Blender 2.5 - Basic Interface

16/06/2010

Well! This is the first tutorial! As the first one, we'll talk about the Blender's interface, so the people out there who is not used to Blender can understand it (at least basically). So let's go for it! ;) I recommend you to see the video in HD, so you will appreciate better the buttons and all that stuff.

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NOTE: For those who would like the music to be off during the video, I'm aware of that, but a lot of time have passed since I published this videos, and I don¡t have the original files, so I can't just turn the music off and re-release this tutorial. Anyway, I'm planning on making a new video for the interface, because a few things have changed since I recorded this video, and on the new one I'll get rid of the background music ;) Sorry for the inconvenience!

In this tutorial you'll learn:
- Navigating in the 3d view.
- Types of panels.
- Interface layouts.
- Adapting interface to your needs.
- Customizing Blender 2.5 (Shortcuts, colors...)

Level of complexity: Beginner

And here is one thing I forgot about the interface: Presing Ctrl while dragging on the panel corners will swap the selected panel and the one where you release the left click ;) On the next tutorial we'll take a look at how to create and modify objects! Take care!

Level: 
Beginner
Tags: 
blender
tutorial
interface

Comments

Submitted by AC on Wed, 10/08/2011 - 21:58
Thanks, I'm excited to get started with Blender. I was a little lost but I feel a lot better now!
Submitted by RJ on Wed, 10/08/2011 - 22:34
Thank you so much for this tutorial on Blender, I would love to see some on How to use Blender for Video editing and panning & scanning while using a zoom magnification on to the subject video and also on multi scene editing and overlay tips and tricks. Thanks RJ
Submitted by Kat on Thu, 11/08/2011 - 00:21
I just downloaded Blender today. As some of the users, I don't have a mouse. I have a laptop so I don't have a middle mouse button. I found the place to edit the buttons and I can't seem to be able to modify the setting for it. Any possibility to make us able to chose something else instead of the middle mouse button? Even if it's in another version, I can wait for that.
Submitted by Kat on Thu, 11/08/2011 - 02:47
Nevermind my previous comment, I didn't fully view the video and I didn't see the edit button. I got too excited before actually looking at the details. Sorry about that.
Submitted by zeek on Thu, 11/08/2011 - 10:06
haha im sorry i know this is irrelevant but he pronounces dop sheet too fast...
Submitted by zeek on Thu, 11/08/2011 - 10:41
haha im sorry i know this is irrelevant but he pronounces dop sheet too fast... and im sorry, but i find this tutorial dull... never finished it...
Submitted by Ashlee on Sun, 14/08/2011 - 19:51
Great introduction tutorial but the audio goes off just after you login into blender :(
Submitted by Ashlee on Tue, 16/08/2011 - 22:28
Ok, finally got the video to work with no audio problems :) Excellent and looking forward to more tuts
Submitted by ali on Sun, 21/08/2011 - 22:17
does anyone know how to download this video???
Submitted by TheGuyNextDoor on Thu, 25/08/2011 - 22:50
i can`t even dl this vid keeps resetting no idea what so ever. if this is not your case read below. use Internet Download Manager this is the best D.L.M you`ll ever find out there. just install and restart what internet browser you are using. Have fun:)
Submitted by TheGuyNextDoor on Thu, 25/08/2011 - 22:37
Blender 2.5 is missing a lot of plugins and the interface has changed that`s not good i wasted time searching for those missing addons and i am here another waste of time learning Basic Interface all over again. i think dev must stick to a default interface and put there time on new features and bug fixes instead of wasting time on the GUI. I think the guys must learn from 3DS Max it has been ages since its release and the interface has not changed a bit. I like Blender just because it has a build in game engine. And the great thing is i can`t even download this video it keeps resetting and can`t resume the download, what`s up any help. Thanks
Submitted by Randall Foshee on Fri, 26/08/2011 - 04:20
That was a very good tutorial. I learned a lot from it! Blender is becoming easier to understand and use. I"m used to Maya, now, if I want, I know how to make it work more like what I'm used to. Thanks for the tut. Keep it up! I hope there are more like this to help beginners in Blender (not 3D animation) understand Blender better. It's a great program!
Submitted by Huezudo on Sat, 27/08/2011 - 04:34
thanks for this tutorial, I thought I was pretty adequate with the Interface, but this showed me things I never expected or realized. I look foward to watching more of your tutorials!
Submitted by Blake Keeton on Tue, 30/08/2011 - 13:51
Very very informative, Wow I have been studying blender for a couple of months now and never got a clear understanding of it until now. Wow thanks again.
Submitted by SeanDee on Tue, 30/08/2011 - 19:39
I actually had good use of the BG music.. blocked out my gf and her TV nicely. 8 thumbs up to Oliver and his blendtuts.com!
Submitted by Mauricio Sánchez on Thu, 01/09/2011 - 00:02
Excelente tutorial...muchisimas gracias...y la página también está genial, me cayó del cielo!!!! Danke schön!! Viele Grösse Ekthelionn
Submitted by Blake Keeton on Sat, 03/09/2011 - 14:09
very nice
Submitted by Zarren Robi on Tue, 06/09/2011 - 07:16
hey... thank you very much for this.. it is very helpful to beginners like me.. i was so clueless when i first open the application... hehehhehe...
Submitted by SQLek on Wed, 07/09/2011 - 04:58
Only black square seen :( Gnash(0.8.10) Chromium(13.0.782.107 (Build 94237 Linux))
Submitted by ciro on Thu, 08/09/2011 - 14:53
When I heard him say "later we will change the controls for viewing..." I was like THANK GOD, PRAISE TO JESUS!!! This interface is so non-intuitive(coming from Softimage)
Submitted by subjectIII on Fri, 16/09/2011 - 00:25
i could not get the video to play correctly, i am doing a mincraft animatoin and i need to copy blocks to make the set, can anyone help?
Submitted by Daniel Barceló on Fri, 16/09/2011 - 02:23
That´s just i need to undertake my adventure...!
Submitted by Daniel Barceló on Fri, 16/09/2011 - 02:27
good
Submitted by Daniel Barceló on Fri, 16/09/2011 - 02:28
good
Submitted by John on Sun, 18/09/2011 - 20:00
Thanks, very helpful! :D
Submitted by Ramakrishna B N on Tue, 20/09/2011 - 10:09
I am beginner. I want learn using of blender software and I want to do nice animations.
Submitted by Jye on Mon, 03/10/2011 - 14:51
This is the coolest blender community sites i ever landed. As a beginer, i found that the tutorial is clearly explain in detail and not confuse with it. I'm currently working with a monopoly game so this totorial is going to open the door for me :) thank you very much for the video
Submitted by Meghan on Fri, 07/10/2011 - 20:23
I am a high school teacher, and we have downloaded this program, and I was hoping you had some step by step tutorials that I could print for my kids to follow along? A video it very difficult for them to try and do/listen at the same time.. Is this possible at all? Thank you very much!!
Submitted by Tom on Sun, 09/10/2011 - 23:49
I still dont get how to use it. i watched everything twice.
Submitted by Conbob on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 01:09
This video was a bad influence for small children and should be avoided at all costs
Submitted by Hayden on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 01:09
Your voice is so soothing! I almost fell asleep.
Submitted by fartlekkat on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 01:12
it is hard to concentrate with this music and misspronounced words :S
Submitted by Dalti Walti on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 01:17
Why did it have to happen to meee........? :/
Submitted by uhhhs on Tue, 11/10/2011 - 19:17
Thanks. I've been searching for basics tutorials everywhere and I couldn't find any that made sense, but this one is short-straight and too the point. No confusing things.
Submitted by Chris on Thu, 13/10/2011 - 23:05
Thanks for the tut. Very helpful and some great tips.
Submitted by Andrew on Sat, 15/10/2011 - 22:40
Was great review! Good to dust off some of the rust I've attained from not using Blender too much. I'll be looking for some good modeling tutorials with Blender. Hope to find some here :)
Submitted by Rohit Sharma on Thu, 27/10/2011 - 02:54
Thanks for such an informative video. It is just awesome and boosts my motivation to learn and master blender.
Submitted by Jay on Thu, 27/10/2011 - 03:54
All I get is a message: Oops! There was a problem loading the video. Any hopes you can put these on youtube?
Submitted by Bob on Mon, 31/10/2011 - 00:10
Thanks for the tutorial! :-)
Submitted by Andrea on Tue, 01/11/2011 - 17:27
how did you delete the cube?
Submitted by oliver villar on Mon, 14/11/2011 - 03:26

You can do it pressing X or Supr and accepting the confirmation message ;)

Submitted by m on Thu, 03/11/2011 - 10:23
i can't view the video as i dont have the required plugins is it possible to download it so i can view it on a media player already installed on my computer
Submitted by oliver villar on Mon, 14/11/2011 - 02:53

Yes, you can download the video from vimeo ;) Click on the title from this page, and at vimeo, look for the download link ;)

Submitted by Emily on Sat, 05/11/2011 - 17:50
hi, I just recently downloaded the blender software and which I mind you is fantastic, but I'm having a few issues with my controls. I watched this tutorial and I had followed the directions that were given but each time I try to navigate, this red circle that usually is cenering the yellow dot always takes the place of where I'm clicking, disabling me from doing anything... I tried doing the tricks (forgot the name of what their called) where you press a key and it'll do it for you but each time it but my software doesn't really recongnize it. Is there something I have to enable in the blender prefrences or options to fix it???
Submitted by oliver villar on Mon, 14/11/2011 - 02:43

That's the 3D cursor. Don't worry, it's normal.

In Blender, by default, you select and do things with right mouse button. Left click is used for positioning the 3D Cursor.

You can enable to work with left mouse button at the preferences (Ctrl+Alt+U) ;) But I recommend you to get used to work with right mouse button. Blender is thought for working that way, and once you get used to it, it feels very confortable!! :D

Submitted by alyssa on Sun, 06/11/2011 - 16:21
i dont have a mouse......
Submitted by Capt. Incompetent on Thu, 10/11/2011 - 06:01
Ok, looks like I'll be needing a wireless mouse for my laptop, any suggestions? I want to be able to get a basic understanding of this software to bring all the stories in my head to life, but tell you what, this stuff is daunting.
Submitted by oliver villar on Mon, 14/11/2011 - 02:19

Yes, in fact, even some people think that it's possible, and it's probably possible... but can be VERY difficult and unconfortable to work with this 3D Softwares without a mouse or a pen tablet.

I always use Logitech wireless mouses. Particularly MXRevolution. Can be a bit expensive for what we are used to, but as I work most of my daily time with computers I like to feel confortable... and working a lot with them... they have a loooong life (I bought last one like 4 years ago, and I still work with it!). So expensive... but maybe it worths it ;) At least, it's my opinion ;)

Good luck bringing your ideas to life! ;)

Submitted by Michael A. Byrd on Thu, 17/11/2011 - 07:35
I hate to say it but, if english isn't your first and main language you will have to work that much harder to speak and be heard clearly. He seems to have a few words that he drops and it is confusing. Also he he seems to skip around a little and doesn't demonstrate what he is talking about with ether focus or confidence. Its irritating. But I know he is trying...
Submitted by Daniel on Sun, 20/11/2011 - 04:21
Great tutorial. finally one that gives you a proper introduction at a reasonable speed. very informative and helpful. thank you very much

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