Blender: Objects in Blender

Name: Blender: Objects in Blender
Author: Jay Grewall

Understand how Blender handles 3D objects in 3D space

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Course: On-Demand

Hello and welcome to this video tutorial on Blender 3D. In this lesson, we'll begin basic transformation of objects in 3D space. Let's start modifying objects in Blender. When we first launched the application in our scene collection panel, we will see that the default object, which is a cube, is automatically selected. In the panel below that, we have our object properties. These values here indicate the exact position of the object that is selected. In this case, the cube is located at zero in the x axis, zero in the y axis and zero in the z axis, meaning this object is perfectly centered in our entire scene. And when I hold down my mouse wheel, I can see that it is indeed centered to our entire scene. Underneath the location parameters, we have the parameters of a rotation, which is 0, 0, 0 and underneath that we have the scale of our object which right now is 1, 1, 1, meaning it is one unit in every direction. If I want to go ahead and move this object, I can simply type in the value I want right here. Let's go with 10, and we will see that it is moved 10 meters in the x axis. If I want to move it 10 meters in the y axis, I can simply type in 10 right there and it has moved 10 units in the y axis. If I wanted to have this object go below our plane, represented by the grid, I'm simply gonna add a negative number. Let's type in negative 10 and we now see that this object is below our plane in the negative direction of our x axis. If ever I want to go back to my default parameters, I can simply click inside the field. I am now back to my original default position. If I want to rotate this, I can simply type in the value I want it to be rotated too, and I now have a cube that is rotated 45 degrees into the x axis. I can do the same with y and with z, and now our object has a completely new rotation. Once again, I can go back to my default settings of the object by deleting the newly entered terms. If I wanna scale this object, I'm gonna use the same principle by entering in the new value I want. If I wanna scale this in the x axis, I'm gonna type in the new value. Let's go with three. Now this is three times the size in the x axis. If I wanted it to be half the size, I can simply type in 0.5 in the y and I type in the value into my z axis to scale it on the z. What if I wanted to scale the object equally in all directions? Well, I'm going to press the S key on my keyboard and as soon as I do, you'll notice that my cursor is turned into two black arrows pointing in the opposite direction. Now I can drag my mouse without having to click my mouse button and scale it up and down. And you'll see under my scale values, it has all changed. If my object were disproportionate in size, let's say 5 by 3 by 0.5, I can use the same S key on my keyboard and scale it up and down equally in all directions. The same principle applies in the object properties panel simply by clicking and dragging left and right on the slider which will give us new numbers inside of that field. The same principle applies for the scale tool. Another way we can move this object is simply by pressing G on the keyboard. G is short for grab. When I do so, the object automatically gets dragged and I can move this around anywhere in my view port. Notice is going up and down and as soon as I click my left mouse button, it stops my grab tool leaving the object exactly where I left it off. When I rotate in my perspective and I go to the G tool again, it still moves me up and down. This is because a grab tool works only in respect to the view you are currently looking at. If I move my perspective over here, you'll notice it goes up and down, literally, not in and out the way it would along the coordinates the way we saw earlier. Well, what if I want to move this to a new location and I don't really know or care about the exact coordinates? Well, I can simply come over here to the move tool and I now get these three arrows pointing in three different directions on top of the object that I have selected. Each arrow represents the axis in which it'll move. The blue upward arrow indicates z axis movement up and down. The green arrow indicates y axis in and out and the red arrow indicates x left and right. So now I can move this thing directly along any plane I want, and I know it is moving to a new location because I can see the new parameters over here. Same thing goes if I do not know the exact numbers that I want to rotate it to, I can simply go over to my rotate tool. I'm given the same color coordination indicating the axis. I can simply click and drag and rotate the object, and I see that the new numbers are appearing over to the right. And finally, we have the scale tool, same color coordinates. I can click and drag in the x axis, scaling it disproportionately left and right, in and out and up and down. You may also notice these three little squares here. These little squares allow you to scale in two directions versus one or three. So when I click on this blue one, it is only going to scale in the x and y, not the z. Same thing goes for the red, which will allow me to scale in the y and z and the green, which will allow me to scale only in the x and z, not the y. And this is how we perform basic object transformation in Blender 3D. In the next lesson, we begin creating basic objects in Blender 3D and modifying their properties. Thank you very much for watching.

Beginner Provider : Jay Grewall 5 Lessons · 22m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

In these lessons, you’ll learn how to use the Property Panel to move, rotate, and scale objects. Next we’ll tour Blender’s Toolbar, which allows us to freely modify objects in 3D space with the help of color-coordinated axis gizmos. Using the Property Panel’s precise measurements, we will add default 3D objects into our Blender scene. We will explore Blender’s camera, as well as the Move and Grab functions within Blender’s viewports, which allow you to manipulate objects while seeing what the camera sees. You will learn about the 3D cursor, how it can be used as a pivot point for objects in our scene, and how to use it as the point of creating new objects.

By introducing you to fundamental tools, this module will teach you how Blender handles 3D objects in space. You will explore assembling objects in a scene, how to manipulate Blender’s camera, and how to use the 3D cursor to orient new objects. By the end of the module you’ll know how to construct a three dimensional scene and how to modify objects in space.

What You'll Learn

Move, rotate, and scale objects using Blender's Property Panel
Modify objects freely in 3D space with the Toolbar and color-coordinated axis gizmos
Add and create default 3D objects in a Blender scene with precise measurements
Manipulate objects through the camera using the Move and Grab viewport functions
Use the 3D cursor as a pivot point and as the origin for creating new objects
Assemble objects into a scene and construct two complete 3D scenes

Key Takeaways

The Property Panel lets you move, rotate, and scale objects and input exact object parameters.
Blender's Toolbar uses color-coordinated axis gizmos to freely modify objects in 3D space.
The Move and Grab functions let you manipulate objects in the viewport while seeing what the camera sees.
The 3D cursor can serve as a pivot point for objects and as the point where new objects are created.
By the end of the module you can construct a three-dimensional scene and modify objects in space.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this Blender course cover?

It covers how Blender handles 3D objects in space, including basic object transformation, creating objects, the camera, the 3D cursor, and assembling objects in a scene.

What will I be able to do after completing this module?

You will know how to construct a three-dimensional scene and how to modify objects in space, and you will create two 3D scenes.

How do you position objects precisely in Blender according to this course?

You use the Property Panel's precise measurements to move, rotate, scale, and add objects, and you can input exact object parameters.

What is the 3D cursor used for in this course?

The 3D cursor can be used as a pivot point for objects in the scene and as the point for creating new objects to orient them.

What skills does this course focus on?

It focuses on 3D modeling, 3D modeling software, Blender, Blender 3D graphics software, object animation, and working with visual objects.