Master the Newest Blender Techniques for Creating Amazing 3D Characters: From Design and Modeling to Video Compositing
Now fully updated for Blender 2.78b and beyond, Learning Blender, Second 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 powerful new selection and modeling tools, as well as high-efficiency improvements related to other parts of the project such as texture painting, shading, rigging, rendering, and compositing.
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 (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, navigation, and selection techniques
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
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
Review
“Oliver Villar’s book will give you a solid foundation in Blender and computer graphics in general. Filled with well-crafted examples and lessons, this book will give you the tools you need to succeed as an artist.”
―David Andrade, Producer, Theory Studios
“The days are now over when beginners found learning Blender 3D difficult. Oliver Villar introduces to beginners the best of Blender’s 3D features and 3D fundamentals in fun and exciting ways. His approach of completing a character from scratch, touching every aspect of 3D from Blender’s point of view, is truly filled with explanations of techniques and important tools that will help readers to bring their ideas to life creatively while following professional workflows in 3D.
“Starting with the fundamentals of 3D, this is a great resource for every beginner artist who is looking to learn Blender 3D. It’s truly a book written with great dedication!”
―Waqas Abdul Majeed, CG Generalist, www.waqasmajeed.com
“I found Oliver Villar’s book Learning Blender to be an essential tool in getting users not only acquainted with Blender but also in preparing them by explaining the history and the magic that has made Blender what it is now. His book also prepares users to be productive and informed by explaining the community and its various portals. His book is complete in explaining all the aspects of the UI and acquainting users with the classic G, S, and R. The exercises are perfect for getting users on the level to begin making their own worlds. I was even pleased to see him discussing F2, ripping with V, and even knife project, which are classics I usually consider to be more advanced. This book is a no-holds-barred approach to getting the most out of this capable little program. I must also add that the character created is attractive and well created and is a fine example of using the program for character modelling. Oliver is truly a skilled artist and that shines through in his use of this program. “
―Jerry Perkins, 3D Conceptor, Fenix Fire
About the Author
Oliver Villar, born in Galicia (Spain) in 1987, has been drawing since he was a kid. His interest in art brought him into 3D, which he’s been studying since 2004. He used different commercial 3D software before stumbling onto Blender in 2008. Since then, he uses Blender professionally as a freelance 3D designer and tutor. In 2010 he funded blendtuts.com, a website in which he’s devoted to offer quality Blender training videos to the community. Currently, he’s working as the co-director of Luke’s Escape, a 3D animated short film made with Blender.
Master the Newest Blender Techniques for Creating Amazing 3D Characters: From Design and Modeling to Video Compositing
Now fully updated for Blender 2.78b and beyond, Learning Blender, Second 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 powerful new selection and modeling tools, as well as high-efficiency improvements related to other parts of the project such as texture painting, shading, rigging, rendering, and compositing.
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 (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.
Review
“Oliver Villar’s book will give you a solid foundation in Blender and computer graphics in general. Filled with well-crafted examples and lessons, this book will give you the tools you need to succeed as an artist.”
―David Andrade, Producer, Theory Studios
“The days are now over when beginners found learning Blender 3D difficult. Oliver Villar introduces to beginners the best of Blender’s 3D features and 3D fundamentals in fun and exciting ways. His approach of completing a character from scratch, touching every aspect of 3D from Blender’s point of view, is truly filled with explanations of techniques and important tools that will help readers to bring their ideas to life creatively while following professional workflows in 3D.
“Starting with the fundamentals of 3D, this is a great resource for every beginner artist who is looking to learn Blender 3D. It’s truly a book written with great dedication!”
―Waqas Abdul Majeed, CG Generalist, www.waqasmajeed.com
“I found Oliver Villar’s book Learning Blender to be an essential tool in getting users not only acquainted with Blender but also in preparing them by explaining the history and the magic that has made Blender what it is now. His book also prepares users to be productive and informed by explaining the community and its various portals. His book is complete in explaining all the aspects of the UI and acquainting users with the classic G, S, and R. The exercises are perfect for getting users on the level to begin making their own worlds. I was even pleased to see him discussing F2, ripping with V, and even knife project, which are classics I usually consider to be more advanced. This book is a no-holds-barred approach to getting the most out of this capable little program. I must also add that the character created is attractive and well created and is a fine example of using the program for character modelling. Oliver is truly a skilled artist and that shines through in his use of this program. “
―Jerry Perkins, 3D Conceptor, Fenix Fire
About the Author
Oliver Villar, born in Galicia (Spain) in 1987, has been drawing since he was a kid. His interest in art brought him into 3D, which he’s been studying since 2004. He used different commercial 3D software before stumbling onto Blender in 2008. Since then, he uses Blender professionally as a freelance 3D designer and tutor. In 2010 he funded blendtuts.com, a website in which he’s devoted to offer quality Blender training videos to the community. Currently, he’s working as the co-director of Luke’s Escape, a 3D animated short film made with Blender.