Eduard Martorell
WGM #13
04/03/2011
Interface,
Modelling &
Animation Basics
Index


1. Introduction.
2. Interface.






3. Modelling.







Object mode.
Edit mode.
Modifiers.
Materials & textures.
Lighting.
Modelling tips.
4. Basic animation.




Window layout.
Input fields.
Window types.
3D View navigation.
Other considerations.
Timeline window.
Automatic keyframing.
Graph editor.
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
Blender’s 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


Ctrl + Up/Down arrow.

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Save as default.


Hold Shift and split.


Many saved layouts.
Split
Create new window.

Layout configurations.

Split / merge windows.
Merge


Ctrl + U.
Scene data is also saved.
Restore to factory.

File > Load factory settings.
Maximize / minimize
window.
6
2.2 Input fields.

Input fields:

Numeric A:



Click on side arrows to increase/decrease one by one.
Click and select from list or start typing to filter results.
Shared data:






Numeric B
Reference fields:


Click on the center and type value.
Click and drag horizontally to change value.
Numeric B:


Numeric A
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.
Reference fields
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’).

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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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3
4
5
6
7
8
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2.3.1 3D View.

Set a background image:








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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.
Tabs can vary depending on the type of object selected.

Ligts, camera, mesh ,etc.
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2.4 3D View navigation.

Orbit:








Shift + C: Show whole scene in 3D View and
center 3D cursor to origin.

. (Numpad): Align view to selected object.
Shift + Mouse middle button.
Ctrl + [4,2,6,8].

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.
Point of view:







Mouse wheel.
Ctrl + Mouse middle button.
+,- (Numpad).
Pan*:

Ctrl + . (Numpad): Center view to 3D
Cursor.
Middle mouse button.
4,2,6,8 (Numpad).
Zoom* in / out:



7: Top view.
1: Front view.
3: Side view.
5: Perspective / orthographic.
Ctrl + [7,1,3]: Opposite view.
0: Switch to active camera 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 won’t ask you to save your work before
closing, it just closes.
 Always
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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
Parent relation
Unselected object
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3.1 Object mode.

Add objects:



Select objects:



X.*
Supr.*
Duplicate:



RMB.*
Hold shift for multiple selection.*
Delete objects:



Shift + A.*
Menu > Add.*
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.

Translation



Rotation




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.

Transform restrictions.
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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Draw a ‘V’ with LMB (3D View).
Press ‘S’.
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3.1.1 Basic transformations.

Examples:

Rotate an object 90º around it’s 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).






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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 don’t apply to
mesh data.
 If
you rotate your object 90.0º, 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 object’s 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

Face loop.
 Path

of connected edges.
Selected face loop
of connected quads.
Select them with Alt +
RMB.
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Selected edge loop
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3.2.1 Extrusion.




Select vertex, edge or face
[1…n].
Press ‘E’.
Extruded elements will
move along average
normal (if any).
Move and press LMB to
confirm or RMB to
cancel.
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Face
extrusion.
Edge
extrusion.
(Multiple)
vertex
extrusion.
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3.2.2 Subdivision.




Select edge or face
[1…n].
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:





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

2 > Edge.
3, 4 > Face.
From vertices

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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.
Razor tool on a torus face loop (3 cuts).
Select faces / edges you want to
cut.
 Hold ‘K’ and draw cut path with
LMB.
 One cut per edge.

Knife tool on a torus.
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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 modifier’s output.
Apply a modifier to make resulting mesh “real”.
Most used modifiers:




Subsurf.
Mirror.
Curve.
Array.
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3.3 Modifiers.
Select an object.
 Properties window > Modifiers.

4
1
6
5
2
8
7
9
3
An example of modifier stack. Mirror is
applied first.
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1.
Modifier type.
2.
Expand / cotract modifier pannel.
3.
Modifier’s instance name.
4.
Show modifier on render.
5.
Show modifier on 3D View.
6.
Show modifier while editing.
7.
Edit over modifier’s result.
8.
Move modifier in stack.
9.
Remove modifier.
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3.3.1 Subsurf.



Adds extra detail (and
smoothness) to our mesh.
Very common when
modelling organic
meshes.
Use carefully. It’s 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 isn’t mirrored.
Mirror through object’s center or other object’s 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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Array offset defined by an empty object.
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 object’s
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:


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“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.


Specular.







ZTransparency: Z-Buffer method (faster but worst).
Raytrace: Allows IOR.
Fresnel: Transparency based on surface normal.
Mirror.





Emit: object “light”.
Ambient: response to ambient light.
Shadeless: Activate for no lighting.
Tangent shading: Brushed-metal-like bright spots.
Transparency.


Bright spots.
Shading.


Base color of material.
Reflectivity: Ammount of mirror.
Fresnel: Reflexion ammount based on surface normal.
Depth: Raytracing depth.
Gloss: Lower for diffuse reflections.
Options.

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Traceable: Visible to raytracing.
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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.
Influence.

What property from base material will be affected?





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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.
Global - Flat.
Global – Cube.
Global – Tube.
UV – Flat.
Mapping.
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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
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type of mapping from menu.
49
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
 Can

be rotated & translated.
be duplicated and erased.
be “son” or parent of other object.
To add a lamp:
 Add menu
 Lamp.
 Select
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(shift + A).
type.
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3.5.1 Light types.
Point. Emmits light in all
directions. “Soft” & “sharp”
shadows.
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Sun. Emmits light in a single
direction. “Soft” & “sharp” shadows.
Sky & atmosphere rendering. Position
independent. No falloff.
Spot. Emulates a lamp. Can
have halo effect. “Soft” or
“sharp” shadows.
Hemi. Simulates light
comming from sky. No
shadows. No falloff.
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?