Product Description

So you’ve heard about Blender, the free 3D animation software. You really want to know more about the features of Blender, where to get it, and how to use it. You’re in luck! It’s all in Blender For Dummies, including Blender software on the bonus DVD.

Because there’s a lot to learn about Blender, you’ll be glad this book takes it step by step. First, you’ll learn to install Blender 2.48 and think the Blender way. Then you’ll start creating 3D objects and setting them in motion with animations and rigging. Soon you’ll be texturing with Blender, rendering with Blender, and sharing your creations. You’ll learn how to:

• Create almost anything with meshes, save time with the Mirror modifier, and use Blender’s secret weapon, Dupliverts
• Understand texture mapping, know when to use which type of lamp, and use radiosity in animation
• Work with curves and surfaces, and add color, shades, texture, and reflections
• Rig your characters for animation with shape keys, hooks, and armatures, and understand kinematics
• Navigate in three dimensions
• Make your animations more believable, and let Blender do the animating for you
• Use the video sequence editor
• Export, render, composite, and edit for output

You’ll even get tips on common problems new Blender users face and how to avoid them. Blender For Dummies will have you creating eye–popping 3D animations before you know it!

Note: CD–ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30844 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 504 pages

Review
"The accompanying CD contains supporting scene files, a list of 10 useful websites...A comprehensive reference guide..." (3D World, May 2009)

From the Back Cover
Create 3D models and realistic scenes, and get animated with Blender!

Blender can do all the cool 3D things, but trying to figure it out on your own can make you feel as if you′re in a blender. Relax! This book takes Blender step by step. First, you learn to think the Blender way. Then you start modeling, adding materials, lighting, rigging, and animating. Soon you′ll be sharing your creations with the world!

• Become a Blenderhead — find out how Blender "thinks" and learn your way around the program

• Develop detailed 3D scenes — create almost anything with meshes, save time with modifiers, and make the best use of Blender′s other object types

• Lights and texture — understand texture mapping, use different lamp types, and take advantage of ambient occlusion

• Give it life — rig your characters for animation with shape keys, hooks, and armatures, and understand inverse kinematics

• Get it out there — understand exporting, rendering, compositing, and editing for output

Open the book and find:

• Why Blender is perfect for small shops and independent artists

• How to navigate in three dimensions

• Ways to make animations more believable

• How to color vertices and provide texture

• Tips on making Blender do the animating for you

• What particle systems do

• Ten common problems new users face

• How to work with the video sequence editor

Bonus CD Includes
Blender 2.48a complete version! Save download time and install the version you′ll use for this book.

See the CD appendix for details and complete system requirements.

About the Author
Jason van Gumster has produced a variety of animations and visualeffects for television and film as producer/animator for Hand TurkeyStudios. A Blender user since 1998, he′s given numerous Blender workshops and blogs for Blender Nation, the primary news Web site for Blender users.

Customer Reviews

Just what I was looking for!
This book is great if you're just starting with Blender or even if you have some experience. The book doesn't have tutorials as such but instead delivers all the information to you for you to digest and practise. This suited the way I learn as just doing tutorials and following instructions without knowing the why about it doesn't really get you anywhere. If you need tutorials there are plenty on the net but this book is invaluable at explaining things. All the questions that I had after searching information and tutorials on the net were answered by this book. Best money I've ever spent. No more is Blender a mystery to me. Well done Jason van Gumster.

A great Blender book to help fill in the gaps.
I've been teaching 3D animation for about six years now and had used packages such as 3D Studio Max and Carrara Studio, among others. However, about 18 months ago one of my students was reluctant to use Carrara and instead used Blender 3D running from a USB pen on a PC. As I watched him I began to realise how powerful Blender 3D was. Initially I have been reluctant to spend much time learning the package but was inspired by what the student was doing. From then on I began to invest a lot of time to learn Blender and bought quite a few books.

Blender for Dummies is a lot clearer than most and, though not full of tutorials, filled in the gaps that the other books seem to have. It's very useful for beginners and for those more experienced in giving the fundamentals. I use it quite a bit for getting into the theory behind the processes Blender uses. In more recent months I have found my skill level increasing and I have become more confident in developing my own tutorials.

Blender for Dummies has helped me to explore the compositing features in Blender and to discover lathing, lofting and metaball modeling. I would recommend this book as a good reference to filling in the gaps found in many of the other books on Blender 3D.

A solid introduction to Blender 2.48a
I've tinkered with Blender on and off for about two years, but was put off by the interface amongst other things but I did love the program. This book is highly recommended as it explains the interface and how to think in Blenderese! Blender is far more powerful than i suspected and is easily a match for expensive commercial software. Buy this book as a solid intro to Blender and how it works. a word of warning though, it does only cover the basics and many topics are only skimmed over so further research will be required. but with such an amazing community out there that isn't a problem! Go buy!