L17 — Blender survival kit
Goal
Install Blender, move around a scene without panic, and learn the few modes and transforms you need for this course.
Install
- Download Blender from blender.org (4.2 LTS or newer).
- Optional but recommended: Fast64 addon (L21).
- Course batch scripts also work headless:
blender -b -P …
The only controls that matter at first
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Orbit view | Middle-mouse drag (or Alt+LMB depending on keymap) |
| Pan | Shift + middle-mouse |
| Zoom | Scroll wheel |
| Select | Left-click |
| Move / Rotate / Scale | G / R / S |
| Confirm / cancel | Enter/LMB / Esc/RMB |
| Undo | Ctrl+Z |
Prefer the “Industry Compatible” keymap?
Fine — but then rewrite the hotkeys above in your notes. Consistency beats purity.
Object mode vs Edit mode
| Mode | For |
|---|---|
| Object Mode | Whole objects: place the crate in the level |
| Edit Mode (Tab) | Vertices/edges/faces: reshape the mesh |
If G/R/S does nothing useful, check you’re in the mode you think you are.
Course scale
From conventions:
- Aim for player height ~1.5–2.0 Blender units
- Keep props in the same scale family as Module 2 sample models
- Always Apply Scale (
Ctrl+A→ Scale) before export if you resized in Object mode
Unapplied scale is a classic “why is my model huge/tiny/lighting wrong?” bug.
Save habits
- Save
.blendunderassets-src/blender/yourname/ - Export
.glbcopies underassets-src/export/ - Never only have a
.glb— keep the.blendsource
Exercises
- Add a cube, move it, rotate it, scale it, undo.
- Tab to Edit Mode, select a face, extrude (E).
- File → Save your playground blend.
Lesson code
Module 3 is Blender-first — there is no per-lesson C ROM for L17–L25.
Runnable code that loads the course meshes lives in the Module 3 asset lab checkpoint (lessons/m3-asset-lab/).