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diff --git a/release/text/blender.html b/release/text/blender.html deleted file mode 100644 index fa4ddc916f0..00000000000 --- a/release/text/blender.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,558 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> -<HTML> -<HEAD> - <META HTTP-EQUIV="CONTENT-TYPE" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> - <TITLE>A brief introduction to Blender</TITLE> - <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"> - <META NAME="CREATED" CONTENT="0;0"> - <META NAME="CHANGED" CONTENT="20091122;19562400"> -</HEAD> -<BODY LANG="de-DE" DIR="LTR"> -<H1 LANG="en-US" ALIGN=CENTER><A NAME="top"></A>Blender v2.5 alpha 0</H1> -<P><BR><BR> -</P> -<OL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#intro">About</A> - </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#pack">Package - Contents and Install</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#start">Getting - Started:</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <OL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#start_run">Running</A> - </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#start_1st">First - steps</A>, <A HREF="#start_3dview">The 3d View</A> </SPAN> - </P> - </OL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#resources">Resources</A> - </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#trouble">Troubleshooting</A> - </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#faq">(FAQ) A few remarks</A> </SPAN> - </P> -</OL> -<H2 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="intro"></A>1. About</H2> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">Welcome to the world of <A HREF="http://www.blender.org/">Blender</A>! -The program you have now in your hands is a free and fully functional -3d modeling, animation, rendering, compositing, video editing and -game creation suite. It is available for Unix-based (Linux, Mac OS X, -etc.) and Windows systems and has a large world-wide community.</SPAN></P> -<P LANG="en-US">Blender is free to be applied for any purpose, -including commercial usage and distribution. It's free and -open-source software, released under the GNU GPL licence. The full -program sources are available on our website.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">For impatient readers, here the two most important -links:</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="http://www.blender.org/">www.blender.org</A> -the main website<BR><A HREF="http://wiki.blender.org/">wiki.blender.org</A> -the documentation website</SPAN></P> -<P ALIGN=RIGHT><A HREF="#top"><SPAN LANG="en-US">back to top</SPAN></A></P> -<H2 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="pack"></A>2. Package Contents and Install</H2> -<P LANG="en-US">This is what you should get from a downloaded Blender -package:</P> -<UL> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">The Blender program - for some specific platform; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">This text, with links - and the copyright notice; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US">A basic set of scripts, including importers and - exporters to other 3d formats. - </P> -</UL> -<P LANG="en-US">The latest version for all supported platforms can -always be found at the main Blender site, along with documentation, -sample .blend files, many scripts, plugins and more.</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">If you are interested in the development of the -program, information for coders and the SVN repository with the -sources can be found at the <A HREF="http://www.blender.org/development/">developer's -section of the site.</A></SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="start_install"></A>Installation notes:</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">Installing is mostly a matter of executing a -self-installer package or unpacking it to some folder. Blender has a -minimum of system dependencies (like OpenGL and SDL), and doesn't -install by overwriting libraries in your system. There are also some -extra files needed for a good install, like standard python scripts, -but these are optional. Typically these will go to your -HOME/.blender/ directory. Below you find instructions for it per OS. -</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><B>Windows:</B> The .zip download has a .blender -directory included, which can be manually copied.<BR>Also note that -Blender comes with some dll files, which have to reside next to -blender.exe.</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><B>Linux, FreeBSD, Irix, Solaris:</B> after unpacking -the distribution, you can copy the .blender directory from it to your -home directory. -</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><B>OSX:</B> the .blender directory is in -Blender.app/Contents/Resources/. This is being located by default. If -you like to alter some of the files, copy this directory to your home -dir.</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><B>Other settings:</B><BR>There are many paths you -can set in Blender itself, to tell it where to look for your -collections of texture and sound files, fonts, plugins and additional -scripts, besides where it should save rendered images, temporary -data, etc. If you're only starting, there's no need to worry about -this now. -</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><B>Python:</B><BR>Blender 2.5x use Python 3.1 as -scripting language for im/exporters, UI buttons layout and other -areas like presets. On Windows, Python 3.1 is included in the zip -package from blender.org. -</P> -<P LANG="en-US">On other platforms Python is usually a standard -component nowadays, so unless there's a version mismatch or an -incomplete Python installation, there should be no problems.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">Even if you do have the right version of Python -installed you may need to tell the embedded Python interpreter where -the installation is. To do that it's enough to set a system variable -called PYTHON to the full path to the stand-alone Python executable -(to find out execute "import sys; print (sys.executable)" -inside the stand-alone interpreter, not in Blender). In Blender 2.5 -alpha 0, Python 3.1 is linked to your Blender binary, so you have -to use a Python 3.1.x version. -</P> -<P ALIGN=RIGHT><A HREF="#top"><SPAN LANG="en-US">back to top</SPAN></A></P> -<H2 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="start"></A>3. Getting Started</H2> -<P LANG="en-US">Blender's main strength is at modeling, animating and -rendering 3d scenes, from simple cubes and monkey heads to the -complex environments found in videogames and movies with computer -graphics (CG) art.</P> -<P><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">Rendering</SPAN></STRONG> <SPAN LANG="en-US">is -the process of generating 2d images from 3d data (basically lit 3d -models) as if viewed by a virtual camera. In simple terms, rendering -is like taking a picture of the scene, but with many more ways to -influence the results. Blender comes with a very flexible renderer -and a Povray Render Exporter script. By </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">animating</SPAN></STRONG> -<SPAN LANG="en-US">the data and rendering pictures of each successive -frame, movie sequences can be created.</SPAN></P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">In </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">compositing</SPAN></STRONG> -<SPAN LANG="en-US">a set of techniques is used to add effects to -rendered images and combine these into a single frame. This is how, -for example, artists add laser beams, glows and dinosaurs to motion -pictures. Blender also has builtin support for video sequence editing -and sound synchronization.</SPAN></P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">The </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">game -engine</SPAN></STRONG> <SPAN LANG="en-US">inside Blender lets users -create and play nifty 3d games, complete with 3d graphics, sound, -physics and scripted rules. </SPAN> -</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">Via </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">scripting</SPAN></STRONG> -<SPAN LANG="en-US">the program's functionality can be automated and -extended in real-time with important new capabilities. True -displacement mapping, for example, is now part of the core program, -but before that it was already possible using scripts. Since they are -written in a nice higher-level programming language -- <A HREF="http://www.python.org/">Python</A> -in our case -- development is considerably faster and easier than -normal C/C++ coding. Naturally, they run slower than compiled code, -but still fast enough for </SPAN><EM><SPAN LANG="en-US">many</SPAN></EM> -<SPAN LANG="en-US">purposes or for mixed approaches like some plugins -use.</SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="start_run"></A>Running:</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">Depending on your platform, the installation may have -put an icon on your desktop and a menu entry for Blender. If not, -it's not hard to do that yourself for your favorite window manager.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">But for more flexibility, you can execute Blender -from a shell window or command-line prompt. Try "blender -h" -to see all available options.</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">Blender saves data in its own custom binary -format, using ".blend" as extension. The default start-up -configuration is saved in a file in your home directory called -.B.blend. To save your changes to it, click on </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">File->User -Preferences->Save as Default</SPAN></STRONG> <SPAN LANG="en-US">or -use the Control+U shortcut directly.</SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="start_1st"></A>First steps:</H3> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">This is the point where we stop and warn -newcomers that 3d Computer Graphics is a vast field and Blender has a -lot of packed functionality. If you already tried to run it and fell -victim to the "too many buttons!" syndrome, just relax and -<A HREF="#faq_2">read this part</A> of the F.A.Q. </SPAN> -</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">Hoping the explanations helped, let's start -Blender and take a look at it. At the top header you can see the main -menu. Under "File" you'll find entries to save, load and -quit. If </SPAN><EM><SPAN LANG="en-US">someone</SPAN></EM> <SPAN LANG="en-US">ever -messes with your workspace and you can't find your way around: use -the menu </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">File->New</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">.</SPAN></P> -<P LANG="en-US">Blender's screen is divided in "areas". -Each of them has a top or bottom header and can show any of the -available built in applications (called "spaces", like the -3d View, the Text Editor, etc). If you started with a default -configuration, there should now be five areas: -</P> -<UL> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">A thin strip at the - top where you can see the main menus and some important basic - functions like search and the new Engine drop down menu; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">On the left:</P> - <UL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US">A big one, the - </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">3d View</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">, - where you model and preview your scenes and the new toolbar on the - left; </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P><SPAN LANG="en-US">A smaller one at the bottom, the - </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">Timeline</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">, - where you can playback your animations and change basic animation - settings.</SPAN></P> - </UL> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">On the right:</P> - <UL> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">A small one on top, - the O<B>utliner</B>, which gives you access over your objects and - it's underlying data.</P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Beneath that, the - <B>Properties Window</B>, which contains most buttons and settings. - </P> - </UL> -</UL> -<P LANG="en-US">These are the five most important spaces, at least -when you are starting. At the left corner of each header you can find -the "Window Types" button, which is like the "Start" -buttom of many desktop environments. Clicking on it lets you change -what is shown in that area.</P> -<P><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">Highly configurable workspace</SPAN></STRONG></P> -<P LANG="en-US">Blender's interface has been considerably improved -for the 2.5x series. Besides the goals of exposing functionality via -menus and adding tooltips for all buttons, there are even more ways -now to change your workspace.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">Editor areas can be split and joined with the new -window split action zone. Dragging the zone inside the editor area -with LMB interactively splits a new window in between, dragging the -zone into another editor area joins it. Alt-LMB dragging the zone -swaps the area with another. -</P> -<P LANG="en-US">There should be a button with "Default" in -the top header. It has some preset workspaces that can be tried now -for a tour of the possibilities. When you change your current setup -to something worth keeping, that same button has the option to save -the new screen.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">The User Preferences space has many options there -that you may want to tweak, like turning button tooltips on/off, -setting paths, etc. Just remember to save your configuration if you -want to keep it for the next session). Since these preferences are -not saved in regular .blend files, the presets will retain working -even when loading files from others. Note however, that the -arrangement of the UI itself - its screens and windows - are always -saved in each file. -</P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="start_3dview"></A>The 3d View:</H3> -<P><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">Mouse buttons and the toolbox</SPAN></STRONG></P> -<P LANG="en-US">Pressing Shift+A while the mouse pointer is inside a -3d View space will open up the Add menu, where you can add new -objects to your scene.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">This is how the mouse buttons work in this space: -</P> -<UL> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Left button: anchor - the 3d cursor in a new location -- it defines where your next added - object will appear, among other things. - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Right button: - selection. If you hold it and move, you can move the selected item - around. - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US">Middle button: 3d space rotation or translation - -- choose which one in one of the User Preferences tabs. - </P> -</UL> -<P LANG="en-US">Combinations of mouse buttons and Shift or Control -will give you additional options like zooming, panning and restricted -movement. 3d scenes can be seen from any position and orientation, -but there are some default ones you can reach with Numpad buttons or -the "View" menu in the 3d View's header.</P> -<P><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">Edit Mode</SPAN></STRONG></P> -<P LANG="en-US">When you want to edit the vertices of a mesh, for -example, it's necessary to select the object and enter "Edit -Mode", either using the 3d View header "Mode" button -or by pressing TAB on your keyboard (press it again to return to -object mode).</P> -<P><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">And this was only the beginning ...</SPAN></STRONG></P> -<P LANG="en-US">The above guidelines should have given new users -enough to start playing with the interface. The next section lists -online references that can actually teach about 3d and this program, -but it's a good idea to spend some time just playing with Blender, -looking at menus and finding what mouse actions do in each space.</P> -<P ALIGN=RIGHT><A HREF="#top"><SPAN LANG="en-US">back to top</SPAN></A></P> -<H2 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="resources"></A>4. Resources</H2> -<UL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="http://www.blender.org/">www.blender.org</A> - - the general site, with documentation and downloads </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="http://www.blenderartists.org/">www.blenderartists.org</A> - - the main user community web site </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="http://projects.blender.org/">projects.blender.org</A> - - the project's site </SPAN> - </P> -</UL> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">This short presentation is meant to guide -newcomers to Blender through their </SPAN><EM><SPAN LANG="en-US">very -first</SPAN></EM> <SPAN LANG="en-US">steps, giving directions to -where you can find the resources you will need. We can't teach you 3d -in these few lines of text, that would take a lengthy book.</SPAN></P> -<P LANG="en-US">IRC users are invited to try #blenderchat or #blender -on irc.freenode.net .</P> -<P LANG="en-US">There are also local Blender community sites in some -countries, that should be listed at the Community section of the main -site.</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">If you are a coder wanting to get in touch with -Blender development, a good read is the "Get Involved" page -at <A HREF="http://www.blender.org/community/get-involved/">www.blender.org</A>. -A good way to start is to follow the mailing lists for a while and -check bug reports, to see if you can fix one. On irc.freenode.net: -#blendercoders you'll find many active developers, here also the -weekly meetings take place.</SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="resources_xtra"></A>Other useful links</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">In the realm of open-source cg programs, it's a -pleasure to mention other great projects that can help you achieve -your visions. Note that these programs are completely independent -from Blender and have their own sites, documentation and support -channels. Note also that this list is not complete and should be -updated on future versions of this text.</P> -<DL> - <DT><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="http://www.gimp.org/">The Gimp</A> </SPAN> - </DT><DD LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.5cm"> - The mighty GNU Image Manipulation Program. In 3d work it is a - valuable resource to create, convert and, of course, manipulate - texture images. It is also useful for work with rendered pictures, - for example to add 2d text, logos or to touch-up, apply factory or - hand-made effects and compose with other images. - </DD></DL> -<H4 LANG="en-US"> -Renderers:</H4> -<DL> - <DT><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="http://www.povray.org/">Povray</A> </SPAN> - </DT><DD LANG="en-US"> - One of the best and most popular renderers in the world. There is a - script to export Blender scenes to be rendered with it, delivered - with 2.5. - </DD><DT> - <SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="https://renderman.pixar.com/">Renderman-compliant:</A> - open-source: <A HREF="http://www.aqsis.org/">Aqsis</A>, <A HREF="http://pixie.sf.net/">Pixie</A>. - Closed-source: <A HREF="http://www.3delight.com/">3delight</A>. </SPAN> - </DT><DD STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.5cm"> - <SPAN LANG="en-US">The Renderman spec was created by Pixar years ago - to define both a standard and powerful representation of 3d data for - renderers and the expected quality of the renderization itself. - Think about 3d art from some movie -- it was much probably created - by Pixar's own Photorealistic Renderman (PRMan) renderer. This is a - good site to learn more: <A HREF="http://www.rendermanacademy.com/">The - Renderman Academy</A>. Neither Pixar nor its products are affiliated - with Blender. </SPAN> - </DD></DL> -<P ALIGN=RIGHT> -<A HREF="#top"><SPAN LANG="en-US">back to top</SPAN></A></P> -<H2 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="trouble"></A>5. Troubleshooting</H2> -<P LANG="en-US">If something isn't working, please read this entire -section before looking for help.</P> -<UL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#trouble_gen">General - start-up and usage problems</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#trouble_vdo">Video - card blues</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#trouble_py">Scripts</A> - </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#trouble_bugt">The Bug Tracker</A> - </SPAN> - </P> -</UL> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="trouble_gen"></A>General start-up and usage -problems</H3> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">If the program crashes or something isn't -working properly, try running Blender in </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">debug -mode:</SPAN></STRONG> <SPAN LANG="en-US">execute it as "blender --d" from a command prompt. This might give some info about what -is wrong. There are also other options that might be useful, "blender --h" lists all of them.<BR>Most likely an immediate crash is due -to Blender's need for a compliant and stable working OpenGL.</SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="trouble_vdo"></A>Video card blues</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">Although OpenGL is cherished as an excellent cross -platform library, the enormous growth of different 3d cards have made -this a complicated affair for Blender. Unlike other programs - or 3d -games - Blender utilizes OpenGL for its entire GUI, including buttons -and pulldown menus. That means also the 2D options for OpenGL should -work good, something easily ignored or badly tested by 3d card -manufacturers, who target more at the latest SFX features for new 3d -games.<BR>In general Blender performs very well on 3d cards from -renowned brands, such as NVIDIA, ATI or 3dLabs.</P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="trouble_py"></A>Scripts</H3> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">To be sure that some functionality is scripted: -all scripts in Blender can be accessed from the "Scripts" -menu in the Scripts Window's header, even if the same functionality -is also in another menu somewhere. If you see an entry in one of the -submenus there, it refers to a script. Please don't report problems -with scripts to the bug tracker or other normal Blender channels. You -should find the author's site or contact email in the script's text -itself, but usually the Python & Plugins forum at -<A HREF="http://www.blenderartists.org/">Blenderartists.org</A> is -used for posting announcements, questions, suggestions and bug -reports related to scripts. It's the recommended place to look first, -specially if no site was specified at the script's window or source -file(s).</SPAN></P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">If some or all scripts that should appear in -menus are not there, running Blender in <A HREF="#trouble_gen">debug -mode </A>can possibly inform what is wrong. Make sure the reported -dir(s) really exist.</SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="trouble_bugt"></A>The Bug Tracker</H3> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">If you really think you found a new bug in -Blender, check the Bug Tracker entries at <A HREF="https://projects.blender.org/tracker/?atid=498&group_id=9&func=browse">the -projects site</A> and if it was not reported yet, please log in (or -register) and fill in detailed information about the error. A small -.blend file or script (if it is a problem with the Blender Python -API) showcasing the bug can help a lot.</SPAN></P> -<P ALIGN=RIGHT><A HREF="#top"><SPAN LANG="en-US">back to top</SPAN></A></P> -<H2 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="faq"></A>6. (FAQ) A few remarks</H2> -<OL> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#faq_1">Quick - tips.</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#faq_2">What's - up with the interface?</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#faq_3">How - good is Blender? How does it compare to other 3d programs?</A> </SPAN> - </P> - <LI><P><SPAN LANG="en-US"><A HREF="#faq_4">Something doesn't work, - what do I do?</A> </SPAN> - </P> -</OL> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="faq_1"></A>Quick tips:</H3> -<P><STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">Rendering</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN LANG="en-US">: -to see something when you render (F12) an image, make sure the scene -has a camera pointing at your models (camera view is NumPad 0) and at -least one light properly placed. Otherwise you'll only get a black -rectangle.</SPAN></P> -<P LANG="en-US">Setting texture map input to "uv" in the -Material Buttons window is not enough to assign a texture image and -uv data to a mesh. It's necessary to select the mesh, enter edit -mode, indicate face selection mode (modes can be accessed in the 3d -view's header), load an image in the UV/Image Editor window and then -define a mapping (or unwrapping). Only then the mesh will have uv -data available for exporting.</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">If you want the fastest possible access to -Blender's functionality, remember what a </SPAN><CITE><SPAN LANG="en-US">wise -power user</SPAN></CITE> <SPAN LANG="en-US">wrote: "keep one -hand on the keyboard and the other on the mouse". Learn and use -the shortcuts, configure your workspace to your needs.</SPAN></P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="faq_2"></A>What's up with the interface?</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">Blender uses a couple of innovative paradigms in the -UI, not following more common, somewhat standard rules for user -interfaces. In the past years several of our interface concepts have -been adopted in more programs though, especially using a configurable -non-overlapping subdivision layout and the paradigm to never block -the UI from working by offering all editors and options in parallel. -<BR>Typically free programs offer easy-to-use interfaces for large -audiences. Blender however is, like other high-end 3d tools, meant to -be a powerful production tool for professionals and 3d enthusiasts, -for people who are dedicated to become 3d artists with enough time -and motivation to master the software. <BR>This also has its origins -in the 90ies, when Blender was born as an in-house studio tool, -optimized to speed up daily heavy work, and not to please everyone. -But it's true that you can consider Blender's interface to be not -very newbie-friendly. Luckily you only have to learn it once, and -once you get the basics it'll feel like 2nd nature!</P> -<P LANG="en-US">Blender also has been considerably improved since the -2.3x series, exposing most functionality via menus, adding panels, -color "themability", tooltips for all buttons and -internationalization support. This is an ongoing effort or, better, a -goal to keep the best ideas in Blender's design while expanding and -making it more user-friendly.</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><B>Too many buttons!</B></P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">Again, 3d Computer Graphics is a vast and fun -field. If you're only starting, Blender can seem daunting, specially -because of all its packed functionality. Don't let that upset you, -there is no need to care about </SPAN><EM><SPAN LANG="en-US">all</SPAN></EM> -<SPAN LANG="en-US">those buttons right now -- or ever.</SPAN></P> -<P LANG="en-US">There are basic things all users should learn early -up:</P> -<UL> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Start the program and - access the main menus; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Find and configure - user preferences; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Basic scene set-up: - how to add and transform (move, scale, rotate) lights, cameras and - objects; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm">Create and link - materials to objects, at least to color them; - </P> - <LI><P LANG="en-US">Render your scenes. - </P> -</UL> -<P LANG="en-US">One hour is enough time to assimilate and practice -that before going on with basic mesh editing and texturing, for -example. There are many different areas to learn about. Taste, -interaction with other users and your main interests (game art, -rendered stills, movies) will guide you and define the skills you'll -want to master. Then it goes like a spiral: practice something for a -while, study and find about new tricks or whole new areas, practice a -little more and so on. Soon you'll become pleased to have all those -buttons to play with. A few more months and you'll probably be back -asking for more ... -</P> -<H3 LANG="en-US"><A NAME="faq_3"></A>How good is Blender?</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">If you ever get the impression that it's not possible -to create great looking or complex works with Blender, rejoice -- you -are just plainly uninformed, as browsing blender.org galleries and -community forums can easily confirm.</P> -<H3 LANG="en-US">How does it compare to other 3d programs?</H3> -<P LANG="en-US">In short: it takes considerable dedication to become -good, no matter which program you work with, as long as it is good -enough not to get in your way. Blender has, like the others, its -strong and weak points.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">Compared to commercial alternatives, Blender misses -some features and isn't as "newbie-friendly". It doesn't -come packed with "one-click" or "wizard" -functionality, where you get much faster results in detriment of -flexibility and value. It also isn't bundled with tens of megabytes -of sample models, texture images, tutorials, etc. (which only partly -explains how Blender can fit in such a small download).</P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">Thankfully, these are relatively minor -shortcomings. Many of Blender's modeling, animation and -rendering/compositing features are up-to-par with the industry -standards. The pace at which features are being added or polished in -Blender is impressive, now that it's a well stablished open source -project. We get daily feedback from professionals and studios using -Blender, and results from the Blender Foundation's Open Movie/Game -projects such as <A HREF="http://www.bigbuckbunny.org/">Big Buck -Bunny</A> and <A HREF="http://www.yofrankie.org/">Yo Frankie!</A> -have set a reference standard for what a program like Blender can -achieve. More: through plugins and scripting, many repetitive or -otherwise cumbersome tasks can be made trivial. But plugin and script -authors go further, teaching Blender new tricks, from importers and -exporters to more advanced "applications".</SPAN></P> -<P><SPAN LANG="en-US">About goodies, there are many places where you -can get them (check <A HREF="#resources">resources</A>). Besides the -many available Blender books, the main site and blenderartists.org -are the best ones to start. For free texture images, a simple search -for "free textures" should bring many results, just pay -attention to their licenses if you plan to release your work later.</SPAN></P> -<P LANG="en-US">Commercial packages might make it easier for newbies -to produce nice looking material, but only another newbie would -praise the results. There's a huge difference between what a skilled -artist and someone poking at buttons and using presets can -accomplish.</P> -<P LANG="en-US">Last but best of all: Blender is open-source, free -for all to use, study and improve.</P> -<HR> -<P LANG="en-US">Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy Blender!</P> -<P LANG="en-US"><FONT SIZE=2>Document version 1.2, November 2009</FONT></P> -<P ALIGN=RIGHT><A HREF="#top"><SPAN LANG="en-US">back to top</SPAN></A></P> -</BODY> -</HTML>
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