Blender VFX Course

Lesson 1 • Rendering Basics and Output Settings

Explains render engines, resolution, frame rate, and file format choices for VFX output. Connects scene setup to final deliverable requirements.

Lesson 2 • Viewport Navigation and Object Modes

Teaches 3D viewport controls, object vs. edit mode switching, and selection tools. Provides the manual dexterity needed for all modeling and simulation tasks.

Lesson 3 • Interface and Workspace Setup

Covers the editor layout, workspace customization, and VFX-specific preferences. Establishes the environment used throughout all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 1 • Placing and Managing Tracking Markers

Teaches manual and automatic marker placement, pattern sizing, and search region tuning. Good markers are the foundation of a low-error solve.

Lesson 2 • Scene Orientation and Floor Setup

Covers setting the origin, floor plane, and scale using real-world reference. Correct orientation ensures CG objects sit convincingly in the live scene.

Lesson 3 • Object Tracking for Planar Surfaces

Introduces plane track tools for attaching graphics to flat surfaces in footage. Extends camera tracking skills to screen replacements and signage.

Lesson 4 • Camera Solving and Error Analysis

Explains the solve process, reprojection error interpretation, and iterative refinement. Students achieve a solve error below industry-acceptable thresholds.

Lesson 1 • Light Types and Shadow Control

Teaches point, sun, area, and spot lights with shadow softness and bias settings. Precise shadow control is essential for grounding CG objects in a scene.

Lesson 2 • HDRI and Image-Based Lighting

Covers loading HDRIs, rotating and exposing the environment, and extracting lighting data from plates. HDRI is the fastest path to physically accurate scene lighting.

Lesson 3 • Texture Projection and UV Mapping

Covers UV unwrapping, seam placement, and texture baking for VFX assets. Proper UVs prevent texture stretching on CG objects placed in tracked scenes.

Lesson 4 • PBR Shading with the Principled BSDF

Explains base color, roughness, metallic, and normal map inputs for physically based materials. PBR shading ensures materials respond correctly under any lighting condition.

Lesson 1 • Color Grading and Look Development

Explains color balance, curves, hue saturation, and filmic tone mapping in the compositor. Matching CG color to plate footage is critical for realism.

Lesson 2 • Keying and Masking Techniques

Covers chroma keying, luminance keying, and rotoscope masking for isolating elements. These tools integrate CG with footage that lacks a clean background.

Lesson 3 • Render Passes and Multi-Layer EXR

Teaches enabling render passes, saving multi-layer EXR files, and loading them in the compositor. Passes give per-element control over the final image.

Lesson 4 • Compositor Node Editor Fundamentals

Introduces the compositor workspace, node types, and data flow logic. Understanding node connections is essential before building any composite.

Lesson 1 • Integrating Simulations with Tracked Footage

Combines baked simulations with a solved camera and compositing pipeline. Students place physically simulated effects convincingly into live-action plates.

Lesson 2 • Force Fields and Collision Objects

Covers wind, turbulence, vortex, and magnetic force fields plus collision geometry. Force fields shape particle behavior to match real-world physical phenomena.

Lesson 3 • Rigid Body Dynamics for Debris

Teaches active and passive rigid bodies, friction, bounciness, and constraint joints. Rigid body sims produce convincing debris and destruction effects.

Lesson 4 • Soft Body and Cloth Simulations

Explains soft body goals, cloth presets, pinning, and collision for fabric and organic deformation. Extends simulation skills to flexible and deformable surfaces.

Lesson 1 • Mantaflow Domain and Flow Setup

Covers domain object configuration, flow type selection, and resolution division settings. Correct domain setup determines simulation quality and bake time.

Lesson 2 • Volume Shading and Rendering

Covers the principled volume shader, scatter, absorption, and emission for smoke and fire. Volume shading translates raw simulation data into a visible rendered effect.

Lesson 3 • Caching, Baking, and Compositing Fluids

Explains bake types, cache formats, and compositing fluid renders over live plates. Proper caching prevents data loss and enables non-destructive iteration.

Lesson 4 • Liquid Simulation and Mesh Generation

Teaches liquid flow, viscosity, surface tension, and mesh generation from particles. Liquid sims require mesh extraction for rendering as a solid surface.

Lesson 1 • Instancing and Scattering Objects

Covers instance on points, distribute points on faces, and attribute-driven density. Instancing is the core technique for procedural debris, crowds, and vegetation.

Lesson 2 • Procedural Deformation and Animation

Teaches set position, noise texture, and curve deformation nodes for animated geometry. Procedural deformation drives organic motion without manual keyframing.

Lesson 3 • Custom Node Groups and Reusability

Explains grouping nodes, exposing inputs, and packaging effects as reusable assets. Reusable node groups accelerate production across multiple shots and projects.

Lesson 4 • Geometry Nodes Editor Fundamentals

Introduces the geometry nodes workspace, node categories, and data flow concepts. Understanding the node graph structure is required before building any procedural effect.

Lesson 1 • Integrating Tracking with Simulations

Aligns baked simulations, rigid bodies, and fluids with a solved camera in one scene. Correct integration ensures all elements share the same world space.

Lesson 2 • Shot Planning and Pre-Production

Covers shot breakdown, reference gathering, and technical planning before any 3D work begins. Pre-production decisions prevent costly rework during production.

Lesson 3 • Final Compositing and Color Grade

Assembles all render passes, keys, and plates into a final composite with a color grade. This section produces the deliverable output file for the complete shot.

Lesson 4 • Lighting and Shading the Full Shot

Applies HDRI, practical lights, and PBR materials to all CG elements in the shot. Consistent lighting across all assets is essential for a believable composite.