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March 03, 2025 00:07
3d modeling
Rendering
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Blender Cheatsheet: 3D Design & Illustration

A concise reference for Blender users, covering essential tools, shortcuts, and techniques for 3D modeling, sculpting, texturing, and digital illustration.

Core Operations & Navigation

Basic Navigation

Orbit View

Middle Mouse Button (MMB) Drag

Pan View

Shift + MMB Drag

Zoom View

Mouse Wheel Scroll or Ctrl + MMB Drag

View Selected

Numpad Period (.)

Perspective/Orthographic Toggle

Numpad 5

Front View

Numpad 1

Right View

Numpad 3

Top View

Numpad 7

Camera View

Numpad 0

Object Manipulation

Grab/Move

G (then X, Y, or Z to constrain axis)

Rotate

R (then X, Y, or Z to constrain axis)

Scale

S (then X, Y, or Z to constrain axis)

Duplicate

Shift + D

Delete

X or Delete Key

Join Objects

Ctrl + J (Select multiple objects first)

Separate Objects

P (In Edit Mode, separate by selection, material, or loose parts)

Apply Transformations

Ctrl + A (Apply location, rotation, scale, etc.)

Modes

Object Mode

Default mode for object manipulation.

Edit Mode

Modify object geometry (vertices, edges, faces). Tab key to toggle.

Sculpt Mode

For sculpting organic shapes. Tab key to toggle.

Vertex Paint Mode

Paint colors directly onto the object’s vertices.

Weight Paint Mode

Assign weights to vertices for rigging and animation.

Texture Paint Mode

Paint textures directly onto the object’s surface.

Modeling Essentials

Mesh Editing

Extrude

E (Creates new geometry by extending selected faces/edges/vertices)

Inset

I (Creates new faces inside selected faces)

Bevel

Ctrl + B (Rounds edges/corners)

Loop Cut and Slide

Ctrl + R (Adds a loop of edges around the object)

Subdivide

W -> Subdivide (Divides selected faces into smaller faces)

Merge Vertices

Alt + M (Merges selected vertices into one)

Knife Tool

K (Cut custom edges and faces)

Bridge Edge Loops

Select two edge loops, then W -> Bridge Edge Loops (Connects two edge loops with new faces)

Modifiers

Modifiers are non-destructive operations that can be applied to objects. Access them via the Modifiers tab in the Properties panel.

Subdivision Surface: Increases the smoothness of an object by subdividing its faces.
Example: Add detail without manually adding geometry.

Bevel: Adds beveled edges to an object.
Example: Soften sharp corners and create a more realistic look.

Boolean: Performs boolean operations (union, difference, intersection) between two objects.
Example: Create complex shapes by combining simpler ones.

Mirror: Creates a mirrored copy of an object.
Example: Model symmetrical objects more easily.

Array: Creates multiple copies of an object along an axis.
Example: Generate repeating patterns.

Solidify: Adds thickness to a surface.
Example: Create walls from a plane.

Materials & Texturing

Material Basics

Creating a New Material

Go to the Material tab in the Properties panel, click ‘New’.

Principled BSDF Shader

A versatile shader that simulates a wide range of materials. Adjust parameters like Base Color, Roughness, and Metallic.

Adding Textures

Use the Shader Editor to add Texture nodes (e.g., Image Texture, Noise Texture) and connect them to the Principled BSDF.

UV Unwrapping

Essential for applying 2D textures to 3D models. Select faces in Edit Mode, then use UV -> Unwrap.

Smart UV Project

A quick way to unwrap simple objects. UV -> Smart UV Project.

Seams

Mark edges as seams (Ctrl + E -> Mark Seam) to guide the unwrapping process.

Texture Painting

Texture painting allows you to directly paint textures onto your model. Switch to Texture Paint mode.

Brush Settings

Adjust brush size, strength, and color in the Tool panel.

Texture Slots

Create texture slots in the Material tab to define which textures you’ll be painting on.

Clone Brush

Samples texture from one area and paints it onto another. Useful for removing seams or imperfections.

Fill Tool

Fills selected areas with a specified color.

Rendering & Lighting

Render Engines

Eevee: A real-time render engine, good for quick previews and stylized visuals.
Path: Render Properties tab -> Engine -> Eevee

Cycles: A physically-based path tracer, providing realistic and accurate renders.
Path: Render Properties tab -> Engine -> Cycles

Lighting

Point Light

Emits light in all directions from a single point.

Sun Light

Emits parallel light rays, simulating sunlight.

Spot Light

Emits a cone of light from a single point.

Area Light

Emits light from a rectangular or square area, creating softer shadows.

HDRI Lighting

Use a High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI) to illuminate your scene with realistic environmental lighting.
Steps: World Properties -> Color -> Environment Texture -> Open HDRI

Rendering Settings

Render Image

F12 (Renders the current frame)

Render Animation

Ctrl + F12 (Renders the entire animation)

Output Properties

Set the render resolution, frame rate, and output file format in the Output Properties tab.

Samples (Cycles)

Increase the number of samples to reduce noise in Cycles renders. Higher samples = longer render times.

Denoising

Use denoising to reduce noise in renders. Available in both Eevee and Cycles.
Path: Render Properties -> Denoising