Intro to 3d Modeling Using Blender

Explore Blender for game artists by building a sci-fi robot arm with polygonal modeling, from references and primitives to topology, edge flow, extrude, and the knife tool.

Load a reference image as an empty object in Blender, switch to the left orthographic view, align the arm base to the origin, and rename the empty to reference.

Model a mechanical arm hinge by placing a cylinder at the 3D cursor, lowering sides from 32 to 14, switching ends from ngon to triangles, and aligning with the reference.

Learn to model a symmetrical object with the mirror modifier to generate the second half, after cutting the model in half with loop cut and slide.

Watch a step-by-step workflow for creating a joint on a mechanical arm in Blender, using edit mode, select visible faces, extrude, inset faces, and precise axis-constrained scaling.

Learn to model the lower arm in Blender by creating a cylinder, refining with edge loops, using a mirror modifier, and shaping vertices for a smooth curved form.

Watch the mirror modifier in Blender and vertex snapping to align vertices along the line of symmetry, fix gaps, and refine the lower arm for accurate curvature.

Learn to add thickness with the solidify modifier in blender, observe back-face culling, and use the mirror modifier for seamless seams while shaping interior faces.

Model the arm base in Blender using a cylinder, then edit the mesh with loop cuts, insets, extrudes, and bevels. Mirror for symmetry and refine with vertex snapping.

Learn to model the upper arm section of a mechanical arm in Blender using box modeling, extrusions, and knife tool edge loops, with mirror modifier and vertex adjustments.

Learn to sculpt the arm top in Blender by adding edge loops, using the knife tool for incisions, repairing ngons into quads, and applying the mirror modifier.

Complete the forearm by extruding the back section from the center, adjusting vertices, and scaling to align with the reference, forming the center, back, hinge, and upper-arm pieces.

Shape the arm tip by creating a half-sphere, refining topology with loop cuts, extruding and merging edges, and applying a mirror modifier to complete the curved gripper tip.

Finish the mechanical arm model with detailed joints, hinges, and topology, organize parts in the outliner, and prepare the mesh for texturing with an island wrap map.

Explore Blender's UV mapping tools to project textures onto 3D models, define and unfold UV layouts, and paint textures for believability in game art.

Learn to prepare a Blender model for UV mapping by disabling the mirror modifier and unwrapping one half, ensuring the texture maps to the other side.

Learn to apply UV mapping in Blender, switch to the UV editing layout, unwrap a box, create a check texture for debugging, and address distortions.

Learn to use seams and cuts in Blender to unwrap textures without distortion, including deleting underside faces, marking seams along edges, and creating islands for better UV mapping.

Refine the U-V mapping by adjusting island scales in edit mode to make top faces square, using x-axis scaling to fix distortion on the base and protrusion, preparing for pinning.

Learn how to pin vertices during UV unwrapping in Blender, align top and side vertices on the y and x axes, and minimize distortion while maintaining pinned outer edges.

Map the cylindrical base with seams and a sensible UV layout in Blender to minimize distortion and create clean UV islands for unwrap.

Reuse uvs by mapping one side, using a mirror modifier and seams to unwrap mirrored pieces, then snap vertices to align and overlap uv islands for efficient texture space.

Equalize texel density by averaging uv islands so squares stay consistent across the model. Then consolidate uv maps into a single space for one texture, simplifying Unity exports.

Combine mesh pieces into a single mesh and arrange uv islands in the 0 to 1 space. Use select linked and ctrl L to select, move, and scale without overlaps.

Export the UV layout from Blender as a single image to use as a texture reference for mapping and painting the final texture in an external editor.

Create textures from a UV layout, add a pixel buffer around UV islands to prevent edge artifacts, then load the texture in Blender and map it to the 3D model.

Explore texture mapping in Blender by applying a custom UV layout to a 3D model, loading and updating textures, and preparing for animation and import into a game engine.

Learn Blender basics for game artists by rigging, animating, and refining a mechanical looping model, using hierarchies, pivot points, transformations, keyframes, Dope Sheet, and Graph Editor.

Explore rigging for animation by dividing a mechanical arm into base, bottom, top, and tip pieces, configuring hinges and ball joints to create a looping, maneuverable motion.

This lecture shows how to prepare a Blender mesh for animation by splitting it into base, lower arm, upper arm, and tip, and organizing the pieces in the outliner.

Set the base pivot by relocating each piece's origin to its hinge point in Blender, using center of mass and 3D cursor to ensure rotation about the joint.

Learn to set the lower arm pivot in Blender by creating an empty, snapping to the center vertex along the z axis, and setting the origin to the 3D cursor.

Set pivot points for the upper arm and tip using the empty creation technique. Snap to the 3D cursor and apply origin changes to align all arm segments.

Master object hierarchies in Blender to create cascading transformations from the base through the lower arm, upper arm, and tip via parenting, so moving the base drags the whole arm.

Learn the basics of animation in Blender by creating a simple motion with keyframes on a ten-frame timeline, recording start and end states to generate in-between frames.

Plan and execute a looping Blender animation by capturing the default position at frame 0, setting per-part keyframes, and using the dope sheet and animation presets.

Master pose-to-pose animation in Blender by duplicating the initial frame to the end frame using the dope sheet editor, creating identical start and end frames for a seamless loop.

Explore the graph editor in Blender to refine arm rotation from frame 0 to 120, using world-axis rotation, bezier handles, and ease-in/out interpolation for smoother tweens.

Refine blender arm animation using the post appose workflow, add a 50 frame keyframe for 90 degrees, and use dope sheet to hold frames and shift to 20 and 90.

Learn how to insert and rename markers in Blender to annotate an animation timeline, marking start and end frames, and organizing future animations for export to Unity.

Learn mesh exporting optimization and game integration from Blender for real-time games, and master exporting to Unity, importing, animating, and applying camera post-process effects.

Set the arm’s pivot to origin by snapping the 3d cursor to origin and applying origin to the 3d cursor, then use autokey to adjust keyframes before exporting to Unity.

Export your Blender model to FBX for Unity by selecting the mesh, using SBX ASCII to preserve animations, applying modifiers, and exporting with correct start/end frames and settings.

Adjust the mesh scale factor to one and disable import blend shapes for the mechanical model, then enable loop time and rename the animation to loop move.

In unity, place the model, reset its transform to the origin, align the main game camera, add a point light, and set up an animator and controller to play animation.

Build an animation state machine by creating an arm control animator controller, adding the loop move clip as the default state, and enabling automatic looping when the game starts.

Assign the imported texture to the arm material, switch to an unlit shader to override lighting, and preview the fully textured model in Unity.

Create and manage multiple instances of a mechanical arm in Unity by duplicating and parenting them to an empty game object, allowing unique placement while the arm animation plays.

Create an environment in Unity by building a floor, walls, and ceiling with quads, applying a grid texture, adjusting tiling and materials, and snapping vertices for precise alignment.

Duplicate objects in Blender to vary arm orientations and reduce synchronized motion, rotate the parent object, and preview changes in the game tab before configuring the camera fly-through animation.

Create a camera fly-through by adding a transform animation to the main camera, including position and rotation curves, and control playback with an animation clip and controller.

Learn to enhance Unity renders with post-processing image effects, importing the image effects package, and applying bloom and edge detection on the main camera to create a cyber-space surreal look.

Organize Blender projects with folders for textures, animations, meshes, materials, and prefabs to streamline Unity workflows. Review modeling, extrusion and bevel, mirror modifier, UV mapping, texturing, and rigging.