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 — building the mast


Now it's time to start building the sloop. Since you have the template in the Blender file, you can build each object to the template and be confident that they will all fit together when you are done:

  1. Press Numpad 3 to get the Side view. Use Shift+MMB to center your view on the mast and Ctrl+MMB to zoom into the mast so that the width of the mast in the template covers a third of the 3D View. Press Shift+S and select Cursor to Center from the menu. This makes sure that the 3D Cursor is centered with respect to the X axis, so your mast will be centered in the sloop. Place your cursor over the center of the mast in the template. Press theLMB to put the 3D Cursor there. Press Shift+A and select Mesh, then Cylinder from the menu to make a cylinder.

  2. Press S and use the mouse to scale the cylinder so that it is about the same diameter as the mast, as shown in the following screenshot. Press theLMB to release the scaling.

  3. Press the Tab key to go into Edit Mode...