Wednesday, September 18, 2024

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:
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