Time for action — cleaning up the model in Blender

Open Blender and delete the cube using the X key and press the OK button in the pop-up menu. Go to File | Import | Collada (.dae) as seen in the following screenshot:

Time for action — cleaning up the model in Blender

If you can't see the model in Blender, perform the following steps:

  1. Open up the View Properties panel from the 3D view, or press the N Key.
  2. Initially, the main parameter to be changed is in View | Clip End. The correct value is: 1000 (unit system) or 25,4 (metric) or 27,77 yd (imperial):
    Time for action — cleaning up the model in Blender
  3. Scale the object using the S key, and center the axis on it:
    Time for action — cleaning up the model in Blender

    Tip

    On the Object Tools panel, click on Origin | Origin to Geometry before scaling the object.

  4. Save the ship as a blend file, pressing File | Save As. Then, press the Save As Blender file button.

    We will now attempt to design our main character: the whale.

  5. Search for killer whale in a search box on the Web:
    Time for action — cleaning up the model in Blender
  6. Click on the image titled Animals - Killer Whale by mandun, and the browser will open a new page. Click on the Download button, as shown in the following screenshot:
    Time for action — cleaning up the model in Blender
  7. Open Blender and press the X key to delete the cube. Choose File | import | Collada (.dae), and select killerwhale.dae from your specific folder, if you previously exported it to the collada file. Repeat the steps we performed for the ship.

Tip

If you prefer other formats, Blender can read 3Ds and obj files too. To see all formats, choose File | User Preferences, press on the Addons tab, and select the Import/Export button on the left menu.

What just happened?

Getting 3D models with other types of extensions requires us to reset them and clean them so we can use them as Blend files. For this, we will import the model as explained previously. We have reduced the model, focused its axis, and taken everything that is not relevant for our model.

Pop quiz — importing other files into Blender

  1. To add a 3D object library I need to:
    1. Open the file
    2. Import the file
    3. Export the file
  2. To save a 3D object I need to:
    1. Close the program
    2. Close the original file
    3. Save the file
  3. To clean the object, we must scale the model and set the axis in the:
    1. Geometry to origin
    2. Origin to geometry
    3. Origin to the 3D cursor

Have a go hero—growing the library

When you have a good library, try to import all models to the 3D view, and move and anchor each object on the scene. You will get a first impression of what your game looks like without any moving objects.

Remember that it is not necessary to find the exact model you need. Maybe some models closely resemble the model that you need. Perhaps, with simple modifications, your character can be ready. In the next paragraph, we will learn how to create a new model, but the tools we will use will be the same, as if you used a model from your own library.

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