Learning Blender
Introduction
For a while now I have wanted to learn Blender. With my spring classes completed, I finally found some time. Here is some of what I have been working on in my first two weeks of Blender.
Blender Donut
Creating a donut animation is the classic first project in Blender. I followed a well known tutorial series on YouTube created by the Blender Guru, aka Andrew Price. In the project, I learned the basics of modeling, shading, and rendering in Blender as well as got an introduction to the Geometry node system. I was familiar with a lot of the large concepts from using other 3D application, but learned a ton about the specifics of how to use and where to find these tools in Blender.
Cookies
As a follow up to the donut project, and to test what I learned, I tried making a cookie scene. On top of applying techniques from the donut series, I created a new procedural tile texture for the counter top using the shader graph. A cloth simulation was used for the napkin to crumple it up and make it look like it was thrown behind the glass. Also, a volumetric shader with a noise texture was used to add steam coming of the cookies. I really wanted that look like they were hot and fresh out the oven.
For the lighting I wanted the scene to feel like a warm late afternoon. So, I used one of the HDRIs that comes with blender of an interior space and a single directional light for sunlight. In compositing, I color balanced it a little more towards warmer tones and increased the contrast a little. More elements could had been added to make the scene feel fuller, but at some point I just wanted to move on to another project so that I learn can more techniques. I didn’t want to get caught up tweaking this scene when I could be learning more.
To Be Continued…
I had a ton of fun making these projects. Really got that sense of accomplishment that reminded of when I was learning Maya for the first time. Next I will try to learn more about creating simulations in Blender. I also got a copy of Blender Secrets and have been thumbing through that looking for ideas. There are also the Andrew Price tutorials and his lighting challenge to consider.
