Learning Flow: Introduction to Blender

Get a head start on Blender by learning the essential techniques and workflows for modeling, shading, lighting, rendering, and more.

01 - Blender Basics
If you’re new to the Blender 3D creation suite then you’re in the right place! With this free course Jonathan Williamson walks you through your first steps with Blender, helping you conquer the initial learning curve. It’s designed for beginners – even those whom have no experience with 3D whatsoever.

02 - Mesh Modeling Fundamentals
Learn the essential mesh modeling tools and techniques for creating models in Blender while also gaining a grasp of how Blender handles objects and meshes.

03 - Fundamentals of Lighting
Without light nothing can be seen. Thus it is extremely important. And beyond the basic requirement for sight, lighting is equally, if not more important for appeal.

04 - Fundamentals of Texturing
Textures are 2D images that are designed to influence a 3D model’s appearance. Whether it’s simply to add color to a model like one would paint a clay sculpture, or to govern a specific material attribute, textures can be generated and painted by hand with Blender’s built-in tools.

05 - Fundamentals of Shading
If “Texturing” is like a paint’s color then “Shading” is like a paint’s finish: matte, semi-gloss, hi-gloss, etc. Shading is what makes an object appear metallic, transparent like glass, or translucent like wax.

06 - Fundamentals of Rendering
Rendering for computer graphics is like the oven is for baking. It’s the process of taking all your ingredients (3D models, shaders, lighting, animation, etc.), setting the oven temperature (render settings), and waiting for it to finish “cooking”. With computer graphics, rendering takes the form of finalizing 3D elements into image or movie format.

07 - Fundamentals of Compositing
Compositing is an optimizational workflow for minimizing render iterations while maximizing your render output’s editability. It’s essentially the concept of separating your render into individual components that can be reconstructed and tweaked independently after rendering.

Website:

http://cgcookie.com/flow/introduction-to-blender/