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How to Understand the Blender User Interface


dsavi

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The designers of Blender 3D have taken a very unconventional approach to UI design, an approach not familiar to anyone who hasn't used UNIX workstations in the 90's but nevertheless very effective. This confuses people trying to start using Blender to learn some aspect of 3D, and often they never give Blender a second look. This is a pity, as Blender is good enough to compete with commercial products such as 3DS Max and Maya.

 

I have been to this mysterious land of strange UIs and back, and with me I bring the knowledge of Blender's outer workings.

 

So this is what Blender's UI looks like:

 

blendersuinot.jpg

 

Whoops, I lied. Put that picture out of your mind, for it is no more. Blender's interface has been rewritten entirely to be more logical and consistent. (Note: everything here works in Blender 2.53 Beta and above. Don't use any lower version. The beta can be downloaded on http://blender.org) This is roughly how a default startup of Blender looks like: (But larger of course)

 

areas.jpg

 

If that looks more confusing to you with even more buttons, don't worry. There's a method to the madness. The key to knowing what on earth Blender's UI is trying to tell you is called windows or areas. Bear with me.

When a user more familiar with Blender looks at the above pictures, they see that it is divided and subdivided into different areas that do different things. Here I've highlighted the different areas shown in the above picture:

 

areashighlighted.jpg

 

Now pause for a moment and forget about Blender. Imagine a computer desktop, where instead of having different programs floating around overlapping each other like this:

 

OS11.2-menu-dolphin.png

 

The windows were arranged in a flat grid so that you never had to ALT+TAB, at the expense of the windows not being very big.

 

hashtwm3.png

 

Yes they exist (Okay so maybe only nerds use it anymore- and maybe is stretching it a bit), and that's how Blender's UI works. Each window has its separate function, and it's just the same in Blender. The difference is that if you make changes in one window in Blender, the changes are sometimes reflected in other windows (Because the windows are not separate programs).

 

Get it so far? If you don't please reply. I'm going to assume you do understand that much.

 

So in Blender to make the interface you want, you split windows in two, merge two windows, or resize windows. Here's a little demonstration. To start with I have gotten rid of everything but the 3D view.

 

splittut1.jpg

 

Next I'll demonstrate splitting.

 

splittut2.jpg

 

Here I've split the 3D view in two vertically, so now there are two 3D views side by side. I'll go through how to actually do this later.

 

splittut3.jpg

 

Here I split the one on the right horizontally.

 

splittut4.jpg

 

Then I went crazy.

 

splittut5.jpg

 

But having a million 3D views isn't useful, now is it. I went back to the start and split it once vertically, and then chose the "Properties" window type. This changes that window into, you guessed it, properties!

 

splittut6.jpg

 

Here you are with that one window turned into properties. I also split the other window into two.

 

splittut7.jpg

 

Here I turned that bottom window into a timeline (Like the bar on the bottom of Windows Media Player or the top of iTunes that shows where you are in the song).

 

splittut8.jpg

 

This shows merging, the opposite of splitting. When I let go of my mouse button it joined the 3D view and the timeline to go back a step and create this:

 

splittut9.jpg

 

Got it now? I really oversimplified it, but repetition is how you learn I guess. This system of splitting, merging, and changing window types can lead to some pretty complex setups that suit your taste exactly.

 

So now it's time to experiment on your own.

 

See all those corner things I've highlighted in red? Those are important. They're what you click on to split and merge...

 

splittut10.jpg

 

...Open Blender, click on one of those corners, and drag in some direction. Try this over and over again, and see if you can figure them out. If a new window appears, you're splitting. If an arrow appears while you have your mouse button down, it will merge two windows. The dropdown list that appears if you click on the icon in the bottom left (Sometimes top left) corner of each window/area changes the window type. I'm not sure that an explanation of this is as good as trying it yourself. Go do that, then read the next part.

 

[spoiler=Useful to know, not necessary]The fact that nothing ever overlaps is one of the main three principles of Blender's UI:

 

  • Non-overlapping
  • Non-blocking
  • Non-modal

 

And also non-lethal, non-fiction and non-alcoholic but that's beside the point.

 

You know what non-overlapping means by now I hope. Non-blocking means that you are never forced to do something before you can continue, like when a program asks for information (Say when you're using a filter or adjustment in Photoshop) before it allows you to do anything. Non-modal has to do with consistency. For example, Blender uses the same keyboard shortcuts for all the things that different tasks have in common, like moving, resizing, or rotating.

 

 

 

Next part

 

This part should be used as part tutorial, part guide. Don't try to take it all in at once, especially the big list.

 

So that was cool, but you still don't have any idea how to use Blender. The best place to start is probably explaining what the different windows do. Listed from the bottom of the list in Blender up, here's a basic overview so that you can get some idea of where to find things.

 

  1. 3D View
     
    The place where you can see rough previews of the objects in the scene.
     
    Note: You'll notice that the 3D view, by default, should have some sort of panel looking thing on the left side. (If not press T with your mouse in the 3D view) This is called the toolshelf. More on that after this list.
  2. Timeline
     
    Shows which frame you're on and allows you to scrub
     
  3. Graph Editor
     
    Edits graphs that are used in the animation system
     
  4. Dopesheet
     
    Also for animation, I won't go into detail
     
  5. NLA Editor
     
    Also for animation, allows you to edit actions you've created for your characters
     
  6. UV/Image Editor
     
    Edits UVs (Textures you've mapped to a model) or images
     
  7. Video Sequence Editor
     
    A video sequencer
     
  8. Text Editor
     
    An editor for writing scripts for Blender to extend it
     
  9. Node Editor
     
    Edits material or compositing nodes
     
  10. Logic Editor
     
    Edits the logic of a game
     
  11. Properties
     
    Edits all the properties of objects and render settings. This is so important that I'll go through each of the tabs:
     
     
     
    • Render
       
      Allows you to change the settings of the render, as a simple example the render size.
       
    • Scene
       
      For changing scene-wide settings like gravity for physics
       
    • World
       
      Changes settings such as the color of the sky in the render (if any)
       
    • Object
       
      Changes the basic properties of objects (Name, whether it's displayed as wire, solid, textured etc., which layers it's on)
       
    • Constraints
       
      Semi-advanced stuff you don't need to know, mostly for animations
       
    • Modifiers
       
      Modifiers are like adjustment layers in Photoshop in the way that they are non-destructive "filters" that change the object (For example, creating a high-poly model out of a low-poly model with the subsurf modifier)
       
    • Object Data
       
      More semi-advanced stuff, I don't use it for anything right now. Don't worry about it.
       
    • Materials
       
      Changes the material that the selected object uses
       
    • Textures
       
      Changes the texture that the selected material uses
       
    • Particles
       
      A particle simulator, useful for (for example) fast fluid simulation or hair simulation
       
    • Physics
       
      The most interesting place IMO. Allows you to make fluid, cloth, smoke, and all kinds of other cool simulations
       

     

     

    [*]Outliner

     

    Shows all the objects in the scene in a list you can select from

     

    [*]User Preferences

     

    Just what it says

     

    [*]Info

     

    The "File Add Render Help" menu you see on the top

     

    [*]File Browser

     

    Just what it says

     

    [*]Console

     

    Don't worry about this unless you want to write scripts for Blender

     

     

    Modes

     

    This only applies to the 3D view.

     

    There are so many things to be done in the 3D view that different tasks have been split into different modes:

     

    • Object Mode
       
      Allows you to select move, rotate, and scale any object in the scene.
       
    • Edit Mode
       
      (You could think of this as "Modeling mode") Allows you to edit the actual models in the scene.
       
    • Pose Mode
       
      (Not always visible) This is for animation. It allows you to pose characters that you have given a skeleton.
       
    • Sculpt Mode
       
      This is like edit mode, but you sculpt instead of editing the mesh directly. Blender now has sculpt features comparable to Zbrush.
       
    • Vertex Paint
       
      For painting models without using a texture. Colors are assigned to individual vertexes, to put it simply.
       
    • Texture Paint
       
      For painting models using textures, which are images stretched over the model in question.
       
    • Weight Paint
       
      This is kind of an advanced feature, no need to go into detail.
       

     

    To switch between two modes, press tab. This works like ALT+TAB.

     

    The 3D view toolshelf and Properties

     

    In Blender 2.5, there is the concept of "Tools" (Often called operators) and "Properties".

     

    Tools are, uhh, tools. They are buttons that do things, like performing an action on an object. For example, you can use the delete tool by selecting an object with a right click and pressing X. Tools are searchable; With your mouse on the 3D view, press the spacebar and type something related to what you want to do. There are probably over 200 tools, some very specific but there are only a few that you always need to know. Tools are like verbs.

     

    Properties are values assigned to an object/model. A property could be the color of the material that a model uses, the position of an object in 3D space, or anything else that could be used to describe the object. All properties are displayed in the properties editor window, divided logically into tabs. Properties are like adjectives.

     

    Toolshelf

     

    The toolshelf is in the 3D view, you can open or close it by pressing T with your mouse on the 3D view. It is filled with the most useful tools depending on the mode. Use a tool by pressing its button with an object selected and see what happens.

    Sometimes tools have options. Try adding an Icosphere by pressing SHIFT+A on the 3D view and selecting Mesh-> Icosphere. Now make sure the toolshelf is open, and look at the bottom of it. There should be options like "Subdivisions" and "Size". Try changing them.

     

    Properties shelf

     

    The properties shelf is also in the 3D view and looks a lot like the Toolshelf. It can be opened and hidden by pressing N. It has the most basic and therefore useful properties in it for easy access.

     

    Basic keyboard shortcuts:

     

    The three most important keyboard shortcuts in Blender are the following three:

     

    G - Move

    R - Rotate

    S - Scale

     

    These three shortcuts are shared among every single editor, where they apply.

     

    To take full advantage of Blender, you must have a numpad. The above three shortcuts are commonly used with the numpad in the following way:

    1. Press G, R or S
    2. Press the axis you would like to move, rotate, or scale on
    3. Type the number of units you would like to move, rotate, or scale by into the numpad

     

    So to rotate something by 87° on the z axis, you would press:

     

    R (Rotate) X (X axis) 87 (87°)

     

    Or to move an object negative five units on the Y axis, you would press:

     

    G (Move) Y (Y axis) -5 (-5 units)

     

    Or to make something 7.55 times bigger on the Z axis:

     

    S (Scale) Z (Z axis) 7.55 (7.55 times larger)

     

    One more shortcut and and you're good to go.

     

    X - Delete

     

     

    The Mouse

     

    Blender uses the right mouse button to select, and the middle mouse button to pan. Try this:

     

    1. Open Blender, put your mouse over the 3D view
    2. Hold down the middle mouse button
    3. With that held down, move your mouse around

     

    Now try selecting and de-selecting objects by right clicking on them.

     

    That is all I can think of. It took me three days to write, so please read all the way through. I will clarify anything that needs clarification, I know I have forgotten something. If people understand this, I will write a second tutorial on how to actually do something in Blender.

C2b6gs7.png

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This will be useful if I ever get around to getting Blender downloaded again. The only machine I can actually use it on lacks RAM and memory... Plus it's an old version of Blender.

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I have run the latest version of Blender on a laptop with a 366mHz processor and 256mb of RAM. Not so that it was usable (Something went wrong when it was compiled), but it was a good proof of concept.

 

What I'm really trying to say is that Blender has been designed to be extremely lightweight, just as long as you don't try to do fluid simulations you'll be more than fine.

C2b6gs7.png

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Are you just making this or are you planning to make a complete tut? =DDDD?

I Support TET!| If you want bunny PM Me.|Click For My DevArt

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^ Cowboy is the Best ^

IT'S A TRAP SHINY JUST WANTS TO STALK YOU.

Hell yeah I do. Whats your msn?

That's how it all starts.

 

Next he's going to ask you what flavor of candy you enjoy and whats your favorite color van.

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@Everyone: I like the positivity, but I won't be satisfied until someone tries this out. :razz:

 

Thanks for this dsavi, I'm sure it'll be help to me and others. I might sticky this if people think it needs to be.

I wouldn't normally ask for a tutorial to be stickified, but since I spent three days on this, and I don't want it to go unnoticed in the list of tutorials, I wouldn't mind a temporary sticky. (Maybe a month or so)

 

Are you just making this or are you planning to make a complete tut? =DDDD?

After writing this tutorial I realized that it was stupid to just make a tutorial on the interface and give users nothing exciting to do in Blender. So I'm going to make at least one tutorial. I'll make one on smoke simulation in blender, then I'll see what people want to do and what I can write a tutorial on.

C2b6gs7.png

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I downloaded it again the other day after hearing about the major UI upgrade. It is ALOT better but I still can't do crap in it. I tried setting up some blueprints to try mesh modelling a car panel, got to trying to scale the plane so I knew the images were all alligned and the right size, but the XYZ axis don't match up to each other in the screens. I'll try and take a screenshot so you can see what's wrong, probably something simple.

 

Edit: Ok worked it out, needed to rotate an image.

k9999-crazyarm.gif
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Thanks for this awesome tutorial. Really helpful. I installed Blender (the old version) a while ago and didn't get further than modelling a simple wine glass (using a video tutorial I found on YouTube). I wanted to create something a little more complicated and my friend recommended the Blender Noob to Pro wikibook to me. I eventually gave up because of the confusing UI design in Blender but now that I've downloaded Blender 2.53 I hope to get myself used to the new user interface and get to grips with 3D modelling (something I've always been interested in).

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Question: The previous version of Blender didn't work for me as I had a restricted account, and it writes to 'protected' file areas that those without admin access can't write to (at least that's why I think it didn't work). Is this changed now (does it have a folder by users like GIMP does that you can dump all that stuff in?)... Or is there another way I could get around it?

 

Yeah, odd question.

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Not an odd question at all actually. One goal of the Blender 2.5 project was to make so that users did not have to be admins to use Blender. You have to be an admin to install it, of course. But to use it you just download a zipped file that contains an exe that you can run as any user account.

 

It does also create a .blender folder in your home folder where Blender has its default file. Since the user interface information (How you have your windows set up etc.) is stored in the default file format (.blend), there's a .blend file in that folder that Blender loads every time it starts.

 

I should also mention that I'm almost done with the next tutorial (Smoke simulation). Here's a screenshot.

 

previewbl.jpg

C2b6gs7.png

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