What Is Blender?
Well, firstly, Blender is not a kitchen appliance. If you try to make a game with Unity and that kind of blender, the results could be interesting, but it sounds rather dangerous and messy.
Blender is described as a "computer graphics software toolset." It was first and foremost designed to create sophisticated 3D graphics when it was released in 2002 but now is capable of producing spectacular 2D creations as well.
Blender is free and (unlike Unity) open source. It is used every day for creating assets and animations for computer games and visualizations. In addition, it can create animated films, visual effects, and artwork, models for 3D printing, simulations of fluid, smoke, and soft bodies, and it also does video editing and compositing. Did I mention it's free? As in, costing no money.
So, what's the catch?
It's a beast.
When you first experience Blender, especially if you have had no previous experience with 3D creation software, you may get dizzy and get a nosebleed and want to pilot your ship into the heart of a quasar. But fear not! That will pass!
As intimidating as Blender may seem at first, it can be mastered. The secret is to tackle it a little bit at a time, learning bits of related functionality, and to understand and believe that there is a method to Blender's glorious madness. As an open source project it has grown in different directions with its community and it has its own particular way of doing things. At some point, you will just "get it."
If you are brave and determined and attentive, you will achieve great success. You get out of it what you put into it (in that sense, it is like the kitchen appliance!).
Here is some Blender "wow":
Fig. 1.3 – A Party Tug at 6:00 A.M., by Ian Hubert
As with Unity, there are many powerful, competing Digital Content Creation (DCC) programs available, two of the biggest being 3DS Max and Maya. So why would we use Blender over one of those?
Top 8 and a Half Reasons for Using Blender
Although this list isn't as long as the one for Unity, many of the reasons to use Blender are the same and they are no less important.
The top reasons to use Blender are:
- Free and open source: Other industry-standard 3D applications (such as 3DS Max, Houdini, and Maya) cost thousands of dollars. Blender gives you AAA graphics capabilities for nothing. The fact that Blender is open source might not seem like an immediate benefit to non-programmers, but it actually has tremendous benefits. See Extensibility, below.
- Versatility: This book will focus on using Blender for modeling, texturing, and animation, but Blender is a treasure trove of functionality. Unlike other proprietary modeling programs, Blender is more of a "one-stop shop", with capabilities that include powerful 2D graphics creation and animation, motion tracking, and video compositing, among others.
- Community: Blender has a huge user base, with some estimates putting it at around three million Earthlings. Like the Unity community, it is very friendly and helpful, providing support and inspiration.
- Learning Support: In addition to the official Blender documentation, there are hundreds of excellent YouTube videos to help you learn, not to mention highly valuable resources available in book form (ahem!).
- Fast Workflow: Once you get comfortable with Blender's preferred mouse-and-keyboard work process, you will see your productivity soar. It is arguably faster than the more menu-oriented workflows of other programs.
- Customizability: Blender is nothing if not highly customizable. You can change just about everything in the UI and input system to your heart's content. Beyond that, the application is programmable via the popular Python language.
- Lightweight and Multi-Platform: Blender easily runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. In addition, compared to other top 3D applications, Blender is tiny. It can easily fit on a thumb drive you take with you and run anywhere.
- Extensibility: Blender has a huge number of existing plugins, ranging from the very general to the super-specific (for example, there's one just for creating rocks). Because Blender is open source, it's not limited by the size of an in-house development team. This means that developers from all over the world are constantly working on new features and creating plugins.
- Built-in Monkey: Unlike other programs that augment their standard palette of 3D primitives (cube, sphere, and so on) with a teapot, Blender comes with its own 3D mascot, Suzanne the monkey.
Show me the monkey!
Fig. 1.4 – Suzanne. Another future overlord?
We have now identified our two primary tools for achieving cosmic power. But what do you need to use them?
