An introduction to

animation, VFX and

games

Name ____________________

Date​ _
​ ___________________
The links below are hosted externally and whilst we have used them quite safely and
securely ourselves, as have thousands of other students and teachers around the world, we
can never guarantee how they will interact with you and your computer. Use at your own
risk.

Support document

Blender is open source software and free for you to use on your school computers and for
your students to use at home.

To download blender, please go to:

blender.org

For more information on how to get amazing at

blender, please visit:

3dami.org ​and​ b3d101.org

Resources here are the result of work by Peter Kemp, Tom Haines, Monique Dewchand, the University of Roehampton, 3Dami,
b3d101 and the Raspberry Pi foundation. With funding from Google,ScreenSkills, NextGen Skills Academy, New City College,
The European Union and The Skills Funding Agency
ns SA 4.0 licensing
The work, bar the logos and brand names are under creative commo
Session 1 - Basic modelling, colouring and
rendering
This session will give you the basic skills needed to navigate the Blender program and
create your first 3D models. You should be aiming to make some or all of the following:

The tutorials you need to follow are here:

● Party Monkey: ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-party-monkey
● Cube tree: ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-tree-of-cubes
● Snowman: ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-snowman
● Colouring in: ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-colour-snowman

HINTS​:
● Use the mouse to rotate your scene every few minutes, check that everything is lined
up correctly.
● Use the shortcut keys to speed up your editing.
● If something goes wrong, hit the escape key and try again
● Control-z (windows) Command-z (Mac) undoes your last edit. Try copy and paste...
● Don’t be afraid to experiment

Please work with each other and ask if you have any questions.
Session 1 - Crib sheet

Skills learnt Tick here

Add and Delete Objects

Move around the scene using the mouse

Move, Rotate and Size Objects

Use the camera to render an image

Colour things in

Things made Tick here

Party Monkey

Snowman with [eyes | carrot | buttons | hat | arms | scarf]

Cube tree / Christmas tree

Coloured in snowman and cube tree

Extension​: a winter scene set in a small forest

Keyboard / mouse What does it do Have you

shortcut used it?

F12

X / Delete button

Middle mouse button

Right mouse

Left mouse

Mouse wheel
 F12 then F3

Session 2 - Animation and parenting

In this session you will make your first animations, we provide a demo scene for you to use,
but you can use your own scene and props if you like.

The tutorials you need to follow are here:

● Demo scene - ​http://goo.gl/GRst6Y
● Parenting objects - ​http://b3d101.org/en/parenting-objects/
● Animation - ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-animate-snow-scene
● Rendering video - ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-render-snow-scene

HINTS​:
● Check that you are adding a keyframe to the correct object, each object can have its
own keyframes
● When animating make sure you move the timeline pointer before moving the object
and pressing the keyframe button
● Use the mouse to rotate your scene every few minutes, check that everything is lined
up correctly.
● If something goes wrong, hit the escape key and try again
Session 2 - Crib sheet

Skills learnt Tick here

Select multiple objects using shift

Parent objects to Empty

Add and Delete keyframes to make an animation

Adjust timeline

Output a video

Things made Tick here

A snowman and/or tree parented to an empty

An animated snow scene

A video of your animation

Extension​: animate the camera, animate a tree exploding

Keyboard / mouse What does it do Have you

shortcut used it?

Shift + left-click

Numpad ​.

Numpad 0 (press again

to exit)

Ctrl + C

Ctrl + V

Ctrl + Z

Ctrl + P

i
Session 3 - Advanced modelling and colouring
In this session you will learn how to make complex models from simple shapes. You will then
learn how to colour different parts of them different colours.

The tutorials you need to follow are here:

● Creating a house - ​https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/blender-block-house
● Creating a rocket - ​http://b3d101.org/en/rocket/
● Advanced colouring in - ​https://b3d101.org/en/rocket/coloring-rocket/
● Modelling a chair - ​https://b3d101.org/en/modelling-chair/

HINTS​:
● Always be careful when swapping in and out of edit mode, check which mode you
are in before moving / editing / adding objects
● When adding multiple colours make sure that you have two or more materials
attached to each object
● If something goes wrong, hit the escape key and try again
● Make use of the Cmd-Z button to undo things
Session 3 - Crib sheet

Skills learnt Tick here

How to select edges, vertices and faces in edit mode

How to use extrude to add parts to a model

How to delete faces

How to make new faces

How to use the loop-cut

How to colour things in

Things made Tick here

A rocket, coloured in

A chair

Extension​: A table, a car, the eiffel tower(?!)

Keyboard / mouse What does it do Have you

shortcut used it?

Tab

G+X

R+Z

Control + J

[in Edit mode on a

joined object] + P
Session 4 - proportional editing
In this session you will learn how to use proportional editing to create natural looking objects,
you will learn how to use the knife tool to cut your own shapes.

The tutorials you need to follow are here:

● Creating a tree trunk - ​https://b3d101.org/en/palm-tree/tree-trunk/
● Creating a palm leaf - ​https://b3d101.org/en/palm-tree/palm-leaves/
● Create an island and some sea - ​https://b3d101.org/en/palm-tree-sand-and-ocean/

HINTS​:
● Always be careful to check that you are in object mode before adding new objects
● Parent the leaves to your palm tree so that you can move it more easily
● Adjust the power of proportional editing to meet your needs
Session 4 - Crib sheet

Skills learnt Tick here

Turn proportional editing on

Adjust the power of proportional editing

How to use the knife tool

Delete faces

Rotate around the x|y|z axis by a set number of degrees

Subdivision

Things made Tick here

A palm tree trunk

A palm tree leaf

A desert island

An ocean

EXTENSION​: Create a sailboat that sails around the island

Keyboard / mouse What does it do Have you

shortcut used it?

R + X + -90

R + Z + -180

[in Edit mode] + W

NUMPAD + 1,3,7,9
Session 5 - Lights, camera, text action
In this session you will learn how to create animated text and move the camera with pinpoint
precision.

The tutorials you need to follow are here:

● Moving the camera - ​https://youtu.be/03FU2Hx7m7E
● Creating and animating text - ​https://b3d101.org/en/animating-text/
● Adding lights - ​https://b3d101.org/en/lights/
● Download the desert island scene - ​http://goo.gl/eytHdY
Session 5 - Crib sheet

Skills learnt Tick here

How to move the camera using the normal controls

How to move the camera using flying mode

Add text and change the font

Animate text attributes using key frames

How to create multiple lamps [sun | spot | point]

Things made Tick here

A well shot island scene

A static piece of text using [colour | bevel | offset | different font ]

An animated text scene

Add animated lights to your text scene

EXTENSION​: add lights to the car in your snow scene

Keyboard / mouse What does it do Have you

shortcut used it?

Shift + F

NUMPAD + 0

N
Session 6 - Advanced blender, ray tracing and 3D
In this session you will learn some cutting edge techniques used to make 3D films. This will
include the cycles renderer,

The tutorials you need to follow are here:

● Ray tracing: ​https://b3d101.org/en/cycles-gpu/
● Using your own textures: ​https://youtu.be/vJOXAQPLYSQ
● Round those edges, bevel: ​https://b3d101.org/en/bevel-tool/
● Creating a 3D image: ​http://b3d101.org/en/vr/
Session 6 - Crib sheet

Skills learnt Tick here

How to render using Cycles

How to enable your GPU to help you render

How to UV unwrap an object and apply an image

How to Bevel edges and make them softer

How to render to 3D

Things made Tick here

A stapler (with rounded edges!)

A plane|cube that emits light

A textured cube

VR version of a file

Upload your VR file to b3d101

Keyboard / mouse What does it do Have you

shortcut used it?

W+B