Realizing 3D Animation in Blender

Unlock the secrets of Blender animation in this part-color guide with professional animator and Blender tutor, Sam Brubaker and leverage advanced techniques to become a 3D animation professional

Key Features

• Master the essentials of 3D animation through engaging step-by-step exercises
• Go from linking and posing a character to using a nonlinear animation editor
• Discover unique insights and top tips that you won’t find in the Blender documentation
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Completely free and open source, Blender, with its supportive community and powerful feature set, is an indispensable tool for creating 3D animations. However, learning the software can be a challenge given the complexity of its interface and the intricacies of animation theory.

If you want to venture into 3D animation but don’t know where to start, Realizing 3D Animation in Blender is for you. Adopting a practical approach, this guide simplifies the theory of 3D animation and the many animation workflows specific to Blender. Through detailed exercises and a sharp focus on the animation process, this book equips you with everything you need to set out on your path to becoming a 3D animator. It’s much more than just an introduction; this book covers complex concepts such as F-Curve modifiers, rigid-body physics simulation, and animating with multiple cameras, presented in an easy-to-follow manner to avoid common pitfalls encountered by novice animators.

By the end of this Blender 3D animation book, you’ll have gained the knowledge, experience, and inspiration to start creating impressive 3D animations on your own.

What you will learn

• Become well-versed with the simple rules of keyframing and interpolation
• Understand the function and behavior of Blender's animation curves
• Bring a character to life with Blender 3D character animation
• Utilize multiple cameras and the video sequence editor for advanced shot composition
• Get to grips with Blender's mysterious non-linear animation tool
• Explore advanced features such as physics simulation and camera techniques

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone seeking guidance in the world of 3D animation using Blender. Whether you’re an aspiring 3D animator, a beginner or intermediate-level Blender user, or a visual media producer looking to expand your skill set, this resource will prove invaluable. As long as you have basic familiarity with Blender and have the software already installed on a computer that meets system requirements, you’re ready to dive into this book. While prior experience with Blender’s animation tools is not necessary, having at least modeled a scene, added simple shading and lighting, and rendered a few still images will be beneficial.

Table of Contents

1. Basic Keyframes in the Timeline
2. The Graph Editor
3. Bezier Keyframes
4. Looking into Object Relationships
5. Rendering an Animation
6. Linking and Posing a Character
7. Basic Character Animation
8. The Walk Cycle
9. Sound and Lip-Syncing
10. Prop Interaction with Dynamic Constraints
11. F-Curve Modifiers
12. Rigid Body Physics
13. Animating with Multiple Cameras
14. Nonlinear Animation

Sam Brubaker first downloaded Blender in 2004 and has been a 3D artist for the majority of his life. After earning his degree in Art & Design, he worked as an instructional designer, successfully teaching 3D animation in Blender to children as young as seven. Today, he is a professional animator, Blender tutor, and dogmatic advocate of free and open-source software. He is also fond of drawing, carpentry, and analog synthesizers.