Session
4 – Exploring Blender Workspaces
Intro
Welcome to Session 4! In this lesson, we’ll explore Blender’s Workspaces
from the top menu bar and understand what each one is designed for.
1) Starting
point: Layout
- When
you launch Blender, it opens in the Layout workspace by default.
- I have
chain_animation.blend open
and I’m currently in Camera View.
- Press Numpad
0 to toggle into Camera View, and press Numpad 0 again
to toggle out of it.
- In Layout,
you’ll see four panels:
- Viewport
(main working area)
- Outliner
(top-right; shows your scene’s collections and objects)
- Properties
(bottom-right; object and scene settings)
- Timeline
(bottom; for playback and keyframes)
2) Modeling
- Click Modeling
on the top workspace bar.
- Notice
the mode automatically switches from Object Mode to Edit Mode.
- Here
you typically see three panels:
- Viewport
(center)
- Outliner
/ Collections (right)
- Properties
(right, below the Outliner)
3)
Sculpting
- Go to Sculpting
for organic forms like faces, creatures, and cloth.
- The
mode changes to Sculpt Mode.
- You’ll
again see three panels:
- Viewport
- Outliner
- Properties
4) UV
Editing
- Open UV
Editing to prepare meshes for texturing.
- On the
left, you have the Image Editor (to unwrap and view UVs).
- On the
right, you have the 3D Viewport (to select and unwrap
geometry).
- You
still have Outliner and Properties on the right side as part
of the standard layout.
5) Texture
Paint
- Switch
to Texture Paint to paint directly on your model.
- On the
left, you’ll see the Paint/Image Editor.
- On the
right, you have the Viewport for painting on the 3D model.
- Outliner and Properties
remain available on the right.
6) Shading
- Go to Shading
to assign and build materials.
- The Shader
Editor sits at the bottom for node-based material setups.
- On the
left, you have a File Browser to quickly bring in textures.
- An Image
Viewer is available for inspecting images.
- Outliner and Properties
are on the right, as usual.
- Shading
is crucial—you’ll use it constantly for look-dev.
7)
Animation
- Open Animation
to set up and polish motion.
- You
see two views:
- A Camera
View
- A
regular Viewport
- At the
bottom is the Timeline for keys and playback.
- Outliner and Properties
are on the right.
8)
Rendering
- Click Rendering
to review output.
- This
workspace provides a render display so you can focus on final
frames and results.
9)
Compositing
- Go to Compositing
to combine and enhance rendered images—similar to After Effects.
- You’ll
layer and process images node-by-node.
- We’ll
dive deeper into compositing in a later session.
10)
Geometry Nodes
- Open Geometry
Nodes for parametric modeling and procedural setups.
- This
is where you’ll build reusable, non-destructive tools for modeling and
motion.
- We’ll
explore this in detail in future lessons.
11)
Scripting
- Finally,
Scripting is where Blender’s Python integration shines.
- You
can write, open, and execute Python scripts directly inside Blender
to automate tasks and build tools.
- We’ll
explore this later as well.
12) Adding
more workspaces (+)
- Click
the “+” icon next to the workspace tabs to add preset layouts:
- General
(multiple options)
- 2D
Animation (four panels tuned for
grease pencil)
- Sculpting (two
panels)
- VFX
(four panels for tracking and effects)
- Video
Editing (two panels for cutting
and audio)
- You
can also duplicate the current workspace to create a custom
version.
13) Start from Layout & fix the screencast-keys toggle
- Switch
to the Layout workspace.
- You
may notice the Screencast Keys overlay is missing.
- Press N
to open the 3D Viewport Sidebar.
- Find Screencast
Keys (add-on panel), turn it OFF, then turn it ON again.
- Press N
to close the Sidebar. The overlay should now be visible.
Tip: This toggle is a known quirk; a quick
off/on restores the overlay.
14) Duplicate Layout and name your workspace
- Click
the “+” icon next to the workspace tabs.
- Choose
Duplicate Current.
- Rename
the new workspace to “Sathrit” (your custom workspace).
You’re now editing a safe copy without
altering the original Layout.
15) Meet the “secret” Editor Type button
- In any
panel, go to the top-left corner and click the Editor Type
selector (the “secret button”).
- This
menu lists ~23 editor types, grouped as:
- General
(9)
- Animation
(6)
- Scripting
(3)
- Data
(6)
- Try
it: in the main window (currently a 3D Viewport), change it
to File Browser.
- The
entire panel becomes a file browser you can use to navigate assets.
16) Add a new right-side panel (Vertical Split)
- Hover
over the vertical border of the File Browser until the cursor
becomes a double-arrow.
- Right-click →
choose Vertical Split.
- Move
the split line roughly to the center and click.
- In the
right panel, set Editor Type → 3D Viewport.
- Result:
Left = File Browser, Right = 3D Viewport.
17) Add a bottom panel (Horizontal Split) and set it to UV Editor
- In the
left (File Browser) panel, hover on its bottom border until
you see the double-arrow.
- Right-click → Horizontal
Split.
- Place
the split where you want and click to create a new bottom-left
panel.
- In
that bottom-left panel, set Editor Type → UV Editor.
- Result:
Bottom-left = UV Editor, Top-left = File Browser, Right
= 3D Viewport.
- You
still have Outliner and Properties on the right side, and a Timeline
across the bottom from the original Layout (if present in your theme).
18) Swap the Timeline for the Shader Editor (for look-dev)
- Click
the Editor Type of the Timeline area (bottom).
- Change
it to Shader Editor.
- Result:
You now have UV Editor, File Browser, 3D Viewport, Shader
Editor, plus Outliner and Properties—a great
modeling/look-dev layout.
19) Save your layout with the file
- Go to File
→ Save.
- This
saves the current workspace layout with your .blend.
- (Optional,
future-proof): To reuse this layout every time, File → Defaults → Save
Startup File.
20) Remove panels using “Join” (clean up quickly)
If you want to remove a panel and give
its space to a neighbor:
Method A — Join via Right-Click
- Hover
over the border between two panels → Right-click.
- Choose
Join Down, Join Up, Join Left, or Join Right
(as appropriate).
- Example:
Join Down removes the bottom panel and expands the top
one.
- Example:
Join Left removes the left panel and expands the right
one.
Method B — Corner Drag (crosshair/hairpin)
- Move
to a panel corner until the cursor shows a crosshair/hairpin.
- Click-drag into
a neighboring panel to split it, or drag out to collapse/join
(depending on direction and Blender version).
- Release
to confirm.
Try it now:
- Join
Down to remove the bottom UV Editor
and expand the File Browser.
- Join
Left between File Browser and 3D
Viewport to remove the File Browser and make a larger Viewport.
- Similarly,
you can join away Outliner and Properties if you want a pure
viewport setup.
21) Challenge: Build a Four-Panel View (Top, Front, Right, Camera)
Goal: Only four panels across the entire
screen, each a 3D Viewport.
- On the
“Sathrit” workspace tab, right-click → Rename it to “Four
Panels”.
- Remove any
extra bottom panel (e.g., Shader Editor) using Join Down or by
corner dragging to collapse it.
- Split
vertically once to make left and right
halves:
- Hover
border → Right-click → Vertical Split → click to confirm.
- Split
horizontally on each half to make top and bottom
rows:
- Hover
border → Right-click → Horizontal Split → confirm.
- You
should now have a 2×2 grid (four panels).
- Ensure
all four panels are 3D Viewports (use the Editor Type
button if needed).
- Set
views using the Numpad:
- Top-Left: Numpad
7 = Top view
- Top-Right: Numpad
1 = Front view
- Bottom-Left: Numpad
3 = Right view
- Bottom-Right: Numpad
0 = Camera view
- (Optional)
Press 5 in each panel for Orthographic (if you prefer ortho
for Top/Front/Right).
- File →
Save to store this four-view layout with your
project.
Pause here and try it yourself before moving
on. Getting comfortable with split/join and view assignments will speed up your
workflow massively.
22) Recap & What’s Next
- You
learned how to duplicate workspaces, toggle Screencast Keys,
switch editor types, split/join panels, and save
custom layouts with your file.
- Next
session, we’ll focus on the 3D Viewport—navigation, view controls,
shading modes, overlays, and selection essentials—so you can model and
animate efficiently
