This book will have you diving into the great features of Blender in no time. Written for absolute beginners, it takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a fully animated 3D scene. Once completed, you'll never look back.
Key Features
- Explore Blender's unique user interface and unlock Blender's powerful suite of modeling and animation tools
- Learn how to use Blender, and also the principles that make animation, lighting, and camera work come alive
- Start with the basics and build your skills through a coordinated series of projects to create a complex world
Book Description
This book teaches you how to model a nautical scene, complete with boats and water, and then add materials, lighting, and animation. It demystifies the Blender interface and explains what each tool does so that you will be left with a thorough understanding of 3D. This book starts with an introduction to Blender and some background on the principles of animation, how they are applied to computer animation, and how these principles make animation better. Furthermore, the book helps you advance through various aspects of animation design such as modeling, lighting, camera work, and animation through the Blender interface with the help of several simple projects. Each project will help you practice what you have learned and do more advanced work in all areas.
What you will learn
- Use the Blender user interface for building and animating projects
- Build objects using Box Modeling, Subdivision Surfaces, and NURBS Curves
- Create landscapes and trees with Blender's powerful procedural modeling plugins
- Use movie lighting theory to make your images pop
- Manipulate cameras for dramatic effect
- Make entertaining animations with keyframes and motion curves
- Connect graphics nodes to create stereo 3D animation from two separate image streams
Gordon Fisher Gordon Fisher got his start in computer graphics, working with industry pioneers at Information International, Inc. Since then, he has made 3D animation for clients including the U.S. Army, Ford Motor Co., the Dallas Cowboys, the Southeastern Conference, Costco, and Southwest Airlines. He has been using Blender professionally since 2002, and has given classes on using Blender and using Python with Blender at Python conferences in Texas and Arkansas. His short film, Land and Sky, made with Blender, was shown at the Ozark Foothills Film Fest. His work has been displayed at the National Air and Space Museum. He is the Creative Director for Point Happy Interactive and spends his spare time as a bicycling advocate and space activist. He has written articles about 3D modeling and animation for the American Modeler magazine and Digital Video Producer e-zine.
