To use Blender for your first 3D project, add simple shapes, move and scale them, add materials and lighting, position the camera, and render an image. Start with a sphere on a square pedestal to practice these controls while finishing a small scene.
The project steps use Blender 5.2 LTS, English interface labels, and the default Blender keymap with left-button selection. Keep your pointer over the editor you want to control when pressing shortcuts.
The short version
- Start small: Build a sphere on a cube pedestal with a plane underneath.
- Learn the modes: Use Object Mode to arrange whole objects and Edit Mode to change their geometry.
- Transform objects: Press G to move, R to rotate, or S to scale, then press Enter to confirm.
- Finish both saves: Save the editable .blend project, then save the rendered image separately.
| Control or option | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Object Mode | Transforms whole objects | Arrange the scene |
| Edit Mode | Changes mesh geometry | Shape individual parts |
| Material Preview | Previews materials using EEVEE and environment lighting | Choose surface colors |
| Rendered | Uses the scene’s render engine | Inspect scene lighting |
| Render Image | Renders the active camera’s composition | Create the finished picture |
Install the right Blender version
Get Blender from the official download page and choose the package for your computer. Before installing, compare your operating system, processor, memory, and graphics hardware with Blender’s platform requirements. Blender 5.2 LTS has packages for Windows x64 and ARM64, Apple silicon macOS, and compatible Linux systems.
On Windows, run the installer matching your processor architecture and choose an installation folder. The installer requires administrator rights, creates a Start menu entry, and associates .blend files with Blender. For a portable installation, extract the matching Windows ZIP package into a writable folder and double-click blender.exe; this route does not require administrator rights or automatically create file associations.
On an Apple silicon Mac, open the downloaded .dmg file, drag Blender.app into Applications, then open it. Blender 5.0 and later do not support Intel Macs, so choose the macOS Intel package from the Blender 4.5 LTS release page if your Intel Mac meets that release’s requirements. Mount its .dmg file, drag Blender.app into Applications, then open it. The project instructions below target Blender 5.2, so do not assume every control matches 4.5.
On Linux, decompress the official archive into your chosen folder and launch the blender executable inside it. Alternatively, install your distribution’s Blender package through its package manager and use that manager for updates. Check the packaged version and available features because versions and GPU rendering support vary.
Set up controls and move around
At first launch, choose your Language and Theme in Create New Preferences. Choose Blender for Keymap, choose left-button selection under Mouse Select, and choose your Spacebar Action. Select Save New Preferences, then press Esc to dismiss the splash screen and reveal the startup scene.
Stay in the Layout workspace for the initial scene. It contains the 3D Viewport, Outliner, Properties, and Timeline. With your pointer over the 3D Viewport, drag with the middle mouse button to orbit, hold Shift while middle-dragging to pan, and roll the wheel to zoom.
Without a middle mouse button, open Edit > Preferences > Input and check Emulate 3 Button Mouse. Hold Alt while left-dragging wherever these steps call for middle-dragging, although this conflicts with some other operations using Alt and a left-click. You can also drag the navigation gizmo’s orientation control at the top right of the viewport to orbit. Its buttons underneath provide zoom, pan, camera view, and projection controls.
A numeric keypad is optional because view commands also have menu entries. Choose View > Frame All if the scene slips out of sight, or select an object and choose View > Frame Selected to focus on it. To find a command, press F3, type part of its name, select the result, and press Enter.
Build a scene from simple shapes
Use the viewport’s mode selector to choose Object Mode, then select the cube in the startup scene. Open Object Properties > Transform in Properties to enter its position and scale numerically. Use the following values as a starting composition that you can adjust later.
For the pedestal, give the cube Location values of 0, 0, and 0.5, and Scale values of 2, 2, and 0.5, in X, Y, Z order. Choose Add > Mesh > UV Sphere, then give the sphere Location values of 0, 0, and 2 and Scale values of 1, 1, and 1 in the same order.
Next, choose Add > Mesh > Plane. Give it Location values of 0, 0, and 0, then set its Scale values to 5, 5, and 5 to create a ground surface. New shapes appear at the 3D Cursor, so entering their positions explicitly controls where you place them.
For freehand adjustments, select an object, press G to move, R to rotate, or S to scale, move the pointer, and press Enter. The toolbar’s Move, Rotate, and Scale tools provide draggable controls for the same operations. To remove an unwanted object, select it in Object Mode and press Delete. Press Ctrl + Z to undo a mistake.
Shape the model and soften its surfaces
Select the pedestal and press Tab to enter Edit Mode. Changes here affect the mesh geometry, while transformations in Object Mode affect the whole object. With Emulate Numpad disabled, press 2 for edge selection, then press A to select all edges.
Choose Edge > Bevel Edges, move the pointer a small amount to soften the edges, and roll the mouse wheel to adjust the number of segments. Press Enter to confirm, then press Tab to return to Object Mode. If the result changes the pedestal more than you intended, press Ctrl + Z to undo it and try a smaller bevel.
Select the sphere and choose Object > Shade Smooth. Smooth shading changes the surface appearance without changing the model’s silhouette. To smooth the actual shape, press Ctrl + 1 in Object Mode to add a Subdivision Surface modifier with one viewport subdivision. If that modifier already exists, the shortcut changes its viewport level instead.
Add materials and scene lighting
Select the sphere, open its Material properties, and create a material using the material data-block control. Adjust the Principled BSDF’s Base Color, Roughness, and Metallic to choose its surface appearance. Give the pedestal and plane their own materials to distinguish the three shapes.
Press Z and choose Material Preview to inspect the colors. This preview uses EEVEE and an HDRI environment, so its lighting can differ from the finished scene. Its Scene Lights and Scene World controls determine whether it uses your scene lighting. If you have selected Workbench as the render engine, switch to EEVEE in Render Properties to make Material Preview available.
Select the existing light and open Object Data in Properties. Adjust its Color, Exposure, and applicable Power or Strength control, then use the object transformation tools to reposition it. The available settings depend on the light type and render engine.
For environment lighting, open World > Surface in Properties and adjust the Background shader’s Color and Strength. Press Z and choose Rendered to inspect the scene with its selected render engine. If your material preview and render look different, use this mode while adjusting the scene lights and world.
Position the camera and choose a renderer
Orbit, pan, and zoom until the sphere and pedestal form a composition you like. With an active camera in the scene, choose View > Align View > Align Active Camera to View. Then choose View > Cameras > Active Camera to inspect the camera’s frame.
While in camera view, open the viewport Sidebar’s View tab and find View Lock. Check Camera to View, then orbit, pan, and zoom to refine the camera position. Uncheck Camera to View when you finish positioning it.
Open Render Properties and choose EEVEE under Render Engine for a first project focused on speed and interactivity. Cycles provides path-traced rendering, while Workbench provides simple modeling and technical previews. Engine selection changes the settings and effects you can use.
Save the editable project
Choose File > Save to save your scene as a .blend project. For an unnamed project, this opens Save As, where you choose the folder and filename. Save again after making further changes to keep your editable work current.
To keep a separate version, choose File > Save As… and use another filename or location. File > Save Incremental saves a numbered revision instead. Saving the project preserves your editable scene, but the finished still image needs its own save.
Render and save your finished image
Open Output Properties > Format and set Resolution X and Resolution Y for your picture. Reduce Percentage for a smaller test render without changing the image proportions. Once the composition and lighting look right, raise it for the finished render.
Choose Render > Render Image or press F12. The picture uses the active camera’s composition, so return to camera view and adjust the framing if the result shows the wrong part of the scene. Choose Render > View Render or press F11 to display the render window again.
With Render Result displayed, choose Image > Save As, then choose a destination and image format. Rendering a still does not automatically save an image file. Keep both the rendered picture and the .blend project so you can share the image and continue editing the scene.
Fix selection and modeling problems
If pressing 2 changes your view instead of selecting edges, open Edit > Preferences > Input and uncheck Emulate Numpad. That setting assigns number-row keys to numpad view commands, replacing their usual mesh-selection shortcuts. Return to the viewport in Edit Mode and press 2 again.
If a new shape becomes part of the mesh you are editing, you added it in Edit Mode. Undo that addition with Ctrl + Z, return to Object Mode, and add the shape again. Adding primitives in Object Mode lets you arrange them as separate objects.
If subdivision looks different in the viewport and the finished render, inspect the Subdivision Surface modifier. Its Levels Viewport and Render values are separate, so adjust each for the result you want. The Ctrl + 1 shortcut changes the viewport level.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you recover a Blender project after a crash?
Choose File > Recover > Auto Save, select the relevant autosave, and click Open. Save the recovered project manually with Save As. Recovery depends on the temporary files available and what the autosave captured.
Can you make 3D text in Blender?
Yes, add a Text object through the viewport’s Add menu and edit the wording in Edit Mode. Under Properties > Data > Geometry, adjust the extrusion and bevel settings to give the letters volume. Use Properties > Data > Font for font-loading and typography controls.
How do you export a Blender model for another 3D application?
Choose File > Export > glTF 2.0 (.glb, .gltf). Choose glTF Binary (.glb) for a single file containing mesh data, textures, and related information. Curves and other unsupported non-mesh data need conversion before export.
How do you keep image textures with a Blender project?
Choose File > External Data > Pack Resources, then save the .blend file. Enable Automatically Pack Resources in the same menu to mark future eligible resources for packing. Some external file types cannot be packed.
