In this section, we will cover the essential steps to create and save projects in Blender. This is a fundamental skill that ensures your work is preserved and can be continued at a later time. We will go through the following steps:

1. Creating a New Project
2. Saving Your Project
3. Understanding File Formats
4. Managing Project Files

When you first open Blender, you are presented with a default scene. This scene includes a camera, a light, and a cube. To start a new project, you can either modify this default scene or create a new one from scratch.

1. Open Blender: Launch Blender from your desktop or application menu.
2. Default Scene: You will see the default scene with a cube, a light, and a camera.
3. Clear the Scene: If you want to start fresh, you can delete the default objects:
   • Select the object (e.g., the cube) by right-clicking on it.
   • Press X on your keyboard and confirm the deletion.
4. Add New Objects: To add new objects, use the Add menu located at the top of the viewport or press Shift + A to bring up the add menu.

Saving your project is crucial to ensure that your work is not lost. Blender provides several options for saving your work.

1. Save As: To save your project for the first time or to save a new version:

   • Go to File -> Save As...
   • Choose the location where you want to save your file.
   • Enter a name for your project.
   • Click Save As Blender File.

2. Save: To save changes to an already saved project:

   • Go to File -> Save or press Ctrl + S.

3. Incremental Save: To save a new version of your project without overwriting the existing file:

   • Go to File -> Save As...
   • Click the + button next to the file name to increment the version number.
   • Click Save As Blender File.

Blender uses its own file format, .blend, to save projects. This format stores all the data related to your project, including objects, materials, textures, animations, and more.

• .blend: The native Blender file format.
• .obj: A common format for 3D models, useful for exporting models to other software.
• .fbx: Another popular format for 3D models, often used in game development.
• .stl: Commonly used for 3D printing.

Organizing your project files is important for maintaining a clean workflow and ensuring that all assets are easily accessible.

1. Create a Project Folder: Create a dedicated folder for each project to keep all related files together.
2. Use Subfolders: Organize your assets into subfolders (e.g., Models, Textures, References).
3. Consistent Naming: Use consistent and descriptive names for your files to make them easy to identify.
4. Backup Regularly: Regularly back up your project files to an external drive or cloud storage.

In this section, we covered the basics of creating and saving projects in Blender. You learned how to start a new project, save your work, understand different file formats, and manage your project files effectively. These skills are essential for any Blender user and will help you maintain an organized and efficient workflow.

Next, we will dive into Basic Modeling Techniques, where you will learn how to create and manipulate 3D objects in Blender.