Blender Video Tutorial and Resources List

Posted on Oct. 5, 2020, 9:35 p.m. by crute • Last updated on Dec. 12, 2022, 12:31 p.m.

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3D Basic Principles:

Before you even start with anything software specific, you should make sure that you have at least heard about the concepts that make 3D graphics possible. You should watch each one of these videos, because knowing how these principles work will inform everything you do in your 3D package of choice.

Guerilla CG Channel:
The Polygon
Multisided Polygon
Objects
Smooth Shading
Smooth Shading Examples
Primitives (Blocking Models)
Hierarchies
Hierarchies: Building A Robot
Bump And Displacement Map: Overview
Subdivision Surfaces: Overview
Subdivision Surfaces: Artifacts
Basics of UV Mapping
Euler (gimbal lock) Explained
Path Tracing
Manifold Geometry
Normals in 3D

Beginners:

Eric Selin's Beginner Primer https://artisticrender.com/beginners-start-here/

Do not read on. Work through Eric's Primer. It teaches you all basic interaction skills with the program.

Blender Fundamentals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF1qEhBSfq4
Grant Abbitt's Beginner Course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn3ukorJv4vs_eSJUQPxBRaDS8PrVmIri
Grant Abbitt's Get Good at Blender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQwn-GzmdeA&list=PLn3ukorJv4vvWfYmRnGS260JTjhShJFRP
Grant Abbitt's Shader Nodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn3ukorJv4vsmEcCMDX-dpBceuv_GJFcB
Luca Rood: Everything about Baking Procedural Textures into Maps: https://youtu.be/AB24ITZHtuE
Grant Abbitt's Texture Baking Tutorials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUTdHgif65g&list=PLn3ukorJv4vsa02LIuM_IQF-SASAZBnyi
Grant Abbitt's Animation Course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn3ukorJv4vvHr6RMoXrZSMVqmOKlqbBR

Sculpting for Beginners in 2.8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKY2FIy60nc&list=PLn3ukorJv4vvJM7tvjet4PP-LVjJx13oB

Importance of the Blockin with Primitives for Sculpting https://youtu.be/F7frk_7P00o

Opening other people's Blender files https://youtu.be/mvliJ0gjaFM
Blender Concepts Explained: Arrimus explains Selected and Active Objects https://youtu.be/BG7_8G0NlLs?t=151
Arrimus explains how Right Clicking cancels the Move Part of and Extrusion, but not the Extrude Part https://youtu.be/BG7_8G0NlLs?t=406

Shader Nodes:

These are Blender Shader Node Guides for complete beginners. They will help you understand the Node System if you want to set up your own materials or unfuck materials on models that you downloaded.

Start with the Video Quickguide by CG Matter. It explains the Plugging and Pulling of stuff and is mercifully short and concise. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4EqKJjrgoVRox3Weoo7E3tNLKx83Pgu-

Then read this piece by Chocofur, it gives the usual combinations of nodes that you need to make materials. Such as Diffuse, Glossy, Fresnel, Mix and so on. https://chocofur.com/page/cycles-nodes-tutorial-in-blender

If by this point you have found the nodes to be beneficial to your work, read the extended treatise on how to create Procedural Materials fron Blender Insight http://www.blenderinsight.com/beginners-guide-to-cycles-nodes-the-procedural-way/

A short Overview over the available nodes and their parameters: Cycles Input Encyclopedia https://www.blenderguru.com/articles/cycles-input-encyclopedia

Grant Abbitt's Shader Nodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn3ukorJv4vsmEcCMDX-dpBceuv_GJFcB

Procedural Texture Setups https://youtu.be/EjmfTvLCyZA

Animation Nodes with Zach Hixson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgiVhvYU2mk&list=PLJSCK4DjIWhk-JIGOIJKLUB1bGXfDBgzZ

Shading Techniques:

Cel-Shading and Normal Manipulation https://youtu.be/u2GAHnDaUpU?list=PLqYdtDcEzll-fdaTHkOQEVIHvpqJ9OvVv

Flat Color Textures with Texture Atlassing https://youtu.be/bP_1XfpEy80?list=PLqYdtDcEzll-fdaTHkOQEVIHvpqJ9OvVv

Gradient Textures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_zY3iv1PIw

Use Images in Blender like Stickers for Tattoos etc. https://youtu.be/kpS-GRasQ4Y

Procedural Shading Techniques:

Keyboard Shortcuts in Blender (Node editor only) https://youtu.be/Wi8iV68Q-WI

Coordinate Spaces https://youtu.be/-MGM3uOepGc

Math in the node editor #1 Basic Arithmetic https://youtu.be/YyvXx9j4qsk

Math in the node editor #2 Power, Log, Square Root, Absolute https://youtu.be/ufI7eXyBVos

Math in the node editor #3 Minimum, Maximum, Less than, Greater than https://youtu.be/Fh6Okm7vCIQ

Math in the node editor #4 Round, Floor, Ceiling https://youtu.be/abQiChi0HrE

Math in the node editor #5 Trigonometric Functions (Sine, Cosine, Tan, ArcTan) https://youtu.be/JTS5wag9GB0

Math in the node editor #6 Vector Math! https://youtu.be/ozaUFT9FCxw

Phong Reflection model in Blender https://youtu.be/XQdIxkd54X4

Color ramp explained (beginner level)
https://youtu.be/FxLL5G7EjbM

Noise texture explained (blender 2.9) https://youtu.be/irzv80d038w

Procedural Nodes (part 6) - Getting variety from the texture nodes in Blender https://youtu.be/ByV88b5uoDc

What is a voronoi texture? https://youtu.be/xLFFa-f9wTE

Interpolation and Bilinear Interpolation ft. Map Range https://youtu.be/3T9OZA1jIc4

MNE #13 Creating perfect 2D noise loops https://youtu.be/BNj8QpVTyP4

Quick tip: Switching from UV to tiled/indexed coordinates https://youtu.be/YVgjZb65R0g

TOP 10 TIPS FOR NODEVEMBER - Blender Procedural Shaders https://youtu.be/2C5j47qa8pA

11 Procedural Shading Tips in Under 10 Minutes https://youtu.be/QZiVXcrsvPM

UV Unwrapping:

Darrin Lile Blender 2.7 UV Mapping 1 of 4 https://youtu.be/f2-FfB9kRmE
Blender Character UV Mapping 1 of 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ZmDKuB6HI&list=PLyelx0TsmSpdQwcx1OloZuW48bOUJQ02s
UV mapping for beginners (Creative Bloq) https://www.creativebloq.com/features/uv-mapping-for-beginners
UV MAPPING BEGINNER TIPS (Rizom Lab) https://www.rizom-lab.com/news/uv_mapping_beginner_tips/

The Simple 4-Step-Process to Unwrap Any Hard-Surface Model https://youtu.be/Fr2SX1rZZM0
UV Unwrapping in Blender - Essential Strategies & Texture Sets https://youtu.be/j9uEqZxJMbY

Texturing:

Skin Texture Map Types https://marmoset.co/posts/creating-realistic-skin-toolbag-saurabh-jethani/
HOW TO CREATE REALISTIC HAIR, PEACH FUZZ, AND EYES (Vellus Hair) https://marmoset.co/posts/how-to-create-realistic-hair-peach-fuzz-and-eyes/
Grant Abbitt's Baking Textures in 2.81 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUTdHgif65g&list=PLn3ukorJv4vsa02LIuM_IQF-SASAZBnyi
Color Swatch Texturing https://youtu.be/bP_1XfpEy80?list=PLqYdtDcEzll8ZMhwGBQOQcTFxwGbAaSRi Gradient Swatch Textures https://youtu.be/9_zY3iv1PIw?list=PLqYdtDcEzll8ZMhwGBQOQcTFxwGbAaSRi

Rigging Primer

Armin Halac has a breakdown of all aspects of Blender's Rigging System. I would recommend you look through this first, as it will make the tutorials a whole lot easier to follow:

Armin Halacs Breakdown of Blender's Rigging System

Weight Painting:

Blender 2.8 Weight Painting Explained (In 3 Minutes!) https://youtu.be/v6_m3xFSlIU

Blender 2.8 Weight Painting In 5 Minutes! https://youtu.be/rG82fogtuCg
Blender 2.82 Weight Painting In 5 Minutes! https://youtu.be/4fICQmBEt4Y

Everything you need to know to efficiently paint weights in blender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPz0QpfwJCk

Rigify Part 6 Weight Painting and Topology 101 https://youtu.be/_y8mOQBOHxA
Rigify Part 7E Stage 1 Weight Painting Workflow https://youtu.be/AuunjITq2e0
Weight Painting with the Gradient Tool https://youtu.be/9VG6i2oGIUQ

Constraints:

Object Constraints explained https://youtu.be/81SiXoAWXuU
Tracking Constraints https://youtu.be/STqJAURUtU4
Child of Constraint https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5r6tYRypBo
Child of Constraint: Shot Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXCq8CncEeA

Dependency Cycles:

Dependency Cycles In Blender - How To Find And Fix them https://youtu.be/NDlO48ai9FU

Rigging:

Rigging Tutorials in ascending order of difficulty:

This is a non-complete list of the currently available content for rigging in blender on youtube. These channels are free, some of them have additional pay content that furthers what is taught in them.

Nekomatata Rigging Basics Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-glmzKrnkRVeTe2W89DRQ

Dikko introduces you to Basic Rig Types https://youtu.be/Bv4TQIxXoZY

Humane Rigging by Nathan Vegdahl: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE211C8C41F1AFBAB

Armin Halacs Global Rigging Concepts

Level Pixel Level (Blender Channel with Beginner to Intermediate Tutorials): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpxizXEIm73-GJJwayhGceA

DanPro (Rigging Channel with Advanced Level Tutorials) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4lLVkUGPtM5pnS3ZskvECg

Pierrick Picaut aka P2 Design: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXxtsisIDLiiL6YZFrORkUg

Vertex Parenting to Single and 3 Vertices https://youtu.be/bDwMOPkN6RI

Joint Placement Consideration in Rigs https://youtu.be/nW9ComxDVwc

Intro to Drivers by LevelPixelLevel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbjn7kaP877u1sX4zl081V8jUeSHDY18G

Pole Targets: https://youtu.be/suP14lYWpN8?t=96

Piston Rig: https://youtu.be/QEUVgS3Ag-g

Gimbal Lock https://youtu.be/GoQulyd_eYk

Bendy Bones in Connected Chains https://youtu.be/5YT3Ocxeawo

Lattices in Blender Introduction/Beginner Guide https://youtu.be/cFJOL4AKbKk
Lattices in Blender Intermediate Techniques https://youtu.be/ENGb_yFGzlg
Lattices in Blender Advanced Techniques https://youtu.be/j3ZXM2nc0ss

Article outlining the use of corrective Blend Shapes and Helper Bones for Game Models https://sol-g-brennan.medium.com/rigging-tips-methods-for-extra-character-deformation-in-game-dev-e4c0e89e7b00

Rigging Female Genitals in Blender https://youtu.be/9ut8x9etl38

Shapekeys:

Blender 2.8: Shape Keys – Simply Explained https://all3dp.com/2/blender-shape-keys-simply-explained/

Blender Character Animation: Shape Keys https://youtu.be/YDu6y_2jFg0

Simulation:

Cloth

Blender 2.82 Cloth Simulation Basics / Every Attribute Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLuHr1unnyg

Blender Tutorial - Cloth Simulation | Advance Simulation | Blender 2.9
https://youtu.be/AbyfuW5Aocg

Fluid Particles

Paramaters explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJfknCScENs

Hair Types explained

Every way for creating hair in blender 2.9+ (Curves, Particle, Hair Cards, Modeling, Sculpting ) https://youtu.be/db7Xfg_oSYE

Particle Hair

Pubic Hair and Eyelashes https://youtu.be/PhjYPkWFpvk

Blender Hair Tutorial Part 1 (HairParticles) https://youtu.be/KpVyTc_72z0 https://youtu.be/EB2rVdnmq8E

Blender Hair Tutorial Part 2 (Rendering Hair with Blender Cycles) https://youtu.be/zJwMb1kb0W8

Creating Braids in Blender https://youtu.be/5pxZtmlqtvc

Introduction to Hair Grooming in Blender https://youtu.be/s9NDZ5q3SaE

How to CONTROL HAIR in BLENDER 2.8 - 2 Minute Tutorial
https://youtu.be/vu6MQC6qdRY

Blender Tutorial - How To Make Female Long Hair [Part 03]
https://youtu.be/Ge1qWMG-U90

Creating Eyebrows in Blender 2.8
https://youtu.be/zJwMb1kb0W8

Mesh Hair

Dikko - Modeling for Animation 07 - Modeling Polygon Hair! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUV0-kiplbM&list=PLqYdtDcEzll8DwTdopTrumWICBLYO39n7&index=14

Modeling Hair In Blender For Beginners - Tutorial https://youtu.be/bfdbTD9Bxpg

Blender Tutorial - Hair With Curves
https://youtu.be/t2XjdzzWCqI

Flat Modeling Anime Hair Tutorial (Blender 2.8)
https://youtu.be/lo_FxdSe_F8

Converting Mesh to Particle Hair (using Hair Tool, Paid Addon) https://youtu.be/fZcH2znrJnM

Card Hair

Blender how to Animate Hair - Softbody Physics https://youtu.be/MAOp0DpYZEk?list=PLqYdtDcEzll-fdaTHkOQEVIHvpqJ9OvVv

Wetmaps (Dynamic Paint)

FLIP fluids | #6 WetMaps (2.8) https://youtu.be/GYGNoTmZSN0

Sculpting

Jan van Hemels Sculpting Primer, super short, tells you what you need to know to get started. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrB1kuJIjcg4usXAj2SNTKnXdKsFOvhe6

Topology

The RIGHT way to cut holes in surfaces in Blender https://youtu.be/Ci1jBOm_5NY
Shrinkwrap, F2, Filling Faces, Edge Count

Blender 2.8: How to Fuse Meshes Together | Merge/Boolean Union https://youtu.be/WbULqtUIyvw Sub-D, Interior Faces, Merging Faces, Holding Edges, Fixing N-Gon Smoothing

Headhacking: Joining a Head with Different Edge Count to a Body https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwM19PgSdCM&t=2780s

Modeling for Animation 06 - Retopologising the Face! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwM19PgSdCM

Modeling For Animation 01 - TOP 5 Features of Good Animation Models! https://youtu.be/01WQlMD7dsk?t=480

Non-Manifold Meshes (and how to fix them) https://sinestesia.co/blog/tutorials/non-manifold-meshes-and-how-to-fix-them/

Facial Topology Loops explained in detail with downloadable BaseMesh: https://loicpinsard.netlify.app/basemesh/

Retopology

Edge Stepping in Blender (connecting shells with different edge count with clean quad topology) https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/3004/what-are-the-most-efficient-workflows-to-create-all-quad-junctions

Modeling for Animation 06 - Retopologising the Face! https://youtu.be/SwM19PgSdCM

How to set up Retopology in Blender (Tutorial EN) https://youtu.be/2hEHtKH55Us

Posing and Animation:

Posing Blender Armatures https://youtu.be/vKgH5zXIYmM

FK/IK When to use which https://youtu.be/0a9qIj7kwiA5
IK and FK which to use and how to switch (Pierrick Picaut) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OFpKXpvdDU
Quaternion or Euler, understanding rotation in Blender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X80M0q0gxIE
Things Every Animator Should Know And Understand https://youtu.be/g3Y-O1Ttzec

[Blender 2.8/2.9] Un-confusing the NLA Editor (Nonlinear Animation) https://youtu.be/tAo7HxxxA08

Porting Models:

Porting to SFM

Making SFM Models: Part 1 https://youtu.be/ENwTQ6xcyi8
Making SFM Models: Part 2 https://youtu.be/zTS0PTUHgsg
Making SFM Models: Part 3 https://youtu.be/aPjcDaHollM
Making SFM Models: Part 4 https://youtu.be/D3a_SUTD53c

Porting to Blender

Import SFM models into BLENDER in 2 MINUTES https://youtu.be/XX5mzUeZJDo
Basics: Texture Types https://youtu.be/ltvEQh6TGEA
SFM TO BLENDER: Fix hair and eyelashes FAST https://youtu.be/c937SmSWCNc
Basics: Materials & Rendering https://youtu.be/AlxCgDref2A

Basics: XPS / XNALara to Blender https://youtu.be/EQJYMMoNhpc
Importing MMD Models https://youtu.be/Fm_EeE_gEuo
Ripping Encrypted Unreal Engine Models https://youtu.be/MidugiRfHaY
Ripping Unreal Engine Models https://youtu.be/Xz7iiMJJkAc

Books:

Blender: The Comprehensive Handbook https://www.plasmasolutions.de/the-comprehensive-handbook/
Cycles Encyclopedia https://blendermarket.com/products/the-cycles-encyclopedia
Topology Workbook Vol. 1 William Vaughn https://gumroad.com/l/TepOz
Topology Workbook Vol. 2 William Vaughn https://pushingpoints.com/v2/the-pushing-points-topology-workbook/

Drivers:

Bezier Curves and how they work (in-depth) https://youtu.be/aVwxzDHniEw

Introduction to Drivers by Level Pixel Level https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxGYBuDZ0EA

Driver Masterclass Playlist by Level Pixel Level https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxGYBuDZ0EA&list=PLbjn7kaP877u1sX4zl081V8jUeSHDY18G

Custom properties and drivers in blender made easy
https://youtu.be/_197jQFh22E

Assorted Advanced Tutorials

Lazy Tutorials / CG Matter

Making Fliers in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/U1f6NDCttUY
Animate Handheld Cameras in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9EUFud9zGE
Model an Air Conditioner in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/Plw03MczF5s?list=PL4Dq5VyfewIxxjzS34k2NES_PuDUIjRcY
Make Neon Signs in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/8eNN2Ep3Rqs
Make Banners and Flags in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/CzCVarzUuEc
Animate Moths in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/imkSdlbXB_U
Animating flying papers/bags in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/F8j1K-_OlH4
Modeling Buildings in Blender- Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/v_ikG-u_6r0
Animate Fish in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/58lc8sLpJzY
Animate a Car Chase in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/eXldgzeuj1k
Animating Huge Crowds in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://youtu.be/xWq-ZPMhai8
Projection Painting Part 1 https://youtu.be/gz4qV5_zuMo
Projection Painting Part 2 Stitching/Projection Painting https://youtu.be/s_x62z1T9tk
Projection Painting Part 3 Object Removal https://youtu.be/uKUOM67hOkU

Python Scripting for Blender

General Python Basics, knowing those helps read and understand a lot of the tutorials and scripts https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-osiE80TeTt2d9bfVyTiXJA-UTHn6WwU

Getting Blender Python CodeHinting going in editors https://youtu.be/IQgLBnPO2uo

Why check for main https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sugvnHA7ElY

Addons:

Blue Noise Particles https://github.com/BorisTheBrave/blue-noise-particles
Blue Noise particles allows for distributing particles in such a way that they do not touch.

Volume Preserving Smoothing: https://gumroad.com/l/vol_smooth
Volume Preserving Smoothing lets you smooth the mesh and unify its vert distribution without the normally occurring loss of volume.

DotBow Blender Launcher: https://github.com/DotBow/Blender-Version-Manager

Workshops:

Sometimes Tutorials are not enough to get the feel for a skill, only hands-on training will do, and on many occasions, the rigid framework of a set curriculum will be helpful to make you stick with a problem and not giving up. The following links are courses that I have taken and can recommend. While these are not free, they are usually discounted to around 10$ a pop, which I consider excellent value for the average of 10h of training material.

Blender Drivers: https://www.udemy.com/course/mastering-drivers-in-blender-3d/
Darrin Lile Character Creation: https://www.udemy.com/course/blender-2_8-character-creation/
Darrin Lile Texturing Blender/Substance Painter: https://www.udemy.com/course/create-game-assets-with-blender-and-substance-painter/
Darrin Lile Animation: https://www.udemy.com/course/blender-scene-creation/
The Art of Effective Rigging in Blender by P2 Design https://blendermarket.com/products/the-art-of-effective-rigging-in-blender
Learn UV Unwrapping with Blender for Unity 3D Game Design https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-uv-unwrapping-with-blender-for-unity-3d-game-design/