Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Model the Solar system

note: this tutorial did not write by an english speaker, so perhaps it be some grammer problem. if you know how to fix them, please do it. if you don't understand something: shachar.harshuv@gmail.com

after you model earth by UV mapping, you should want to model all the solar system.

let see what we need:

• sun
• mercury
• venus
• earth (we already done)
• mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn (with rings)
• Uranus (with rings)
• Neptune
• Pluto

if you want you can make the moons of earth, mars, jupiter and saturn.

Create the Sun

Add a new sphere. In edit mode choose the two vertices in the poles and erase them. Now deselect all (A), and choose the upper round of vertices. Switch to orthography view and extrude approximately to where the removed vertex was, and then S + 0. Do the same thing to the other hemisphere.

select the vertices in the half middle longitude, and mark seam (ctrl+E). the picture we will use for UV mapping will be the map of the sun. search in the web: "sun map", and take the one with the bigest resulation. make UV\Image Editor window and upload the Image (introduction in the previus modul). mow choose all vertices and Unwarp (U > Unwarp). what we gona do is to make to line stright to a grid in the picture, that will make the mapping okay.

1. choose one of the Longitude (use Alt+select) and scale on x 0. that make it straight. do it to all of the longitudes.
2. choose one of the latitude and scale on y by zero. that make the line straight. do it to all of the latitudes.
3. choose the middle line of the crowd lines and use the proportional tool to scale it on X until the lines have approximately the same betterments.
4. grab and scale all vertices until it fitting to the picture.
5. switch to texture drow type and watch you work. (tip: if there is not light sourch in the scence, you can see all the object light.)

Make the Planets

By now you are probably thinking, "What! I need to go through all of this for each planet?" Actually, you don't. Just copy the object with the texture, switch edit mode, select all and change the picture!

*advice: put each planet in different layer.

sizes

ofcourse the sun in much bigger then earth and other planets. but how many? in this web you can find the attitude between all the planets: http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/messenger/psc/PlanetSize.html

the program show the smaller one by the 1 in the attitude. so put the smaller (pluto) to compere other planet. if the sun get so big so you have problem, select all layers (`) select all (A) and scale in all down (S).

places

I shure you think you need to place the planets currectly the same distances. but the problem, it is if so you will not can see more then one planet the same picture. so just place theme the right order.