Blender Shortcut Keys: Speed Up Your Workflow

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Blender is a powerful 3D modeling and animation software that can be used for a variety of purposes.

One of the best ways to speed up your workflow in Blender is to learn the shortcut keys. Shortcut keys can save you a lot of time, as you won’t have to click on menus and buttons all the time.

Important: By learning the shortcut keys and practicing them regularly, you can build muscle memory for them. This will allow you to work faster and more efficiently, as you will no longer have to think about which key to press for each action.

Commonly Used Blender Shortcut Keys

Efficiently navigating through Blender is essential for a seamless workflow. Understanding the most commonly used shortcut keys can help you work faster. 

Here are some of the most commonly used Blender shortcut keys:

  • G – Grab: The ‘G’ key allows you to move selected objects, vertices, or elements within your scene. 
  • S – Scale: Pressing the ‘S’ key enables you to resize objects, vertices, or elements in your model.
  • R – Rotate: The ‘R’ key allows you to rotate objects, vertices, or elements around a specific axis.
  • X – Delete: The ‘X’ key serves as a quick shortcut to delete selected objects, vertices, edges, or faces.
  • Tab – Edit Mode: The ‘Tab’ key allows you to switch between Object Mode and Edit Mode.
  • Ctrl + Z – Undo: The ‘Ctrl + Z’ shortcut is a universal command for undoing actions.

Lesser-Known Yet Valuable Blender Shortcuts

Blender offers a vast array of shortcut keys that can greatly enhance your workflow and productivity. While many well-known shortcuts are commonly used, there are some lesser-known ones that can provide even more efficiency and convenience. 

Blender keyboard shortcut for Subdivision modifier Ctrl 2
Subdivision modifier to selected object with level 2

Here is a list of some useful yet lesser-known Blender shortcut keys:

  1. Ctrl+2 – Add subdivision modifier to selected object with level 2.
  2. Ctrl+Alt+0 – Align camera to current view: Quickly aligns the active camera to the current viewport view.
  3. Shift+Tab – Snapping toggle: Toggles the snapping feature on and off.
  4. Ctrl+Alt+Space – Full screen: Maximizes the Blender window to full-screen mode.
  5. Alt+Z – Xray mode: Toggles Xray mode on and off, allowing you to see through objects and view hidden elements.
  6. Alt + S  Clear Scale: The ‘Alt + S’ shortcut resets the scale of selected objects to its default value (1,1,1).
  7. Ctrl + E – Edge Specials Menu: When in Edit Mode, selecting an edge and pressing Ctrl + E opens the Edge Specials menu.
  8. Ctrl + Alt + LMB (Left Mouse Button) – Loop Select: In Edit Mode, using Ctrl + Alt + LMB on an edge or face selects an entire edge loop or face loop.
  9. Ctrl + ` – Toggle Gizmo: Press Ctrl + (backtick key) to Show/Hide Viewport Gizmo.
  10. Ctrl + B – Border Render: When in Camera View, pressing Ctrl + B allows you to define a render border by clicking and dragging in the viewport.
  11. Shift + C – Center Cursor and View All: Re-centers the 3D cursor and adjusts the view to display all objects in the scene.
  12. Shift+G: By using the Shift+G shortcut in Blender, you can quickly access the Select Similar menu, allowing you to select objects or elements that share similar characteristics, such as material, geometry, or other properties.
Shift+G – Select Similar

By learning these shortcut keys, you can save time and effort when working in Blender.

3D View Shortcut Keys

In Blender, navigating and manipulating the 3D View is essential for any modeling or animation project. 

Here are some of the 3d view Blender shortcut keys:

  1. Left Mouse Button (LMB): In Blender, left-clicking with the LMB allows you to select objects.
  2. Middle Mouse Button (MMB): The MMB, when pressed and held, enables you to rotate the view in the 3D viewport.
  3. Right Mouse Button (RMB): The RMB is typically used to open the context menu in Blender.
  4. Scroll Wheel: The scroll wheel on your mouse is used to zoom in and out in the 3D view.
  5. Ctrl + MMB: Pressing Ctrl and using the MMB enables incremental zooming in and out.
  6. Shift + MMB – Pan View: Holding down Shift and the middle mouse button enables you to pan the view.
  7. Alt + MMB: Holding down Alt and using the MMB lets you rotate the view around the selected object.
  8. Numpad Period (.) – Frame Selected: Pressing the period key on the numeric keypad centers the view on the currently selected object or element.
  9. Numpad 1, 3, 7 – Orthographic Views: The Numpad 1, 3, and 7 keys provide convenient shortcuts for switching to different orthographic views. Numpad 1 is the front view, Numpad 3 is the right view, and Numpad 7 is the top view.
  10. Numpad 5 – Perspective/Orthographic Toggle: Pressing the Numpad 5 key switches between perspective and orthographic views.
  11. Shift + B – Border Zoom: Pressing Shift + B allows you to draw a border with your mouse, and the view will zoom in to fit the selected area.
  12. Numpad / – Toggle Local View: Pressing Numpad / isolates the selected object or objects, hiding everything else from view.

Also Read: Blender GPU Rendering: CUDA vs OptiX – The Good and The Bad

Object Mode Shortcut Keys

Object Mode in Blender allows you to work with entire objects, managing their properties, transformations, and relationships. Moreover, learning the shortcuts specific to Object Mode will help you to easily navigate and manipulate objects.

Here are some of the Object mode Blender shortcut keys:

  1. A – Select/Deselect: The ‘A’ key selects or deselects all elements in the active view.
  2. B – Box Select: The ‘B’ key activates the Box Select tool, enabling you to quickly select multiple objects, vertices, edges, or faces.
  3. C – Circle Select: Pressing the ‘C’ key activates the Circle Select tool, which allows you to select objects or components by painting a circular brush around them.
  4. Shift + A – Add Object: Pressing ‘Shift + A’ opens the Add menu, allowing you to quickly add new objects to your scene.
  5. Ctrl + A – Apply (overlay menu): By pressing Ctrl + A in Blender, you can access the Apply menu
  6. Ctrl + J – Join Objects: The ‘Ctrl + J’ shortcut joins multiple selected objects into a single object.
  7. P – Separate Objects: Pressing the ‘P’ key allows you to separate selected parts of an object into individual objects.
  8. Ctrl + L – Link Objects: The ‘Ctrl + L’ shortcut links the selected object’s data to other selected objects.
  9. H – Hide Objects: Pressing the ‘H’ key hides selected objects from view.
  10. Alt + H – Unhide Objects: The ‘Alt + H’ shortcut reveals any hidden objects in your scene.
  11. Alt + B – Clipping Border: The ‘Alt + B’ shortcut allows you to draw a clipping border with your mouse, which limits the visibility of objects to the defined region.

Related: Latest Blender Keyboard Shortcuts and Essential Hotkeys

Edit Mode Blender Shortcut Keys

Edit Mode in Blender is a powerful tool for fine-tuning and manipulating object geometry. Additionally, learning the essential shortcut keys specific to Edit Mode allows you to edit and shape your models more efficiently.

Here are some of the edit mode Blender shortcut keys:

  1. E – Extrude: The ‘E’ key is used to extrude selected vertices, edges, or faces, creating new geometry.
  2. Ctrl + R – Loop Cut and Slide: The ‘Ctrl + R’ shortcut allows you to add loop cuts to your model.
  3. Ctrl + B – Bevel: Pressing ‘Ctrl + B’ initiates the bevel tool, allowing you to add beveled edges to selected geometry. 
  4. Ctrl + I – Invert Selection: Pressing ‘Ctrl + I’ inverts the current selection, deselecting what was selected and selecting what was deselected.
  5. Ctrl + L – Select Linked: The ‘Ctrl + L’ shortcut selects all vertices, edges, or faces that are connected to the currently selected element.

Also Read: Powerful Ways to Make Money With Blender Software

Render Shortcuts

Rendering is the final step. Knowing the essential render shortcuts will help you optimize your rendering workflow.

  1. F12 – Render current frame
  2. Ctrl+F12 – Render animation
  3. Shift+F12 – Render preview

These are just a few of the many shortcut keys available in Blender. You can find a complete list of shortcut keys in the Blender documentation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, learning the shortcut keys can take some time, but it is definitely worth it in the long run. Once you know the shortcut keys, you will be able to work much faster in Blender.

Here are some tips for learning the shortcut keys:

  • Start by learning the most commonly used shortcut keys.
  • Practice using the shortcut keys every time you use Blender.
  • Create a cheat sheet with the shortcut keys that you use the most.

With a little practice, you will be able to learn the shortcut keys and use them to speed up your workflow in Blender. So, embrace the shortcuts, practice consistently, and witness a remarkable improvement in your work. Happy blending!

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