selectparks - Blender: Mesh-Modeling to Rendering (Introduction)

Here's a manual I wrote introducing the basics of modeling, texturing and rendering using the excellent open-source software Blender for the FLOSSManuals project.

Blender isn't the sort of software you can just dive in and teach yourself so easily. It has an unusual interface but one that pays off greatly once learned. For instance, in my experience, Blender is much faster to work with - and more performant - for rapid mesh modeling than 3DSMax or Maya.

Following this manual and doing the tutorials should get you well up to speed with Blender.
Later on I'll post a section on the Realtime Game Engine part of Blender toward the ends of rapidly prototyping your game/3D interface ideas.

About FLOSSManuals: FM, initiated by Adam Hyde, seeks to provide high-quality user-contributed and maintained technical manuals for open-source software, some of which will be published as paper books on-demand.