Blender For Dummies^®

by Jason van Gumster

• ISBN13: 9780470400180
• ISBN10: 0470400188
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-02-01
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

So you've heard about Blender, the free 3D animation software. You really want to know more about the features of Blender, where to get it, and how to use it. You're in luck! It's all in Blender For Dummies, including Blender software on the bonus DVD.Because there's a lot to learn about Blender, you'll be glad this book takes it step by step. First, you'll learn to install Blender 2.48 and think the Blender way. Then you'll start creating 3D objects and setting them in motion with animations and rigging. Soon you'll be texturing with Blender, rendering with Blender, and sharing your creations. You'll learn how to: Create almost anything with meshes, save time with the Mirror modifier, and use Blender's secret weapon, Dupliverts Understand texture mapping, know when to use which type of lamp, and use radiosity in animation Work with curves and surfaces, and add color, shades, texture, and reflections Rig your characters for animation with shape keys, hooks, and armatures, and understand kinematics Navigate in three dimensions Make your animations more believable, and let Blender do the animating for you Use the video sequence editor Export, render, composite, and edit for outputYou'll even get tips on common problems new Blender users face and how to avoid them. Blender For Dummies will have you creating eye-popping 3D animations before you know it!

Author Biography

Jason van Gumster has produced a variety of animations and visualeffects for television and film as producer/animator for Hand TurkeyStudios. A Blender user since 1998, he's given numerous Blender workshops and blogs for Blender Nation, the primary news Web site for Blender users.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Wrapping Your Brain Around Blender

Discovering Blender

Understanding How Blender Thinks

Getting Your Hands Dirty Working in Blender

Working in Edit Mode and Object Mode

Creating Detailed 3D Scenes

Creating Anything You Can Imagine with Meshes

Using Blender's Non-Mesh Primitives

Changing that Boring Gray Default Material

Giving Models Texture

Lighting and Environment

Get Animated!

Animating Objects

Rigging: The Art of Building an Animatable Puppet

Animating Object Deformations

Letting Blender Do the Work for You

Sharing Your Work with the World

Exporting and Rendering Scenes

Compositing and Editing

The Part of Tens

Ten Problems for New Users in Blender (and Ways around Them)

Ten Tips for Working More Effectively in Blender

Appendix: About the CD

Bonus Chapter Ten Excellent Community Resources

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.