To get the most out of this book

You will need an internet connection to download the latest version of Blender and the source files for this project (an internet connection is not required after downloading the software and the files).

Blender can be downloaded from https://www.blender.org/download and requires about 400 MB of storage space to install. The project files in this book are approximately 2.65 GB all together (you do not need to download them all at once). There are some projects that require additional software for digital painting / image editing such as Krita, GIMP, Affinity Photo, or Photoshop. We recommend Krita because it's free and open source, just like Blender! It can be downloaded from https://krita.org/en/download/krita-desktop/. The download for Krita is approximately 100 MB. It's a good idea to have at least 4 GB of additional free storage so that you can create your own 3D sculptures and texture files for the projects. In total, about 7 GB of space will be enough for everything covered in this book.

The version of Blender used in this book requires a computer that supports OpenGL 3.3. You can find the official hardware requirements on the Blender website here: https://www.blender.org/download/requirements/ This book has been tested for the Blender 2.8 series of releases. The upcoming 2.9 and 3.0 series of releases may have different hardware requirements.

Blender works best on a computer that has a numpad because the camera navigation hotkeys are bound the numpad keys. This book uses an alternative method to teach these controls since many laptops do not have a numpad, so it is not absolutely required.

A drawing tablet with pressure sensitivity is highly recommended for the Grease Pencil projects as well as the sculpting and texturing chapters in the Baby Dragon project. There are affordable options available from http://www.huion.com/, premium options on offer from https://www.wacom.com/, or if you have a computer with a built-in stylus such as a Microsoft Surface that will work nicely as well. It is possible to complete these chapters using a mouse, but it is not recommended.

Software/Hardware covered in the book	OS requirements
Blender 2.83	Windows 10, 8.1, and 7 macOS 10.12+ Linux
Krita 4.2.9	Windows 8.1 or higher, OSX 10.12, Linux

Blender and Krita are open source and receive updates several times a year. There may be new versions available if you're picking up this book even a few months after it's published, but don't worry. The projects in this book should still be compatible.

Download the example code files

You can download the example code files for this book from your account at www.packt.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files emailed directly to you.

You can download the code files by following these steps:

1. Log in or register at www.packt.com.
2. Select the Support tab.
3. Click on Code Downloads.
4. Enter the name of the book in the Search box and follow the onscreen instructions.

Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the latest version of:

• WinRAR/7-Zip for Windows
• Zipeg/iZip/UnRarX for Mac
• 7-Zip/PeaZip for Linux

The project files for the book are also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Blender-3D-By-Example-Second-Edition. In case there's an update to the project files, it will be updated on the existing GitHub repository.

We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://static.packt-cdn.com/downloads/9781789612561_ColorImages.pdf.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

CodeInText: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "Rename it Top."

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "Choose Delete | Faces."

Warnings or important notes appear like this.

Tips and tricks appear like this.