Hey guys,
I’m pretty good with lighting and texturing, and finally have a rig that can render properly, so lately I’ve been trying to work some on modeling.
I come from a SolidWorks background so I can model there, but in Blender I suck.
The only way I can create things in Blender is following tutorials word by word. I was hoping that someone could point me in the direction of some books or more general information on how to model properly. Just stuff with some general tips and theory, preferably non-program specific, but Blender only tips are alright too.
Please don’t start a flame war over which book is best. Be nice :o. Thanks.
Though this should not be considered to be evidence that none exist, I don’t know of any general books on 3D graphics. Every volume I’ve personally examined has been keyed towards one of the 3D modeling products available on the market. Also, I have not examined volumes on other products, so what I list is geared twoards Blender.
To start with some freebies, there is a Wikibook Blender 3D: Noob to Pro, (but note: last time I looked, not much of it had been updated from the older, and less elegant 2.4x user interface, but it’s been a while since I looked at it.), and on the Blender download site, http://download.blender.org/documentation/pdf/John%20M%20Blain%20-%20An%20Introduction%20To%20Blender%203D%20-%20A%20Book%20For%20Beginners%20(2011).pdf is a book by John Blain. Three other authors to look for: Roland Hess, Ben Simonds, and Tony Mullen. Blain has a more recent commercial offering, from CRC Press which seems to cover some of the same material as the download. Both of Blain’s books are geared towards beginning users, as is Hess’ book, Blender Foundations. Simond’s book, Blender Masterclass is geared towards a more advanced user, as is Mullen’s book, Mastering Blender. Mullen, also has a book on Character modeling, which I have not seem, and so can offer no comment.