About Blender

• Overview

Blender is a free open source program that is frequently updated that is used primarily for the creation of 3d models for use in the following application: (it is not however limited to the following examples)

•  Game assets.

• Movie/video  CGI.

•  Prototyping.

Blender has many different user interface sections as laid out below:

•Layout tab

Here is what you see when loading blender for the first time, when you click the first time the blender logo disappears and there is a basic cube in the view window. (this is also what you see when you use the layout page minus the splash screen)

•  Tools

The tools bar contains buttons that allow for among other things allow you to move, rotate, resize and ad basic shapes to you scene.

•  Sub tools Menu

Has a selection of menus used to modify the settings for, the scene, the rendering of images 

• Mode select

Allows you to move between "Object mode", "Edit mode", "Sculpt Mode",  "vertex/weight/texture painting modes". (can also be moved between in the tabs.)

• Tab select

The tab bar allows you to move between the same things as "Mode Select" as well as "Shading", "Animation", "Rendering", "Composition", "geometry nodes" and "scripting".

• Library 

The library contain everything on your scene laid out in a file format. The library is mainly used to keep track of and hide/show things in the view window.

• Timeline 

The timeline  is used to pan through an animations keyframes and allows for animations to be made.

• Shading menu

The shading menu has four ways to see your scene in ways with or without various level texturing. "Wireframe", that shows only vertex's and edges but no texture.  "Solid"  this shows vertex's, edges and faces but has a default grey texture.  "Material preview " shows vertex's, edges and faces it also shows a basic idea of what you texture and material will look like on your models.  There is also Xray mode that allows for you to see through your oblects and interacy with the other side.

• Object interact menu.

Contains 4 main lists of options "view", (what allows you to both hide hotbars) "select", (Which has a coupe different ways to select objects in the scene) "add" (allows for adding various default objects to the scene)  and "object" (that allows interaction with the an object setting/data) "Rendered", this shows a "live" view of what your scene  will look like once rendered. 

• Snap/proportional editing 

Snap allows  you to move/edit objects by snapping to blenders grid, as well as various other including but not limited to  nearest face, vertex, edges.

Proportional editing  when active allows for any changes you make to your model to affect a greater area, it has several available options on how it affects the surrounding geometry.  the amount it affects can be both increased and decreased by the use of the mouse wheel.

• Modeling tab

No all these options are available on all blender tabs for example here is what blender looks looks when the "modelling" tab is selected:

Most notably the timeline is missing in edit mode,  there are some other options also missing compared to the layout tab but there are a few additional ones as explained below: (This is not a complete list)

• Mesh edit tools 

Mesh edit tools are three buttons that can be used to switch between vertex, edge and face which each have subtly different way to alter a mesh.

• Expanded Mesh edit tools 

The expanded mesh edit tools have additional available functionality that compliment the Mesh edit tools vertex, edge and face functions. They are there to provide extra  options for interacting with the vertex's, edges and faces. 

• Extra menu items for tools 

This part of the tools menu is only available in the modelling tab and provides the necessary tools for editing your mesh. (Hovering over a button will usually reveal a key shortcut that can be used instead if the button.)

• Symmetry  and merge tools

The Symmetry buttons help keep Symmetry in any combination of the X, Y, Z axis and auto merge combines any vertex's that end up in the same location after movement.

• Sculpting tab

No all these options are available on all blender tabs for example here is what blender looks looks when the "sculpting" tab is selected:

Sculpt mode has several important features for interacting with the mesh and allowing for much finer and more complex detail then modelling tab, its it similar working on clay. Here are some key areas used when sculpting:

• Selection Of tools

This list contains the tools used in sculpting each has a specific way of manipulating the mesh for example:

• Draw: This Tool can be used to add detail to the object by either by adding additional mess or digging into pre existing mess in order to a additional detail.

• Draw sharp: This tool can be used to sharpen the mesh to help make details stand out.

• Crease: This tool creates creases and can be used to make cloth like details.

• Snake hook: This too allows to drag out the mesh of the object to result in line vine like details.

• Nudge: This too allows to move the geometry of the mesh slightly to.

• Mask: Allows you to highlight a section of the mesh, this allows you to either only work on that section or prevent changes to that section while working on other areas.

• Current tools setting 

This section contains the current tolls setting, this includes the area of effect, the strength (amount it will affect the mesh)  as well as more advanced features.

• Mesh deformation tools 

• Dyntopo:  This feature allows blender to add additional topology to the mesh when sculpting tools are used. This allows for more detailed meshes to be made without worrying to much about the topology.

• Remesh: Works other the whole object to ad more geometry mesh.

• Advanced settings for current tools

This section contains the same setting for the currently active tool as  "Current tools setting" but also contains some additional settings available.