Blender3D
This is an outline of knowledge necessary to be proficient at using Blender3D. This page is intended as a learning path, not as a comprehensive learning resource.
Primary sources edit
Please help to improve these primary sources.
User Interface edit
Grid Floor edit
You can change the grid size by going to
Properties panel > Display
Look for the Grid Floor settings
- X, Y, Z axes origins
- Lines - number of lines to draw
- Scale - how large the grid cells are
- Subdivisions
edit
Change Windows edit
Quad View edit
Shortcut: Ctrl-Shift-Q
3D Space edit
Orthographic edit
3D Cursor edit
Cursor for performing objects such as adding geometry.
Select edit
Select individual objects using the right mouse button.
All edit
Shortcut A
Selects everything visible.
Box Select edit
Shortcut B
Draw a box to select objects. Any object that touches the box will be selected.
Circle Select edit
Shortcut C
Brings up a circle that you can use to draw a selection.
The radius of the circle can be changed by:
- Scrolling the mouse wheel
- Pressing '+' or '-' on the numeric keypad.
Viewport Shading edit
Viewport shading determines how Blender displays objects. It also has an effect on how you interact with objects in certain contexts. There are several viewport shading modes:
- Texture - shows objects with their associated textures (high detail)
- Solid - shows objects with shaded surfaces and shadows (moderate detail)
- Wireframe - shows the basic geometry of objects (low detail)
- Bounding box - shows rectangular boxes indicating the maximum extents of objects (lowest detail)
Manipulating Objects edit
Origin edit
Object menu > Transform >
- Geometry to Origin
- Origin to Geometry
- Origin to 3D Cursor
Further Information edit
Pivot center edit
When Scaling and rotating, especially multiple selected objects, you can toggle between several pivot centers.
- Active Element
- Median Point
- Individual origins
- 3D Cursor
- Bounding Box Center
Further Information edit
Translate edit
- Move objects in 3D space
- constrain (x,y,z keys).
discreet numbers edit
- properties panel
- Transform
- Location (X, Y, Z)
- Transform
Note: Right click will cancel.
Transform Handles edit
3D Manipulator
Rotate edit
- Rotate Tool (R key)
- Constrain (X,Y,Z keys)
- Hit R a second time, trackball rotation
Rotation Options edit
- properties panel
- Transform
- Rotation (X, Y, Z)
- Transform
Note: Right click will cancel.
Rotate Manipulator edit
- 3D Manipulator -> Rotate Manipulator
Scale edit
Keyboard shortcut (s)
- Constraint (X, Y, Z keys)
Note: Right click cancels scale operation
Scale Options edit
- properties panel
- Transform
- Scale (X, Y, Z)
- Transform
Scale Manipulator edit
- 3D Manipulator -> Scale Manipulator
Flip or Mirror edit
To invert an object, simply scale past the origin. This will mirror the object.
Transform Orientation edit
The Transform Manipulator can be set to multiple orientations:
- Global - overall scene orientation. Global X, Y, Z
- Local - per object, relative orientation. May differ from Global X, Y, Z
- Gimble - working with bones
- Normal - aligned to the mesh surface normal.
- View - move relative to view perspective
These options affect transforms, using different X, Y, and Z axes.
Snapping edit
You can precisely align and place objects using snapping.
Snap Elements edit
When manipulating objects, you can snap objects to various other elements. This is useful for modeling and alignment.
You can select which aspect of an object will do the snapping:
- Volume - snap to bounding box
- Face - snap to face
- Vertex - snap object to verticies
- Edge - snap object to edge
- Increment - snap to grid
Objects edit
You can snap 3D objects to the grid or cursor.
Object > Snap
- Selection to Grid - snap selected object(s) to the nearest grid division
- Selection to Cursor - snap selected object(s) to the 3D cursor
3D Cursor edit
You can also choose to snap the 3D cursor.
Object > Snap
- Cursor to Selected
- Cursor to Center
- Cursor to Grid
- Cursor to Active
Modeling edit
Mesh Primitives edit
shift + a will bring up the add menu. The following geometries are available.
- Plane - two dimensional plane
- Cube - three dimensional cube
- Circle - two dimensional circle
- UV Sphere - sphere with a grid similar to longitude and latitude. See [[w>UV mapping]]
- Icospehere - sphere made out of triangulated surfaces
- Cylinder - three dimensional 'tube', with end caps.
- Cone
- Grid
- Monkey - Suzanne the monkey
- Torus - basically a doughnut
Edit Mode edit
Edit mode will enable you to work directly with mesh geometry.
Press Tab to enter edit mode.
Selecting elements edit
There are three primary ways to select mesh components:
- Vertex select
- Edge select
- Face select
Press control + tab to toggle between the selection modes.
Vertex Select edit
Vertexes are points of intersection.
You can move vertexes individually. Control handles will allow you to move the vertex relative to the world by default.
Select Normal on the Orientation menu. Normal will allow you to move a vertex relative to the surface normal of the object.
Edge Select edit
Edges are boundaries between faces.
Edge Loops edit
alt + right click to select entire rings of edges. These are called edge loops.
Loop Cut and Slide edit
You can add additional edge loops using the Mesh Tools toolbox.
- Press the Loop Cut and Slide button and hover the mouse over the mesh. A purple line will indicate the approximate loop cut.
- Left click to accept the approximate loop cut. The loop will turn yellow and you can slide the mouse to the precise location for the loop cut.
- Finally, left click to accept the loop cut.
Face Select edit
Lasso Select edit
Hold ctrl + left mouse button and draw a lasso around the elements you want to select.
Limit selection to visible edit
This button will toggle the ability to select geometry elements in two modes:
- only geometry on the visible surface
- include geometry on hidden sections of the mesh (the mesh will become semi-transparent)
Select More edit
Shortcut ctrl + "+"
Grows a selection to nearby elements.
Select Less edit
Shortcut ctrl + "-"
Shrinks a selection.
Proportional Editing edit
Proportional editing affects geometry elements that surround the selection. This creates smoother transitions along the edit boundary.
To enable proportional editing, use one of these methods:
- Mesh menu > Proportional Editing > Enable
- On the 3D View header, select a proportional editing mode
Vertex Groups edit
You can save selections as vertex groups. This enables you to quickly select previously selected vertices.
The keyboard shortcut is ctrl g
Sculpt Mode edit
Sculpt mode allows you to affect the mesh in a way that simulates sculpting.
Sculpt Tools edit
Various sculpt tools can be found under the Brush > Sculpt Tool menu.
- Blob
- Clay
- Clay Strips
- Crease
- Draw
- Fill
- Flatten
- Grab
- Inflate
- Layer
- Mask
- Nudge
- Pinch
- Rotate
- Scrape
- Smooth
- Snake Hook
- Thumb
Subdivision edit
In edit mode, you can add detail to a mesh by subdividing its geometry.
Select the mesh, and then click Subdivide in
Mesh Tools > Add
Number of Cuts edit
Adjust the number of cuts carefully. Each time you cut the mesh, you quadruple its complexity.
Smoothness edit
Smoothness will give the mesh a more natural, or organic feel.
Fractal edit
The Fractal settings will produce somewhat chaotic results. This can be useful for organic surfaces. The Random Seed will change the kernel that the fractal function uses, and may produce more or less desirable results.
Modifiers edit
Modifiers allow you to change an object mesh, and adjust your parameters at a later time. This flexibility is useful so that you do not have to alter your geometry until you are ready to apply the transformation. There are many modifiers in Blender, and describing the functionality of all of them may be beyond the scope of this curriculum.
Modify edit
- UV Project
- Vertex Weight Edit
- Vertex Weight Mix
- Vertex Weight Proximity
Generate edit
- Array
- Bevel
- Boolean
- Build
- Decimate
- Edge Split
- Mask
- Mirror
- Multiresolution
- Remesh
- Screw
- Skin
- Solidify
- Subdivision Surface
- Triangulate
Deform edit
- Armature
- Cast
- Curve
- Displace
- Hook
- Laplacian Smooth
- Lattice
- Mesh Deform
- Shrinkwrap
- Simple Deform
- Smooth
- Warp
- Wave
Simulate edit
- Cloth
- Collision
- Dynamic Paint
- Explode
- Fluid Simulation
- Ocean
- Particle Instance
- Particle System
- Smoke
- Soft Body