Although Blender is very powerful and has a lot of features, it's easy to get started using it. Blender has a default scene all set up for you to render.
First, start your copy of Blender. You can either click on the Blender.exe icon in the directory that you have installed it in, or use a shortcut if you have created one. Blender will even run from a data stick, so you don't need to have it installed on a particular computer.
When you've started it, you should see something like the following screen, but you will also see a splash screen (depending on the version of Blender installed), consisting of an attractive image made in Blender and some links.
Move the mouse over the big central window. Click the mouse to remove the splash screen.
Then, if you are running Windows or Linux, press the F12 button on your keyboard.
If you have a Mac, click on where it says Render to the left, above the large 3D View window. Select Render Image from the drop-down menu. This is because Macs often have the F1-F12 function keys already mapped to specific functions.
The following are the changes you should make to optimize your Mac for Blender. When you have made these changes, you will be able to use Blender in the same manner as Windows and Linux users, and you will be able to press the F12 button to start rendering:
Go to the System Preferences, Select the Keyboard then check Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.
Next, in Keyboard Shortcuts under Dashboard & Dock, uncheck the Dashboard/F12 checkbox, so you can render by merely pressing F12.
Then, uncheck Exposé Desktop/F11 under Exposé & Spaces. Now you will be able to use the F11 key to bring back your most recent rendered image.
Now, click the left arrow at the top left of the System Preferences window to get back to the main System Preferences window. Now select the Exposé & Spaces symbol in the top row above the Keyboard. Select the Exposé button. Go down to the Dashboard section. Select the button that says Middle Mouse Button when the menu pops up, select the dash at the bottom of the pop-up menu. This will enable the middle mouse button for use with Blender.
Finally, click the left arrow at the top left of the System Preferences window to get back to the main System Preferences window. Select the mouse symbol next to the Keyboard. Uncheck where it says Zoom using scroll wheel while holding. This will activate the control key while using Blender.
Congratulations, you've now rendered your first scene in Blender. You can see the scene to be rendered in the preceding image. The cube is easy to guess. The dot surrounded by dashed lines is the light. The four-sided cone with a triangle on top is the camera, and there is a reference grid beneath the cube.
When the scene is rendered, as seen in the following screenshot, Blender shows you what the camera would see. The cube is colored gray because you haven't chosen a color. There is only one light in the scene and Blender calculates where the light is, and where the sides of the cube are. The light is not an object like a light bulb, so it is not seen in the rendered image, but its light is used to set the brightness of the scene.
While it's rendering, Blender figures out what portion of the light would bounce off of a particular side of the cube and into the camera. As some sides point away from the light, they appear darker. The sides facing toward the light appear to be brighter. Blender even does a trick that you don't see at all. Blender figures out which parts of the cube the camera does not see and to save itself from additional work, it doesn't render what cannot be seen.
Rendering this image was simple for you to do. Blender doesn't get any more difficult to use, you just learn more things to do with Blender. In future chapters, we will break down using Blender into easy-to-do steps.
Mac users, thank you for making changes to the interface of your Mac. Now you can use the standard Blender commands. This will this pay off by making Blendering much easier and fun. You can still access the Dashboard via the Mac menu bar.