Learning Blender
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Table of Contents

Preface    xxiii

Acknowledgments    xxix

About the Author    xxxi

Learning Blender Ancillaries    xxxiii

 

Part I: The Basics of Blender    1

Chapter 1: What You Need to Know about Blender    3

What Is Blender?   3

Commercial Software versus Open-Source Software   4

The History of Blender   5

The Blender Foundation and the Blender Institute   7

The Blender Community   9

Summary   9

Exercises   10

 

Chapter 2: Blender Basics: The User Interface    11

Downloading and Installing Blender   11

Blender User Interface   12

Understanding the 3D View   13

Navigating the 3D View   17

Managing Areas 19

Editor Types   20

Selecting Objects   23

Using the 3D Cursor   24

Blender User Preferences   26

Summary   28

Exercises   28

 

Chapter 3: Your First Scene in Blender    29

Creating Objects   29

Moving, Rotating, and Scaling   30

Naming Objects and Datablocks   33

Interaction Modes   36

Applying Flat or Smooth Surfaces   37

Modifiers   38

Blender Render and Cycles   41

Materials   42

Turning on the Lights   44

Moving the Camera in Your Scene  45

Rendering   46

Summary   48

Exercises   48

 

Part II: Beginning a Project    49

Chapters 4: Project Overview    51

The Three Stages of a Project   51

Defining the Stages   53

A Character-Creation Plan   55

Summary   56

Exercises   56

 

Chapter 5: Character Design    57

Character Description   57

Designing the Character   60

Adding Color   66

Final Design   67

Character Reference Images   68

Other Design Methods  69

Summary   70

Exercises   70

 

Part III: Modeling in Blender    71

Chapter 6: Blender Modeling Tools    73

Working with Vertices, Edges, and Faces   73

Selecting Vertices, Edges, and Faces   74

Accessing Modeling Tools   74

Selections   75

Mesh Modeling Tools   78

LoopTools   94

Tips and Tricks   95

Summary   96

Exercises   96

 

Chapter 7: Character Modeling    97

What Is Mesh Topology?   97

Modeling Methods   99

Setting Up the Reference Planes   101

Modeling the Eyes   103

Modeling the Face   107

Modeling the Torso and Arms   116

Modeling the Legs   125

Modeling the Boots   127

Modeling the Hands   129

Modeling the Cap   133

Modeling the Hair   136

Modeling the Final Details   140

Summary   144

Exercises   144

 

Part IV: Unwrapping, Painting, and Shading    145

Chapter 8: Unwrapping and UVs in Blender    147

How Unwrapping and UVs Work   147

Unwrapping in Blender   148

Things to Consider before Unwrapping   155

Working with UVs in Blender  156

Unwrapping the Rest of the Character   162

Packing UVs   163

Summary  165

Exercises   166

 

Chapter 9: Painting Textures    167

Main Workflow   167

Painting in Blender   167

Creating the Base Texture   170

Texturing in 2D Image Editing Software  172

Seeing the Painted Character in Blender   176

Summary   177

Exercises   178

 

Chapter 10: Materials and Shaders    179

Understanding Materials   179

Shading Your Character with Blender Render   183

Shading Your Character with Cycles   197

Summary   205

Exercises   205

 

Part V: Bringing Your Character to Life    207

Chapter 11: Character Rigging   209

Understanding the Rigging Process   209

Working with Armatures   210

Rigging Your Character   215

Rig Organization   225

Skinning  228

Creating the Facial Rig  235

Creating Custom Shapes   241

Applying Final Touches to the Rig   242

Summary  243

Exercises   244

 

Chapter 12: Animating Your Character    245

Inserting Keyframes   245

Animation Editors  246

Animating a Walk Cycle   251

Summary   257

Exercises   257

 

Part VI: Getting the Final Result   259

Chapter 13: Camera Tracking in Blender   261

Understanding Camera Tracking   261

Things to Consider before Filming   262

The Movie Clip Editor   263

Tracking the Camera   264

Testing Camera Tracking   270

Summary   271

Exercises   271

 

Chapter 14: Lighting, Compositing, and Rendering    273

Lighting Your Scene   273

The Node Editor   275

Compositing Your Scene in Blender Render   281

Compositing Your Scene in Cycles   287

Rendering   290

Summary   292

Exercises   292

 

Chapter 15: Other Blender Features   293

Particles 293

Hair Simulation   293

Cloth Simulation   294

Rigid and Soft Bodies   294

Fluids Simulation   294

Fire and Smoke   295

Game Engine   295

Masking, Object Tracking, and Video Stabilization   295

Sculpting   295

Retopology   296

Maps Baking   296

Python Scripting   297

Summary   297

 

Index   299

 

About the Author

Oliver Villar has been drawing since he was a kid. His interest in art led him to 3D, which he’s been studying since 2004. He used commercial 3D software before discovering Blender in 2008. Since then, he has used Blender professionally as a 3D designer and tutor. In 2010 he founded blendtuts.com, a Blender tutorials site. He is currently co-directing Luke’s Escape, a short, 3D-animated film made with Blender.

Reviews

“Villar has captured the excitement of Blender as a 3D modeling, animation, and motion graphics tool in one straightforward, easy-to-follow textbook. The Blender software is growing in popularity and now more than ever is considered one of the must-have tools in the tool shed for 3D.” –Dr. Tim J. Harrington, Solution Manager, Academic IT   “Learning Blender is a great introduction for anyone wanting to learn how to create and edit in 3D using Blender, the free open-source application. Learning to work in 3D can be tough, and Villar uses characters to teach many different techniques, including modeling, lighting, shading, rigging, and animation. The book is filled with great tips and tricks, and can help anyone learn how to work in 3D.” –Mike Kaltschnee, Danbury Hackerspace Inc.   “Learning Blender: A Hands-On Guide to Creating 3D Animated Characters by Oliver Villar is definitely a valuable addition to your library of golden resources! It doesn’t simply show you the hows and whats, but the whys.   The emphasis on fundamentals is something this book is very strong at. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about the modernized Blender and character creation in general.   Simple, intuitive, and very refreshing!” –Reynante M. Martinez, Blender Guru

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