Learning Blender

Preface: Character creation is a big undertaking. It involves several very different skills, and that's what youʹre going to learn soon enough. In this preface, I quickly show you what this book is about and what you can expect from it. If you already have some experience with other 3D software, you've come to the right place, as youʹll find some instructions on how to handle switching between different programs, which can be frustrating--and sometimes even more difficult than learning a program for the first time. Welcome to Learning Blender! Welcome to the third edition of Learning Blender: A Hands-On Guide to Creating 3D Animated Characters. In this book, youʹll learn how to use Blender in a complete and complex project. Youʹll see every part of the process so that you can understand what is involved in the creation of a 3D character and decide which part you like the most afterward. In other words, this book is not a specialized book that will make you a modeling genius or an expert animator; instead, it helps you understand the basic concepts behind every part of the process. The idea is that when you finish reading this book, youʹll have the knowledge you need to start any other project, from preproduction to the final result. If youʹre a freelancer (or want to be), this book is tailored to you, as freelancers often get small but very different and varied jobs, and having basic or medium skills in different tasks can be more useful than being very good at a single specific thing. If you want to work for a big company and prefer to specialize, it helps to understand the full process. If you're a modeler, for example, but you also understand how rigging works, when you create your models, you'll be able to recognize the possible issues that your rigger mates will encounter, which will make their work easier. When you work on a team, you'll work on only part of the project, but if you have at least a little understanding of what the rest of the teamʹs job is, your work will be more valuable to them, and everyone will be happier! Maybe youʹre already familiar with Blender and want to learn about 3D character creation. Very good. You can skip the first two or three chapters and go straight to the main part of the book--but do this only if youʹre sure that you understand the basics of Blender. Finally, if you just want to get started in this amazing world of 3D and dive into the sea of vertices, this book will give you a good insight into how 3D projects are handled. If you have never used 3D software before, don't worry if it looks a bit overwhelming in the beginning. That's normal. The software has lots of options and crazy stuff that will be unknown to you, and we all tend to be afraid of what we don't know. If you keep going, however, when you start using and understanding Blender, you'll start enjoying the learning process, and your results will get better with time and practice. Good luck!