Book Image

Low Poly 3D Modeling in Blender

By : Samuel Sullins
Book Image

Low Poly 3D Modeling in Blender

By: Samuel Sullins

Overview of this book

Step into the world of low poly 3D art with Low Poly 3D Modeling in Blender—your entry point into Blender and mastering the fundamentals of 3D art. This beginner-friendly guide ensures that you’re fully prepared for the creative adventure that follows. Through a step-by-step learning process starting with the principles of low poly art, this book gradually immerses you in the intricacies of modeling. As you progress, you’ll gain hands-on experience creating diverse projects ranging from designing a simple 3D crate to rendering complete low poly scenes. The book covers a wide spectrum of topics as you navigate Blender's interface, mastering essential modeling tools and exploring both basic and advanced modeling techniques. Advancing to the final chapters, you’ll find ways to breathe life into your models with material creation and gain practical insights into modeling a variety of low poly objects. From end-to-end scene construction to configuring Blender for rendering high-quality images, you’ll be equipped with the foundational skills to propel your career in 3D modeling and explore the boundless creative possibilities that Blender offers. By the end of this book, you'll have a solid understanding of Blender, 3D modeling, low poly methodologies, material design, 3D rendering techniques, and the broader world of 3D art.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
1
Part 1:Getting Started with Low Poly Modeling
5
Part 2:Modeling and Shading for Low Poly
9
Part 3:Creating Your Own Assets
15
Part 4:Building a Complete Low Poly Scene

Getting Familiar with Blender

Once upon a time, 3D software was outrageously expensive. 3D artists had to choose between buying a house or buying a 3D app—and, well, you can’t blame them for choosing the house.

Then came Blender. Blender was special because it cost less than a thumbtack (it was open source, and the price tag was $0). It was new, free, and exciting—but it didn’t work so well. It had the potential to be great in 20 years or so—but who wants to wait that long?

That was 20 years ago. Now, Blender has reached incredible heights. For the last two decades, Blender has made 3D accessible to anyone with a laptop.

Ready to join the party?

In this chapter, we’ll dive right in and start learning Blender. You’ll download Blender and get it set up. You’ll learn how the UI works, how to navigate 3D space, and how 3D space works in Blender. Then, you’ll learn how simple it is to tweak the UI to fit your needs.

Here are the main topics we’ll be covering in this chapter:

  • Installing Blender
  • Anatomy of the UI
  • Navigating the 3D Viewport
  • Getting to know the UI shortcuts
  • Understanding Workspaces
  • Saving your own Startup file