Blender 3D: Architecture, Buildings, and Scenery

332 Pages·2008·13.4 MB·English

by  Allan Brito

Blender 3D: Architecture,
Buildings, and Scenery
Create photorealistic 3D architectural visualizations of
buildings, interiors, and environmental scenery
Allan Brito

BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Blender 3D: Architecture, Buildings, and Scenery
Copyright © 2008 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written
permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in
critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of
the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold
without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, Packt Publishing,
nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to
be caused directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all the
companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals.
However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: May 2008
Production Reference: 1220508
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
32 Lincoln Road
Olton
Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.
ISBN 978-1-847193-67-4
www.packtpub.com
Cover Image by Allan Brito ([e-mail])
Credits
Author Project Manager
Allan Brito Abhijeet Deobhakta
Reviewer Indexer
Yorik van Havre Rekha Nair
Senior Acquisition Editor Proofreaders
David Barnes Dirk Manuel
Chris Smith
Development Editor
Swapna V. Verlekar Production Coordinator
Shantanu Zagade
Technical Editor
Meeba Renny Abraham Cover Work
Shantanu Zagade
Editorial Team Leader
Akshara Aware
About the Author
Allan Brito is a Brazilian architect specialized in information visualization, who
lives and works in Recife, Brazil. He works with Blender 3D to produce animations
and still images, for visualization and instructional material.
Besides his work with Blender as an artist, he also has substantial experience
teaching 3D modeling, animation, and multimedia at Mauricio de Nassau College.
He is an active member of the community of Blender users, writing about Blender
3D and its development for websites in Brazilian Portuguese (http://www.
allanbrito.com) and English (http://www.blendernation.com).
This is his second book about Blender 3D; the first one was Blender 3D—Guia do
Usuário, which was published in Brazil. It's a guide on how to use Blender, covering
from the basics to character animation.
He can be reached through his website at http://www.blender3darchitect.com,
where he covers the use of Blender 3D and other tools for architectural visualization.
I would like to thank my family for supporting me during the
production of this book, specially my wife Érica and of course
Mutsumu and Nanna, who are my Father and Mother-in-law.
About the Reviewer
Yorik van Havre is an architect from Belgium, who currently lives in Brazil, where
he works as a freelance architect. Blender is part of his everyday work. He regularly
writes articles and tutorials about Blender, architecture, and architecture software,
and is actively involved in several communities and free software projects.

Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Introduction to Blender and Architectural Visualization 5
Architectural Visualization 5
How about Blender 3D? 6
Download Blender 7
Hardware and Software Requirements for Blender 7
Other Tools for Visualization 8
CAD and 3D-Architectural Modeling 9
3D Models from the Internet 9
Visualization with Blender 10
Summary 11
Chapter 2: Blender 3D: Quick Start 13
Interface 13
Windows and Menus 16
Multiple Windows 18
Merge Windows 18
Header 19
Add and Remove a Header 20
Active Window 20
Keyboard Shortcuts 22
3D Visualization 22
Selecting Objects 23
Selecting by Name 25
Renaming Objects 26
3D Cursor 27
Cursor Snap 27
Modes 28
Creating Objects 29
Table of Contents
Duplicating Objects 30
Transforming Objects 30
Cameras 32
Render Basics 34
Render Preview 35
Summary 36
Chapter 3: Modeling 37
Types of Objects 37
Mesh Primitives 38
Mesh Editing 41
Transformations 43
Transforming with Precision 43
Loop Subdivide 44
Knife Tool 48
Selecting Loops 50
New Edges and Faces 51
Merge 53
Removing Double Vertices 54
Extrude 56
Extrude with Vertex 56
Extrude with Edges 57
Extrude with Faces 57
Constraining the Extrude 58
Modeling Example 58
Modifiers 60
Subsurf Modifier 62
Smoothing Faces 64
Array Modifier 64
Array Example 65
Boolean Modifier 66
Mirror Modifier 68
Groups 71
How to Create a Group 72
Proportional Editing 74
Summary 76
Chapter 4: Modeling for Architecture 77
Architectural Modeling 77
Modeling by Proportions 78
Planning Is the Key to Success 79
Precision Modeling 82
[ ii ]
Table of Contents
Edge Length 84
Transforming with Precision 85
Layers 86
Modeling in Practice 87
Walls 88
Rounded Corners 91
Symmetry 96
Openings 101
Floors and Lining 105
Modeling Using the Walls 106
Modeling with Separated Objects 107
Starting From a CAD Drawing 110
Preparing the DXF Files 110
Importing DXF files 110
Summary 112
Chapter 5: Modeling Details 113
Level of Detail 113
Windows 113
Doors 129
Summary 137
Chapter 6: Modeling Furniture 139
Create Models or Use a Library? 140
How to Get Started? 140
Appending Models 141
Importing Models 143
Modeling a Chair 144
Modeling a Sofa 152
Summary 157
Chapter 7: Materials 159
Creating and Organizing Materials 160
Material Color 164
Gradient Colors 165
Shaders 168
Diffuse 168
Specular 169
Ray Tracing 170
Creating Glass 171
Simple Glass 172
Mirrors and Reflections 172
Ray-traced Shadows 173
[ iii ]