Skip to main content

Final Project: Build Your Blender Template

LESSON
📖3 min read

Module Overview​

Est. time90 minutes
TypeApply
PrerequisitesAll of Modules 01–04
GoalYour own reusable Blender template — a clean, organized default scene

The Brief​

This is the capstone of Course 00 — and it is not a reconstruction. It's a setup: you'll follow the Blender course videos from Module 04 and build your own reusable Blender template. A template is the default .blend file you start every future case from: correct units, a clean scene organization, the workspaces you need, and the add-ons you rely on — all already in place.

The whole "Building Blender from Scratch" video series (the one embedded across the Module 04 Blender pages) is literally teaching you to do this. The final project is you actually doing it, so the template is yours — not a copy of anyone else's.

What You'll Produce​

DeliverableWhat it demonstrates
bvi-template.blendYour own Blender template file — the default scene you'll start cases from
WorkspacesThe layouts you need for investigative work (viewport, compositing, scripting-ready)
Add-ons / extensionsThe ones you'll actually use, enabled and remembered

Follow the Videos​

This project is built by following the "Building Blender from Scratch" series embedded in the Module 04 Blender pages:

  1. Start from the void — the series opens in the most stripped-down version of Blender; you begin from a minimal default and build it up deliberately (from Object Mode & the Viewport.
  2. Build your workspaces — the series' second part focuses on building a "default file that is a good starting point": custom workspaces, layout, collections, lighting (from Customizing Workspaces).
  3. Extend and finish — the final part covers the viewport, navigation, workspaces, and adding the add-ons/extensions and preferences you'll keep (from Extending Functionality).

Watch each video, pause it, and do the steps in your own Blender. The videos end with a working default file — that default file is your template.

The Template Checklist​

Before you're done, check that your template has:

  • Correct units (metric, small scale for investigation)
  • A clean scene: no stray objects, a clear default for the origin/collection structure
  • The workspaces you'll actually use (viewport, compositing, and a scripting workspace)
  • The add-ons/extensions you rely on, enabled
  • A saved .blend named something you'll recognize (e.g. bvi-template.blend)
  • You can open it, make a quick cube, and save a render — and it feels like your setup

If all true, you've built your own working Blender template — and one real case will start with it.

Resources​

The Videos (in course order)​

Where to Go Next​

  • Gaussian Splatting → — turn video into a navigable 3D scene
  • Site Reconstruction — rebuild a physical location (composes your template + camera matching)
  • Camera Matching (planned) — match a 3D camera to a single photograph
  • Camera Tracking (planned) — recover a moving camera's path from video