous modifiers output. Apply a modifier to make resulting mesh real. Subsurf. Mirror. Curve. Array.

Most used modifiers:

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3.3 Modifiers.
Select an object. Properties window > Modifiers.

1. 2. 3. 1 4 6 8 4. 5. 2 3 5 7 9 6. 7. Modifier type. Expand / cotract modifier pannel. Modifiers instance name. Show modifier on render. Show modifier on 3D View. Show modifier while editing. Edit over modifiers result.

8.
9.

Move modifier in stack.

Remove modifier.
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An example of modifier stack. Mirror is applied first.

3.3.1 Subsurf.

Adds extra detail (and smoothness) to our mesh. Very common when modelling organic meshes. Use carefully. Its not allways a good solution.

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Subdivision levels. Up to down: 0, 1 and 34 2.

3.3.2 Mirror.

Used mainly as a modelling aid.

Model just half of an object. Usually final mesh isnt mirrored.

Mirror through objects center or other objects center. Mirror along each axis.

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3.3.3 Curve.

Deform object using a Bezier curve. Changes on curve will inmediately apply to mesh.

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3.3.4 Array.

Create N copies of an object applying a certain offset to each copy. Offset can be:
Relative to object dimensions. Global. Based on other object.

Array modifier applied to a single step.

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3.3.6 Modelling tips.

Always name your objects, materials, textures, etc.

Avoid modelling with triangles. Quads are easier to handle. Keep topology nice. Face & edge loops are great. Keep you mesh clean. Remove duplicated vertex using W menu and fix face normals using Ctrl + N. Keep your mesh simple. Let modifyers do their job.

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3.4 Materials & textures.

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3.4 Materials & textures.

Some definitions:

Materials define color, shininess, transparency & other objects visual properties. Materials can contain several textures. A texture modifies material properties over the object surface. An object can contain several materials.

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3.4.1 Materials.

Select an object. Properties window > Material.

Current object materials.

Material type.

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3.4.1 Materials.

To assing a material to an object.

Select an object and in material pannel:

Click ADD or Browse ID data to select from existing. Drag & drop Browse ID data button to an object in 3D View.

Visualization in 3D View:

Solid display shows material color and aproximate shininess. Textured display shows lit materials and resulting vertex colors.
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3.4.1 Materials.

Material types.
Surface. Wire.

Volume.
Halo.

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3.4.1 Materials.

Material parameters.

Diffuse.

Base color of material. Bright spots. Emit: object light. Ambient: response to ambient light. Shadeless: Activate for no lighting. Tangent shading: Brushed-metal-like bright spots. ZTransparency: Z-Buffer method (faster but worst). Raytrace: Allows IOR. Fresnel: Transparency based on surface normal. Reflectivity: Ammount of mirror. Fresnel: Reflexion ammount based on surface normal. Depth: Raytracing depth. Gloss: Lower for diffuse reflections. Traceable: Visible to raytracing.

Specular.

Shading.

Transparency.

Mirror.

Options.

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3.4.2 Textures.

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3.4.2.1 Texture types.

Each material can have any number of textures. A texture can be shared by several materials.
Main texture types:

Clouds: Noisy cloud-like procedural texture. Blend: Procedural color grading. Image / movie: Bitmap from file or memory. Voronoi: Cell-like procedural texture. Wood: Striped procedural texture.

Procedural textures represent by default values, not colors, and are 3D textures.
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3.4.2.2 Texture parameters.

Main texture parameters.

Mapping.

How to apply textures to objects. UV, Global, Object based (for decals) X/Y offset and size can be adjusted. What property from base material will be affected?

Influence.

Color: Influence to diffuse color. Normal: Change surface normals based on intensity. Specular: Change intensity, hardness, color Mirror & alpha: Change reflection index, transparency, etc.

RGB to intensity: For non-procedural textures convert color to intensity value [0,1].

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3.4.2.3 Texturing examples.

Influence.

Color (Red).

Normal.

Specular.

Alpha.

Mapping.

Global - Flat.
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Global Cube.

Global Tube.

UV Flat.
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3.4.2.4 UV Mapping.

UV Mapping is very important if we want total control of texturing.

UV Mapping is edited in the UV/Image editor window. Select an object, enter edit mode, select desired faces (usually all with A) and press U.
Select

type of mapping from menu.

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3.4.2.4 UV Mapping.

Click Image > open from UV editor window menu and select an image. In 3D View select textured display (Alt + Z). Now you can edit UV layout and see results in 3D model.

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3.5 Lighting.

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3.5 Lighting.

Lights (or lamps) are handled like any other object.

Can Can

be rotated & translated. be duplicated and erased. Can be son or parent of other object.

To add a lamp:
Add

menu (shift + A). Lamp. Select type.

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3.5.1 Light types.

Point. Emmits light in all directions. Soft & sharp shadows.

Sun. Emmits light in a single direction. Soft & sharp shadows. Sky & atmosphere rendering. Position independent. No falloff.

Hemi. Simulates light comming from sky. No shadows. No falloff.

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Spot. Emulates a lamp. Can have halo effect. Soft or sharp shadows.

Area. Emulates an area of light using discrete lights. Soft shadows.

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3.5.2 Light parameters.

1.
2. 3. 4. 5.

6.

Light type. Light color. Light energy. Emmit specular light. Emmit diffuse light. Soft shadows.
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3.5.3 Light tips.

Lights (or lamps) have no display when rendering.

Take advantage and place faint non specular lights to highlight dark areas on your scene. Placing an emmiting or shadeless mesh around lamp would block its light.

Uncheck traceable in mesh material.

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4. Basic animation.

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4.1 Timeline window.

In this window we can:

Playback

animation. Set current frame. Set start & end frame. Activate auto-keyframing.

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4.2 Automatic keyframing.

Keyframe.
A frame holding a set of properties for an object. Object properties are interpolated between frames.

Automatic keyframing creates a keyframe on the current frame when any transform is applied to an object (using 3D manipulator).
Keyframes can be added at will by pressing I.

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4.3 Graph editor.

Graph editor window allows us to view and edit animation curves. Each curve represents a property of an object. Edition is very similar to 3D View edition.
Here the Z location curve for a sphere object is shown. This curve can be translated and scaled over X and Y axes. Its vertices can also be manipulated, added, deleted, subdivided...

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5. Things left to talk.

Compositing. Sequence editor. Smoke & fluid simulation. Cloth & soft bodies. Sculpt mode. Texture baking. Armatures. Constraints. Particles & hair. External renders. Drivers & Non Linear Animation.

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The end.
Any question?