Blender Tutorial for Beginners: How To Make A Mushroom

Manipulating Objects in Object Mode

Blender works in different interaction modes. Up until now, you’ve been working in Object mode, where you can add, delete and manipulate objects. Later on in this tutorial, you’ll switch over to Edit mode, where you can edit the vertices, edges and faces of meshes. To check what mode you’re currently in, take a look at the left side of the 3D view.

Selecting Objects

The cube in your scene should have an orange outline; this means that it’s selected. Here are a few ways to quickly select and deselect objects:

• Select: Simply click on an object to select it.
• Deselect: Click anywhere outside the object to deselect it.
• Select all: Press the A key to select all objects.
• Deselect all: Press ALT/Option + A or double tap A to deselect all objects.

Deleting Objects

You’re here to create a mushroom, not a sugar cube, so you’ll need to get rid of the cube. Select it and press either the X or Delete key to banish it from the scene.

If you accidentally deleted the wrong object, you can undo your last action by pressing CTRL/Command + Z.

3D Cursor

Now you’re ready to add some new shapes to your scene. But how do you know where they’ll be added? That’s where the 3D cursor comes in!
The 3D cursor is a point in 3D space where new objects and other geometry will be created. It looks like a red and white circle with a 3D cross in the middle.

With every new scene, the 3D cursor is sitting in the middle of the grid, the origin. You can manually move the cursor by selecting the 3D Cursor tool in the toolbox and clicking anywhere in the 3D view.

Make sure to activate the Box Select tool again by clicking the top button in the toolbox once you’re done.
To reset your 3D cursor to the origin, select Object ► Snap ► Cursor to World Origin in the 3D View Header or press Shift + S and choose Cursor to World Origin.

Adding Objects

Press Shift + A to display the Add menu and select Mesh. You’ll be presented with all built-in shapes that you can add, select Cylinder here to generate a new cylinder.

Now that you have a cylinder in your scene, click on the Add Cylinder button on the bottom left of the 3D View. This pops out a menu with the available options for your new shape. These only appear immediately after you add an object and before you’ve done any other editing, so now’s your chance to get the settings right!

You can either click the field and type in the values, or you can scrub back and forth with the mouse to set the values. Modify the following properties in the left-hand panel as follows:

• Vertices: 10
• Radius: 1.5 m
• Depth: 3 m
• Cap Fill Type: Triangle Fan

Leave all other properties as-is. Your panel should appear as below:

The cylinder looks like this now:

Transforming Objects in Object Mode

In Object Mode, you can move, scale or rotate objects. This can be accomplished using shortcut keys, tools and using the Transform properties.

Transforming with Shortcut Keys

To transform an object using the shortcut keys, first ensure the object is selected. Next, press the key to begin the action and move the mouse to adjust the transform. The further you move the mouse, the greater the effect. To complete a transform, you simply left click, to discard the changes you right click.

The shortcut keys for transforms are as follows:

• Move: G
• Scale: S
• Rotate: R

Try scaling the cylinder up a bit! Make sure it’s selected, press the S key and move your cursor outwards until you’re satisfied with the change. Once the cylinder has grown a bit, left click anywhere in the 3D View to confirm:

You can constrain transforms to a particular axis by pressing its letter: X, Y, or Z. So, if you only want to scale along the Z axis, press S, and then press Z:

Feel free to play around with the cylinder by moving, scaling and rotating it. Just make sure to undo the action each time using CTRL/Command + Z.

Transforming Using Tools

The second method to transform your object is by using the Move, Rotate, Scale and Transform tools from the Toolbar.

Select the Move tool from the Toolbar and drag the blue arrow up with your mouse. You should see the object translate along the Z-axis. Undo this change by pressing CTRL/Command + Z.

The Scale and Rotate tools work exactly the same. The Transform tool combines the three other transform tool into a single gizmo.

Transforming with Properties

The third method of transforming — editing the object properties directly — offers the most control. You can use this method if you need very specific control over the shape and position of your object.

Make sure the Object Properties tab is active in Properties region. You can transform the object by changing its Location, Rotation, and Scale values directly, as shown below:

That covers the most important aspects of Object Mode. Now it’s time to edit the vertices, edges, and faces of the object!

Editing Objects in Edit Mode

Edit Mode is where you delve deep into the details of an object and change its geometry. To enter Edit Mode, select the object to be edited and press Tab.

You’ll see that the object turns orange and all of its edges and points are highlighted. The icons at the left of the 3D View Header tell you which select mode you are in: vertex mode (left icon), edge mode (middle icon), or face mode (right icon), as shown below:

At the moment, you’re in Vertex mode, with everything in your object selected. Double tap the A key to deselect everything and click one of the vertices to select it. Hold down Shift and click another vertex to add it to the selection. Finally deselect everything again.