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Blender — Quickstart (30 minutes)

If you have 30 minutes today, do exactly these three things. Don't read the rest of the wiki yet.

If you only do one thing

Do step 2. Modeling without internalizing modal navigation is the #1 source of beginner frustration.

1. Install + open + orbit (5 min)

  • Download Blender 4.x from blender.org/download.
  • Open it. Default scene: a cube, a camera, a light.
  • Practice: middle-mouse drag to orbit, Shift+MMB to pan, scroll to zoom.
  • Press Numpad 1, 3, 7 for front/side/top views. Press Numpad 5 to toggle ortho/perspective.
  • Press Numpad . to frame the selected object (or Home to frame all).

If you don't have a numpad, enable Edit > Preferences > Input > Emulate Numpad.

2. The modal mental model (15 min)

This is the single concept that separates Blender confusion from fluency.

  • Object Mode (default) — you select and transform whole objects.
  • Edit Mode (Tab) — you edit the insides of the selected mesh: vertices, edges, faces.

Practice:

  • Select the cube. Press G (grab/move), then X to constrain to X-axis, then type 2, Enter. The cube moves 2 units on X.
  • Press R (rotate), Z, 45, Enter. Rotated 45° around Z.
  • Press S (scale), type 1.5, Enter. Scaled 1.5×.
  • Press Tab — now you're in Edit Mode, seeing vertices.
  • Press 1 for vertex select, 2 for edge select, 3 for face select.
  • Select all vertices (A). Press E to extrude. Move the mouse, click to confirm.
  • Press Tab to go back to Object Mode.

You just used the four most important keys: Tab, G, R, S. Every workflow extends from these.

3. Save and revisit (10 min)

  • Ctrl+S — save your file. Pick a folder you'll find again.
  • Close Blender. Reopen the file. Confirm everything's there.
  • Open File > New > Default to wipe the scene; then Ctrl+Z repeatedly to confirm undo works.

What's next

  • Tomorrow (10–20 min): read Usage sections "Modes" and "Essential keyboard shortcuts." Try the shortcuts in a sandbox cube.
  • This week: start Tutorial Level 1. Do not skip ahead.
  • Anki users: import the Blender shortcuts deck — 5 minutes of daily review will internalize modal shortcuts in 2 weeks.

Set a calendar reminder for tomorrow. The single biggest factor in Blender progress is daily 20 minutes — not weekend marathons.