🆕Blender 4.5 Basics: Your FREE CG Cookie Start Guide! (Updated)

Embark on your Blender 4.5 LTS journey with CG Cookie’s comprehensive “Blender Basics” series. From object selection to advanced transformations, this tutorial playlist offers a structured path for beginners and returning users alike.

CG Cookie is offering a fantastic resource for anyone looking to master Blender 4.5 LTS. Their “Blender Basics” series on YouTube provides a step-by-step guide to the software’s fundamental tools and workflows. Whether you’re new to 3D or transitioning from another platform, this series promises to get you up and running quickly. Let’s dive into what each video offers.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 0) – Introduction to Blender and CG Cookie

“BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 0) – Introduction to Blender and CG Cookie” via CG Cookie.

The series kicks off with an introduction to Blender and CG Cookie. This initial video highlights Blender’s capabilities as a free and powerful 3D animation software, emphasizing its open-source nature and community support. According to CG Cookie, Blender is versatile and applicable to various fields, from entertainment to industrial design. The video guides beginners through the initial setup, encouraging them to embrace the learning process with available tutorials and CG Cookie’s structured courses.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 1) – Intro to 3D Navigation in Blender

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 1) – Intro to 3D Navigation in Blender via CG Cookie.

Part 1 emphasizes the crucial skill of 3D navigation, detailing various methods from gizmos and three-button mouse controls (including emulation for other devices) to touch gestures, alongside functions for framing the view and accessing elevation views like top, front, and side.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 2) – Selecting Objects in Blender

“BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 2) – Selecting Objects in Blender” via CG Cookie.

This tutorial meticulously details the methods for selecting objects within Blender’s 3D environment. CG Cookie explains the two primary interfaces for selection: the 3D Viewport and the Outliner. The video covers single and multiple object selection using modifier keys like Shift and Control. It also introduces selection tools like Select Box, Select Circle, and Select Lasso. Mastering these selection techniques is crucial for an efficient workflow in Blender, as noted by the creators.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 3) – Transforming Objects in Blender

“BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 3) – Transforming Objects in Blender” via CG Cookie.

The video outlines fundamental methods for transforming objects, focusing on manipulating location, rotation, and scale. Users can input numerical values directly into the object’s properties panel. The tutorial also introduces the Move, Rotate, and Scale tools in the 3D viewport, explaining how to constrain transformations to specific axes or planes. CG Cookie highlights hotkeys as an efficient alternative to tool selection, demonstrating how to perform precise incremental transformations.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 4) – Adding, Deleting, and the 3D Cursor in Blender

“BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 4) – Adding, Deleting, and the 3D Cursor in Blender” via CG Cookie.

This tutorial details object manipulation, focusing on adding, deleting, and positioning objects. CG Cookie covers deleting objects using the ‘X’ hotkey and adding new objects using the “Add” menu or the “Shift + A” hotkey. A significant portion is dedicated to the 3D Cursor, explaining how to move it and snap it to specific locations. The tutorial introduces the “Adjust Last Operation” dialogue box, which allows for fine-tuning parameters after an action.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 5) – Orientations and Parenting in Blender

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 5) – Orientations and Parenting in Blender via CG Cookie.

Part 5 focuses on Orientations and Parenting, beginning with the crucial understanding that all transformations in 3D space always occur in a specific order: location, then rotation, and finally scale. The video explains transform orientations, distinguishing between Global, which aligns axes with the world environment, and Local, which aligns axes with the object’s own dimensions.

While Global is Blender’s default, you can override transformations to be relative to an object’s local orientation by hitting the axis key twice (e.g., S then Z twice for local Z-scale), or by setting Local as the default. A radial menu hotkey is also available for quickly switching orientations. A key concept introduced is parenting, which creates hierarchies where a child object follows its parent’s transformations but can still move independently. Parenting is achieved by selecting the child, then the parent, and using Ctrl+P. Various parenting options, such as “Keep Transform” or “Without Inverse,” affect how the child’s transformations are inherited relative to the parent’s origin. To break this parent relationship, you can use Alt+P. These hierarchies are visually represented and manageable within the Outliner.

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 6) – Mesh Components and Object Origins in Blender

BLENDER 4.5 BASICS (part 6) – Mesh Components and Object Origins in Blender via CG Cookie.

Part 6 shifts to Mesh Components and Object Origins, introducing Edit Mode (accessed via Tab) for detailed modification of an object’s individual mesh. The fundamental building blocks of a mesh are defined: vertices (single points), edges (lines connecting two vertices), and faces (areas described by three or or more connected vertices). You can switch between selecting these components using number keys (1 for vertices, 2 for edges, 3 for faces). Deleting components with Delete or X highlights their interdependencies, as removing a vertex can also delete connected edges and faces.

The tutorial clarifies that all geometry added in Edit Mode belongs to the same mesh data block, meaning they act as a single unit in Object Mode, with the object serving as a container for this data. Objects can be separated into new, independent objects using the P hotkey, or multiple objects can be joined into a single object using Ctrl+J. Lastly, the concept of an object’s origin point is explained as the reference for all transformations.

The tutorial demonstrates how to precisely adjust this origin using options like “Origin to Geometry” or “Origin to 3D Cursor” from the “Object > Set Origin” menu, allowing for specific control over scaling and rotation.

Source:
CG Cookie – Blender 4.5 LTS Beginner Basics Complete Course