Sunday, September 7, 2025

05 Bleder viewport navigation skills


 

Script: Blender Viewport Navigation — Session 5

Opening (Voiceover)
Hello and welcome to our fifth session in the Blender 5 series. In this session, we’ll explore 3D viewport navigation step-by-step. We’ll begin by downloading a starter file, placing it in the correct folder, opening it in Blender 4.5.2 LTS, and then learning how to move around and understand Blender’s X, Y, Z coordinate system. Follow along and don’t skip a step.

Part 1 — Download the CT.blend file

Narration
I’ve shared a CT.blend file for this session.

  1. Open the YouTube video for this session (or access it via your LMS).
  2. Under the video, click “More” in the description to expand it.
  3. Click the Patreon link provided in the description.
  4. On the Patreon page, scroll down to the “Attachments” section.
  5. Find the file named CT.blend, select it, and click to download.
  6. After the download completes, click the folder icon in your browser’s download bar to open your Downloads folder.
  7. Right-click the file CT.blend and choose Cut.

Part 2 — Place the file in your course folder

Narration
We’ll keep our files organized exactly like in the previous session.

  1. On your PC, open the F: drive.
  2. Open the folder you created last time: yourname_blender_learning.
  3. Open chapter 1 basic.
  4. Right-click inside this folder and Paste the CT.blend file here.

Part 3 — Open the file in Blender 4.5.2 LTS

Narration
Now let’s load the scene.

  1. Double-click CT.blend.
  2. The file opens in Blender 4.5.2 LTS.
  3. This scene contains a CT map (a city-style layout) already built in 3D.
    We’ll use this to practice viewport navigation.

Part 4 — Meet the Viewport Gizmo (X, Y, Z)

Narration
Navigation in Blender is anchored by the gizmo on the right side of the viewport.

  • X axis = Red
  • Y axis = Green
  • Z axis = Blue

Rotate with the Gizmo

  1. Move to the gizmo’s circle.
  2. Left-click and drag on the circle to rotate the view.
    You’ll see the city from different angles and perspectives.

Rotate with the Mouse

  1. Click and hold the Middle Mouse Button (MMB).
  2. Move the mouse left/right to rotate horizontally.
  3. Move the mouse up to tilt down (look downward).
  4. Move the mouse down to tilt up (look upward).

Using the MMB, you can freely orbit and examine the entire city from any viewpoint.

Part 5 — Selecting an Object & Understanding Object Names

Narration
Let’s click a building to observe how Blender identifies objects.

  1. Left-click any building in the scene.
  2. Look at its name (for example, something like
    filler_Salz_T8_group8_cube11_001).
    Blender uses such internal names to track objects in the scene.

Part 6 — Coordinates: Position = (X, Y, Z)

Narration
Every object’s position in Blender is defined by three coordinates:

  • X (left ↔ right)
  • Y (front ↔ back)
  • Z (ground ↔ sky / up ↔ down)

We’ll examine each axis in clear, orthographic views.

Part 7 — Top Orthographic View (X & Y)

Narration
From the top, you’ll see how X and Y work—just like Google Maps.

  1. On the gizmo, click the Z icon to switch to Top Orthographic view.
  2. Roll the mouse wheel down to zoom out.
  3. Notice two main lines on the grid:
    • Red line (left ↔ right) = X axis
    • Green line (bottom ↔ top) = Y axis

Movement meaning in Top view:

  • Moving an object right or left = moving along X.
  • Moving an object forward or backward = moving along Y.

Part 8 — Right Orthographic View (Y & Z) and Showing Z Axis

Narration
Now we’ll look from the side to bring Z into focus.

  1. On the gizmo, click the X button to enter the Right Orthographic view.
    In this view, you’re looking along the X axis, so you mainly see Y (horizontal) and Z (vertical).
  2. If you don’t see the Z axis (blue) yet, turn it on:
    • On the top-right of the viewport, click the Overlay button.
    • In Axis settings, you may notice X and Y are enabled while Z is off.
    • Enable Z to reveal the blue axis.

Meaning of Z:

  • The blue Z axis represents vertical movement—from ground up to the sky.

Script: Viewport Navigation in Blender

Welcome back! In this session, we are going to master viewport navigation in Blender. Understanding how to move around the 3D space is one of the most essential skills before we dive deeper into modeling and animation.

Axis Navigation by Clicking

When you click on the axis letters in the gizmo:

  • Click Y: First click → Back view. Click again → Right view. Next click → Front view. Another click → Left view.
  • Click X: You toggle between right and left views.
  • Click Z: You see the top view.
  • Ctrl + Click Z: You see the bottom view.

So:

  • A single click gives one direction.
  • Control + click flips it to the opposite side.

Using the Numpad for Views

Blender provides handy keyboard shortcuts with the numpad:

  • 0 → Camera view (if a camera exists in the scene).
  • 1 → Front view.
  • Ctrl + 1 → Back view.
  • 7 → Top view.
  • Ctrl + 7 → Bottom view.
  • 3 → Right view.
  • Ctrl + 3 → Left view.

And here’s a powerful shortcut:

  • 9 → Flips to the opposite side of your current view.
    • Example: If you are in front view (1), pressing 9 takes you to back view.
    • If you are in top view (7), pressing 9 shows bottom view.

Rotating Views with Numpad

You can rotate the viewport incrementally:

  • 2 → Rotate around the X-axis (forward direction).
  • 8 → Rotate around the X-axis (opposite direction).
  • 4 → Rotate around the Z-axis (anti-clockwise from top).
  • 6 → Rotate around the Y-axis (clockwise).

So remember:

  • 2 / 8 → X-axis rotation
  • 4 / 6 → Z and Y-axis rotations

Middle Mouse and Object Focus

  • Middle mouse click and drag → Rotate around the scene.
  • Shift + Middle mouse → Pan the view.
  • Numpad Period → Focus on the selected object, making rotation orbit around that object.

Example: Select a building, press Numpad Period, then rotate with the middle mouse. The viewport rotates around that building only.

Orthographic vs Perspective

  • Orthographic View: Objects keep their exact proportions, no matter the distance. Great for precise modeling.
  • Perspective View: Objects nearer appear larger, those farther look smaller—closer to how our eyes see.

Switch between them with Numpad 5.

Adding and Aligning a Camera

If no camera is present:

  1. Go to Add → Camera.
  2. Place it at a desired position, for example at X0, Y0, Z0.
  3. Set your viewport to a nice angle using the middle mouse.
  4. Go to View → Align View → Align Active Camera to View.

Now the camera snaps to your chosen angle.
Press Numpad 0 to see through the camera.

Fly/Walk Navigation (Game-like Controls)

Blender also lets you navigate like in a video game:

  1. Press Shift + ` (tilde key, left of 1).
  2. Use W to move forward, S to move backward, A to move left, D to move right.
  3. Mouse scroll forward → Increase movement speed.
  4. Mouse scroll backward → Decrease speed.
  5. Rotate view with the middle mouse while moving.
  6. Right click → Exit this mode.

This makes navigating large scenes intuitive and fun.

Wrapping Up

With these navigation techniques, you can now:

  • Switch between front, back, top, bottom, left, right, and camera views instantly.
  • Rotate, pan, and focus on any object smoothly.
  • Toggle between orthographic and perspective for precision or realism.
  • Move around the scene with game-like WASD controls.

Finally, don’t forget to save your file once you’ve explored!

In the next session, we’ll dive into the Outliner window before moving on to adding and manipulating objects.

 

 


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