Use Blender

You most likely have wondered at some point in the last few weeks (probably when you saw a very cool special effects sequence on TV or in a movie): "I wish I could do that." Well, with a bit of learning and a lot of practice you can do it. 3D animation packages normally cost hundreds of dollars for student versions, and up to several thousand for the more expensive ones. Blender 3D is a completely free 3D animation and modeling package. You can creating meshes, shaping and modeling it to what you want, and create an animation sequence or create a 3D game of your own (and a lot more). Blender is a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

Steps

1. Download the latest distribution of Blender 3D from the Blender site. You need to install the Python programming language compiler before installing Blender, which is built upon Python.
2. Open up Blender, take a quick look around, and get familiar with its interface.
3. Go to this link and begin the first few tutorials, working along with them on Blender.
4. Continue learning as much as you can from the Noob to Pro wikibook and continue on to more advanced tutorials from around the net (use Google or ask at the Blender Artists Community). Here are some tutorials:
   • Blender Guru
   • Blender 3D: Noob to Pro on Wikibooks
   • Blender Home Page
   • Blender Wiki
   • More tutorials on Blender 3D: Noob to Pro
   • Blender Cookie
5. Check out the links below for more info.
6. Once you have a handle on the interface, get creative! You can create almost anything you can imagine with Blender, and the more you practice, the better you'll get.

Tips

• Have fun!
• The ground rule for using any 3D software is that you should keep one hand on the keyboard and one hand on the mouse.
• Learn the shortcut keys to work faster — it takes time but it's worth it.
• Try experimenting with all the buttons and controls.

Warnings

• Don't get discouraged if you don't see yourself making progress as quickly as you would like. Blender takes some time getting used to. With its steep learning curve, you will need to read lots of tutorials (and work through them — there's no substitute for practise).
• Don't steal other people's work. Most stuff done with Blender is open for anyone to use, but make sure you check before you use any model someone else made. Never claim you made something that you didn't.
• Blender's user interface might look like a space ship's control panel at first. You don't need to use all of the features to get started. You can learn them later.
• Save often as sometimes Blender crashes unexpectedly.
  • And when it does crash, be sure to report it to the Blender team — they'll look into it and (hopefully) fix it for everyone.

Things You'll Need

• A fairly good computer
• Blender software
• An Internet connection

Related Articles

• Use Terragen 0.9.43 (Beginners)
• Have Fun Drawing Using PD Particles
• Use Blender Physics

Sources and Citations

• http://www.blenderartists.org
• http://www.blender.org
• http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro
• http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/BSoD/Introduction_to_the_Game_Engine

See also

• Turn a 2D Image Into 3D Using Blender
• Choose the Best Render Settings on Blender
• Make a Wine Glass in Blender
• Use Blender Physics

What links here

• Make a Fake ID
• Choose the Best Render Settings on Blender
• Turn a 2D Image Into 3D Using Blender
• Use Blender Physics