The Blender 2.8 Encyclopedia

Release date:2020, June 4

Author:Lee Salvemini

Skill level:Beginner

Language:English

Exercise files:Yes

Welcome to The Blender 2.8 Encyclopedia, the most comprehensive training course available covering all aspects of Blender 3D, a completely free 3D production suite. The newest release series, Version 2.8, is the biggest upgrade yet, with many new features and improvements.

With the tools and techniques covered in this course by CG Masters’ lead instructors Christopher Plush and Lee Salvemini, you can take full advantage of this completely free & open source software to:

Create Your Own Video Game or Virtual Reality Assets (Do you have a game idea you’d like to create assets for? What about a stand-out character idea for VRChat?)

Effortlessly handle Animation, Film, and Television Productions (Blender features a full video editor, and advanced 2D & 3D compositing. Whether you have time to focus on the details for a fantastic short film, or need motion graphics for the next morning.)

3D Printing (A great way to impress everyone you know with a physical representation of your art. Also great for practical purposes like replacing tools or parts with your own custom design.)

Architectural, Industrial, and Product Visualization (Make your mark in these industries without multiple expensive software subscriptions, or long waits for bug fixes and upgrades.)

Music Videos & DJ’ing (Make the hit music video people have been waiting for, or light up the stage with your real-time visuals that change with the beat at your command.)

Even niche avenues like medical visualization, book illustration, and so many more.

The Blender 2.8 Encyclopedia will be of use throughout your entire 3D journey. No matter what job you’ve been entrusted with, or creative idea you want to make a reality, this is the most important reference guide you’ll own.

Our aim is to cover every facet of Blender, a software built over decades by developer ingenuity mixed with creative input. Everything you’ll be using for your projects that Blender can facilitate, we’ll be covering.

Further than the tools alone, we’ve made sure this course contains not just the how, but the why. Throughout the course, we’ve crafted example demos, as well as step-by-step projects, that will take what you’ve learned to the next level. The focus here is how to use this information in real life scenarios. We want to see you get that career at a top studio, or to realize your dream project that has been bouncing around your imagination.

Our pledge for this course is to provide everything we’ve picked up in our combined 30 years of experience, distilled into a one-stop resource.

An Overview of the Contents of this course:

A complete User Interface & Navigational guide. Created specifically for you to stay ahead of the pack with Blender 2.8’s new ‘Workspaces’, and layering systems. Learn all the latest catered hotkeys, which Blender is well known for. You will appear to be playing a piano concerto to others as you zoom around the software. After these lectures, you’re ready to put some headphones on with your favorite music and get in the creative zone!

Master how data is handled in Blender, starting from right under the hood, to practical production methods. Knowledge on the foundation of the software instantly gives you the power to be responsible for larger complex projects. This is the difference between making a single asset, and leading the charge on something bigger.

All the chapters are made to work as single references, but we made sure to create a learning path along the way. After covering why 3D animation is possible, and the placement of all the UI and tools, it’s time to learn about Modeling in Blender. Here you’ll learn more than just the tools and techniques for modeling, but important concepts and technical aspects that help you truly understand what’s going on.

Using the last decade of working as an industry animator, Lee Salvemini covers Rigging & Animation on all fronts. Lee: “Learn about Blender’s unique digital skeletal system (the best 3D joint system around for rigging and animating in my opinion!). Along with the methods to easily pose or animate a simple character, all the way to an accessory or armor covered video game hero character.”

Things get really epic from here, we move into Drivers, Constraints & Modifiers. This trinity of tool sets is your access to some of the most amazing effects possible in 3D that enable you to make the most of the software for Modeling and Animation. The outcomes from your work when combining these available tools will be outstanding.

The next areas covered are all about getting the realistic or stylistically believable materials for your creations. This is done through the magic of Shaders, material properties that you have access to in Blender, that combine to make any and all objects you see in the world (or your imagination), such as cloth, wood, metal, and everything in between. The options here are endless, and these lectures will cover everything. You’ll be amazed by how good the combination of materials look on your character, vehicle, spaceship, or anything else.

You’re now an artisan with Blender, packed with all the information and knowledge to turn your dreams into a real, shareable output. The final stage of this process is Rendering. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending on the type of look you want to go for. The render engine Eevee is a new entry to Blender, and mimics the efficient, real-time rendering found in the AAA games you play. The other major one is Cycles: A fully ray-trace based render engine, used for realistic film VFX or Video Game cutscenes, and films like Wreck It Ralph.

Table of Contents

Welcome to The Blender Encyclopedia