Book Image

Blender 3D Basics

Book Image

Blender 3D Basics

Overview of this book

Blender is by far the most popular open source graphics program available. It is a full featured 3D modeling, animation and games development tool used by millions all over the world ñ and it's free! This book is for those looking for an entry into the world of 3D modeling and animation regardless of prior experience. Blender 3D Basics is the entry level book for those without prior experience using 3D tools. It caters for those who may have downloaded Blender in the past but were frustrated by its lack of intuitiveness. Using simple steps it builds, chapter by chapter, into a full foundation in 3D modeling and animation. Using Blender 3D Basics the reader will model a maritime scene complete with boats and water, then add materials, lighting and animation. The book demystifies the Blender interface and explains what each tool does so that you will be left with a thorough understanding of 3D.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Blender 3D Basics Beginner's Guide
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
3
Controlling the Lamp, the Camera, and Animating Objects
Index

Time for action — displaying normals


Displaying the normals does not affect the model, but sometimes it can help you in your modeling to see just in which way your faces are pointing.

  1. Press Ctrl+MMB, and use the mouse to zoom out, so that you can see the whole cube.

  2. In the 3D View, press N to get the Properties Panel.

  3. Scroll down in the Properties Panel till you get to the Mesh Display subpanel.

  4. Go down to where it says Normals:.

  5. There are two buttons like the edge select and face select buttons in the 3D View header. Click on the button with a cube and an orange rhomboid, the Face Select button to choose selecting the normals of the faces. Beside the Face Select button, you can adjust the displayed size of the normal, as shown in the following screenshot. The displayed normals are the blue lines. Set the Normal Size to 0.8. In the following image, I used the cube as it was just before you made the last extrusion, so that it displays the normals a little better.

  6. Press the MMB, use the mouse...