Book Image

Blender 3D By Example - Second Edition

By : Oscar Baechler, Xury Greer
Book Image

Blender 3D By Example - Second Edition

By: Oscar Baechler, Xury Greer

Overview of this book

Blender is a powerful 3D creation package that supports every aspect of the 3D pipeline. With this book, you'll learn about modeling, rigging, animation, rendering, and much more with the help of some interesting projects. This practical guide, based on the Blender 2.83 LTS version, starts by helping you brush up on your basic Blender skills and getting you acquainted with the software toolset. You’ll use basic modeling tools to understand the simplest 3D workflow by customizing a Viking themed scene. You'll get a chance to see the 3D modeling process from start to finish by building a time machine based on provided concept art. You will design your first 2D character while exploring the capabilities of the new Grease Pencil tools. The book then guides you in creating a sleek modern kitchen scene using EEVEE, Blender’s new state-of-the-art rendering engine. As you advance, you'll explore a variety of 3D design techniques, such as sculpting, retopologizing, unwrapping, baking, painting, rigging, and animating to bring a baby dragon to life. By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to work with Blender to create impressive computer graphics, art, design, and architecture, and you'll be able to use robust Blender tools for your design projects and video games.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)

Who this book is for

This book assumes that you have a decent familiarity with computers. You should have some rudimentary skills at using a mouse and keyboard, navigating the internet, and know your way around your computer's operating system. You'll also need some grasp of your hardware. Tools such as a keyboard with a number pad, a mouse with three buttons, and a powerful CPU and GPU are helpful, but you can make some decent Blender projects using even a bare bones netbook.

Maybe you have some knowledge of other 3D programs, such as ZBrush, Maya, Cinema4D, or SketchUp. Maybe you're looking to learn Blender because the price tag appeals, the newest features blow you away, or a professional client wants you working with their Blender-centric pipeline. You'll find many concepts that have equivalencies to those programs. You can gloss over the explanations of 3D vocabulary, such as polygons, normals, and rigs, and instead jump right into Blender's tools and workflows.

For those of you who enjoy gaming, that experience will also pay off when learning Blender. Just like many AAA games, Blender's interface is heavily based on keyboard shortcuts, and navigating the 3D viewport is similar to moving the view around in games. Additionally, Blender is an excellent choice for any gamers looking to create content for their favorite game's custom mod community.

If you're more inclined toward coding, you might have experience with a game engine, such as Unity, Unreal, or Godot. This book will serve as an excellent expansion to your technical skills, showing you how to make 3D content to add to games. This book will also give you a foundation in understanding how these 3D components work, which will come in handy if you ever build out your own 3D tools.

Artists of every stripe can find their new favorite tool in Blender. Blender's 2D animation tools are perfect for artists who love drawing, anime, and experimental media. Especially when combined with Blender's native 3D interface, plus a drawing tablet, Blender has everything you need for both 3D and hand-drawn cartoons.

Whether you're completely new to Blender, or a 3D animation veteran enticed by Blender's newest features, this book will have something for you.