Learning Blender : a hands-on guide to creating 3D animated characters

Master the Newest Blender Techniques for Creating Amazing 3D Characters: From Design and Modeling to Video Compositing Now fully updated for Blender 2.83 LTS (Long-Term Support) and beyond, Learning Blender, Third Edition , walks you through every step of creating an outstanding 3D animated character with Blender, and then compositing it in a real video using a professional workflow. This edition covers the extensive interface changes of the software, as well as many improvements and some almost fully rewritten chapters to showcase more modern workflows. Still the only Blender tutorial to take you from preproduction to final result, this guide is perfect for both novices and those moving from other software to Blender (open source and free software). Author Oliver Villar provides full-color, hands-on chapters that cover every aspect of character creation: design, modeling, unwrapping, texturing, shading, rigging, animation, and rendering. He also walks you through integrating your animated character into a real-world video, using professional camera tracking, lighting, and compositing techniques. The rich companion website ( (http://blendtuts.com/learning-blender-files) blendtuts.com/learning-blender-files ) will help you quickly master even the most complex techniques with bonus contents like video tutorials. By the time you're done, you'll be ready to create outstanding characters for all media -- and you'll have up-to-date skills for any 3D project, whether it involves characters or not. Learn Blender's updated user interface and navigation Create your first scene with Blender and the Blender Render and Cycles render engines Organize an efficient, step-by-step pipeline to streamline workflow in any project Master modeling, unwrapping, and texturing Bring your character to life with materials and shading in both Cycles and EEVEE (the new real-time render engine included in Blender) Create your character's skeleton and make it walk Use Camera Tracking to mix 3D objects into a real-world video Transform a raw rendered scene into the final result using Blender's compositing nodes Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents at a Glance Contents Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Part I: The Basics of Blender 1 What You Need to Know About Blender What Is Blender? Commercial Software Versus Open-Source Software Commercial Software Open-Source Software But Can I Sell the Works I Create with Blender? History of Blender Blender Foundation and Blender Development Who Pays for Blender’s Development? The Blender Community Summary Exercises 2 Blender Basics: The User Interface Downloading and Installing Blender Using Blender with Recommended Hardware Using Blender’s User Interface Splash Screen Top Bar and Status Bar Default Editors Understanding Areas and Editors Resizing Areas Splitting and Joining Areas Swapping and Duplicating Areas Understanding the Types of Editors Using Workspaces Getting to Know Blender’s Interface Elements Getting to Know Menus and Popovers Getting to Know Panels Getting to Know Pie Menus Understanding the 3D Viewport Understanding Regions Understanding the 3D Viewport’s Header Navigating the 3D Scene Navigating the 3D Scene by Using the Mouse, Keyboard, and NumPad Navigating from the View Menu Navigating with the 3D Viewport’s Navigation Gizmos Selecting Objects Selecting All and Deselecting All Using Active Tools to Perform Selections Understanding the 3D Cursor Placing the 3D Cursor Understanding Blender’s User Preferences Saving User Preferences Resetting User Preferences Creating Your Own Startup File Summary Exercises 3 Your First Scene in Blender Creating Objects Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Using Active Tools Using Manipulators Using Keyboard Shortcuts (Advanced) Using Menus Arranging Objects in Your Scene Naming Objects and Using Datablocks Renaming Objects Managing Datablocks Naming Your Scene’s Objects Using Interaction Modes Applying Flat or Smooth Surfaces Working with Modifiers Adding Modifiers Adding a Subdivision Surface Modifier to Your Object Using Workbench, EEVEE, and Cycles Understanding Viewport Shading Switching Viewport Shading Modes Managing Materials Adding and Adjusting Materials Turning On the Lights Light Options Adding Lights to Your Scene Moving the Camera in Your Scene Rendering Saving and Loading Your .blend File Launching and Saving the Render Summary Exercises Part II: Beginning a Project 4 Project Overview Three Stages of a Project Preproduction Production Postproduction Defining the Stages A Film Without Visual Effects A Visual-Effects Film An Animated Film A Photograph Making a Character-Creation Plan Character Preproduction Character Production Project Postproduction Summary Exercises 5 Character Design Character Description Personality Context Style Appearance Designing the Character Silhouettes Base Design Head Details Refined Design Adding Color Finalizing the Design Making Character Reference Images Using Other Design Methods Summary Exercises Part III: Modeling in Blender 6 Blender Modeling Tools Working with Vertices, Edges, and Faces Selecting Vertices, Edges, and Faces Accessing Modeling Tools Making Selections Shortest Path Proportional Editing Linked Selection Loops and Rings Border Selection Grow and Shrink Selection Select Similar Linked Flat Faces Select Boundary Loop and Loop Inner-Region Checker Deselect Other Selection Methods Using Mesh Modeling Tools Bevel Bisect Boolean Operations Bridge Edge Loops Connect Delete and Dissolve Duplicate Extrude Fill and Grid Fill Inset Join Knife Knife Project Loop Cut and Slide Make Edge/Face Merge Offset Edge Loop Poke Rip and Rip Fill Separate Shrink/Fatten Slide Smooth Vertex Solidify Spin Split Subdivide Using Modeling Add-Ons Working with LoopTools Working with F2 Using Other Useful Blender Options and Tools Auto Merge Global and Local View Hide and Reveal Snapping X-Ray Summary Exercises 7 Character Modeling What Is Mesh Topology? Choosing Modeling Methods Box Modeling Poly to Poly Sculpt and Retopology Modifiers The Best Method Setting up the Reference Images Modeling the Eyes Creating an Eyeball Using Lattices to Deform the Eyeballs Mirroring and Adjusting the Eyes Modeling the Face Studying the Face’s Topology Blocking the Face’s Basic Shape Defining the Face’s Shapes Modeling the Torso and Arms Modeling the Basic Shapes for the Torso and Arms Defining the Arms and Torso Detailing the Backpack and Jacket Finishing the Belt and Adding a Neck to the Jacket Modeling the Legs Modeling the Boots Modeling the Hands Building the Basic Hand Shape Adding the Fingers and Wrist Modeling the Cap Creating the Base of the Cap Adding Details to the Cap Modeling the Hair Shaping Locks of Hair Adding Natural Details to the Hair Modeling the Final Details Eyebrows Communicator Badges Teeth and Tongue Other Clothing Details Summary Exercises Part IV: Unwrapping, Painting, and Shading 8 Unwrapping and UVs in Blender Seeing How Unwrapping and UVs Work Unwrapping in Blender Using the UV Editor Navigating the UV Editor Accessing the Unwrapping Menus Working with UV Mapping Tools Defining Seams Considering Before Unwrapping Working with UVs in Blender Marking the Seams Creating and Displaying a UV Test Grid Unwrapping Jim’s Face Using Live Unwrap Adjusting UVs Separating and Connecting UVs Reviewing the Finished Face’s UVs Unwrapping the Rest of the Character Packing UVs Summary Exercises 9 Painting Textures Defining the Main Workflow Texture Painting in Blender Texture Paint Workspace Texture Paint Interaction Mode Before You Start Painting Conditions for Painting Texture Slots Limitations of Blender’s Texture Paint Mode Creating the Base Texture Placing Texture Elements Saving Your Image Packing Your Images Understanding the Elements of a Texture Introduction to PBR Materials Understanding Material Channels Texturing in Other Software Pros and Cons of Texturing in Blender and Other Software Texturing in 2D Image-Editing Software 3D Texturing Software Seeing the Painted Character in Blender Summary Exercises 10 Materials and Shaders Understanding Materials Applying Materials How Materials Work PBR Materials Shaders and Mix Shaders Masks and Layers Channels Procedural Textures Differences and Compatibility Between EEVEE and Cycles Nodes Shading Your Character Adding Several Materials to a Single Object Understanding the Material Properties Tab Using Shaders Mixing and Adding Shaders Loading Textures Shading Jim Shading the Eyeballs in EEVEE Shading the Eyeballs in Cycles Running Render Tests Adding Lights and Environment Rendering in EEVEE Rendering in Cycles Summary Exercises Part V: Bringing Your Character to Life 11 Character Rigging Understanding the Rigging Process What’s a Rig? Rigging Process Working with Armatures Manipulating Bones Working in Object, Edit, and Pose Modes Bone Hierarchies Adding Constraints Forward and Inverse Kinematics Practice with Bones and IK Constraints Rigging Your Character A Few Tips Before You Start Rigging Using Rigify to Generate Jim’s Rig Organizing Bones Bone Groups Armature Layers Understanding the Rigify Rig Performing Adjustments to the Rigify Rig Skinning Understanding Vertex Weights Vertex Groups Setting Up the Model for Skinning Enabling Deforming Bones Only Knowing What Objects Don’t Need Weights Adding an Armature Modifier Defining Weights Creating the Facial Rig Rigging the Eyes Mirroring the Eye Rig Naming Bones Automatically Mirroring Bones Possible Side Effects of Mirroring Bones Rigging the Jaw Skinning the Eyes and the Jaw Chest Badge Deformation Modeling Shape Keys Mirroring Shapes Creating the Face Controls Using Drivers to Control the Face Shapes Organizing the Facial Rig Creating Custom Shapes Making Final Retouches Reusing Your Character in Different Scenes Library Linking Linking Appending Working with Collections Protecting Layers Using Proxies to Animate a Linked Character Summary Exercises 12 Animating Your Character Using the Character’s Rig Posing the Character Inserting Keyframes Adding Keyframes Manually Adding Keyframes Automatically Adding Keyframes Using Keying Sets Adding Keyframes to Properties in Menus Working with Animation Editors Timeline Dope Sheet Graph Editor Non-Linear Animation Common Controls and Tips Animating a Walk Cycle Creating an Action Creating the Poses for the Walk Cycle Repeating the Animation Walking Along a Path Summary Exercises Part VI: Getting the Final Result 13 Camera Tracking in Blender Understanding Camera Tracking Shooting Video for Easy Tracking Using the Movie Clip Editor Tracking the Camera Motion Loading Your Footage Studying the Anatomy of a Marker Tracking Features in the Footage Configuring Camera Settings Solving Camera Motion Applying Tracked Motion to the Camera Adjusting Camera Motion Testing Camera Tracking Summary Exercises 14 Lighting, Compositing, and Rendering Lighting Your Scene Analyzing the Real Footage Creating and Testing Lights Showing/Hiding Objects in Render Testing EEVEE and Cycles Using the Node Editor Compositing Understanding Nodes Studying the Anatomy of a Node Using the Node Editor Getting Started with Nodes Previewing the Result Rendering and Compositing Your Scene in Cycles Creating a Shadow Catcher Rendering in Cycles Node Compositing in Cycles Rendering and Compositing Your Scene with EEVEE Creating a Shadow Catcher in EEVEE Rendering in EEVEE Compositing in EEVEE Exporting the Final Render Setting the Animation Output Launching the Final Render Summary Exercises Part VII: Keep Learning 15 Other Blender Features Simulations Particles Hair Simulation Cloth Simulation Rigid and Soft Bodies Fluids Simulation 2D Animation Grease Pencil Cartoon Shaders with EEVEE Freestyle VFX: Masking, Object Tracking, and Video Stabilization Video Editing Sculpting Retopology Maps Baking Add-Ons Included Add-Ons More Add-Ons Python Scripting Summary Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Blender has quite a remarkable story, as open-source software (OSS) works in a very different way from typical commercial software. It is helpful to know this if you intend to use Blender professionally, as it may give you insight into how powerful its concept is. In this chapter, you’ll learn about how Blender was created, how the development process works, how it is funded, and what type of community surrounds the Blender world.What Is Blender?Blender is OSS that provides one of the most complete 3D-graphics creation suites. It includes tools for modeling, texturing, shading, rigging, animation, compositing, rendering, video editing, 2D animation, and more. Since the development of version 2.50, which marked a big milestone, Blender’s user base has grown signifi-cantly, and more professionals have started using it. It has reached animation studios and has been used for some purposes in top movie productions such as Life of Pi, Spider-Man 2, and Red Riding Hood; it was used to animate and compose a creature in Warcraft; and in 2018, it was used to create an entire animation film for Netflix (Next Gen, by Tangent Animation). More recently, Blender version 2.80 has brought a lot of professional attention to the software because of things like the new 2D animation tools (Grease Pencil), the real-time render engine (EEVEE), and a complete redesign of the user interface. As With The Previous Two Editions, Learning Blender, 3/e Will Cover The Creation Of A Full Project - An Animated Character Composed In A Real Live Video. The Approach Will Be The Following: Part 1: Introduction To Blender. Learning The Basics, The Interface, Controls, Interacting With And Editing Objects, Take A Look To The Main Areas Of The Software. Basically Understand How It Works With Simple Exercises, So In Next Chapters There Is No Need To Go Back To The Basics Again (that Won't Interrupt Advanced Users Who Come From Other Software And Don't Need To Be Reminded About The Basics). Part 2: This Is The Central Part Of The Book, And It Will Go Through The Whole Project. Each Chapter Will Have Two Parts: A) Introduction: Easy Exercise To Show What's Needed For Completing The Chapter And Why It Is Done That Way Or The Technology Behind It. B) Exercise: The Complete Part Of The Project That Will Be Done In This Chapter. This Way, People New To 3d Will Be Able To Understand What's Going On And Why They Need To Do What They'll Do, While Experienced People Can Jump To The Exercise Itself, As They Already Probably Know The Basics From Other Software.