Blender Foundations: The Essential Guide to Learning Blender 2.6

Blender Foundations is the definitive resource for getting started with 3D art in Blender, one of the most popular 3D/Animation tools on the market . With the expert insight and experience of Roland Hess, noted Blender expert and author, animators and artists will learn the basics starting with the revised 2.6 interface, modeling tools, sculpting, lighting and materials through rendering, compositing and video editing. Some of the new features covered include the completely re-thought interface, the character animation and keying system, and the smoke simulator.

More than just a tutorial guide, "Blender Foundations" covers the philosophy behind this ingenious software that so many 3D artists are turning to today. Start working today with Blender with the accompanying web site which includes all of the projects and support files alongside videos, step-by-step screenshots of the trickier tutorials, as well as a direct links to official resources like the Blender download site and artist forums.

• Thank you for your interest in Blender Foundations. Focal Press is proud to publish titles that serve the Blender community. Blender Foundations covers the current version of Blender 2.5 and the forthcoming 2.6. Although this book is not affiliated with The Blender Foundation, we recommend that you visit www.blender.org to learn more about the latest on Blender.

• A practical, project oriented title on creating high quality 3D art for FREE. Blender is free, Open Source software, which makes it ideal for new users wanting to try 3D with little investment, animation studios looking to increase their capabilities and educational institutions with limited resources in their art departments.

• Blender Foundations offers techniques and tools for the complete Blender workflow, demonstrating a real-world project from start to finish. Hands-on insight is even further applied with the companion website which includes source files at all stages so transitioning users can pick and choose via tool/chapter what they want to explore.

More than just a tutorial guide, "Blender Foundations" covers the philosophy behind this ingenious software that so many 3D artists are turning to today. The book offers techniques and tools for the complete Blender workflow, demonstrating a real-world project from start to finish.

Blender Certified Trainer, Member of Blender Trainer Certification Board. Roland Hess has been working with graphics and imaging software for over twenty years and is the leading expert on Blender. As one of a handful of people involved with Blender from the very start, Roland is uniquely welll-qualified to teach the software, as he is still both an active user and developers. Hess brings a unique perspective to Blender instruction that helps to bridge the difficult gap between technical knowledge and artistic endeavor. He wrote: Blender Foundations for Focal (2010), and The Essential Blender, No Starch, 2007.

By Roland Hess, working with graphics and imaging software for over 20 years, Roland is the leading expert for Blender software. As one of a handful of people involved with Blender who is both an active user of the software as well as one of the developers, he brings a unique perspective to Blender instruction that helps to bridge the difficult gap between technical knowledge and artistic endeavor. Hess wrote: Animating with Blender for Focal 2009, and The Essential Blender, No Starch, 2007.

Chapter 1: Intro to 3D Chapter 2: Getting the Blender Interface Chapter 3: Movement, Object and Animation Basics Chapter 4: Modeling Basics Chapter 5: Character Modeling Chapter 6: Rigging Chapter 7: Sculpting Chapter 8: Lighting Chapter 9: Surfacing Chapter 10: Rendering Chapter 11: Character Animation Chapter 12: Morphing Animation Chapter 13: Particles Chapter 14: Effects and environmental animation Chapter 15: Video editing