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Jason van Gumster

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Blender For Dummies Paperback – February 3, 2009

by Jason van Gumster (Author)

4.2 59 ratings

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The exciting new book on the exciting new Blender 2.5! If you want to design 3D animation, here's your chance to jump in with both feet, free software, and a friendly guide at your side! Blender For Dummies, 2 nd Edition is the perfect introduction to the popular, open-source, Blender 3D animation software, specifically the revolutionary new Blender 2.5. Find out what all the buzz is about with this easy-access guide. Even if you?re just beginning, you'll learn all the Blender 2.5 ropes, get the latest tips, and soon start creating 3D animation that dazzles.

Print length

424 pages
Language

English
Publisher

For Dummies
Publication date

February 3, 2009
Dimensions

7.4 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
ISBN-10

0470400188
ISBN-13

978-0470400180
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

So you’ve heard about Blender, the free 3D animation software. You really want to know more about the features of Blender, where to get it, and how to use it. You’re in luck. It’s all in Blender For Dummies, including Blender software on the bonus DVD.

Because there’s a lot to learn about Blender, you’ll be glad this book takes it step by step. First, you’ll learn to install Blender 2.46 and think the Blender way. Then you’ll start creating 3D objects and setting them in motion with animations and rigging. Soon you’ll be texturing with Blender, rendering with Blender, and sharing your creations. You’ll learn how to:

Create almost anything with meshes, save time with the Mirror modifier, and use Blender’s secret weapon, Dupliverts
Understand texture mapping, know when to use which type of lamp, and use radiosity in animation
Work with curves and surfaces, and add color, shades, texture, and reflections
Rig your characters for animation with shape keys, hooks, and armatures, and understand kinematics
Navigate in three dimensions
Make your animations more believable, and let Blender do the animating for you
Use the video sequence editor
Export, render, composite, and edit for output

You’ll even get tips on common problems new Blender users face and how to avoid them. Blender For Dummies will have you creating eye-popping 3D animations before you know it.

Bonus Content: Graphics created using techniques and instructions from Blender for Dummies (Click to Enlarge)
Character Creation
Blending Techniques

From the Back Cover

Create 3D models and realistic scenes, and get animated with Blender!

Blender can do all the cool 3D things, but trying to figure it out on your own can make you feel as if you're in a blender. Relax! This book takes Blender step by step. First, you learn to think the Blender way. Then you start modeling, adding materials, lighting, rigging, and animating. Soon you'll be sharing your creations with the world!

Become a Blenderhead — find out how Blender "thinks" and learn your way around the program
Develop detailed 3D scenes — create almost anything with meshes, save time with modifiers, and make the best use of Blender's other object types
Lights and texture — understand texture mapping, use different lamp types, and take advantage of ambient occlusion
Give it life — rig your characters for animation with shape keys, hooks, and armatures, and understand inverse kinematics
Get it out there — understand exporting, rendering, compositing, and editing for output

Open the book and find:

Why Blender is perfect for small shops and independent artists
How to navigate in three dimensions
Ways to make animations more believable
How to color vertices and provide texture
Tips on making Blender do the animating for you
What particle systems do
Ten common problems new users face
How to work with the video sequence editor

Bonus CD Includes
Blender 2.48a complete version! Save download time and install the version you'll use for this book.

See the CD appendix for details and complete system requirements.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ For Dummies; 1st edition (February 3, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 424 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0470400188
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0470400180
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.48 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,191,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #362 in 3D Graphic Design
- #1,135 in Digital Video Production (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 59 ratings

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About the author

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Jason van Gumster

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Jason van Gumster does a lot of things. Mostly he makes stuff up. He writes, animates, and occasionally teaches. He has heavy entrepreneurial tendencies that run nearly as deep as his creative ones… so he has a constant fascination with producing creative content with as much control and independence as possible. Naturally, he's a big proponent of open source software; very nearly everything that he produces is made using Free and open source tools.

Using those open source tools, Jason ran his own small, independent animation studio for 8 years. And in the course of that, he had the privilege of managing mid-sized international production teams on ridiculously tight deadlines (4-7 minutes of CG animation in 2 days)… for fun. He's transferred some of that experience in writing to two separate books, Blender For Dummies and GIMP Bible. The rest of that experience he continues blurt out a bit at a time during his weekly[-ish] podcast, the Open Source Creative Podcast.

Currently based just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Jason spends the majority of his time drinking coffee and trying to be awesome. The former he's pretty much gotten down to a science. The latter… well, every now and again he succeeds at that one and makes it look like it wasn’t an accident.

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ridgerunner

Blender Owner's Manual

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2010

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Exceptionally clear, thorough, accurate and organized. The editing is also superb - (I have yet to find a single typo or error - very rare indeed). From the quality of the text, it is obvious that the author has a very deep and comprehensive understanding of Blender. Unlike some other authors, he not only shows you how to do something, he explains why and gives historical perspective as to why things are done a certain way.

Having only recently discovered Blender a month ago, I have become obsessed and have devoured every online tutorial and downloadable reference material I could get my hands on, and have purchased (and read) 4 books on the subject so far. This one is hands-down the best of the bunch. As an engineer, my interest is in using Blender to produce instructional animations which graphically illustrate complex real-wold phenomenon (i.e. If a picture tells a thousand words, then an animation tells a million...)

After running through the BlenderUnderground "Blender Basics" online tutorials several times (also highly recommended), I almost decided to skip some of the first chapters covering the user interface, but I'm glad I didn't. The author packs in a lot of juicy tips and tidbits that you just won't find anywhere else. For example, I found the following 2 tips within a couple pages of each other:

Tip #1: Go into User Preferences and turn on "International Fonts" (even if you are using only English) - Voilà! all of the fonts within Blender become MUCH more readable! (Similar to the way Windows XP screen fonts are dramatically improved when you turn on "Clear Type" - disabled by default.)

Tip #2: Go into User Preferences and set "Smooth View" to 750-1000 in the "View and Controls" area (it defaults to 0). Now Blender gives a smooth animation transition when you jump from Top View to Side view to Camera View. Very cool! (And more importantly USEFUL!). This book is crammed with goodies like this that are hard won by someone who has obviously spent a lot of time behind the wheel of Blender.

The only thing wrong with this book is its title! If Blender was to be sold in a package at a store, this should be the printed Owner's Manual that comes with it. Note that this book covers Blender version 2.48, so if you are using 2.49 (like I am), it is pretty much up to date. Note also that the author is working on a second revision to this book for version 2.50, but IMHO it will be a while before that Blender version is ready for prime time.

I look forward to any future books and/or tutorials by this author.
Very impressed!

3 people found this helpful

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Sherri T.

Easy Blender

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2009

Verified Purchase

Once again, I happy with my Dummies Book purchase. The first thing I need to know about any software I'm learning to use, is what the user interface is all about. A written reference is always best for me. I'm actually beginning to use this software after getting this book. I tried to use Blender a couple of years ago, but it was being being immersed in a foreign culture where I didn't know the language at all! I got rid of the software. Some of the executions used with Blender are nearly opposite of simple commands used in other software. This book makes demystifies much of that.

Once I learn the simplest basics, then I can go online to learn more advanced techniques. That's what this book is all about and the authors purpose. I think that goal has been achieved.

Blender is supposed to fast to use (but not necessarily easy to learn). After getting this book and having experience with other very high priced 3D software, I'm beginning to see why it is faster to use. I recommend this book for anyone who needs high powered 3D software like me, (a landscape architecture student with plans to return to self employment upon graduation), but can't possibly afford the several thousand dollar price tag of comparable software.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!

3 people found this helpful

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Dennis Poledna

A Decent Start

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2009

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If you've never used Blender before then "Blender for Dummies" will help - a bit. If you prefer hard copy to an Internet tutorial then the book will also help - a bit. Why the qualification? The book starts out with good intentions and the first few chapters, though they're hobbled by muddy, small format graphics, will get you up and running. The examples are good and the steps can generally be followed. I just wish that there had been more small step-by-step examples and bigger, clearer graphics. There are things that can go terribly wrong with the simplest of models and there are ways to easily fix or avoid them. Lamentably, some of this information is left out in the author's headlong rush to get through all of Blender.

In fact, the first nine chapters should have been expanded to be the whole book. When the author dives into animation he leaves the beginner level far behind. Animation is one of the most difficult parts of Blender to master and a newbie who attempts animation without a thorough grounding in modeling is going to be very frustrated.

That said, if you downloaded Blender and you have no idea how to do what you want to do then get this book. You'll be glad that you did.

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Roberto Picco

Datato ma utile

Reviewed in Italy on September 10, 2012

Verified Purchase

Devo essere sincero: ho acquistato la versione Kindle di questo libro per non dover trafficare con un volume cartaceo mentre sto al computer. Come tutti i testi di questo tipo, vanno usati mentre si prova quello che viene suggerito, quindi la versione ebook mi sembrava azzeccata. Purtroppo la versione di Blender che ho scaricato è più nuova e mostra significative differenze.
Il vero problema, a mio avviso, è la carenza di tutorial. E' vero che l'autore afferma di aver voluto scrivere un libro di riferimento e non una raccolta di tutorial, ma degli esempi per mettere alla prova quello che si impara sono indispensabili.

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Sophia

Great, but not really a learning tool

Reviewed in Canada on February 3, 2009

Verified Purchase

Blender for Dummies promises how to teach us to create eye-popping 3d animations, work with meshes, curves, add material and create animations, among many other things.

Well, let me start by saying that it is very thorough as a REFERENCE guide, but to learn Blender from scratch it is a little less helpful. Don't get me wrong, it is a great book. The author clearly is very enthusiastic about Blender, and knows how to convey it.

There are a few reasons why I can't give it 5 stars, though. Personally, I learn the fastest when I am shown a finished project, and then taken by the hand re-creating it step by step and click by click, with explanations along the way and being taught the basics of the program on the fly.

This book has a totally different approach. It offers an odd mixture of a general description of what Blender is capable of, and then a highly detailed explanation of different techniques and tweaks. The author spends so much time explaining the interface, yet he seems to forget that when somebody has no CLUE yet what 3d modeling is about (after all, this IS a book for supposed dummies), knowing all there is to know about the interface and windows is not exactly exhilarating.

For example, he explains the difference between "box modeling" and "point-for-point modeling", but he never tells you HOW to actually MODEL something using the box or pfp method. The book just shows one picture of a human head created using both methods, and that is all you ever learn about it.

Another example: the author spends a few pages explaining the difference between a "good" and a "bad" edge loop, but the only explanation of what IS an edge loop is this: "Generally speaking, an edge loop is a series of edges that connect to form a path where the first and last edges connect to each other". This might be crystal clear to a professional 3d modeler, but to someone like me, a 3d dummy, this is almost gobbledygook. My first question would be "Nice, but what's it FOR?" The example of the car bumper made me scratch my head, and I think this could have been a perfect candidate to show us HOW to create this car in the first place, instead of skimping over it in five lines.

With every chapter you read, it seems, you are expected to find your own tutorials by surfing the Internet so that you can learn how to master what has been explained. It would have been more accurate if this book had been advertised as a reference guide, rather than a learning tool.

One of the fun tutorials was how to create a super simple skyscraper, but it does not really seem in place along the highly detailed explanations surrounding it. (Also, a little nitpicking note: if you follow the tutorial to the letter, it doesn't work. Between step 6 and 7 he forgot the mention you need to select the area first for the subdivide to work, and if you follow step 13 to the letter, the skyscraper implodes within itself.)
However, nitpicking aside, if there had been such a tutorial concluding each chapter to summarize what was taught, my review would have been at least one star more.

In my opinion, this book would have been infinity more enjoyable and less tedious to read through if it had used a cumulative approach: that is to say, in chapter 1 you learn how to view your default cube from all sides, in chapter 2 you would have learned how to extrude it, chapter 3 vertices handling, chapter 4 modeling it, chapter 5 material and texture... etc. In the end you could admire a beautiful skyscraper in technicolor and know you master all the techniques explained in the book.

I would recommend this book mostly to people who already know the basics of 3d modeling, and need a reference guide to get into the nitty gritty of Blender. If you expected a tutorial book that leads you by the hand from A to Z in 99 steps, you might be disappointed.

Summary, if you are serious about learning Blender, get it! But beware, it is not for the faint of heart.

9 people found this helpful

Michael

Inhalt besser als die Aufmachung

Reviewed in Germany on July 4, 2011

Verified Purchase

Dies war nicht mein erstes Buch zu Blender, aber das erste, das wirkich einfach und nachvollziehbar die verschiedenen Themen abarbeitet. Es geht nie wirklich in die Tiefe, aber bringt einen schnell und sicher auf den Weg, die weiteren Schritte hängen ja auch davon ab, was einem wichtiger ist (Stills oder Movies, Vollbild-Animationen oder Video-Compositing...). Einzig das Kapitel über Modelling ist meines Erachtens zu knapp, so dass man nicht wirklich lernt, komplexere Meshes also 3D-Modelle selbst zu bauen, mit denen man dann die weiteren Schritte testen kann.
Außerdem ist die Aufmachung des Buches, vor allem das "for Dummies"-typische Cover echt schwach, im Vergleich zu anderen Blender-Büchern fast peinlich. Aber in Kombination mit spezielen Themenbüchern z.B. von Terry Mullen ist das Buch wirklich nützlich - und sei es zu Nachschlagen, wenn man doch mal was Grundsätzliches vergessen hat.

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Ian Flaming

Best book on Blender for newcomers - dummies or otherwise!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2009

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This book provides a well balanced introduction to the Blender way of doing things - which is exactly the approach taken by professional 3D developers; namely to make efficient use of the keyboard rather than mouse-clicking for all repetitive tasks. While this requires effort to learn, it is well worth doing as the approach minimises the risk of the Repetitive Strain Injury that was the bane of many 3D full-timers who tried to use the mouse more or less exclusively.

Once the Blender user interface is mastered (and admittedly this takes time), progress is swift! You'll likely be pleasantly surprised at your increased throughput even in other applications, as many of the Blender keyboard assignments are common across a wide range of external programs; including word processing and spreadsheet applications.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

A solid introduction to Blender 2.48a

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2009

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I've tinkered with Blender on and off for about two years, but was put off by the interface amongst other things but I did love the program. This book is highly recommended as it explains the interface and how to think in Blenderese! Blender is far more powerful than i suspected and is easily a match for expensive commercial software. Buy this book as a solid intro to Blender and how it works. a word of warning though, it does only cover the basics and many topics are only skimmed over so further research will be required. but with such an amazing community out there that isn't a problem! Go buy!

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Blender For Dummies Paperback – February 3, 2009

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