Donut Tutorial

Important

This is a companion guide to Blender Guru’s foundational Donut Tutorial

Disclaimers:
Videos for this tutorial are currently hosted on Dropbox which
limits their data and may result in a video not available error.

If demand is high enough, we will increase the bandwidth or find a more suitable provider.

Note

Why make a tutorial of a tutorial?

• Proof of Work. This is a good way to document one’s progress through complexity.

• This is a form of a digital notebook.

• This is a good exercise in reducing complexity into simplicity.

• Recalling a small particular step, is a large sequence of steps, is difficult.

• This Donut Blender companion guide aims to act as a bridge, moving users from
  ‘no recall’ to ‘rote recall’.

• This guide is meant to be a ‘see-it-do-it’ guide, without having to pause and rewind videos.

• This tutorial supports step by step following along, using two monitors.

• This tutorial supports one screen setups and laptops by having vertical videos in some sections.
  

• This companion guide covers Parts 01 - 10 at this time.

• Sphinx Documentation’s Search is only so-so, instead we suggest Cmd/Ctrl-F on the tutorial document.

• This is an early release tutorial, please forgive typose, unclear text, etc.

The early tutorials use Short Cut VUr to display keystrokes. Most of the time. Later we use the Screen Cast Addon which is recommended for greater reliability in documentating Hot keys, Pie and Pop-Up Menus. Screencast Github
Installing Screencast Keys may be helpful in some later sections as one can match the on screen keys with one’s own keys. A bit like the bouncing ball in Karaoke.

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Trouble Shooting

While learning Blender, one may get stuck in states which yield odd behaviour.
Should this occur at any time in one’s learning journey, please refer to the list below.

Trouble Shooting Checklist

• Turn Snapping Off (Shift + Tab)

• Turn Proportional Editing Off (O)

• Apply Scale (Ctrl + A)

• Set Orientation Transformation Scale => Global
  This icon looks like two arrows located at the top middle of the screen.

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Part 01: The Basics

Navigation and Hotkeys

Object Mode, Edit Mode
Blender has two different modes to work in, Object and Edit Modes.
Each mode has restrictions on what commands can be delivered.
ie. ‘X’ to delete, works different in Object Mode vs. Edit Mode.
Edit mode is only available when an object is selected.

Change Resolution Scale of Interface.

• Edit > Preferences > Interface > Resolution Scale.

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Change Material Colors

Material color changes are not interactive in the early tutorial sections,
and only show when rendered (F12) for now.

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Note

Collections are the equivalent to Folders.

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Part 02: Object Editing

Object Editing

Command	Hotkey
Add	Shift + A
Recall ‘Operator Presets’	F9

Note

• Having an even number segments can help when unwrapping for UV’s or performing slices.

• Having an odd number of segments may be helpful when trying to define the middle of an object.

Here we learn to ‘Apply Scale’.

Command	Hot Key
Apply Scale	Ctrl + A
Open Item Panel	N

Note

• Here we scale the donut down from 3 meters to ~ 9 cm.

• Blender’s default scale is in 1 meter, our Donut is around 9 centimeters.

• The difference in scale effects the default settings of tools like radius: Proportional editing.

• The scale should always be near to 1, 1, 1. When in doubt, Ctrl + A > Apply scale.

Apply Scale:

Blender Guru: Tutorial 02, Apply Scale

We can change the shading of our object by Selecting the object and right clicking over the background.

“Smooth shade is an illusion. It does not add any geometry.” - Blender Guru

Mouse	Smooth Shade
RMB over background

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Target Section {#target-section}

Camera Lessons

Command	Hot Key	note
1. Look Thru Camera	Numpad - 0	toggles between camera and perspective view

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Command	Hot Key	note
3. Select Donut
4. Frame Selection	Press Numpad - Period ‘ . ‘
5. Set Camera Position to Perspective View	Ctrl + Alt + Numpad + 0	Extremely Useful Hot Key

The camera snaps to the donut’s position.

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Simple Way to Frame a Shot

Command	Hot Key	note
Side Menu	N
View	Select
Activate ‘Camera to View’	Blue Checkbox
Set Desired Camera Frame	Pan, Rotate, Zoom
Deselect ‘Camera to View’		Or we can leave on and press Numpad ‘0’ to exit

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Delicate Way to Frame a Shot

Note

Useful for dollying (moving towards or away from object) in fine increments.

Command	Hot Key	note
Move Camera Frame
1. Select Camera Frame		Frame & Camera turn orange
		Camera must be visible
2. Activate Grab Tool	G
3. Enter Smooth Zoom Mode	Depress MMB	Perspective view, we hold Ctrl + MMB to smooth Zoom
4. Move Mouse Gently

Important

With a split screen, we can also move the camera in a secondary viewport.

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Command	Hot Key	note
7. Render Camera View	F12	Check view by rendering

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Subdivisions

Also known as “subd’s, subds, subsurf, subsurfaces”.

• Subdivisions are a way to smooth our models while still maintaining control over their base wire frame / cage.

• Subdivisions are typically added in object mode, but we can select the option to view the results in Edit mode.

• We can toggle the visibility of the Subd’s for the viewport and the render.

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Hot Key	Pie Menu
	Select Mode
Ctrl + Tab

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Proportional Editing

Command	Hot Key	note
Proportional	O	Toggle
Proportional Grab	Select ( Vertice, Edge, Face ) + O + G + Scroll MMB Up	Activate ‘O’ Before ‘G’

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Scale Along Normals

Command	Hot Key	note
Move Along Normals	Alt + S	Extremely Useful Hotkey

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Part 03: Modifiers

Create a Layer for Icing.

Separate by Selection

Command	Hot Key	note
Wireframe	Alt + Z
Duplicate	Shift + D	‘esc’ to drop selection back in place
Separate	P [Selection]	A Separate Layer Occurs
	If the selection has been dropped, Ctrl + L (Select Linked)

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Modifier: Solidify

Apply a Solidify modifier from Object Mode.

Smooth Offset with Shift + Drag

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Note

The order of modifiers matters. The top modifier effects those below. Similar to order of Operations.

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Apply Subdivision

Warning

Applying subdivision’s is destructive and cannot be undone. It is recommended:

• Save As a copy of one’s un-modified Blender Project.

• Duplicate Objects into Separate Layer before applying Subdivisions.

Prepare by Duplicating Object and Saving File > As Copy

Command	Hot Key	note
Select Object		Object Mode
Duplicate Object	Shift + D	If snapping (Shift + Tab) is on the object (prim) will appear temporarily large.
Drop Selection	RMB
Save Project	File > Save As Copy

We apply our Subdivision with a level of 1.

Command	Hot Key	note
Move Subdivision Modifier to Top
Apply Modifier	Ctrl + A while hovering over Modifier	Object Mode
	Select Drop Down Arrow	Object Mode

• What is applied is what was in the viewport, not the render level.

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Part 04: Modeling

Snapping

Snapping allows us to move a vertex along the face of the surface below.

Snapping	Hot Keys
Incremental (temporary)	Ctrl
Toggle Snapping	Shift + Tab
		Button to the Right of ‘Snap’

• ( Project Individual Elements ) allows nearby vertices to also conform to the surface below.
  This acts like a radius falloff. Very important to activate.

Snapping	Hot Keys
Over Background	RMB

Deformation with Snapping Activated
Deform the icing to adhere to the faces of the donut.

When wire frames do not appear as expected, when can go to Edit mode, toggle keys [ 1, 2, 3 ]
We can also toggle the ( Display Modifier in Edit Mode ) button.

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Select through MESH error

When selecting a vertex, it is possible to select points on the backside.
Shift + Z for X-Ray, or Hot Key Z > Wireframe to see that no other points are selected.

Select Through Bug in Blender

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Fixing Mesh Occlusion

The mesh for the icing will be occluded by the donut’s base.
So we pull the mesh forward by activating Snap, Proportional Editing and pressing ‘G’
then dropping the selection. Do not drag the mouse, or move any points.

Command	Hot Key	note
Activate Snapping	Ctrl + TAB
Activate Proportional Falloff	O
Move	G
Drop Selection	[Esc, LMB ]	Drop Selection without moving vertexes.
Repeat Where Needed

Donut Tutorial: Pull Mesh Forward

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Camera Repositioning

Here we re-position the camera for a render.

The method above involves using ‘G’ to manipulate the camera.

Instead, we can easily manipulate the camera from the viewport.

Simple Way to Frame a Shot

Command	Hot Key	note
Set Camera to Current View	Ctrl + Alt + Numpad 0	Highly used Hotkey Combo
Side Menu	N
Select	View
Checkbox	Activate ‘Camera to View’
Choose the Camera Frame	Pan, Rotate, Zoom	Normal navigation
Deselect ‘Camera to View’		Or leave on and press Numpad ‘0’ to exit

Cons:

• Typically we can leave the camera view by pressing the MMB to escape, now we need to press ‘Num pad 0’ or uncheck ‘Camera to View’.

• MMB Scroll to Zoom in and out does not allow for using ‘Shift’ for smooth increments.

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Render Visibility

We observe that we are accidently rendering the original cube placed our scene and not our current view.

Note

A layer can be invisible in the viewport but will still appear in the render.

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References

“I want to get a T-Shirt that says, ‘Reference, Reference, References’.. It is my biggest piece of advice for artists whenever they ask for feedback.” - Blender Guru

It is critical to switch to Object mode to enable the Add > Image > Reference option.

Actions	Hot Key
Switch to Object	[ Tab, Pie: Ctrl + Tab ]
Add Image to Current Viewport	Shift + A

Here we show three different ways of adding references.

• | Add > Image > Background | is best used when in Front, Top, or Right viewports.

• The background image is only visible from the chosen viewport.

• | Add > Image > Reference | projects an image onto a plane (card) from the current view.

• Add [ Reference, Background ] are identical if performed from the perspective or camera views.

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Apply Subdivisions

Here we add additional detail by applying the Subdivision surface.

Apply Subdivison Surface

Place Subdivision Modifier at top of Stack and Apply

• Move Edges and Apply Second Sub Division Modifier.

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Extrude Edges

Make drips by extruding.

Command	Hot Key	note
Extrude	E	Edit Mode

Select Edges

Shrink the middle of the donut.

Command	Hot Key	note
Select Edges	Alt + LMB	Edit Mode [ Vertices, Edges, Faces ]
Contract Edge	Alt + S	Scale Along Normals

Shrink Wrap Modifier

This is a second way to match the icing to the Donut.

Command	Hot Key	note
Shrink Wrap	Modifier	Use Eye Dropper to Pick Target
Move Modifier to top of Stack

Blender Guru, Donut Tutorial, Part 4: Shrinkwrap Modifier.

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Part 05: Sculpting

Adding greater details to our icing.

Warning

SAVE COPY scene before applying modifiers.

• Apply Modifiers from top down before we begin sculpting.

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Draw

Select the Layout Sculpting Mode Tab.

Command	Hot Key	note
Sculpting	Pie Menu: Ctrl + Tab [ Sculpting ]
Draw, Pull [ Push ]	X, [ Ctrl + Drag ]
Grab	G
Change Radius	F	We will use this key combo in the future
Strength of Radius	Shift + F	We will use this key combo in the future
Smooth	Shift + S	Hold Shift to activate Smooth anytime
Inflate	I	Ctrl to Deflate
Show All Brushes	Pop Up: Shift + Space Bar

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Inflate > Stroke > Airbrush

Inflate > Stroke > Option ‘Space’

• With Airbrush activated, we do not need to move the mouse to inflate the mesh.

• Observe that the ‘Active Tool’ option is identical to our ‘N’ Slide panel.

• ‘Space’ in brushes, is the default setting which applies inflation upon cursor movement.

Inflate > Stroke > Space

Inflate using Tool > Inflate > Stroke > Space

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Part 06: Rendering

Command	Hot Key	note
Snap Light to Center	Alt + G	With light selected.

• “Clear Location”

Move light up to 3/4 Position.

Reduce Lighting Power to 20.2W

Command	Hot Key	note
Switch Rendered Mode	Z

Rendered	Materials	Solid	Wireframe

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Change Viewport Display

Tip

• Reduce the size of the camera in the viewport.

• This does not work for lights.

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Render Engines (EeVee, Cycles)

Render Engines

EeVee is the render engine that ships with Blender. Suitable for games. Cycles is a robust Ray Tracer.

Choose Render Engine

Increase Shadows

Select Light, Reduce Shadow Bias

(Optional) Add Contact Shadows, depending on the scene

Add Ambient Occlusion

Activate Screen Space Reflections

• One can also add ‘Bloom’ for a bit of glare.

Blender Guru: Part 06, Rendering - Eevee

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Add Hardware Acceleration (GPU)

Add GPU’s

{root file menu }
Edit > Preferences > System > Optix.
Use CUDA if Optix is n/a.

Note

• There are render settings for the display and for final rendering.

• Optix uses CUDA for speed, but in Part 15, Kevin mentions benefits to not using Optix.

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Render to Slots

Slots act as Snapshots so we can flip through our renders.

Command	Hot Key	note
View Slots	[ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.. ]

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Materials

Command	Hot Key	note
Select Object	LMB	Object Mode
Choose Material	Select Icon
Choose New	Select	Principled BSDF

Add Colors

• Add Colors to the Icing.

• Adjust the Roughness to 0.150

• Add Color to Donut.

• Add Color to Plane.

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Subsurface Scattering

Subsurface Scattering.

Subsurface scattering allow objects to have a translucency or an apparent internal glow to themselves.

Command	Value	note
Subsurface	0.100
Subsurface Radius	0.002	Select all three by dragging down
Subsurface Color	Base Color + 0.8 Saturation	Drag Base Color to slot

Command	Hot Key	note: Drag Color Swatch to Target
Smart Copy	Shift Select

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Material Preview to EeVee

Make Material Setting Equivalent to EeVee.

By Selecting Scene Lights and Scene World we can access EeVee through ‘Z’ Pie Menu.

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Samples and Noise

Important

More samples reduces noise but increases render times.

Label	Value	note
Samples	Set [ 100, 200 ]	These are recommended samples for this size scene.

Exploring Samples.

• Sampling is available under render engine ‘Cycles’ but not ‘EeVee’.

• Viewport and Render have separate Samples and Noise attributes.

Note

• Denoise for Render Defaults to CPU, not GPU.

• We leave the noise threshold at it default value.

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Part 07: Texturing & Shading

Blender Guru - Texture

Note

Recommendation: PureRef is the standard tool for collecting reference photos.

Textures.

“Real Donuts are not one solid color.”
“Base color, roughness value and normal map (bump mapping) are 90% of the materials you make will just use those three things.” -Blender Guru

Node Editor

Command	Hot Key	note
Add Node	Shift + A	Equivalent to ‘Add Mesh’
Cut Noodle	Ctrl + RMB
Lift Node	Ctrl + X

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Note

Noise is one of the most commonly used Material nodes.

Actions	Adjustments	note
Add Noise Node	Connect ‘Fac’ to Base Color
Adjust Parameters	Set Scale ~ 15.0	Detail ~ 3.5

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Command	Hot Key	note
Add Color Ramp	Adjust Scale of Ramp

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Important

Add Node Wrangler

• This allows us to isolate nodes and preview them.

Command	Hot Key	note
Preview Node	Ctrl + Shift + Select	Node Wrangler

Command	Purpose	note
Add Texture Coordinate Node	Avoids Distortion in Center	Use Object Connector

Overview (with checker node added )

Close Up

Important

With our noodles, we typically connect like colors to other like colors, except for gray and yellow, which can be mixed.

Command
Adjust: Scale, Detail

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Bump Map

Command
Add Vector > Normal Map

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Steps:

Command
Shift + A	Add Vector > Normal Map

Action	Value
Adjust Distance	1.00 -> 0.002

Important

Bump Strength Should Always be 1.0

• Distance is given in Blender units, or 1 meter.

• Be sure to connect Fac -> Height.

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Part 08: Texture Painting

Action
Shift + A	Texture > Image Texture

Note

The Donut will turn purple or black to indicate that no texture has been assigned yet.

Use Node Search:

We can add Image Texture quickly by using the Search function.

Action
Add Texture

Add Texture to Paint On:

Action
Switch Tabs > Texture Paint

Action	Value
Change Object > Edit Mode	Allows Selections to be Made
Select Paint Mode	Selections are displayed in Image Editor Window

Optional: Rearrange screen for vertical friendly viewing.

2D Mapping of 3D Surface:

Action
Paint on Texture Image in 2d and 3d views.

Paint on Texture

Breakdown:

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Important

Draw Icon Be sure to click on the Draw / Paint icon (top left) in order to bring up the paint swatches.

Warning

• Save the *image Texture File or it will be Erased.

• On exit, Blender will offer a chance to save the file, one last time.

Action
Save Texture (*image) file:

Save *Image of Texture file.

Note

• Overlay brightens and darkens the texture underneath it (basically increased contrast)

• Multiply uses the dark in the layer below.

• Add is the opposite of multiply.

Action	note
Delete Color Ramp	We will no longer need this node.

Warning

Search will not find ‘Mix Color’ Node. Might be a bug.

Action	Value
Add Mix Color Node	User Defined Blue and Red

Vertical Mode:

Connect and Adjust Mix Color Node

Action	Value
Connect A	From Donut Base Color
Connect B	From Fac (Factor) of Noise
Switch Mix	Overlay
Adjust Noise Texture	Scale: ~7.0 or to one’s liking
Adjust Mix Color	Fac: ~ 0.67 or to one’s liking

Vertical

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Part 09: Geometry Nodes

Blender Guru: Part 09

Command	Action
Review our Changes from Part 08	M (mute node)
Turn on Plane, Lights, Icing	Click on Eyeball in Outliner, Select Icing
Create a New Tab Geometry Node Tab	+ Menu > Geometry Node
Close Spreadsheet Window	RMB Over Panel > Join / Cross Hair from Left Corner
Create First Geometry Node	Click ‘+ New’
Toggle Visibility	Select and Deselect Geometry Node in Modifier Stack
Make Visibility Independent of Selection in Stack	Select Pin

Vertical View

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Practice Splitting Screens

Command	Combination	note
Split Screens with Cross Hairs	From a Corner, Drag a Window onto itself to split
Join Screens with Cross Hairs	Drag a Corner onto Adjacent window to merge

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Create First Geometry Node and Adjust Height of Icing.

Command	Action	Value
Set Position Node	Shift + A, Search > ‘Set Position’
Manipulate Z Position	Shift + Drag on Z

Vertical View:

Command	Action	Value
Add Point to Faces	Shift + A > Point > Point on Faces	Set to 500
		Set to Zero

Note

Observe:

• The icing layer has been turned into points.

• To preserve the layer and also have points, we need a ‘Join Geometry Node.’

Command	Action	Value
Preserve Icing Layer	Add (Shift + A) > Geometry >	Join Geometry

Breakdown of Set Position:

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Create a Single Sprinkle to Reference.

Command	Action	Value
Add Cylinder	Add > Mesh > Cylinder
Reduce Vertices	Vertices	32 to 8
Scale Down	Properties or F9	Radius: 0.001 m | Depth: 0.001
Move to Side	G (Grab tool)	Numpad Keys 7, 1 for Top and Front
Scale Z	S + Z
Scale Overall	S

Widescreen:

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Attach a Single Sprinkle to Instances.

“From one, come many.”

Command
Shift + A > Instances > Instances on Points
Drag Cylinder from Outliner to Graph
Connect Object Info: Geometry -> Instance
Apply Scale of Cylinder, Ctrl + A Scale
Increase Density

Wide Screen:

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Rotate Cylinder 90 Degrees.

Command	Action
Rotate Cylinder, 90	R + X + Numpad (90)
Apply Rotation	Ctrl + A	Select ‘Rotation’

Widescreen

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Add Euler Node (pronounced “Oiler”).

Command	Action
Connect Rotation -> Rotation	Drag Noodles
Add Rotation Node	Add > Utility > Rotate Euler	Set to Local

Widescreen

Random Value Node

Command	Action
Add Random Values to Rotation	Search ‘Random Values’	Vector: Z > 6.4 radians
Not X, Not Y	Set X, Y	0.0

Notes:

• Random Value are given in radians (pi = 3.14 = 180 degrees)

• Tau is equal to 2 pi. Both pi and tau can be entered as values.

• To effect only values in the the Z, we use Random > Vectors.

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Weight Paint

Blender Guru: Donut - Weight Paint

Control where sprinkles can appear on the icing.

• Limit sprinkles on some portions of the icing.

• Remove sprinkles from the bottom of the icing.

Prepare for Weight Painting

Steps:

Command	Action	Value
View Underneath of Icing	H - Hide Donut Base and Plane
Select Icing		*Important Step
Switch to Weight Paint Mode	Ctrl + Tab	Weight Paint
Make ‘Tool Bar’ Visible	View > Toolbar
Make ‘Tool Settings’ Visible	View > Tool Settings

Widescreen

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Paint Weights

Note

The value of weights ranges between 0 - 1.

Steps

Command	Action	Value
Select ‘Object Data Properties’ Icon	Object Data Properties:
Paint on Surface	Red where we want sprinkles.	1.00
	Green for less	Strength < 1.00
Rename Vertex Groups	‘Sprinkles Density’

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Add Multiply Node

Command	Action	Value
Expose Density Input to Modifiers	Noodle ‘Density’ Back to Object Info
Add Math Node	Shift + A: Utility > Math
Switch to ‘Multiply’	Change ‘Add’ > ‘Multiply’

Widescreen

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Apply Vertex Weight Map to Sprinkles

Steps:

Command	Action	Value
Expose Density Value	Noodle ‘Value’ Back to ‘Group Input’
View Density in Modifier Stack	Change Values
File > Save
Toggle Input Attribute		Num / Text Input
Select ‘Sprinkles Density’		Reboot if N/A
View Max Limits	‘N’: Group > Value	10,000

Blender Bug

You may need to restart Blender if you see a black box instead of ‘Sprinkles Density’. Be sure to SAVE.

Blender Guru, Apply Vertex Weight Map

Widescreen

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Use Poisson to Reduce Clipping

Our Sprinkles intersect with one another. We can reduce this effect.

Command	Action	Value
Select Distribute Points on Faces Node
Select ‘Poisson’	Random > Poisson Disk
Noodle Connect	Density Factor -> Group Input
Noodle Connect	Density Max -> Value
In Modifier Stack	Increase Value	10,000
Adjust Radius of Clipping	Distance Min	0.0056 m
Increase Max Limit	‘N’: Group > Value	Max: 50,000
Rename Input Attributes	Density -> Weight Paint
	Value -> Sprinkles Density

Widescreen

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Simplify Using Multiply Node

Adjusting a slider with a value of 50,000 is very slow. So we add a multiplier of 10,000 and hide it in the Geometry nodes.

Command	Action
Add Math Node	Shift + A: Utilities > Math
Switch to ‘Multiply’	‘Add’ > ‘Multiply’
Adjust Modifier ‘Value’	Set to 100
Set Multiplier ‘Value’	Set to 10,000
Adjust ‘Value’ in Modifiers	Around 800 - 1000

Widescreen

Note

Paint Weight Value ranges from 0 - 1 but we want ‘Sprinkle Density’ to go up to 50,000.

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Part 10: Random Colored Sprinkles

Blender Guru: Part 10: Random Colored Sprinkles

Edge loops offer an easy way to alter our models.
Here we use them to smooth the ends of our sprinkles.
In the real world, surfaces have bevels and not perfect 90 degree junctions.

Edge Loops

Command	Action	Value
Object Mode	Ctrl + Tab	‘Object Mode’
Select Primary Sprinkle
Add Subsurf Modifier	Ctrl + 1	Level 1 Sub D
	Render [ 1 ]	Level 1
Edit Mode	Ctrl + Tab	‘Edit Mode’
Select Edge Mode	Keyboard ‘2’	Recommended but not required
Add Edge Loop	Hover, (Ctrl + R)	Use Scroll Wheel to add Loops
Add Two Loops	Scroll Mouse Forward Once + Click
Slide 2 Loops to Edge	‘S’ + ‘Y’	Creates a Bevelled Edge
View Results	Oject Mode
	RMB > Shade Smooth	Over Selection

Important

Toggle Smooth Shade: Be sure to select an object, then RMB > Smooth Shade

Widescreen

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Hint: How to Remove an Edge Loop:

• In Edit Mode - we can use ‘A’ to Select All.

• Alt + LMB to Select Edge Loop.

• ‘X’, Select ‘Edge Loops’

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Move Pivot

Important

Learning to work with an object’s pivot point is important for most digital software.
Blender has an ‘Origin Point’ and a ‘3d Cursor’.
The “game” involves manipulating these two points in space.

• Edit Mode > Shift + S: Cursor to Selected.

• Object Mode > Object button > ‘Set Origin’ > ‘Set Origin to 3d Cursor’
  Lessons from: Kev Binge: Blender Quick Tip to Move Object Origin and Pivot

• We can also use, Object Mode > Mesh > Snap
  instead of ‘Cursor to Selected’: Snap Cursor

• Nudge 3d Cursor. From ‘N’: ‘View’ Tab > 3d Cursor Dropdown. Move 3d Cursor.

Command	Action
Move Pivot	Pie Menu: Shift + S
Example	Note: Edit Mode > Hot key ‘A’ Selects all of the Cube
Center Pivot
	Object or Edit Mode > Shift + C || Shift + S : Cursor to World Origin
Hide 3d Cursor

Center Pivot

Note

Center Pivot: Object Mode > Object button > Origin to Center of [Geometry, Mass, Volume]

Important

• Shift + S > Cursor to World Origin.
  This will “hide” the 3d Cursor at (0,0,0).

• Shift + C. Set 3D Cursor to Origin.
  This will also return the cursor to the World Origin.

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Add Variants of Sprinkle

We don’t want all our sprinkles to look alike. So we will add variations of shape and colors.

Duplicate Sprinkles

Duplicate three sprinkles and create different sizes.

Steps:

Command	Action	note
Switch: Object Mode	Ctrl + Tab, Tab
Top View	Numpad 7
Full Screen	Ctrl + Space (Optional)
Duplicate	Shift + D then X
Move along X axis	(Grab tool not needed)
Switch to Edit Mode	[ Ctrl + Tab, Tab ]
Select Bottom Face	Keyboard 3 + Select
3d Cursor to Selected	Shift + S
Object Mode	Ctrl + Tab
Origin to 3d Cursor	Object Button
	> Set Origin
	> Set Origin to 3D Cursor
Make More Sprinkles	Shift + D then X
Shorten Sprinkles	S + Y (Constrain on Y axis)
Scale	S	Make Them Our Own
Return 3d Cursor to World Origin	Shift + C

Widescreen

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Bend Sprinkles

Next we bend our sprinkles.

Command	Action
Top View	Numpad 7
Object Mode
Select Last Sprinkle
Validate Location of Rotation	R
Origin to Center of Object	Object Button
	> Set Origin
	> Origin to Geometry
Edit Mode	Ctrl + Tab
Add Edge Loop	Ctrl + R, over Object
	Do not confirm
Add 2 Loops	Scroll MMB Forward
	Click to Confirm
Switch to Faces	Keyboard - 3
Select Loop	Alt + Select
Top View	Numpad 7
Bend along X	G + X
Porportional Editing Mode	O, Circle Dot
Switch to Wireframe	Z > Wireframe
Select Top Row
Rotate	R
	Scroll MMB for Radius
Rotate Bottom Row	R
Turn Proportional Mode Off	O
Switch to Solid	Z > Solid
Switch to Object Mode	Ctrl + Tab

Note

• If the radius for proportional falloff does not appear, just keep scrolling forward.

• Because the default radius is in meters and our scene is small, we need to scale the radius down using the MMB.

Widescreen

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Add Second Sprinkle

Add a second bent sprinkle, same methods as before but with slightly different results.

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Create Instances from the Collection of Sprinkles

Instead of our Instances referencing one Sprinkle, we have them reference the collection of Sprinkles.

Steps

Command	Action
Object Mode
Practice Adding to Selection	Shift + Click
Box Selection Includes Plane
Select from Front	Numpad 1
New Collection	M
Name Collection	Sprinkles
Get Collection Info Node	Select Sprinkles Collection in Outliner
	Drag Collection to Node Editor Graph
Instance Points –> Collection Info	Instance on Points: Instance
	-> Collection Info: Geometry
Instance Points	Check: Pick Instance
Collection Info	Check: Reset Children
	Check: Separate Children

Widescreen

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We show how to multi-select and link a material to multiple objects.

Command	Action
Remove Duplicate Sprinkle
Switch to Material Review Mode	Z > Material Review
Practice Naming a Material
Apply two Materials, Delete one
Materials for all objects are based on last selection
Link Materials	Ctrl + L
Icon shows no. of Linked Objects to Material
Unlink Objects	Assign New Material
	Use ‘x’
	box

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Add Color Ramp, Set it to Constant

Instead of assigning one color per sprinkle, if we use a random function and a Color Ramp to assign a variety of colors to any sprinkle in the collecton.

Command	Action
Hide Tools	T
Delete Material	Materials Properties Tab > ‘x’
Add New Material	Recommend Brown
Select Four Objects	(Outliner)
Select Last Object	(Outliner)
Link Materials	Ctrl + L
Name Material	‘Sprinkles’
Shading Tab
Input > Object Info	Shift + A: Input > Object Info
Noodle	Random -> Base Color
Add Color Ramp	Shift + A: Converter > Color Ramp
Add Colors	Gradient Blue to Pink
Switch	Linear > Constant
Add five colors
Blender Guru Pro Tip:	Keep Saturation below 80%.
Blender Guru Pro Tip:	Non Uniform Distribution of Colors.

Widescreen

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Congratulations!

Those who made it this far have negotiated some of the most complex sequences of this tutorial. If you are reading this, it is either because you were curious and you jumped ahead, or you were determined to finish. Both traits are admirable. If it is the first, jump in. If it is the second, congratulations!