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

Sathvick Views

Saturday, September 6, 2025

04 Workspaces and how to customise it