ProfessorF’s Lecture Notes: Blender Navigation Basics
Before you do any 3D modeling, you need to know how to navigate your way around Blender’s simulated 3D space.
Part 1. Starting Off:
- Download & Install Blender. You can download Blender here for either the PC or the Mac.
- Run Blender (and click through the Copyright screen). You’ll see following:
Important Note: Use a 3-Button Mouse and a Keyboard with a Numeric Pad
Blender works best with a 3-button mouse (left-LMB, right-RMB, middle scroll wheel-aka the middle mouse button or MMB), and a keyboard with a numeric pad.
You can probably get by without a numeric pad, but the 3-button mouse is critical if you want to model with any speed and efficiency.
If you don’t have a mouse and/or a numeric keypad, you can kind of get by, but buy one as soon as possible. Here’s how you get by without one:
File (menu) > User Preferences (menu-item) > Input (tab)
Part 2. What to Practice
Practice the following on the default cube until you can move up, around, under it, near, and far away — without thinking consciously about what the command is.
Basic Navigation
- Zoom: Roll mouse wheel
- Rotate: Click and hold mouse wheel (also known as middle-mouse button or MMB), then move mouse
- Pan: Hold shift key, then click-and-hold MMB, then drag mouse
- Alternate Zoom: CTRL then click-and-hold MMB, then drag mouse
Centering the Camera
- SHIFT-C: Zooms out so you can view the entire scene
- . (period) on the keypad zooms in on the currently selected object
- You can also use the view menu, in the lower left corner
Basic Keypad Navigation
- 1: Front view
- 3: Right view
- 5: Toggle between perspective and orthographic views
- 7: Top
- 9: Toggle between Top / Bottom or Right / Left
Switching Modes
- TAB toggles between Object and Edit mode
- CTRL-TAB in Edit Mode lets you select Vertex, Edge, & Face Modes
- In Edit Mode you can also click these buttons to select Vertex, Edge, & Face Modes:
Once again, practice the above on the default cube until you can move up, around, under it, near, and far away — without thinking consciously about what the command is.
Once you’re comfortable navigating Blender’s 3D space, do the next tutorial on Creating a Chair.
