There are a number of ways to find out information about the objects you have selected, but the simplest way is through using the Transform Properties panel. Within the 3D view, pressing the N-key brings up a panel that contains information about the Active Object. There are other screens in Blender that use the same hotkey to bring up a properties panel for selected objects, like the Ipo Window and NLA Editor. Pressing the N-key again will hide the panel. Figure OMD.13: The Transform Properties panel. The panel shows the current location, rotation, scale and overall dimensions of the object. In addition to simply showing information about the object, the panel can also be used to change those values. Each of the controls is a spinner, allowing you to either LMB click on the value itself to type a new one, LMB click on the right and left arrow to raise and lower the value, or to LMB click and drag inside of it. In addition, any of the values can be locked by LMB clicking on the grayed-out lock icon beside its spinner. Locking a value on the transform panel will prevent the object from being moved, rotated or scaled along that axis. For example, if you had an object like a sliding door that was supposed to only move left to right, you could lock both its z and y axes so that it could only be transformed along the x (left/right) axis. Tip: N-key toggles the Transform Properties panel in the 3D view. Transforming Objects Objects can be transformed ("transformed" is an overall term for moving, rotating and scaling) in a number of ways. As seen above, location, rotation and scale can be changed by entering values in the transform properties panel. Of course, this being an interactive 3D application, these transformations can also be accomplished visually - and much more intuitively - in the 3D view. Transforming with Hotkeys Often, the fastest method for transforming objects is to use the hotkeys G (for Grab/Move), R (for Rotate) and S (for Scale, or Size). When you use the transform hotkeys, the selected object (or objects) enters a transformation mode that allows you to move it freely with the mouse. If at any time during a transform you want to cancel the operation, click the RMB. When you have the object transformed as you like, clicking the LMB accepts the operation. Tip: G-key lets you translate (move) an object. R-key lets you rotate an object. S-key lets you scale (resize) an object. While you are transforming an object, it is often useful to limit the change to a certain axis. For example, if you are trying to make an egg shape from a sphere, you would only want to scale the sphere along, say, the z axis, creating an oblong, egg-like shape. This sort of transform limitation is accomplished with the X or Y or Z-keys, used while the object is in transformation mode. So, to move an object only along the Z axis, you would press the G- key, followed by the Z-key. Using Shift with the axis keys does the opposite, allowing an object to transform along the other two axes. For example, pressing the G-key, followed by Shift-Z, would allow the object to move freely in along the X and Y axes, while not allowing vertical (Z axis) movement. Tip: X, Y, or Z-key constrains transformation to each axis. Shift-X, Y or Z constrains transformation within each plane. Of course, there is more than one way to do this in Blender. Pressing the G-key (or R or S), then beginning a transformation and clicking the MMB will constrain the object's transformation along whichever axis you have begun the motion. Clicking the MMB again while still in transformation mode removes the constraint, giving you complete freedom of movement again. There is one further way to limit transformation with these hotkeys, and that is to press the axis key (X, Y or Z) not once, but twice. The second key press causes the object to use what is called the "alternative transformation space". Which alternative space is used is defined in the header of the 3D Window, and can also be set by the Alt-Spacebar hotkey. Image:Dummy.png Figure OMD.14: The Alternative Transformation Space menu on the 3D header. In the case of a rotated cube, transforming the cube with the G-key followed by the Z-key will move it directly upwards in the scene. However, with the alternative transformation space set to "Local", a second press on the Z-key will move the cube vertically in relation to its current orientation. Figure OMD.15: A cube is shown moving away from the origin, constrained in both Global and Local spaces. Tip: Pressing one of the axis constraints (X, Y, Z-key) twice during transformation constrains the transform to each axis in the alternative transformation space, which is local space by default. Transformation Center When rotating or scaling objects, Blender, by default, causes the rotation or resizing to occur relative to the object's center. Pressing the R-key on a cube, then moving the mouse will cause the cube to rotate in place, around its own center. But what if you want to use a different center point for rotation or scaling? Blender can be set to use several different methods for determining what to use as an object's transformation center, all accessible in the "Rotation/Scaling Pivot" menu in the 3D view header. Figure OMD.15.1: The Pivot Point menu on the 3D header. Although each option in this menu is useful under certain circumstances, the two most commonly-used are "Bounding Box Center" (the default), and "3D Cursor". In fact, each of these options has a hotkey attached to it: Comma-key (",") for Bounding Box Center, and Period-key (".") for 3D Cursor. It is not unusual to see an experienced modeler or animator rapidly switching between these two modes when making transformations. Figure OMD.15.2: Two cubes, the left rotating around its Bounding Box Center, the right rotating around the 3D cursor. The "Bounding Box" referred to above is just the outer limits of an object. Figure OMD.16: Several objects with their bounding boxes showing. Note how the cube's bounding box is just itself. Of course, you already know how to set the location of the 3D Cursor (LMB). A word of warning when using the 3D Cursor as the pivot point for a rotation or scale transformation: make sure you set the 3D Cursor from two different views (like front and top). If you set it in front view alone, it will only set the 3D Cursor's x and z coordinates, leaving its y coordinate unaltered. If that y coordinate is drastically offset from the object you are transforming, it can lead to unexpected (read: bad) results. Tip: Change the rotation and scaling pivot point through the menu on the 3D header, or with the hotkeys Comma (for Bounding Box Center) and Period (for 3D Cursor). Transform Manipulators In many cases, using the G/S/R hotkeys for transformation can be the most efficient method. However, it is not for everyone, and Blender provides tools that can accommodate many different working styles. The graphical transformation manipulators give users direct, mouse-based access to all of the transformation controls. The manipulator is turned On by default, and can be switched on and off either through its button on the 3D View header, or by choosing "Enable/Disable" from the Ctrl- Spacebar menu in the 3D View. Figure OMD.17: The Manipulator controls on the 3D header. There are separate manipulators for movement (called translation), rotation and scaling. Each manipulator functions in a similar fashion: simply LMB-drag on the manipulator handle that corresponds to the axis you wish to transform. The rotation manipulator in particular gives excellent visual feedback, showing a "pie chart" representation of the current rotation. Figure OMD.17.1: The three different types of manipulators. Like many things in Blender, the transform manipulator icons on the 3D header can be Shift- clicked to build a selection, allowing you to show and use up to all three manipulator types (move, rotate and scale) at once. One more interesting aspect of the visual feedback that manipulators give is that locking transformation in the Transformation Properties Panel (N-key, discussed earlier) actually removes that axis from the manipulator, making it impossible for you to use the manipulator to transform along a locked axis. Tip: The manipulators provide direct, one-click access transformations. We encourage you to become comfortable with the hotkeys G, R and S and the axis constraints (x, y, and z) before you start to use the manipulators. The manipulators are generally considered to be more intuitive, and in certain circumstances (like moving vertices relative to their normals during mesh editing and rolling and rotating bones in armatures for character animation) are perhaps the best way to accomplish the task. If you find that the manipulators are not to your taste, you can get them out of the way (they can cause trouble with selections in cluttered environments) by disabling them with their button on the 3D Header or through the Ctrl-Spacebar menu. Don't forget they are there, though - they may come in handy someday. Whatever the case, make sure that you try out both methods of working so you can find the one that suits you best. Clearing Transforms Sometimes, it is helpful to completely remove any movement, rotation or scaling from an object. While this can be accomplished by entering zeros in the Location and Rotation sections of the Transform Properties panel and ones in the Scaling spinners, there is a simpler way. Adding the Alt key modifier to the transformation hotkeys clears that particular transformation. Alt-G returns the object to coordinates (0,0,0). Alt-R clears all rotations, and Alt-S sets any scaling that has been done to an object back to 1. Tip: Alt-G clears all translations. Alt-R clears rotations. Alt-S clears scaling. Applying Transforms There are cases when you may have transformed an object by changing its scale and orientation in order to get it into a beginning state for animation or other work. Perhaps you imported a model of a car from an Internet repository, and it was of a completely different scale and rotation than the rest of your scene. Using the S and R-keys, you adjusted the model to fit in with everything else. When it was done, your Transform Properties panel looked like this: Figure OMD.18: The Transform Properties panel. You could proceed with the construction of the scene and eventually animate just like this. However, it would be nice when animating to start with a "clean slate," especially for rotations. Pressing Ctrl-A and LMB clicking through the popup that reads "OK? Apply scale and rotation" will reset both Scale and Rotation values to their defaults (ones for Scale and zeros for Rotation), while leaving the object exactly as it appeared before. Tip: Ctrl-A applies scaling and rotation to an object, resetting them to their base values without transforming the object. Duplicating Objects There are two ways to duplicate objects in Blender, each suited to a slightly different task. The first is the standard duplication which is accomplished by selecting an object (or objects) and pressing Shift-D. This creates a full, independent copy of the object, including any data, such as mesh data, that might be linked to it. The new object can be edited without affecting the original. Tip: Shift-D creates a complete duplicate of the selected object. The other method of duplication uses Alt-D instead, and creates a new object whose data is still linked to that of the original. For example, a duplicate of a Mesh object that was created with Alt- D will actually share the mesh with the original. If the Mesh of either object is modified in Edit mode, the change will show up in both objects, in real time. One excellent use for this method of duplication is for lighting setups: creating a series of Alt-D duplicated lamps would allow you to adjust the lighting intensity on one lamp and have that change used for all of the duplicates. Copies made with Alt-D are referred to as "linked duplicates". Tip: Alt-D creates a duplicate of the selected object, but shares any object data (mesh shape, lamp settings, etc.) with the original. Parenting Many graphics applications allow you to create parent-child relationships between objects. In a parent-child relationship, any transformations that you perform on the parent also happen to the child. In fact, when transforming a parent, the child is transformed as though the parent and child together were a single larger object, with the parent's center being the overall center of the object. For example, rotating a parent will cause not only the parent to rotate, but the child to move in a curve through space, as though they were connected by a rigid bar. Directly transforming a child object still works as you would expect, but it has no effect on the parent. [...]... Blender equivalent of Redo, sending the cube back to the netherworld Unlike other programs, however, there is no menu entry for Undo or Redo, so learning to use the hotkey combination for this one is essential The 3D Cursor Figure 1.02: The 3D cursor The 'aiming sight' that you've seen hanging around in the 3D view is the 3D cursor The 3D cursor is where new objects and items will appear when created... down And that's why it's important to learn which axes are which when you are moving things around You will not always be in one of the straight-on views (front, side, top, etc.), and it can often be essential to be certain of which direction you are moving things Tip: G-key lets you move (Grab) an object R-key lets you rotate an object S-key lets you scale (resize) an object With these operations, . there is no menu entry for Undo or Redo, so learning to use the hotkey combination for this one is essential. The 3D Cursor Figure 1.02: The 3D cursor. The 'aiming sight' that you've