About This Book

Blender 3D: Noob to Pro is a product of shared effort by numerous team members and anonymous editors. Its purpose is to teach people how to create three-dimensional computer graphics using Blender, a free software application.

This book is intended to be used in conjunction with other on-line resources that complement it:

• Other Blender-related Wikibooks on topics such as scripting and creating games;
• The Blender Wiki for technical documentation;
• User forums, such as the Blender Artists Forum.

While you can learn simply by reading the book, you'll get more out of the tutorials if you follow along. In order to do this, you'll need access to a computer with Blender installed. You can download Blender from the Blender Foundation's website; more detailed instructions are in the first module.

Version compatibility: Blender is under continuous development, and some of the following tutorials were written for older versions and have not (yet) been updated to the current version. In particular, major changes in the user interface and scripting API took place beginning with the 2.5x series. If you find outdated content, feel free to edit as required to bring it up to date.

  Version-specific content should be tagged with a note that looks like this:

Overview

The core of this book is a series of tutorials that increase in complexity, with later tutorials building on the preceding ones. While experienced users can skip ahead, beginners are urged to proceed through the tutorials in sequence.

The tutorials in the core series are grouped into four units:

1. Background — a basic orientation regarding:
   • computer graphics
   • the Blender user interface (UI)
2. Basic Modeling and Shading — basic techniques for building and rendering 3D models
3. Broadening Horizons
   • alternative modeling and rendering techniques
   • introductions to lighting, animation, and game creation
4. Taking Off
   • scripting
   • advanced techniques for modeling, animation and game creation

Each unit is subdivided into sections, which are made up of modules.

Three appendices are also provided:

• Reference Material — including:
  • Frequently-Asked Questions
  • Glossary
• General Advice — tips to help you get the most out of Blender
• Miscellaneous Tutorials — tutorials that aren't part of the core series

Table of Contents

* Creating A "HUD"