If this is your first time working with 3D software, you'll find the explanations in this section very helpful. However, if you are already familiar with 3D terminology and the composition of a 3D scene, then you may want to skip ahead to the next section of this chapter.

Some of the vocabulary terms you're about to learn might sound overwhelming at first, but don't worry – you don't have to be good at math just because we use words such as "geometry" to describe our 3D models. Luckily for us, the software does all of the complex math for us, and we get to sit back and create art without having to worry about it – hooray!

All 3D...

You can download the latest version of Blender at http://blender.org/download. At the time of writing, the latest version is Blender 2.83. Blender is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is a very similar experience on all three operating systems.

Before we learn about the current version of the user interface, it's useful to know a little bit about Blender's history. There is over a decade's worth of tutorials and resources available online. The software may look a bit different in those old resources, but if you can get past the old interface, the information is just as...

The first thing you'll need to learn in any 3D software is how to navigate the 3D Viewport.

In Blender, the X-Axis is used for width, the Y-Axis is used for depth, and the Z-Axis is used for height. All 3D applications use the same colors for these axes; red for X, green for Y, and blue for Z.

The 3D Viewport is where you will be spending the majority of your time in any 3D software, and Blender is no exception. We will need a three-button mouse to be able to navigate the 3D Viewport properly (pressing the scroll wheel down acts as a middle mouse button). The Middle Mouse Button (MMB) is used for three fundamental navigation controls:

• Rotate (sometimes...

This book offers a wide variety of projects, so there's something for everyone: you'll start by adding horns to a Viking helmet. Then, you'll kick it up a notch by building a time machine. After that, you'll try your hand at architecture by modeling and rendering a modern kitchen in the EEVEE physically-based rendering (PBR) engine. Next, you'll explore 2D character design techniques with Blender's brand-new Grease Pencil tool. You'll practice 2D animation by creating a free-form surreal transformation animation, learn advanced Grease Pencil animation techniques by creating a fun 2D animated short, and finally jump back into the world of fantasy by creating a baby dragon. It is recommended that you go through these chapters in order, but you can try skipping ahead to some of the later projects...

In this chapter, you learned how 3D software works and in particular, Blender. You learned the basics of the three-axis coordinate system, as well as how transforms are used to place objects in a 3D scene. You also got a glimpse of Blender's UI and looked at the list of projects that will be covered in this book.

These concepts will be the foundation of your 3D knowledge. There are so many possibilities that there's something for everyone! You can model, create materials, paint textures, sculpt, render, and much more! To learn more about Blender's features, have a look at the features page on the Blender website at: blender.org/features.

Now, you're ready for your first 3D project! In the next chapter, you'll be provided with a small scene full of Viking themed objects. You'll get to position objects in the scene and make some edits and additions...