Blender is the only free, fully integrated 3D graphics creation suite to allow modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, and real time interactive 3D with cross-platform compatibility. The Essential Blender is the must have book on Blender. Following on the heels of the very successful Blender 2.3 Guide, this latest book from the Blender Foundation is the official guide to learning the fundamentals of Blender. The Essential Blender is appropriate for people new to Blender or curious about the latest changes the software. The book covers modeling, materials and textures, lighting, particle systems, several kinds of animation, and rendering. It also contains chapters on the compositor and new mesh sculpting tools. For users familiar with other 3D packages, separate indices reference topics using the terminology in those applications. The book includes a DVD with Blender for all platforms as well as the files and demos from the book.