Post 1/30: VFX tutorial for Blender - Blender Interface & Basic Navigation

 

Goal:

Familiarize yourself with Blender’s interface and create a basic 3D shape with basic lighting.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Download & Install Blender

• Go to Blender’s official website and download the latest version.
• Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Step 2: Open Blender

• Launch Blender after installation. You’ll be greeted with the default layout.

Step 3: Understand the Blender Interface

• Top Bar: This is where you'll find common operations like File (to open or save files), Edit, and View.
• Viewport: The large center window where your 3D objects will be displayed and manipulated.
• Outliner (Top Right): This lists all objects in your scene.
• Properties Panel (Bottom Right): This contains settings for materials, textures, modifiers, rendering, and more.
• Timeline (Bottom): Useful for animations, though we won’t need it on Day 1.

Step 4: Basic Viewport Navigation

• Zoom In/Out: Use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out of your scene.
• Rotate View: Click and hold the middle mouse button while moving the mouse to rotate your view around the scene.
• Pan View: Hold Shift + middle mouse button to pan the view around.

Step 5: Select and Move Objects

• Select an Object: Left-click on the default cube in the viewport. You’ll see an orange outline indicating it’s selected.
• Move the Object: Press G (Grab) to move the object. You can lock the movement to specific axes:
• G + X to move on the X-axis.
• G + Y to move on the Y-axis.
• G + Z to move on the Z-axis.
• Left-click to confirm the movement, or right-click to cancel.

Step 6: Rotate and Scale Objects

• Rotate: Press R to rotate the object.
• R + X, R + Y, or R + Z to rotate on a specific axis.
• Left-click to confirm the rotation.
• Scale: Press S to scale the object.
• S + X, S + Y, or S + Z to scale along a specific axis.

Step 7: Add a New Object

• Delete the Default Cube: Select the cube and press X, then confirm deletion.
• Add a New Object: Press Shift + A to bring up the Add Menu.
• Go to Mesh and select a new shape (e.g., UV Sphere or Cylinder).
• The new object will appear at the center of the scene.

Step 8: Basic Lighting

• Default Light: In Blender, there is usually a default light already in the scene (you can see it in the Outliner).
• Select the light by clicking on it in the viewport or Outliner.
• Press G to move the light around, positioning it where you want.

Step 9: Camera Setup

• Select the Camera: In the Outliner, select the Camera object.
• Press Numpad 0 to switch to the camera view.
• To adjust the camera's position, press G to move it and R to rotate it.

Step 10: Render a Simple Image

• Rendering Setup:
• Press F12 to render your scene. This will create an image of what the camera is viewing.
• Once the render is complete, save the image by going to the top menu: Image > Save As and choose your file format (e.g., PNG).

Step 11: Save Your Project

• Go to File > Save As and save your project with a name like "Day1_Project.blend".

Source:
ChatGPT