Blender 3D: Designing Objects

Table of Contents

Blender 3D: Designing Objects

Blender 3D: Designing Objects

Credits

Preface

What this learning path covers

What you need for this learning path

Who this learning path is for

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Module 1

1. Straight into Blender!

An overview of the 3D workflow

The anatomy of a 3D scene

What can you do with Blender?

Getting used to the navigation in Blender

An introduction to the navigation of the 3D Viewport

What are editors?

The anatomy of an editor

Split, Join, and Detach

Some useful layout presets

Setting up your preferences

An introduction to the Preferences window

Customizing the default navigation style

Improving Blender with add-ons

A brief introduction to the projects

The Robot Toy

The Alien Character

The Haunted House

The Rat Cowboy

Summary

2. Robot Toy – Modeling of an Object

Let's start the modeling of our robot toy

Preparing the workflow by adding an image reference

Adding the head primitive

The Edit Mode versus the Object Mode

Using the basic modeling tools

Modeling the head

Modeling the antenna

An introduction to the Subdivision Surface modifier

Improving the head shape

Modeling the thunderbolts

Modeling the eyes

Modeling the chest

Modeling the neck

Modeling the torso

Modeling the buttons

Modeling the fork

Modeling protections for the fork

Modeling the main wheel

Modeling the arm

Using Blender Internal to render our Robot Toy

Summary

3. Alien Character – Base Mesh Creation and Sculpting

Understanding the sculpting process

An introduction to sculpting

Choosing sculpting over poly modeling

Using a pen tablet

The sculpt mode

Optimizing the viewport

Anatomy of a brush

Dyntopo versus the Multires modifier

First touch with the Multires modifier

First touch with Dyntopo

Creating a base mesh with the Skin modifier

Visual preparation

An introduction to artistic anatomy

Sculpting the body

The head

The torso

The arms

The legs

The belt

Summary

4. Alien Character – Creating a Proper Topology and Transferring the Sculpt Details

Why make a retopology?

Possibilities of arranging polygons

Errors to avoid during the creation of retopology

Density of polygons

Making the retopology of the alien character

Preparing the environment

The head

The neck and the torso

The arms and the hands

The legs

Unwrapping UVs

Understanding UVs

The placement of the seams

The placement and adjustment of the islands

The baking of textures

The baking of a normal map

What is a normal map?

Making of the bake

Displaying the normal map in the viewport

The baking of an ambient occlusion

Understanding the ambient occlusion map

Creation of the bake

Displaying the ambient occlusion in the viewport

Summary

5. Haunted House – Modeling of the Scene

Blocking the house

Working with a scale

Blocking the bases of the house

Refining the blocking

Adding instantiated objects

Reworking the blocking objects

Breaking and ageing the elements

Simulate a stack of wooden planks with physics

Creation of the simulation of a stack of planks

Modeling the environment (8 pages)

Modeling the cliff

Modeling a tree with curves

Enhancing the scene with a barrier, rocks, and a cart

Organizing the scene

Grouping objects

Working with layers

Summary

6. Haunted House – Putting Colors on It

Unwrapping UVs

Using Project From View

Unwrapping the rest of the house

The tree with the Smart UV Project

Unwrapping the rest of the environment

Tiling UVs

What is tiling for?

The UV layers

Adding colors

Basics of the Texture Paint tool

Discovering the brushes

The TexDraw brush

The Smear brush

The Soften brush

The Clone brush

The Fill brush

The Mask brush

The Stroke option

Delimiting the zones of painting according to the geometry

Painting directly on the texture

Painting the scene

Laying down the colors

Tiled textures

The settings of our workspace

Advice for a good tiled texture

Painting the roof-tile texture

Quick tips for other kinds of hand-painted tiled textures

Baking our tiled textures

Why bake?

How to do it?

Creating transparent textures

The grass texture

The grunge texture

Doing a quick render with Blender Internal

Setting lights

Placing the camera

Setting the environment (sky and mist)

Summary

7. Haunted House – Adding Materials and Lights in Cycles

Understanding the basic settings of Cycles

The sampling

Light path settings

Performances

Lighting

Creating a testing material

Understanding the different types of light

Lighting our scene

Painting and using an Image Base Lighting

Creating materials with nodes

Creating the materials of the house, the rocks, and the tree

Adding a mask for the windows

Using procedural textures

Making and applying normal maps in Cycles

Creating realistic grass

Generating the grass with particles

Creating the grass shader

Baking textures in Cycles

Cycles versus Blender Internal

Baking the tree

Compositing a mist pass

Summary

8. Rat Cowboy – Learning To Rig a Character for Animation

An introduction to the rigging process

Rigging the Rat Cowboy

Placing the deforming bones

The leg and the foot

The arm and the hand

The hips

The tail

The head and the eyes

Mirroring the rig

Rigging the gun

Rigging the holster

Adding a root bone

Skinning

The Weight Paint tools

Manually assigning weight to vertices

Correcting the foot deformation

Correcting the belt deformation

Custom shapes

The shape keys

What is a shape key?

Creating basic shapes

Driving a shape key

Summary

9. Rat Cowboy – Animate a Full Sequence

Principles of animation

Squash and Stretch

Anticipation

Staging

Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose

Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Slow In and Slow Out

Arcs

Secondary Action

Timing

Exaggeration

Solid drawing

Appeal

Animation tools in Blender

The timeline

What is a keyframe?

The Dope Sheet

The Graph editor

The Non-Linear Action editor

Preparation of the animation

Writing a short script

Making a storyboard

Finding the final camera placements and the timing through a layout

Animation references

Organization

Animating the scene

The walk cycle

Mixing actions

Animation of a close shot

Animation of the gunshot

Animation of the trap

Render a quick preview of a shot

Summary

10. Rat Cowboy – Rendering, Compositing, and Editing

Creating advanced materials in Cycles

Skin material with Subsurface Scattering

Eye material

The fur of the rat

The Raw rendering phase

Enhance a picture with compositing

Introduction to nodal compositing

Depth Pass

Adding effects

Compositing rendering phase

Editing the sequence with the VSE

Introduction to the Video Sequence Editor

Edit and render the final sequence

Summary

2. Module 2

1. Modeling the Character's Base Mesh

Introduction

Setting templates with the Images as Planes add-on

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Setting templates with the Image Empties method

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Setting templates with the Background Images tool

Getting ready

How to do it…

Building the character's base mesh with the Skin modifier

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

2. Sculpting the Character's Base Mesh

Introduction

Using the Skin modifier's Armature option

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Editing the mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Preparing the base mesh for sculpting

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Using the Multiresolution modifier and the Dynamic topology feature

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Sculpting the character's base mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

3. Polygonal Modeling of the Character's Accessories

Introduction

Preparing the scene for polygonal modeling

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Modeling the eye

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Modeling the armor plates

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using the Mesh to Curve technique to add details

How to do it…

How it works…

4. Re-topology of the High Resolution Sculpted Character's Mesh

Introduction

Using the Grease Pencil tool to plan the edge-loops flow

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

See also

Using the Snap tool to re-topologize the mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Using the Shrinkwrap modifier to re-topologize the mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

Using the LoopTools add-on to re-topologize the mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

Concluding the re-topologized mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

How it works…

5. Unwrapping the Low Resolution Mesh

Introduction

Preparing the low resolution mesh for unwrapping

Getting ready

How to do it…

UV unwrapping the mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

Editing the UV islands

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Using the Smart UV Project tool

Getting ready

How to do it…

Modifying the mesh and the UV islands

Getting ready

How to do it…

Setting up additional UV layers

Getting ready

How to do it…

Exporting the UV Map layout

Getting ready

How to do it…

6. Rigging the Low Resolution Mesh

Introduction

Building the character's Armature from scratch

Getting ready

How to do it…

Building the rig for the secondary parts

Completing the rig

How it works…

Perfecting the Armature to also function as a rig for the Armor

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Building the character's Armature through the Human Meta-Rig

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Building the animation controls and the Inverse Kinematic

Getting ready

How to do it…

See also

Generating the character's Armature by using the Rigify add-on

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

7. Skinning the Low Resolution Mesh

Introduction

Parenting the Armature and Mesh using the Automatic Weights tool

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Assigning Weight Groups by hand

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Editing Weight Groups using the Weight Paint tool

Getting ready

How to do it…

See also

Using the Mesh Deform modifier to skin the character

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using the Laplacian Deform modifier and Hooks

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

8. Finalizing the Model

Introduction

Creating shape keys

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Assigning drivers to the shape keys

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Setting movement limit constraints

Getting ready

How to do it…

See also

Transferring the eyeball rotation to the eyelids

Getting ready

How to do it…

Detailing the Armor by using the Curve from Mesh tool

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

See also

9. Animating the Character

Introduction

Linking the character and making a proxy

Getting ready

How to do it…

See also

Creating a simple walk cycle for the character by assigning keys to the bones

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Tweaking the actions in Graph Editor

Getting ready

How to do it…

See also

Using the Non Linear Action Editor to mix different actions

Getting ready

How to do it…

See also

10. Creating the Textures

Introduction

Making a tileable scales image in Blender Internal

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Preparing the model to use the UDIM UV tiles

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Baking the tileable scales texture into the UV tiles

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Painting to fix the seams and to modify the baked scales image maps

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Painting the color maps in Blender Internal

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Painting the color maps in Cycles

Getting ready

How to do it…

11. Refining the Textures

Introduction

Sculpting more details on the high resolution mesh

Getting ready

How to do it…

Baking the normals of the sculpted mesh on the low resolution one

Getting ready

How to do it…