RLMM

# Introduction

# Key Terms important

  • Mesh - A 3D object made of vertices, edges, and faces
  • Vertex - A point defining a mesh
  • Edge - A straight line connecting two vertices
  • Face - A surface connecting at least 3 vertices and edges (also called a Poly or Polygon)
  • Normal - A vector perpendicular to a face which is used for collision and rendering
  • (Bezier) Curve - A 2D or 3D line defined by a polynomial function
  • Texture - A 2D image
  • UV Map - A mapping of a 2D image onto a 3D surface
  • Material - All aspects of an object’s surface properties
  • Global Coordinates - Z (blue) is up, and X (red) and Y (green) are along the ground grid
  • Local Coordinates - All coordinates are rotated relative to the active object

# The Hottest Hotkeys

Blender probably has the most hotkeys of any software in existence, since they are contextual and have multiple possible combinations. That can make it intimidating, but I promise it's extremely powerful once you know them. Try to memorize these hotkeys, and consider everything else a bonus.

  • Ctrl + S - Save! - Blender has gotten much, much more stable over the years, but still save often
  • Tab - Toggle Edit/Object Modes
  • Z - Viewport modes wheel
  • Alt + Z - Toggle X-ray view
  • Shift + Space - Favorite shortcuts menu
  • A - Select all
  • Alt + A / A A - Deselect all
  • Shift + A - Add object
  • X / Delete - Delete object
  • G - Grab - Translate selection
  • R - Rotate - Rotate selection
  • S - Scale - Scale selection
  • ___ + X - Limit operation to global X axis
  • ___ + Y - Limit operation to global Y axis
  • ___ + Z - Limit operation to global Z axis
  • ___ + X X - Limit operation to local X axis
  • ___ + Y Y - Limit operation to local Y axis
  • ___ + Z Z - Limit operation to local Z axis
  • ___ + Shift X - Lock X axis during operation
  • ___ + Shift Y - Lock Y axis during operation
  • ___ + Shift Z - Lock Z axis during operation
  • B - Box select - Left click to add, Wheel click to subtract
  • C - Circle select - Left click to add, Wheel click to subtract
  • ___ + Right Click - Cancel operation - Right click is your panic button!
  • ___ + Shift - Switch operation to very fine control
  • ___ + Ctrl - Snap operation to even intervals
  • Ctrl + Z - Undo - Also a panic button
  • Ctrl + Shift + Z - Redo (common in Python programs)
  • . > Pivot Point Wheel - Set centerpoint of operation
  • Wheel Click - Rotate the view
  • Shift + Wheel Click- Pan the view
  • Scroll Wheel - Zoom the 3D view
  • Shift + C / Home - Center view on average location of all objects
  • Alt + Wheel Click - Center view on mouse click location

# View Hotkeys

  • Numpad 0 - Camera view
  • Numpad 1 - Front view
  • Numpad 2 - Rotate view down
  • Numpad 3 - Right side view
  • Numpad 4 - Rotate view left
  • Numpad 5 - Toggle orthographic/perspective view
  • Numpad 6 - Rotate view right
  • Numpad 7 - Top view
  • Numpad 8 - Rotate view up
  • Numpad 9 / Ctrl + Numpad ___ - Opposite of current view
  • / (Forward Slash) - Enter/Exit local view (hide all except active object)
  • Ctrl + Space - Maximize/Restore current subwindow
  • Numpad . - Center view on selection

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