premid coverage

8/9/2019 Premid Coverage

1/38

IT 602 PREMID EXAM

3D BlenderIntroduction to 3D BlenderThe user interface enables interaction between the user and the program. The usercommunicates with the program via the keyboard and mouse, while the programresponse is on the screen.

If you are new to Blender, you should get a grip of the user interface before you startmodeling. The concepts behind Blender's interface are specifically designed for agraphics modeling application and the vast array of features are different from andorganized differently than other 3D software packages. In particular, Windows usersmay need to get accustomed to an alternate manner that Blender handles controlssuch as button choices and mouse movements.

Blender's Interface ConceptThis difference is one of Blender's great strengths. Once you understand the Blendermethodology, you will find that you can work exceedingly quickly and productively.Some features are familiar, like the top menu bar of "File", "Add"..."Help". However,many other features are quite unheard of in most (if not all) other applications. Forexample:

y Blender windows cannot overlap and hide each other, one exception being asmall number of mini-floating panels which are transparent, fold-able, small,and dock-able.

y Blender relies heavily on keyboard shortcuts to speed up the work.y

Blender's interface is drawn entirely in OpenGL and every window can bepanned, zoomed in/out, and its content moved around.y Your screen can be organized exactly to your taste for each specialized task and

this organization can be named and memorized.

These key differences (and many others) make Blender a unique, powerful, and verynimble application, once you take the time to understand it.The interface can be broken down into several key areas: Windows, Contexts, Panels,and Buttons (controls). For example, The Button window contains Contextbuttonswhich show different groups ofPanels and the Panels each show groups ofButtons.These principal areas are discussed on the following pages.

The Blender interface can be a bit intimidating at first, but don't despair. We will

explore the power and flexibility of the Blender windowing system, and how to adapt itto suit your needs, one step at a time. First, we're going to talk about manipulating the3D Viewport and the Buttons Window.

The 3D Viewport's grid represents Blender Units (BU). A BU can be as large as youwould like it to be: an inch, a centimeter, a mile, or a cubit. Blender lets you decidethe scale.


2/38

Window HeadersThe active window is the window that will respond to what you type on the keyboardwhen you're using keyboard shortcuts. One, and only one, of the windows in Blender

will be active at all times.

Making another window active is simple: simply move the mouse over one of thewindows to make it active! Try changing the active window by moving your mouserapidly between the 3D Viewport and the Buttons Window now. You'll notice thatthe window's header lights up when it becomes active.


3/38

Changing the Window TypeThere are many window types other than the 3D View and the Buttons Window, andyou can easily switch any window to any other window type at any time.Resizing Window


4/38

Splitting Windows

Splitting a window on a vertical division will give you two windows side-by-sidevertically. Splitting on a horizontal division, as we have done, will give you twowindows stacked horizontally. While in step 3, to switch between vertical andhorizontal division, just use the TAB key. To exit without splitting a window, press theESC key.

Joining WindowsRejoining two splitwindows is just as easyas splitting them. We'llrejoin the window wejust split.

Joining to the leftmeans that the windowon the left will beerased, while joining tothe right means thatthe window on the rightwill be erased. Keepthis in mind whenjoining different windowtypes.

Note: If you right-clickona borderanditdoesn'tgive youtheoptionto join,itis becausethatborder

touches morethan 1 otherwindow. You'llhavetocoverthewindowyouwant removedusingadifferenthandle.


5/38

Showing the User Preferences Window

Configuring and Saving Your Preferences


6/38

Setting Up Auto Save

Adjusting The ThemeAs with other programs with a graphical user interface, Blender has a way to customizeor modify many aspects of the user interface itself. Each collection of customizations iscalled a theme. Clicking LMB on the "Themes" button will show a drop-down menu inthe top left of the user preferences window which can be used to select differentthemes. Below this are buttons labeled "Add" and "Delete" that can be used to(surprise!) add and remove themes. Note that the delete button does not appear forthe default theme. The other controls that appear in the user preferences window whilethe themes button is active are to adjust the parameters that are specific to thecurrent theme.

More Undo Levels


7/38

Emulating the NumpadBy default the Numpad keys control the 3D viewport, while the normal numeric keyschange the view layers. Emulating the Numpad, in effect, allows the user to control the3D viewport using the normal numeric keys on the keyboard. This replaces the defaultfunction of the keys, but does not affect the Numpad.


8/38

Saving Your Preferences

Keyboard and mouseThis chapter gives an overview of the general mouse and keyboard usage in Blender

and the conventions used in this Manual to describe them, as well as tips on how touse non-standard devices.Conventions in this ManualThis manual uses the following conventions to describe user input:

y The mouse buttons are called LMB (left mouse button), MMB (middle mousebutton) and RMB (right mouse button).

y If your mouse has a wheel, MMB refers to clicking the wheel as if it were abutton, while Wheel means rolling the wheel.

y Hotkey letters are shown in this manual like they appear on a keyboard; forexample G which refers to the lowercase ''g''. When used, the modifier Shift isspecified just as the other modifier keys, Ctrl and/or Alt ; this gives, forexample, CtrlW or ShiftAltA.

y 0 NumPad to 9 NumPad, + NumPad and so on refer to the keys on the separatenumeric keypad. NumLock should generally be switched on.y Other keys are referred to by their names, such as Esc, Tab, F1 to F12.

Of special note are the arrow keys, , and so on.

The Window SystemWhen you start Blender you should see this sequence of events:

y a console window appears


9/38

y shortly after, the main user interface window will display the default Blenderscene

y you may see a splash screen announcing the Blender version: it usuallydisappears as soon as you move your mouse so if you move the mouse at the

startup too quickly you may not notice the splash screen.Every window you see can be further broken down into separate areas below wedescribe the default scene.

The default sceneThe default Blender scene shows the screen you should get after starting Blender forthe first time.By default it is separated into three windows:

y The main menu at the top is the header part of the User Preferences windowy A large 3D window (3D Viewport window)y The Buttons Window (at the bottom)

As an introduction we will cover a few of the basic elements.

The main top menuCheck the image above for reference.

y Window Type: Allows you to change what kind of window it is. For example, if


10/38

you want to see the Outliner window you would click and select it.y Current Screen (default is Model): By default, Blender comes with several pre-

configured Screens for you to choose from. If you need custom ones, you cancreate and name them.

y Current Scene: Having multiple scenes present allows for you to break up yourwork into organized patterns.

Resource Information: Gives you information about application and systemresources. It tells you how much memory is being consumed based on thenumber of vertices, faces and objects in the selected scene. It is a nice visualcheck to see if you are pushing the limits of your machine.

3D Window ViewCheck the image above for reference.

y 3D Transform Manipulator: Is a visual aid in transforming objects. Objectscan also be transformed (grabbed/moved - rotated - scaled) using the keyboardshortcuts : (G/R/S); CtrlSpace will display the manipulator pop-up. Themanipulator visibility can also be toggled by clicking the "hand" icon on thetoolbar. The translation/rotation/scale manipulators can be displayed by clicking

each of the three icons to the right of the hand icon. ShiftLMB -clicking anicon will add/remove each manipulator's visibility.

y 3D Cursor: Can have multiple functions. For example, it represents where newobjects appear when they are first created; Or it can represent where the baseof a rotation will take place. Here isthe 3D Cursor isolated from the rest of the scene:

y Cube Mesh: By default, a new installation of Blender will alwaysstart with a Cube Mesh sitting in the center of Global 3D space. After a while,you will most likely want to change the "Default" settings; This is done byconfiguring Blender as you would want it on startup and then saving it as the"Default" using CtrlU (Save Default Settings).

y Light (of type Lamp): By default, a new installation of Blender will alwaysstart with a Light source positioned somewhere close to the center of Global 3Dspace.

y Camera: By default, a new installation of Blender will always start with aCamera positioned somewhere close to the center of Global 3D space and facingit.

y Currently selected object: This field shows the name of the currently selectedobject.

3D Window Header

y Viewport shading: Blender renders the 3D window using OpenGL. You canselect the type of interactive shading (called Draw Type: in the Blender shading


11/38

list) that takes place by clicking this button and selecting from a variety ofshading styles. You can select from boxes all the way to complex texturedshading. It is recommended that you have a powerful graphics card if you aregoing to use the textured style.

y Rotation/Scaling Pivot point: Allows you to select where rotation/scaling willoccur. For example, rotation could occur about the object's local origin or aboutthe 3D Cursor's position, amongst many others.

y Layers: Make modeling and animating easier. Blender Layers are provided tohelp distribute your objects into functional regions. For example, one layer maycontain a water object and another layer may contain trees, or one layer maycontain cameras and lights.

Buttons Window HeaderAll windows in Blender have a header. This is the header for the Buttons window.Check the image above for reference.

y Editing Panel Group: The bottom window displays panels and those panelsare grouped. This row of buttons (called Context Buttons) allows you to selectwhich group of panels is shown. Some buttons will display additional buttons(called Sub-Context Buttons) to the right for selection of sub-groups or groupswithin groups.

y Current frame: Blender is a modeling andanimation application; As such, youcan animate things based on the concept of frames. This field shows what thecurrent frame is.

Buttons Window Viewy Panels:Help group and organize related buttons and controls. Some panels are

visible or invisible depending on what type of object is selected.

Changing Window FramesMaximizing a windowYou can maximize a window to fill the whole screen with the View Maximize Windowmenu entry. To return to normal size, use the View Tile Window. A quicker way toachieve this is to use Shift Space, Ctrl or Ctrl to toggle between maximized andframed windows.

Splitting a windowIn the upper right hand corner of a window is the window splitter widget, and it lookslike a little ridged thumb grip. It both splits and combines window panes. When youhover over it, your cursor will change to a cross. Left-click and drag it to the left tosplit the pane vertically, or downward to split it horizontally. You can split a window

frame (thus creating a new, smaller window) by focusing the window you want to split(moving the mouse to its edge), clicking the vertical or horizontal border with MMB

or RMB , and selecting Split Area (The Splitmenu forcreatingnewwindows.).You can now set the new border's position by moving your mouse to the desired

position, and clicking with LMB ; or you can cancel your action by pressing Esc. A

click on MMB toggles between vertical and horizontal splitting. The new window willstart as a clone of the window you split. It can then be set to a different window type,or to display the scene from a different point of view (in the case of the 3D Window).


12/38

Joining two windowsIn order to merge two windows, they must be the same dimension in the direction youwish to merge. For example, if you want to combine two windows that are side-by-

side, they must be the same height. If the one on the left is not the same as the oneon the right, you will not be able to combine them horizontally. This is so that thecombined window space results in a rectangle. The same rule holds for joining twowindows that are stacked on top of one another; they must both have the same width.If the one above is split vertically, you must first merge those two, and then join thebottom one up to the upper one.

To merge the current window with the one to the right, hover your mouse cursor overthe window splitter (that little thumb grip in the upper right-hand corner of the windowpane). When your cursor changes to the cross, LMB click and drag to the right to beginthe process of combining the window with the one to the right. The window to the rightwill get a little darker, overlaid with an arrow pointing to the right. This indicates that

the left (current) window type will "take over" that darkened window pane space. Clickto make it happen. If you want the reverse to occur, move your mouse cursor backinto the original (left) window, and the original window will instead get the arrowoverlay; click and then the right window will take over the original window.

Similarly for combining with the window above; click the thumb grip and move yourmouse straight up into the window above, and click to activate.

You can join two windows into one by clicking a border between two windows with

MMB or RMB and choosing Join Areas. Then you'll be prompted to click on one ofthe two windows; the one you click will disappear, while the other will be expanded to

cover the full area of both windows. If you press Esc or RMB before clicking on one ofthe windows, the operation will be aborted.

Changing window sizeYou can resize windows by dragging their borders with LMB . Simply move yourmouse cursor until it changes to a double-headed arrow, and then click and drag.

Application FrameBlender allows the layout of various parts of its interface to be altered in terms of sizeand position of its window frames; However when using window frame actions such asminimizing and maximizing a window frame, all actions are constrained to the currentApplication Frame dimensions (also known as the Top Level Frame, WindowManager Frame or Frame 0), which is provided by the operating system and isplaced around the Blender application as a whole. For example if you currently have

your Application Frame only taking up half of your screen and want it to take up all ofyour screen you would need to click on the outer Application Frame controls formaximizing windows, rather than using one of the possible Blender key combinationssuch as Control. Using Control while over Frame 2 for example would only makeFrame 2 fill the entire space of the Application Frame, not the entire screen (unless theApplication Frame was already filling the entire screen). In the screenshot below theApplication Frame is indicated by Frame 0 and is light blue with the title Blender in thecenter of it; Be aware that the Application Frame can be different in style, color and


13/38

layout and may not be present at all, depending on both the operating system you arerunning Blender in and the settings used by Blender when it is executed.

Most of the time in this Manual the Application Frame is not shown to both save space

and prevent confusion as different operating systems can have different ApplicationFrame layouts.


14/38

The Window HeaderMost windows have a header (the strip with a lighter grey background containing iconbuttons). We will also refer to the header as the window ToolBar. If present, theheader may be at the top (as with the Buttons Window) or the bottom (as with the 3D

Window) of a window's area.

If you move the mouse over a window, its header changes to a lighter shade of grey.This means that it is "focused"; all hotkeys you press will now affect the contents ofthis window.

Hiding a headerThere are a few ways to hide a WindowHeader from a window:y You can hide a particular window's

header by moving your mouse over the

Window Header that you wish to hide;Then with the mouse cursor still over the

Window Header, click RMB to display apopup menu with the name Header; TheHeader popup menu has the options,Top, Bottom, No Header, select the NoHeader menu option to hide the WindowHeader.

y Another method of hiding a particular window's header is tomove your mouse over the dividing frame/border next to theWindowHeaderthat you wish to hide (which can be justabove or just below the WindowHeaderdepending on its

position), when the mouse cursor is positioned correctly it willdisplay as upward and downward pointing arrows.

When the upward and downward pointing arrows are displayed

RMB click; A popup menu will be displayed with the options SplitArea, Join Areas,No Header, select the No Header menu option to hide the WindowHeader.


15/38

Showing a headerOnce a Window Header has been hidden, to redisplay it,do the following:

y Move your mouse over the dividing frame/border of theWindow Header you wish to unhide (which can be justabove or just below the Window Header (that youpreviously hid) depending on its position), when themouse cursor is positioned correctly it will display asupward and downward pointing arrows;

yWhen the upward and downward pointing arrows aredisplayed click RMB or MMB ; a popup menu will bedisplayed with the options Split Area, Join Areas, AddHeader, select the Add Header menu option to add theWindow Header back to the window.

Header positionThe WindowHeadercan be displayed at the Top or Bottom of

the frame. To set a window header's position, RMB click onthe WindowHeaderand choose ToporBottom from theHeaderpopup menu.

Window type button

The icon at the left end of a header, with a click of the LMB ,allows selection of one of 16 different window types.

Menus and buttonsMost Window Headers, located immediately next to this first"Window Type" Menu button, exhibit a set of menus. Menusallow you to directly access many features and commands. Menus can be hidden andshown via the triangular button next to them.

All Menu entries show the relevant hotkey shortcut, if any.Menus and buttons change with WindowType and the selected object and mode. Theyshow only actions which can be performed.

The Console WindowThe ConsoleWindow is an operating system text window that displays messages aboutBlender operations, status, and internal errors. If Blender crashes on you, it is a goodidea to check the ConsoleWindow for clues.


16/38

Windows 2000/Xp/VistaWhen Blender is started on a Microsoft Windows OS; The ConsoleWindow is firstcreated as a separate window on the desktop; Then assuming the right conditions aremet, the main Blender Application window should also appear.

This screenshot shows the 2 windows on a Windows Vista OS:

The Blender Console Window and Blender Application.The Blender ConsoleWindowmay not be visible, some reasons for this are:

y The Blender Application window may be covering the Console Window. If this isthe case just use the Windows task bar to click on the Blender Console Windowicon, which should make the Blender Console Window visible.

y The Blender Console Window may be minimized/iconifed when Blender starts. Ifthis is the case again, just use the Windows task bar to click on the BlenderConsole Window icon, which should make the Blender Console Window visible.


17/38

Window typesThe Blenderinterface, the rectangular window provided by your operating system, isdivided up into many rectangular window frames. Each window frame may containdifferent types of information, depending upon the Windowtype.

Each window frame operates independently of the others, and you can have the sametype of window in many frames. For example, you may have several 3Dwindows openbut each looking at the scene from a different perspective. You can split and mergeand resize window frames to suit whatever you are working on. You can also arrangesome windowframes to show with or without a headerto save screen space.

Windowtypes are broken up by functionality:y Scripts window - user interface for running Python scripts that extend Blenderfunctionality.y File Browser - for storage and retrieval, especially of .blend filesy Image Browser - search your computer for images, seen as thumbnails.y Node Editor - process/enhance images and materials.y Buttons Window - panels that configure objects and set/select options.y Outliner - Helps you find and organize your objects.y User Preferences - customize Blender to your work style and computer.y Text Editor - keep notes and documentation about your project, and

write Python scripts.y Audio Window - see sound files and correlate them to framesy Timeline - Controls for animation playback.y Video Sequence Editor - assemble video sequences into a filmstrip.y UV/Image Editor - editing of the UVmaps; edit and paint pictures.y NLA Editor - manage non-linear animation action sequences.y Action Editor - combine individual actions into action sequences.y Ipo Curve Editor - manage animation keys and inter/extrapolation of these.y 3D View - graphical view of your scene.You can selectthe Windowtype by clickingthe window'sheaderleftmostbutton. A pop-up menudisplaysshowing theavailableWindowtypes;see (The

Windowtypeselection

menu).

The defaultBlenderscreenlayout at theside.


18/38

Three Window types are provided in Blender's default screen:

1. 3D ViewProvides a graphical view into the scene you are working on. You can view yourscene from any angle with a variety of options; seeDoc:Manual/3D_interaction/Navigating for details. Having several 3D Viewportson the same screen can be useful if you want to watch your changes fromdifferent angles at the same time.

2. Buttons WindowContains most tools for editing objects, surfaces, textures, Lights, and much more. Youwill need this window constantly if you don't know all hotkeys by heart (memory). Youmight indeed want more than one of these windows, each with a different set of tools.

3. UserPreferences (Main menu)This window is usually hidden, so that only the menu part is visible - seeFile_operations -> User preferences and Themes for details. It's rarely used though,since it contains global configuration settings that - once saved - don't need to bechanged that often. However, the header is frequently used because it provides theonly access to a full File menu and to theAddmenu.

ScreensBlender's flexibility with windows lets you createcustomized working environments for different tasks,such as modeling, animating, and scripting. It is oftenuseful to quickly switch between different environments

within the same file. For each Scene, you need to set thestage by modeling the props, dressing them andpainting them through materials, etc. In the examplepicture in Window system, we are in the modeling stage.To do each of these major creative steps, Blender has aset of pre-defined screens, or window layouts, that showyou the types of windows you need to get the job done quickly and efficiently:

1-Animation - Making actors and other objects move about.2-Model - Creating actors, props, and other objects.3-Material - Painting and texturing surfaces.4-Sequence - Editing scenes into a movie.5-Scripting - Documenting your work, and writing custom scripts.

Blender sorts these screen layouts for you automatically in alphabetical and/ornumerical order. The preset screen's names typically start with a number. The list isavailable via the SCRMenu Buttons in the UserPreferencesWindowheader shown in(ScreenandSceneselectors). To change to the next screen alphabetically press Ctrl;to change to the previous screen alphabetically, press Ctrl.


19/38

Screens Configuration

Adding a new ScreenAs you scroll through the Screen list, you will see that one of the options is to Add

New - namely, add a new window layout. Click ( ) and select ADD NEW. When youclick this, a new frame layout is created based on your current layout.

Deleting a Screen

You can delete a screen by using the Delete datablock button ( ) and confirm byclicking Delete current screen in the pop-up dialog box.

Rearranging a Screen

Use the window controls to move frame borders, split and consolidate windows. Whenyou have a layout that you like, CtrlU to update your User defaults. The buttons

window has a special option: If you RMB on its background, you can arrange thesepanels horizontally (across) or vertically (up and down).

Overriding DefaultsWhen you save a .blend file, the screen layouts are saved in it. When you open a file,the Load UI button on the file browser header controls whether Blender should use thefile's screen layouts, or stick with your current layouts. If Load UI is enabled, the file'sscreen layouts are used, overriding your defaults.

Additional LayoutsWith the dramatic increases in functionality, and as you get better at using Blender,

based on what you use Blender for, consider adding some other screen layouts (for acomplete workflow):

1-Model - 4 3D windows, Buttons window for Editing buttons2-Lighting - 3D windows for moving lights, UV/Image for displaying RenderResult, buttons window for rendering and lamp properties and controls.3-Material - Buttons window for Material settings, 3D window for selectingobjects, Outliner, Library script (if used)4-UV Layout - UV/Image Editor Window, 3D Window for seaming and unwrappingmesh5-Painting - UV/Image Editor for texture painting image, 3D window for paintingdirectly on object in UV Face Select mode, 3 mini-3D windows down the side thathave background reference pictures set to full strength, Buttons window

6-Animation - Ipo Window, 3D Window for posing armature, NLA Window7-Node - Big Node Editor Window for noodles, UV/Image window linked to RenderResult8-Sequence - Ipo Window, VSE window in Image Preview mode, VSE in timelinemode, a Timeline window, and the good old Buttons window.9-Notes/Scripting - Outliner, Text Editor (Scripts) window

Reuse your Layouts

If you create a new window layout and would like to use it for future


20/38

Configuration

The Info window ( ) is where you customize and control Blender. By default thiswindow is located at the top and only the header is visible.

To see all of the Info window and its content you need to drag it into view. You can dothis by moving the mouse onto the bottom edge of the Info header, or the top of the

3D window, and click the LMB and drag downwards. In picture:Info Visible, the Infowindow has been made visible at the top.

When viewing all of the Info window you can begin to customize Blender to fit yourpersonality or machine capabilities. For example, you may not like the default themeand switch to the Rounded theme. Or your machine may not be able to handle VertexArrays so you switch them off.

For an in depth look at the Info window read the reference section on Info window.There you will find all the details on configuring Blender.


21/38

y Logic (F4) - Switches to Logic context.y Script - No shortcut. Switches to Script context.y Shading (F5) - Switches to Shading context.

o Lamp - No shortcut.o Material - No shortcut.o Texture - Shortcut F6.o Radiosity - No shortcut.o World - Shortcut F8.

y Object (F7) - Switches to Object context.o Object - No shortcut.o Physics - No shortcut.

y Editing (F9) - Switches to Editing context.y Scene (F10) - Switches to Scene context.

o Rendering - No shortcut.o Anim/Playback - No shortcut.o Sound - No shortcut.

Once the Contexts are selected by the user, the sub-context is usually determined byBlender on the basis of the active Object. For example, with the Shading context, if aLamp Object is selected then the sub-context shows Lamp Buttons. If a Mesh or otherrenderable Object is selected, then Material Buttons is the active sub-context, and if aCamera is selected the active sub-context is World. The Buttons in each context aregrouped into Panels.

The menu of available options, shown in a window's header, may change depending onthe mode of that window. For example, in the 3D View window, the Object menu inObject mode changes to a Mesh operations menu in Edit mode, and a paint menu in

Vertex Paint mode.

MenusBlender contains many menus each of which is accessible fromeither the window headers or directly at the mouse's location usingHotKeys, see Toolbox.For example, you can access the Toolbox in the 3D window usingeither the mouse or the keyboard. From the keyboard you would use

the Space. To access it using the mouse just hold down the LMB or

RMB buttons for a few seconds and the Toolbox will pop-up. (TopLevel) is the top most menu of the Toolbox.

Some menus are context sensitive in that they are only availableunder certain situations. For example, the Booleans menu is only available in ObjectMode using the (W) hotkey. The same hotkey (W) in Edit Mode brings up the Specialsmenu.

While you are using Blender be aware of what mode and types of object are selected.This helps in knowing what hotkeys work at what times.


22/38

If you are using a Mac, because Blender doesn't use the standard OS X menu system,you likely have a redundant menubar at the top. To remove this see this post onMacworld, but beware that it is somewhat complex.

Shortcut KeysUniversalESC Stops Ongoing ProcedureSPACE Opens ToolboxTAB Toggles Edit/Object ModeCTRL-Z UndoCTRL-Y RedoALT-U Undo MenuCTRL-W Save FileF1 Open FileF2 Save FileF3 Save Rendered ImageF4 Logic Buttons

F5 Shading ButtonsF6 Texture ButtonsF7 Object ButtonsF8 World ButtonsF9 Editing ButtonsF10 Scene ButtonsF11 Show/Hide RenderingF12 Starts Rendering

NavigationHome All Layers DisplayedCKEY Centers View on 3D CursorZKEY Toggles Wire/Solid View

NUM. View SelectedNUM1 Front ViewNUM7 Top ViewNUM3 Side ViewNUM0 Camera ViewCTRL-NUM1 Back ViewCTRL-NUM7 Bottom ViewCTRL-NUM3 Other Side ViewCTRL-NUM4 Pan Display RightCTRL-NUM6 Pan Display LeftCTRL-NUM2 Pan Display UpCTRL-NUM8 Pan Display Down

NUM8 Orbit UpNUM2 Orbit DownNUM4 Orbit Counter-ClockwiseNUM6 Orbit ClockwiseMMB-SCROLL Zoom In/OutMMB-DRAG Orbit ViewNUM- Zoom OutNUM+ Zoom In

Modeling

IKEY Insert Keyframe

ALT-C Convert Menu

SHIFT-D Duplicate

NKEY Object Properties Panel

CTRL-J Join Objects

ALT-J Join Faces

PKEY Separate

MKEY Layer Menu

CTRL-P Parent

ALT-P Clears Parent

WKEY Specials Menu

XKEY Delete

Selecting - Transforms

AKEY Selects/Deselects All

BKEY Border/Box Select

BKEY-BKEY Circle Select

GKEY Grab Mode

GKEY-X or Y or Z Grab Constrain to X-Y-Z

ALT-G Object Set To 0 Location

RKEY Rotate Mode

RKEY-X or Y or Z Rotate Constrain to X-Y-Z

ALT-R Object Set To 0Rotation


23/38


24/38

Select Links - Select all objects sharing a link with the active one. You can selectobjects sharing an Ipo, data, material, or texture link, as shownSelections and the Active Object

y In Objectmode the last (de)selected item is called the Active Object and isoutlined in pink (the others are purple). There is exactly one active object atany time (even when nothing is selected!)

Many actions in Blender use the active object as a reference, for example theBoolean tools or linking operations. If you already have a selection and need to

make a different object the active one, simply re-select it with ShiftRMB .

y All other selected objects are just that, selected. You can select any number ofobjects.

Rectangular or Border SelectMode: Object modeHotkey: BMenu: Select Border SelectDescription

With Border Select you draw a rectangle while holding down LMB . Any object thatlies even partially within this rectangle becomes selected.

For deselecting objects, use either MMB or RMB .

Lasso SelectMode: Object mode

Hotkey: CtrlLMB

Menu: no entry in the menuDescriptionLasso select is used by drawing a dotted line around the pivot point of the objects, inObject mode.

UsageWhile holding Ctrl down, you simply have to draw around the pivot point of each object

you want to select with LMB .Lasso select adds to the previous selection.

For deselection, use Ctrl ShiftLMB

Menu SelectionThe selection methods described above are the most common. There are also manymore options accessible through the Select menu of the 3D view, or the Select optionof the SpaceBar menu.Each is more adapted to certain operations.

Select GroupedMode: Object modeHotkey: ShiftG


25/38

Menu: Select Grouped

DescriptionThere are two

ways to organizethe objects inrelation to oneanother. The firstone is parenting,and the second issimple grouping.We can use theserelationships toour advantage byselectingmembers of respective families or groups.

OptionsSelect Grouped in Object mode uses the active object as a basis to select all others.

Available options are:Children - Selects all children of the active object recursively.Immediate Children - Selects all direct children of the active object.Parent - Selects the parent of this object if it has one.Siblings (Shared Parents) - Select objects that have the same parent as theactive object. This can also be used to select all root level objects (objects with noparents).Objects ofSame Type - Select objects that are the same type as the active one.Objects on Shared Layers - Objects that have at least 1 shared layer.

Objects in Same Group - Objects that are part of a group (rendered green withthe default theme) will be selected if they are in one of the groups that the activeobject is in.Object Hooks - Every hook that belongs to the active object.

Select linkedMode: Object modeHotkey: ShiftLMenu: Select Linked

Description

Selects all objects which share acommon datablock with theactive object.

OptionsSelect Linked in Object modeuses the active object as a basis to select all others.Available options are:


26/38

Object Ipo - Selects every object that is linked to the same Ipo datablock of theObject type. Any other type like Constraint, Pose, , wont work.ObData - Selects every object that is linked to the same ObData, i.e. the datablockthat specifies the type (mesh, curve, etc.) and the built (constitutive elements like

vertices, control vertices, and where they are in space) of the object.Material - Selects every object that linked to the same material datablock.Texture - Selects every object that linked to the same texture datablock.

Select All by TypeMode: Object modeHotkey: NoneMenu: Select Select All by Type

DescriptionThe types are Mesh, Curve, Surface,

Meta, Armature, Lattice, Text, Empty,Camera, Lamp.

With this tool it becomes possible toselect every visible object of a certaintype in one go.

OptionsSelect All by Type in Object mode offersan option for every type of object thatcan be described by the ObDatadatablock. Just take your pick.

Select All by LayerMode: Object modeHotkey: NoneMenu: Select Select All by Layer

DescriptionLayers are another means toregroup your objects to suit yourpurpose.This option allows the selectionof every single object thatbelongs to a given layer, visible

or not, in one single command.This selection is added toanything that was alreadyselected at that moment.

Options

We have the option of selecting the objects of one single layer at a time by LMB -clicking on its number. This has to be repeated for each new layer.


27/38

Selection ofObjects:Rather than using the Select All by Layer option, itmight be more efficient to make the needed layers visible and use A on

them. This method also allows objects to be deselected.

Other Menu OptionsAvailable options on the first level of the menuare:Random - Randomly selects unselected objectsbased on percentage probability on currentlyactive layers. On selecting the command anumerical selection box is displayed for the userto select the percentage chance that an objectwill be selected.

Its important to note that the percentage

represents the likelihood of an unselected objectbeing selected and not the percentage amount ofobjects that will be selected.

Inverse (CtrlI) - Selects all objects that were not selected while deselecting all thosewhich were.Select/Deselect All (A) - If anything was selected it is first deselected. Otherwise ittoggles between selecting and deselecting every visible object.Border Select (B) - As described above in the section on border select.

Moving (translating) objects

There are two ways to move or translate an object: moving it by itself, or moving itrelative to something else.

1. Moving Object(s) IndividuallyMode: Object modeHotkey: G or Gesture

Menu: Object Transform Grab/Move (or Grab/Move on Axis for constraints)

2. Moving/Translating Object(s) by Changing AttributesMode: Object modeHotkey: CtrlCMenu: Object Copy Attributes (select a set)

Rotating objectsMode: Object modeHotkey: Ror GesturesMenu: Object Transform Rotate / Rotate on AxisThere are two ways of changing an objects rotation; individually, and by copying therotation attribute from another object as described above.Description

Change the rotation by moving the mouse and confirming with LMB or Enter. You


28/38

can cancel with RMB or Esc.

Rotation in 3D space occurs around an axis, and there are several ways to define thisaxis. But in general an axis is defined by a direction line and a point that the line

passes through. By default the axis is orthogonal to your screen (i.e. it is going into orout of your screen). If you are viewing the scene from the front, side, or top 3D viewwindows, the rotation axis will be parallel to one of the global coordinate system axes.If you are viewing the scene from an angle, the rotation axis is angled too, which caneasily lead to a very odd rotation of your object. In this case, you may want to keepthe rotation axis parallel to the coordinate system axes.

As you rotate the object the angle of rotation is displayed in the 3Dwindow header (Rotationinheader).

Scaling objectsMode: Object modeHotkey: S or GestureMenu: Mesh Transform Scale

Description

Scale the objects by moving the mouse and confirming with LMB or Enter, and

cancel with RMB or Esc.

Scaling in 3D space occurs around a center point; much like a rotation occurs around apivot point. If you increase the size of the object, all points are moved away from theselected center point; if you decrease it, all points move towards this point.

Skinning and Cloning ObjectsAt the very top of the Link and Materials panel, youwill find two fields, one in light pink and another rightnext to it in gray. The field in gray starts with OB:and is the name of the object itself. It has to beunique within the .blend file across all scenes. Thefield name on the left starts with a two-letterabbreviation indicating what type of object it is, andthe name of its skin, or physical appearance:

y ME: is the physical mesh, made up of vertices.y CU: is a curve, surface, or text object, made up of control points.y MB: is a metaball, whose skin is represented as a mathematical function.

Any of these skins can be shared by objects. Imagine a scene with 50 cats, someskinny, some fat. You would have two meshes, ME:Cat.Skinny and ME:Cat.Fat. Youwould create 50 OB:Cat.001, OB:Cat.002, , OB:Cat.050, and assign 20 of theOBjects to be fat cats, and the rest skinny.

Modeling MeshesEdit Mode


29/38

How to enter Edit modeYou can work with geometric objects in two modes.

1. Object modeOperations in Object mode affect whole object.

Object mode has the following header in the 3D view:

2. Edit modeOperations in Edit mode affect only the geometry of an object, but not globalproperties such as location or rotation.Edit mode has the following header in the 3D view:

You switch between these two modes with the Tab key or by selecting the desiredMode in the menu in the 3d view header.

After creating an object you may be immediately placed in Edit mode depending onwhether the Switch to Edit Mode button is toggled, in the User Preferences window,Edit Methods tab, Add new objects:group. Edit mode only applies to oneobject at a time, the active, or mostrecently selected, object.

VisualizationIn Edit mode, each unselected vertex is

drawn in purple, each edge is drawn inblack and each face is drawn intranslucent dark-blue. Each selectedvertex or edge is highlighted in yellow. Inthe image (Onecubeselected) the cubeon the right is in Edit mode. The cube onthe left is in Object mode andnotselected.

Two cubes selected prior to Edit mode.When Edit mode is chosen with multipleobjects selected only the most recently

selected or active object) enters Editmode. The other objects remain purpleand in Object mode. As shown in theimage (TwocubesselectedpriortoEditmode), both cubes were selected prior toEdit mode and now the left cube is still purple and only the right cube (the active one)is in Edit mode.


30/38


31/38

Mesh Undo operations are only stored for one mesh at a time. You can leave and re-enter Edit mode for the same mesh without losing any undo information, but onceanother mesh is edited, the undo information for the first is lost. Pressing Ctrl + Y (orCtrl + Shift +Z) re-does the last undo operation (UndoandRedo).

Editmode Undo History menu.Pressing Alt + U brings up the Editmode Undo Historymenu, see image (EditmodeUndo History menu). Thislists all the undo steps by name so you can quickly findyour way back to a known good point in your work.The undo menu do not have an option to reload themesh data as it was at the beginning of your editsession, but you can achieve the same effect byreturning in Object mode ( Tab), hit Alt U to showthe Global Undo History menu, and select the step just

before the edit session you want to undo.

Vertices, Edges and FacesIn basic meshes, everything is built from three basicstructures: Vertices, Edges and Faces (were nottalking about curves, NURBS, and so forth here). Butthere is no need to be disappointed: this simplicity stillprovides us with a wealth of possibilities that will bethe foundation for all our models.

VerticesA vertex is primarily a single point or position in 3Dspace. It is usually invisible in rendering and in Objectmode. Dont mistake the centre point of an object for avertex. It looks similar, but its bigger and you cantselect it. (Vertexexample) shows the centre pointlabelled as A. B and C are vertices.

To create a new vertex, change to Edit mode, and click

CtrlLMB . Of course, as a computer screen is two-dimensional, Blender cant determine all three vertex coordinates from one mouseclick, so the new vertex is placed at the depth of the 3D cursor into the screen. Anyvertices selected previously are automatically connected to the new one with an edge.Vertex labelled C is a new vertex added to the cube with a new edge (B to C).

EdgesAn edge always connects two vertices with a straight line. The edges are the wiresyou see when you look at a mesh in wireframe view. They are usually invisible on therendered image. They are used to construct faces. Create an edge by selecting twovertices and pressing F.

FacesA face is the highest level structure in a mesh. Faces are used to build the actual


32/38

surface of the object. They are what you see when you render the mesh. A face isdefined as the area between either three (triangles) or four (quadrangles) vertices,with an edge on every side. Triangles always work well, because they are always flatand easy to calculate.

Take care when using four-sided faces(quads), because internally they are simplydivided into two triangles each. Four-sidedfaces only work well if the face is prettymuch flat (all points lie within oneimaginary plane) and convex (the angle atno corner is greater than or equal to 180degrees). This is the case with the faces ofa cube, for example. Thats why you cantsee any diagonal in its wireframe model, because they would divide each square faceinto two triangles.

While you could build a cube with triangular faces, it would just look more confusing inEdit mode. An area between three or four vertices, outlined by edges, doesnt have tobe a face. If this area does not contain a face, it will simply be transparent or non-existent in the rendered image. To create a face, select three or four suitable verticesand press F.

Edge Loops and Face LoopsEdge and Face Loops are sets of faces or edges that form continuous loops as shownin (EdgeandFace Loops). The top row (1-4) shows a solid view, the bottom row (5-8)

a wireframe view of the same loops.

Note that loops 2 and 4 do not go around the whole model. Loops stop at so calledpoles because there is no unique way to continue a loop from a pole. Poles are verticesthat are connected to either three or five or more edges. Accordingly, verticesconnected to exactly one, two or four edges are not poles.

Loops that do not end in poles are cyclic (1 and 3). They start and end at the samevertex and divide the model into two partitions. Loops can be a quick and powerful toolto work with specific, continuous regions of a mesh and are a prerequisite for organiccharacter animation. For a detailed description ofhow to work with loops in Blender, please refer

to the Manual page on Edge and Face Tools.

Edge LoopsLoops 1 and 2 in (EdgeandFace Loops) areedge Loops. They connect vertices so that eachone on the loop has exactly two neighbours thatare not on the loop and placed on both sides ofthe loop (except the start and end vertex in case


33/38

of poles).

Edge Loops in organic modeling.Edge Loops are an important concept especially in organic (subsurface) modeling and

character animation. When used correctly, they allow you to build models withrelatively few vertices that look very natural when used as subdivision surfaces anddeform very well in animation.

Take (Edge Loopsinorganicmodeling) as an example: the edge loops follow thenatural contours and deformation lines of the skin and the underlying muscles and aremore dense in areas that deform more when the character moves, for example at theshoulders or knees.

Face LoopsThese are a logical extension of Edge Loops in that they consist of the faces betweentwo Edge Loops, as shown in loops 3 and 4 in (EdgeandFace Loops). Note that for

non-circular loops (4) the faces containing the poles are not included in a Face Loop.

BASIC MESH MODELLINGExtrudeMode: Edit Mode Editing context F9Panel: Mesh Tools ExtrudeHotkey: EOne tool of paramount importance for working with meshes is the Extrude command(E). This command allows you to create parallelepiped from rectangles and cylindersfrom circles, as well as easily create such things as tree limbs. Although the process is

quite intuitive, the principles behind Extrude are fairly elaborate as discussed below.y First, the algorithm determines the outside edge-loop of the extrude; that is,

which among the selected edges will be changed into faces. By default, thealgorithm considers edges belonging to two or more selected faces as internal,and hence not part of the loop.

y The edges in the edge-loop are then changed into faces.y If the edges in the edge-loop belong to only one face in the complete mesh,

then all of the selected faces are duplicated and linked to the newly createdfaces. For example, rectangles will result in parallelepipeds during this stage.

y In other cases, the selected faces are linked to the newly created faces but notduplicated. This prevents undesired faces from being retained inside theresulting mesh. This distinction is extremely important since it ensures the

construction of consistently coherent, closed volumes at all times when usingExtrude.y Edges not belonging to selected faces, which form an open edge-loop, are

duplicated and a new face is created between the new edge and the originalone.

y Single selected vertices which do not belong to selected edges are duplicatedand a new edge is created between the two.


34/38

Grab mode is automatically started when the extrude algorithm terminates, so newlycreated faces, edges, and vertices can be moved around with the mouse. Extrude isone of the most frequently used modeling tools in Blender. Its simple, straightforward,and easy to use, yet very powerful. The following short lesson describes how to build a

sword using Extrude.

MirrorMode: Edit or Object modesHotkey: M in Edit mode; CtrlM in Object modeMenu: Mesh/Curve/Surface/Object Mirror Axis corresponding to the wantedtransformation orientationThe mirror tool is the exact equivalent of scaling by -1 to flip Objects, Vertices, Edges,Faces around one chosen pivot point and in the direction of one chosen axis, only it isfaster/handier.Lets see this in detail.

Spin and SpinDupSpin and Spin Dup are two very powerful modeling tools allowing you to easily createbodies of revolution or axially periodic structures.

SpinMode: Edit mode Editing context F9Panel: Mesh Tools Spin

Spin DuplicateMode: Edit mode Editing context F9Panel: Mesh Tools Spin Dup

Hour mark indicated by the arrow.The Spin Dup tool is a great way to quickly make a series of copies of an object alonga circle. For example, you have modeled a clock, and you now want to add hourmarks. Model just one mark, in the 12 oclock position (Hour markindicatedbythearrow). Select the mark and switch to the Editing context with F9.

ScrewMode: Edit mode Editing context F9Panel: Mesh Tools Screw

The Screw tool combines a repetitive Spin with a translation, to generate a screw-like,or spiral-shaped, object. Use this tool to create screws, springs, or shell-shapedstructures.

Warp ToolMode: Edit mode Editing context F9Panel: Mesh Tools WarpHotkey: ShiftW


35/38

The Warp tool is a little-known tool in Blender, partly because it is not found in theEditing context of the Buttons window, and partly because it is only useful in veryspecific cases. At any rate, it is not something that the average Blender-user needs touse every day.

To SphereMode: Edit mode Editing context F9Panel: Mesh Tools To SphereHotkey: Ctrl ShiftSAnother of the lesser known tools is To Sphere (Ctrl ShiftS). This command allows thecreation of spheres from subdivided cubes.

CURVESCurves and Surfaces are objects just as meshes are objects except they are expressedin terms of mathematical functions, rather than as series of points.Blender implements both Bzier curves and Non Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS)

curves and surfaces. Both are defined in terms of a set of control vertices whichdefine a control polygon, though each follow a different set of mathematical laws.The way the curve and the surface are interpolated might seem similar, at first glance,to Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces. The curve is interpolatedwhile the surface isattracted.

When compared to meshes, curves and surfaces have both advantages anddisadvantages. Because curves are defined by less data, they produce nice resultsusing less memory at modelling time, whereas the demands increase at renderingtime.

BziersBzier curves are the most commonlyused curve for designing letters or logos.They are also widely used in animation,both as paths for objects to move alongand as IPO curves to change theproperties of objects as a function of time.

There are three panels designed to assist in working with and modifying curves: Curveand Surface, Curve Tools and Curve Tools1. Each panel has buttons that change thecharacteristics of curves.

(Curveexample) is the most basic curve you can create. It consists of two controlpoints or vertices, labelled C, the curve B, handles H and an object centre O.

Selecting the control point also selects the handles, and allows you to move thecomplete vertex. Selecting one or more handles allows you to change the shape of thecurve by dragging the handles.

To create a curve use the toolboxs Add Curve Bezier Curve menu entry to add anew curve, (Curveexample). By default the new curve exists only in 2D. For example,if you created the curve in the Top view, the shape of the curve can only be change in


36/38

the XY Plane. You can apply transforms to the curve but you cant change its shape in3D.

To work with the curve in 3D you need to turn

on the 3D property of the curve using the 3Dbutton in the Curve and Surface panel. Youcan visually see that a curve is in 3D bynoticing the curve has railroadtracks ormarks. (3DCurve-aPath) is a 3D curve and(Curveexample) is a 2D curve.

A handle is always tangent to the curve. The steepness of the curve is controlled bythe handles length, any H to a C. The longer a handle is the steeper the curve (i.e.the more curve wants to hug the handle).

There are four types of handles (TypesofHandlesforBziercurves):y

Free Handle (black). The handles are independent of each other. To convertto Free handles use H. H also toggles between Free and Aligned.

y Aligned Handle (purple). These handles always lie in a straight line. Hotkey:H (toggles between Free and Aligned).

y Vector Handle (green). Both parts of a handle always point to the previoushandle or the next handle. Hotkey: V.

y Auto Handle (yellow). This handle has a completely automatic length anddirection, set by Blender to ensure the smoothest result. Hotkey: ShiftH.


37/38

Types of Handles for Bzier curves.Handles can be grabbed, rotatedand scaledexactly as ordinary vertices in a meshwould. As soon as the handles are moved, the handle type is modified automatically:

y Auto Handles becomes Aligned;y Vector Handles becomes Free.

NURBSNURBS curves are defined as rational polynomials and are more general, strictlyspeaking, than conventional B-Splines and Bzier curves inasmuch as they are able toexactly follow any contour. For example a Bzier circle is a polynomial approximationof a circle, and this approximation is noticeable, whereas a NURBS circle is exactlyacircle.

NURBS curves require a little bit more understanding of the underlying components

that make up a NURBS curve in order to get full use of them. They have a large set of

variables, which allow you to create mathematically pure forms. However, working


38/38

with them requires a little more discussion on the various parts of a NURBS curve.

premid coverage

Documents