3D Scientific Visualization with Blender®

This is the first book written on using Blender (an open source visualization suite widely used in the entertainment and gaming industries) for scientific visualization. It is a practical and interesting introduction to Blender for understanding key parts of 3D rendering and animation that pertain to the sciences via step-by-step guided tutorials.

3D Scientific Visualization with Blender® takes you through an understanding of 3D graphics and modeling for different visualization scenarios in the physical sciences. This includes guides and tutorials for:

• Understanding and manipulating the interface
• Generating 3D models
• Understanding lighting, animation, and camera control
• Scripting data import with the Python API

The agility of Blender and its well organized Python API make it an exciting and unique visualization suite every modern scientific/engineering workbench should include. Blender provides multiple scientific visualizations including: solid models/surfaces/rigid body simulations; data cubes/transparent/translucent rendering; 3D catalogs; N-body simulations; soft body simulations; surface/terrain maps; and phenomenological models. The possibilities for generating visualizations are considerable via this ever-growing software package replete with a vast community of users providing support and ideas.