What is Blender?
Blender is an open-source and free 3D modeling software tool that runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and other operating systems. It’s used in a wide range of media, most commonly found in animation, the gaming industry, 3D-printed models, motion graphics, and virtual reality.
Features Blender Offer
- Rendering
- Modeling
- Scuplting
- Animation and Rigging
- Visual Effects
- Video Editing
- Programming
- Interface
How to install Blender
To install Blender, follow the link here and select the version most compatible with your device. Blender doesn’t automatically update, so you’re encouraged to stay current with the latest version, but it’s not mandatory.
How to navigate through Blender
In Blender, there are three main parts of its interface:
Viewport: a view of the 3D space, where you’re mainly going to be working
Hierarchy: a layer view of all the objects within your viewport, organized in folders called collections. You can toggle the view of the objects and select them through the hierarchy.
Properties: allows you to edit and change the properties of selected objects. You can find your modifiers, rendering options, and tools through this interface.
The main workspace you’ll start with is ‘Layout’. There are many other workspace options that you can select on top of your Blender application. The most commonly used workspaces are Layout, Sculpting, UV Editing, Texture Paint, and Shading.
To learn more about navigating through Blender, follow the first part of the Intro to Blender tutorial linked here.
Extensions in Blender
Because Blender is open-source, there are multiple extensions available online that we can install to help us speed up our work process and make our workspace more efficient.
Official Blender Extension Page: Link
Make sure to install the official extensions available on the Blender Extension Page. For Blender version 4.4 and newer, you can directly download extensions within the Blender application. To add extensions, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons. Afterward, you can search for your preferred extension and click Install; once installed, it should appear in your workspace.
Intro to Blender Workshop
If you want to learn Blender through a simple abstract art workshop, follow the tutorial here:
In this workshop you’ll learn about:
- Add primitive objects
- Learn how to use a camera
- Create basic materials for your models
- Create a Render
You can view the slides for this workshop here.
Creating a 3D Character
After completing the Intro to Blender Abstract Art Workshop, you’ll learn how to create your first 3D character in Blender. To learn how to create a 3D character in Blender, follow the tutorial here:
In this workshop you’ll learn about:
- Edit Mode vs Object Mode
- Concept Art
- Modifiers
- Extruding
- Proportional Editing
you can view the slides for this workshop here
Adding Materials
After creating your 3D character in blender, you’ll learn how to apply a material over the model. To learn how to create a material for your 3D model, follow the tutorial here:
In this workshop you’ll learn about:
- Materials
- Textures
- Texture your 3D model
- UV Maps
- How to create UV Maps
- How to edit UV Maps
you can view the slides for this workshop here