August Innovation Lunch - 3D Modeling Demo with Blender

On August 19 and 20, Alex Peplinski demoed 3D modeling with the open source software tool Blender. Here are a few notes taken at the August 19 session.

Alex got experience with virtual modeling in 3D while studying at Washtenaw Community College. He's interested in 3D animation, video editing, graphic design and art in general.

He showed samples of 3D models - including a car that he modeled with about  3 months of work

Blender is open source and free. It's available on Linux and freeBSD.

His slides started with a definition of topology, which underlies the 3D structures in Blender.

When first using Blender, it's probably easier to start with a standard object instead of a blank grid.

Demoed creation and modification of simple object (e.g. cylinder, which as the start start of a soda can).

Using a 3D scan of himself, Alex showed how Blender can be used to move the image, put it into a box or other structure, etc. Animation is a feature available in Blender, but he animated his car in a street scene using other software.

While at WCC, Alex developed an animated 3D model of a sports car. He described how he developed the car, got the wheels to move, put it on a street scene, etc.

To see examples of Alex's work, including examples of 3D, go to Alex Peplinski's Portfolio.

The slides from Alex's presentation are here: 3D Simple Slides