Author: John M Blain

2.57
Blender
Computer Modeling and Animation
Blender is a open source freeware program maintained by the Blender Foundation.
The program can be downloaded, free of charge, from www.blender.org
Blender is not an easy program to learn but it has limitless possibilities and will give
you an understanding of computer animation. Due to the complexity of the subject it
is not possible to cover everything. This manual is designed for beginners to help
with the very basics of computer animation using Blender. The subject matter in this
publication is aimed at removing some of the frustration from the learning process.
Blender is a wonderful application but one major drawbacks has been the lack of up
to date basic instruction. Documentation has always lagged behind development.
There is a multitude of free information available on the !T"#!"T from various
sites in the form of tutorials. $uch of the information is relevant to earlier versions of
the program and since there has been a dramatic change to the interface, with the
introduction of version %.&'(, believes that a new student would find learning
Blender difficult without a current written instruction. This manual is an attempt to
remove some of the pain and relieve frustration by setting out the basics.
The manual has been written by trial and error in finding the way between Blender
%.)* and Blender %.&'(. trust you will find the information informative and useful.
This $anual s +ritten ,sing Blender %.&-(
Blender Versions
Blender has been around for a considerable time. .n starting the program the
/raphical ,ser nterface 0/,1 shows a panel with the version number in the center
of the screen. .n each release this panel has been changed to identify the version.
The cover of this manual shows the historical array of version number panels.
Blender has developed over time and as that development has evolved new releases
0versions1 of the program have been made available. The program reached the stage
where the developers considered that a complete overhaul of the /raphical ,ser
nterface 0/,1 was called for. 2ersion %.)* was the last of the old and at the time of
writing version 2.56a beta is the current version. The /, of 2.5( is completely
different to %.)* and the frustration of learning the new interface without
documentation has prompted the writing of this manual.
Graphical User Interface
The /raphical ,ser nterface 0/,1 is the arrangement of +indows, 3anels and
Buttons which allow you, the user, to interact with the program. The interaction takes
place through inputs via the computer keyboard and mouse.
n giving instructions in the use of the program with reference to keyboard and mouse
actions a series of commands has evolved. The list of commands is extensive and it is
not recommended that a new user attempts to memorise the list without
understanding of the meaning. 4s you progress through this manual many of the
commands are repeated over and over and you soon find that it becomes second
nature. .f course you will forget the obscure commands therefore a listing is
provided in the 4ppendix to this manual.
missions and !rrors
5our serious comment and criticism are welcome and may be directed to the author
at6
silverjb7%8gmail.com
/ood 9uck
and
"njoy the "xperience.
:ohn $ Blain
How to Get Blender
Blender can be downloaded from www.blender .org
Note: The above download information is referring to version number 2.53 of the
Blender program. During the course of writing this document the program has been
amended and the current version is 2.56 beta. The goal is to reach a new release of a
stable version that being 2.60. The Blender download site will reflect the most current
version release and it is expected that the download procedure and installation will
remain unchanged.
Contents
Note: The contents pages reflect the electronic bookmarks provided with the PDF files
of the individual Chapters. The Chapter Titles are links to the separate Chapter Pages.
Chapter 01 The Blender Interface Chapter 03 Create Edit Objects
Chapter 02 Navigate & ave
G Da! "ate
Chapter 0! "aterials Chapter 10 #a$tracing
Chapter 11 %ni&ation Basics
Chapter 0' Te(t)res
Chapter 0* +orld ettings
Chapter12 3, Te(t
Chapter 0- .ighting
Chapter 0/ Ca&era Chapter 13 N)rbs & "etashapes
Chapter 00 #endering
Chapter 1! "odifiers Chapter 1' 1article $ste&
Chapter 1* Child 1arent #elationship

Chapter 1- Constraints Chapter 1/ %r&at)res
Chapter 10 #elative hapes 2e$s
Chapter 20 3l)id i&)lation
Chapter 21 Nodes
Chapter 22 4a&e Engine
Chapter 23 5ideo e6)ence Editing
Chapter 2! %ppendi(
#ave !ou heard about $lender%
CH01- The Blender Interface
01-Blender Screen
02-User Preference Window
03-Preset Interface Arrangeent
0!-3" Window
0#-Window $odes
0%-&a'ers
0(-$o)ing in 3" S*ace
0+-$o,se
0-- Blender .iew $en,
10-Pro*erties Window
11-Blender Windows
12-Console Windows
13-/,tliner Window
1!-Te0t 1ditor Window
1#-Add-/ns
2et,rn to Contents
The Blender Screen
When Blender first opens the screen displays as shown below. The screen shows the
Graphical User Interface (GUI) fore Blender.
On some operating
systems the screen may
not display full sie on
start up. !lic" on the
e#pansion button in the
upper $% corner of the
screen.
The Blender screen
opens with the &ersion
'anel in the middle .
!lic" anywhere in the
screen to remo(e this
panel
The )efault Blender *creen displays with fi(e windows opened.
Info Window
+#pansion Button
Besides the windows displayed there are ele(en other window types a(ailable for
selection. ,oo" at the lower ,% corner of the -) Window and note the Icon .
This is the Icon representing the -) Window. +ach window has an Icon displayed in
the upper or lower ,% corner of the window representing the window type.
!lic"ing on a window type icon displays a drop down selection
menu for selecting a different type of window. *electing a
different window from the menu changes the current window
into the type selected.
+#ample. In the lower ,% corner of the -) Window clic" on
the icon with the mouse cursor . *elect (clic") /Graph +ditor/.
The window changes to the Graph +ditor window. !lic" on the
Graph +ditor icon 0 select /-) &iew/. The window re(erts to
the -) Window.
1ny window may be changed to a different window type in this
way.
+(ery window and panel within a window may be resied. 'lace the mouse cursor on
a window or panel border and it changes to a double headed arrow.
!lic" and hold with the ,% mouse button ( !l" ,2B for future ) and drag the arrow
to resie the panel or window. This wor"s on both horiontal and (ertical borders.
+(ery window may be di(ided to form a new window. In opposite corners of each
window there is a small cross hatched triangle.
When the mouse cursor is placed on the cross hatching it changes to a white cross.
!lic"3 hold and drag the cross into the window and the window di(ides in two
forming identical copies of the original window. One copy may then be changed to
another window type as pre(iously described.
2ouse cursor on
cross hatching
!lic" %old and )rag to ma"e new window
Window Type *election
2enue
4ew Window
To cancel a window place the mouse cursor on the
cross hatching ( changes to cross ) and drag it out
of the window into the window to be canceled. 1
large arrow appears pointing into the window to
be canceled. $elease ,2B and the window
cancels.
The indi(idual windows will be e#plained as we progress through the document but
first we need to understand the components of a window in general terms.
Window Type Icon
Window Type Icon
%eader
)rop )own *election 2enu
Buttons
Window
( Info Window )
(-) Window)
Window (-) Window)
'anel (Tool *helf 'anel)
One of the great features of Blender is that the GUI ( Graphical User Interface) may
be modified to suit the preference of indi(idual user. We ha(e mentioned how to
resie windows and panels and how to split and cancel windows. There are many
other features which can be changed. 1t this stage we will demonstrate an e#ample
5ust to show how this is done. The possibilities are endless so li"e many things in
blender you will ha(e to e#periment and try options for yourself. The following
e#ample will introduce you to the User Preference Window.
User Preference Windows
If you are li"e me and sometimes find it difficult to see things on the screen
especially against Blender/s se#y sultry dar" -) Window bac"ground then you can
fi# it.
)i(ide the -) Window in two (*ee the section on that) and ma"e one part the User
'reference Window.
Go to the top of the window and clic" on /Themes/. 1t the ,%* of the window you
see a list of the different windows. !lic" on /-) &iew/. 6ou will see a series of
colored panels with headings ne#t to them. 1t the bottom of the second column you
will see /Window Bac"ground/. This is the grey colored panel which is the color of
the -) Window bac"ground. !lic" on the panel and a color pic"er will display.
1t the $%* of the pic"er is a (ertical bar showing a color gradient from white at the
top to blac" at the bottom with a white dot in the middle. !lic" on the dot and drag it
upwards. *ee the bac"ground color of the -) Window lighten up. The color pic"er
also lightens up. 6ou can clic" anywhere in the colored circle to change the -)
Window bac"ground to any color you li"e. 6ou can also change the color by altering
the $GB (alues (!lic" on either the $3 G or B (alue and retype a new (alue or clic"
and drag the slider). The bac"ground color will remain set for the remainder of the
session. 6ou can now close the User 'reference Window. If you want to set the
bac"ground color permanently clic" on /*a(e 1s default/ at the bottom of the User
'reference Window. This will change the bac"ground color for the ne#t time you
start Blender.
Note: When you press /*a(e 1s )efault/ in the User 'reference Window you
ob(iously ha(e the User 'reference Window open. Blender ta"es the command
literally and assumes that you want the User 'reference Window displayed the ne#t
time you open Blender. If you don/t want this to happen close the User 'reference
Window3 without clic"ing /*a(e 1s )efault3/ by clic"ing on the cross hatch in the
corner as pre(iously described3 then in the Info Window Header clic" on /7ile/ 0
/*a(e User *ettings/.
-) Window with !olor *elected
)rag
Up
If you clic" around the User 'reference Window you will see that there are many
many options. 7eel free to e#periment. If you goof up when changing Themes 5ust
press /$eset to )efault Theme/ also at the bottom of the window. This puts e(erything
bac" to s8uare one. $emember close the User 'reference Window and clic" /*a(e
User *ettings in the Info Window %eader. If you change settings in other panels of
the User 'reference Window ma"e sure you record the changes you ha(e made. The
other panels do not ha(e a reset button.
Preset Interface Arranements
While still on the sub5ect of /Graphical User Interfaces/ we will point out that Blender
has some preset arrangements for wor"ing on different aspects in the program.
In the /Info Window/ header at the top of the default screen arrangement to the $% of
the /%elp/ button there is a little window button with a panel with /)efault/ in it.
)efault is referring to the default Blender screen arrangement or GUI. 'lacing the
mouse cursor o(er the window button displays /!hoose screen layout/. !lic"ing on
the button displays a drop down selection menu with a choice of screen arrangement
options. 6ou will see that /)efault/ is highlighted in blue. !lic"ing on any of the
options changes the screen arrangement with window types appropriate for the named
aspect of the program.
Window Button
*earch Bar 0 Type in a Word to *earch
The 3D Window
Before we can actually create anything in Blender we need to understand the 3D
Window.
To start we should understand the basic concept of creating something with computer
graphics. To begin a scene is created. The scene may be static or animated. In either
case the scene is rendered to make a computer image, in the case of a static scene or
to create a computer animation in the case of an animated scene. Images are rendered
to a number of file formats such as J!" or #" while animations are rendered into
$ideo files. The scene is set up in the 3D Window.
The default 3D Window in Blender is shown below.
The 3D Window comprises a %ain Window panel and a side Tool &helf panel. The
3D Window 'eader is the strip across the bottom of the window with all the buttons.
The default 3D Window contains a (ube ob)ect, a *amp and a (amera. Without the
lamp or camera nothing will render which makes sense because if there is no light
and nothing to see anything with, it makes life pretty difficult.
The Tool &helf panel can be hidden from $iew by pressing the T +ey on the
Tool &helf anel or ,b)ect
Tools Tab
%ain Window
'eader
(amera
*amp
(ube ,b)ect
#ote- This is the 3D Window only,
not the Blender &creen which has
the roperties Window, Dope
&heet and Timeline.
keyboard. ress T +ey again to show the Tool &helf. This process is referred to as
.Toggling..
Besides the Tool &helf there is another panel, the ,b)ect roperties panel, which by
default is hidden. ress the # +ey to show the panel. 'ere you see $alues pertaining
to the ,b)ect that is selected in the 3D Window.
By default the (ube is selected as shown by the orange outline around the cube. /n
,b)ect is deselected by pressing the / +ey and selected by clicking on it with the
right mouse button 0(lk 1%B2.
Try it out- / +ey0deselect2 3 (amera, (lk 1%B 0select (amera2 4/ +ey 0deselect2 3
(ube, (lk 1%B 0 selects the (ube again2. I.m trying you out with my abbre$iations
for later.
#ote that if you / +ey 0deselect2 then / +ey a second time you will select e$erything
in the 3D Window.
#ote also that with the ,b)ect roperties panel displayed the $alues change according
to which ob)ect you ha$e selected. /t this stage do not be concerned with the $alues
we are )ust getting the broad outline of the interface.
1emember that in the 3D Window we are seeing a three dimensional representation
of a World. The s5uared grid in the scene represents the hori6ontal mid plane of the
world on the 7 and 8 a9is. The green line on the grid is the 8 a9is and the red line is
:alues pertaining to (ube ,b)ect
,b)ect roperties anel
the 7 a9is. The $ertical a9is is the ; a9is. If you look at the lower *' corner of the
window you see these a9es displayed. 8ou also see in white the name of the ,b)ect
selected.
The red green and blue arrows on the (ube ob)ect are a 3D
manipulator which is a de$ice for mo$ing the ob)ect about in the
scene. This will be discussed in detail later but for now we will
use it to mo$e the cube. (lick on the green arrow and holding
the mouse button down drag the mouse to the right. The (ube
outline turns white in the
process indicating that it is in
."rab. mode. 1elease *%B
0left mouse button2 and the (ube stays where it is
placed.
We mo$ed the (ube so that you can see the small
circle with the cross hairs at the center of the world.
This is the 3D (ursor 0 #ot the %ouse (ursor2. If you click anywhere in the scene
with the mouse the 3D (ursor relocates to where$er you clicked. If you were to
introduce another ,b)ect into the scene that ob)ect would be located at the location of
the 3D (ursor.
The (ube ,b)ect is called a .rimiti$e. which is one of ten basic shapes a$ailable in
Blender from which to commence modeling. (lick on ./dd. in the Info Window
header then in the drop down place the mouse cursor on .%esh. to see the list of
rimiti$es. 8ou can click on one to add it to the scene. /nother way to do this is to
ress &hift < / +ey on the keyboard to display the same list.
%anipulator shown on (ircle
3D (urser
Blender rimiti$es
Window Modes
The 3D Widow, by default is opened in ,b)ect %ode. 8ou
will see this in the window header. By clicking on the
drop down selection menu it is able to select one of the
other modes.
/t this stage we only need be concerned with the !dit
%ode option. ,b)ect mode allows us to mo$e, rotate and
scale an ob)ect in the scene while !dit mode allows us to
change the shape of the ob)ect.
To change between the two modes you can select the
mode from the drop down in the header but since it is
common to switch between ,b)ect and !dit mode
pressing the Tab +ey toggles between modes.
With the (ube selected in the 3D Window and the mouse
cursor positioned in the window press .Tab.. 8ou will see
the ob)ect shown with its edges drawn in orange with dots
at each corner. The significance of this will be discussed
in detail later. =or now toggle back to ,b)ect %ode.
Layers
*ike many other graphics programs Blender uses layers to aid in constructing
comple9 scenes. #ote the display in the 3D Window header. This represents >?
separate layers. Imagine sheets of transparent drawing paper with different items on
each sheet being placed one on top the other. !ach s5uare represents one sheet. The
orange dot in the first s5uare indicates that the selected ob)ect is on the first layer. The
fact that the first s5uare is shaded tells us that we are looking at the first layer.
To mo$e to another layer click on one of the s5uares. It becomes shaded indicating
the layer is being seen in the window. If you click on s5uare > the screen shows an
empty layer. The orange dot remains in s5uare @ indicating that there is an ob)ect
selected in layer @. "o back to s5uare @.
(lick for Drop
Down %enu
(lick for Drop Down
,range dot indicates
,b)ect selected in first
layer
>? *ayers
To mo$e the (ube ob)ect to layer > first select the (ube in the 3D Window. ress %
+ey and the .%o$e To *ayer. window appears. (lick on s5uare > and the (ube is
mo$ed to layer > as indicated by the orange dot displayed in s5uare > in the window
header.
#ote there is still a dot in s5uare @. This shows that there are ob)ects on layer @ 0the
(amera and the *amp2.
To replace the (ube in layer @ click on s5uare > in the header, press % +ey with the
cursor in the window and click on s5uare @ in the .%o$e To *ayer Window..
Object Tools Tab (Tool &helf anel2
The ,b)ect Tools Tab contains tools for manipulating ob)ects in the 3D Window.
What tools are displayed depends on which window %ode you are in 0ie. ,b)ect
%ode or !dit %ode2. #ot all tools are displayed. This is simply to sa$e screen space.
In earlier $ersions of Blender >.A there is a search bar at the top of the Tool &helf
where you enter the name of a tool and it is added to the &helf. In later $ersions the
Tool &helf has become the ,b)ect Tools Tab and the search bar has disappeared.
The &earch Bar is now accessed by pressing the &pace Bar
with the cursor in the 3D Window. This displays a drop
down menu with the search bar at the top.
,range dot shows ,b)ect on layer @
&haded s5uare indicates *ayer @ being
$iewed.
(lick on s5uare > to mo$e the
(ube to layer >
,range dot will display here when (ube mo$ed to layer >
!nter Tool #ame in &earch Bar
Moving in 3D Space
In a 3D program, not only do you have to worry about where you are in 2 dimensions
(height and width), but you also need to consider depth (how close or far away).
Before you can wor in 3D space, you should have some sills in 2D drawing and
layout. !oving around in the 3D window is controlled by the mouse and the
eyboard number pad.
"he Blender default scene opens in what is termed #$ser %erspective &iew# which
allows you to move ob'ects about in the 3D window. (ometimes it is more convenient
and easier to see how far ob'ects are separated by using separate orthographic views.
"hin of a standard 3)view orthographic drawing ) top, front and right side views.
"hese views match up with the *umber Pad +,, and 3 eys (loo at their
arrangement on the eyboard) 'ust lie the views). %ut your cursor in the 3D window
and try typing those numbers.
Note: Laptop users - (ome laptops do not have *umber %ad eys. In the User
Preference Window clic on #Input# at the top of the window and then, at the ./( of
the window tic #0mulate *um %ad#. 1ou can now use the number eys on your
laptop to emulate the *um %ad on a standard eyboard.
2hen moving from the $ser %erspective &iew to either of the orthographic views, at
first you get a "op, 3ront or 0nd perspective view. .oo at the .amp and you see a
line pointing towards the 4ube. %ress on *um %ad 5 to get the true orthographic
*um %ad + - "op &iew $ser %erspective
*um %ad , - 3ront &iew
*um %ad 3 - 0nd &iew
view. %ressing *um %ad 5 again toggles bac to the perspective view. %ressing *um
%ad 6 will put you into camera view (what the camera sees). "o get bac to the $ser
%erspective view press *um %ad 5 twice. 7ne press gets a $ser 7rthographic view
the second press gets the $ser %erspective view. But hey8 Its not 9uite the same as
we had in the default scene. 2e need to rotate the view a bit. 4lic and hold the
middle mouse button and wiggle it around a bit. NOT TOO MU!" 1ou will see
the scene rotating in the window. 2iggle and practice is the best way to learn. "his all
sounds a bit complicated but you will soon get used to it.
2hen you go to 4amera &iew (*um %ad 6) most of the window becomes shaded
leaving a small window in the middle with a dotted line around it.
"his is the part that will actually render to an image. "he other solid rectangle is the
camera itself. :ight clic on the outer line and it turns orange. 1ou have the camera
selected. 1ou can now move and rotate the camera lie any ob'ect in any view. 2e
haven#t actually covered that yet so hold fire for while. "he shading in the camera
view is called #%assepartout# and can be removed to let you have a clear view of
everything in the scene. 2e will show you how later.
T#e Number Pad $rrow %e&s (2,;,<,=) will rotate you around in 3D space (Not in
amera 'iew). "he >?@ and >)@ eys on the number pad will Aoom in and out. "he
number pad >.@ (period) ey will center your view on the selected ob'ect on your
screen.
T#e Mouse serves a number of functions. 4licing the .eft !ouse Button (.!B) in
the 3D 2indow repositions the 3D 4ursor in the scene. 2herever the 3D 4ursor is
positioned is where the neBt ob'ect you add to the scene is located. 4licing the :ight
4l :!B to select 4amera
!ouse Button (:!B) on an ob'ect selects that ob'ect. (imilarly in 0dit mode
clicing :!B on a vertice will select that vertice. %ressing the B Cey on the
eyboard then clic .!B ( 4ross /air .ines Display ) and drag a rectangle over an
ob'ect will select that ob'ect. %ressing the 4 Cey on the eyboard changes the mouse
cursor in the 3D 2indow to a circle. (croll the mouse wheel to change the siAe of the
circle. %osition the circle over an ob'ect and clic .!B to select the ob'ect. %ress the
0sc Cey to cancel the circle selection. 4lic and hold the mouse wheel rotates the 3D
&iew. (croll the mouse wheel Aooms in and out on the scene.
Don#t attempt to memorise all the combinations they will become second nature with
practice since they are used over and over.
()ender 'iew Menu
"he &iew !enu showing the full range of options to manipulate viewports.
The Properties Window
The 3D Window is the place where you
set up your scene and see what you are
creating and where you are going. The
Properties Window on the other hand is
the engine room with all the controls that
drive everything.
The Properties Window is the main part
of the vertical panel at the RH of the
default screen.
The Properties Window controls what
you see in the 3D Window, how obects
move and behave and finally how the
scene renders. !t controls how your
artificial world is configured, how
everything in the scene appears, moves
and interacts with everything else.
To get an insight into the Properties
Window in practical terms loo" at the
row of buttons displayed in the window
header. These buttons are the starting
point for everything that happens.
#y default #lender opens the Properties Window in the default screen arrangement
with the Render button active and with the window containing all the render buttons
and values. The render button is seen highlighted in blue.
The following diagram shows the default Properties Window Header
Render$ How the screen renders.
%cene$ #asic scene functions.
World$ &ontrols for scene bac"ground.
'bect$ &ontrols for the selected obect.
'bect &onstraint$ !nteraction with other obects.
(odifiers$ )ffect the selected obect.
'bect data$ Data effecting the selected obect.
(aterials$ How the obect appears * color +.
Te,tures$ How the obects surface loo"s.
Particles$ 'bect can emit particle effects.
Physics$ How the obect behaves.
-ote$ !n the 3D Window the default &ube obect is selected as seen by the orange
outline. #uttons that display in the Properties window header vary depending on what
is selected in the 3D Window. Try clic"ing R(# on the &amera then the .amp and
bac" on the &ube. /ou will see the buttons in the header change.
!t is not the intention to describe the function of every button and value in the
Properties window. The specific operation of buttons and controls will be
demonstrated as you progress through this document and even then it will be up to
you to e,periment and record as you go.
&lic"ing on each of the buttons in the header changes the display of buttons and
controls in the main window. The buttons and controls are separated into panels
called Tabs. %ome tabs are open and some are closed. &lic"ing on the little triangle in
front of the tab name toggles the tab open or closed. With some buttons selected there
are too many tabs to fit in the window. When this happens a scroll bar appears at the
RH% of the window.
The Properties window may be resi0ed by dragging the border and may be changed
to another window type if re1uired.
The Blender Windows
The application of the Blender Windows will be explained as you
progress through the different sections of the manual. There are
some windows however that require special mention since they
have a more general application rather than applying to a specific
topic. For that reason, when sticking to the basics, they can be
overlooked.
They are worth a mention here to make you aware.
Console Windows
The console window is where you go if
you want to modify the Blender
program using ython !cript. ython is
the programing language of Blender.
Outliner Window
The "utliner Window gives you a
visual display of everything in your
scene and shows how the different
items are connected. For example if you
click on the little cross next to #$ube#
you get #$ube# and if you click again
you see that it has a material.
Text Editor Windows
The Text %ditor is &ust that, a text editor.
When you create something in Blender
and save the .blend file to use later you
can write yourself notes in the Text
%ditor and what you write will be saved
in the .blend file. This is very handy for
a bad memory.
Add Ons
In order to minimise some of the selection options in various parts of the Blender
interface some features have been put aside in a repository. You could say they have
been hidden away so we will tell you where to go looking if you cant find something.
These features are listed in the Add Ons Directory in the User Preference Window and
may be activated and deactivated depending on what you are doing.
User Preference Window - Add-Ons
Rigging Rigify ticked to
activate the Add!n
Add Armature before Add!n ticked Add Armature after Add!n ticked
This e"ample shows the activation of an Add!n.
In the #D $indow % &hift ' A key is pressed to add an
Armature. $ithout the Add!n only (&ingle Bone is
available. $ith the Add!n ticked )uman *+etaRig,
is added to the selection
CH02- Navigation
01-Navigate & Save
02-Windows Explorer
03-The Append or in! Co""and
0#-$a%!ing &ata
0'-("porting )*+e%ts
,et-rn to Contents
Navigate and Save
This section has been titled 'Navigate and Save' since it is most important to
understand where you are saving your work. As with all computer work being
organised will save you a lot of frustration down the track when you have created
many files and want to find something. Blender is all about building up your own
library of things that you have created or things that you have downloaded and want
to use in future Blender masterpieces.
It is impossible to teach everything so we will assume that you know how to navigate
around your computer system and create places where you store your stuff If
unfamiliar with this! see the section on "indows #$plorer%. In a "indows system
'"indows #$plorer' is an invaluable tool for doing &ust that. It is recommended that
you become familiar with your computers file system. At some stage you will want to
save files! images! web pages! audio files and obviously your Blender files and movie
files.
"e will discuss how you navigate in the Blender 'ile Browser and save your work to
a location of your choice. The assumption is that you have created a file to save and a
folder in which to save it. The creation of the folder is where "indows #$plorer
comes in. Sorry but I'm a "idows guy. See the page on making a new folder in
"indows #$plorer%
As a demonstration we will use the default Blender scene with the (ube ob&ect! the
)amp and the (amera. I know that is not very e$citing but we haven't learned to do
anything at this stage.
*pen Blender with the default scene. In the Info "indow header click on ''ile'.
In the drop down that is displayed you will see 'Save' and
'Save As'+

,se 'Save' to save a new file or to save work you have
added to a file.
,se 'Save As' to save a copy of a file. -ou will have to give
this a new name if you are saving it in the same folder as
the original.
"ith our new default scene click on 'Save'. The Blender 'ile Browser window opens
with the option 'Save Blender 'ile' in the top ./ corner of the window.
"here you see 'untitled.blend' is the name of your file. Blender automatically names
the file 'untitled.blend'. (lick on the name to highlight it! press delete on the keyboard
then type in a new name and hit '#nter'. I have named my file '0emo.blend'. It is good
practice to add the '.blend' suffi$. *lder versions of Blender did not automatically
add the .blend suffi$.
1ust above where you have typed the name you will see the file path to where your
file will be saved. *n my computer this is 'c+2temp2'. Blender has automatically
decided that if I do not say otherwise my file will be saved in the 'temp' folder on the
'c+' drive. -ou can see there is a previous '.blend' file already saved to this folder.
'ile3ath 'ile Name
0rives on my 3(
The 'temp' folder is not where I want my file to go.
I have made a new folder named 'ABlender0emo' on my (+ drive for this new file. To
navigate to this folder I go into the System panel at the top )/ side of the screen. In
the panel you see all the drives on my computer listed! the top one being 'c+'! the (+
drive.
"hen I click on the 'c+' in the panel all the folders on my (+ drive display in the main
browser window. 'Ablender0emo' is third from the top of the list. Note that &ust
above where I typed in my file name '0emo.blend' 'c+2' is displayed. This tells me that
I am looking at the '(+' drive. To put my new file into 'Ablender0emo' I click on it in
the window. The main window is now empty as it should be since I haven't put
anything into it. Now I click on 'Save Blender 'ile' at the top ./ side of the screen.
Blender displays the default blender scene again.
If you have followed these directions on your computer and want to prove that you
have saved your file change the window type to the 'ile Browser window. (lick on
the 40 "indow header Icon and chose ''ile Browser'. /ey5 there we are
'0emo.blend' in the c+2ABlender0emo2 folder.
That should keep us out of trouble for the time being as far as saving our work but it
is a good idea to play around and find out what all the buttons in the 'ile Browser
window do. I know you will hit on one that says create a new directory and it does
but Blender &ust names it 'New 'older' which isn't all that helpful. "ith 'New 'older'
newly created press '0elete' and retype a new name then press '#nter'.
This has given a brief insight into navigating in the 'ile Browser window as well as
showing how to save your work. *f course you can use the 'ile Browser to find other
stuff as well. 1ust click on a folder in the window and it opens showing what's inside.
There are some buttons at the top of the window which let you choose how the
content's of folders are displayed.
*ne nice one lets you see files as thumbnails pictures % so if you have photo images
you can see them from within Blender.
(hoose how files are displayed
Thumbnails
Windows Explorer
Lets make a folder where we can save our stuff.
Open Windows Explorer. There are several ways of opening Explorer depending on
what version of Windows you are using. You can usually find the application by
clicking the !tart button" clicking open #ll $rograms and going to #ccessories.
Windows Explorer is usually in #ccessories. You could have a %uick start icon
somewhere else.
&f your computer is like mine it persists in opening Widows Explorer showing my
'ocuments folder. You can save your stuff there but it will soon accumulate and get
all mixed in with your letters to (randma and the Tax )an. This is not a good thing.
We will make a new folder in the *+, drive. *lose the folder list and get back to the
basic directory.
'ocuments -older
way down the list
*lick to close or
expand the 'irectory
'esktop.*omputer.#cer /*+0
'irectory opened.
1ight click on your *+, drive and in the drop down that displays click on 2ew and
then click on -older.

Windows enters a new folder and names it 'New Folder'. #t this stage you can edit
the name. $ress 'elete to delete 2ew -older and type in your new name. & have
named my folder #3lender'emo. & have put the # at the beginning of the name so
that Windows will put it at the top of the directory list. &f & named it 4anado it will
go way down the bottom /#lphabetical Order0. When you have typed in your name
press Enter and way you go you have a new folder.
IMPORTANT: 1emember your name and where it is. This makes life easier later on.
1ight *lick
4anado way down
the bottom
The Append or Link Command
When you want to insert elements from one Blender (.blend) file
into another, you select the Append or Link command from the
file pull-down menu in the Info Window header.
Append takes data from an eistin! file and adds it to the current
file. Link allows you to use data in an eistin! file in the current
file but the data remains in the eistin! file. "he data can not be
edited in the current file. If the data is chan!ed in the eistin!
file the chan!es show in the current file the net time it is
opened.
#electin! $Append$ or $Link$ opens the %ile Browser Window
allowin! you to na&i!ate to the Blender file you wish to select
elements from. 'ou can append anythin! from cameras, li!hts
meshes, materials, tetures, scenes and ob(ects. %or most
purposes, use the )b(ect option. By appendin! ob(ects, any
materials, tetures and animations that are linked to that ob(ect will automatically
come in with it. Left *ouse Button (L*B) clickin! on an ob(ect will select it.
+ressin! A ,ey will deselect. After you select your ob(ects to append, click the
$Link-Append from Librar$ button in the upper ri!ht corner of the screen.
%olders in ./ dri&e
.lick on ./
.lick on ABlender0emo
.lick on )b(ect
.lick on .ube to select
.lick on Link-Append from Librar
Packing Data
If you plan to open a Blender file on other
computers, you will need to select the $+ack
into .blend file$ option in the file menu under
$1ternal 0ata$. "etures and sounds are not
automatically included in your Blender file in
order to keep the file si2e down. 1&ery time
your file opens, it looks for the tetures and
sounds and places them
into your file. If it can3t find the files, you
won3t ha&e any tetures and sounds. If you
pack data, those files are included with the
.blend file so they can be opened anywhere.
4emember, your file si2e may become &ery
lar!e. When data is packed, a small packa!e
shows up on the top of your screen lettin!
you know that the file is packed. 'ou can also
unpack data to brin! the file si2e back down.
Importing Objects
)ne of Blender3s stron! points is the pro!ram3s ability to accept se&eral !eneric types
of 50 files from other pro!rams. "wo eamples are/
"he .mh file format used by the Make Human pro!ram which creates models
of the human fi!ure.
"he .df file format used by the Eleont pro!ram which creates 50 solid tet
models.
Both the *ake 6uman and 1lefont pro!rams are freely a&ailable.
)ther pro!rams sa&e files in one format but also !i&e the option to eport in another
format. 'ou will ha&e to find the $1port$ command in the pro!ram and match up the
file type with one of the file types in Blender$s Import Add )ns.
With e&ery new release of Blender, the import-eport format options list chan!es.
"his makes Blender compatible with a &ariety of other 50 modelin! and animation
software pro!rams.
!ote" "here are only fi&e file type options shown in the default selection menu.
*76 and 07% are not shown. "o conser&e space in the 89I Blender has limited the
file type display. *76 and 07% as well as se&eral other file types are a&ailable as
$Add )ns$ in the 9ser +reference Window.
"o import a *76 or 07% file into a Blender scene open the 9ser +reference
Window and click on $Add )ns$ at the top of the window. In the list at the L6# of the
window select $Import 1port$. A shortlist of the Import 1port file types will display.
%ind the file type you re:uire and place a tick in the bo at the 46# of the panel. "he
ticked file type will now be a&ailable in the Info Window ; %ile ; Import selection
drop down menu.
!ote" When importin! Blender files into other
Blender files, remember to use the Append
command instead of Import. In the Append
command, select the file, then select what you
would like to brin! into the current file. 'ou will
usually want the <)b(ects= option.
Add)ns in 9ser +reference Window
.df file format ticked
Import .df file format added to
the Import selection menu.
CH03- Create Edit Object
01-Basic Mesh
02-Placing Objects
03-Edit/Object Mode
04-Mesh T!es
0"-C#rsor Place$ent
0%-Mo&ing Objects
0'-(caling Objects
0)-*otating Objects
0+-Precision Mani!#lation
10-Trans,or$ation -idget
11-Mesh .erte/ Editing
12-(electing .erticies
13-Edit Mode (election
14-Creating .erticies
1"-Center Points
1%-Object 0is!la
1'-(hading ($ooth/1lat
1)-E/tr#ding (ha!es
1+-Pro!ortional .erte/ Editing
20-Creating 2ro#nd
21-Edge 3oo! (election
22-4oining/(e!arating Meshes
23-0eliting .ertices
24-5dding 1aces
2"-Modi,iers
2%- Be&el Modi,ier
2'-(#bdi&ision (#r,ace Modi,ier
2)-Mirror Modi,ier
2+-Boolean Modi,ier
30-6ni,e Tool
31-(c#l!t Mode
*et#rn to Contents
Working with Basic Meshes
Now that we know how to move around in Blender, lets start doing some basic
building and shaping. In this section we will talk about creating basic shapes and
using modifiers to form them. There are a lot of different types of things to make in
Blender. Right now we will only discuss eshes.
!tart a new scene in Blender and save it in your "#ocuments" folder. Name it
something meaningful and write down the name . $ou can save your work wherever
you like as long as you remember what you named the file and where you saved it. In
%indows the "#ocuments" folder is usually accessible from the #esktop so its easy to
find. Its best to be familiar with saving and creating files and folders so go back and
read the section on that sub&ect.
Note: Blender will not prompt you to save you file when exiting the program.
Remember to always save your work often !on"t forget the .blend suffix.
#lacing $b%ects $n &he 'creen
The '# (ursor"s location is used to place new ob&ects. (lick with the )eft ouse
Button where you want your *b&ect located and the '# (ursor locates to that
position. %hen you have it in a good location, press !hift + , -ey to bring up the
insert menu. !elect ,dd, then esh and select ./ !phere.
Note 0 %e previously stated that we were discussing eshes. ,n *b&ect in Blender is
a esh *b&ect. Think of a sphere made out of chicken wire or fishing net and you get
the idea. , sphere in Blender has a mesh with vertical and hori1ontal divisions called
segments and rings. /ertical segments like the inside of an orange and hori1ontal
rings. The default ./ !phere has '2 segments and '2 rings. $ou can change these by
altering the values in the panel at the bottom of the Tool !helf which displays when
you add the !phere to the scene. $ou can keep it at '2 for now.
%indow odes
(dit Mode and $b%ect Mode
%hen you place an ob&ect in Blender, it comes into the scene in *b&ect ode and is
selected as shown by its orange outline. There are basically two states in Blender,
3dit ode and *b&ect ode. 3dit mode is intended for modifying the shape of the
ob&ect by selecting vertices on the ob&ect. /ertices are the &oining points of the mesh.
*b&ect mode affects the ob&ect as a whole. The Tab -ey toggles you between the two
modes.
Before entering a new ob&ect into your scene make sure any other ob&ects are not in
edit mode otherwise the ob&ects will be &oined.
,nother way to switch between modes is to use the ode selection drop down in the
window header. $ou will see that besides *b&ect and 3dit there are other modes
available.
In our diagram showing the ./ !phere with segments and rings the
!phere was drawn in %ireframe display mode 4/iewport !hading5.
The default display mode is !olid. *ther modes are accessed from the drop6down in
the window header.
3dit ode
*b&ect ode
/ertices
%indow odes
#isplay odes
Mesh &ypes
7ress !hift + , -ey to reveal esh types selection menu. esh types 4 7rimitives 5
available are shown below.
7rimitives are basic shapes from which you can start modeling.
#recise )! *ursor #lacement
To precisely place the '# cursor, use the 'hift + ' ,eys for options to move the
cursor to ob&ects, grid etc.
'# anipulator shown on (ircle *b&ect
esh Types /enue
Moving a Mesh Object
The three basic controls for moving an object are: G Key (Grab), S Key (Scale), R
Key (Rotate).
To move an object freely in the plane of the view press the G Key with the object
selected and drag the mose.
To loc! the movement to a particlar a"is press G + X , Y or Z
Scaling an Object
To scale an object freely press the S Key and drag the mose.
To loc! the scale to a particlar a"is press S + X, Y or Z
Rotating an Object
To rotate an object press the R Key and move the mose abot the objects center.
To loc! the rotation to an a"is press R + X, Y or Z
To rotate a set nmber of degrees press R + 30 rotates the object #$ degrees.
R + X + 30 rotates the object #$ degrees abot the % a"is.
Scale loc!ed to the % a"is
&ovement loc!ed to
the % a"is
Precision Mani!lation o" Objects
To maniplate an object in the scene to a precise location, scale or angle of rotation
alter the vales in the object data nmeric panel. 'y defalt the panel is hidden in the
#( )indow. The # Key toggles hide and display. The panel displays at the R* side
of the #( )indow and the vales therein are pertaining to the object selected in the
window.
To change a vale in the nmeric panel:
+lic! on the vale ,&' - .ress (elete - Retype /ale - .ress 0nter
or
Repeatedly clic! on one of the little arrows either side of the vale.
or
+lic! and hold ,&' in the vale bo" and drag the mose right or left.
Tool Shelf 1T 2ey toggles hide display
3meric .anel - 3 2ey toggles hide display
3meric vales for the +be object
$he $rans"or%ation &i'get
The transformation widget is a handy way of performing the maniplation operations
of the G, S and R 2eys described above. 'y defalt the widget is displayed in the #(
)indow in Grab mode.
+lic!ing on the red, green or ble handles (4rrows, Ring) with the ,&' and holding
while dragging the mose moves the object in the window. The widget sometimes
obstrcts the view bt it can be trned off in the window header. 4s well as trning
off the widget, rotate and scale modes are accessed in the window header.
G Grab &ode R Rotate &ode
S Scale &ode
Toggle )idget 5n1 5ff
Mesh Vertex Editing
After you have added a mesh to your scene in Object Mode, you can go into Edit
Mode (Tab key) and change its shape. n Edit Mode, you can !ork !ith the shape"s
individua# vertices (mesh intersections) to create the shape you !ant. $ou kno!
you"re in Edit Mode !hen you see orange #ines and dots on the se#ected object. %hen
you tab into Edit Mode the !ho#e of your se#ected object is in Edit Mode !ith a## the
vertices se#ected. &y defau#t Edit Mode is in 'erte( )e#ect Mode.
Selecting Vertices:
%hi#e in edit mode, to se#ect a sing#e verte(, first press A *ey to dese#ect a## the
vertices. n Edit mode this does not dese#ect the object, on#y the vertices. +M& c#ick
on a verte( to se#ect it. To se#ect mu#tip#e vertices, ho#d do!n the )hift key !hi#e
+M& c#icking on them. $ou can a#so drag a !indo! around vertices. ,ress &
*ey(&o( )e#ect) and drag a !indo! to se#ect a group of vertices. ,ressing - *ey
!i## bring up a circu#ar se#ection too#. .o#ding the /M& and dragging the circ#e
se#ects vertices on the move. The circ#e can be si0ed by pressing the 1 or 2 *eys on
the 3umber ,ad or scro##ing the center mouse !hee# . ,ressing Esc !i## get you out
of the circu#ar se#ection too#. n order to se#ect a## vertices or dese#ect current#y
se#ected ones, press the A *ey (for a##) once or t!ice.
Edit Mode Selection Options
&y defau#t in Edit mode, the se#ection mode is Vertex. $ou can a#so se#ect Edges or
Faces. These options are avai#ab#e in the !indo! header.
Object Mode Edit Mode
'ertices
)e#ected
Edge
)e#ected
4ace
)e#ected
Edge
4ace
'erte(
A#so by defau#t on#y visib#e vertices or faces are avai#ab#e for se#ection. This means
that you can on#y se#ect the vertices or faces on the front of an object. &#ender has a
Limit Selection to Visible function !hich means that !ith this activated you can
on#y see the front surface and on#y se#ect vertices or faces on the front. This function
is togg#ed on off in the !indo! header.
Basic Modifiers:
After se#ecting the vertices, edges or faces you can use the same basic too#s !e ta#ked
about previous#y (5672grab or move, 5)72sca#e, 5+72rotate).
Creating More Vertices:
)ometimes you need to add more vertices to some or a## of the
mesh in order create detai#. To do this, you must first se#ect a##
the vertices in an area that you !ish to add vertices to, then go to
the Too# )he#f at the /. side of the screen (T *ey togg#es hide2
disp#ay) and find the )ubdivide button. -#ick it as many times as
you need to divide the area se#ected.
Specials Menu:
n edit mode, pressing the 5%7 key !i## bring up a shortcut menu
that !i## give you a variety of editing options. Most of these
options can a#so be se#ected in the Too# )he#f.
Togg#e /imit )e#ection to 'isib#e On8Off
&ackground 3ot
)ho!n
&o( se#ecting faces !ith the Limit Selection to
Visible O3 !i## on#y se#ect the front three faces of
the cube.
Center Points:
Every object you create in &#ender has a sma## dot some!here in the center (by
defau#t, usua##y in the center of geometry of that object).This is the object"s center, or
pivot point. &eginners in &#ender often get these center points moved around to
#ocations other than !here they !ant them. This happens because they move a## the
vertices of the object in Edit Mode, but the center point fai#s to move. f you !ant to
move an entire object, hit tab to get out of Edit Mode and into Object )e#ect Mode.
9sing the 6 *ey to move the object in Object Mode !i## move the center point a#ong
!ith the object. f you ever need to re#ocate an object"s center point, move the :;
cursor to the desired center #ocation.
n Object mode c#ick on <Object< in the !indo! header then <Transform< then <Origin
to :; -ursor<. This !i## move the center point to the cursor. 3o! repeat the process
se#ecting <6eometry to Origin< !hich moves the vertices to the center.
Obect !ispla" # Shading:
9sua##y by defau#t, the se#ected object in the !indo! is set to
)o#id shading. Many times, you !i## need to !ork !ith your
objects in %ireframe Mode. A## shading does is change the !ay
you see your objects. )hading a#so affects the !ay you can se#ect
vertices in Edit Mode. n )o#id shading, on#y visib#e vertices can
be se#ected. n %ireframe, a## vertices can be se#ected. To change
bet!een )o#id and %ire modes, press the = *ey or se#ect the
shading mode from the header too#bar. $ou !i## notice severa# other shading options
in the menu. E(periment !ith the other options.
'ie!port )hading )e#ection
Object -enter
:; -urser
'ertices moved
a!ay from the
objects center in
Edit mode
$sing the Shading Smooth and Flat Options
As you add objects and vie! them in )o#id
shading, you !i## notice that circu#ar
objects are not being disp#ayed smooth. n
the Too# )he#f you !i## see t!o buttons
under the heading Shading. -#icking these
smooths or reverts to f#at shading.
These buttons not on#y effect the !ay
things #ook on the screen, but ho! they
!i## be rendered in a fina# image. &e a!are
that the appearance of objects on the screen are not disp#ayed at the same >ua#ity as a
fina# rendered image. The computer needs to conserve memory because :;
app#ications can be very memory intensive on your computer. There are other
smoothing options avai#ab#e in the Too# )he#f .

Extruding Shapes:
)hapes can be a#tered by se#ecting vertices (+M& -#k, & *ey or - *ey), either a
sing#e verte( or group of vertices, then 6 *ey to move the vertices, ) *ey to sca#e or
+ *ey rotate. -#k /M& to #eave them in position. )ca#ing and rotating are ho!ever
re#ative to the objects center.
A more refined method of a#tering a shape is by e(trusion. )e#ect the vertices as
above. ,ress the E *ey. The se#ected vertices are dup#icated and by defau#t p#aced
into grab mode ready to be moved. A#so by defau#t the movement is confined to a #ine
norma# to a p#ane defined by the se#ected vertices. This #ine disp#ays on the screen.
Moving the mouse moves the vertices a#ong the #ine. f you !ant to free#y move the
vertices -#k MM& (Midd#e Mouse &utton) and then move the mouse. The vertices
!i## fo##o! !herever you go. $ou can constrain the e(trusion to the ?,$ or = a(is of
the scene by pressing E *ey 1 ?, $ or =. by -#icking /M& !hen you have finished
moving re#eases the vertices from grab mode but they remain se#ected. $ou can no!
rotate them and sca#e them but in this case the rotation and sca#ing takes p#ace about
the mid point of the se#ected verte( group.
)mooth 4#at
Origina# -ube
E(trusion +otated
Above is an e(amp#e of a cube, e(truded from the right side severa# times using sca#e
and rotate.
&asic E(trude is a great command for making #ong tubes and tunne#s. t is a#so good
!hen you don"t !ant to subdivide an object too much in order to add detai#.
Proportional Vertex Editing:
,roportiona# 'erte( Editing is used to create a f#o! in the shape !hen editing
vertices. To turn proportiona# verte( editing on, press the O *ey !hi#e in edit mode
or by se#ecting the sma## circ#e button on the too#bar.
3ote@ you !i## on#y be ab#e to se#ect this option !hi#e in edit mode.
$ou have severa# options for effecting vertices in proportiona# editing. %e usua##y use
)harp or )mooth fa## off, but fee# free free to e(periment !ith the other options.
Creating %round

$ou can use proportiona# verte( editing to create #andscape easi#y. The first thing you
need to do is create a p#ane in the top vie! (3um ,ad A ). %hi#e in Edit mode, make
sure a## vertices are se#ected (vertices are orange). $ou can use the A *ey to se#ect
them a##. ,ress % *ey for specia#s menu, then se#ect <)ubdivide< or c#ick subdivide in
the Too# )he#f. ;o this a fe! times. )e#ect a sing#e verte( some!here near center.
3e(t, s!itch to a front vie! (3um ,ad B) and press the O *ey to enter Proportional
Vertex Editing mode. )e#ect sharp or smooth fa##off depending on !hat effect you
!ant. ,ress 6 *ey to grab (move) the verte( or drag the arro!s on the manipu#ation
!idget. 9se the scro## mouse !hee# to change the si0e of the proportiona# se#ection if
you have used the 6 *ey. E(periment !ith different si0e se#ections and different fa##
offs. To see your fina# !ork in a smooth disp#ay, e(it Edit mode (Tab key) and !ith
the object se#ected go to the Too# )he#f and find the <)et )mooth< button. This !i##
smooth the mesh in the disp#ay and fina# output.

The fo##o!ing diagram sho!s ground terrain created by
subdividing a p#ane. Then se#ecting a sing#e verte( and
moving it up the = a(is !ith the ,roportiona# Editing too# On
!ith +andom 4a## Off


Turn ,roportiona# Editing On 8 Off
)e#ect type of 4a## Off
Edge Loop Selection
%hen !orking !ith vertices it is sometimes usefu# to be ab#e to se#ect edge #oops.
,erform the fo##o!ing in Edit Mode.



-#ick on outer ring A#t 1 +M& to
se#ect the outer ring.
)hift 1 A#t 1 +M& on inner ring to
add to the se#ection.
-#ick on the edge !ith A#t 1 +M&
to se#ect the #oop sho!n here
)ing#e verticies se#ected
,#ane subdivided
)cro#e mouse !hee#
to vary si0e of
inf#uence circ#e
Joining Meshes:
To join two or more meshes together, hold down the
Shift Key and click RMB to select them, then press
Ctrl and J to join them. They will retain any materials
yo ha!e placed on them, "t will "e one o"ject.
Separating Meshes:
#n order to "reak p a mesh, yo need to "e in $dit
mode %Ta" Key& and select the !ertices yo wish to separate from the rest of the
mesh. 'ith the !ertices selected, type the ( Key % (artition& and click on )By
Selection). *o also ha!e an option to separate )+ll ,oose (arts) which means
separating o"jects that were added while an o"ject was in $dit Mode. )Separate By
Color) separates !erte- grops with different colors assigned.
Note: Pressing P Key in object mode deletes the scene background. Press Esc.
Deleting ertices!Edges!"aces:
#f yo want to make a hole in a mesh, select the !erticies, edges, or faces yo wish to
remo!e, then hit the .elete key.
#dding "aces:
Sometimes yo need to fill in holes in a mesh "y creating
yor own faces. To do this, go into $dit Mode and select
the !ertices yo wish to face together %yo are limited to /
!ertices in a grop&. 'ith !ertices selected, hit the 0 Key.
+ face will "e formed. 1ere is an e-ample. + simple (lane
o"ject has "een added to the scene. #n $dit mode a single
!erte- is added %Ctrl 2 Clk ,MB&. Shift select or "o-
select two !ertices on the (lane and the new !erte-. (ress
the 0 Key %0ace&.
3ertices selected Separated4 ( Key By Selection
5ew 3erte- +dded
Select 6 3ertices
(ress 0 Key
(lane
Modifiers
Mesh objects can have their shape modified by using Blenders Modifiers.
Modifiers are accessed from the Properties Window on the LH side of the screen.
With the object selected in the 3 Window go to the Properties Window ! Modifier
button and clic" on #$dd Modifier to display the modifier %election menu.
$ modifier may be selected from the menu to change the shape of an object. $s you
can see there are a number of modifiers to choose from. $t this stage we will
demonstrate a few.
For more on Modifiers see Chapter 14
Properties Window
Modifier button &lic" #$dd Modifier#
Modifier %election Menu
Bevel Modifier
Subdivision Surface Modifier
&ube with Bevel Modifier $dded
&hange Width value to 'ncrease(ecrease Bevel
Modifier button
Properties Window
&ube with %ubserf Modifier $dded
&hange )iew value to *umber of %ubdivisions
)alue+ 3 &ube becomes a %phere
)iew+ , - . divisions
)iew+ / - &ube
Mirror Modifier
Sometimes when creating a complex shape you want it to be symmetrical on either
side of a centerline. The Mirror Modifier is a very useful tool for achieving this.
Start a new scene and place the default cube in front view
(Num Pad 1. Tab into !dit Mode and in the Tool Shelf clic"
on Subdivide once. The surfaces of the #ube have been
subdivided into four s$uares.
%t is important to note that only the surfaces of the #ube are
subdivided not the #ube itself. The cube is not divided into
four cubes only the surfaces of the original cube are divided.
Still in !dit mode& deselect all vertices (' (ey. )ox select () (ey * +rag a
rectangle over one side of the cube and delete the selected
vertices ( , (ey so that you are left
with half of the cube. Tab to -b.ect
mode.
%f you rotate the scene (#l" /old #enter Mouse 0heel and
+rag you will see that you have half an empty box with one
side missing. /it Num Pad 1 to get bac" to 1ront 2iew.
3emain in -b.ect mode and go to the Properties 0indow * Modifiers buttons. #lic"
on 4'dd Modifier4 and select 4Mirror4 in the drop down menu.
/ey presto you have the solid cube bac" again. 'ny
modifications you ma"e to the one side of the #ube in !dit
Mode will be duplicated on the other side.
+eselect 45imit Selection to 2isible4
)efore selecting
6+ 0indow /eader
Solid #ube after applying
Mirror Modifier
2ertex selected and
moved.
Mirrored on other half
of -b.ect
%n !dit mode
Note7
Boolean Modifier
Boolean Operations
Boolean Operations allow you to cut and join meshes by using other meshes. The
operations are implemented by employing Boolean modifiers.
An Object selected in the 3D Window has a Modifier applied to it and the Modifier is
gien the instruction to use another Mesh to perform an operation. The operations
performed are described as Intersection, Union and Difference. The following
e!ample demonstrates the "ntersection Boolean Operation.
#. Default $ube
selected in 3D
Window
3. With the $ube selected a Boolean Modifier
is added and Type "ntersect selected
%. Apply button
clic&ed
'. (esult after applying
the modifier and
separating the meshes.
The original $ube has been modified to the shape of
intersection )oerlap*
+. The default $ube
in the 3D Window
with a Tube object
added and
positioned as
shown.
Type "ntersect selected
Example of the Union Boolean is shown commencing with the same setup with the
Default $ube and tube object.
Example of the Difference Boolean .
Boolean ,nion Type selected
(esult after
applying
modifier
(esult after
separating meshes
(esult after
applying
modifier
(esult after separating
meshes
Two meshes joined together
Oerlap of meshes subtracted
For more on Modifiers see CH-1
The Knife Tool
As Blender is developing some things seem to disappear from the interface. One such
useful tool is the Knife Tool.
The Knife Tool is used to create additional vertices on the surface of an object while
in Edit mode. It allows you to add vertices by drawing a line across a series of edges
much lie subdividing but limiting the subdivision to a specific region.
As an e!ample using the default "ube object tab into Edit #ode and leave all the
vertices selected $ %ertices and edges showing in orange &.'old down the K Key and
clic and hold (#B. The mouse cursor turns into a neat little nife. )rag the nife
over some of the edges on the "ube. *elease the mouse button and the vertices on the
plane are deselected e!cept for new vertices which have been created where your
nife cut the edges. The new vertices may now be manipulated to modify the surface
of the "ube object.
Knife Tool
)rag Knife to cut edges of "ube
+ew %ertices added at intersections
Sculpt Mode
The 3D Window Sculpt Mode allows the manual manipulation of mesh vertices. Objects
surfaces are constructed from a mesh of vertices and by pulling and pushing the mesh
you modify the surface. ts a bit li!e modelling a piece of clay or plasticine only there is
no inside to the lump.
To give you the idea and get you started we will consider a "# Sphere. $dd a "#
Sphere object to your scene. Tab into %dit Mode and in the Tool &anel at the '(S of the
Window clic! )Subdivide) three times. This will provide plenty of vertices on the surface
of the mesh to manipulate. Tab bac! to Object Mode.
*hange the 3D Window from Object Mode to Sculpt Mode and change the #iewport
Shading to )Te+ture). The )Te+ture) #iewport Shading just lets you see the effect of your
sculpting a little better, it has nothing to do with applying a Te+ture. -oom in to get a
nice big view of the sphere . /um &ad &lus on the !eyboard 0.
1rush . Sculpt Tool 0
3D Window 2 Sculpt Mode
To begin, ta!e a loo! at the 3D Window in
Sculpt Mode. The only difference between
Object Mode and Sculpt Mode is the Tool
&anel at the '(S of the Window has changed
and the cursor has a circle attached to it.
3or want of a better word the circle attached
to the cursor is called the )1rush). t is in fact
a )Sculpting Tool).
The Tool &anel contains a series of Tabs with buttons and sliders
for controlling the 1rush. 1y default the )1rush Tab) is open.
*lic!ing on the little triangles adjacent to each Tab name toggles
the Tab open or closed. This is purely a space saving mechanism.
f there is too much information to display in a Tab a scroll bar
will display at the 4(S of the Tool &anel.
1efore attempting to figure out what all the Tool &anel controls are
fore let)s see what the 1rush does. *lic! 'M1, hold and drag the
cursor circle . The brush 0 across the surface of the "# Sphere.
The mesh surface deforms producing a welt on the surface. f you clic! and hold MM1
while dragging the mouse . 4otating the Scene 0 you will see that the welt has been
produced only on what was the visible surface.
Tab *losed
Tab Open
Tool &anel
Welt on Surface Sphere 4otated
O56 That is how the 1rush wor!s but of course there is much much more to it than that.
n the Tool &anel, by default the )1rush Tab) is open.
$t the top of the 1rush Tab there is a small window
showing part of a sphere with a welt on the surface. 1y
clic!ing 'M1 on the window a second panel displays
showing nineteen 1rush type options. 7ou will see that type
)3 Sculpt Draw) is highlighted in blue which is the default
1rush type. *lic!ing on any of the different types selects
that particular type ma!ing it active.
8o to the bottom of the Tool &anel
and open the )Tool Tab). (ere you see
tool type )Draw) is shown as being
active. Tool type )Draw) is the same as
)3 Sculpt Draw). Where you see
)Draw) is a drop down menu which
lists the same nineteen 1rush type
options as previously shown. 7ou can select a 1rush type here as
well. /ote below the drop down menu button there are four
options for 1rush selection. Since we are in Sculpt Mode the
1rush for Sculpt Mode is active.
8o bac! to the )1rush Tab) at the top.
Sorry about the up, down, up but the 9uic! selection window at the top of the )1rush
Tab) is relevant to the )Tool Tab).
$ctive 1rush Type
/ow we will attempt to e+plain some of the control options for the 1rush. To do this we
will use the default Tool type )Draw). There are many many combinations of control
options for the 1rush which, unless we maintain a common baseline, an e+planation
would be impossible. %+periment and e+periment is the only way to proficiency.
The Brush Tab
4adius Slider: *ontrols the si;e of the 1rush circle.
$nother way to change the si;e of the 1rush circle is to press
the 3 5ey on your !eyboard and drag the mouse. 'M1 clic!
when you have finished dragging.
Strength Slider: The strength of the 1rush influence on the vertices.
$dd<Subtract: $dd pulls vertices away from the surface.
Subtract pushes vertices into the surface.
Note: did say e+plain some of the control options. Options not e+plained will re9uire
you to e+periment.
The Stroke Tab
Stro!e Method: The stro!e Method drop down
provides different options.
3 5ey Drag Mouse
'M1 *lic!
See Screenshot on
ne+t &age
4emove the "# Sphere and add a &lane object to the scene. Subdivide five or si+ times
to produce vertices. 7ou will have to be in Object mode to delete the sphere and will
have to Tab to %dit Mode to subdivide the &lane.
$fter subdividing change bac! to Sculpt Mode. Ma!e sure you have #iewport Shading
type )Te+ture) selected.
*lic!ing 'M1 and dragging the 1rush across the surface of the mesh with )$dd) selected
in the 1rush Tab deforms the mesh in the positive direction as the 1rush is moved.
This applies to all Stro!e Methods. n most cases dragging over a deformed area
produces an accumulative effect even though the )$ccumulate) bo+ in the 1rush Tab is
not tic!ed. In the screenshots the Brush 'Strength' value is 0.!"
1rush 2 $dd Selected
1rush 2 Subtract selected
*lic!ing 'M1 and dragging with any Stro!e Method produces a deformation with the
e+ception of the )Drag Dot) and )$nchored) methods.
With )Drag Dot) the initial deformation on clic!ing is moved to a new location when
the mouse is dragged.
With )$nchored) the deformation is produced . increased 0 on the same spot.
Drag Dot
$nchored 2 *lic! and drag mouse to
produce hump
*ontinue dragging mouse to deform the
entire &lane object
/ote: When trying out the different options you will inevitably encounter some
idiosyncrasies. On my machine attempting to activate )=ittere) .increase the value above
>.>>>0 results in the selected object deleting from the scene. ?
The #urve Tab
$ graphical method of controlling
the 1rush effect. *lic! and drag
handles .dots0 on the curve to
reshape the curve or select from the
array of 9uic! select options
displayed below the curve window.
The Te$ture Tab
have no idea at this stage. %ven
the experts have to e+periment.
The S%mmetr% Tab
Tic!ing @, 7 or - under )Mirror) results in a deformation
produced on one side of an objects a+is being reproduced
on the opposite side of the a+is.
$+is
Drag Mouse
Deformation 4eproduced on opposite side of $+is
The &ptions Tab
$nother Tab re9uiring some research.
The 'ppearance Tab
*lic!ing either of the two color bars displays color pic!ers for
changing the appearance .color0 of the 1rush circle in the
3D Window .
Which, depends on weather you have $dd or Subtract
selected in the 1rush Tab.
Tic!ing )*ustom con) allows you to select an image to display for the Tool Type icon
instead of 1lenders default icon .See the 1rush Tab 9uic! select panel0.
CH04- Materials
01-Materials
02-Material Settings
03-Materials Buttons
04-Material Colors
05-The Preview Tab
06-i!!use Tab
0"-S#e$ular Tab
1%-Har&ness
0'-(a)# Sha&ers
10-Trans#aren$*
11-Halos
12-Blen&er Material Slots
13-+erte, Paint
(eturn to Contents
Materials
What is a Material? A material is a color but it is much more than just a color. Think
of the color red. It could be dark red or light red or any shade of red you could image.
The color can be shiny or dull or it could be transparent or it could gradually fade
from one shade to another. The possibilities are endless. That is a material.
Basic Material Settings
The default Blender scene has a Cube object hich displays as a dull grey color.
Color is the ay your eyes interpret the reflected light from an objects surface. If
there is no light you see nothing so Blender has placed a !amp in the default scene
and assigned data to the Cube hich says" sho the Cube as being grey ith this
light. #$ery object added to the scene ill also be gi$en the same data as the Cube so
you ill see them as grey. When you add a material to an object you are modifying
the default data.
Adding a material is done in the %roperties Windo ith the Material button
acti$ated.
To add a material to an object" first select the object you ant to ork ith &The
default cube comes ith a material added'. In the %roperties Windo header click the
Material button" then click the ()e( button. *ou ill see the Material %roperties
buttons open up.
Note: In the default Blender scene the default Cube object has been gi$en a default
Material as seen by the grey color displayed. +ubse,uent objects added to the scene
also ha$e this same Material although the Material buttons do not display. Click on
()e( to display the buttons.
%roperties Windo Material button
When a ne object is added to the scene click on
()e( to display the Materials buttons
Materials Buttons
The material panel is used to change some
of the physical properties of the object in
the ay it looks. If you plan on using just
straight color and no te-ture" this is here
you set the object.s color. /ere is here
you set other properties such as0 +hading
"Transparency" 1lossy or 2lat" 3eflecti$e"
/alo #ffect #tc.
A brief e-ample of setting a Material ill
follo.
Material Slot: +ee separate section
Material Name: Click here to
delete the name (Material.445( and
type a ne name for your Material
Preview Panel: +hos a pre$ie of
your Material hen rendered. Click
the buttons to the right for different
pre$ie options.
Material Stack: Click here to see
all your materials
Color Picker: Click in the color bar
to display the color picker.
Click to
select color
Tabs: Click to open the tab and
display buttons.
Material Colors
#ach material can e-hibit three colors6
The basic 7iffuse o$erall color hich is seen hen a surface reflects light..
The +pecular color hich gi$es a surface highlights or a shiny appearance.
The Mirror color hich is color used to fake mirror reflections.
It is important to remember that the material color is only one element in the
rendering process. The rendered color of an object is a product of the material color
and the emitting light color. An object may ha$e a yello material color but put it
under a blue light or a red light and you get something else altogether.
Adding a New Material
We ill demonstrate the basics of adding a material by an e-ample.
+tart a ne Blender scene and add a Monkey object. Monkey alays comes laying on
his back so ith him selected press 3 8 9 8:4 & 3otate about 9 a-is :4 degrees'.
/it the )um %ad + and ;oom in a bit. 1o to the Tool +helf and under (+hading( click
on (+mooth(.
Make sure the Monkey is selected then go to the %roperties
Windo < Material button.
Click on the ()e( button to display the Material %roperties buttons.
When the monkey is added to the scene Blender assigns it the properties for the grey
color e$en though the Material %roperties are not displayed. After clicking ()e( you
can modify the properties to achie$e the look you ant.
)ote0 We selected the smooth option from the Tool +helf to better display the
modifications to the Material. +ome of the effects are $ery subtle so a nice smooth
surface is best for the demonstration.
Remember that color is the light we see relected rom a surace!
The Preview Tab
/a$e a look at the %re$ie tab in the Material %roperties Windo. This pre$ie gi$es
an indication of hat you ill see in a
3ender of the =7 Windo. To sa$e computer
memory Blender does not display e$erything
in the =7 Windo. >n the !/ side of the
%re$ie tab there are options for $ieing the
pre$ie in different formats. >ne of the
options is Monkey but for simplicity I ha$e
left my pre$ie as the default +phere.
The "iuse Tab
We pre$iously stated that the Monkey object had been assigned a grey color. This is
the 7iffuse o$erall color of the Material.
)ote the 30 4.?44" 10 4.?44" B0 4.?44 $alues. These are the numeric $alues hich
denote the 1rey color in the 31B color system. 31B stands for red"green and blue
primary colors. Mi-ing the three 4.?44 $alues produces the grey color. There are
three color system options a$ailable. 31B" /+@ and /e-.
What is Intensity? Intensity of a color is the shade of the color going through a range
from absolute no light to ma-imum light.

Color Bar shoing the 7iffuse color. Click to
display the Color %icker.
7efault color
Color +ystem >ptions
Intensity +lider
Intensity 4.444 )o light
Intensity 4.?44
3endered Images
1reyColor
%re$ie Monkey >ption
The to images demonstrating Intensity also ser$e to sho that light has a major
effect in a rendered image. When Monkey as added to the scene it as added at the
center of the World and then rotated on the 9 a-is through :4 degrees. This has meant
that the position of the default lamp is abo$e and behind Monkeys head. This
e-plains hy Monkeys face is in shado.
>AB /o come e see the Monkey hen the Intensity is 4.444 no light? We ill
come back to that a bit later. 2or no let(s make Monkey a bit more colorful.
1et the color picker again and select something pretty. If you ant to get e-actly
hat I ill sho you enter the 31B $alues0 304.?44" 104.C=4" B04.444
We no ha$e a pretty golden Monkey. *ou can see the difference beteen hat you
see in the =7 Windo and the rendered image. The =7 Windo has some shadoing
effect so that you can see a three dimensional image. This is also e$ident in the render
but you can also see some shiny highlights.
The shiny highlights are there since by default Blender has added +pecular color to
the Monkey. That(s hy e could see the Monkey hen e turned the 7iffuse color
intensity don to ;ero. We in effect canceled the 7iffuse light reflection but there
as still +pecular light reflection.
Intensity 4.?44
Color selected
=7 Windo 3endered Image
)ote0 +hiny /ighlights
#ntensit$ %ect or "iuse Color
&" 'indow (iews
Rendered #mages
The S)ecular Tab
We ill demonstrate the effect of +pecular color hich adds a highlights to a
material. The +pecular tab is similar to the 7iffuse tab ith a color bar hich hen
clicked displays a color picker. The
difference beteen the to tabs is that the
+pecular tab has a hardness $alue.
+elect the green color ith 304.444" 105.444" B04.CD4
Intensity 4.444 Intensity 4.D44 Intensity 5.444
+elected +pecular Color
When you add a +pecular color to an objects material there is no dramatic effect in
the =7 Windo. The difference ill be the +pecular /ighlights. The folloing
comparisons demonstrate the differences ith $arying Intensity $alues.
&" 'indow (iew
Rendered #mage (iew
The *ardness (alue
The best ay I can describe the effect of the /ardness $alue is to say that the effect
spreads the specular color across the surface of the object. The default /ardness $alue
is D4. The $alue range is 5 to 55D. The most $isible effect hen altering the $alue
occurs in the loer region of the range. The folloing e-amples demonstrate this
effect.
Intensity 4.444 Intensity 4.D44 Intensity 5.444
+pecular /ighlights
*ardness (alue (ariation
&" 'indow (iew
Rendered #mage (iew
As you see in the rendered images there is a relati$ely small change beteen
/ardness $alue 55D and D4 but a huge difference beteen D4 and 5. It is hard to see
any difference in the =7 Windo.
Ram) Shaders
Besides ha$ing control o$er 7iffuse and +pecular
Intensity and +pecular /ardness there is 3amp
+hader system to integrate color shading o$er a
surface. We ill not attempt to gi$e instruction in its
use here only to point out its e-istence.
The ramp shader produce $ery subtle effects of color
mi-ing but it must be used in conjunction ith
lighting and lamp positioning.
/ardness0 5 /ardness0 D4 /ardness0 55D
Tick to turn 3amp +hader on
Trans)arenc$
To make an object transparent go to the %roperties Windo < Material button <
transparency tab. Tick transparency to display the controls.
*alo Settings
By using /alo settings only the @ertices of a mesh object ill be $isible hen
rendered. The $ertices ill display as points of light
hich look like rings" lines or stars or a combination.
With the +phere selected in the =7 Windo
tick Transparency and reduce the Alpha
$alue
=7 Windo @ie
3endered Image
With the Cube selected" in the
+hado tab untick (3ecei$e(.
3ings
!ines
+tars
Combined
/alo +elected
Mirror Color
+pecular Color
Change $alues as re,uired
Cube placed in
background
The Application of Materials and Material Slots
To simplify the understanding of the application of materials in Blender it may be
easier to think of materials as colors. The color of an object in a Blender scene is set
by values entered using a color picker, typing RGB values or moving sliders.
A Blender scene may have multiple materials and these materials are stored in a
cache for use by any of the objects which are introduced to the scene or any object
in any scene in the Blender file. A Blender file may contain multiple scenes.
To demonstrate the application of materials in Blender set the screen to include the
! "iew and the #roperties $indow with the %aterials Buttons active .
$hen a new Blender scene is opened the ! "iew displays a cube mesh object which
has a dull grey color. The #roperties $indow opens with Render Buttons active.
&hange the #roperties $indow to set the %aterials Buttons active.
$ith the %aterials Buttons active it is seen that'
(. A preview pane shows a dull grey color on a sphere.
). There is a material named *%aterial+ in the ,ni-ue !atablock .! name.
. There is one %aterial /lot active showing the material named *%aterial+.
! "iew #roperties $indow
%aterial Button
,ni-ue !atablock .! name
#review
%aterial /lot
Browse .! data
Beginners skip this
section
By clicking the Browse .! data button a drop down displays, showing the %aterials
&ache containing the single material named *%aterial+.
The relationship between the %aterial, the %aterial /lot and the 0bject in the !
"iew may be considered as shown below.
%aterial data stored in the &ache is entered in the %aterial .! which is linked to the
%aterial /lot. The /lot is assigned to the object selected in the ! "iew.
To further e1plain the relationship continue with the following procedure.
!elete the &ube in the ! $indow then add a new &ube 0bject.
%aterial &ache
&ache
0bserve that the #roperties $indow %aterial buttons now show no reference to any
material data. The cube in the ! $indow still displays as a dull gey color. By
clicking the Browse .! data button it will be seen that *%aterial+ is still in the cache.
.t follows that that there must be a hidden material slot with *%aterial+ linked to it
and the slot is assigned to the cube in the ! $indow. &lick on *%aterial+ in the
cache to display the material properties with the slot.
The relationship between the material and the object is applied whether the object is
selected in the ! $indow or not. .f there is more than one object in the window the
relationship will be applied to the last object that was selected.
To demonstrate this deselect the cube in the ! $indow. &lick in the !iffuse color
bar to display the color picker and then click in the multi colored circle to select a
new color. The color of the cube changes despite the fact that is is not selected. The
material is still named *%aterial+ but it has been given new data. The material is still
linked to the slot and the slot is still assigned to the cube object.
2o reference to material
&lick Browse .! data
%aterial in
&ache
%aterial #roperties no material data reference
%aterial #roperties with material data reference
2o %aterial
data
%aterial data
&lick on
%aterial
&lick on !iffuse color bar
to display color picker
.t is important to understand that with an object selected in the ! $indow the
#roperties $indow shows the materials buttons and data that is relevant to the
selected object only. 3or e1ample the %aterial /lot is relevant only to the selected
object. /electing a different object in the ! $indow changes the #roperties $indow
and the data from that of the previous object to the new object selected. This may
seem to be e1pressing the obvious but the concept must be understood.
The e1ception to the foregoing is that the materials cache and the materials contained
therein are relevant to any object in any scene in the Blender file.
%ultiple %aterials may be added to the &ache.
&lick on the 4 Add 2ew %aterial button and a new material named *%aterial.55(+
will show in the !atablock .! which is linked to the slot and therefore assigned to the
cube. Blender creates a duplicate of the previous linked %aterial. *%aterial.55(+ is
identical to *%aterial+ i.e. it is the same color.
&olor #icker
Brightness /lider
&lick in &ircle
Type RGB values
!rag /liders
&olor /elected
RGB values
&lick on the Browse .! data button to reveal the cache. *%aterial.55(+ is now stored
in the cache. $ith the color picker, click and change the color. The color of the cube
will change in the ! $indow since *%aterial.55(+ is linked to the slot and assigned
to the cube.
Go to the cache again and click on 6%aterial6
By using the color picker and changing the color the material data is changed and
therefore the color of the cube is changed. &licking on *%aterial+ has linked it to the
slot and with the slot assigned to the cube the color of the cube changes.
Therefore, by selecting *%aterial+ or *%aterial.55(+ from the cache linking the
material to the slot the color of the object cube can be changed at will.
Adding a new object to the scene creates a new material slot and by default the
original material with its dull grey color is linked. As previously stated when a new
object is introduced into a scene a new set of material data comes with it.
The cache retains the material colors previously used and they may be selected and
linked to the new slot changing the color of the new object.
%aterial.55( in slot
%aterial.55( after
adding new material
Add 2ew %aterial Button
%aterial.55( data
linked
,p to this point only one material slot has been employed linked to an object.
%ultiple material slots may be introduced for each individual object in the scene.
The application of multiple material slots can be demonstrated by showing how a
single mesh object can have multiple colors.
3ollow this procedure.
Add a ," /phere %esh 0bject to the scene. The sphere will be in 0bject %ode and
selected in the ! "iew. 7ave the #roperties $indow with the %aterial buttons
active. The sphere will be the default dull grey color and the materials properties
window will be blank.
Remember the cache is still available for selecting materials if you wish.
&lick on the 62ew6 button to create a new material. By default it is the dull grey color
but note its !atablock .! name in the window 6%aterial.55)6. &lick on the Browse .!
button and it will be seen added to the cache. The name is 6%aterial.55)6 since
6%aterial6 and 6%aterial.55( already e1ist.
2ow click on the Add %aterials /lot button.
A new slot is created but note, it contains the same material .! name as the first slot.
Blender has created a duplicate of the first slot . The new slot is not linked to an
object in the ! "iew.
2ote, the number ) which has appeared ne1t to the material .! datablock name. The
) is stating that the material has two users, that is, it is being used by the two slots. By
clicking on the ) it is made single user which means it is only linked to the selected
slot.
Blender achieves this by automaticly creating a new material as seen in the material
datablock 8 %aterial.559. Again a duplicate of the previous material is created so at
this point the new material is identical to the previous.
There are now two color slots, one is linked to the sphere, the other is not linked.
Remember, the information in the #roperties %aterial $indow is only relevant to the
sphere selected in the ! "iew. .f the sphere were deselected the the first slot remains
assigned to the sphere since it was the last object selected.
%ore slots may be added and single user materials linked. There is no indication
showing which slot is linked other than it is the uppermost slot in the stack.
2ow, the reason for the second slot.
&hange the ! "iew to a side view 8( key or key on the num pad9 so the sphere is
visible. :nlarge the view by 4 ;ey on the 2um pad. Tab to :dit %ode 8This is with
the sphere selected9. .n :dit %ode the sphere will have all its vertices selected.
#ress the A key to deselect the vertices. B key and drag a rectangle around part of the
sphere selecting some of the vertices 8 A verte1 Group9.
,pper slot
linked to sphere
2ew
%aterial.55
B key !rag
Rectangle
2ote that on entering :dit %ode with the sphere selected *Assign < /elect =!eselect+
buttons have displayed below the slot window in the #roperties %aterial $indow.
2ow with your new slot selected click on the Assign button. Blender assigns the slot
and thus links the material to the selected group of vertices. %ake sure that the color
for the material linked to the slot is something different to the material linked to the
first slot or this will not be evident.
Assign
Button
%aterial.55 green = %aterial.55) grey
Tab to 0bject %ode in the ! "iew to see the sphere with two colors 8 %ultiple
colors 9.
2othing is difficult when it is e1plained.
/ome things are very simple.
$hy is it so difficult to e1plain something so simple>
2ew %aterial.55
assigned to verte1 group
/phere in 0bject %ode
Vertex Painting
In addition to adding materials to an object as described in the foregoing pages Blender
also provides the Vertex Paint tool which allows you to manually paint a material on to
the surface of an object
You paint by changing the 3D indow from
!bject "ode to Vertex Paint "ode# You will
be able to paint a selected object
immediately but before you can render an
image with the paint showing you must have
a material added# $ new object added to the
3D indow displays with the default
Blender grey color but as seen in the
Properties indow % "aterial button there
are no control tabs displayed# ith a new
object added to the 3D indow& in the
Properties indow % "aterial button press '$dd "aterial'# (he new object still displays
in the 3D indow as the same grey color but now the "aterials button contains control
tabs#
)o to the "aterials button % !ptions tab and tic* 'Vertex
+olor Paint'#
'Vertex +olor Paint' tells Blender to use the painted
material instead of base color when you render an image#

'Vertex +olor Paint' must be tic*ed before the paint color
will render#
$s Vertex Paint suggests& the process involves painting
vertices# (he default +ube in the 3D indow only has
eight vertices therefore it doesn't provide much scope for
a demonstration# Delete the +ube and add a ,V -phere#
(he default ,V -phere has 3. -egments and /0 1ings
which provides a vetex at each intersection point# If you
would care to count the intersections you will find there
are a lot more vertices in the sphere than the cube# Don't
as* me how many#
!23 +hange the 3D indow to 'Vertex Paint "ode'#
In Vertex Paint "ode the ,V -phere loo*s li*e a white dis* and your 3D +orsor
changes to a orange circle# (he (ool -helf panel at the left of the window displays with
the Brush tab open#
In the Brush tab you have a circular color pic*er for selecting the
paint color with a bar across the bottom showing the color that
you select#
Immediately below the color bar are two sliders# '1adius' controls
the si4e of the Brush 5 (he circular 3D +ursor 6 and '-trength'
controls how much paint color is applied#
$nother way of controlling the si4e of the Brush is to press the
7 2ey and clic* and hold the 8"B dragging the cursor towards or
away from the centre of the Brush circle# +lic* 8"B when
finished# (he si4e of the Brush circle changes and the slider value
in the tool shelf is reset#
Drag mouse and clic* to
change Brush si4e#
Paint Brush
,V -phere
I will leave you to find out the function of the all tabs in the tool shelf except for the
(ool tab# 9ere you select the tool specific to Vertex Paint and have a drop down menu
for selecting the action of the Brush# (he default action is '"ix'#
1emember that the although the ,V -phere is displaying as a disc it is in fact a 3D
-phere# You can display the segments and rings and hence the vertices and faces of the
sphere by activating the '7ace -election "as*' in the 3D indow header#
hen painting you are only painting the visible surface of the object# You have to pan
the 3D View or rotate the object to paint the hidden surfaces#
7ace -election "as* activated
showing segments and rings#
Visible surface painted#
3D View rotated showing
unpainted hidden surface
-elect this (ool for Vertex Paint
Drop Down -election "enu
(he Vertex Paint +olor can only be seen in Vertex Paint "ode or in a rendered image#

Vertex Paint "ode
1endered Image
CH05- Textures
01-Textures
02-Texture Mapping
03-Displacement Mapping
04-UV Texture Mapping
05-Selective UV Mapping
0-Un!rapping !it" Seams
0#-Texture $aint

%eturn t& C&ntents
Textures
In the Materials section we considered the effect of light reflecting off a smooth
surface. Textures are the physical characteristics of a surface such as the surface of
bricks, carpet, wood grain etc.
Before you can add a Texture to a surface you must first add a material since by
default, Blender textures are set to influence the material. See Influence tab.
Textures are applied to an objects surface using the buttons on the Properties Window
Texture button. !licking the Texture button displays a panel where you can add a
new texture .
"lender comes with a series of built in Textures from which to chose or you can use
any photo image stored on your computer. "lender can also place mo#ies on a surface
and you can animate the textures.
To demonstrate the placing of a Texture follow this example$
%pen a new "lender scene and replace the default !ube with a Plane. &cale the Plane
up by fi#e. 'dd a Material ($ ).*)), +$ ).,-,, "$ )../0.
+o to the Properties Window Texture button and
click 12ew1.
The texture buttons display with a default texture type 1!louds1 shown in the 1Pre#iew
tab1 panel. With a 1!louds1 type texture a 1!loud1 tab has displayed. This tab contains
settings for altering the characteristics of the texture. The tab will change depending
on what texture type is selected.
Properties Window Texture button
!lick on the texture
type drop down and
select type 1Magic1.
Tab.
1
The !loud texture is replaced by the Magic texture and the !loud tab is replaced by
the Magic tab. This tab contains only two #alues for altering the characteristics of the
texture, 3epth and Turbulence.
2ote the 43 Window does not show the
texture on the object. This is where
"lender conser#es memory. (ender,
press 567, to see the texture.
Texture type drop
3own
!louds
Magic
Magic tab
!hange the 3epth #alue to . and render again to see the alteration.
+o back to the texture type drop
down selection and select 1Image
or Mo#ie1.
'n 1Image1 tab displays instead of
1Magic1 and the pre#iew shows a
black window. We ha#en1t told
"lender what image to use.
In the Image tab click open. The 5ile "rowser window displays. 2a#igate to a file
containing a picture. I ha#e a picture named 1&treet.jpg1 in my 3ocuments folder.
!lick on the picture file then click 1%pen1 8Top (9& of screen:.
;ou will see your picture in the pre#iew
panel 8 probably multiple images:. (ender to
see your picture displayed on the surface of
the plane.
(ender with 3epth$ .
Mapping the Texture
Whether you use one of "lenders built in textures or an image you may want to
adjust how the texture is positioned on the object. The 1Mapping1 tab is the place to do
this.
%ffset and &i<e are self explanatory. =ither can be controlled on the >, ; and ? axis.
The !oordinates drop down gi#es you a selection of coordinate systems and the
Projection drop down has a choice of mapping options to suit the shape of your
object.
There are a lot of buttons and settings to experiment with in the Texture buttons and
the best way to find out what they do is play around and record results for future
reference.
5lat
!ube
Tube &phere
Displacement Mapping
3isplacement Mapping is using a Texture to deform a mesh. ;ou can make a !ube or
a &phere etc. look wrinkled without ha#ing to mo#e #ertices around.
&tart a new "lender scene with the default cube. Make sure the !ube has a material
then in =dit mode subdi#ide the !ube a number of times. The texture is going to
displace #ertices so you need a whole bunch of #ertices to work with.
Put a !loud Texture on the !ube then go to the Influence tab. @ea#e the 3iffuse
!olor ticked and under the +eometry heading tick 13isplace1. (ender to see the effect.
Mo#ing the slider next to the 3isplacement tick #aries the amount of displacement.
The 1"lend1 drop down displays options which influence the Material. Try 1'dd1 and
1&ubtract1 and render to see the difference. 'nother example is shown below. This
time a black and white image texture has been used on a plane. 3on1t forget to
subdi#ide the plane. 2egati#e 3isplacement #alues raise the surface up positi#e
#alues depress the surface.
=xperiment with other features and record the outcome for future reference.
"lack and White Image
(endered Image with 2egati#e 3isplacement Aalue
UV Texture Mapping
For complex models regular Cubic, Cylindrical or Spherical texture mapping is not
sufficient to accurately place the texture on the surface . This is where UV Mapping
can help.
The coordinates U and V are used simply to distinguish from the !" coordinates
used in the #$ %indow.
UV Mapping is accomplished by ta&ing the surface of an ob'ect ( Model ) , peeling it
off as you would a s&in from an orange and laying it out flat on a *$ surface. +n
image is then superimposing as a texture o,er the flattened surface (Mapping). The
surface for laying out the flattened ob'ect is the UV-.mage /ditor %indow.
+s with e,ery basic instruction in 0lender it is best to begin with something simple.
+lthough the process we are describing is for complex surfaces anything other than
simple is going to be confusing at first.
Start with a Cube ob'ect in 0lenders default #$ Scene but first delete the cube that is
loaded automatically and add a new cube.
The default cube comes pre loaded with a material and a texture channel. .n our
pre,ious discussion on material and textures it was stated that before a texture could
be applied, an ob'ect had to ha,e a material. +dding a new cube to the scene which
does not ha,e a material or a texture will demonstrate that neither are necessary when
applying UV Texture Mapping.
%ith the new cube added di,ide the #$ %indow in two and change one half to the
UV-.mage /ditor. .n the #$ %indow 1oom in on the cube. %hen you di,ide the
window the cube is a little small to see what you are doing.
2ew Cube added 3 no material applied
4roperties %indow 3 Material 0utton
Change the #$ %indow to /dit
mode and select 5Textured5 as the
Viewport Shading Type.
Selecting 5Textured5 will allow
you to see the superimposed
texture in the #$ %indow while
in /dit mode.
.n the #$ %indow Tools 4anel under 5UV Mapping5 clic& on
5Unwrap5 to display a 5UV Mapping5 unwrapping type selection
menu. These options allow you to unwrap the surface of the
selected ob'ect in a ,ariety of ways. Some of the unwrapping
methods are difficult to ,isualise so the only way to learn is to
experiment and record your findings.
To &eep things simple select the 5Follow +cti,e 6uads5 method for unwrapping the
cube. This method will lay out the surface of the cube as if you had unfolded one of
those post office mailing boxes. The surface will consist of six s7uares. The
UV-.mage /ditor window will probably re7uire you to 1oom out to see the whole
arrangement ( 2um 4ad 3 Minus 8ey, the same as the #$ %indow).
2ow the flattened surface is displayed
it5s time to load a texture image.
.n the UV-.mage editor %indow header
clic& on 5.mage5 and select 59pen5. This
will display the File 0rowser %indow
where you can na,igate and find an
image to use as a texture. 9nce you
ha,e located your image file clic& on it to select and then clic& on 59pen5.
.n my case . ha,e selected a picture file named 5%inter:ea,es.'pg5 in my
C;<Users<4ublic<4ictures<Sample4ictures< directory.
The image displays in the UV-.mage editor window.
"oom out again if the image is too large.
The image shows in the centre face but you
will see that it is mapped to each surface of
the cube in the #$ %indow. =o ahead and
rotate the cube to
see if .5m correct.
%ith the cursor in the UV-.mage editor press the + 8ey to
select all the surfaces then = 8ey (=rab) and mo,e the
selected surfaces around. +s you mo,e the surfaces you will
see that the image is repositioned on the surfaces of the cube in the #d %indow.
The outline of the surfaces in the UV-.mage /ditor can be scaled and rotated the
same as you would edit a mesh in the #d %indow. .ndi,idual ,ertices on the mesh
may be selected then grabbed and mo,ed also. +s you see by manipulating the
surface outline in the UV-.mage editor you can accurately position the texture image.
Clic& to display files as thumbnail images.
File 0rowser %indow
.f you were to render an image of the ob'ect (F>*) at this
stage you would be disappoint to see that the image
texture does not render.

To render the image texture you ha,e to acti,ate 5Face
Texture5 ( Tic& ) in the 59ptions tab of the Materials
buttons in the 4roperties %indow. 98, now you ha,e
to apply a material. The default dull grey color will
do.
2ow press F>* to see the rendered image.
Selective UV Texture Mapping
So far the image texture has been mapped to all the surfaces of the ob'ect but
Suppose you wish to place the texture only on one face of the ob'ect.
Create a new scene and leave the default cube selected. $i,ide the #$ %indow as
before and set up the UV-.mage editor. .n the #$ %indow tab to /dit mode and select
5Textured5 Viewport Shading.
.n the #$ %indow change from Vertex
Select mode to Face Select mode.
$eselect all faces then select only one
face ( ?ight clic& on the face ).
.n the UV-.mage /ditor select and enter
an image for your texture as before.
!ou will see the image mapped to the face you selected in the #$ %indow. The other
faces display a white.
$efault =rey
9ne face selected
Face Select
Mode
.n this case we didn5t do any unwrapping but as soon as the image was entered in the
UV-.mage /ditor 0lender automatically mapped the single face.
%ith the cursor in the UV-.mage /ditor
pressing the + 8ey will select the face. The
white outline turns red.
!ou can then manipulate the face map to
position your image the way you want.
= 8ey @ grab, ? 8ey 3 rotate, S 8ey 3
scale.
2ote the face map in the UV-.mage /ditor is in Vertex Select mode. There are also
the options to select /dge and Face modes similar to the selections in /dit mode in
the #$ %indow. There is also a fourth option which is 5.sland Select5 mode. Some
unwrapping operations di,ide the face mesh into separate parts and .sland Select
allows selection of these parts.
=rab 3 Mo,e
?otate
Scale
0y selecting different faces on the cube and adding different images to the UV-.mage
/ditor you can place the different image textures on the indi,idual faces. !ou can
also shift select multiple faces or shift select edges or ,ertices to tell 0lender which
part of an ob'ects surface you want the image texture placed.
:et5s go bac& and consider the mesh unwrapping. 4ressing the Unwrap button gi,es
you different options. . will not try to explain what results these unwrapping methods
produce but a further method is a,ailable where you mar& a seam on the surface of
the ob'ect which tells 0lender how to unwrap that part of the mesh on which you
wish to place your texture.
Unwrapping Using Seams
.n a new 0lender Scene add an .sosphere. +n .sosphere is chosen since by default it
comes with 'ust enough ,ertices for brginners to play around with.
Set up the UV-.mage /ditor %indow as we did pre,iously.
.n the #d %indow with the .sosphere selected
tab to edit mode then press + 8ey to deselect
all ,ertices. Change to /dge select mode and
shift select edges di,iding the surface of the
sphere into three parts. .t5s best to 1oom in on
the sphere and rotate the ,iew while selecting
the edges. %ith the edges selected press 5Mar&
Seam5 in the tools 4anel. The selected edges
will turn red showing that a seam has been
mar&ed.
The next tric& is to select all the edges of the faces
of the sphere not 'ust the edges mar&ed as the seam.
+ 8ey to deselect the seam edges then + 8ey to
select all edges.
.sland Select Mode
>
*
#
Seam
+ll edges selected
Aa,ing done, press 5Unwrap5 in the Tools 4anel then in the drop down select
5Unwrap5.
The separated parts of the spheres surface will be mapped in the UV-.mage /ditor.
!ou can now go ahead and open an .mage as a texture. .n the #$ %indow in /dit
mode with 5Textured5 Viewport Shading you will see the image on the surface of the
sphere mapped to the three parts you set up with the seam.
.sland to be selected
4art # of the Sphere
.n the UV-.mage /ditor select 5.sland select5 mode in the header.
This will allow you to select separately each of the three surface parts. %ith a part
selected you can manipulate it to position the texture on that part.
Selected .sland scaled down and
positioned o,er grey blue part of the
image.
0lue grey part of the image applied
as texture to 4art # of the Sphere
This has been a ,ery brief introduction to UV
Texture Mapping. The possibilities are endless
therefore it is o,er to you to experiment and
disco,er the capabilities of the procedure.
Texture Paint
Texture Paint is a built in painting mode designed specifically to edit UV Image
Textures. It is not a method for painting textures on to a surface.
A UV Texture is an image ( picture ) which is mapped to the surface of an obect
pro!iding color and surface definition ( "ee UV Texture #apping ).
$ith Texture Paint you can paint color o!er the image or directly on to the surface of the
obect once the image has been mapped. %efore you can Texture Paint the surface of the
obect must therefore first be unwrapped to the UV Image &ditor $indow and an image
must be applied as a texture ( "ee UV Texture #apping ).
To demonstrate Texture Paint use the default %lender "cene with the default 'ube
obect. (emember the default 'ube in the default scene comes with a #aterial already
applied. If you are introducing a new obect to the scene you must apply a material
before you can introduce a texture.
"elect the 'ube and unwrap the surface to the UV Image editor $indow using the
)*ollow Acti!e +uads) method. Apply an image as a texture.
UV Image &ditor $indow ,- $indow
'ube unwrapped using )*ollow Acti!e +uads)
Image applied as Texture
Texture Image mapped to surfaces of 'ube
Texture -isplay #ode
In the ,- $indow change from &dit #ode to Texture Paint #ode. The ,- $indow will
now be !ery similar to the Vertex Paint $indow with the exception that there is a )itter)
slider in the %rush tab . a )Texture) tab and a )Proect Paint) tab.
Texture Paint #ode
,- $indow in Texture Paint #ode
In the UV Image &ditor $indow header acti!ate the ) &nable Image Painting) button.
In the ,- $indow / Texture Paint #ode you may now select a color from the color
pic0er. set the %rush si1e and strength and the type of stro0e. 'lic0. hold and drag the
%rush to paint on the image in the UV Image &ditor $indow or on the surface of the
obect in the ,- $indow. $hiche!er $indow you paint in is reflected in the other
$indow.
Paint in either $indow
UV Image &ditor $indow
2nly selected image displays when the
,- $indow is in Texture Paint #ode.
UV Image &ditor $indow
,- $indow
To see what you ha!e painted when you render
you must tic0 )*ace Textures) in the Properties
$indow / #aterial button / 2ptions tab.
2nce again this is only a basic introduction. There are plenty of options for
experimentation and there are excellent tutorials on the internet co!ering this topic.
3ere is another re!elation to demonstrate that we ha!e only seen the tip of the iceberg. If
you loo0 closely in the upper corners of the $indows you will see a small white circle
with a plus sign in side. These indicate that there are hidden tool panels. 'lic0ing on
these icons will display the panels but you can also toggle the displays with the )T 4ey)
and the )5 4ey) on your 0eyboard.
UV Image &ditor $indow
$ith the Tool Panels
-isplayed
CH06- World Settings
01-World Settings
02-Mist
03-Stars
04-Texture as Background
05-!age as Background
06-!age as Te!"late
#eturn to Contents
World Settings
The World Settings allow you to set background for
your scene. The default World setup is the dull grey
which displays when an image is rendered. The
background in the render is not the same as the
background in the 3D Window. The World button in
the Properties Window displays the settings tabs, the
first one being a Preview panel.
You only see the gold background when you render
an image of your scene.
lick on the color bars in the World tab to display
color pickers for setting background color.
!ori"on olor# olor at the hori"on.
$enith olor# olor at the top of the scene.
%mbient olor# Provides an overall lighting effect. %n ob&ect in the scene will
reflect this color regardless of its own 'aterial olor.
Sky# Paper, (lend, )eal. These options provide combinations of
color gradient across the rendered image.
The e*amples of Sky background combinations shown have a 'ist effect added.
Preview Panel showing !ori"on olor
set to gold with a combination of
Paper Sky, (lend Sky and )eal Sky
Paper Sky + (lend Sky
Paper + (lend + )eal Sky
Wall ,b&ect with !ori"ontal Slats -ertical Pole ,b&ect
)endered .mages of 3D -iew
Mist
'ist settings allow you to introduce a mist
or fog effect to your scene
Start# Distance from the amera where 'ist starts.
Depth# Distance over which 'ist increases from /0 to 1//0
!eight# height of the 'ist.
Stars
The Stars tab allows you to introduce stars
to your background.
)endered .mage
'ist
3D Window amera -iew
3D Window -iew
amera set on 'id Pane
To see 'ist 2imits select the amera 3 go to properties Window 4 ,b&ect Data button
.n the Display tab click the 'ist bo*.
Depth
Start
'ist !eight
Stars
Top -iew of Scene in 3D Window
Texture as a Background.
5ou can use (lenders inbuilt Te*tures to create a (ackground. The following settings
create a cloud background by using (lenders loud Te*ture. Delete or deselect
ob&ects in the 3D Window
Te*ture button
World button
'ake sure Paper Sky is ticked
!ori"on and $enith colors 6rey
olor bar set to (lue
!ori"on ticked
Image as a Background
5ou can use any image stored on your computer as a background.
Deselect ob&ects in the scene.
.n the Properties Window 4 World buttons 4 tick Paper Sky
.n the Properties Window 4 Te*ture buttons 4 click 78ew7 to add a Te*ture.
Select Te*ture type # .mage or 'ovie in the .mage tab click ,pen then navigate
and select your .mage.
.n the Te*ture buttons 4 .nfluence tab click !ori"on.
The .mage will display as the background to your scene when you render.
.mage renders as background to the scene.
Using an Image as a Temlate
%n image can be displayed in a scene as a template to aid in modeling
With the mouse cursor in the 3D Window press the 8 9ey on the keyboard.
Tick (ackground .mage
lick %dd .mage
lick 8ot Set
lick ,pen
Select -iews for Displaying .mage
ontrols for ad&usting Transparency Si"e
and ,ffset if .mage in 3D -iew
.mage in 3D -iew
CH07- Lighting
01-Lighting
Return to Contents
Lighting and Cameras
Lighting Types and Settings
The default scene in Blender starts with a Cube object, a Camera and a Lamp. What
the camera sees is what will render out as a picture or movie depending on what you
tell the program you want as a final output. To get a simple rendered view, press the
!" #ey. This will open a window that will display the rendered output of what the
camera is focused on. $f the picture shows the Cube object as a blac% silhouette you
do not have a lamp or the lamp settings or placement is incorrect. To e&it the render
window, press the 'sc #ey.
$n most cases, you will need more than one lamp in order to properly illuminate your
scene. Be careful not to use too many lamps( $nstead of adding too many lights,
e&periment with the )istance and 'nergy settings.
*ost scenes usually re+uire ,-. lamps.
Lamp Settings/
To create or add a lamp to the scene, position the
,) cursor in a desired location and press the 0lt
1 0 and select 2Lamp2 from the drop down menu.
The lamp will be placed in the scene.

With the lamp selected go to the 3roperties
Window 4 Lamp button to display the setting
options. The options displayed vary depending on
what type of Lamp you select.
Lamp Type Selection
Light Color
Shadow Color
Brightness
5ow far the light shines
The diagrammatic representation of the Lamp in the ,) Window also varies
depending on the type.
$f you decide that the Lamp you have selected is not correct for what you want to
achieve you can change the type in the 3roperties Window. Clic% on the Lamp Type
Selection in the Lamp tab.
3oint Sun Spot
5emi
0rea
Spotlights are particularly useful in creating great
effects. 0s with all Lamps spotlights can be
scaled, rotated and positioned to cast shadows and
they can also be used with a halo effect giving a
simulation of a light shining through a fog.
With all lamps e&periment with settings and record
results
Spotlight with Show Cone turned on
Tic% for 5alo 'ffect
With 5alo on adjust $ntensity for
smo%y effect
CH08- Camera
01-Cameras
02-Settings Options

Return to Contents
Cameras:
By default, your scene already has one camera and that is usually all you need, but on
occasion you may wish to add more cameras. You add more cameras by pressing 'Alt
+ A' and selecting 'Camera'. The new camera will be located where your 3 Cursor
is positioned and you will ha!e to orientate the camera. Too change which camera is
acti!e, you need to select that camera and press "Ctrl + #um $ad %&.
Settings options '
Perspective Orthographic (
)sed to set the camera from showing
a true(life perspecti!e !iew to an
orthographic !iew.
Lens Angle (
*et(up a lens length much li+e a real camera.
3,mm is a good, safe setting, but wide and
tight angle setting wor+ for different needs.
Shift( $ushes the camera-s !iew in a direction,
without changing perspecti!e.
Clipping Start (
.ow close an ob/ect can get to the camera
and still be seen.
Clipping End (
.ow far away ob/ects can be seen by the
camera. 0n !ery large scenes, this needs to
be set higher or things "disappear& from
!iew.
Depth-of-Field(
)sed with nodes to blur foreground and
bac+ground ob/ects. 1or+ing with #odes
This will be discussed in a later chapter.
Limits( raws a line in the scene to help you
!isuali2e the camera-s range
Mist ( *how 3ist
)sed to gi!e you a !isual display of how far the camera sees if using 3ist.
Title Safe(
isplays the inner dashed bo4 to help with placement
of ob/ects and te4t.
ame- 1ith all ob/ects, the name of the ob/ect or camera can
be displayed on the screen,
but this will display the name
in the camera !iew.
Si!e ( .ow big to draw the
camera on the screen. You can
also control si2e with scale.
Passeparto"t( *hades the area on the screen outside of the
Cameras !iew
.
Alpha 5 Control the dar+ness of the shaded area with the slider
6imits
Clipping *tart
Clipping 7nd
CH09- Rendering
01-Render Settings
02-Rendering a JPEG Image
03-Creating a Video Clip
Return to Contents
Render Settings
Rendering is the conversion of the data of the camera view in your Blender scene file
into an image file or a movie file.
The Render buttons in the Properties Window is where you tell the program what
you want as an output from your scene. Do you want a JPE picture image or a
movie! What si"e do you want the output to be! Do you want a high #uality output or
a draft style format! Do you want shadows or Raytracing effects! $ow about motion
Blur! %f you&re doing a movie' how many frames(per(second do you want the movie
to run! )ast' but not least' where do you want to save the file! *ll of these issues are
addressed in the Render buttons . +bviously' the higher the #uality of the output'
the slower it will render and the larger the file si"e will be when finished.
The Rendering Settings:
There are many options that need to be addressed in order to save your wor, as an
image or movie. -ome of these feature will be discussed in more detail in later
chapters. .or now' we are /ust interested in saving basic images in JPE 0./pg1 format
and movies in the Windows 0.mpg1 movie format. Be aware that other options e2ist
and more are added every few releases.
The Render settings are found in the Properties Window 3 Render button.
Render:
Image( Renders an image the same as pressing .45.
Animation 3 Renders a movie or simple files of
your animation. This can ta,e considerable
time depending on the animation si"e.
Display: Dropdown menu for render display options.
Dimensions:
Dropdown( 6enue for Preset Rendering -i"es for
different output formats.
Resolution- 7anual input of 8 and 9 values for
rendering si"e instead of using presets.
Percentage( -lider for setting si"e of render display
in the :D Window.
Frame Range- -et the start and end frame for render
Frame Rate- *nimation playbac, rate.
5; .P- for P*) output :< .P- for =T-> output.
Anti-Aliasing? +utput #uality settings. =ormally set at @
to give a nice output without loss of render time.
Shading:-ettings that can be turned off to e2clude
features from the render. The *lpha -,y drop
down gives options for the render bac,ground.
Output: The output bar allows you to set where you wish
your render to be saved. The default location is the
AtmpA folder. The file type dropdown menu
provides options for the type of file to be rendered.
The default file type is AP=A.
Rendering a JP! Image
To render a simple JPE image set all the options previously discussed. %n fact the
default settings will do /ust fine e2cept for the output file type in the +utput tab of the
Properties Window. >hange the default P= to JPE. With your scene created in the
:D Window press A.45A or the ARender %mageA button. With the default settings the
Render Window will display. Press A.:A to open the -ave Window. %n the -ave
Window type in a file name for image' press AEnterA then A-ave *sA
%n the -ave Window you can navigate to a different folder for saving other than that
in the +utput tab of the Properties Window. =ote? %f you forgot to change P= to
.ile Path for -aving
Enter .ile =ame $ere
JPE it will not suffice to add a ./peg e2tension to the file name. %f you entered
A.ile=ame./pgA it will be saved as A.ile=ame./pg.pngA and remain a P= file type.

"reating a #ideo "lip
*fter you have created your scene with an animation se#uence you will be ready to
ma,e a movie file. * movie' weather it is a full length three hour feature or a short
thirty second television add is made up of a se#uence of >lips 07ovie .iles1 spliced
together to tell a story. The following steps are the basics for creating a file.
4. %n the +utput tab select the file format from the format selection drop down
menu. .ile formats for television are A=T->A for the B- or AP*)A for Europe
and *ustralia. 9ou can also select A*6%A for playing on your computer.
5. >hange the file type from the default AP=A to A..7PEA
:. *lso in the +utput tab set the path name to the location for saving the file.
C. 7a,e sure A*nti(*liasingA is tic,ed and that @ is selected.
;. >hec, that the A-tartA and AEndA frames of the animation are selected.
D. >hec, the frame rate is correct. :< for =T-> or 5; for P*).
E. %n the -hading tab ma,e sure -hadow and ray tracing are tic,ed.
@. .inally press the A*nimationA button in the render tab.
The 6ideo clip 07ovie file1 will ta,e some time to compile depending on the length
of the animation. Each frame of the animation has to be rendered and saved.
Depending on the comple2ity of the scene a frame can ta,e from a few seconds to
several minutes to render. To begin it is best to ,eep everything very basic and
simple. %f you get to the stage where you have created a wonderful movie you can
send the animation files to a render farm on the %nternet to have them rendered. %t
saves you time but it costs you money.
CH10- Raytracing
01-Raytracing
Return to Contents
Raytracing
Raytracing is used to produce mirrored and
reflective surfaces. It is also used to create
transparency and refraction (bending of images
through transparent surfaces like a magnifying glass
or lens). Raytracing can create stunning effects but
can incur a high cost in render time. Use it
sparingly. Don't attempt to Raytrace everything. You
can get some great shado and te!ture effects ith
spotlight and material settings.
"he image belo has been created using the settings
shon in the #phere's $roperties %indo & 'aterial
buttons on the R(#.
) #phere has been added to the scene positioned
above a $lane. "he $lane has a 'aterial and an
Image "e!ture added. "he #phere 'aterials button
settings are shon on the right.
%ith the settings as shon an image has been
rendered as shon belo
#phere Diffuse *olor
"ransparency ith
Raytracing selected
'irror +ffect ,n
Raytracing #elected
CH11- Animation Basics
01-Animation Basics
02-Moving,Rotating & Scaling
03-Viewing You Animation
0!-"a#$ %&ito 'in&ow
0(-%&iting )$e Cuve
0*-Cuve )+#es
0,-Constant %-ta#olation
0.-Cuve Mo&i/+ing
00-Automatic 1e+/aming
10-Animating 2t$e 3eatues
11-1e+ing Sets
12-'in& Stengt$ Animation
13-3ollow 4at$5Cuve Animation
Retun to Contents
Animation Basic
In this chapter we will explain how to make objects move about in the scene. This is
a big section in Blender with many features. Many of the features will become
understandable with practice and will then allow you to progress beyond the basics.
This is a highly developed section and new features are being added all the time so it
is likely that before this document is printed new features will be available. We will
therefore only attempt the basics.
Before you start make sure you understand the section on endering .
!ext consider what an animation is. In Blender we are talking about a method of
making something appear to move on a computer screen which may later be
transformed into a movie file. This is accomplished by creating a series of still
images each one slightly different to the next which when displayed one after the
other in "uick succession create the allusion of movement. #ach still image is a single
frame of the animation. #ach frame $image% is rendered which means the data you
enter in the Blender program is correlated and turned into the digital image. This is
usually in a &'#( format. )inally all the images are compiled into one movie file.
*fter you set up your scene with the object that you wish to animate $ The *ctor %
consider what the actor is re"uired to do and how long it should take to do it. *lso
consider what format you will use in the final render. The render format determines
how many Frames Per Second the animation should run at $ !T+, - .+ /0 fps1
'*23 *ustralia 45 fps %. 6ne of the problems that beginner animators experience is
making the motions occur in an appropriate time. emember to look at the frames per
second and relate it to time. )or example if you want a movement to take / seconds
and you are running at 45 frames per second then the animation has to happen in 75
frames.
In Blender 4.508 the animation method could be considered as being in two stages.
The first stage is to set up what you want your actor to do in a given time such as
move1 change si9e or rotate. The second stage is to set up how your actor behaves
during the process of moving1 changing si9e or rotating. The first stage is
accomplished by inserting :eyframes in the animation. :eyframes are exactly what
the name implies1 that is they are ;:ey )rames; within a series of frames. Think of a
<0 second animation which when running at 45 frames per second would consist of
450 frames. If you want your actor to go from point * to point B and then to point ,
within the 450 frame animation you first insert a :eyframe at point *. This is giving
Blender data which says at the frame nominated locate the actor at position *. Then
at the next frame nominated locate the actor at position B and so forth for position ,.
These are the :eyframes for the animation. Blender will work out all the in3between
frames.
The :eyframes will also include the data for scaling and rotating the actor as well as
other features. This may be stating the obvious but it is important to understand the
concept.
Moving, Rotating and Scaling:
Moving1 otating and +caling along with other features are accomplished by what is
termed1 applying modifiers to the actor. Moving1 otating and scaling are the three
basic modifiers to use in an object animation. When you create :eyframes in Blender
with these modifiers1 that is tell Blender where and how to display the actor at
specific frames in the animation1 Blender will figure out all the data for the location1
scale and rotation at the in3between frames.

=etermining the in3between data is called Interpolation.
By default Blender uses what is called Be9ier type interpolation which gives a nice
acceleration and deceleration between :eyframes. emember we are considering the
movement of an object. When an object moves from point * to point B in a given
time it is said to move at a certain velocity $+peed%. In theory the speed could be
represented as a straight line graph but in practice an object at rest $motionless% has to
first of all attain the velocity. The rate at which it attains the velocity is called
acceleration. Blenders Be9ier interpolation draws curves at the beginning and end of
the straight line graph $acceleration and deceleration%. >ou have the options to
choose ,onstant or 2inear type interpolation if appropriate. +election of
interpolation types will be discussed later in this section.
.sing the term Be9ier to describe interpolation is an anomaly. Be9ier actually
describes a type of line $the line on a graph described in the previous paragraph%.
* Be9ier line or curve in Blender1 is a line which has control points on it which
allows the shape of the line to be altered or edited. In Blender the control points are
located at the position of the :eyframes. Interpolation or the figuring out of in
between frames is done according to a mathematical formula which determines the
shape of the line. When the data for the frames in the animation is drawn as a line on
a graph the line conforms to that mathematical formula. The shape of the line drawn
is much like a sine curve therefore the Interpolation could be considered as being
type sine.

)or the moment we will accept the default Be9ier type interpolation and demonstrate
the insertion of :eyframes and the creation of a simple animation.
We will use the default Blender screen with the /= Window containing the default
,ube object as the actor. The default screen also displays the 6utliner Window and
'roperties Window at the right hand side of the screen and the Timeline Window
across the bottom.
To set up our animation first change the /= Window to top view with orthographic
projection $ With the cursor in the /= Window - 7 !um 'ad :ey - 5 !um 'ad :ey %.
This just keeps the view simple so we can see where we are going.
/= WI!=6W
TIM#2I!# WI!=6W
'6'#TI#+
WI!=6W
6.T2I!#
WI!=6W
The first step in an animation is to decide what you want your actor to do in a given
time. In this case the actor is the cube object.
?ow long it takes your actor to do something will depend on how many frames per
second your animation is run at and this is determined by what format your final
render will be in.
2et;s set our animation to run at 45 frames per second which would be good for '*2
format $ (o to@ 'roperties Window - ender button - =imensions tab - )rame rate %.
!ote the )rame ange settings@ +tart@< 1 #nd@ 450. This says that our animation will
begin at frame < and end at frame 450. unning at the rate of 45 frames per second
will give an animation time of <0 seconds. If you think about it1 <0 seconds is "uite a
long time for a single action to take place in a video clip.
To make things relatively simple we will only make our actor $ The ,ube % move in a
straight line across the screen along the A axis and at the same time increase in si9e.
Make sure the cube is selected in the /= Window.
We will now insert :eyframes1 only two to start with1 just to keep it simple.
'roperties Window
ender Button
)rames 'er +econd
The default scene is set at frame <. In the lower left hand corner
of the window you will see (1)C!e in white lettering. This says
you have the ,ube selected at frame <. 6bviousBC If you had ten
objects in the scene all of which were actors with maybe some
hidden1 it would be nice to know what was selected .
Before we insert a :eyframe change to frame 45. (o to the Timeline Window at the
bottom of the screen. In the header you will see buttons with Start:11 "nd:#$% then
1. This shows the start frame and end frame that we previously set for the animation
and the current frame of the animation. *bove the header with these buttons you will
see a scale going from 0 to 450 $ The length of the animation in frames %. *t the 0
point you will see a vertical green line showing that you are at frame <. ,lick on the
green line with 2MB and drag the line across to frame 45. !ote the number change
next to ,ube at the lower 2? side of the window and in the header bar of the
Timeline Window. *nother way to change the frame is to click on the little arrows
either side of the 1 in the timeline header or click on the button with the 1 and drag
the cursor to the right or click on the 11 hit delete and retype the re"uired frame
number. There is always more ways than one to skin a cat.
!ow you are at frame 451 with the cursor in the /= Window press the ;I; :ey. In the
selection list that displays select $click on% ;2ocot+cale; which covers us for
moving1 rotating and changing the si9e of the object.
2ocated at frame 45
,lick to change frame
2ocot+cale
+election 2ist
>ou have just inserted a :eyframe. *t this stage the only way to see this is to click on
the green line in the Timeline Window and drag it away from frame 45. By doing this
you will see a vertical yellow line at frame 45. This indicates a :eyframe.
+o far we have only inserted one :eyframe1 our actor hasn;t done anything as yet.
This is like pulling the curtains on a stage play and the actor just stands there doing
and saying nothing for the first second $* pregnant pause %. (oing from frame < to
frame 45 at 45 frames per second e"uals < second. ,licking and dragging the green
line in the Timeline is called scr!!ing t&e animation and is actually manually
playing the animation but since we haven;t told our actor to do anything1 nothing
happens.
,ontinue by changing to frame 75 $drag the green line %. In the /= Window grab and
move the cube 5 blender units to the right and scale it up to twice its original si9e.
With the cursor in the /= Window press the I key and select ;2ocot+cale; again to
insert a second :eyframe.
If you move the green line in the Timeline Window you will see another yellow
:eyframe line.
If you continue moving the green line between frame 45 and 75 you will see the cube
move and change in si9e. >ou are scrubbing or manually playing the animation. !ote
the action only takes place between frames 45 and 751 the location of our :eyframes.
#ither side of the :eyframes no action takes place.
'ie(ing )or Animation:
To actually play a preview of the animation move the green line in the Timeline to
frame < then press ;*lt8*; with the curser in the /= Window. +ay Do n e t h o u s a n
dE to yourself slowly $ counting one second1 while the green line in the Timeline
moves across to frame 45 % and you will see the cube move and increase in si9e. *t
frame 75 it stops moving and changing si9e. The green line in the Timeline continues
on to frame 450 then jumps back to frame < and the preview of the animation plays
again. 'ress ;#sc; to stop playing.
*nother way to skin this cat is to press the play buttons in the Timeline window.
These buttons are much like the play buttons an any video or audio player.

>ou can add more :eyframes to your animation to move scale and rotate your actor
around the screen. )or the most part1 location and si9e keys work flawlessly but care
needs to be taken with rotation keys. If you try to rotate an object too far in one set of
keys the object may not rotate in the direction you want it to and it may rotate oddly.
Try small angular movements between keys while rotating. There are ways to control
this better and tools to simplify the process which will be discussed later.
Besides rotation1 the movement of your actor may not be exactly as planned. Blender
automatically defaults to trying to create a smooth flow through the :eyframes
$ Interpolates %.
*or+ing *it& ,&e -rap& "ditor *indo(:
The (raph #ditor Window displays the actions of your actor and your :eyframes on
the Timeline in a graphical form and allows refinement and modification of the
animation.
'lay Buttons
+plit the /= Window vertically and change the lower section to the (raph #ditor
Window. >ou will now see a window with two panels. The left hand panel is called
the .ope S&eet and the right hand panel is the -rap&ical .ispla/ of your animation.
#ven for our simple animation there is a whole bunch of graph lines shown.
To make sense of this first consider the .ope S&eet. ,lick on the little black tick
arrow in front of ;C!e;. #ither of the ticks above and below the word ;*ction; will do
the same thing at this stage1 that is toggle the graphical display on and off. !ow click
on the little white arrow in the lower green ,ube bar. ,licking here opens up the
display and reveals a list of ;Action C&annels; relating to the ,ube actor. ,licking the
tick in the colored boxes in each channel toggles onFoff the display of that particular
channel in (raphical =isplay.
=6'# +?##T
(*'?I,*2 =I+'2*>
,lick to Toggle onFoff
#xpandF,ollapse =isplay
2ets discover what we actually have in the (raphical =isplay. ,lick on the tick1
removing it1 in each colored box in the dope sheet channels except for the first 0
1ocation(C!e) channel. !ow click on 0 1ocation (C!e) which selects that
channel $ ?ighlights the channel in white %. >ou now see only one graph in the
(raphical =isplay panel which shows as a red line. The green hori9ontal and vertical
lines are a 4= cursor. ,lick somewhere in the graphical display panel and the green
lines will relocate. This is similar to clicking in the /= Window and positioning the
cursor in that window. With the green lines relocated you can better see the red line
representing the animation of the cube object $ *ctor % along the A *xis in the /=
Window.
The red line has two short yellow lines attached to it. #ach yellow line has a dot at the
center and a dot at each end. The yellow lines are called handles. What we are
looking at is what is termed a Be2ier Crve and the yellow lines are called control
handles. The control handles are used to change the shape of the curve. We
mentioned this type of curve before and will come back to this topic later.
The location of the vertical green line of the cursor represents the frame number of
the animation. >ou will see it aligns with the frame numbers across the bottom of the
window and at the lower end of the line a green box holds the frame number. >ou can
click on this line and scrub through the animation the same way as you can in the
Timeline Window.
*t the left hand side of the (raphical =isplay is a vertical bar with positive and
negative numbers representing displacement from the mid point of the /= Window.
,lick to emove or *dd Tick
,lick to +elect ,hannel G (raph
=isplacement 5 .nits
6n my screen these numbers appear to be a little out of alignment with the
background scale lines. This varies depending on how the (raphical =isplay panel is
scaled. 2ike all windows in Blender1 with the cursor located in that window pressing
the !um 'ad 3 and - :eys will scale the panel up or down.
2ets get back to the red line. The red line shows that from frame < to 45 there is no
displacement of the actor from the mid point. )rom frame 45 to frame 75 the actor
moves from the mid point of the /= window to 5 Blender units along the A axis.
)rom frame 75 to frame 450 the actor remains displaced from the mid point by 5
Blender units. This is the movement observed when we play the animation.
If you now click on the tick in any one of the Scale (C!e) c&annels in the =ope
+heet you will see a yellow1 tur"uoise or purple lines representing the fact that the
actor change from si9e < Blender unit to 4 blender units between frame 45 and frame
75. The three lines represent the A1> G H axis.
"diting ,&e Crve:
+o far we have introduced :eyframes to set up how we want our actor to behave
during the animation and we have seen how that action is graphically represented. We
will now see how we can alter the behavior of our actor by altering the shape of the
curve representing that action. emember the type of curve being considered is a
Be9ier curve which is designed to be edited.
(o back to the red line. With the cursor in the (raphical =isplay panel press the *
:ey twice to make sure you have the line selected. If the line shows solid red with the
two yellow handles you are in #dit Mode if not press the Tab key. If you are not in
#dit Mode the line will be a broken red line without handles.
+elect $,lk MB% the red line in #dit Mode $ +olid red with handles %. !ow press *
:ey to deselect the line. >ou will have a faint red line with black handles. +elect the
handle at frame 75 $,lk - MB1 ,lick right mouse button on the center dot of the
handle%. The handle will be yellow and the line will be bright red.
6: 1 now click on the right hand dot on the end of the handle $MB%. The left hand
half of the handle fades. !ow MB ,lk on the ight hand dot on the end of the
handle and while holding the mouse button pressed drag the end of the handle down
and to the left. The shape of the curve arches up.
MB ,lick and =rag
!ow1 if you scrub through your animation between frame 45 and 75 you will see the
actor move along the A axis from 9ero displacement at frame 45 to something more
than 5 Blender units then return to 5 Blender units at frame 75. The movement of the
actor is being dictated by the shape of the curve. The shape of the curve can thus be
altered by moving the ends of control handles. By selecting the center point of the
control handle then pressing the ( :ey and dragging the whole handle the shape of
the curve will also be altered thus changing the movement of the actor.
*nother feature of the Be9ier curve is that control handles may be added anywhere
on the curve. In the (raphical #ditor panel with your A 2ocation $,ube% graph $ed
2ine% selected place your arro( crsor on the line between frame 45 and 751 hold
the ,trl key and click on the line with the 2MB. *nother control handle is created.
This is actually another :eyframe. >ou can actually enter a new :eyframe this way
anywhere on the red line in the animation. Another way to skin the cat.
4t&er ,/pes 45 Crves:
We had previously made note that by default Blender selects the Be9ier type
Interpolation to insert frames between keyframes. *t this point it should be noted that
there are two other options. In the (raphical #ditor Window select all the channels in
the =ope +heet panel by clicking in the colored boxes. *ll the graphs will display in
the graphical #ditor panel. !ow * :ey twice to make sure they are all selected.
(o to the (raphical #ditor Window header - :ey - Interpolation Mode and you will
see the option to select ,onstant1 2inear or Be9ier. ,licking on ,onstant or 2inear
will change the type of graphs and therefore change the action of the actor. ;,onstant;
results in a dramatic "uick change from one state to the other at a given frame while
;2inear; produces a change following a straight line graph between points.
,trl 8 2MB to *dd ,ontrol 'oint
*rrow ,urser
The choice of these types of graphs and hence motions depends on how you want
your actor to behave in the animation. Both of the alternatives to Be9ier give the
option to grab and move points and to add additional points on the graph but Be9ier is
by far the more flexible.
Blender Interpolates to add frames between the keyframes according to which of the
above options were selected. Blender also figures out what to do with the frames of
the animation before the first keyframe and what to do after the last keyframe.
)iguring this out is called "6trapolation. There are two options in Blender1 ,onstant
and 2inear. By default Blender selects ,onstant.
Constant "6trapolation can be seen with the 0 1ocation (C!e) channel selected
in the =ope +heet. With :eyframes at frame 45 and frame 75 Blender has
Interpolated the in between frames according to the default Be9ier method. That is
Blender has inserted frames which comply with a Be9ier curve. #ither side of the
:eyframes you see hori9ontal lines which dictate no further change in status. This is
,onstant #xtrapolation. If you go to the -rap& "ditor &eader 7 8e/ !tton 7
"6trapolation Mode and select 1inear "6trapolation notice what happens to the
,6!+T*!T I!T#'62*TI6!
2I!#* I!T#'62*TI6!
curve. Blender takes a look at frame 45 and 4I and from the data plots a straight line
coming up at an angle . Blender also looks at frames 7J and 75 and plots a straight
line curve leaving the curve . The action of the actor before and after the two
:eyframes will follow these straight line curves.
Modi5/ing Crves:
We have so far discussed creating graphical curves and how to change them or
modify them thus changing how our actor behaves in the scene. Blender has more
options for more subtle control of animation.
In the =ope +heet panel1 display all the channels and have them all selected. With
your arrow cursor in the (raphical #ditor Window press the * :ey until all channels
are highlighted in white and all the colored boxes are ticked. !ow press the ! :ey to
display a panel with a Kiew 'roperties tab.
To begin with this panel will only provide the option to show or hide the cursor $ The
(reen hori9ontal line %. In the =ope +heet untick all but the the 0 1ocation (C!e)
channel. In the (raphical #ditor panel ,lk * :ey twice to ensure all channels are
selected but since only the A 2ocation $,ube% is ticked only that graph will display.
Toggle (reen 2ine 6nF6ff
The new panel will now display three tabs. The 'ie( Properties, Active F9Crve
and the Modi5iers tab. The *ctive )3,urve tab shows that the A location curve is
selected and that it is displayed in a *uto ainbow color. This color may be changed
by clicking on the drop down menu under ;=isplay ,olor;. It could be advantageous
to change the color of a curve if it is re"uired to distinguish it from another.
We are at this point interested in modifying our curve not changing its color. !ote the
Modifier tab with its Add Modi5ier button. ,licking on this button produces a drop
down menu with seven options. We will not attempt to demonstrate all of these
options at this time but several are of particular interest.
We have the A 2ocation $,ube% channel curve selected in the (raph #ditor panel.
!ow click on *dd Modifier and select :C/cles:.
The graph changes rather dramatically. The curve between frame 45 and frame 75 is
the same but instead of straight lines either side of this1 Blender has duplicated this
curve. In selecting ,ycles we have made the movement of the curve cycle in 45
frame increments either side of the frame 45 - 75 block.
We are starting to get into the complexity of Blender and its multiple options.
2ook at the little ,ycles panel which has displayed under the *dd Modifiers button.
!ote the Before and *fter options. #ach of these have drop down menu buttons
which give options for how the ,ycles are to be repeated before and after the frame
block. ,lick on the *fter button and select epeat Mirrored.
Blender alternately reverses the cycle curve. +crub the animation to observe the
2ets have another demonstration. ,lick on the A at the top right hand corner of the
,ycles panel to delete the modifier. ,lick on *dd Modifier again and this time select
!oise.
WowC We now have our original graph with the jitters and if you scrub your
animation you will see that;s exactly what you get in the movement of the actor. 6f
course it doesn;t stop there the noise modifier contains a drop down to select sub
options and buttons to alter values for the options. >ou have plenty to play with.
(ood luck.
)or another demonstration delete the noise modifier and select the Built In )unction
modifier. This produces a straight sinusoidal graph. ,heck out the drop down in this
modifier panel for the selection of graphs based on various mathematical functions.
*ll selections have buttons to control values being introduced. More stuff to play
with.
To get more evolved try adding multiple modifiers to your curve. &ust click on the
*dd Modifier button without deleting what you already have.
Atomatic 8e/5raming:
'reviously :eyframes have been inserted in our animation by having our curser in
the /= Window1 moving the Timeline to a particular frame1 changing the status of our
object and then pressing the I :ey and selecting a :eyframe option.
Besides this method after the frame has been selected and the object status changed
we can press the Insert :eyframe button in the tool bar at the 2eft hand side of the
/= Window. The T :ey toggles hide and show this panel.
There is another method which makes life a lot easier when multiple :eyframes are
re"uired.
In the Timeline Window header you will see a red button next to the play control
buttons.
,licking on this button toggles automatic :eyframing onFoff. With auto on whenever
you move1scale or rotate your actor object in the /= Window a :eyframe will be
inserted at whatever frame you have selected. emember to turn this off after using it.
Animating 4t&er Featres:
?aving an understanding of animation basics allows us to look at some of the other
things that can be animated in Blender besides movement1 rotation and si9e of an
object. It is also possible to animate among other things Materials1 Textures1 2amps
and World settings.
The following is a list of some of the features which can be animated@
Material *nimation 6ptions@
Material (B Kalues ,olor can be animated to change.
*lpha Transparency of an object can be animated.
?alo +i9e * halo can grow or shrink in an animation.
+etting a halo to 9ero will make it disappear.
Texture 6ffset Texture applied to an object can be animated.
It can move across the face or change in si9e.
2amp *nimation 6ptionsL
2amp (B Kalues The color of light can be animated to change.
#nergy The intensity of light can vary.
+potlight +i9e The angle of beam can be animated to change.
Texture Texture can be applied to a lamp and animated.
World *nimation 6ptionsL
Henith (B ,olor of the 9enith $top% can be animated.
This is great for sunsets or sunrise.
?ori9on (B ,olor of hori9on $bottom% can be animated.
Mist )og can be animated for interesting effects.
+tars +tars can be made to move.
Texture 6ffset G +i9e Texture applied to a world can be made to move.
Toggle *uto :eyframing 6nF6ff
The above are only some of the features which can be animated in Blender. To give
you an idea how this is possible we will take a look at a couple.
"6ample 1 Color
2et;s start with the color of an object.
6pen up a new scene in Blender. $The default scene with the cube object will do%.
(o to the 'roperties Window at the left hand side of the screen and click on the
Material button. When you open the default scene in Blender the cube object in the
scene is selected. Make sure it is selected before clicking on the material button. *fter
all we are concerned with the material of the cube object.
The 'roperties Window with the Material button activated show a whole bunch of
tabs for controlling how the surface of the object displays in the /= Window. To
begin note the 'review tab showing a dull grey sphere and below that the =iffuse tab
with a button showing the same dull grey color. *ctually on my screen the diffuse
color button looks a lot lighter in color than the sphere in the preview or the cube in
the /= Window. The values for all three are however identical.
2ook at the Timeline Window across the bottom of the screen. The green line shows
at frame < of a 450 frame animation $ 0 to 450 scale along the bottom of the window
above the header%.
We are again going to insert :eyframes on the Timeline. We will make the color of
our cube object change from (rey to ed over 50 frames of the animation.
>ou could change the starting color of the cube by clicking on the diffuse color
button $2MB%to display a color picker1 click anywhere in the colored circle to change
the color. 2et;s just leave things alone for the time being and stick with dull old grey.
Instead of clicking $2MB% on the diffuse color button click$MB% and in the menu
that displays click on ;*dd :eyframes;. >ou have inserted a :eyframe at frame < on
the Timeline. ,hange to frame 50 $ +crub the green line in the Timeline Window%.
!ow click $2MB% on the diffuse color button and in the color picker that displays
click on the red part of the colored circle. This changes the color of the cube to red.
,lick on the diffuse color button again1 this time $MB% and then click on ;*dd
:eyframes; to insert a :eyframe at frame 50. !ow when you scrub the Timeline you
will see the color of the cube change from grey to red over the 50 frames. ?itting *lt
8 * will play this animation. If you open the (raphical #ditor Window you will see
the graphical representation of this animation.
"6ample # Spotlig&t Si2e:
To show how the spotlight may be animated we first need to put a spotlight into the
Blender scene. 2et;s start again with the default Blender scene with the cube. ,hange
the /= Window to show the front side view and deselect the ,ube $* :ey%. With the
cursor in the /= Window hit the < !um 'ad key then hit +hift 8 * then select *dd -
2amp - +pot. >ou will see some orange lines appear in the /= Window. ?it the (
:ey $(rab% then H :ey and move the mouse up. The ( :ey lets you grab the spot
light so you can move it and the H key confines the movement to the H axis. >ou
could also have clicked $2MB% on the blue arrow of the /= manipulator widget and
moved the spotlight up the H *xis. Another way to skin the cat . You will see that you
have actually moved a cone in the screen. ?it the + :ey and move the cursor towards
the apex of the cone to scale the spotlight down a bit. The light is at the apex of the
cone and the circle at the bottom represents the circle of light it would generate.
!ow go to the 'roperties Window and press the 6bject =ata button to display all the
buttons which control the properties of the spotlight. 2ook for the +pot +hape tab and
see the button with; +i9e@ J5; in it. J5 degrees is the angle of the cone.
The Timeline Window is again across the bottom of the screen and the green line
indicates that we are at frame number <.
ight click on the +pot +hape +i9e button and select Insert :eyframes from the menu
that displays. The +i9e button will turn yellow indicating that you have inserted a
:eyframe in the Timeline. +crub the green line in the Timeline to frame 50. The +i9e
button turns green $!o :eyframe at frame 50 yet%. 2eft click on the +i9e button and
holding the mouse button move the mouse to the left decreasing the value of the cone
angle. The angle of the cone in the /= Window will decrease accordingly. ight click
on the +i9e button and select Insert :eyframes again. Button turns yellow. We now
have a :eyframe at frame 50. +crub the green line in the Timeline Window between
frame < an 50 to see the angle of the cone change. >ou have animated the spotlight
si9e.
Man/ properties can !e animated t&is (a/ !/ inserting +e/5rames and c&anging
propert/ vales. )o &ave lots o5 e6perimenting to (or+ on.
8e/ing Sets:
>ou can add multiple properties to a group called a 8e/ing Set which allows you to
animate whole bunch of stuff at one time. >ou do this by defining a :eying +et.
We will again look at our ,ube actor in the default Blender Window. 2et us say you
want to have the cube move along the A axis and change color at the same time. !ot
too difficultB &ust add a bunch of :eyframes. #xactlyC But consider if you had a lot of
property changes. *dding all those :eyframes one by one could become tedious. It
would be nice if you could do the property changes then hit a button to add all the
:eyframes in one go. 2et;s do it.
With the ,ube selected in the /= Window go to the 'roperties Window. We will look
at the movement part of the exercise first. ,lick on the 6bject button in the header
and in the panel that displays find the Transform tab and the 2ocation buttons. >ou
will see A@0.0001 >@0.000 and H@0.000. This shows that the ,ube is at the center of
the /= Window in all planes. 6: we are concerned with the movement on the A axis.
ight click on A@0.000 and in the panel that displays click ;*dd +ingle to :eying +et;.
If you look at the Timeline Window header you will see a button with
;Buttons:eying+et; in it and two little :ey icons next to it. 6ne of them has a red line
across it. !ote in the Timeline you are at frame <. >ou have just entered the
information into a :eying +et telling Blender that at frame < the ,ube is located on
the A axis at position 0.000.
!ow consider the color part of the exorcise. In the 'roperties Window click on the
Material button. ight click on the =iffuse color button then click on ;*dd *ll to
:eying +et;. Make sure you click on ;*dd *ll; not ;*dd +ingle; !ow the information
for the color has been added to the :eying +et.
In the Timeline Window header click on the first of the little :ey icons $!ot the one
with the red line%. >ou have entered a :eyframe for the location and color of the
,ube. >ou can see this in the (raph #ditor Window by opening up all the headings in
the =ope +heet.
!ow move to frame J0 or wherever you wish on the Timeline.
,hange the value for the Transform 2ocation A axis in the 'roperties Window 6bject
buttons. ight click the new value and click ;*dd +ingle to :eying +et;.
=o the same thing for the Material color value but make sure you click on ;*dd *ll to
:eying +etE. !ow click on the first of the :ey icons again to add the new :eyframe
at frame J0.
+crub the Timeline to see the ,ube move and change color.
Why it is necessary to click ;*dd *ll to :eying +et; for the color instead of ;*dd
+ingle to :eying +et; is not known at this time.
Wind Strength Animation
Wind force can be applied to particles and cloth. The Wind Strength is able to be
animated to provide a realistic reaction due to varying wind strength.
In the 3D Window add an 'Empty'. Split the 3D
Window in two and mae one half the !raph editor
Window. With the Empty selected in the 3D Window
go to the "roperties Window#"hysics button. In the
$orce $ield tab clic on the 'Type' panel to display the
dropdown selection panel and select 'Wind'.
The wind force is displayed in the 3D Window as a
stac of circles along the positive % a&is.
In the "hysics $orce $ield tab the 'Strength' value refers
to the wind strength. Increasing the value causes the
circles in the 3D Window to move apart showing the
increase.
Starting with the Strength ' (.))) at frame ( on the Timeline
right clic in the Strength panel and select 'Insert *eyframe'
in the drop down that displays.
+ *eyframe is added in the !raph Editor Window. ,lic on the vertical green line
and drag it along to frame -(. .ou will see your first *ey shown as the orange dot at
frame (. With the green line at frame -( alter the Strength value to /.))) and right
clic in the Strength panel again.
!reen 0ine at frame -(
*eyframe +dded
!raph Editor
Window
3D Window
%
Select 'Insert *eyframe' and a second *ey is added in the
!raph Editor Window.
1y moving 2Scrubbing3 the green line in the !raph Editor
Window bac to frame ( you will see the wind strength alter
in the 3D Window.
4ove the green line bac to frame (. With your cursor in the
3D Window press +lt5+. .ou will see the wind strength
animated.
The above method show you the manual insertion of
*eyframes. To mae life easier there is an automatic insertion
of *eyframes method.
!o to frame -( 2.ou can start where you lie but lets build on to what we already
have3. In the Timeline Window at the bottom of the screen clic on the 6ed button
ne&t to where it says '7o Sync'. 4ove the green
line along the Timeline and change the Strength
value. + third *eyframe is added in the !raph
Editor Window. 6epeat this a few times
increasing and decreasing the strength value. 1y
scrubbing through the animation you see the wind strength animated in the 3D
Window. 4ove the green line bac to frame( and press +lt5+ and play the
animation.
With the Wind Strength animated you can direct it at "articles or Soft 1ody ob8ects
which influences how they behave in an animation.
Second *ey
!raph Editor Window
$irst *ey
Timeline Window
!raph Editor Window
*eyframes
Animation Following Curves
Animating the movement of objects in a scene by inserting Keyframes can be very
tedious when the movement is complex. To animate the movement of an object which
twists and turns in the scene over many frames you have to insert many many
Keyframes. Editing the movement at a later stage after executing this method can be
difficult. There is an easier way.
Actually, there are at least two ways, both of which involve having an object follow a
predetermined path. One method reuires you to set a !"hild #arent! relationship
between the object and the path, the other method reuires that you place a !$ollow
#ath! constraint on the object.
Follow Path Child Parent Relationship Method
Open %lender with the default scene containing the "ube object. The scene will be
displayed in user perspective view. "hange to top orthographic view & 'um #ad ( for
top perspective view then 'um #ad ) for top orthographic view *. %y default the
"ube is selected in Object mode. +eselect the cube & A Key *.
,e want the "ube to move
in the scene following a
predetermined path. The
path will be a !"urve #ath!
& #ress, -hift . A Key / Add
/ "urve 0 #ath *. 1ou can
use any of the !"urve!
options for your path but for
the time being we will use
the !#ath! option since it is
the simplest.
Adding a !"urve #ath! places a straight line on your screen in Object mode. +o not be
confused. 2n %lender this particular straight line is considered to be a "urve and it is
also a #ath. -cale the line to ma3e it five times as long & - Key / ) Key, "lic3
45% *. 2f the line runs off the edge of the window press the 'um #ad 5inus Key to
6oom out of the scene. The 'um #ad #lus Key will 6oom in.
To start we will ma3e the "ube move along the straight line of the "urve #ath. This
isn!t very exciting but it will show you the principles of the operation.
+eselect the path & A Key *. -elect the "ube & "lic3 75% with the mouse cursor on
the "ube *. 8old the -hift Key and clic3 75% on the "urve #ath. The "ube and the
#ath will both be selected at the same time. 5a3e sure the "ube is selected first
followed by the #ath. Thin3 of this as if you were pointing to the "ube and saying
9"ube follow #ath:.
,e will now apply a specific !"hild #arent 7elationship!. 2n a normal case selecting
the "ube then shift selecting the #ath and applying an !Object! "hild #arent
relationship would simply ma3e the "ube the child of the #ath. 2f the #ath moved the
"ube would follow. ,e want the "ube to move along the #ath.
,ith both the "ube and the #ath selected press the "trl . # Key and select !$ollow
#ath! from the options displayed. 7emember that in the selection process the "ube
must be selected first, followed by the #ath.
+eselect both the "ube and the #ath & A Key *. -elect only the "ube. 5ove the "ube
along the 1 axis of the scene & ; Key / 1 Key and move the mouse *. 1ou will see a
dotted line drawn from the "ube to one end of the #ath. The line indicates that the
child parent relationship is in place. 5ove the "ube to the end of the #ath where the
dotted line is attached.
#ress Alt . A on the 3eyboard or in the Timeline ,indow clic3 on the !#lay! arrow.
Either method will play an animation showing the "ube moving along & $ollowing *
the #ath.
"ube moved to end of #ath
%lender has created a <== frame animation. ,ith the #ath selected the details of the
animation can be seen in the #roperties window / Object +ata button / #ath
Animation tab. 1ou can also see a graphical display in the ;raph Editor ,indow.

'ote> 2n the ;raph Editor ,indow the movement of the "ube is drawn as a red line
inclined rather steeply. -ince the line is straight it shows that the "ube moves with
constant velocity & -peed * along the #ath. The scale along the bottom of the window
shows frames of the animation and the vertical scale on the 48- shows displacement
& how far the object moves*. The displacement from one frame to the next is always
the same, hence constant velocity &speed*. There is no acceleration or deceleration as
would be the case if you had used Keyframes.
#roperties ,indow
Object data button
OK? if your object was a school bus full of 3ids instead of a "ube you wouldn!t want
the bus to ta3e off at one hundred miles & 3ilometres * an hour and finish up with
everyone crammed into the bac3 seat. 5aybe you have decided that you want to
move in something other than a straight line. 5aybe there was a little old lady in
front of the bus. 5y point is, the speed, acceleration and direction of movement may
have to be modified.
The direction of movement is modified by altering the shape of the #ath in the @+
window. The variation in velocity & speed * and acceleration are altered in the ;raph
Editor window.
,e will first alter the direction of movement by reshaping the "urve #ath.
2n the @+ window select the #ath & 7ight clic3 on the path *. Tab & press the Tab Key *
to put the #ath into Edit mode.
7emember, in the beginning of this section we scaled the #ath to ma3e it longer while
it was in Object mode. 1ou can do the same thing in Edit mode. Aust press the - Key
and drag the mouse or if you 3now how many times longer you want the #ath to be
press the - Key followed by a number Key & 'umber Key at the top of the 3eyboard
not a 'um #ad Key *.
'ote that increasing the length of the #ath does not increase the length of the
animation. 1ou still have <== frames in the animation therefore when running the
animation at B) frames per second your object will move along the #ath in four
seconds. 2f you made the #ath twice as long the object would move on the screen
twice as fast. Another way to change the speed is to alter the number of frames in the
animation in the #roperties window / Object data button 0 #ath Animation tab. 2f
you increase the number of frames to B== it will ta3e the object twice as long to move
along the same path length.
"ontrolling the speed of the object can also be done in the ;raph Editor window but
we will come bac3 to that in a moment.
'ote> ,ith the #ath selected in Edit mode, there are blac3 chevrons along the #ath
and several orange dots . The chevrons indicate the direction of motion and velocity.
2n this case they are evenly spaced indicating constant velocity. The orange dots are
"ontrol 8andles
"hevrons
control handles for shaping the #ath. There is one at each end and others in between
the ends. %y default when you enter Edit mode all the control points are selected.
#ress the A Key to deselect them, then right clic3 on one point to select it alone.
2f you have the manipulation widget turned on the widget will be located at the
selected control point. 2f you clic3 on the widget handles & ,ith the widget in
Translate 5anipulator mode * and drag the mouse, the control point will be moved
and the shape of the path will be altered. 1ou can select any of the control points and
reshape the path in this way. -electing an end control point and pressing the E Key
then dragging the mouse will extrude the end of the #ath.
1ou can go into front side view or end view and reshape the #ath in three dimensions
creating any shape you wish.
After reshaping the #ath press Alt . A Key to see the "ube move along the #ath. $or
the "ube to follow the path with its axis aligned to the #ath you must have !$ollow!
tic3ed in the #roperties window / #ath Animation Tab .
-haping the #ath gets the "ube moving around in the scene but it moves along the
#ath at a constant speed. 2n real life, if the "ube came to a sharp corner without
slowing down it undoubtedly would suffer an accident. To create a realistic
movement we need to vary the speed.
Carying the speed is performed in the ;raph Editor window.
2t helps at this stage if you have both the ;raph Editor window and the @+ ,indow
displayed at the same time. +ivide the @+ ,indow in two hori6ontally and change
one half to the ;raph Editor window.
1ou will probably have to 6oom in on the ;raph Editor ,indow and pan the window
"ontrol point moved using the manipulator widget
into position. At this point all we have is the red line showing a constant velocity
& speed * and unfortunately the line is uneditable. The hori6ontal and vertical green
lines are cursor lines. The vertical line is a cursor for positioning along the hori6ontal
timeline measured in frames of the animation. The hori6ontal line positions on the
vertical displacement scale measured in %lender units.
On the 48- of the ;raph Editor you will see the +ope -heet panel. 8aving the #ath
selected in the @+ ,indow the +ope -heet shows information associated with the
#ath &The 'urbs#ath *. "lic3 on the lower white arrow & triangle * at the 48- of the
panel. A channel will display labelled !Evaluation Time & 'urbs#ath*!. "lic3ing on the
tic3 box at the 48- of the channel toggles the display of the red line onDoff. "lic3ing
on the little eye icon at the 78- of the channel toggles selectionDdeselection of the
channel.
The channel in the +ope -heet panel is a graphical representation of information
associated with the display in the !Evaluation Time! button in the #roperties widow /
Object data button / #ath Animation tab & the green bar *. The same information is
displayed as the red line in the ;raph Editor window.
OK? so what is this Evaluation Time businessE
4et!s 9evaluate: what we have at this stage. 2n the @+ ,indow we have a "ube object
parented to "urve #ath. %lender has set the "ube to traverses the #ath in <== frames
of the animation. This happens to be the first <== frames of the animation.
2n the Timeline ,indow at the bottom of the screen the total animation is set at B)=
frames starting at frame number < and ending at frame number B)=.
#laying the animation shows the "ube moving along the #ath starting at frame < and
reaching the end of the path at frame <==. The animation continues to play on to
frame B)=.
2n the #roperties ,indow / Object data button / #ath Animation tab & with the #ath
selected in the @+ ,indow * !$rames> <==! F The number of frames to traverse the
#ath. !Evaluation Time> <.===! F ,here the "ube is located on the #ath at frame <.
2ncreasing the !Evaluation Time! value moves the "ube along the #ath. 2ncreasing the
value to <==, places the "ube at the end of the #ath.
'ote> At frame < the "ube is not located exactly at the end of the #ath. 2t is in fact
positioned one, one hundredth of the path length from the end. The animation starts at
frame < not from 6ero. 1ou see this shown where the dotted line between the "ube
and the #ath is attached. Obviously you can!t have 6ero frames or you wouldn!t have
an animation.
1ou may consider that the !Evaluation Time! is saying, 9This is what our "ube is
doing at this position:. ,e are only considering location here but if the "ube were
animated to change scale, rotate or change color its state would be evaluated at
whatever position was selected. The Evaluation Time value is a percentage of #ath
length.
,e were considering how to change the velocity & speed * of the "ube as it moved
along the #ath. 4et!s get bac3 to it.
,e have established that the !Evaluation Time! data can not be modified. ,e will
therefore remove it.
,ith the Evaluation Time channel selected &highlighted in white* in the +ope -heet
panel of the ;raph Editor, place the mouse cursor in the panel and press the G Key.
The channel and the red line are deleted. 2f the animation is played the "ube does not
move.
<D<==
$rom End
The "ube remains parented to the #ath but there is no longer an animation associated
with it.
,e will now set up a new animation.
2n the Timeline ,indow ma3e sure the cursor & green line * is located at frame < and
that the "ube is at the start of the #ath in the @+ ,indow. ,ith the #ath selected in
the @+ ,indow go to the #roperties ,indow / Object data button / #ath Animation
tab and set the Evaluation Time button value to =.===. 7ight clic3 on the !Evaluation
Time! button and select !2nsert Keyframe! from the drop down menu that displays.
&7ight clic3 on the button a second time if the !2nsert Keyframe! fails to display the
first time. The first time 2 clic3 on the button 2 get an option to align the tabs in the
window.*
The Evaluation Time button becomes
shaded yellow and an !Evaluation Time
&'urbs#ath*! channel is entered in the
+ope -heet panel. A hori6ontal red line is
drawn in the ;raph Editor window with a
dot under the vertical green line &cursor*.
The red line is an animation curve and the dot is a Keyframe at frame <.
2n the Timeline ,indow move the cursor to frame <)=. ,e will ma3e the "ube move
along the #ath in <)= frames. "hange the Evaluation Time value to <== to place the
"ube at the end of the #ath. ,e now have the "ube at the end of the #ath at frame
<)=. 7ight clic3 on the Evaluation Time button and insert another Keyframe. Hoom in
on the ;raph editor window and you will see a second Keyframe entered displaced
above the first at frame <)=. The Keyframes have now have handles attached
showing that the animation curve is a %e6ier type curve which means it is editable.
2n the Timeline ,indow return to frame < and #ress Alt . A Key or press the #lay
button in the Timeline to play the animation. ,hen the "ube moves along the #ath
there is acceleration at the start and deceleration at the end.
4et!s play with the movement of the "ube as it traverses the path.
To alter the movement of the "ube we will edit the animation curve in the ;raph
Editor window.
To start we will ma3e the "ube ta3e longer to traverse the length of the #ath in the
@+ ,indow.
,ith the mouse cursor in the ;raph Editor window press A Key to deselect the
animation curve then 7ight clic3 on the Keyframe handle at frame <)= & the upper
handle*. #ress ; Key and move the mouse dragging the handle to the right to frame
I==. ,e have told the "ube to move along the #ath in I== frames instead of <)=
frames. #lay the animation to see the "ube crawl along.
Timeline ,indow
#lay Animation %utton
;o to -tart ;o to End
8andle 5oved
,hoops? The "ube doesn!t reach the end of the #ath.
2n the Timeline ,indow the End frame of the animation is still set at B)= so the
animation replays after B)= frames. The "ube never reaches the end of the #ath.
2n the Timeline window change the !End! value to I==. 7eplay. 'ow we!re right
& Aussie slang for OK*.
-ince the animation curve in the ;raph Editor ,indow is a %e6ier type curve we can
add handles to it to further refine movement.
#ress "trl and 45% clic3 on the curve to add a handle. Add another handle and then
press ; Key &;rab* and position the handles approximately as shown in the diagram.
,hen the animation is replayed the "ube moves along the #ath then reverses before
continuing on to the end. 2f the animation curve were hori6ontal between the two
intermediate handles the "ube would simply stop for a rest along the way.
%y playing with the animation curve in the ;raph Editor and changing the shape of
the #ath in the @+ ,indow you have full control over the movement of the "ube in
the @+ ,indow.
'ow you will hate me. EEE
Follow Path Follow Path Constraint Method
The foregoing tutorial involving the "hild #arent relationship is a3in to following the
long and winding road. 'ow ta3e the shortcut but remember that shortcuts miss out
on the the detail of the journey.
,e will now have the same "ube object follow the same #ath but immediately have
an editable %e6ier curve instated in the ;raph Editor ,indow.
-tart with the default scene with the default "ube object. 4eave the @+ ,indow in
user perspective view & The default view when %lender opens *.
+eselect the "ube and add a "urve #ath as previously described. -cale the length of
the #ath x).
,ith the #ath selected Tab into Edit mode and using the handles on the curve shape
the #ath as shown in the diagram.
+eselect the #ath and select the "ube.
2n the #roperties ,indow /
"onstraints button clic3 on !Add
"onstraint! and select !$ollow #ath!
from the selection menu.
2n the "onstraint tab that opens
enter the target as ! 'urbs #ath!
and tic3 !$ollow #ath!.
The "ube is positioned at the start of the
#ath.
+eselect the "ube.
-elect the #ath then in the #roperties
,indow 0 Object data button / #ath
Animation tab note !$rames> <==! and
!Evaluation Time> =.===!.
This says that there is a <== frame animation
with =.=== being the start position.
7ight clic3 on the !Evaluation Time! button
and select !2nsert Keyframe!.
'ote in the Timeline ,indow the !-tart><! and
!End>B)=! values which indicate the
animation duration i.e. B)= frames.
"lic3 on the !;o to End! button in the
To enter the target clic3 on the orange cube then
clic3 on !'urbs#ath!
Timeline ,indow to locate the Timeline cursor at frame B)=.
2n the #ath Animation tab change the !Evaluation Time! value to <== which positions
the "ube at the end of the #ath in the @+ ,indow.
7ight clic3 on the !Evaluation Time! button and select !2nsert Keyframe!.
2n the Timeline ,indow clic3 on the !7eturn to -tart! button to go to the start of the
animation.
"lic3 !#lay! to see the "ube move in the @+ ,indow following the #ath.
2n the ;raph Editor ,indow you have an animation curve which is the editable
%e6ier type as discussed in the previous method.

CH12- 3D Text
01-3D Text
02-Creating 3D text in Blender
03-Properties Window-Object Data
0-Creating Text on a C!r"e
0#-Con"erting to a $es% Object
0&-Con"erting to a C!r"e
0'-(le)ont 3D Text
*et!rn to Contents
3D Text
3D Text can be considered a very important element to add into a scene. Think of all
the television advertisements that contain text and how it is animated. There are two
ways of adding text to a scene in blender. One way is to use the inbuilt text generator
and the other is to use an external program to generate the text. Text made in Blender
can be easily edited in the Properties indow. Text made in an external program like
Elefont may give you additional options and different fonts.
Creating 3D text in Blender
To create text in Blender put your scene into top view orthographic
pro!ection "#um Pad $ then #um Pad %&. Text is entered into the scene
in the top view. 'ocate the cursor at the point in the scene where you
want your text to go. Press ()hift * +( and select (+dd Text(.
The word (Text( displays in the 3D indow in Ob!ect mode.
Tab into ,dit mode. The word (Text( will now have a typing cursor at the end of the
word. -ou can now backspace to delete letters and type in your own words !ust like in
a text editor. Don(t worry about the .ont style or si/e at this stage. hen you have
typed in the words you want0 tab into Ob!ect mode. This is where you shape and
color the text.
Before you do any shaping or coloring you can move0 rotate and scale !ust like any
Ob!ect in Blender.
1hanging the text into something interesting is done in the Properties indow.
)elect the text in the 3D indow then go to the Properties indow 2 Ob!ect data
buttons.

Ob!ect 3ode
,dit 3ode
Typing 1urser
The word (Text( deleted and (,dit 3ode(
typed in its place
Tab to Ob!ect 3ode
Properties Window Object data
idth0 extrude and bevel depth sliders
control exactly what they say.
idth4 The text width.
,xtrude4 ,xtrudes text to a 3D shape.
Depth4 Bevel si/e.
,xperiment with the settings to modify the
shape of the text
The default .ont )tyle is entered as Bfont. -ou can change this to whatever .ont
)tyles you have on your system. 5f you are using a indows operating system you
can find .ont )tyles in the indows .onts folder. "146 indows 6.onts&. To change
the .ont style click on the )earch Folder con and in the search window navigate to
your .onts folder and select a different .ont. Blender will accept any of the indows
fonts but some may be distorted when they are extruded into 3D shapes.
5n the .onts tab0 the 7nderline Position and Thickness values only operate when
(7nderline( is ticked under 1haracter4 7nderlining occurs as you type your text in
,dit mode.
Default .ont )tyle
)earch .older 5con
Creating Text on a C!r"e
Text in Blender can be made to follow
the shape of a C!r"ed Path. Begin by
adding text to your scene as previously
described then when it is in Ob!ect mode
deselect it # $ %e&#
+dd a curved path to the scene. 'hift (
$ C!r"e Path# #ote that by default
the Path is named (1urve(. The curve
path is added to the scene in Ob!ect
mode and appears as a straight line. -ou
can scale it to make it longer and
reposition it in Ob!ect mode but you will
have to Tab to edit mode to extrude or shape it into a curve. ith the curve shaped to
whatever you want Tab back to Ob!ect mode and deselect it.
)elect the text Ob!ect. 5n the Properties
indow 2 Ob!ect data buttons 2 .ont tab
find the (Text on 1urve( panel. 1lick on the
little cube icon and in the drop down that
displays select (1urve(. The text is shaped to
follow the profile of the curve.
1urve
,dit 3ode
Ob!ect 3ode
)elect (1urve(
1lick on 1ube icon
Con"erting Text to a )esh Object
There is only limited functionality in the text
Ob!ect data buttons geometry tab for modifying
the text shape. 7nless you have extruded the text
it remains a two dimensional plane ob!ect.
,ntering edit mode only allows you to retype a
text change. To perform editing which actually
changes the shape of
the text you have to
convert to a 3esh
ob!ect. To do this
select the Text in
Ob!ect mode then
press $lt ( C and in the drop down menu that displays
select ( )esh fro* C!r"e+)eta+'!rf+Text(. Tab to ,dit
mode and you will see that the text is now a mesh ob!ect
with vertices that can be moved0 rotated and scaled.
Con"erting Text to a C!r"e
5f you would like to perform some fancy
editing of a single letter you can convert
the letter " Text & into a curve. The
outline of the letter becomes a curve
with handles which allow you to
manipulate the shape into anything you
wish.
+dd Text then in edit mode delete and retype your
letter. )cale it up0 rotate and move it where you like
then Tab to Ob!ect mode. Press $lt ( C and select
(C!r"e fro* )esh+Text(. #ow in ,dit mode you will
see the outline of your letter as a curve with
manipulating handles.
Drag 8andle
,dit 3ode
Ob!ect 3ode
,dit 3ode
Elefont 3D Text
Text can be created in an external 3D Text Editor and imported into Blender. A
popular program to use is the freeware program Elefont available at
www.armanisoft.ch. This is a simple to use program that saves the file in a .DXF
format. An program that exports 3D text as .DXF or !"#$%.wrl& will wor'.
The Elefont interface is shown below.
After ou have created our text in Elefont save the .dxf file and ma'e note of where
ou saved it. (pen Blender and go into Top !iew in the 3D )indow. *n the
information )indow header clic' on +File+ then +(pen+. The blender File Browser
)indow will open. ,avigate to the folder where ou saved our file. ,ote- B
default Blender does not displa all files in the Browser )indow. .o to the header at
the top of the window and clic' on +Enable Filtering+. This will displa all the files
in an folder.
/lic' on our .dxf file and then clic' on +Open Blender File+ % 0pper $1 2ide of
window&. 3our text will be displaed in the Blender 3D )indow but note each letter
is a separate Object.
Tpe text here
T4 2elect the Font 2tle
54 2et /urve 5ualit
E4 Extrude depth
e4 Bring up Extruder )indow
B4 Bevel (ptions
24 Bevel 2i6e
F4 2ave % Export as DXF&
14 1elp *nformation
2ince each letter is a separate ob7ect ou can appl a different material color to each
letter. To 7oin all the letters into a single ob7ect8 shift select all the letters then press
+9oin+ in the Tool 2helf % Alternative /trl : 9 &.
Tab to edit mode to see the mesh ob7ect.
The text can now be edited as a single ob7ect and made to follow the profile of a
curve b adding a #odifier to the Text (b7ect. #odifiers will be discussed later.
Edit #ode showing #esh
(b7ect #ode $etters 9oined
#odifier Applied to Text (b7ect
/urve ;ath Deformed
/lic' on /ube *con
select curve
/urve ;ath
,amed /urve
CH13- Nurbs and Metashap
01-Using Nurbs
02-Creating a Lofted Tunnel
03-Meta Shapes
Return to Contents
Nurbs

When you press the 'Shift + A' and select ' Add', you will notice other object types
beside meshes, cameras and lights that can be created. One type of object that can be
created is Surface (!"#S$.
Using NURBS
%f you loo& at the Surface menu, you will see a 'ariety of shapes that can be created.
(hese shapes can be used as they are or con'erted to meshes so you can wor& with
'ertices. (o get you started and gi'e you the idea how this is achie'ed follow the
procedure outlined below.
Start a new scene in #lender and delete the default cube. )lace the
scene in top 'iew ( um )ad *$. Add a urbs +ircle (Shift + A
,ey - Add - Surface - !"#S +ircle$. (he !"#S +ircle will
be displayed in the scene in Object mode.
(ab to .dit mode and you will see the circle surrounded by
manipulation handles which by default are all selected. /eselect
the handles (A ,ey$. "ight clic& on a handle to select it. %f you
ha'e the manipulation widget turned on you can use it to move
the handle and deform the circle. Alternati'ely 0 ,ey and drag
the mouse.

(ab into Object mode to see the deformed circle.
(he deformation may be what you want or you
may wish to further refine the shape. 1ou can
do this by con'erting the !"#S shape
(Surface$ in to a 2esh object. With the shape
selected in Object mode press Alt + + and in
the drop down select ' 2esh from
+ur'e32eta3Surf3(e4t'. We are con'erting
'Surf' (Surface$ into a 2esh. Ob'iously this
same command is applicable to con'erting
+ur'e, 2eta and (e4t into a 2esh object.
Widget
(ab to edit mode and you will see the shape now has 'ertices
applied which you can select and manipulate to further
modify the shape. A ,ey will deselect the 'ertice you ha'e
just mo'ed and A ,ey again will select all 'ertices.
(ab to Object mode then Alt + +
and this time select '+ur'e from
2esh3(e4t'. (his is creating a 2esh
+ur'e object from the 2esh Object.
(ab bac& to edit mode and you now
ha'e a +ur'e +ircle object. 1ou
can now use the 0eometry 'alues in
the )roperties window - Object
data buttons to manipulate the
objects shape or select 'ertices and mo'e them. Since this is a +ur'e circle it can be
used as a path in animating.
(his is simply showing that by con'erting from one type of object to another gi'es
different options for shape manipulation.
Single 5ertice Selected and
2o'ed
5ertices selected and 2o'ed
Creating a Lofted Tunnel
(his process will ta&e se'eral profiles of a !"#S +ircle which are all manipulated
to different profiles and connect them together forming a hollow object ((unnel$.
(he first thing you need to do is create a !"#S
+ircle as pre'iously described. (he circle is
entered in the scene in Object mode. (ab into .dit
mode. Select the points and shape the circle a bit.
After shaping go bac& into Object mode. +hange
your 'iew so you are loo&ing down on the circle
((op 'iew um )ad *$. !se the 6 Shift7/ 8 &eys
to duplicate the circle se'eral times and position
them. (hen rotate your 'iew so you can select
each circle. %n .dit mode edit the shapes . After
shaping the circles, e4it edit mode and select them
all by "2# clic&ing on them while holding
'Shift'. 9oin them together, pressing 9oin in the
(ool Shelf. :or the final step press (ab for .dit
mode then A ,ey to select all 'ertices then :
,ey.
All 5ertices selected
Shift select +ircles and 9oin
: ,ey +reates ;ofted Shape
Shape "otated
Meta Shapes
There are several Meta Shapes you can use in Blender. When Meta Shape get close to
one another they begin to pull and flow together like droplets of liquid. The shapes
can be animated, tetured, and reflection and transparency can be applied to create
some stunning effects. Meta shapes are added to a scene like any other ob!ect.

Meta Shapes are added to a scene in "b!ect mode. #emember to deselect one shape
before adding another otherwise they will be !oined.
Meta Ball
Meta Tube
Meta $ube
Meta %lane
Meta &llipsoid
Meta Ball and Meta Tube
'n close proimity
CH14- Modifiers
01-Modifiers
02-Modifier Stack
03-Array Modifier
04-Object Offset Modifier
05-Bevel Modifier
0-Boolea! Modifier
0"-B#ild Modifier
0$-%eci&ate Modifier
0'-(d)e S*lit Modifier
10-Mask Modifier
11-Mirror Modifier
12-M#ltiresol#tio! Modifier
13-Scre+ Modifier
14-Solidify Modifier
15-S#bdivisio! S#rface Modifier
1-,- .roject Modifier
1"-Ar&at#re Modifier
1$-Cast Modifier
1'-C#rve Modifier
20-%is*lace Modifier
21-Hook Modifier
22-/attice Modifier
23-Mes0 %efor& Modifier
24-S0ri!k+ra* Modifier
25-Si&*le %efor& Modifier
2-S&oot0 Modifier
2"-1ave Modifier
2$-Clot0 2 Collisio! Modifier
2'-(3*lode Modifier
30-.article 4!sta!ce Modifier
31-S&oke Modifier
32-Soft Body Modifier
5et#r! to Co!te!ts
Modifiers
A Modifier is defined as the application of a process or algorithm upon Objects. In
other words once you have created an object in the scene you can apply a neat little
(and sometimes not so little set of data that will change the shape or way the objects
behave. !he modifiers are designed to ta"e some of the hard wor" out of shaping an
object. #e warned though$ that applying some of #lenders modifiers is not straight
forward and has to be performed in conjunction with other processes. %ithout some
instruction in how to apply the modifiers a lot of hit and miss$ trial and error$ messing
about can be involved. !o save you all that trouble the following section on Modifiers
is offered as a guide. &ou will still have to e'periment and record your findings to
become proficient in the application of modifiers.
Modifiers are found in the (roperties %indow ) Modifiers button. !he Modifier
button is only displayed when an object is selected in the *+ %indow and only when
it is possible to apply the modifier to that object.
,tart with the default #lender scene with the default -ube object. ,elect the -ube. .o
to the (roperties %indow ) Modifier button and clic" on /Add Modifier/ to display
the Modifier drop down selection menu. &ou will see there are 0uite a number to
choose from. ,ome of the names seem self e'planatory$ some not so clear in their
meaning.
(roperties %indow
Modifier (anel +isplayed
+rop +own ,election Menu
Modifier Stack
#efore e'plaining the individual modifiers it should be noted that in some cases it is
appropriate to apply more than one modifier to an object. %hen this is done the
modifiers are placed in a stac" in order of priority. !he priority can be changed by
moving a modifier up or down in the stac".
Also note that although modifiers are generally applied in Object mode some may be
used in 1dit mode.

!his ,creenshot shows an Array Modifier and a #evel Modifier applied.
Array Modifier
#evel Modifier
-lic" to enable Modifier settings
to be applied in 1dit mode
-lic" to move Modifier up in
the ,tac"
-lic" to move Modifier down
in the stac"
!he following pages will give a basic insight into how some of the modifiers are
employed. !he full listing of modifiers available are as shown in the modifier
selection drop down menu.
!he modifiers mar"ed in yellow will be covered in later sections relating to
Armatures$ (articles and (hysics. !he modifiers mar"ed in red will be added when I
figure out what and how they are used.
Array Modifier
The Array Modifier creates an array of copies of the base object with each copy being
offset in a number of possible ways.
UV Sphere object with Array Modifier applied with Count = ! the base object plus
two copies e"uals an array of three# and $ and % &ffsets.
'ote the abo(e is using the )elati(e &ffset function.
There are three types of offset functions a(ailable. )elati(e* Constant and &bject.
+ith a Count (alue of , and offset along the $ a-is of .
the difference between )elati(e and Constant is shown
here.
The third offset option /&bject/ is show as follows and is
combined with the addition of a second Array Modifier..
0roperties +indow Modifier button
% = ..111
$ = ..211
)elati(e
Constant
Object Offset
3n this e-ample the Sphere has an Array modifier
with Count = , and a Constant offset - = 4. 3n
addition a second Array modifier is added with an
&bject offset.
The &bject Cube is located at - = 5..2 and y = 5..2
The first Array modifier places a second Sphere at
- = 4. The second Array modifier uses the
coordinates of the &bject Cube to place a third
Sphere relati(e to the second Sphere at - = 5..2 and
y= 5..2
)emember Count , means an Array with two objects
the original object plus one. Adding a second
modifier with Count , still tells 6lender to ma7e an
Array comprising the original plus one. +e therefore
ha(e the original plus one and the original plus one.
Three.
.
,

$ = 4
% = 5..2
$ = 5..2
Bevel Modifier
The Bevel modifier simply adds a bevel to the corners of an object.
Default Cube with Bevel
Modifier applied
Extruded Cube with Bevel Modifier applied
Width of Bevel
Boolean Modifier
Boolean Modifiers are used to create shapes by using a Difference, Intersection or
Union between Objects. To demonstrate this we will use the default ube and a Tube
object.
Be warned that unless you ha!e a super fast computer some calculations can ta"e
se!eral seconds.
#tart with the ube and Tube and position them as shown. This will be the same set
up for all three Operation types. Begin with the Boolean type $Intersect$
To ma"e sure the procedure wor"s set the !ertices count to %& when you add the
Tube. My old clun"er of a computer stalls if I try the default '( !ertices. )dd the
Tube then change the !ertices in the Tool #helf.
Intersect
* reating an Object which is the shape of the o!erlap of two objects. The ube will
be the object that is modified +.
#elect the ube. In the ,roperties -indow . Modifier button . lic" $)dd Modifier$
and select type $Boolean$.
The Operation type by default is $Intersect$. In the Object panel clic" on the little cube
icon and select $Tube$ in the drop down menu. * /ote this panel allays shows a little
cube icon despite the shape of the actual object being selected +.
in the $Display$ tab clic" on $)pply$. The modifier panel disappears. In the 'D
-indow mo!e the selected object to re!eal the new object being the shape of the
o!erlap. The Tube object remains in the scene.
#tart position for ube and Tube
Boolean Modifier
lic" to add Tube
Union
* reates a shape which is a union of two objects +.
)dd a Modifier to the ube and select Operation type $Union$. In the Object panel
*0ittle cube icon+ clic" and select $Tube$. lic" 1)pply$. Mo!e the selected object in
the 'D -indow.
Difference
* reates a shape which is the difference of the two objects. In other words subtract
the o!erlap of the objects from the object being modified +.
2ollow the same procedure as the foregoing e3amples selecting Operation type
$Difference$.
'D -indow after applying
modifier
#eparate the objects to see the Intersection
Build Modifier
The Build Modifier creates the effect of something building linearly over a period of
time.
For example Text can be animated to build across the screen. Any object can have a
Build Modifier but to see a nice affect a high vertices count is required.
Add some text to the scene ( ee the section on !" Text #.
elect the text in the !" $indo% and add a Build Modifier.
As soon as you add the modifier the text disappears from the screen. &ress Alt ' A to
see the animation of the text building.
Text in the !" $indo% selected in (bject mode.
Text %ith the Build Modifier added.
Text building %hile playing the animation
&art of the text sho%ing
Build direction
Decimate Modifier
The Decimate Modifier allows reduction in
vertex count without too much alteration to
shape.
Default Tube before Modifier applied
Default Tube in Edit mode showing
vertices before Modifier applied
Tube after Modifier applied with Ratio:
0.600. There is not too much change to
the appearance.
Edit mode shows the reduction
in the number of vertices
Edge Split Modifier
The Edge Split Modifier allows you to split an
object apart by selecting vertices, edges or faces.
As an example start with the default scene with the
default ube object.
!n "bject Mode with the ube selected add an Edge
Split modifier and lic# $Apply$ % &roperties
'indow ( Modifier button ( clic# $Add Modifier (
lic# on $Edge Split$ ( lic# $Apply$ ).
Tab to Edit Mode. Select a face and drag the mouse to pull it
away from the ube. The face remains part of the object even
though it is separated.
Selecting an edge will open a face li#e the lid on a box.
*ace Select Mode
Edge select Mode
Selecting a vertex will allow a corner to be moved.
Selecting all % A +ey deselect ( A +ey select ) , trl , - +ey select $.emove /oubles$
will rejoin the faces.
/o not forget -ertex select
Mode
Mask Modifier
The Mask Modifier allows portions of a mesh which are defined by Vertex Groups to
be the only part of the mesh that is visible or inversely to be the only part of a mesh
that displays. By using the modifier visibility can be controlled without removing
vertices.
Vertices selected in Edit
mode
Vertices assigned to the
Vertex Group named
Group
!b"ect data button
#lick to assign
vertices to Group
#lick to add Group
Mask Modifier added to #ube
Group entered
!nly Group visible with modifier applied
Group invisible with $nvert ticked
%o vertices have been removed from the #ube
Mirror Modifier
The Mirror Modifier allows the construction or
deformation of a mesh on one side of a center point to
be duplicated (Mirrored) on the opposite side.
Example 1.
Example 2.
1. Plane in Edit Mode 2. Plane Subdivided
3. ertices removed on
one side
!. Mirror Modifier
applied
". Mesh deformed b# movin$
vertice with Mirror applied
Mirror Modifier
1. default Plane 2. Plane deformed and moved from center
3. Mirror Modifier %pplied
Move vertices awa# from
center in Edit Mode
Multiresolution Modifier
The Multiresolution Modifier is much like the Subdivision Surface Modifier.
The following insert is taken from the Blender documentation and perhaps, beginners
should be put aside for future study. The insert is placed here to make you aware of the
modifiers existence.
Screw Modifier
The Screw Modifier allows a shape to be generated by revolving a profile around an
axis. To demonstrate this we will construct a spring.
All operations are conducted in the default camera view.
Follow the steps in the exact order listed.
1. Delete the default ube ob!ect and add a circle. Scale the circle down ".#"".
$. Tab to %dit mode and move the circle along the & axis ' ( )ey to display the
Transform panel* Median+ ,-."""..
/. Tab to ob!ect mode.
0. Add a Screw Modifier to the ircle.
ircle revolved about the default 1 axis
%dit Mode
2b!ect Mode
#. hange the settings in the modifier panel.
-. Axis+ y ' 3evolve about the 4 axis .
5. Steps+ 1"" ' To produce a smooth
surface .
6. Screw+ 1" ' 2ffsets the revolution .
7. Angle+ 1""" ' (umber of revolutions
.
Modifier panel shown with the
default settings
3evolved about 4 axis Screw+ 1" 2ffset
Angle+ 1""" 3evolved
Solidify Modifier
The Solidify Modifier provides a tool for creating
solid objects from thin walled objects.
To demonstrate this begin with a simple Plane object
selected in the 3D Window. Add a Solidify modifier
in the Properties Window. oo! closely at the Plane
and yo" will observe that it now has a thic!ness.
#ote in the Properties Window the Solidify Modifier
by defa"lt has two val"es$ Thic!% &.&'&&
(Thic!ness) and *ffs% +'.&&&& (*ffset).
To better see what these val"es mean increase
them to$ Thic!% &.,&&& and *ffs% +,.&&&&.
-hange the 3D Window to front view (#"m
Pad ').
.o" will see that the Plane has a thic!ness of &.,&&& /lender "nits and that it is offset
+,.&&& /lender "nits below the mid plane of the scene.
Thic!ness% &.&'&&
*ffs% +,.&&&& (*ffset)
Tab to 0dit Mode. See the original vertices
of the Plane object remain on the of the
mid plane of the scene.
Tab bac! to *bject mode and change the
3D Window to 1ser Perspective view. 2n
the Modifier panel "ntic! 34ill 5im3.
2nstead of a single thic! plane there are
two thin planes.
Tic! 4ill 5im again in the modifier and then add a S"bdivision S"rface Modifier below
the Solidify Modifier. The thic! plane will loo! li!e a flattened octagonal shape. This
shape can be modified by changing 2nner$ *"ter and 5im -rease val"es in Solidify
Modifier panel. -hange all three val"es '.&&& prod"ces the Thic! Plane object.
With 2nner$ *"ter and 5im set bac! to &.&&&$ note the val"e 36iew% '3 "nder
3S"bdivisions3 in the S"bdivision S"rface Modifier panel. 2f yo" change this to 36iew% &3
yo" have the Thic! Plane again. -hanging the 36iew3 val"e from & to ' then , then 3
then 7 changes the Thic! Plane progressively into a smooth flat disc.
4or a practical demonstration of the Solidify Modifier start a new scene with a -ylinder
object instead of the defa"lt -"be. Delete the "pper end cap by deleting the single verte8
in the centre in 0dit mode. .o" now have a thin walled container. Add a Solidify
modifier and increase the Thic!ness val"e to prod"ce a thic!er wall. Play with the *ffset
val"e to change the si9e. Add a S"bdivision S"rface Modifier and alter the 6iew val"e to
modify the shape. With the S"bdivision S"rface Modifier added yo" can can "se the
2nner$ *"ter and 5im -rease val"es to control the shape.

Subdivision Surface Modifier
The subdivision Surface Modifier is used where the Smooth button in the Shading
section of the Tools Shelf does not quiet do the job and you do not want to subdivide
your mesh adding more vertices.
This example shows the method.
1. Default ube with one face extruded
!ront view "um #ad 1$ edit mode.
%. Sub Serf Modifier #anel
Default settings
&. 'ser perspective view of extrusion
(bject mode
). 'ser perspective view
*ith Sub Serf Modifier added + default settings,
-. .iew value 1 changed to )
/. Tab to edit mode to show
(rigional number of .ertices unchanged
UV Project Modifier
The UV Project Modifier allow projection of an image on to the surface of an object.
Before the modifier can be applied the scene must contain the following items and
settings are required. To demonstrate the very basics of the process we will project an
image on to one face of the ube in the default Blender !cene.
Before we begin we must have the following items.
". #n $bject on which to project the image %&efault ube'.
(. #n image to be projected % )now the location of an image on your computer'.
*. # amera to see what is being projected and to allow rendering.
+. # Projector to do the projecting.
!tart with the &efault Blender scene and go to top view %,um Pad -' in Top
$rthographic projection %,um Pad .'.
The scene already contains a ube object/ amera and 0amp. 1or this e2ercise the
0amp isn3t necessary since the image we will be projecting will be self illuminating.
4e will leave the 0amp in place anyway.
The first thing to do is add a Projector. #ny object can be used as a Projector and it is
common to use an 5mpty or a amera for the purpose. !ince we already have a
amera it is very simple to duplicate it % !hift 6 & '. 4hen the amera is duplicated
Blender automatically names it amera.77". 8o to the Properties 4indow 9 $bject
button and rename 3amera.77"3 3Projector3 % lic: on the name/ delete/ retype/ press
35nter3 '.
;n the *& 4indow move the Projector and position it as shown above.
Transform Panel
Values
Projector
amera
<ou may position the Projector anywhere you li:e but it will ma:e this demonstration
easier to follow if you copy the e2ample e2actly. To precisely position the Projector
use the Transformation panel and enter the values as shown. This will put the
Projector squarely pointing at the ube on the = and < a2is.
&eselect the Projector and change the *& 4indow to amera view %,um Pad 7'.
To perform ;mage projection the $bject being projected on must have a Material with
some unique settings. ;n the *& 4indow %amera View' select the ube. 8o to the
Properties 4indow 9 Material button. The default ube in the default scene comes
preloaded with a material. That3s the dull grey color that you see. ;f you have added a
new ube object you will have to add a new material.
4ith a material added change the following settings in the Material buttons.
". ;n the &iffuse tab set > 3;ntensity? ".7773
(. ;n the !hading tab tic: 9 3!hadeless3 and set
3#mbient? 7.7773
*. ;n the Transparency tab tic: 9 3Transparency3
and chec: 3 #lpha? ".7773 is set.
+. ;n the $ptions tab tic: 9 31ace te2ture3 % 0eave
3Traceable3 tic:ed '
4e now have to tell Blender what image we want
projected and give some coordinates to project to.
!plit the *& 4indow in two and ma:e one half a UV
;mage 5ditor 4indow.
;n the *& 4indow with the ube selected change
Viewpoint !hading to 3Te2tured3.
Tab to 5dit mode and set it in 1ace select mode. Press # )ey to deselect all faces then
@ lic: on one face of the cube to select one face.
1ace select mode
4ith the cursor in the *& 4indow press
U )ey and select 3Project 1rom View3.
<ou will see the face you have selected
appear in the UV ;mage 5ditor.
;n the UV ;mage 5ditor load your image. ;n the header clic: 3;mage3 then select
3$pen3. This opens a file browser window where you navigate to the folder containing
you image. lic: on the image file and clic: on 3$pen3 % Upper @A! '.
<our image displays in the UV ;mage 5ditor window. <ou can still see the outline of
the face you have selected.
UV ;mage 5dit 4indow
$utline of !elected 1ace
;mage 1ile 0ocation
1ile ,ame
;mage 1ile selected
$utline of !elected 1ace
;f you Press # )ey to select the face outline and 8 )ey and move the mouse you will
see the image projected on the face in the *& 4indow move at the same time.
;f you press 1"( and render with the cursor in the *& 4indow you will see whatever
portion of the image is covered by the face outline in the UV ;mage editor is rendered
on to the selected face of the ube. <ou can also scale the face outline to capture
more or less of the image.
This shows you one method of projection but that is not where we were heading to
begin with. 4e want to use our projector but we have given Blender the information
about our image and have established some mapping coordinates.
#t long last we can add our UV Project Modifier.
The ube remains selected. ;n the Properties 4indow 9 Modifier button clic: 3#dd
Modifier3 and select 3UV Project3 to display the modifier panel. ;n the modifier clic:
on the panels shown and select your ;mage /the Projector and the UV Te2
coordinates.
;mage on selected face
lic: and select your
;mage file
lic: and select
Projector
lic: and select UV
Te2
@ender %Press 1"(' to see the image projected on to the face of the ube.
By moving the Projector in the *& 4indow relative to the ube or moving/ rotating
or scaling the ube relative to the Projector the portion of the image displayed can be
controlled.

!elected 1ace
Armature Modifier
The Armature Modifier is the mechanism that links a mesh object to a deforming
armature. In CH18-Armatures, the rocedure for automaticall! assigning an armature
to a mesh is described b! setting u a Child "arent relationshi. #etting this relationshi
automaticall! adds an Armature Modifier to the mesh being deformed. Instead of setting
a Child "arent relationshi the Armature Modifier can be manuall! added and the
deforming Armature named.
Armature Modifier Added
$ith Mesh object selected
Armature named in %bject
anel
Armature selected
Armature &one .'''
(otated deforming
the Mesh object
Cast Modifier
The Cast Modifier shifts the shape of a mesh, curve, surface or lattice to any of the
predefined shapes included in the modifier ie. Sphere, cuboid or cylinder.
X, Y, Z: Untic to disable the deformation
on that a!is.
"actor: Slider controls the deformation. #
$ ori%inal & or ' to deform.
(adius: )nly deform vertices *ithin this
distance from the center +# $
infinite,.
Si-e: Si-e of the pro.ection shape +# $
automatic,.
/erte! 0roup: 1f vertices are assi%ned to a
verte! %roup only those vertices
*ill be effected.
Control )b.ect: 1f a control ob.ect is used it
determines the center of the
effect.
2efault Cube
Subdivide !3 in 4dit mode
Cast Type Sphere
Cast Type Cylinder Cast Type Cuboid
Curve Modifier
The Curve Modifier uses a Curve to deform a mesh.
Curve Modifier
Default Cube scaled on X axis and
subdivided six times in Edit mode.
Bezier Curve scaled on the X axis
Scaled Cube with Curve Modifier added
Scale and subdivide Cube mesh. Add a Bezier
Curve to the scene and scale u.
Add Curve Modifier to the scaled Cube and
enter the name of the Bezier Curve in the !b"ect
anel
#ame $ %Curve%
Select the Curve and chan&e its shae in Edit mode to maniulate the shae of the Scaled Cube
Displace Modifier
The Displace Modifier uses a Texture to displace the vertices of a mesh. If vertices
are assigned to a Vertex Group and the group is entered in the modifier only the
vertices belonging to the group will be effected.
Default Cube
ubdivided in !dit mode
Texture
Modifier
Vertex Group elected
elect vertices in !dit mode and assign to
Vertex Group. !nter "Group" in the modifier
!nter "Group"
Default Cube with Displace Modifier
Distorted #oise Texture entered
Hook Modifier
The hook modifier allows you to manipulate or animate selected vertices of a mesh
while in Object mode. Vertices are assigned (Hooked) to an mpty object which can
be moved in Object mode pulling the selected vertices with it. This can be use for a
static mesh deformation or the movement can be animated.
Simple Example: !oving one corner of a "ube.
#tart with the default scene with the "ube object
selected. Tab to edit mode and deselect all vertices
then select one vertice ("orner). $ress "trl % H &ey
and select ' Hook to (ew Object'.
)n mpty is added to the scene and by going to the
$roperties *indow + !odifier buttons you will see
that a Hook !odifier has been added named,
'ok-mpty'.
#elect and move the mpty in Object mode and the "ube is deformed.
mpty added
Lattice Modifier
The Lattice Modifier is used to deform a mesh object or to control the movement of
particles. By using the modifier it is simple to shape a mesh object that has many
vertices. A Lattice is a non renderable grid of vertices therefore it does not render in
the scene. You can use the same lattice to deform several objects by giving each
object a modifier pointing to the lattice.
Example !eform a "# $phere object %ith a Lattice.
Add a "#$phere to the scene then add a Lattice.
Before you can see the Lattice mesh you %ill have to
scale up &$ 'ey ( !rag Mouse).
The Lattice is entered as a simple mesh cube. *o to the
+bject data button in the ,roperties -indo% and alter
the ". # and - values in the Lattice tab to subdivide
the Lattice mesh.
Lattice Modifier added to
$phere
Enter /Lattice/ here
$ingle Lattice vertice selected and
moved deforming the "# $phere
mesh.
"# $phere Lattice Mesh
Mesh Deform Modifier
The Mesh Deform Modifier can deform one mesh with another 'cage' mesh. This is
similar to a Lattice Modifier but instead of being restricted to the regular grid layout
of a lattice, the cage can be modeled to fit around the mesh object being deformed.
The cage mesh must form a closed cage around the part of the mesh to be deformed.
Only vertices within the cage will be deformed. Typically the cage will have far
fewer vertices than the mesh being deformed.
fter modeling your object surround it with a
simple cage mesh and apply a Mesh deform
modifier to the original object. !nter the name of the
cage mesh and press '"ind' to lin# the two meshes.
The '"ind' operation may ta#e several seconds to
calculate depending on the comple$ity of your
model. %ait until '"ind' changes to '&nbind' before
selecting vertices on the cage. "y dragging scaling
and rotating the selected vertices the original mesh
will be deformed. The pro$imity of the cage to the
original object has an influence on how to
deformation reacts.
'ote( The cage mesh will render in the scene therefore with the cage surrounding the
elongated sphere all you will see is the cage. )ou can select the cage and move it
away from the sphere #eeping the deformation but the cage will still render. To see
the elongated sphere deformed without the cage clic# on 'pply' in the modifier tab.
The modifier is applied to the sphere and removed. )ou can now delete the cage and
the elongated sphere remains deformed.
Mesh deform Modifier applied to *phere.
&+ *phere scaled to form an
elongated worm shape.
,ube e$truded to form
cage
-art of cage selected moved and
rotated deforming the *phere
,lic# on '"ind' and wait until
it changes to '&nbind'
Shrinkwrap Modifier
The Shrinkwrap modifier takes a mesh and shrinks it down wrapping the mesh
around another object. The deformed mesh can then be offset to produce shapes in
between the original shape and the deformed shape.
UV Sphere with Cone inside
Shrinkwrap Modifier added
Offset increased to 1.! Offset increased to ".##
Shrinkwrap Modifier added to UV
Sphere
$nter %Cone& here
'ncrease %Offset%
UV Sphere wrapped
around the Cone
Simple Deform Modifier
The Simple Deform Modifier deforms a mesh by
increasing factor values in the modifier and having a
second object having an influence.
To see this modifier in action have a UV Sphere in
the scene with a scaled down Cube located on the
center inside the sphere.
Sphere with Cube
inside on the center
irefreme Mode
Modifier added !actor" #.$%
!actor" &.''
Cube entered in (rigin and moved sideways.
)nter *Cube* as (rigin
!ront View
Smooth Modifier
The Smooth Modifier smooths the mesh
object by softening the angles between
adjacent faces. This probably shrinks the size
of the original object at the same time. The
modifier is based on the 'Smooth' function in
the Tools Panel.
X, Y, Z: Specifies along which axis the modifier will be applied.
Factor: efines the amount of smoothing in a range from !.!!! to ".!!!. #ower or
negati$e $alues can be used but can deform the mesh object.
Repeat: Specifies the number of smoothing iterations.
VGroup: %ertex &roup named to specify which $ertices are affected 'The whole
object if no $ertex group specified(.
)actor* !.+!!
,epeat* "
)actor* -.!!
,epeat* "
)actor* -.!!
,epeat* -
Wave Modifier
The Wave Modifier applies a deformation in the form of a wave. To demonstrate we
will apply the modifier to a Plane.
In the default Blender scene delete the Cube and add
a Plane. Scale the Plane up
(S ey!"#. Tab into $dit mode and subdivide ( Clic
%Subdivide% in the Tools Panel & times#. Tab to 'b(ect
mode. )ou have to subdivide the Plane to *et a nice
affect.
+o to the Properties Window,Modifier button and
clic %-dd Modifier% to open the drop down selection
menu. Select %Wave%.
In the ./ Window you
immediately see the Plane deform.
It is pulled up in the middle and
punched in at the top of the bul*e.
The Wave Modifier has been
applied on both the 0 and ) a1is.
In the Modifier tab you see 12 y
and cyclic ticed. 0 and ) are the
a1is and cyclic means that an
animation of the wave will repeat
over and over.
With your curs3r in the ./ Window press -lt!- to see the animation play. Press $sc
to stop.
4ntic the 0 a1is in the Modifier tab and play a*ain. - wave alon* the ) a1is results.
-t the bottom of the Modifier tab chan*e the %Speed% to 3.352 the Width to 6.37 and
the %8ei*ht% to 3..9. Play the animation a*ain. )ou can chan*e these values to
whatever you want. In fact2 *o ahead and play around with different values to see
what happens. Its the only way to *et the idea.
Chan*e :alues
Wave ;orm Control :alues
Cloth and Collision Modifier
The Cloth Modifier allow a mesh object to be
animated to exhibit the characteristics of a cloth
material or fabric.
To demonstrate the application of the Modifier
follow this brief tutorial.
In a new scene delete the default Cube and add a Plane object. Scale the Plane up four
times and in Edit mode subdivide four times. A reasonable number of subdivisions are
reuired to produce a !ood effect. "ith the Plane selected in the #$ view !o to the the
Properties "indow % Modifiers button and add a Cloth Modifier. "ith &our cursor in the
#$ "indow press Alt ' A to pla& an animation. At this sta!e the animation will simpl&
show the Plane descendin! and disappearin! out of view. Press (Esc( to end the
animation. If &ou loo) in the Properties "indow % Scene settin!s &ou will see that a
!ravitational effect is applied hence the Plane descends due to this force.
*oo) at the Ph&sics buttons in the Properties
"indow. Addin! a Cloth Modifier has automaticall&
added data for the ph&sical properties of a cloth.
+ote, 'Presets: Cloth Presets' is applied. There is a
dropdown selection menu here for a variet& of
material t&pes. *eave the Preset as the default settin!.
Also note (Pinnin!(. There is no tic) in the Pinnin!
box therefore this propert& is not activated. (Pinnin!(
refers to pinnin! the cloth in place such as to a
noticeboard or clothesline.
-
Modifier button
This refers to the Ph&sics buttons
.ther data which controls how the Cloth reacts and interacts.
In the #$ "indow with the Plane selected Tab into
Edit mode/ deselect all vertices and then select onl&
the two vertices on the rear corners of the mesh. 0o
to the Properties "indow 1 .bject data button
2ertex !roup tab/ clic) on the plus si!n to add a
2ertex 0roup. "ith the two vertices selected press
(Assi!n( which assi!ns the two vertices to the
!roup. +ote 3lender has named the vertex !roup
(0roup(. 4ou can of course chan!e this name if &ou
wish. Tab bac) to .bject mode. 0o to the Ph&sics
button and Tic) (Pinnin!( then clic) on the vertex
!roup panel just below
(Pinnin!( and clic) on
(0roup( to select the vertex
!roup. In the #$ "indow
press Alt ' A to pla& the
animation a!ain. .bserve
that the Plane 5Cloth6 falls
awa& as if pinned in place and held b& its two corners. Press (Esc( to stop the animation.
Two rear corners Pinned
7ront of Cloth Plane fallin!
awa&
The Cloth Plane can be made to interact with other objects in the scene. Add a 82
Sphere and position it below the Plane as shown in the dia!ram.
"ith the Sphere selected
!o to the Properties
"indow 1 Modifier button
and add a Collision
Modifier. 9epla& the
animation and &ou will see
the Cloth 5Plane6 fall and
drape over the sphere.
Addin! Modifiers to objects introduces data in the Ph&sics button 1 Properties "indow
which controls how the .bjects react and interact. It is be&ond the scope of this basic
demonstration to explain all the settin!s. Experiment with the settin!s and record &our
findin!s to become proficient in the use of these Modifiers.
82 Sphere selected in
the #$ 2iew as indicated
b& the Manipulation
"id!et showin!.
Explode Modifier
The Explode Modifier lets you make a mesh object fly apart or explode. Before you
can apply an Explode Modifier you must have an Emitter Particle System applied.
If you are orkin! methodically throu!h this manual you haven"t come to that yet so
maybe put this on hold for a hile. #e ill rite the procedure anyay since it is
such a neat modifier.
In the $% #indo delete the &ube and add a '( Sphere. )eave the default number
of se!ments and rin!s. *oom in on the Sphere a bit.
#ith the Sphere selected !o to the Properties
#indo+Particles button and in the panel click on the
plus si!n to add a Particle System.
In the Emission tab chan!e the ,mount value to -..
and the )ifetime value to /0..
In the Properties #indo+ Scene button+1ravity tab
untick 1ravity.
In the Properties #indo+Modifier button
click ",dd Modifier" 23ou ill see that there is
already a Particle System modifier applied4.
Select "Explode".
#ith your curser in the $% #indo
press ,lt5, to see the Sphere 6ly
,part
7emove the Tick
Fluid Simulation Modifier
The Fluid Simulation Modifier allows the simulation fluid or liquid.
The application of this modifier has been covered comprehensively in Chapter 20.
Particle System Modifier
The application of the Particle System Modifier adds a Particle System to an b!ect.
The Particle System has been covered comprehensively in Chapter "#.
Particle Instance Modifier
The Particle Instance Modifier allows you to duplicate an Object and position the
duplicates mimicking the position and number of particles emitted from a Particle
System. It follows that in order to apply the Particle Instance Modifier to an object you
must have a second object in the scene object with a Particle System attached.
s always an e!ample is a good way to e!plain this type of application. "efore you
begin be familiar with Particle Systems as described in #hapter $%.
In a new scene delete the default #ube and add a Plane
object. &eave it set as default on the centre of the world.
'eselect the Plane and add a () Sphere. "oth the Plane
and the Sphere will be located at the centre of the world.
*o to the Scene button
in the Properties
+indow and untick
,*ravity,. This is done
so that particles
emitted from an Object will not be subject to a
gravitational force.
+ith the Plane selected in the -' +indow add a
Particle System. (se the default system and change
the following settings.
.missions tab/ mount/ %
&ifetime/ 0%1 2The length of the
default animation in frames3
.mit 4rom/ )erts 2Particles will emit
from the vertices 3
)elocity tab/ 5ormal/ $.611 2*ives the particles a
starting velocity 3
7emove the Tick
+ith the () Sphere selected in the -'
+indow add a Particle Instance Modifier.
#lick in the Object panel and select ,Plane,. In
the ,#reate 4rom/, and ,Show Particles +hen/,
columns tick the bo!es as shown in the
diagram. +e only want to show objects
associated with live particles and we want to
control the si8e of the objects by adjusting the
si8e of the particles.
*o back to the Plane,s Particle System and in the Physics tab set Si8e/1.-11. This is
controlling the si8e of the object instances in the -' +indow.
-' )iew fter Modifier Settings #hanged
Particle Si8e/ 1.-11
Press lt 9 with the cursor in the -'
+indow animate the generation of Particles
and duplicates of the Sphere. :ou will see that
the Spheres being generated from the corners
of the Plane 2The vertices3 in a random order.
In the Plane,s Particle System ; .missions tab
,7andom, is ticked.
llow the 0%1 frame animation to play then press .sc.
:ou can use the (p<'own= &eft<7ight rrow >eys to move through the animation frame
by frame to see the Sphere duplications and you can render an image at any stage to see
the result. :ou will probably have to reposition the #amera to get a good view.
Particle Instances generated from )ertices
.mission mount/ % e?uals
five Instances
4inally= while at frame $ select the Sphere and drag it away from the centre of the scene.
Step through the animation again. The Spheres are generated mimicking the position ov
the Plane,s vertices. If you render an image you will see the Particles rendered as halos
as well as the Sphere duplicates.
This has demonstrated that you can duplicate Objects by the use of a Particle System
and control the effect with the Particle System. s always there are plenty of controls
with which e!periment. :ou will find detailed tutorials on the internet describing
specific applications of the Particle Instance Modifier.

Sphere moved from centre of
Scene. .mitter Plane remains on
centre
Smoke Modifier
The Smoke Modifier provides the means of adding a Smoke simulation to your scene.
The following example is a procedure for demonstrating the Smoke Modifier. This
procedure has been compiled from various tutorials existing at the time of writing and
only encompasses a very basic example. Experimentation will be required to fully
understand the application of this modifier.
Create the Domain
Before you can add smoke to your scene
you need to define the area where the
smoke simulation takes place. n Blender
physics this area is called a Domain.
n this case choose a !ube ob"ect and
scale it in Object mode to fit the
!amera view.
Make sure you are in #b"ect mode and go to the $roperties %indow. &t this point there
are two methods of adding a Smoke Modifier to the ob"ect'
Method 1. Select the Modifiers button ( !lick )&dd Modifier) ( select
)Smoke).
!amera *iew
+ote' To create smoke you define a
volume of space for the smoke to
occupy ,The -omain. and you
place an ob"ect within the -omain to
make the smoke ,The Emitter.. Both
the -omain and the Emitter have a
Smoke Modifier applied.
Method 2. Select the $hysics button ( Smoke tab ( !lick )&dd).
n either case/ after adding the modifier go to the $hysics button ( Smoke tab and select
)-omain). The !ube in the 0- %indow changes to an orange outline indicating that
)-omain) has been applied.
Create the Flow Object
+ow that we have defined the volume
that will contain smoke/ we will add an
ob"ect from which the smoke will be
emitted. &dd a $lane ob"ect.
Make sure it)s inside he -omain cube.
$hysics button
Smoke tab after
clicking )&dd)
Select -omain
%ith the $lane selected go to The $roperties
%indow ( $hysics button 1Smoke tab and click
)&dd) , &dding the Smoke Modifier.. This time
chose 2low.
The smoke will not be emitted from the $lane itself
but from particles that are emitted. &dding Smoke
in the $hysics buttons and selecting )2low) has
automatically added a $article System to the $lane.
This can be seen by selecting the $articles button in
the $roperties %indow header. The smoke will
eventually be seen to come from the $lane in a
render of the scene but if you wanted to replace this
with something else you can untick )Emitter). The
small cube still emits the smoke but it doesn)t
render.
To preview the smoke press &lt 3 & with your cursor
in the 0- %indow. 4ou will see smoke emit from the
$lane and rise in the -omain. The default animation
length is 567 frames so let this play to completion and
then press )Esc) to cancel. 4ou can then scrub through
the animation in the Timeline %indow to view the
smoke at various stages of the animation.
$article System
Smoke generated in 0-
%indow
Note: #n my computer/ which isn)t particularly up market/ scrubbing the animation
,-ragging the green line in the Timeline %indow. doesn)t work. 8sing the 8p1-own
&rrows on the keyboard to step through the animation in 97 frame increments doesn)t
work either. 8sing the :eft1;ight &rrows to step in single frame increments does work.
n essence this is the application of the Smoke
Modifier but of course the effect can be modified.
n the first instance in the $hysics buttons ( Smoke
tab/ ticking )nitial *elocity) activates a multiplier
which controls the smoke generation speed. There
is a marked difference even with the value set at 9.
#ther changes to the smoke generation may be made
by settings in the emitters $article System.
2or example' n the 2orce 2ield Settings tab/
selecting )*ortex) from the drop down menu for
)Type 9) generates a swirling effect as the smoke is
generated. &nother example is changing the )+ormal)
value to something like 10.777 in the *elocity tab
with the emitter $lane located towards the top of the
-omain. This produces a descending smoke effect.
Experimentation will reveal many other effect variations
Renderin
;endering at this point will result in "ust rendering
an image of the !ube -omain . This issue can
easily be resolved by working on the material and
texture of the -omain cube. Select the !ube and go
to the Material button . !hange the material to
)*olume) .Set -ensity to 7.
f you set the density to values larger than 7 the
-omain cube will be filled with the material.
+ext go to the Texture buttons and change the
Texture type to )*oxel -ata).
n the )*oxel -ata) tab/ set the )-omain #b"ect)
to )!ube) by clicking in the -omain #b"ect
panel and selecting )!ube). The emitter is
named )$lane).
n the nfluence tab tick )-ensity) and leave it at
9.777 ,Emission !olor should be automatically
checked/ too..
+ow you should be able to render single frames.
,$ress 295 and Esc to cancel..
!lick here for drop1down
selection menu
Material
buttons
Texture
buttons
!i": <To see the smoke more clearly< 8nder the world tab/ chose a very dark color for
the hori=on. n the 0- %indow add a >emi :amp/ point it at the smoke and make the
light color something bright.

>emi :amp
!lick on color bar to select the color
;endered image with >emi :amp
$roperties %indow
Soft Body Modifier
The Soft Bod Modifier in some respects is similar to the Cloth Modifier in that it allows
the animation of deformation of a mesh object.
To demonstrate this Modifier
use a UV Sphere positioned
above a Plane. Scale the
default Plane up four times
and in Edit mode subdivide it
four times.
n the !" #indow select the UV Sphere$ Tab
into Edit mode and with all the vertices
selected create a Verte% &roup. ' Properties
#indow ( )bject "ata button ( Verte% &roup
tab ( Clic* on the Plus si+n ( Clic* ,-ssi+n, ..
Set the ,#ei+ht, value to /./// which means
that the vertices will not be anchored and will
be able to fall under the influence of the
&ravit0 settin+ in the Scene settin+s.
-dd a Soft Bod0 modifier and in the Ph0sics buttons ( Soft Bod0 &oal tab Verte%
&roup1 enter ,&roup,.
Pressin+ -lt 2 - in the !" #indow will pla0 an animation of the Sphere fallin+ throu+h
the Plane.
"eselect the Sphere and select the Plane. -dd a Collision Modifier.
Ph0sics Buttons
#hen the animation is pla0ed the Sphere now descends and deforms as it comes in
contact with the Plane eventuall0 becomin+ a flat blob on the surface of the Plane.
CH15- Particle Systems
01-Overview
02-Nomenclature
03-Setup
04-Settings !aterial "n#luence
05-Particle $uttons
0%-Starting a System
0&-!aterial on Particles
0'-"nteraction
0(-)in*
10-Sample Settings
11-+eye* Particles
12-$oi*s Particles
13- Hair Particles
14-,ssignment -a.
/eturn to Contents
Particle Systems and Interactions
Overview.
This overview is intended as an introduction to the Particle Systems in Blender.
The first question that must be answered is, 'what are particles'? My dictionary tells
me that a Particle is a minute portion, piece or amount. That's fine but when
considerin Blender, a particle is a small piece of what? !or simplicity we will
consider a particle to be a small dot on the computer screen. The dot may be
displayed in a variety of ways but for now thin" of it as #ust a dot.
$n Blender particles % dots & are emitted from an ob#ect and can be manipulated to
produce varied effects . Particles can be used to simulate snow, fire, smo"e, clouds,
spar"s and hair to name #ust a few. To produce particles an ob#ect selected in the
scene must have a Particle System assined to it. The emission of the particles is
played as an animation and then rendered to produce the simulation effect. The best
way to see how this is accomplished is to follow a few simple instructions and run a
particle system.
Before settin up a Particle System we should establish a nomenclature so that we are
able to understand the instructions that are iven. 'et's bein with the default Blender
scene. The main (indows are outlined as follows.
Blender )efault Scene
*) (indow
+utliner (indow
Properties
(indow
Timeline (indow
Nomenclature
When referring to the Properties Window Particles buttons panel the following
nomenclature will be observed.
Navigation Path Properties Window Particles button

Button
Emission tab
Slider
Selection box
Value button
Drop Down
Data D button
Selection buttons
!ab "losed
!ab #pen
Panel
Setting up a Particle System
Open Blender and delete the default Cube object from the scene and then add a new
UV Sphere. Leave the default values for the Sphere as they appear in the Properties
indow. ith the Sphere selected !o to the
Properties indow and clic" the Particles button.
Clic" on the white plus si!n ne#t to the empty
panel to $%dd a particle system$.
&he window will display with an array of tabs and
buttons which allow the set up of the system. &his
appears dauntin! to say the least but Blender has
automatically created a system with default settin!.
&he first thin! to note is the Type: Emitter ri!ht at the top of the Particle System
panel. &ype 'mitter is what we will discuss to start with. Clic"in! on the panel where
the word 'mitter is displayed will open a drop down with the selection options
'mitter and (air. &ype (air is a separate system which will be discussed later.

ith the cursor in the )* indow press %lt + % to run an animation showin!
particles bein! !enerated. ,ote the &imeline indow is displayed across the bottom
of the screen and will show a !reen line movin! as the animation plays..
Properties indow
Particles button
%dd Particle System
-endered ima!e at
frame .//
Particles emitted as oran!e s0uares as seen
in the )* indow with the sphere selected
ith the emitter object selected the animation will play showin! particles as small
oran!e s0uares bein! emitted from the UV Sphere and then fallin! towards the
bottom of the screen. 1f the emitter object is not selected the particles show as small
blac" dots. &he animation will play for 23/ frames then repeat itself. Press 'sc to
stop the animation. Usin! the Up 4 *own arrows on the "eyboard or by dra!!in! the
!reen line in the &imeline5 move the animation forward to say frame .//. &he
particles will now be displayed as they occur at frame .//. -ender the scene 6 press
7.2 8. %n ima!e will be rendered showin! the UV Sphere and the particles as halos
6 fu99y balls of li!ht mer!ed to!ether 8 cascadin! downwards. 1f the animation were
to be rendered as a video you could play this in action.
Press 'sc to cancel the ima!e and return to the )* indow.
,ote that particles emit their own li!ht therefore it is not necessary to have a lamp in
the scene. 1f the default lamp is deleted from the scene the ima!e rendered will show
the halos but the emitter object will be blac". &he reason that the emitter is seen at all
is because the render has a default !rey bac"!round. 1f the bac"!round were blac"
you would not see the emitter.
By default Blender renders an ima!e at 23: of the )* indow si9e. 1f you want
somethin! different !o to the Properties indow 4 -ender button and in the
*imensions tab 4 -esolution button chan!e the percenta!e value 6 *ra! the slider 8.
;ou can also alter the < and ; values above the percenta!e slider to vary the aspect
ratio of the ima!e.
&hat in essence has demonstrated a particle system bein! applied. 1t is now time to
pro!ress and discover how to manipulate the system. &he fun be!ins.
1n the demonstration5 the particles emitted from the sphere cascade downwards. &his
was to create reality in the scene by havin! a !ravitational effect applied. e will
now turn that effect off.
=o to the Properties indow 4 Scene button and remove the tic" from the little bo#
in the =ravity tab.
Clic" to remove tic" and turn !ravity off
Scene button
Set the animation in the &imeline bac" to frame .
and replay the animation 6 %lt + % 8. &his time the
particles emitted from the UV Sphere disperse in all
directions away from the sphere. ,ote that the
particles seem to only move for a certain time and
disappear before the end of the animation. Obviously
there is somethin! happenin! to cause this.
&a"e a loo" at the Properties indow with the
Particles button activated and loo" at the 'mission
tab. ;ou will see the followin! values>
%mount >.///5 Start >..///5 'nd > 2//./// and Lifetime > 3/.///. &hese values say
that ./// particles will be emitted startin! at frame . and stoppin! at frame 2// but
each particle will only be visible for 3/ frames. Particles therefore disappear after
bein! in e#istence for 3/ frames.
%lso loo" at the Velocity tab and the ,ormal> ../// value. &his says particles are
bein! emitted at a speed of . unit per second normal to the surface of the sphere 6 at
?/ de!rees to the surface 8.
1ncrease the Lifetime value to 2// and replay the animation. ,ow particles are
displayed for the whole 23/ frame animation since particles emitted at frame 2// stay
visible until frame 23/ 6 3/ frames 8.
@ust to demonstrate another particle emission control feature5 in the Velocity tab
chan!e the 'mitter =eometry ,ormal value to /./// and the 'mitter Object ; value
to ././//. -eplay the animation and see all the particles emitted move fairly rapidly
alon! the ; a#is of the scene. ;ou have just told Blender to emit the particles alon!
the ; a#is at ./ units per second instead of emittin! them at . unit per second at ?/
de!rees 6,ormal8 to the a face on the surface of the sphere. ,ote that in the 'mission
tab $'mit 7rom 7aces$ is activated 6 (i!hli!hted in Blue 8.
&he for!oin! has demonstrated how a particle system is insti!ated and can be
controlled by values in the Particles buttons window. e will leave the buttons alone
for the time bein! and come bac" later.
e will now have a loo" at some detail of where and how particles are emitted from
an object. 1n the Properties indow 4 Particles buttons 4 'mission tab note the 'mit
7rom buttons5 Verts 6Vertices85 7aces and Volume. &he default value 7aces is
6 (i!hli!hted in blue 8.
&o see what this means start with a new Blender Scene and delete the default Cube.
%dd a Plain object and remove the )* Aanipulator id!et. -emovin! the id!et
will let us see more clearly what is happenin! when particles are emitted. Untic" the
=ravity button in the Scene buttons. %dd a particle system to the Plane. Press %lt + %
and play the animation showin! the particle !eneration.
;ou will see the particles bein! !enerated on the face of
the Plane object. &he Plane only has one 7ace. &he
particles are bein! !enerated at an initial velocity of .
unit per second normal to the face of the plane 6 %t ?/
de!rees to the surface 8. &his is in accordance with the
default values in the Velocity tab.
1n the 'missions tab 4 'mit 7rom buttons select Verts
and replay the animation. ;ou will now see the
emission of particles from the four corners of the plane
6 B vertices8.
Selectin! 7aces or Verts depends on what you want to
see in your final render.
e will now have a loo" at a little more detail of particle !eneration. Start over with a
new Blender scene and delete the default Cube object. e will now create a circular
plane object to use in this e#ample.
%dd a Circle object to the scene and scale it up ) times. =o into edit mode and with
all vertices selected press the ' Cey 6 '#trude8 then clic" LAB followed by S Cey
6 Scale 8 and move the mouse towards the center of the circle. ith the ' Cey you
have e#truded 6 created a new set of vertices 8 and the S Cey has allowed you to scale
the set of new vertices. Chan!e to object mode and add a particle system. =o to the
Scene buttons and untic" !ravity. Play the animation.
;ou will see particles bein! !enerated but some
are movin! up and some are movin! down. ,ote
that the default 'mission 4 'mit 7rom value is
$7aces$ and the Velocity 4 'mitter =eometry 4
,ormal value is ..///. e are therefore emittin!
particles from the faces of the object at . unit per
second normal to the face. 1n modelin! the circular
plane object some faces have been assi!ned a
ne!ative normal value and some have been
assi!ned a positive normal value 5 hence the
Outer vertices '#truded and
Scaled down to form inner rin!
movement of the particles as seen in the animation. &he normal values need to be
recalculated to ali!n them in the same direction.
&o reali!n the normals !o into edit mode and select all the vertices. ith the cursor in
the )* indow5 press Ctrl + , Cey. Aa"e ,ormals Consistent will display in the
side panel at the lower L( corner of the screen.
=o bac" to object mode and replay the animation. %ll the particles will move in the
same direction but not necessarily upwards. ,ote that if the normal value is chan!ed
to D../// 6 Ainus one 8 the particles will move in the opposite direction. Set the
normal value to move up.
OC let$s have a close loo" at what is happenin! to the particles. 1f you loo" at the
values in the Particles 'mission tab you see that ./// particles are bein! !enerated
startin! at frame .5 endin! at frame 2// with a lifetime of 3/ frames. ;ou will also
see -andom and 'ven *istribution bo#es tic"ed so the particles are bein! spread
between the faces in a random order as they are !enerated. -andom would appear to
ta"e precedence over 'ven *istribution. ,ote the value @ittered hi!hli!hted in blue.
@ittered means that in any one face on the object particles appear in a random
position.
Untic" the -andom bo# and play the animation. &he particles are now !enerated
from one face after the other around the circle plane object.
1ncrease the Lifetime value to 2// to ma"e the particles display lon!er in the
animation.
,ote if the animation is played without the object bein! selected the particles will
appear as small blac" dots instead of the little oran!e s0uares.
Cyclin! the animation in the &imeline to frame
2// produces a spiral array in the )* indow
which may be rendered as an ima!e. ;ou will
however have to relocate the camera in the
scene to render an ima!e of the complete spiral.
%nother feature worth mentionin! at this time is
the fact that by default Blender renders an
ima!e of a particle system which includes the
emitter object. &o render without the emitter
object !o to the -ender tab and untic" the
'mitter bo#.
&he spiral has been !enerated
with ,ormal Velocity value
of ..///. 1f this value is
deleted and still in the
Velocity tab the 'mitter
Object ; value is set to ..///
then when the animation is
replayed the spiral will
!enerate on the flat alon! the
; a#is. &his demonstrates that how the array of particles is !enerated is controlled by
the values entered Velocity tab.
%t this point we are attemptin! to only !ive an overview of particle !eneration and it
is not intended that every function of the control buttons be detailed.
e will demonstrate two more features in this overview.
So far the particles that have been !enerated have been displayed as dots or little
oran!e s0uares in the )* indow and have been rendered as halos. 1n the -ender tab
you will a selection of render options. ,one5 (alo5 Line5 Path5 Object5 =roup5
Billboard. e will have a loo" at the Object option. =o ahead and select it. ,ow
reduce the number of particles in the 'mission tab %mount to )2. Our plane circular
rin! object was created from a circle with )2 vertices therefore it has )2 faces.
-educin! the particle amount to )2 !ives us appro#imately one particle per face. &his
is appro#imate since at this point the !eneration of the particles follows an animation
curve which accelerates and decelerates. Play the animation a!ain to re!enerate the
particles then cycle throu!h the animation and at frame 2// you will see )2 particles
but they are not evenly spaced alon! the spiral. &his is showin! the influence of the
acceleration chan!e in the !eneration. e are only concerned with reducin! the
particle count just now.
*eselect the rin! in the
)* indow. %dd a UV
Sphere object and note
that it is called
Aesh.//. 6 See lower
L( corner of window8.
*eselect the sphere and
reselect the rin!. 1n the Particle button 4 -ender tab loo" for the *upli Object> bo#.
Clic" in the bo# and in the drop down
panel that displays select Aesh.//.. &he
particles are now displayed in the )*
indow as tiny little spheres. =o to the
Physics tab and increase the Si9e>value to
increase the si9e of the tiny spheres in the
)* indow. -ender to see an ima!e of
the spheres.
Up to now everythin! created and rendered has been the default dull !rey color.
%ddin! a new material color to the sphere we have just added will cause the array of
spheres to display and render in that material color. %ddin! a material to the rin! in
the )* indow will cause the particles with a halo value to render in that material
color.
&his demonstration of particle system applications has touched on the tip of the
iceber!. e now re0uire to ma"e a detailed study of the Particle buttons window to
ascertain the function of each tab and button and formulate the lo!ic of particle
systems interface. &here are many e#cellent tutorials available to compliment this
study but it is recommended that an understandin! of the buttons be attained to allow
the transition from an operator of the pro!ram to creative artist.
UV Sphere %dded
Aesh.//.
Particle Settings and Material Influence
We will continue the study of the Particle System by examining the Particle Settings
and Material Influence and seeing how settings are entered to create effects. The
possible effects that can be created are endless and only limited by the imagination.
Particles can be deflected off other objects, be blown by the wind, be displayed
before they are built and many more options. It would be impossible to demonstrate
eerything and only by experimentation and recording settings for future use will you
become proficient.
!emember that a particular effect can be saed as a "lender file which can be
imported into a scene in another "lender file. When you create something interesting
its worth saing and recording for future use. "lender doesn#t come prepac$ed with
instant goodies so the objectie should be for a "lender %rtist to compile a library.
The Particle Setting are controlled by the Particles buttons which consist of a series
of tabs housing buttons and sliders allowing alues to be entered. %s we hae already
seen "lender automatically created a Particle System when the %dd button is
pressed. What we do next is to modify that system to produce the particular effect
that we re&uire. The system is then saed to a cache to be used.
The tabs of the buttons window hae a logic in setting up a Particles System so if
each is examined and understood separately the oerall picture will become eident.
It is not intended to underta$e that study here instead we will demonstrate some
settings which produce examples.
'ote( )n the following diagram we hae ta$en the liberty of labeling the first part of
the "uttons Window as the %ssignment tab. This part of the window is always open
unli$e the remainder of the tabs which are opened and closed by clic$ing on the
triangles at the upper left hand corner of each tab.
)ur %ssignment tab controls what we do with a Particle System when we hae
created * modified the default + a system. We will therefore postpone the discussion
of this tab until last.
Particles Buttons Panel
Assignment tab
How particles are assigned
(The missing tab)
Cache tab
Saving the particle system
Emission tab
How particles are generated
Velocity tab
How fast and in what direction
Rotation tab
How particles rotate
Physics tab
Rules of animation
Rules of interaction
Render tab
How images and video display
Display tab
How particles display on screen
Children tab
Particles generate other particles
Field Weight tab
Values effecting Force Fields
Force Fields Settings tab
odifiers effecting particles
Verte groups tab
!here particles originate
Custom Properties tab
"ache closed #mission open
"lic$ on triangle open%close
Properties !indow
The Particle Buttons Panel
The Particle Buttons panel displays all the options relating to how particles are
generated and displayed. To understand how we create specific effects using particles
we will first require to look at some of the Buttons tabs.
Emission tab.
The Emission tab controls how particles are emitted.
Amount: The number of particles emitted in the animation between the start and the
end frame settings.
Start: The frame number in the animation where particles will start to be emitted.
End: The frame number in the animation where particle emission will stop.
Lifetime: How long each particle will be visible number of frames! in the
animation.
Random: Particles are emitted from "aces in a random order.
Emit From: Particles may be emitted from either #ertices$ "aces or the #olume.
"aces is selected in the screen%shot as indicated by the blue highlight.
The remainder of the options in the tab control the order of particle generation.
&andom: Even 'istribution: (ittered: &andom: )rid: Particles*"ace: (ittered +mount:.
These options permutate depending on which of the Emit "rom options has been
selected.
E,perimentation and recording of results are required to establish combinations for
specific application.
Velocity tab
The #elocity tab settings control how fast and in what direction particles are emitted
from a mesh ob-ect.
Emitter )eometry
.ormal: #elocity of particles normal at /0 degrees! to the emitting surface
Tangent: #elocity of the particles parallel to the surface.
&otation: #alue rotates the direction of the surface tangent.
Emitter 1b-ect
The velocity of particles along the 2$ 3 4 5 a,es in the scene.
.ote all values may be entered as positive or negative reversing direction.
1ther:
1b-ect: The ob-ect gives the particles a starting speed and direction.
&andom: )ives the starting speed direction a random variation.
.ote: The 61ther6 values are best demonstrated with particles being displayed as
ob-ects. 7ee: &ender Tab.
Physics
Physics determine the way particles move and interact with the world around them.
.ote the selection bar at the top of the Physics tab with .ewtonian highlighted in
blue. .ewtonian is the normal particle physics which we will consider at this time.
The other options are:
.o Particles stick to their emitter for the whole lifetime.
8eyed +llows particles to be directed from one emitter to another setting
up a chain of particles moving from one place to the other.
Boids +llows particles to be given rules of behavior which allow them to
represent flocks$ swarms$ herds and schools of various kinds of
animals.
(ust for the moment the only setting we need concern ourselves with in the
.ewtonian system is the 7i9e value which controls the si9e of the particles as seen in
the :' ;indow and as rendered in an image or movie.
Display
The display tab controls how particles are seen in the :' ;indow. The options in this
tab are useful when multiple particle systems are in play and it is desirable to
distinguish between the particles in the different systems.
<ets work with our e,amples and begin by recapping starting a Particle 7ystem.
Starting a Particle System
Open Blender with its default scene containing a mesh Cube object. Delete the Cube
and add a UV Sphere. Keep the segments and rings at 3. !he number of segments
and rings ma" be altered in the !ools #anel $! Ke" toggles hide%show& at the lower
left of the screen.
'ith the Sphere selected in the 3D 'indow go to the #roperties 'indow ( #articles
button and clic) the *dd #article S"stem button $ !he white plus sign &. !he #article
S"stem tabs displa" as shown in the pre+ious #article S"stem Buttons diagram.
Blender has created a complete #article S"stem which we can modif" to produce
whate+er effect we want.
,ote the !imeline 'indow displa"ed across the bottom of the screen.
!he timeline show a -. frame animation window as seen b" Start/0 and 1nd/-..
,ote the green line positioned at frame number 20. 3ou will see wh" in a moment.
'ith "our cursor in the 3D 'indow and with the UV Sphere selected press *lt 4 * to
pla" the animation of particles being generated. !he particles emit from the surface of
the Sphere in a random order and fall towards the bottom of the screen. !he
animation pla"s for -. frames then repeats. #ress 1sc to cancel.
Clic) on the green line and drag it o+er to frame 20 to see the +iew below.
!he particles beha+e in this manner since there is a
gra+itational force being applied. 5a+e a loo) at the
#roperties 'indow ( Scene button and note the tic) in the
6ra+it" bo7.

6ra+it" tic)ed
6ra+it" 8orce 9:.;0.
1arths 6ra+it"
Clic) on the tic) to remo+e it and pla" the animation again.
!his time the particles emit from the sphere and float off into space. !he" still emit in
a random order from the faces of the Sphere.
<oo) at the 1mission tab and note the +alues inserted.
!hese +alues tell us that 0... particles will be generated in the animation starting at
frame 0 and ending at frame .. during the animation. !he animation is -. frames.
!here is also a <ifetime +alue which tells us that when a particle is generated it
remains +isible for -. frames. !herefore a particle generated at frame .. will remain
+isible until frame -..
,ote the tic) in the bo7 labeled =andom. !his is gi+ing the random order of
generation of the particles. Clic) on the tic) to remo+e it. #la" the animation again.
1sc to cancel. !he 3D 'indow is in User #erspecti+e +iew therefore it is difficult to
see what has been achie+ed b" remo+ing the =andom tic). Change the +iew to !op
View $,um #ad >& then to 8ront View $,um #ad 0&. 'ith the !imeline ad+anced to
frame 20 "ou will see an ordered arra" of particles.

!op View
8ront View
Material Influence on Particles
Particles emit their own light so it isn't necessary
to have lamps in the scene when particles are
rendered. To give particles color you have to add
a material to the emitting object. We could render
an image of frame 41 of what we have already
created by pressing F1 on the !eyboard. "o
ahead and do it. What we get is a plain grey and
white picture. Press #sc to cancel the image.
With the $phere selected in the %& Window go to the Properties Window ' (aterial
button. Press )dd *ew to display the +utton tabs and clic! on the &iffuse color bar to
display the color pic!er. $elect a color then render the image again.
We see the emitter
object ,$phere- and the
particles rendered in
the same color. To
advance this subject a
little further go to
Particle buttons and
find the .ender tab.
/n the .ender tab you will see 0alo
highlighted in blue. This is telling +lender
to render the particles as halos. $ince there
are a considerable number of particles
visible at frame 41 close together our
rendered image shows us a colored blob.
*ote the tic! in the #mitter bo1. This tells
+lender to render the emitter object in the image. 2lic! in the bo1 to remove the tic!.
"o bac! to the (aterial buttons and find the Transparency tab. 2lic! and add a tic! in
the Transparency bo1. .educe the )lpha value to 3.343 and render again.
*ow only the particles are rendered and they are
transparent.
This has demonstrated some of the effects of
materials on particles. There are many more
combinations to play with.
We will have a loo! at adding halo effects to particles and at the same time introduce
a few more tric!s to give you the feel for the the versatility of the Particle $ystem.
5pen a new +lender scene6 delete the cube and add a Plane object. 7eave the gravity
setting in the $cene button tic!ed to maintain a gravity effect. With the Plane selected
"o to the Property Window ' Particle button and add a Particle $ystem. /n the
#mission tab change the following6 )mount8 916 7ifetime8 33. in the :elocity tab
change *ormal8 ;.433 and #mitter 5bject <8 3.==3.
)t the bottom of the :elocity tab set .andom appro1
.
We are decreasing the amount of particles so we are
not flooding the scene but changing the lifetime
ma!es the particles visible longer in the animation.
We still have gravity wor!ing but with normal
velocity at ;.433 the particles will project up a way
before descending. $etting #mitter 5bject <8 3.==3
gives the particles a slight hori>ontal velocity along
the < a1is ma!ing them move in an arc.
*ow let's ja>> the particles up a bit. With the Plane
still selected go to the (aterial button.
?ust above the Preview tab change to a 0alo material.
2lic! on the color bar and select a nice bright color
,<ellow-. 2hange the 0alo si>e to 3.;336 tic! .ings
and $tars.
Press )lt @ ) and run the animation. #sc to e1it then
cycle to animation to frame 41. if you select some
other frame you wont see what / do. .ender an image.
%& Window at Frame 41
.endered /mage
#1periment with .ings6 7ines6 $tars and 0alo si>e. For e1ample in (aterial untic!
.ings and $tars to change the particle render bac! to a plain halo. $et the $i>e to 4 to
increase the halo si>e to something that fills the camera view. /n the $hading tab
decrease the )lpha value to 3.133 to give the halo a transparent loo!. This should
produce something that loo!s li!e a cloud of smo!e. /f you place an object in the
scene and position it where the particles are at frame 41 the object renders in the
smo!e cloud. There are many many combinations all producing different effects.
(on!ey positioned behind Particles
.endered /mage
Particle Interaction With Objects And Forces
Particles can interact with other objects and be affected by forces like wind. Particles
can bounce off other objects and act like sparks or droplets. To show how these
features work set up a scene with a Sphere positioned above a Plane as shown below.
Don't forget to scale the Plane up.
With the Sphere selected go to the Properties
Window Particle button and dd a Particle
Syste!. "n the #!ission tab set the #nd value
to $%% and in the &elocity tab set the #!itter
'bject () *+.%%%.
"n the Properties Window Scene button
untick the ,ravity bo-.
With your cursor in the +D Window press
lt . to play the ani!ation of the
particle generation. /ou will see the
particles fall and pass through the Plane as
below.
The ne-t step is to stop the particles falling
through the Plane.
Select the Plane and go to the Properties
Window Physics button.
0lick on the triangle in the 0ollision tab and click on dd to activate a collision
!odifier to the Plane. Press lt . again to replay the ani!ation. 1e!e!ber you
!ust be at fra!e $ before you replay.
/ou will now see the particles bounce up fro! the surface of the Plane. 2Tip) Shift
select the Sphere and the Plane to better see the particles34
5y increasing the Particle Da!ping factor in the 0ollision tab to $.%%% the particles
will land on the Plane but no longer bounce.
5y e-peri!enting with other particle and collision settings and by applying !aterials
with halos6 line and stars you can si!ulate sparks bouncing with high 7uality results.
Wind
5lender allows particles to be influenced by a si!ulated wind force. To create a wind
effect you have to place an object in the scene and assign a wind force to it. n object
called an #!pty is great for this since it doesn't render. 5egin by opening a new scene
and deleting the 0ube replacing it with a 8& Sphere. dd a Particle Syste! to the
sphere and leave the default settings. dd an #!pty to the
scene. Shift . and select #!pty. Position the #!pty just
below the Sphere off to one side as shown to the right.
The Sphere will e!it particles which will fall downwards
since the gravity effect is ticked in the Scene buttons
with the #!pty selected in the +D Window go to the Properties Window Physics
button and click on the drop down
selection. Select Wind to display the
9orce 9ield type Wind settings. /ou
will see the wind force field in the +D
Window attached to the #!pty object.
The Wind force is acting along the ( a-is of the #!pty object at strength $.%%%. We
want the wind to blow the particles falling fro! the sphere along the ,lobal / a-is.
With the #!pty selected rotate it about the : a-is so that the #!pty local ( a-is
points in the sa!e direction as the global / a-is.
"ncrease the 9orce 9ield Strength value to $%. Play the ani!ation to see the Spheres
particles being blown.
Wind strength is able to be ani!ated which creates a realistic wind effect.
Particles blown along
,lobal / a-is
#!pty Wind 9orce
rotated about : a-is
with Strength $%
,lobal / -is
Sample Particle Settings
The following are some sample settings for various uses. Follow the settings carefully
otherwise you will not get the results as demonstrated. Settings can be tweaked to
produce whatever results you want and only by experimentation will you discover
what can be achieved. Remember to record settings for future use when you discover
something really neat.
Snow Effect
In a new scene delete the Cube and add a lane. Scale the lane up ! times and
subdivide the surface " times. osition the lane at the top of the screen above the
Camera out of camera view. The lane is there to emit particles not to be included in
the rendered image or movie.
#o to the roperties $indow % Scene button and set #ravity &' ().*+). This is a low
value since we want our snow to float down gently. Remember though if there are
other ob,ects in the scene which are effected by gravity they will also float.
-dd a article System to the lane. In the .mission tab set /ifetime' *)) and in the
0elocity tab set 1ormal' ).)+) and Random' ).2*). $e want the particles to display
for a fair while3 not go careering off at a hundred miles an hour and have a random
speed at start up.
In the 4aterial button add a 4aterial 5$hite is appropriate6 and set it as 7alo. Set the
halo si8e to ).)!) 5Small snowflakes6
Run the animation to generate particles then advance the animation to about frame
*2) and render an image.
Snowflakes
lane above Camera
out of view
-nimation as seen at Frame *2)
Rendered Image
Fire
In a new scene delete the Cube and add a 90 Sphere. -dd a material 7alo type and
make it a nice yellow or red color. Set the 7alo si8e to ).2)).
In the Scene button untick the #ravity box.
-dd a article System to the Sphere and in the .mission tab set 1ormal' ).))). Set
.mitter :b,ect &' *.;<)
In the 2= $indow move the Sphere down the & axis a touch to position it at the
bottom of the camera view.
Run the animation then cycle forward through the frames and render an image.
Simple Fireworks
1ew scene with 90 Sphere scaled down.
osition Sphere at top of Camera view.
4aterial button % -dd material( 7alo type
Color % >ellow3 7alo Si8e '+.)))
article button % -dd article System.
.mission % /ifetime' +))3 Start' !)3 .nd' !+
0elocity % 1ormal' *.)))
-fter animation run advance frame to ?<.
Render tab % untick .mitter.
2= $indow
Rendered image
2= $indow
Camera 0iew
Rendered Image
.mitter 1ot Shown
Keyed Particle Systems
So far we have looked at Particle Systems of Type: Emitter with Newtonian Physics.
We will now consider type: Emitter with Keyed Physics which we call Keyed
Particles.
Keyed Physics is a way of controlling the movement of particles by directing them
from the original emitter obect to a second obect and on to a third and s!bse"!ent
obects. The flow of particles may be !sed as an animation or !sed to create a static
image.
The following proced!re for setting !p a Keyed system will demonstrate the
principals involved.
#pen a new scene in $lender and delete the defa!lt c!be. %dd three separate Plane
obects and position them as shown in the diagram. % simple way to do this is to add
one Plane then with the Plane selected press Shift & ' to d!plicate . the new Plane
will be in (rab mode ) White o!tline * so hit + Key to confine movement to the +
a,is and drag it to one side. -lick mo!se to e,it (rab mode. .epeat the process to
add a third Plane.
Note the first Plane was named /0esh/ by $lender ) see names at lower left of screen
when selected *. The second Plane is named /0esh.112 and the third /0esh.113.
%rrange them in the 4' Window in order of name. 5t will help later on.
6!st as an aside yo! co!ld go to the Properties Window 7 #bect data b!tton and edit
the name in the Name bo, at the top of the window. +o! co!ld !se any name yo! like
say8 /$orris98 /-live/ and /6ames/. Since they are all identical triplets it/s probably best
to stay with the /0esh/ names.
0esh
0esh.112
0esh.113
$y the way the Planes have been arranged in a vertical stack with /0esh/ at the
bottom left8 /0esh.112/ middle right and /0esh.113/ top left.
Select /0esh/ and in the Properties Window 7 Particles b!ttons click on the pl!s sign
to add a Particle System.
(o to the Physics tab and select /Keyed/. -lick on the pl!s sign ne,t to the Keys panel
to add a new Particle Target.
$lender enters this in the panel and
names it /Particle System/. Note the small
panel with the little c!be in it !st below
the Keys panel. :eave this empty for the
time being.
The Plane named /0esh/ is going to be
o!r Emitter.
'eselect /0esh/ in the 4' Window and select /0esh.112/. .epeat the process to add a
Keyed Particle System to /0esh.112/.
Tip for Newbies: When yo! select /0esh.112/ all the b!ttons in the Particle b!ttons
panel disappear if yo! happened to scroll down the b!ttons window with a few tabs
e,panded. 'rag !p the scroll bar at the right hand side of the window to reveal the
pl!s sign to add a new system. So!nd silly b!t it fooled me for a bit.
.ename #bect here if re"!ired
Select /0esh.113/ and %dd a Keyed Particle System to /0esh.113/.
Now go back and select /0esh/. 5n the Particles b!ttons ; Physics tab click on the pl!s
sign ne,t to the Keys panel to add a new Particle Target. $lender enters Particle
System again. .emember the small panel with the little c!be in it. -lick on the c!be
to display a drop down selection panel. -lick on /0esh.112/. $lender changes the
target to /0esh.112:ParticleSystem/
+o! are telling the particle target for /Particle System that the target obect is
/0esh.112/.
Still with /0esh/ selected in the 4' Window click on the pl!s sign ne,t to the keys
panel again. %gain $lender enters /ParticleSystem/. -lick on the c!be and select
/0esh.113/.
We now have Particle targets named /ParticleSystem/8 /0esh8112: ParticleSystem/ and
/0esh.113: ParticleSystem/.
This is simply telling particles emitted from
/0esh/ to go to /0esh.113/ and then go on to
/0esh.113/.
<it %lt & % to see it happen.
.emember all the r!les for n!mber of particles8 lifetime8 start8 end and normal
velocity etc. apply.
Particle 0ovement
Particle Targets
Particles flow from one
mesh to the other
Boids Particle Systems
Boids particle systems are used to simulate flocks, swarms,herds and schools of
various kinds of animals or anything that acts with similar behavior. Boids particle
systems are of Type: Emitter but have Boids Physics applied. Boids particles in one
particle system can react to particles in another system or they can react to particles
within their own system. Boids are given rules of behavior which are listed in a stack.
The rules at the top of the stack take precedence over rules lower down in the stack
but the stack is able to be rearranged once it is written.
Since only a certain amount of information is able to be evaluated if the memory
capacity is eceeded rules lower down the stack are ignored.
The procedure for setting up Boids Particle Systems will be demonstrated with a few
eamples.
Example: A Flock of Birds
!emember we are sticking to basics so don"t get too ecited. #ur particles will act
like a flock of birds not look like birds.
#pen a new Blender scene and stick with the default $ube. This will be our particle
emitter. %n the Properties &indow ' Particle buttons ' (dd a new Particle System.
)et"s try a new innovation as far as instruction is concerned. )eave all buttons
settings as default values ecept for the following. $hange these values.
Emissions tab
(mount: *+ &e will have a small flock.
)ifetime: ,-+ The default animation length in the Timeline.
Physics tab
Select Boids Physics
Boids Brain tab
Blender default rules are: "Separate" and ".lock". &ith "Separate" highlighted hit
the minus sign to delete it. $lick on the plus sign at the right hand side of the
window to display a selection drop down for Boids !ules. Select " .ollow
)eader". &ith ".ollow )eader" highlighted click on the up arrow below the
minus sign to move ".ollow )eader" to the top of the stack.
&e have told the particles to follow the leader while flocking together. &e will now
give the particles a leader to follow.
/eselect the $ube in the */ &indow 0 ( 1ey 2 and add an "Empty". (n "Empty" is a
location point which can be animated to move in the scene but which does not render.
3rab the "Empty" and move it to the side.
/eselect the "Empty" and select the "$ube". 3o
back to the Boids Brain tab and make sure
".ollow )eader" is highlighted. Below the
stack window you will see a name bo where
you can rename the rule if you wish and
below that an empty bo with a little cube at
the end. $lick in this bo and select "Empty"
from the drop down which displays.
&e have told the particles to follow the
"Empty".
(nimate the "Empty" to move across the screen
0 See the section on animation2.
&hen the animation is played have the $ube selected in the */ &indow. Particles are
emitted from the $ube, head towards the "Empty" and attempt to follow it as it moves
across the screen. 4aving the $ube selected displays the particles as little orange
s5uares. %f it isn"t selected all you get are black dots which are hard to see.
6ote: &ith a high particle amount Blender may crash due to overload when
calculating data. This of course depends on the capability of your computer.
Particles emitted from $ube swarm and follow Empty as is moves
Empty
Example: Directing Movement
%n this eample we will demonstrate how to direct particles to move from one ob7ect
to another.
Start a new scene and add a second $ube ob7ect. 6ote the default cube is named
"$ube" 0 see lower left of */ &indow 2 and the new $ube is named "8esh" that is if
you added it by going Shift 9 (. %f you duplicated the default $ube by Shift 9 / then
it is named "$ube.++:". !emember the names.
Position the $ubes as shown in the diagram scaling the new cube down.
Select "$ube" and add a particle system with Boids physics. %n the emission tab reduce
(mount to :+ and set )ifetime to :-++. &e want to keep the number of particles low
and have them visible for a fair amount of time in the animation.
3o to the Timeline &indow and and set the animation at :-++ frames.
)et"s display the particles in a different way. %n the /isplay tab select $ross" and set
the /raw Si;e to :+. <ou will see a biggish cross appear on the $ube.
6ow for the Boids Brain tab. !emove "separate" and ".lock" and add "3oal". $lick in
the #b7ect bo below the rule window and select "8esh" or "$ube.++:" as the case
may be. This tells the particles emitted from "$ube" to go and find the target.
$ube
8esh
Play the animation to see the result.
$rosses emitted from "$ube" migrate across to and accumulate on the target.
!emember the location of either or both of the cubes in the scene may be animated at
the same time.
Example: Prey Predator Relationship
Boids particles will not only act like swarms or flocks in their movement they can
also be made to react to one another. (n eample would be one flock of birds chasing
off another flock.
&e will set up an eample in a new Blender scene with two cubes as shown in the
diagram. 8ake the larger cube - the smaller Predator Particles
Predator Particles
Select the small cube 0Predator2 in the */ &indow then in the Properties &indow '
Particle buttons add a Particle System. $hange the following settings:
Emission tab
(mount: :++ 0 #bservation: )arger number becomes the aggressor2
)ifetime: :-++ 0 (llows particles to be visible for duration of the animation2
/isplay tab
Select "Point" and set /raw Si;e to *.
Physics tab
Select "Boids"
Si;e: +.+*++
8a (ir Speed: =.+++ 0 3ives an advantage over the slower Prey particles2
Select: Enemy 0 6et to the "!elations" panel click on the Plus sign2
Boids Brain tab
The default Separate and .lock rules are applied. (dd a .ight rule and move it
to the top of the stack.
Prey Particles
Select the large cube 0 Prey 2 in the */ &indow and add a particle system.
$hange these settings:
Emission tab
(mount: :+
)ifetime: :-++
/isplay tab
Select "$ross" and set /raw Si;e to :+.
Physics tab
Select "Boids"
Si;e: +.+*+
8a (ir Speed: -.+++ 0 $ombined with si;e makes bigger and slower2
!elations: $lick the Plus sign 0 %nvalid target displays2 then click in the target
selection bo below the window 0 little cube 2 and select "$ube". 6ow "$ube:
ParticleSystem" displays in the window.
Select "Enemy".
Boids Brain tab
!epeat the same set up as the Predator system.
3o back to the Predator and repeat the "!elations" setup this time selecting "$ube.++:"
as the target. 06ote: <ou can not set up !elations until the other ob7ect has a particle
system2
Still in the Physics tab with the larger cube selected change to 6ewtonian Physics
then tick in the /ie on hit bo. $hange back to Boids Physics.
Shift select both cubes in the */ &indow and play the animation to see the result.
Selecting both cubes draws orange lines around the particles and makes them more
visible.
The $ross particles emitted from
the large cube are attacked by the
swarm of small particles from the
small cube. The $ross particles die
when they are hit. By observation,
on my machine, this is a hit and
miss process and % am unable to
define accurately at what frame a
particular particle dies.
.or simplicity we are showing only
dots and crosses as seen in the */ &indow. ( render could show anything you wish
by choosing "#b7ect" in the !ender tab and assigning a preconstructed mesh ob7ect. (
comple single frame can take a while to render and a comple animation can take an
eternity.
Example: Follo !errain
Boids particles can be made to emulate herds following a terrain.
Set up a new Blender scene as shown in the diagram. The $ube ob7ect is the default
$ube and will act as a target to which the particles will be directed. The other two
ob7ects in the scene are two Planes with one being scaled up and shaped to act as our
terrain.
/ot particles attacking $ross
8esh.++:
8esh
$ube
&ith the scene assembled select the ob7ects as listed and perform the following set up
in the Properties &indow:
Select 8esh.++: 0 The small plane rotated ' The emitter 2
(dd a Particle System with Boids Physics untick (llow .light and tick (llow
)and.
%n the Emission tab: (mount: :++, )ifetime: :-++ 0 $hange the animation
length in the Timeline to :-++ frames.
%n the Boid Brain window add a "3oal" rule, move it to the top of the stack and
select "$ube" as the goal.
Select 8esh 0 The Terrain 2
%n the Properties &indow ' Physics buttons ' $ollision tab ' click (dd.
The $ube 0 Target 2 re5uires no action other than to scale it down a bit.
Select "8esh.++: and play the animation.
The particles emitted follow the contour of the terrain as they move to the target.

Hair Particles
The previous pages describing particles have introduced particles of Type: Emitter
with Physics types No, Newtonian, Keyed and Boids. e will now ta!e a loo! at
particles Type: "air, where particles are rendered as strands and may be edited in the
#$ indow. "air type particles may be used to represent such things as grass and fur
as well as hair or anything which has a surface with fibrous strands.
e will perform a %uic! demonstration to show what is meant by "air Particles.
&n the #$ indow delete the default 'ube ob(ect and add a Plane. )oom in a bit.
ith the Plane selected go to the Properties
indow * Particle button and clic! on the plus sign
to add a Particle +ystem. ,t the top of the Particles
window clic! on the drop down where it displays
Type: Emitter and select "air. The Plane in the #$
indow will show long strands stic!ing up from
the surface of the plane. -o to the .elocity tab and
decrease the Normal:/.000 value and you will see
the length of the strands shorten. e have a "airy
Plane.
That (ust shows you what "air Particles loo! li!e in essence.
1et us proceed with something a little more e2citing. +tart a new Blender scene,
delete the 'ube and add a 3on!ey. The mon!ey head always loads loo!ing upwards.
Put him with the top of his head pointing up. 4 Key * 5 Key * 60 * Press 7Enter7.
That means Rotate about the X a2is 90 degrees.
&f we (ust go ahead and add a "air particle system we will get a hairy headed mon!ey
with hair stic!ing out all over everything. e !now a lot of our friends loo! li!e this
but let7s try for a more clean cut loo! with some hair on the head and a beard.
'lic! to ,dd Particle
+ystem
4educe Normal to +horten "air
Press the Num Pad 8 !ey to get into top view loo!ing down on mon!ey7s head. e
will designate where we want the hair to grow by selecting a bunch of vertices. This
bunch is called a .erte2 -roup. Tab into Edit 3ode, 9oom in so you can see what you
are doing and in the #$ indow header clic! on the 1imit selection To .isible
button.
Press the , !ey to deselect all vertices then go ahead and select a group on the top of
mon!ey7s head. :ou can do this by +hift ; 4ight 'lic! individual verts, B Key and
1eft 'lic! to drag a bo2 to select or ' Key and 1eft 'l! to drag the circle to select
< +croll 33B to change circle si9e and press Esc to cancel when selection finished =.
1eave the vertices selected and in the
Properties indow clic! on the >b(ect
data button. &n the .erte2 groups tab
clic! on the plus sign to add a .erte2
-roup.

&n the name bo2 clic! on -roup and delete it
< Blender names every new verte2 group
7-roup7 =. Type in 7"air7 and press enter to rename
the group. :ou will note that the group
highlighted in blue in the window changes.
4emember we still have our vertices selected. Now in the .erte2 group tab (ust below
7Name7 clic! on the ,ssign button. This assigns the selected vertices to the .erte2
group named 7"air7.
+o far we have a head and we have nominated an area on the head by selecting a
group of vertices. e do not have hair.
-o to the Particles button and clic! on the plus sign to add a particle system.
Plan view of 3on!ey "ead with
vertices selected
-roup renamed "air
'hange Type: Emitter to "air. hat? Nothing
happened@ That7s because we are in edit mode.
Note Blender has named the particle system
7Particle +ystem7.
Tab to >b(ect mode in the #$ indow and
:ay? plenty of hair. &n fact we have hair
everywhere. 1ong hair all over the place
(ust li!e our friends we mentioned earlier. e will correct this loo!. To start with in
the .elocity tab decrease the Normal value until the hair strands loo! reasonable say
about 0.A80. Ne2t, still in the Particles buttons, go down to the .erte2groups tab and
in the bo2 ne2t to $ensity clic! and select 7"air7.
e now have hair only on the area we selected.
Press Num Pad # to get a side on view. hat a
scrawny bunch of hair. That7s not so impressive.
To fi2 the scrawny loo! go to the 'hildren tab and
clic! on Particles. ow? Now we have a bushy stic!y
out sort of
mowhaw!ey hairdo.
ell you would if you
selected the same
vertices as & did. &t still
probably loo!s li!e
your friends.
Plenty of "air
e will continue on and add a beard as promised. $oes your friend have a beard@
To ma!e proceedings interesting but hopefully not difficult to understand we will
vary the procedure (ust a little. e previously selected a bunch of vertices then
created a .erte2 -roup and named it then assigned the selected vertices to the group.
1ets create a new .erte2 -roup first this time. ith 3on!ey selected in >b(ect mode
in the #$ indow go to the >b(ect data button in the Properties indow and in
.erte2 group tab clic! on the plus sign to add a new .erte2 group.
Blender again names the new group
7-roup7. 4ename this to 7Beard7 as we did
before for "air.
Now we need to select the vertices to
assign to the new group. e could use
the procedures as outlined previously but
lets do it a different way.
Birst Tab into Edit 3ode and deselect all vertices.
&n the #$ indow header change to eigh Paint mode. >ur
mon!ey turns blue in the #$ indow. This is showing that no
vertices are selected. Note 7Beard7 is highlighted in blue in the
.erte2groups tab in the >b(ect data buttons. 'lic! on 7"air7. &f
you loo! closely in amongst all that blac! hair < 4otate the
view = you will see red scalp. This is showing the area
previously selected by selecting individual vertices. Tab to Edit
mode and clic! on +elect in the .erte2group tab and you see the
vertices that were painted. Press the , Key in the #$ indow to
deselect. 'lic! on 7Beard7 again in the .erte2group tab, >b(ect
data buttons.
Now loo! at the tools panel at the left hand side of the screen.
+ee the Brush tab and clic! on 7,dd7 go below this and drag the
+trength slider all the way to the right to +trength:/.000. &n the
#$ indow drag the circle that appears as the mouse curser
over the mon!ey7s chin.
-roup renamed Beard
:ou will see the color change as you drag.
Keep dragging until the chin is all red which
means that you have selected this area as the
new .erte2 -roup for the Beard. Tab to Edit
3ode, ma!e sure all vertices are deselected,
then in the .erte2group tab clic! on 7,dd7 to
assign the painted vertices to the Beard
.erte2group. 'lic! on 7+elect7 to see them.
-o to the Particles buttons and add a new
Particle +ystem. Note Blender names this
system 7Particle +ystem A7. +elect Type: "air,
decrease the Normal value in the .elocity tab,
go down to the .erte2groups tab and clic! in
the density bo2 selecting 7Beard7. e now have
scrawny hair on the mon!eys chin. -o to the
'hildren tab and clic! Particles for a real hairy guy (ust li!e your friend.
&t doesn7t matter in which order you do it the
procedure is the same. +elect vertices defining
area, create .erte2 -roup, assign vertices to
.erte2 -roup, create "air Particle +ystem and
assign it to the .erte2 group.
, grey mon!ey with blac! beard and hair in the
#$ indow is fine but in a render isn7t all that
e2citing. 1et7s (a99 it up a bit.
+elect mon!ey in >b(ect mode in the #$
indow. -o to the 3aterials button in the
Properties indow. 'lic! on 7New7 to add a
material. 'lic! in the $iffuse color bar and
select a diffuse color for the mon!ey with the color
pic!er that displays. To start with this will be applied
to everything mon!ey, s!in, hair and beard.
,t the top of the 3aterial buttons
window note 73aterial7 highlighted in
blue and (ust below that 73aterial7
again. The blue highlighted 73aterial7
is a material slot and the lower
73aterial7 is a material databloc!.
+1>T
$,T,
'lic! to display 'olor Pic!er
To understand this see the section on 3aterial $atabloc!s but if you haven7t read that
or can7t %uiet remember what it was all about (ust follow on.
&n the 3aterial buttons uni%ue databloc!
&$ name clic! on 73aterial7, delete and
rename it 7+!in7. 'lic! on the plus sign to
add a new slot. Note the number A appears
ne2t to the &$ name. 'lic! on the A to ma!e single user then as before rename it
7"air7. 4epeat the process again and rename 7Beard7. :ou will now have three slots.
4emember / is +!in, A is "air and # is Bur. :ou (ust have to remember the order
number or write it on the bac! of your hand.
There are now three material slots each with a separate databloc!. ,t the moment
they are all the same color which is what we originally chose. 'lic! on slot "air and
Beard in turn and choose colors.
-o to the Particles button and at the top you will see Particle +ystem and Particle
+ystem A. 4emember the first is the "air
P+ and the second is the Bur P+. +elect
7Particle +ystem7 <"air= and in the render
tab 3aterial button clic! on the little
triangle at the 4"+ until you get 3aterial:A <"air=. Now do the same for 7Particle
+ystem A7 selecting material:# <Beard=.
'olor ,dded
'lic! on Triangle
eird beard and weird hair but its pretty.
Cust to introduce you to some more fun
stuff with hair go to Particle mode in
the #$ indow and play around with
the Brush tools. +omewhere about two
thirds the way down the tools panel
there is a 5 3irror switch which lets
you comb or add or whatever on both
sides of the model at once.
Note: +elect the Particle +ystem in the
Particle +ystem Buttons indow.
hen a particle system is selected in
Particle 3ode the #$ indow shows
the particles <"air= without children.
Dse the Brush Tools then switch to
>b(ect 3ode to see the effect.
,s allays there is much much more to play with in Blender. Try the "air tutorials at
http:EEwww.blendercoo!ie.com
A Final Note On Hair Particles
,dding hair to an ob(ect can add an awful lot of vertices which when rendering can
ta!e an awful lot of time and may even cause your computer to stall out. &f you are
not doing anything serious and have a slow machine to start with !eep the number of
strands low.
Assignment Tab
When a particle system is first added to a scene by clicking on the white cross 'Add
Particles System' Blender introduces a block of data to the scene which comprises a
default particle system. Blender names this datablock 'ParticleSettings' as seen in the
Settings panel. The datablock named 'ParticleSettings' is automatically linked to the
default particle system which is named 'ParticleSystem'. 'ParticleSystem' is placed in
the Assignment Panel where it is assigned to an object in the ! Window.
This analogy may be "iewed in the following diagram. There is no Assignment tab
or Assignment Panel as such but for the purpose of this discussion we will consider
the area marked in magenta as the Assignment tab and the panel displaying
'ParticleSystem' highlighted in blue as the Assignment Panel.
The analogy may not be strictly correct in accordance with the program structure but
it is used to describe the logic of the graphical user interface.
The information in the Particle Settings datablock may be altered by changing
settings in the Particle Buttons tabs of the particle systems buttons window to create
"aried effects.
Properties Window
Particle button
Add Particle System
Add Particle Settings
#bject
Particle Settings !atablock
Assignment Tab
Assignment Panel
See #utliner Window
$n !atablock %ode
!atablocks with all of their settings may be "iewed in the #utliner Window in
!atablock %ode.
$n the assignment tab there is a Type drop down button which displays the options
&mitter and 'air. Type &mitter is the default selection which means that with the
particle system assigned to an object in the scene that object becomes the emitter of
the particles. $n either case the object becomes an emitter with a particle system
assigned. 'air type may be "iewed as a specialised static emitter which will be
described later in the section.
(ote that the name 'ParticleSettings' and the name 'ParticleSystems' may be renamed
by clicking in the panels deleting the name and retyping a new name. This is useful
when there are multiple objects) datablocks and particle systems.
%ultiple objects in the ! Window can each ha"e a different particle system
assigned. &ach object may ha"e more than one particle system.
When a new particle system datablock is added to the scene Blender creates a new
name for the datablock. The default ParticleSettings datablock is named
'ParticleSettings' as pre"iously stated. When a second datablock is added it is named
'ParticleSettings.**+) a third would be named 'ParticleSettings.**, etc. -enaming
datablocks to something more rele"ant to objects in the scene would be an ad"antage.
When new datablocks are created they are stored in a cache for reuse by other particle
systems . See the #utliner Window / !atablock %ode 0.
When a new particle system is added to the scene Blender assigns that system to the
object that is selected in the ! Window. $f no objects are selected the new particle
system is assigned to the last object that was introduced to the scene.
Particle systems added to a scene initially ha"e the default ParticleSettings datablock
linked and a new name applied as described abo"e. At this point the datablock
settings may be altered to create a new uni1ue datablock or a pre"iously created
datablock may be selected and linked to the new particle system. 2licking on the icon
in front of the ParticleSettings panel re"eals a drop down showing the cache
mentioned abo"e with datablocks for selection.
The foregoing statements may seem confusing and not easily related to what has been
labeled the Assignment Tab. The following e3ercise will attempt to clarify the
statements and at the same time demonstrate the application of particle systems in
practical terms.
Practical Exercise
#pen a new scene in Blender and delete the cube from the ! Window. Add three
separate Plane objects and position them at the center of the scene so that in camera
"iew they are all "isible and an image containing all three may be rendered.
Add a diffuse material color to each of the Planes. We will make them -ed) 4reen
and Blue. The colors do not ha"e to be accurate.
Turn off the 4ra"ity setting from the Scene buttons and turn off the ! manipulator
Widget in the ! Window.
2lick in ! Window
'eader to turn Widget off
2lick to untick and remo"e 4ra"ity
At this time the three Plane objects ha"e been named by Blender as %esh) %esh.**+
and %esh.**, as seen in the lower left hand corner of the ! Window as each is
selected. This naming is not all that rele"ant to what we ha"e in the scene so we will
rename the objects.
$n the ! Window select the red plane. 4o to the Properties Window 5 #bject button.
At the top of the buttons window you will see '%esh' in the 6ni1ue !atablock $!
(ame panel. 2lick on the name to highlight it) hit delete and type in '-edPlane'. Press
&nter. Select the green plane in in the ! Window and rename it '4reenPlane' and
then similarly for the blue plane.
#bject (ame
2lick on the 2ross to
add a Particle System
Particles button
2hange 7ifetime from 8* to ,**
7ower 7eft 2orner of ! Window
We will now add particle systems to the planes. Select the red plane and in the
Properties Window click on the Particles button. 2lick on the white cross to add a
particle system. The particle system panel displays with all the Tabs and buttons for
controlling the settings and has been set up with default "alues. 7ea"e all the "alues
as set e3cept for the 7ifetime "alue in the &mission tab. 2hange this from the default
8* frames to ,** frames. This will gi"e us a better "iew of particles being generated.
!o the same for the other two planes and in addition change the Amount "alue in the
&missions tab to +** for the green plane and +* for the blue plane.
Shift select all three planes in the ! Window hit Alt 9 A to play the animation of
particles being generated. 2ycle through the animation in the Timeline Window to
about frame +:* and obser"e the particles. -ed plane +*** particles) green plane +**
particles blue plane +* particles. We ha"e three different planes with three different
particle systems.
(ow in the ! Window select each plane separately and note in the Properties
Window / Particles buttons / Assignment tab) the names that display in the (ame
panel and the Settings panel.
The number of particles emitted
from each plane object show the
different systems.
-ed Plane; (ame; ParticleSystem Settings; ParticleSettings
4reen Plane; (ame; ParticleSystem Settings; ParticleSettings.**+
Blue Plane; (ame; ParticleSystem Settings; ParticleSettings.**,
We pre"iously stated that we ha"e three separate particle systems but now we see
three names all being ParticleSystem but each one has a different settings name.
Probably a good idea to do some renaming. 2hange the names to the following.
-ed Plane; (ame; -edPSystem Settings; -edPSettings
4reen Plane; (ame; 4reenPSystem Settings; 4reenPSettings
Blue plane; (ame; BluePSystem Settings; BluePSettings
We should be able to see where we are now.
To continue) in the ! Window select the green plane. We are going to reassign some
settings. $n the Properties Window / Particles button / Assignment tab) ne3t to
Settings click on the button just in front of the name panel. The thing that looks like
four tiny stars in a bo3. The drop down that displays has the names of the three
Particle Settings !atablocks.
Whene"er a new group of particle settings are created Blender puts them into a cache
for reuse. <ou can see these datablocks in the #utliner Window in !atablock %ode.
The green plane is selected so in the datablock drop down click on BluePSettings. We
now ha"e the BluePSettings assigned to the 4reenPSystem. $f you replay the particle
generation animation the green and blue planes generate the same number of
particles. (ote that in the settings panel a number , has appeared. This tells us that
BluePSettings is being used by two systems. The color of the particles is controlled
by the color of the Plane object. The number of particles emitted is set by the
ParticleSystem Settings.
2lick to re"eal drop down
ParticleSettings names
2lick in name panel to highlight the name / 'it !elete / -etype the new name.
Suggestion; Shift select all three planes when replaying the animation to make the
particles "isible in the ! Window. $f a plane is not selected the particles appear as
tiny little dots.
We ha"e demonstrated that you can select any datablock of settings and assign it to
any particle system.
2ontinue by clicking on the number ,. This makes the datablock a single user.
Blender does this by lea"ing the original as it is and creating a new datablock. The
new datablock is howe"er identical to the original. <ou see that the settings name is
now BluePSettings.**+. 7ets change some data in this new datablock.
=ind the -ender tab in the Particle buttons window . Scroll down a bit 0. $n the bar
containing the render type selection) that is (one) 'alo) 7ine) Path) #bject) 4roup)
Billboard click on #bject.
$n the ! Window add a 6> Sphere to the scene and gi"e it a yellow color . or any
color 0. (ote Blender has named the sphere '%esh'. %ake sure it is off to one side in
the scene away from the planes.
-eselect the green plane in the ! Window and then go back to the Particles button
on the Properties Window. 2heck that you still ha"e 4reenPSystem and
BluePSettings.**+. (ow go back to the -ender tab for BluePSettings.**+ and where
it says !upli #bject; click on the little cube icon and then click on %esh in the drop
down. We are telling Blender to display and render the particles as spheres.
Scroll up to the Physics tab and slightly increase the Si?e "alue. <ou will see a sphere
appear on the green plane. Play the particle generation animation and you see yellow
spheres being generated.
2lick on #bject
Sphere object
named %esh
There is still more to play with.
With the green plane selected in the Properties Window / Particles buttons /
Assignment tab click on the Add Particle System cross. <ou will see a new particle
system highlighted in blue named ParticleSystem, with particle settings name
ParticleSettings. This has created a new particle system.
With the green plane selected in the ! Window play the animation again. The green
plane now emits yellow spheres and original particles together. The original particles
only display for a short while since on particle settings named ParticleSettings the
7ifetime "alue is 8* frames.
We ha"e two separate particle systems with separate settings datablocks assigned to
the same object.
The best way to get the hang of all this is play) play and more play.
Add Particle System
#riginal default ParticleSettings
8* frames
CH16- Child Parent Relationships
01-Child-Parent
02-Child of Constraint
Return to Contents
Child Parent Relationships
Child parent relationships are used where there are several parts connected together
which are required to move independently. Examples are a robot arm or a humanoid
limb. The components of the arm move but are connected to the body. An arm raises
and the hand waves in the process. The concept of a child parent relationship is where
a hand is a child of a forearm and the forearm is a child of biceps and the bicep is a
child of the body. They are all linked together but move separately in their own way.
We will demonstrate the application of this in lender by connecting several scaled
cubes together. !tart with the default lender scene". !cale the Cube as shown then
Tab to edit mode and shift the vertices positioning the center towards one end.
#uplicate the scaled Cube twice $!hift % # x &'.
(ote) *n the diagrams a separate Cube has been added to the !cene instead of
duplicating. This has allowed different +aterial colors to be applied. *f you duplicate
an ob,ect you also duplicate its +aterial and the ob,ects are all the same color.
!hift each Cube and overlap the ends.
-reen Center
Edit +ode .b,ect +ode
Centre
Create the Child /arent 0elationship by first selecting the red cube then shift select
the green cube then press Ctrl % / and select 1.b,ect1 in the 1!et /arent To1 panel that
displays. #eselect then repeat the process for the green and blue cubes. The first
ob,ect selected is always the child of the second ob,ect selected. Therefore in the
diagram red is the child of green which in turn is the child of blue.
To see the relationship in action select red and rotate. !elect green and rotate and red
will follow. !elect blue and rotate and both red and green will follow.
2ou can child parent any ob,ect to another in lender. A Camera can be parented to
another ob,ect so that when the ob,ect moves the Camera moves with it. 3or example
you could place a Camera inside a model of an aircraft cockpit and create simulation
of what the pilot would see. A useful technique it to parent a Camera to an Empty.
Child of Constraint
(ote) There is another method of creating a Child /arent relationship which is to add
a 1Child of1 constraint to the child ob,ect. This is discussed in the section on
Constraints.
0ed rotates alone about
this center point
-reen and 0ed rotate about
this center
lue" -reen and 0ed
rotate about the center
here
CH17- Constraints
01-Introduction
02-Constraint Stack
03-Transform
04-Tracking
05-Relationsi!s
0"-#u!licating on Cur$es
07-%&truding on Cur$es
Return to Contents
Introduction
Constraints are object features that define spatial relationships between objects. They
are the standard method for controlling characters among all 3D animation packages
that still implement a more traditional approach to digital character animation. In
Blender, constraints can be associated with object. ote howe!er that not all
constraints work with all objects.
Constraints are associated with an object by selecting the object in the 3D "indow
then In the #roperties "indow $ Constraint buttons clicking on %&dd Constraint% and
selecting the constraint from the drop down menu that displays.
The following pages in this section contain a brief description of constraint
functions. 'ost constraints are self e(planatory therefore a detailed e(planation will
only be gi!en for a few common constraints or where it is not self e!ident.
The general method of application of constraints is to select the )bject in the 3D
"indow then in the #roperties "indow $ Constraint button * Click on %&dd
Constraint% and select the appropriate constraint. In many cases a control object will
be re+uired to make the constraint function. There are control !alues to be inserted to
regulate the function.
Click to select
Constraint
Constraint Stack
It should be noted that in some cases it is appropriate to apply more than one
Constraint to an object. "hen this is done the Constraints are placed in a stack in
order of priority. The priority can be changed by mo!ing a Constraint up or down in
the stack.
Track To and ,ocked Track
Constraints in a -tack.
Click to mo!e up or down in
the stack.
.nter Target
)bject
Click to remo!e
constraint
Transform Constraints
Copy Location
Forces the Object with the Constraint added to take up the location of the
Target Object.
Copy Rotation
Forces the Object with Constraint added to copy the rotation of the Target
Object. When the Target rotates the Object rotates.
Copy Scale.
Forces the object with the Constraint added to copy the Scale of the target
Object
Copy Transformation
Similar to Copy Location.
Limit Distance
Constrains the Object to remain within a set distance from the Target Object.
The distance is a spherical field surrounding the Target. The Object is
constrained within the spherical field or outside the field.
Limit Location
Constrains the Objects location between a minimum and maimum distance on
a specific ais. The distance is relati!e to either the World center or a "arented
Object.
Limit Rotation
Constrains an Objects rotation about a specific ais between limits.
Limit Scale
Constrains the scale of an object between limits on a specified ais.
Maintain Volume
Constrains the dimensions of a side on a specified ais.
e.g. #efault Cube $ol% & #im ' () y ' () * ' (
Scale $ol to + with
ais y constrained #im ' +) y ' () * ' +
Transformation
To be ad!ised.
Tracking Constraints
Clamp To
Clamps or locks the position of the Object to a Target Curve.
Damped track
Constrains one local axis of the Object to always point towards the Target
Object.
Inverse Kinematics
Can only be applied to Bones. See rmatures section.
Locked track
Similar to damped track with more axis control.
Spline IK
can only be applied to Bones. See rmatures section.
Stretch To
Stretches the Object towards the Target Object or compresses the Object away
from the target Object.
Sphere Target
Cube ! axis
Cube ! axis constrained to always point towards the Sphere
! axis
Track To
Causes the Object to always point towards the Target Object no matter where
either the Object or the target is positioned.
"xample# Tracking a Camera to follow an Object that is animated to move.
Start with the default blender Scene in Top $iew %&um 'ad ( ) &um 'ad *+.
Select the Camera and press lt ) , to clear the rotation and align the Camera
axis with the -orld axis.
.o to the 'roperties -indow / Object Constraint button / Click 0dd
Constraint0 and select 0Track To0.
"nter the Cube as the Target Object.
Set xis To 1 23 and xis 4p 1 ! to orientate the camera in the -orld.
The Camera will now point at the Cube when the Camera or the Cube is
moved and during an animation playback.
Track To constraint added to Camera
Cube as Target Object
xis $alues
Camera Orientated to 'oint at Cube
Relationship Constraints
Action
To be advised
Child Of
see Child Parent Relationships
Floor
Allows the Target Object to obstruct the movement of the Object.
Example A sphere animated to descend in a scene will not pass through a
Plane that has been set as a target Object.
Follow Path
Causes the Object to be animated to follow a Curve Path nominated as the
Target. This constraint also has the feature to !ollow Curve which means that
the Object will rotate and ban" as it follows the Curve.
This constraint can also be emplo#ed to duplicate objects along a curve path.
$ee Constraints and Curves % !ollow Path.
Pivot
Causes the Object to leapfrog to the opposite side of the Target Object along an
axis between the Object and the target centers. The location can be offset either
side if the axis b# inserting offset values.
Rigid Body
to be advised.
Shrinkwrap
To be advised.
Duplicate Object Along Curve
The Follow Path constraint can be used to duplicate an Object along a Curve.
Example:
Start with the deault scene with the Cube Object selected. !dd a "e#ier
Curve to the scene and shape it in edit mode. Select the Cube and scale the
cube down $ ver% small&. 'n the Properties (indow ) Object Constraint
button) Press *!dd Constraint ) select *Follow Path*.
'n the Constraint panel set the Target Object as *Curve*.
'n the Properties (indow ) Object
button ) +elations tab ) Parent ) add
*Curve*.
'n the ,uplications tab select *Frames*.
-ntic. *Speed*.
Target Object
,eault Scene with Cube and "e#ier Curve
Target Object !dded in Constraint Panel
Curve added to Parent panel and *Frames* selected
in the ,uplication tab. /ou ma% have to scale and
reposition the Cube at this point. The view shows
the Cube duplicated at 01 Frames.
Cube duplicated at 21 rames
Extrude Along Curve
A shape can be extruded along a curve to produce a shape.
Example:
Start with the default Blender Scene and delete the Cube Object. Add a Beier Curve
and scale it up along the ! axis. "or simplicit# put the window into $op %iew &'um
(ad ) * 'um (ad +,. $he Curve ma# be scaled and shaped in Edit mode to produce a
shape for #our extrusion to follow.
-eselect the curve and add a Beier or 'urbs Circle. $he circle ma# be shaped in edit
mode to produce a cross section
shape for #our extrusion.
Scale the Circle wa# down.
-eselect the Circle and select the
Curve.
.otate the Circle standing it up perpendicular to the Curve &. /e# * # * 01 2 Enter,.
3n the (roperties 4indow 2 Object data button 2 5eometr# tab enter 6Curve Circle6 in
the Bevel Object data panel.
Adjust the scale as re7uired.
CH18- Armatures
01- Adding an Armature
02-Single Bone Armature
03-Armature Display Types
04-Multione Armatures
0!-De"orming a Mes#
0$-Multione Alternati%e
0&-Armature Modi"ier
08-Humanoid Armature
0'-Dis(onne(ted Bones
10-Manually Assigning )erti(es
11-*eig#t +aint
12-)erte, -roups or .ield o" /n"luen(e
13-/n%erse 0inemati(s
1eturn to Contents
Armatures
My dictionary defines 'Armature' as being a protective covering but in Blender the term
appears to have a different meaning altogether. In Blender, 'Armature' refers to an Object
type which is used to deform a mesh. hin! of your finger and the s!in covering it and
the bones inside. he s!in would be the mesh and the bones are the 'Armature'. "hen
the bone moves the s!in moves with it. Obviously the analogy is not #uiet correct but it
give you the idea.
Adding an Armature to the Scene
o begin the instruction on Armatures start with the default Blender scene, delete the
$ube object and add an Armature object %&hift ' A (ey ) Armature ) &ingle Bone*.
+oom in %,um -ad -lus (ey* and press ,um -ad . then ,um -ad / to get the front
elevation Orthographic view.
Single Bone Armature
"hat you see is a single bone Armature. Armatures can and usually do, comprise
multiple bones but before we complicate anything we should have an understanding of
bone manipulation.
he default single bone Armature is, by default, displayed in
what is termed type 'Octahedral'. I would suggest this
description is due to the object having eight surfaces. It appears
as two four sided pyramids conjoined at the base with spheres
at the ape0es. ,ote1 Although the Armature is an object in
Blender it is not a M2&3 OB42$. It's shape can not be edited
other than scaling it larger or smaller. It can be rotated and
translated. It has a centre li!e any other object which may be
repositioned but for use in a multi bone armature it is best to
maintain the centre at the ape0 of the lower % smaller * pyramid
in the centre of the sphere. "ith the Manipulation "idget
turned on the "idget is positioned at the centre.
5or the purpose of the demonstration we will name parts of the Armature, ip, Body and
Base .

ip
Body
Base
Manipulation "idget
&ingle Bone Armature
In Object Mode
Armature Display Types
O(6 he default display type is 'Octahedral' but
there are three alternative display types. hese
are '&tic!', B7Bone' and '2nvelope'. % "ith the
Armature bone selected see the -roperties
"indow ) Object data button ) 8isplay tab *.
"hich display type is used depends on what
you are doing with the Armature. "e will not go
into the different uses at this time but since the
basic function of an Armature is to deform a
mesh object we need to understand how this
happens.
Basic Procedure
he basic procedure in deforming a mesh object with an Armature is to apply an
Armature Modifier to the object and then in the modifier name the Armature that will do
the deformation. 9ou are probably sha!ing your head trying to come to grips with that.
8on't worry we will run you through a demonstration in a while but it doesn't matter
which Armature display type is used each Armature has a field of influence in which
mesh vertices must reside in order to be influenced.
Octahedral &tic! B7Bone 2nvelope
he last statement is not e0actly true but for the time being pretend that it is.
$hange the Armature display type to '2nvelope'. ,ow you will have something li!e a
cylinder with a sphere at each end. ab into 2dit mode. ,ow you see the field of
influence surrounding the Armature. 9ou can only see this in 2nvelope display type in
edit mode. In Edit mode you can select the whole Armature or the spheres at either end
separately then scale. his has the effect of reshaping the field of influence to
encompass vertices in a mesh.
4ust file these snippets of information in the memory ban! for the time being and go
bac! to the default single bone Armature in display type 'Octahedral' in Object mode .
ab into 2dit mode. ,ow the widget is located at the ip which is
showing that the ip of the Armature is selected. urn the widget off
and you see the sphere at the ip is orange. 3aving the widget on
just ma!es it easier to see for demonstration purposes. "ith the
widget on you can translate the ip in the :8 "indow which also
changes the length of the Armature. he rotate and scale functions of
the widget have no affect.
2nvelope ) Object Mode 2nvelope ) 2dit Mode
"idget
"idget
5ield of Influence
"idget Off ) &phere Orange
2dit Mode
Extruding Multi Bone Armatures
urn the widget off but leave the ip selected. ,ow press 2 (ey % e0trude * and drag the
mouse. 9ou will see a new bone being e0truded from the ip. &elect the ;oot ) 2 (ey
% 20trude * 7drag the mouse and a new bone is e0truded from the ;oot. &elect the ip of
either new bone and repeat the process creating a multi bone Armature. &elect the ;oot
and e0trude another bone.
Deforming a Mesh
&o far we have demonstrated the very basics of what an Armature is and how to e0pand
a single bone into a multi bone Armature. It's time to see how to deform a mesh. o
demonstrate the 'Armature' principal in Blender we will ma!e something a!in to a finger
on your hand and ma!e it deform with an 'Armature'.
&tart with the default Blender &cene and delete the $ube. Add a Mesh $ircle.
In the ool &helf %-anel at <3& of :d "indow ) <ower <eft* reduce the number of
vertices from := to >. "hen creating a mesh for use with Armatures use as few vertices
,ew Bone 20truded
,ew Bone 20truded from the ;oot
as possible. A high number of vertices will give you a better surface loo! and a better
render but too many vertices will slow down the computer considerably in an animation.
his is the reason for reducing the number of verticals in the $ircle.
,ote1 "hen you add a -rimitive to a scene it is in Object mode and the tool panel at the
lower left of the screen provides the facility to edit the si?e and verte0 count. Once you
tab to 2dit mode the tool panel no longer has this feature.
ab into edit mode. 20trude the $ircle on the + a0is and scale some of the segments to
create a simple mesh as shown in the diagram. he finger will only have two parts with
a joint in the middle. he vertices close together in the middle of the mesh are where the
joint will be. hey act li!e a concertina hose on a vacuum cleaner allowing the mesh to
bend.
"ith the mesh selected tab into Object mode and place the :8 $ursor as shown.
,ote1 5or the purpose of the demonstration leave the default $ircle object with the
default radius of ..@@@ Blender grid units. If the circle is scaled the 5inger mesh vertices
may fall outside the Armatures field of influence resulting in some une0pected results.
2dit Mode Object Mode
Aertices &caled In
Aertices &caled In
-lace :8 $ursor 3ere
5ront Aiew ) ,um -ad .
8eselect the mesh 5inger %A (ey*.
Add a single bone Armature as previously described. &ince the cursor was placed at the
base of the finger on the centreline you will probably not see the Armature.
Bo to the -roperties "indow ) Object 8ata button
) display tab and tic! C7;ay. his ma!es the
Armature visible in Object mode 7&olid display.

It actually ma!es the Armature display on top of
the Mesh.
"ith the Armature selected ) ab to 2dit mode.
&elect the top end of the Bone %ip* and drag it up to the
middle of the bend point of the 5inger.
-ress the 2 (ey and e0trude the bone % $reates a second
bone* up to the top of the mesh 5inger.
In the -roperties window ) Object data ) 8isplay tab ) tic!
',ames' to show the names of the bones in the :8 "indow.
he names will be 'Bone' and 'Bone.@@@'.
-ress A (ey to deselect the Armature bones ) emain in
Object mode.
Alternati!e Method for "reating a Multi Bone Armature
here is an alternative method for creating a multi bone Armature.
"ith a single bone Armature added, tab to 2dit mode and drag the tip up to the top of
the finger. Ma!e sure you have the body of the bone selected % ;ight clic! on the body*.
Bo to the ool &helf at the left of the screen and clic! on '&ubdivide'. &uccessive clic!s
will subdivide the bone and create a multi bone Armature.
Armature Modifier
"e will now add an Armature Modifier
to the 5inger Mesh Object.
8eselect the Armature.
&elect the 5inger %;ight $lic!*. In the
-roperties "indow ) Modifier button )
clic! 'Add Modifier' and select
'Armature.
&ingle Bone Multi Bone
$lic! in the Modifiers 'Object' panel and select 'Armature' %Blender named your
Armature, 'Armature'*.
It is time to test the deformation process.
In the :d "indow deselect the 5inger and select the Armature. 8epending on how you
positioned the Armature in the 5inger you may have difficulty selecting. If this is the
case go to the Outliner "indow at the upper right of the screen and right clic! on
'Armature' in the display.
"ith the Armature selected change from
Object Mode to -ose Mode in the :8
"indow header. Bone.@@@ should be
highlighted in blue. ; (ey and rotate the
bone. he top of the finger rotates with
the bone.

&elect a bone and & (ey %scale*.

$hange the Armature to 2nvelope display.
he foregoing has demonstrated how to deform a mesh object using Armatures and the
Armature Modifier. he ultimate use of Armatures is in character animation which
involves rigging a mesh %he character* with a multi boned Armature and then
animating the movement of the Armature simulating the characters movement.
;igging a character can be a tedious and sometimes complicated process. Blender has a
ready made humanoid Armature rig secreted away in the Dser -reference "indow.
2nvelope display with Bone.@@@
scaled down showing the field of
influence reduced.
#umanoid Armature
In the user -reference "indow clic! on 'Add Ons' at the top of the "indow. In the panel
at the <3& clic! ';igging' and you will have a single line entry named ';igging ;igify'.
ic! the little bo0 at the end of the line.
Bo bac! to the :8 "indow and press &hift ' A (ey. &elect 'Armature' and you will see
that '3uman %Meta7;ig*' has been added to the selection options. $lic! on the new entry
and a multi boned humanoid Armature is introduced to the scene. On my computer it is
entered rather small. If this is the same for you ?oom in or scale the rig up. -an the
window around and have a good loo! at the rig. If you go into '-ose Mode' and select
individual bones you will be able to move them about creating different poses.
It may be a little ambitious at this stage to construct a model of a human figure and rig it
for animation. Of course you could use the 'Ma!e 3uman' program
%http1EEwww.ma!ehuman.orgE* to create a figure then import it into Blender and rig for
animation but unless you have a reasonable computer you may be disappointed. Ma!e
3uman models have a pretty high verte0 count so there is a lot of stuff to move about in
an animation. 9ou will also have to go find a rigging tutorial on the internet and stud this
topic in detail. "hat we have covered so far is the very very basics.
"hile on the subject of Armatures we will demonstrate a few more basics.
Object Mode
-ose Mode
Disconnected Bones
9ou may have noticed that in the humanoid Armature some of the
bones appear to be disconnected. hey are separated from adjoining
bones.
o demonstrate how this occurs this follow this procedure.
In a new scene add single bone Armature. ab into edit mode, select
the ip and e0trude another bone. &elect the Body of the new bone
then, in the -roperties "indow ) Bone button ) ;elations tab untic!
'$onnected'.
he new bone may now be translated %B (ey grab* and
repositioned away from the original bone. It remains as part
of the Armature. If '$onnected' is re7tic!ed the new bone will
be repositioned with its base connected to the original bone.
In the previous e0amples of deforming a mesh with an Armature, the mesh vertices were
re#uired to be located within the field of influence of the Armature. An alternative to this
is to manually nominate which vertices will be affected by the armature. here are
basically two methods which are1
.. &elect and assign vertices to a Aerte0
Broup and nominate the control Armature
bone.
=. -erform this same operation using
Blender's "eight -aint tool.
Bone repositioned
but remains part of
the Armature
Method $% Manually Assign &ertices%
In a new scene construct a 5inger as
previously described. Add a two Bone
Armature as before but position it as
shown in the diagram to the right.
&elect the Armature and in the
-roperties "indow ) Object data button
) 8isplay tab tic! ',ames' to show the
bones named 'Bone' and 'Bone.@@@'.
8eselect the Armature.
&elect the 5inger and tab into 2dit Mode
) A (ey deselect the vertices.
In the -roperties "indow ) Object 8ata
button ) Aerte0 group tab clic! the plus
sign to add a new Aerte0 Broup. A
Aerte0 Broup is added and named
'Broup'.
he aim here is to select vertices and add them to the Aerte0 Broup. he movement of
the group is to be controlled by a bone in the Armature.
By renaming 'Broup' to 'Bone.@@@' the Aerte0 Broup will automatically controlled by the
bone named 'Bone.@@@'. Broups and bones may be renamed to whatever you want but
for a group to be controlled by a bone the names must be identical.
$lic! -lus &ign
Bone.@@@
Bone
In the :8 "indow select the vertices in the upper part of the 5inger
%B (ey ) drag rectangle *.
Ma!e sure you have the '&elect Only Aisible' button turned off in the
:8 "indow header or you will only be selecting the front vertices of
the 5inger.
In the Aerte0 Broup tab clic! 'Assign' to assign the selected vertices to
the group. $hec! out the assignment by alternately clic!ing on
'8eselect' and '&elect' in the tab.
ab into Object Mode and A (ey
deselect the 5inger.
&elect the Armature and go into -ose Mode. &elect
'Bone.@@@' and ; (ey rotate.
,othing happens6 "hyF "e haven't
applied an Armature Modifier to the
5inger.
Bo bac! and select the 5inger and in
the -roperties "indow ) Modifiers
button clic! 'Add Modifier' and
select 'Armature'. In the Armature
Object panel clic! and select
'Armature'.
&elect Only Aisible Button
8eselect the 5inger and select the Armature in -ose Mode. &elect 'Bone.@@@' and rotate
it. he upper part of the 5inger will now deform as the bone is rotated.
&ince the Armature is located well away from the 5inger the field of influence of the
Armature is not in force.
Method '% (eight Paint%
Instead of selecting vertices, Blender has a painting method which selects and assigns
vertices to a Broup, automatically lin!ing them to an Armature bone.
he paint method provides for a graduated weight to be given to vertices which dictates
how much influence the Armature bone will have over the deformation of the mesh.
$lic! 3ere
&elect
&et up a new scene the same as Method ..
&elect the 5inger in Object Mode and In the -roperties
"indow add an Armature Modifier. 8on't forget to enter
'Armature' in the 'Object' panel.
&elect the Armature and enter -ose Mode.
In the properties "indow ) Object 8ata button ) 8isplay tab
tic! ',ames' to display the bone names. hey should be 'Bone'
and 'Bone.@@@' as before.
&elect 'Bone.@@@'.
<eave 'Bone.@@@' selected and right clic! the 5inger to select it. "ith the 5inger selected
go to the :8 "indow header and change from Object Mode to "eight -aint Mode. he
5inger displays in blue. Blue denotes that no vertices are selected.
In the panel at the left hand side of the window drag the '&trength'
&lider up to '@.G@@@'. "e are about to paint over the 5inger mesh
selecting vertices and by setting the strength to a high value we are
telling Blender that the selected vertices are to be rigorously controlled by HBone.@@@'.
;emember we had 'Bone.@@@' selected when we clic!ed on the 5inger.
In "eight -aint Mode the cursor in the :8 "indow has a circle
attached. he si?e of the circle is the si?e of the paint tool. his can be
altered in the panel at the left.
Bone.@@@
&elected
&trength &lider
-aint $ircle &i?e
"e want the upper part of the 5inger to be
transformed by 'Bone.@@@'. $lic!, hold and
drag the cursor circle over the top part of the
5inger. he part of the 5inger painted turns
red. ;ed indicates a rigorous control. Altering
the '&trength ' value changes the control
strength and will display as some other colour.
-ainting only selects vertices on the visible
surface of the mesh. 9ou have to turn the mesh
around and paint the bac! side to select the
whole top part of the 5inger % -an the :8 Aiew
around *.
3aving painted the 5inger, note that in the
-roperties "indow ) Object data button )
Aerte0 Broup tab a Aerte0 group has been
created and named 'Bone.@@@'.
&electing the 'Armature Bone.@@@' in -ose Mode and
translating it will move the top part of the 5inger.
&ertex )roups or *ield of +nfluence
3aving described the deformation of a mesh by employing Aerte0 Broups and 5ield of
Influence the #uestion arises as to which is being employed when the Armature is
located inside the mesh.
<oo! at the following e0ample with our two bone Armature sitting
inside the 5inger.
If we follow the preceding e0amples either selecting vertices or
"eight -ainting, thus assigning vertices to a Aerte0 Broup. It is
unclear whether the Aerte0 group or the 5ield of Influence is
controlling the deformation of the mesh.
If the Armature is moved away from the mesh posing the bone will
still cause a deformation therefore the verte0 group is in control. But
when the Armature is inside the mesh, is it the 5ield of Influence or
the Aerte0 BroupF
5ollow this e0ample to clarify this dilemma.
&elect only the vertices at the tip of the 5inger and assign them to a Aerte0 Broup.
Ma!e sure you have added an Armature Modifier to the 5inger and have assigned
'Armature' in the Object panel.
;otate 'Bone.@@@' in -ose
Mode and the the whole
top of the 5inger deforms.
-lace the Armature in
Object Mode and move it
away from the 5inger.
;otate the bone again and
only the tip of the finger
deforms. his only proves
that both the Aerte0 Broup
and the 5ield of Influence
are active.
&elect Aertices at ip Only
-lace the Armature bac! inside the 5inger.
&elect the 5inger and ta!e a loo! at the Armature Modifier. Dnder the heading 'Bind o'
there are the two bo0es labelled 'Aerte0 Broup' and 'Bone 2nvelope'.
Dntic! 'Bone 2nvelope'. ;otating the bone now
only deforms the tip of the 5inger. Obviously
you have turned the field of influence off. &o
here lies the control for selecting either the 5ield
of Influence or the Aerte0 Broup.
Another way of negating the field of influence is
to set the '8istance' and '"eight' values to @.@@@
in the -roperties "indow ) Bone button )
8eform tab.
In the -roperties "indow ) Object 8ata button )
&!eleton tab, under '8eform', there are also
bo0es tic!ed and labelled 'Aerte0 Broup' and
'Bone 2nvelope'. ic!ing or untic!ing these
seems to have no effect.
his discourse has rambled on and still only the basics have been covered in this topic.
Again you will have to go to the internet and search for tutorials to become proficient.
ip Only Moved
Before you go we will point out that Armatures can have $onstraints applied. 5or
e0ample the I( $onstraint.
The +, "onstraints
he I( &olver $onstraint is a wonderful tool for animators. I( stands for Inverse
(inematics which is the opposite to 5(, 5orward (inematics. Both I( and 5( are ways
of controlling the posing and animation of a chain of bones. "ith 5( you have to rotate
the chain of bones one by one to pose it for animation. his is a tedious process but
gives full control. "ith I(, dragging the end will result in the chain following the
selected bone.
An e0ample would be to create a chain of bones as shown here.
"ith the chain %Armature* selected go
into -ose Mode. &elect the last bone in
the chain and in the -roperties "indow
) Bone $onstraints button and clic! on
'Add $onstraint'. &elect 'Inverse
(inematics'. In the :8 "indow, in -ose
Mode, with the end bone still selected
B (ey %grab* and move the bone.
-ose Mode <ast
Bone &elected
2ven in this single constraint there are plenty of settings to play with. Again finding a
good tutorial will do wonders in proficiency.
CH19- Relative Shapes Keys
01-Shapes Keys and Action Editor
02-Shapes Key Editor
03-Action Editor
Return to Contents
Shapes Keys and Action Editor
Shapes Keys and Action Editors provide an easy method of animating shapes and
objects. Both Editors are located in the Dope Sheet Window. The Shapes Key Editor
allows yo to control the animation of vertices or grops of vertices while the Action
Editor allows yo to set p an animation of an !bjects movement and scale.
To demonstrate both methods we will se a simple "lane !bject with only for
vertices.
Start with the defalt Blender scene# delete the $be and add a "lane. %o into Top
&iew '(m "ad ) * (m "ad +,. -oom in on the view '(m "ad *,.
Split the .D Window into two windows and change one to the Dope Sheet Window.
Shapes Key Editor
/n the Dope Sheet Window clic0 on the drop down mode selection and select 1Shapes
Key Editor1. With the Editor selected the window has now become an animation
timeline.
Select the "lane in the .D Widow.
/n the "roperties Window 2 !bject data bttons 2
Shapes Keys tab clic0 on the pls sign. The tab
e3pands showing a 1Basis Key1 inserted. $lic0 on
the pls sign again and 1Key45 will be added. (ote
that in the Dope Sheet Shapes Key Window 1Key41
is also displayed '6pper 78 side of window,.
Dope Sheet Shapes Key Window
Slider
Slider
With the crsor in the .D Window Tab to Edit mode. Deselect all vertices 'A Key,.
(ow select one of the vertices and drag it '% Key drag
mose,. Tab to !bject mode.
The plane reverts to its original shape.
/n the "roperties Window 2 Shapes Key tab 2 $hanging the 1&ale1 by moving the
slider changes the shape of the "lane in the .D Window. 9o can also change the
shape by moving the slider ne3t to 1Key41 in the Dope Sheet Shapes 0ey Editor.
/n the "roperties Window 2 Shapes Key
tab clic0 on the pls sign again to add
1Key:1.
/n the .D Window Tab to edit mode select another vertice and
move it somewhere. Tab bac0 to object mode. Key: has been
added to the Shapes Key Editor.
Edit ;ode with &ertice ;oved
!bject ;ode
!rigional Shape
Shape Key Editor 2 Key: Added
Edit ;ode
&ertice ;oved
/n the Shapes Key Editor
clic0 on Key4 then Shift
clic0 on Key:. This has
selected both 0eys as
indicate by the white
highlight of the names.
;ove each slider to see the "lane change shape in
the .D Window then retrn each slider to the <.<<<
position. ;oving the sliders has inserted 0ey
locations in the timeline of the Shapes Key Editor as
indicated by the orange diamond shapes. "ress 1/
Key1 and select 1!nly Selected $hannels1. This inserts
Keyframes in the animation timeline. Drag the green
line to a new frame# move the Key sliders and press
1/ Key1 again selecting 1!nly Selected $hannels1. (ew Keyframes are inserted. Scrb
the timeline 'Drag the green line, to see the animation. 9o can also press Alt * A
with the crsor in the .D Window to play the animation.
Action Editor
To demonstrate the Action Editor begin with the same set p as se for the Shapes
Editor e3cept this time select 1Action Editor1 mode in the Dope Sheet Window.
Select the "lane in the .D Window in !bject mode and insert a 0eyframe '/ Key,
type 17oc=otScale.
/n the Dope Sheet Action Editor yo will see the 0eyframe displayed in the pper
78S of the window. $lic0ing on the little triangle in front of the 7oc=otScale
e3pands the 0eyframe to show the individal components.
/n the Action Editor Window header clic0 on 1&iew1 and tic0 1Show Sliders1. There
will now be vale sliders in each component of the 0eyframe. By moving the sliders
yo can maniplate the "lane in the .D Window.
/nserting Keyframes '/ Key, with each change of frame prodces an animation. As
previosly yo can scrb the animation or Alt * A play the animation.
:.<<<
"lane ;oved :.<<< in .D Window
> 7ocation Slider set :.<<< in Action Editor
CH20- Fluid Simulation
01-Fluid Simulation
02-Basic Setup
03-Domain Object Setup
04-Fluid Object Setup
05-Inlo! Object Setup
0"-Obstacle Object Setup - #$ou%&
0'-Obstacle Object Setup ( Cup
0)-Outlo! Object Setup
0*-Fluid Simulation ( +a$ticles
10-Fluid Simulation - Cont$ol
,etu$n to Contents
Fluid Simulation
Fluid Simulation Physics provides a means of simulating fluid flow. In this
discussion we will consider two scenarios.
The first scenario is animating a volume of fluid such as a droplet of water or
larger single volume which is initially suspended in space and allowed to drop
into a container or on to a surface.
The second scenario is animating a stream of fluid such as fluid running from a
tap or out of a container in a controlled flow. This scenario will recap on the first
scenario.
For detailed procedure see Blender Wiki PDF Pages !"# to !$ o%taina%le at
http&''www.letworyinteractive.com. ()ote& These pages refer to Blender *.+#,
Basic Setup fore Fluid Simulation ( First Scenario )
Blender -D Window scene.
This setup represents a %asic scene constructed for a fluid simulation. .s with all
%lender scenes there must %e a light to provide illumination and a camera %efore
anything can %e rendered.
The scene has %een constructed with&
Fluid /%0ect 1 Sphere 1 Default Sphere -* segments and 2ings.
Domain 3u%e 1 default 3u%e scaled up 4 +.
/%stacle /%0ect 1 3up 1 54truded from a 3ircle (See ne4t page,.
3amera
6ight
Fluid /%0ect Sphere
Domain /%0ect 3u%e
/%stacle /%0ect
In the scene a volume of liquid ( Fluid Object ) suspended in space, it will be released
and then dropped into a Cup ( Obstacle Object ). The fallin fluid ( Fluid !imulation )
ta"es place within the confines of the #omain. The domain is a sement of space
defined b$ a cubic volume ( The Cube ).
There must be a #omain for a simulation to ta"e place and all Objects participatin in
the simulation must be within the #omain. %n$ Object partiall$ outside of the
#omain will not function.
In this simulation the fluid is represented b$ a !phere positioned somewhere towards
the top of the #omain and immediatel$ above the Cup. The si&e of the !phere
relative to the #omain and to other objects within the #omain determines the volume
of the fluid. % lare sphere relative to the #omain and the Cup produces a lare fluid
volume.
The Cup is an obstacle which obstructs the movement of the Fluid. In this e'ample
the Fluid is simpl$ fallin in space until it is obstructed b$ the Cup. If the Cup did not
e'ist the Fluid would fall until it reached the bottom of the #omain and then come to
rest as if enclosed in a transparent rectanular container which is defined b$ the shape
of the #omain.
(ith the objects placed in the scene nothin will happen until all the Objects have
values assined. This sets up the simulation.
Domain Object Set Up
In this e'ample the #omain is a Cube which has been scaled to enclose the !phere
( Fluid Object ) and the Cup ( Obstacle Object ). To assin fluid simulation values to
the #omain first select the Cube in the 3D
View.
)o to the *roperties (indow +*h$sics
button , Fluid tab. Clic" -%dd .ew- to
displa$ the Fluid tab properties. !elect
-#omain- from the T$pe drop down
selection menu.
The Fluid #omain settins panel displa$s.
!electin the Cube in the /# (indow applies the #omain characteristics to the Cube
and displa$s #omain options. Three further tabs can be opened.
Three additional tabs
#omain !ettins *anel
In discussing this first example of fluid simulation default values will be used with
the exception that in the 'Time' settings the 'End' value will be changed to 0.03.
The default time settings are Start and End times default values. Start: 0.0 End: .0
!hanging the End value to 0.30 is done to reduce the "a#e time to something
reasonable for a demonstration.
"a#ing is similar to rendering images for an animated movie. "a#ing is the process of
simulating a fluid flow and can ta#e a considerable time depending on the complexit$
of the simulation set up .
%hen ba#ing "lender loo#s at the Start and End times set in the &luid tab' calculates
the time period' then computes how the volume of fluid would react to the
environment during that time. In our example the time period is 0.30 seconds
(Start:0.00 End:0.30).
The Start and End time values have nothing to do with how man$ frames will be
produced in the animation of the fluid flow but instead are concerned with the
ph$sical force and the fluid viscosit$. In other words how the fluid will react to its
environment in the given time period.
In the *roperties %indow+,ender button+-imensions tab the default animation length
is set at ./0 frames (&rame ,ange Start:0 End:./0) and will displa$ at . frames per
second. The animation &rame ,ange is also displa$ed in the Timeline %indow. These
values produces an animation of appx.00 seconds. The behavior of the volume of
water in this example over 0.30 seconds will be spread over the animation time of 00
seconds. Imagine dumping a cup of water and observing its action over 0.30 seconds
then stretching that behavior over 00 seconds. 1 slow motion effect will result.
1 0.30 second ba#e ta#es a considerable time a .00 second ba#e will ta#e forever.
1 0.30 second ba#e will suffice to demonstrate simulating a fluid flow even though it
does not produce a real time animation.
%hat is real time animation2 ,eal time animation with respect to fluid flow is an
animation which shows precisel$ how the fluid reacts in real time as apposed to our
slow motion effect. If $ou want real time' set the Time Start and End values in the
&luid tab to match the length of the animation. &or example with the default
animation of ./0 frames at . frames per second e3ualing approx 00 seconds $ou
would set the &luid tab Time values to give a 00 second period. "e warned: 4a#e the
"a#e process coincide with $our summer vacation. 5ou will have a long wait while
$ou "a#e $our ca#e. 5ou ma$ as well go on holida$s.
6ar$ing the Start and End time of the fluid action therefore affects how the behavior
of the fluid is seen in the final animation. &or now leave all the values in the standard
-omain tab set per the defaults except for the End Time setting.
7ne last point in the -omain settings for now. 8ote the director$ name at the bottom
of the &luid tab. This gives the location where the "a#e files will be saved. The
default location is 9tmp9: but $ou ma$ change this to whatever $ou wish. %e have
alread$ noted that "a#ing ta#es a long time and with that comes a terrible lot of files.
If a simulation is reba#ed the files are overwritten but after messing about with some
trial and error in the learning process $ou will still accumulate a whole swag of files.
The best wa$ to clean them out is to delete the 'tmp folder and replace it with a new
one. In %indows '%indows Explorer' is a good place to do this.
Fluid Object Setup -,eference: process Step .+ blender %i#i *-& *00;0.
In this example the fluid is represented b$ a Sphere which has been placed in the
-omain immediatel$ above the !up.
The si<e of the Sphere relative to the -omain and the !up determines the volume of
the fluid in the simulation. "ig Sphere big volume. Small Sphere small volume. &or
the demonstration ma#e sure the Sphere is smaller than the !up otherwise $ou will
have some mopping up to do.
Select the Sphere in the 3- %indow. =o to the *roperties %indow > *h$sics button >
&luid tab. !lic# '1dd' and in the selection dropdown select T$pe '&luid'.
5ou can leave the settings as the$ are but it is worth noting that the Initial 6elocit$
values will give $our fluid a #ic# start in whatever direction $ou set.
Obstacle Object Setup
Reference: Process step 2 blender Wiki PDF Manual P1060
In this ea!ple the "bstacle to the fluid flo# #ill be the $up%
With the $up selected in the &D Windo# 'o to the Properties Windo# Ph(sics
button Fluids tab% $lick )*dd) and select +(pe "bstacle%
With all the ob,ects re-uired for the
si!ulation ha.in' settin's assi'ned the
Fluid /i!ulation /etup is no#
co!plete and read( to be 0*12D%
Baking
In the &D Windo# in #irefra!e !ode select the Do!ain cube% +he do!ain
properties tab #ill be displa(ed #ith the .alues that #ere pre.iousl( set%
Make note that 0akin' a si!ulation can take a lon' ti!e dependin' on the
co!pleit( of the si!ulation3 the resolution3 the len'th of the ani!ation and the
speed of the co!puter% For the purposes of this ea!ple3 #here the default
.alues ha.e been used3 set the len'th of the ani!ation to 40 fra!es in the
ani!ation +i!eline Windo#% *t a displa( rate of 24 fra!es per second this #ill
produce an ani!ation lastin' 2 seconds%
5o back to the Properties Windo# Ph(sics button Fluid tab%
With the Do!ain "b,ect selected 6+he $ube7 in the &D Windo# click on the
)0ake Fluid /i!ulation) button%
+he 0ake pro'ress can be obser.ed at the top of the &D Windo# in the Fluid
/i!ulation pro'ress bar% +he bar onl( appears #hen (ou bake and #ill be
located in the Infor!ation Windo# header ad,acent to )0lender Render)% If (ou
#ant to cancel a 0ake click on the cross net to the bar%
+he 0ake takes a considerable ti!e% It is akin to creatin' an i!a'e for each
fra!e of an ani!ation so be prepared to sit back and #ait a #hile
/ee 0lender Wiki PDF Manual P 1062
In this example the BAKE should take about 30 seconds.
Note what happens in the 3D Window. The Domain seems to disappea
chan!in! into a blob which attaches itsel" to the #phee $luid %b&ect.
The blob then descends' de"omin! as it !oes and splashes into the (up.
The po!ess o" the BAKE can be obse)ed
in the heade ba o" the In"omation
Window. I" the BAKE is not pe"omin! as
expected it can be teminated b* pessin! the
Esc Ke* o the cancel button +(oss, in the
heade and settin!s can be ad&usted to
coect the action. To ebake the simulation
select the Domain +Which is now the blob
attached to the sphee, and pess BAKE
a!ain in the Domain popeties tab.
When the BAKE is completed chan!e to
solid mode and pess Alt - A to )iew the
animation o" the simulation.
When a simulation is BAKED it is simila to endein! "iles "o an animation
se.uence. $iles ae ceated and sa)ed to a "olde on the computes had di)e.
Blende Wiki /D$ 0anual /1023 bie"l* descibes this opeation. The path to
the "olde whee the BAKED "iles ae sa)ed can be seen in the Domain $luid
tab. +4es I know I5m epeatin! m*sel",
Baked "iles located hee
(lick to open "ile bowse window to
chan!e Bake destination "olde
(han!e Time6 End6 to 0.300
The folder for the storage of BAKE files can be changed to any folder you wish by
clicking on the file browser icon and navigating to a folder in the file browser
window.
See the navigation section CH0!"avigate and Save.
#f the BAKE is e$ecuted without altering the %ath the BAKE will be saved in the
default t&' folder.
(hen a si&ulation is BAKE) without altering the destination folder any e$isting
BAKE is overwritten. To delete a BAKE* select the storage folder and delete the files
or shred the folder.
Basic Set Up for Fluid Simulation ( Scenario Two )
Blender 3D Window Scene
The setup in the view below is a basic scene configuration to demonstrate a fluid
simulation in accordance with scenario two. The camera and light are not shown
in the screenshot but they must exist in the scene.
In this scenario the fluid will flow in a stream from the Inflow b!ect Sphere
down the bstacle b!ect Trough into the bstacle b!ect "up. #ll b!ects
participating in the simulation must be within the confines of the Domain.
Inflow Sphere
bstacle Trough
Domain "ube
bstacle "up
Domain Object Setup
The Domain cube has been scaled to confine the
participating Objects in a restricted volume of
space. The procedure for assigning the Cube as
Domain and setting values is identical to that of
scenario one with the exception that the End Time
value has been changed to 8.00 in the tandard
settings and the !"eal #orld i$e! has been set as
0.%80 in the Domain #orld tab.

&n setting up a fluid simulation the length of the
final animation in real time and the ph'sical si$e of
the scene in real terms must be considered. The
(lender scene viewed on the computer screen is
seen in (lender units and an animation is measured
in the number of frames viewed at a set frame rate.
&n this simulation the animation will be )00 frames
long viewed at )* frames per second as seen in the
+roperties #indow,"ender button,Dimensions
tab.
)00 frames at )* frames per second produces an
animation of approx. 8 seconds duration.
etting tart at 0.00 and End at 8.00 in the -luid tab
computes the action of the fluid over an 8 second
time period i.e. over the length of the animation.
This produces a real time animation. &f for example
the End value was set at *.00 seconds then how the
fluid behaved in *.00 seconds would be spread over
the 8.00 seconds of animation.
In regard to the size of the scene consider that the diameter of the cup is
something like 8 or 9 centimeters and the horizontal length of the trough
extending past the edge of the cup is also 8 or 9 centimeters. Taking the
maximum we then require a Domain length of 18 centimeters. Thus the
Real!orld"ize is set at #.18# $ #.18# % & 18 cm ' which is the longest side of
the Domain.
Fluid Objects Setup
In this scenario there is no (luid )*+ect instead we use an Inflow )*+ect which
pro,ides a continuous flow of fluid.
Inflow Object Setup
%ake particular note of the scale of the Inflow o*+ect relati,e to the )*stacle
)*+ects. The scale of the Inflow )*+ect determines the ph-sical ,olume of the
fluid in the scene. If the Inflow )*+ect is too large the ,olume of fluid will spill
o,er the sides of the trough and cup.
!ith the Inflow )*+ect selected in the .D !indow go to
The /roperties !indow0/h-sics *utton0(luid ta* .
"ince the Domain )*+ect has *een pre,iousl- set the (luid
options in the (ield ta* should alread- *e a,aila*le. "elect
Inflow to displa- the Inflow options.
To gi,e the fluid a small amount of momentum set the 1 initial ,elocit- at #.2#
In doing this the fluid is mo,ing *efore the acceleration due to gra,it- take hold.
3ea,ing the 1 ,elocit- at zero produces a rather sluggish (luid flow.
"et 14 #.2#
Obstacle Object Trough Setup
Make particular note of the construction of the
Trough. It has been modeled by extruding and
scaling a cube into a rectangular U-shape and then
rotating to provide an incline and positioned below
the Inflow object and above the up. !fter
modeling a "ubserf Modifier has been applied.
#ithout the modifier the $luid tends to break
through the Trough surface.
#ith the Trough constructed select it in the %&
#indow then go to the $luid tab and select
'bstacle. "et the (olume Init value to "hell and the
)oundary type to $ree. (olume Init * "hell
initiali+es a thin layer for all faces of the mesh
preventing fluid breakthrough. $oundry type $ree
allows fluid movement along the obstacle. $or
other options see )lender #iki ,&$ ,-./0.
Obstacle Object Cup Setup
The model of the up is identical to that used in the
first scenario.
"et the value options the same as for the Trough
'bstacle 'bject.
!ll objects included in the simulation have been assigned and the process can be
)!12&. $ollow the procedure as outlined in the first scenario.
$rame -..
$rame 3..
Outflow Object
An Outflow object is used to limit the build up of fluid to a certain level within
the confines of the Domain.
Outflow Object settings tab.
The outflow would be used if it was
intended that the fluid overflowed from the
Cup and you only wanted the fluid level in
the Domain to reach a certain level.
Outflow object
Limit of fluid level
Fluid Simulation Particles
So far Domain, Obstacle, Inflow and Outflow Objects have been considered. Now
consider the application of Particle Objects.
Note : Blender i!i states that onl" #racer Particle Objects are supported at this time.
Start with the fluid s"stem as set up for the second scenario.
$dd a Sphere to the scene and position it within the confines of the Domain as
shown.
ith the Sphere selected in the %D indow &o to: Properties indow'Ph"sics
Button'select (luid ' select #"pe Particle ' #ic! )#racer)
New Sphere
In the %D indow select the Domain which is now the blob attached to the side of
the Inflow Sphere Object.
*o to the (luid tab. Set tracer Particles to %+++ and *enerate Particles to ,.+++.
Settin& these values instructs the s"stem to &enerate %+++ particles over the len&th of
the animation and turns the &eneration on to normal -+.off, ,.normal, /,.more0.
In the Domain Particle tab option window click on 'Bake Fluid Simulation
The system will now REB!E the simulation takin" as lon" as it did the #irst
time$ %otice that as well as the #luid bein" "enerated there are black dots
distributed randomly amon"st the #luid$ These dots are the particles and when
rendered will show as halos$
&hen the scene is rendered the particles display as halos$ In the #ollowin" 'iew
material color has been added and also a spotli"ht$
%ote( The Domain has been
le#t on le'el ) there#ore only
the particle halos render$
Particles show as black dots
Particles can be better
seen with the Domain
mo'ed to le'el )
*o'e Domain to le'el )$ Select Domain in +D
&indow, *,!ey ,click le'el ) then -!
Fluid Simulation Control
Besides Domain, Fluid, Obstacle, Inflow and Particle Objects there is also the
Control Object. Control Objects are placed in the scene within the Domain to
influence the flow of Fluid.
Scene at Frame 11 without Control
Scene at Frame 11 with Control
Control Cone
!he Scene contains"
Domain Cube scaled # and $ times %
Inflow Cube
Outflow &#truded Circle
Control Cone
Settin's shown at ()S
Fluid attracted to
Cone
CH21- Nodes
01-Nodes
02-Resize Node
03-Expand & Collapse Nodes
04-Moving & Arranging
05-Zoo !indo"
0#-Conne$%ing & &n$onne$%ing
0'-Node (ro)ps
0*-Naing gro)ps
0+-(e%%ing ,%ar%ed
10-Ma%erial Nodes
11--ex%)re Nodes
12-Coposi%ing Nodes
Re%)rn %o Con%en%s
The Blender node system allows the creation of materials and textures for application
to objects and the output of data effecting the rendered image or movie.
In Blender every button, value slider, pop-up menue, tick box etc. provides the user a
means of entering data which effects the programs output display. odes do exactly
the same thing. They are graphical displays where data can be entered. The displays
can be arranged and linked togeather in combinations providing an array of options.
odes are accesed using the
ode !ditor "indow
#tart a new Blender scene and
leave the default $ube object
selected. $hange the %&
"indow to the ode !ditor
"indow. The window will
display as a blank window.
Blender odes are arranged in three catagories. 'aterial odes, Texture odes and
$omposite odes. !ach category can be selected in the windows header.
'aterial odes allow the creation of materials, Texture odes allow the creation of
Textures while $omposite odes provide a means of assembling and enhancing
images or movies.
Before attempting to use odes for any specific task it is esential to know how to
add, arrange and link nodes. The first step is to open the ode !ditor "indow.
By default the 'aterial ode category is selected, so to demonstrate the process of
using odes we will start with this category. 'ake sure an object is selected in the
%& "indow and that a 'aterial has been assigned. If you use the default Blender
scene the default $ube object is selected and in the (roperties "indow ) 'aterial
buttons the (review panel shows a grey sphere. The sphere is showing the default
color of the default materaial named *'aterial* which is applied to the $ube.
ode !ditor
'aterial odes Texture odes $omposite odes
ode !ditor "indow
odes
Nodes
The Node Editor can not be activated unless a material has been applied to the
selected object in the 3D Window.
In the ode !ditor "indow header tick the *+se odes* box. Two odes will display
in the window. The nodes are *'aterial* and *,utput*.
&efault 'aterial $olor
'aterial named *'aterial*
selected
'aterial in #lot applied to
$ube object
(roperties "indow
ote that the sphere in the 'aterials button -(review panel is now a black circle
which what is showing on the ,utput ode. -our ,utput ode is probably showing
*,utp* in its header.
Resize a Node
$lick and hold on the little cross hatched triangle in the lower ./ corner of the node
and drag your mouse to resi0e the node panel. -ou shold now see *,utput* in the
header.
Expand and Collapse Nodes
Besides changing the si0e of a node they can also be expanded and collapsed to save
space on the screen. 1ook at the *'aterial* node header. There is a pluss sign in a
circle, an icon like the (roperties "indow icon and a sphere like the 'aterials button
icon. $licking on either of these icons will toggle expand and collapse of the node in
different ways. $lick and experiment to determin the difference. ode systems can
become very complex so it is very handy to be able to minimi0e the si0e of the nodes.
To toggle expand2collapse node entirely click on the white triangle at the 1/# of the
header.
&efault 'aterial ode
ew $licked
(lus #ign $licked
Bars $licked
#phere $licked
"hite Triangle $licked
ovin! and "rran!in! Nodes
$lick and hold anywhere in the node panel and drag the mouse will move the node .
#oom Window
#crolling the mouse wheeel or pressing the um (ad (lus2'inus 3eys will 0oom in
and out in the ode editor "indow. $lick and hold ''B will pan the window.
Connectin! and $nconnectin! Nodes
-ou will see that the *'aterial* node is
connected to the *,utput* node by a
curved line between the two yellow
*$olor* sockets. $lick and hold on the
*,utput* node yellow socket and drag
your mouse away from the socket.
.elease the hold and you will have
disconnected the nodes. The connecting
line dissapears. $lick and hold on the
*'aterial* node yellow socket and drag
the mouse to the *,utput* node yellow
socket realease hold to connect the
nodes.
In general sockets should be connected
yellow to yellow, grey to grey and blue
to blue.
Node %roups
#everal nodes amy be grouped together. 4gain this is a way of saving space on the
screen since the group is able to be expanded and collapsed.
To group nodes press B 3ey and drag a rectangle around the nodes you wish to group
then press $trl 5 6 . #electing the group and pressing 4lt 5 6 ungroups the selection.
(ressing *Tab* toggles !xpand2$ollapse of the group.
6rouping nodes provides a means of saving a particular node combination and thus
the means of creating an effect and then appending this for use in other Blender files.
In this way you can build a library of node combinations for reuse.
,nce a node group is created you can select it and then add, remove, link and unlink
and move nodes around within the group. In other words you can edit the group.
"hen you have finished editing a group press *Tab* to collapse it the *4 3ey* to
deselect it. -ou can now add more nodes to the screen.
Namin! Node %roups
Its all very well having a library of node groups but if they are all named
*ode6roup*, *ode6roup.778*, *ode6roup.779* etc. which is the names Blender
applies then it would be difficult to destinguish their use in the future. -ou may wish
to change the names to something more meaningfull.
-ou change the node group name in the ,utliner "indow. Blenders default scene
opens with an ,utliner "indow in the upper ./ side of the screen but this is an
abriddged version of the full window. &ivide one of your larger windows in two and
change one part to the ,utliner "indow. It should display in &atablock mode
showing entries for everything in your scene.
#crole down and find *ode 6roups*. If you have just created a node group you will
find it as a sub entry. !xpand the sub entry and you can change the name of the group
in the *ame* panel. 4 namechange here will be reflected in the ode editor "indow.
%ettin! &tarted
"ay back before all the diversion about adding, naming, moving and linking nodes
we made the statement that by default Blender opens the ode !ditor "indow with
the 'aterial ode mode selected. "e will therfore continue with a discussion on
'aterial odes.
aterial Nodes
'aterial odes allow the creation of 'aterials and just like adding any material once
it is created in Blender it is saved for future use in the Blender file. -ou use an object
which is selected in the %& "indow in conjunction with the ode !ditor when
dealing with 'aterial odes.
"e will work through a simple exercise and create a material using nodes.
#tart with the default Blender scene with the default $ube object selected. The cube
will have the default material applied as seen in the (roperties "indow ) material
buttons. The material displays the default grey color.
4t this point it is worth having a look at what we have in terms of material.
1ook at the (roperties "indow ) 'aterial
buttons. The (review tab shows a sphere
with the grey color, a material named
*'aterial* is selected and assigned to the
'aterial #lot. The 'aterial #lot is linked
to the selected $ube object in the %&
"indow which renders as the grey color.
$licking on the *Browse I& data: button
shows the material cache with only the
material named *'aterial* stored.
What is a aterial'
4 material in Blender is a bunch of data which tells the program to display the
surface of an object in a certain way, i.e. grey in color ; &iffuse color <, reflecting a
certain color under a light source ; #pecular color <, having bumps, spots etc. etc.
The data is grouped together in a block, a &ata Block.
Databloc(s
If you change the %& "indow to the ,utliner "indow in &atablocks mode you will
see the 'aterials &atablock as one of the entries. $lick on the pluss sign next to
*'aterials* to see the &atablock for the material named *'aterial*. $lick on the pluss
sign next to *'aterial* to expand the datablock and see all the materail data .
ote that Blenders default screen arrangement has an ,utliner "indow in the upper
./ side of the screen. This window is an abridged version of the full ,utliner
"indow.
Its worth mentioning here that you can change the name of the material in the name
slot in the datablock. =ust click in the slot, delete and retype a new name. The name
change will be reflected in the (roperties "indow 'aterials buttons. This is very
usefull when creating multiple materials. Blender starts with a default name which is
*'aterial* then adds *'aterial.778*, *'aterial.779*, *'aterial.77%* etc.etc. which are not
very meaningfull or descriptive.
,3> we know what a material is and where the data for the material can be found.
$hange the ,utliner "indow to the %& "indow to get us back to s?uare one. 'ake
sure the $ube is selected and make note that Blender has assigned the material named
*'aterial* to the $ube. 'aterial nodes will not work unless a material has been
assigned to the selected object.
$hange the %& "indow to the ode !ditor "indow. -ou will get a blank window.
4t the start of this section we said that odes were accesed through the ode !ditor
"indow. By default 'aterial odes mode is selected but to activate the odes you
must tick the *+se odes* box in the window header.
Ticking *+se odes* introduces two 'aterial odes to the window, *'aterial* and
*,utput*. The nodes are connected together via the $olor sockets, yellow to yellow.
The 'aterial node shows a blank checkerboard preview panel, the ,utput node
shows a black circle and in the (roperties "indow ) 'aterial buttons (review tab
you see the same black circle.
If you click on the *Browse I& data* button you will see that the default material
named *'aterial* is still the only thing in the cache and note that *'aterial is still
shown selected and in the 'aterial #lot. If you render an image ;@89< however all
you get is a black profile of the $ube.
4ctivating *+se odes* has taken over the render process and at this stage we have
not created any new material.
In the 'aterial ode click on *ew*. The 'aterial ode expands and the $olor and
#pec color selection bars show white. If you click on the *$olor* bar you will see
.6B values 7.A77 ; grey < and the *#pec* bar shows .6B 8.777 ; white <. This is why
you see grey spheres in all the preview windows. .ender an image ;@89< and you see
a grey cube. The $ube is selected in the %& "indow.
ote that in the 'aterials buttons *'aterial* is still showing as selected and in the
material #lot. $lick on the *Browse I& data* button and you will see two materials,
*'aterial* and *'aterial.778*. $licking on *ew* in the material ode has created a
new material but as allways Blender creates a new material identical to the last
material selected which in this case was our old friend *'aterial*. #ince *'aterial* and
*material.778* are identical you can only render a grey $ube.
$lick on the the color selection bar in the 'aterial node and pick a new color. 4ll the
previews display the new color. In the %& "indow the $ube is still grey.
ote that in the 'aterial ode the name of the material is showing *'aterial.778*.
This shows that the node is editing *'aterial.778. +ntick *+se odes* in the header.
6o to the 'aterial buttons in the (roperties "indow and in the *Browse I& data*
button drop down select 'aterial.778. This places 'aterial.778 in the material slot
and assignes it to the $ube in the %& "indow. The $ube will display the color you
chose.
TipB +ntick *+se odes* before selecting the new material in the *Browse I& data*
dropdown.
There you have it, the very basics of using 'aterial odes but of corse there is much
much more.
$licking on *4dd* in the ode editor "indow header reveals a pop up selection
menue with seven categories of node types. !ach category has indavidual ode type
options. It is not possible to demonstrate all of the possible node combinations but the
following examples should give you the idea. .emember when you have created a
node arrangement which produces a desired result, create a ode 6roup and save
the .blend file for future use. The ode 6roup can be appended to any new Blender
scene and applied to any object in the scene. It is therefore possible to create a
single .blend file containing many ode 6roups for future appending.
Example ).
!xample 8 shows 'aterial $olor mixed with Texture which has 'ap settings applied.
The new material has been applied to a sphere which has been scaled down along the
C axis to create a disk.
Example *
!xample 9 shows another variation on example 8
.endered Image
.endered Image
Example 3
This example shows two .6B inputs mixed to a $olor and then having a $olor
.amp applied
ote that the three examples shown so far simply create a material and apply it to a
selected object in the %& "indow. The default settings for the 1amp and $amera are
used with no other influence.
.endered Image
Example +
!xample D demonstrates the use of 'aterial odes in combination with other objects
in the scene.
The objective here is to create a simple graduated 'aterial.
@irst we have to set up the scene as shown.
The default $ube has been elongated into a vertical
column. 4 simple (lane object has been added to the
scene, scaled up and positioned behind the elongated
cube forming a backdrop in the camera view.
ImportantB 'ake sure the 1amp is positioned on the
camera side of the (lane.
#elect the (lane in the %& "indow and assign the
default material to it in the (roperties "indow )
'aterial buttons. 4dd a marble texture.
&eselect the (lane then select the elongated $ube.
(lane
!longated $ube
1amp
$amera
#ide Eiew on #cene
In the (roperties "indow ) 'aterial buttons ) &iffuse tab pick a diffuse color and in
the #pecular tab pick a specular color. In the transparency tab tick transparency,turn
the 4lpha value to 7.777 and set the I,. value to 8.9. still in the transparency tab
click *.aytrace*.
In the (roperties "indow ) .ender buttons #hading tab untick *#hadows*.
The &iffuse and #pecular colors can be anything you want. ,bviously Transparency
makes the $ube transparent with 4lpha at 7.777 it is fully transparent. The I,. value
is an angular index of refraction for raytraced refraction. Ealue 8.977 is something
like glass. .aytracing clicks you up a knotch when it comes to rendering an image.
,nly by experimenting with different values will you understand how to achieve the
outcome you want.
'ake sure the $ube is selected in the %d "indow and then in the ode !ditor
"indow ) 'aterial odes mode, tick *+se odes* and set up the following
arrangement.
oteB The *#epar* node in the diagram is actually *#eparate .6B*, the *!xtend* is
*!xtended material* and *,u* is *,utput*. Increase the si0e of the nodes to see the full
names.
ote also all the unconnected sockets on the !xtended material node. The rule here is
that an uconnected input socket will relay the value in it*s adjacent panel to the
output. If an input node is connected then that node overides the value. @ore example
.efl 7.A77 is the value used since there is no input connected to the socket.
Its worth remembering that in any scene the 1amp or number of 1amps, the type of
1amp and the enrgy settings and color of 1amp light can have a dramatic effect on
the rendered image.
#omething else to note in this example is that the rule of connecting like colored
sockets has been broken. The blue 6lobal socket on the 6eometry node is connected
to the yellow Image socket on the #eparate .6B node.
*#eparate .6B* means saparate the red, green, and blue values. 6eometry ) 6lobal
would suggest that it is intended to do the saparation using global coordinates but the
6lobal output coordinate value is connected to an Image inputF>F>
"hat is happeningF
*6eometry* ) *6lobal* is saying use global coordinates. *#aparate .6B* is being used
to saparate the coordinates which are vector values. .6B in this case represents G-C
coordinate values which are fed to the 4lpha value in the *!xtended 'aterial* node.
B corisponds to the C value, the vertical coordinate. "e are applying the material to a
vertical cube column. The value is fed into the 4lpha socket on the *!xtended
'aterial* node which is the value that controls transparency so the combination is
telling Blender to apply the &iffuse color and the transparency to the elongated cube
on the C axis.
"e have raytracing applied and we have given the
elongated cube the charisteristics of glass. The cube is
therefore refracting the light reflected from the bckdrop
in the scene ; The (lane <
The rendered image shows the application.
This example shows how you can mix and match nodes
, lamp settings and objects in the scene to produce
stunning efects.
Texture Nodes
Texture odes allow you to create textures and apply them to a selected object in the
%& "indow
4s far as adding nodes to the ode !ditor and manipulating them and connecting the
process is the same as for 'aterial odes however activating the ode !ditor in
Texture mode is slightly different.
#tart a new Blender scene and delete the default $ube object. 4dd a simple (lane
object and scale it up a bit. 4 (lane will provide a nice flat surface on which to place
the texture. In the (roperties "indow ) 'aterial buttons click *ew* to add the
default 'aterial. 4s with 'aterial odes, Texture odes can not be activated unless
a material has been applied to the selected object.
$hange the %& "indow to ode editor. ote that the 'aterial ode option in the
header is selected by default. $hange this to Texture ode mode. $lick on *ew*.
This is the same as clicking on *ew* in the (roperties "indow ) Texture buttons.
ow tick *+se odes*.
Two nodes appear in the !ditor "indow, $hecker and ,utput. In all Texture node
arrangements there must be an ,utput node.
If you render an image ;@89< you will see the $hecker texture applied to the (lane
object which is selected in the %& "indow.
In the (roperties "indow ) Texture buttons you will see that a texture named
*Texture* is selected and placed in the Texture #lot. $lick on the *Browse I& data*
button and see that there are two textures in the cache. *Tex* and *Texture*. *Texture* is
the new texture you have just created using odes and *Tex* is Blenders hidden
default texture datablock. 4s with everything else in blender entering data for a new
material or texture is in fact modifying something that pre exists.
4t this stage you have *+se odes* active so the ode editor is applying the new
texture to the object. If you untick *+se odes* a render will only show the (lane
object as having the default grey 'aterial color.
In the (roperties "indow ) Texture buttons click on the *@* next to *Texture* to save
the texture datablock. 4 9 appears indicating that there are two users of the data.
$lick on the 9 to make single user. The 9 dissapears and if you look in the cache
; $lick Browse I& data < you will see Tex, Tex.778 and Texture. Tex and Tex.778 just
render a grey (lane while Texture displays the nodes in the ode !ditor. -ou still
have to tick *+se odes* to render the checker texture to the object.
The foregoing is an observation and at this point no explanation can be offered for the
the procedure.
This has demonstrated the basic application of texture odes. There are many
combinations of node arrangements which will produce many many textures. The
following examples will show simple arrangements.
ote that complicated node arrangements consume computer power and unless you
are working on a powerfull machine rendering an image will take forever or just
never happen.
Example )
In this example an image has been loaded into the Image ode andmixed with a
"ood Texture ode. The scale node resi0es the image. The texture created is mapped
on to a #phere object selected in the %& "indow

Image loaded into the Image
ode
.endered Image
Example *
/ere the $ompose .6B node created a color. The 'ix node combines the color with
an image from the Image node to produce a texture as seen in the ,utput node. The
texture is applied to a (lane object selected in the %& "indow.
Image loaded into the Image
ode
.endered Image
Compositin! Nodes
$ompositing nodes or composit for short allow you to create and enhance an image.
The contents of the Blender scene can be the basis for the image or an image already
saved on the hard drive can be used. 4 presaved image can be combined with other
images or the Blender scene to create a new image.
+nlike 'arterial and Texture odes it is not necessary to have an object selected in
the %d "indow or to have a material applied to an object. ,f corse by default any
object added to a scene has the default material even though this does not display in
the (roperties "indow until the *ew* button is pressed. To demonstrate the
activation of the $ompositing ode !ditor start with a new blender scene and delete
the default $ube. 4dd a 'onkey object ; 4ny object will do <. &eselect the object in
the %& "indow.
$hange the %& "indow to ode editor and select the $ompositing mode in the
window header. Tick *+se odes*.
Two nodes display in the window. *.ender 1ayer* and *$omp*. Increasing the si0e of
the *$omp* node will recveal that it is actually *$omposite*.
The 'onkey only displays after an
image has been rendered.
.ender an image ;@89< to create a picture of the $amera Eiew with the 'onkey.
.emember the 'onkey is not selected in the %& "indow and no material has been
applie. Through the H.ender 1ayer* and *$omposit* nodes Blender is rendering an
image of the $amera view in the scene.
ote for Blender to render an image there must be a *$omposit* node in the ode
!ditor.
The following are two examples of simple $ompositing ode arrangements.
Example )

The image to the right has been loaded into the
*Image* node* then using a *'ix* node has been
combined with the Blender scene containing a
'onkey object to produce the rendered image
below.
Example *
The image above has been loaded into an *Image* node then enhanced using a *$olor
Balance* node to produce the render of the image below.
The combination of nodes is endless and re?uires experimentation, studying tutorials
and recording of results to a?uire an understanding of what can be achieved using the
node systems.
CH22- Game Engine
01-Game Engine
02-Game Animation
Return to Contents
Game Engine
Blender has the functionality to create interactive video games. The program
integrates real-time motion with physics and logic blocks allowing you to turn objects
into actors and move them around. This process also incorporates character animation
and allows interactive walkthroughs to be created where doors open and close.
The Game Engine is extensive in its application and it is not possible to cover all of
its intricacies in this document. ou will have to research and experiment beyond the
scope of this very brief introduction to become proficient.
To get you started and wet your appetite for Gaming follow this very basic example.
!t least it will show you how to open the door to the Game Engine.
Begin with the default Blender scene" delete the #ube and add a $% &phere. Gaming
is a form of animation therefore as with all animation it is best to keep animated
objects with a low vertex count. To keep things simple the default $% &phere will
suffice.
'n the () *indow Tab into edit mode with the &phere
selected and grab one single vertex on the side and make a
pointer as shown in the diagram. This will give an indicator
showing which direction you are pointing when moving
around. The &phere with the pointer will be our !ctor.
Go to the 'nformation *indow header and change the screen
arrangement from the )efault screen to the Game +ogic screen.
This arrangement has the +ogic Editor *indow" () *indow"
,roperties *indow and the -utliner *indow displayed. The
'nformation *indow header is across the top of the &creen.
The screen is configured for setting up the
Game Engine but Blender is not ready yet. 'n
the 'nformation *indow header change
Blender .ender to Blender Game.
%ertices Grabbed and /oved
To form a ,ointer
*ith the &phere selected in the () *indow go to the ,roperties *indow-,hysics
button- ,hysics tab and set the ,hysics Type 0 )ynamic. 1ote that in doing this the
2!ctor2 box is ticked indicating that the &phere is an !ctor. 'f it is not ticked" tick it.
- check if the &phere is behaving itself and is going to cooperate as an !ctor in this
little drama" set the () *indow to front %iew 31um ,ad 45 and with the cursor in the
() *indow press the , 6ey. This puts the () *indow into ,lay mode 3,lay the
Game5. The &phere should be seen to descend in the window and disappear out of
sight. ,ress Esc to return the &phere to center stage in the window.
ou have proved that the &phere actor is behaving itself. Gravity has taken hold of
the &phere and caused it to fall. &ince there is nothing below the &phere to obstruct its
motion it falls to infinity. *e had better do something to correct this.
,ut the () *indow into Top view and add a ,lane to the scene. &cale the ,lane up
six times. Go back to front %iew and move the &phere up above the ,lane. /ove to
$ser ,erspective %iew 31um ,ad 7 for #amera %iew then 1um ,ad 8 for #amera
,erspective then 1um ,ad 8 again for $ser ,erspective5.
,ress the , 6ey to see the &phere descend and sit on the ,lane.
,ress Esc to go back to -bject mode.
!bove the ,lane
() %iew
&itting on the ,lane
Game ,lay %iew
't is time to tell Blender when and how we want our !ctor to move.
'n the +ogic Editor *indow you see the +ogic Blocks" 2&ensors2" 2#ontrollers2 and
2!ctuators2.
The &ensor is what will trigger an action.
#lick on the 2!dd &ensor2 dropdown to see the options.
The #ontroller is what will control the action
click on 2!dd #ontroller2 to see options.
They probably are meaningless.
The !ctuator tells the !ctor what to do.
#lick on 2!dd !ctuator2
!gain meaningless.

*e will make some settings and make something happen to give you an idea how this
all works.
'n the &ensors +ogic Block click 2!dd &ensor2 and select 2/ouse2. -ur mouse will be
the device we use to trigger the action. 'f you want to change your mind about this
click on the drop down where it says 2/ouse2 and you can select something else. +et2s
stick with /ouse.
This is assuming that you
haven2t done this before.
*here it says 2/ouse Event2 in the &ensor panel you select what part of the mouse
will be responsible for the trigger. #lick 2+eft Button2 to see options but stick with
2+eft button2.
'n the #ontroller +ogic Block click 2!dd #ontroller2 and select 2!nd2. *hy9 will have
to be explained later.
'n the !ctuator +ogic Block click 2!dd !ctuator2 and select 2/otion2. /otion because
we want our !ctor to do some moving about. +eave the /otion type as 2&imple
/otion2. 'ts not time to go complicated.
'n the /otion type there are two slots0 +oc 3+ocation5 and .ot 3.otation5 with x" y
and : values. x" y and : are the axis and the value will give the speed of the action.
Enter 2+oc2 y07.;7 which means move along the y axis at speed 7.;7. 1ote this is in
the positive y direction. To move in the opposite direction enter -7.;7.
The last step for now is to connect the +ogic Blocks. #lick on the little black dot at
the .<& of 2&ensor and drag over to the little circle on 2#ontroller. )o the same
between 2#ontroller2 and 2!ctuator2.
Time for a test run. ,ut your mouse in the () *indow and press 2, 6ey2 3,lay the
game5. Give your mouse +/B a click. =ust a click. ou will see the &phere in play
mode move. 't may not be in the direction of the pointy bit on the &phere but that can
be adjusted. 'f you hold +/B down the &phere will continue moving and fall off the
side of the ,lane and disappear into infinity. ,ress 2Esc2 to end the game.
*e will add a few more controls.
!dding controls 3 +ogic Blocks 5 soon fills up the +ogic Editor *indow so to save
space you can click on the little triangles at the upper +<& of the panels and collapse
them. #lick again to expand
#onnections
!dd more &ensor"s #ontrollers and !ctuators as shown below taking particular
attention to the values in the /otion !ctuators. )o not forget to connect them
together.
*ith the controls set as show above you can drive the !ctor around the ,lane. ,lay
with the /ouse buttons and you will soon get the hang of it. 1ote the &phere only
rotates in one direction. ou can add another set of controls to rotate in the opposite
direction. /aybe change the /ouse sensor to 6eyboard and use the ! an & keys for
rotation. ou could change all the &ensor controls to 6eyboard and use a pattern of
keys.
The foregoing is about as simple as it gets so its over to you to research and
experiment.
/otion !ctuator #ollapsed
+eft button
.ight Button
/iddle Button
7.;7
7.48
Animation Using the Game Engine
The Game Engine Physics may be used to record an animation. In Chapter 11 we
discussed animating the complex movement of an obect by following a Curve Path.
This procedure saved time by negating the application of !eyframes and allowed the
movement to be easily modified by changing the shape of the Curve Path. "ome
times you will not be in a position to set a predetermined path. #ou may wish to
experiment to find the best movement to depict what you wish to show.
This is where the use of the Game Physics is a little bit of magic. #ou can drive your
obect around the scene and have the movement recorded.
Continue with the previous Game Engine set$up.
In the Properties %indow & Physics button & Physics tab
clic! on the 'Physics Type' drop down and change '(ynamic'
to ')igid *ody'.
In the 'Info %indow' header
at the top of the screen clic!
on 'Game' and tic! ')ecord
+nimation'. %hen your
obect is driven using the
Game Engine the movement
will be recorded. %hen you
exit the Game , press Esc -
and return to the .( %indow
pressing the +lt / + 0ey will
replay the movement in the .( %indow.
*efore doing any driving bare in mind that as soon as you press the P 0ey to start the
game the animation recording is up and running.
1oo! at the Properties %indow & %orld button &
Physics tab and note2 Physics "teps$3P"45. +lso in
the )ender button & "tand +lone Player tab note2
6uality$3P"45. The animation is recording at 45
frames per second. In no time at all you will record
many many frames. I suggest for the time being you
limit your driving in the game to a few seconds of
simple short moves.
708 Give it a go. )emember simple9 short and press
'Esc' to :uit.
+fter this short burst of tentative experimentation9 with your actor returned to the
centre of the scene in the .( %indow9 press +lt / + to see the animation of your
game movement.
%hat's happening; #ou probably see your obect move but it doesn't complete all the
movement you made in the game. %hy;
Change the 'Text Editor %indow' at the )<" of the screen to the 'Graph Editor
%indow'. #ou will see your animation displayed as a graph with many lines and there
are numerous channels entered in the (ope "heet panel on the 1<" of the window.
Change the '1ogic Editor %indow' to the 'Timeline %indow'. %ow8 Its full of vertical
yellow stripes , !eyframes -. *lender has recorded !eyframes at each frame of the
animation. If you played the game for eight seconds at 453P" , frames per second-
you have recorded =>5 frames each having a !eyframe , ?y game went a tad longer9
>.144 sec. -.
In the 'Timeline %indow' your animation is set9 "tart21 and End2@A59 therefore when
you play the animation in the .( %indow , +lt / + - you only play the first @A5
frames. Change the End value to e:ual the number of !eyframes shown in the
Timeline to see the full animation of the game movement.
Timeline %indow
CH23- Video Sequence Editing
01-Making a Movie
02-The Video Editing Screen
Return to Contents
Video Sequence Editor
Making a Movie
Movies are made by piecing together video clips. A video clip is the short segment of
video you produce when you render an animation. It follows that you can only make
a movie when you have video clips saved on your computer. How to render
animation to video has been covered in a previous section and we will assume that
you have some clips saved. Make a note of where you have saved your clips and
make suer you are conversant with the File Browser Window.
he first step in the movie making process is to set the video output format you want
your movie to be in and to set the file path to the folder where you want to save the
movie file.
!tart Blender and in the "efault !creen Arrangement go to the #roperties Window$
%ender button. In the &utput tab set your file path by clicking on the Browse Folder
button.
In the File Browser navigate to your folder.
'e(t set you Movie )ideo file type. he default
output setting is *#'+*. ,hange *#'+* to *A)I ,odec*.
A)I ,odec will give you a file you can
burn to ")" and play in a video player.
Having set the above options open the )ideo -diting !creen.
Browse Folder Button
File #ath
,lick to select File
&utput Format
&utput
In the Information Window
header click here to display
the !creen options
!elect. )ideo -diting
The Video Editing Screen
In the )ideo !e/uence -ditor click on *Add* in the header and select *Movie*
he File Browser window displays. 'avigate to the folder containing your video
clips. &n my computer my clips are in *,.0!ubAnim0*. 1ou can see that I have five
clips which form a movie when spliced together.
+raph -ditor Window #review Window
)ideo !e/uence -ditor Window
imeline Window
File !elected )ideo ,lips
,lick on your first clip to highlight 2,lip shown in orange3 then click on *Add Movie
!trip* in the upper %H corner of the File Browser.
he video clip is is entered into the )ideo !e/uence -ditor as a blue strip with a
white border. he white border indicates that it is selected.
If you press the - 4ey you can drag the clip % or 5 along the screen. he vertical
green line is a cursor and as shown is located at position 6768 which is the beginning
of the timeline. "rag the clip until the start of the clip is at position 6.66.
After positioning the clip at the start of the timeline move the green cursor to the
right. At position 6.66 you will see thin vertical black line. his is the marker for
position 6.66. "ragging the green cursor allows you to scrub through your video clip
which you will observe in the #review Window. With your normal cursor in the
#review Window pressing Alt 7 A plays the clip.
he graduations across the bottom of the )ideo se/uence editor are seconds 2ime
values3.
)ideo ,lip
ime )alues $ !econds
In the imeline Window at the bottom of the screen change the *-nd* value to 896.
1ou will see a another thin black line move in from the %H! of the window and
locate at position :.66 seconds. his line will represent the end of the render in the
final movie output.
%emember that in the render set up in the #roperties Window the frame rate for the
animation was 9; frames per second. 896 frames played at 9; frames per second
e/uates to : seconds.
#lace the cursor in the )ideo !e/uence -ditor Window and <oom in 2'um #ad #lus 3.
,lick on the time graduation bar and drag to the right to move the -ditor Window to
the left.
,lick on *Add* again and select your second video clip. he second clip is placed on
the same line as the first clip. he lines are called *,hannels*. At the %H! of the
window is an *-dit !trip= tab. ,hange the channel number in the *-dit !trip* from 8 to
9 and you see your second clip move up a line 2,hannel3. Another way to do this is to
% ,lick on the clip and drag it up.
Beginning of ,lip at 6.66
Beginning of Movie 6.66
,lick and "rag
1ou have to line up the end of ,lip 8 with the start of ,lip 9. % ,lick on !trip 9 and
drag it. 'umeric values showing the end and start frames of the clips display allowing
you to accurately align the ends. For e(ample end of ,lip 8 frame 9:6 and start of
,lip 9 frame 9:9.
1ou can align the clips on the same frame number or a slight gap is tolerated or you
can overlap the clips slightly.
After aligning all your clips 2I*m only using two clips for this demo.3 go to the
imeline Window at the bottom of the screen and change the *-nd* frame so that the
thin vertical black line in the )ideo !e/uence -ditor Window line up with the end of
your last clip. his sets the end frame for the movie file render.
Before you render the movie you can add a sound file. 2M#> or Wave3
!econd ,lip
Before rendering you can play a preview by putting the cursor in the #review
Window and pressing Alt7A.
Its time to render.
In the Information Window header click on *%ender* and select *%ender Animation*.
Wait for the render to complete. he render plays as it proceeds in the editor Window.
After completion find the movie file in the output folder you set and give it a test run
in a media player.
his has been a brief introduction to the )ideo !e/uence -ditor to get you started.
#review #laying
Movie File in &utput Folder
CH24- Appendix
01-Commands
02-References
Return to Contents
Basic Blender Commands
This is just a partial list of Blender commands. Please visit the Blender.org website
for more details.
TAB key Toggles between edit mode (vertex editing) and object select mode.

Ctrl+ Z The global UN! command. "ith each press# one step will be undone
(up to $% steps possible b& default). 'f in edit mode# it will onl& undo
editing steps on the selected object.
Z key Toggles view from wireframe to solid
Alt Z key Toggles a texture(shaded view.
R key Press ) *e& and drag mouse to rotates an object or selected vertices.
S key Press + *e& and drag mouse to scales a selected object or vertices.
G key Press , *e& and drag mouse to move the object or selected vertices.
A key "hile in edit mode selects all vertices for commands li*e remove
doubles and subdivide. - *e& twice will clear selected and reselect.
Alt +A Pla&s animation in selected window. .our cursor must be in that window
for it to pla&.
Ctrl +A -fter an object has been resi/ed and(or rotated# brings up the -ppl&
menu# this can reset the object0s data to 1 and 2.
W key Brings up a 3 +pecials 4 menu while in edit mode of specific edit mode
options
Shift+D uplicates or copies selected objects or selected vertices.
Shift+RMB5ultiple select objects or vertices
Shift+A ispla&s the -dd menu. -dd objects to scene.
Shift+S ispla&s the +nap 5enu eg. +nap object to cursor.
Shift+Space Toggles multiple windows to full screen window.
key "hile in edit mode# selected vertices can be extruded .
! key The 3!4 *e& (not /ero) will put &ou into proportional vertex editing
while in edit mode.
B key ,ives &ou a box (window drag) to select multiple objects 'n edit mode.
C key 6ircle select gives &ou a circle to select multiple vertices# that can be
si/ed b& scrolling the mouse wheel. Press 7sc to cancel.
Alt + A Brings up the tools menu where &ou can add meshes# cameras# lights#
etc.
"#m $ad Number Pad controls &our views.
384 top# 314 front# 3$4 side# 324 camera# 394 perspective# 3.4 :ooms on
selected object# 3; and <3 /oom in and out. The ; = buttons also control
affected vertices si/e in proportional vertex editing.
%MB >eft mouse Button clic* to manipulate using the $ 5anipulator
"idget. 6lic* in the $ "indow to locate the $ 6ursor. 6lic* in the
Tools Panel to activate functions. 6lic* in panels to enter values etc.
RMB )ight 5ouse Button clic* to select.
MMB 5iddle 5ouse "heel Button clic* to manipulate specified options.
+croll wheel to /oom in and out.
+croll to expand=contract selection options.
Shift key ?old down the shift *e& while clic*ing )5B to ma*e multiple
selections.
Arro& keysUsed to advance frames in an animation. >eft and )ight 1 frame
increments. Up and own 12 frame increments.
$ key 'n edit mode# separate selected vertices. 'n !bject mode ,ame 7ngine
enters Pla& mode.
' key 'n !bject mode brings up 5a*e +ingle Users menu.
M key Brings up 5ove to >a&er option.
" key Toggles numeric data displa& for the selected object.
Ctrl+( @oins two selected objects.
) key and Delete key elete.
*#nction A1 < !pens Aile Browser "indow.
A% < +ave Aile.
A$ < +ave rendered image.
A1%=)ender.
+ key 'nsert animation *e&.
Ctrl+T ispla&s 5a*e trac* menu.
Ctrl+S !pens Aile Browser to save file.
Alt+C !pens convert menu. 6onvert 5esh(6urve.
Ctrl+Ta, Barious functions depending on "indow mode t&pe.
The following web sites are recommended as sources of information for Blender 3D.
The Blender Site
http://www.blender.org
Wiki Users anual
http://wiki.blender.org/inde!.php/Doc:anual
Blender "ation
http://www.blendernation.com
Below are a few e!amples of the man# free graphics programs a$ailable on the
internet. %ou ma# find them usefull or &ust interesting.
FastStone Image Viewer ' usefull tool for organising #our image files.
http://www.faststone.org/download.html
Make Human (reates the )uman *igure.
http://sites.google.com/site/makehumandocs/)ome
Pov Ray ' wa# of creating graphics.
http://www.po$ra#.org
Serif Draw Plus +raphics drawing programs.
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com
Lohmuller 'n interesting graphics site.
http://www.f,lohmueller.de/
Ivy Generator +row -$# on e$er#thing.
http://graphics.uni,konstan..de//luft/i$#0generator/
References