ANATOMY OF BLENDER
Blender contains a lot more toolsets than the average 3D software application, so to help keep the interface organised Blender 2.80 introduced a new system of ‘workspaces’: alternative screen layouts tailored to different specialist tasks. Here’s a rough list of the key stages of a professional visual effects or animation project’s pipeline.
Modelling
The first step is to create 3D geometry. The Modelling workspace is used for general-purpose work.
Sculpting
The Sculpting workspace provides tools better suited to creating organic models, like characters.
Texture Paint
New models lack colour when created. Use Texture Paint to paint them by hand.
UV editing
Alternatively, you can map existing images onto a model’s surface for more photorealistic work.
Shading
With texturing done, the Shading workspace is used to define how a model’s surface responds to light.
Animation
The model is now looking more realistic, but it still can’t move. The Animation toolset brings it to life.
Layout
Blender’s default workspace can be used to position many individual models inside a 3D scene.
Rendering
Rendering generates a sequence of 2D images from the finished 3D scene: the completed animation.
Compositing
In VFX work, there is one further step: combining rendered images with live-action footage.
Even more…
Other workspaces are dedicated to scripting (enabling custom Blender tools), 2D animation, video editing and additional specialist tasks used to prepare footage for compositing.