☃️ Blender Snow Scene Tutorial

Phase 1: Modeling Your Scene

First, create all the basic shapes.

  1. Clear the Scene:
    Open Blender. If you have the default cube, select it and press X > Delete.
  2. Add the Ground:
    • Press Shift + A > Mesh > Plane.
    • Scale it up by pressing S, typing 20, and pressing Enter.
  3. Add the House:
    • Press Shift + A > Mesh > Cube.
    • Move it up so it sits on the plane: Press G, then Z, then 1, and Enter.
    • Scale S, and Position G, the cube.
    • Tab TAB into edit mode and then use extrudee, loop cutsCtrl + R, moveG, scaleS, and rotateR to design the house.
    • Go back to object mode TAB to add additional objects like cube for windows, cube or cylinder for the chimney, etc.
  4. Add the Sidewalk:
    • Press Shift + A > Mesh > Plane.
    • Scale it into a long, thin rectangle (e.g., S, Y, 5, then S, X, 0.5).
    • Position it (G) in front of the house.
    • To curve the path:
      • Shift + A > Curve > Bezier
      • Position and shape the curve
      • Add loop cutsCTRL + R to the rectangle path.
      • Add Modifier > Curve to the rectangle path
      • Choose the Bezier curve as the modifier
  5. Add the Fence:
    • Post: Add a Cube. Scale it into a thin post (e.g., S 0.1, then S Z 5).
    • Array: With the post selected, go to the Modifier Properties tab (blue wrench icon).
    • Click Add Modifier > Array.
    • Change Factor X if necessary to space them out.
    • Increase the Count to whatever is needed to fit the fence to your scene.
    • Duplicate Shift + D the fence if you want a separate fence on each side of your path.
  6. Add the Snowman (and any other objects you want):
    • Press Shift + A > Mesh > UV Sphere. Move it in front of the house.
    • Add another UV Sphere, scale it smaller (S), and place it on top.
    • Add a Cone. Scale it small (S), rotate it (R Y 90), and position it as the nose.

Phase 2: Adding Materials

Let's make it colorful. For each object:

  1. Select the object (e.g., the Ground).
  2. Go to the Material Properties tab (red checkered sphere icon).
  3. Click the New button.
  4. Find the Base Color setting and click the white bar to choose a color.
  5. Repeat for all objects:
    • Ground: White (for snow)
    • House: Red
    • Sidewalk: Grey
    • Fence: Brown
    • Snowman Body: White
    • Snowman Nose: Orange

Phase 3: Creating the Falling Snow

We'll use a particle system to make it snow.

  1. Create the Emitter:
    • Add a new Plane (Shift + A > Mesh > Plane).
    • Move it high above your scene (G, Z, 20).
    • Scale it (S) so it's large enough to cover the entire camera view.
  2. Create the "Snowflake":
    • Add an Icosphere (Shift + A > Mesh > Icosphere).
    • Scale it down very small (S, 0.1). This will be our particle.
  3. Set Up the Particle System:
    • Select the large Emitter plane.
    • Go to the Particle Properties tab.
    • Click the + icon to create a new system.
  4. Configure the Settings:
    • Emission:
      • Number: 10000
      • Frame Start: 1
      • Frame End: 100
      • Lifetime: 150
    • Render:
      • Change Render As to Object.
      • In Instance Object, use the eyedropper to select your "Snowflake" Icosphere.
      • Adjust Scale and Scale Randomness.
    • Field Weights:
      • Make sure Gravity is set to 1.0.
  5. Make Objects Collide:
    • Select the Ground plane.
    • Go to the Physics Properties tab (bouncing ball icon).
    • Click the Collision button.
    • Repeat this for the House, Sidewalk, Fence, and Snowman.

Phase 4: Camera and Lighting

  1. Lighting: Select the default "Light". Go to the Object Data Properties (green lightbulb) and change its type to Sun.
  2. Position Camera:
    • Press 0 on your numpad to look through the camera.
    • Press N, go to the View tab, and check Camera to View.
    • Press N to close the sidebar.
    • Frame your scene by moving your view.
    • Uncheck Camera to View when done.

Phase 5: Render the 100 JPG Frames

  1. Go to the Output Properties tab (printer icon).
  2. Resolution: 1920 x 1080 is standard HD.
  3. Frame Range:
    • Set Frame Start to 1.
    • Set Frame End to your desired last frame.
  4. Output:
    • Click the folder icon.
    • CRITICAL: Create a new, empty folder (e.g., "Snow Render") and select it as the output path.
    • Set the File Format to JPEG.
  5. Render!
    • Go to the top menu and click Render > Render Animation (or press Ctrl + F12).

Phase 6: Compile the Frames into an MPEG Video

Once all frames are rendered, we'll use Blender's Video Editor.

  1. Open the Video Editor:
    • Go to File > New > Video Editing.
  2. Import Frames:
    • In the Video Sequencer (bottom panel), click Add > Image/Sequence.
    • Navigate to your "Snow Render" folder.
    • Click the first image, then Shift + Click the last image to select all.
    • Click Add Image Strip.
  3. Set Output Settings for the Video:
    • Go to the Output Properties tab.
    • Set Frame End to your last frame.
    • Output: Click the folder icon. Choose where to save your final video file and give it a name (e.g., my_snow_video.mp4).
    • File Format: Change to FFmpeg Video.
  4. Render the Final Video:
    • Go to Render > Render Animation (Ctrl + F12).
    • This will be very fast as it's just stitching the images together.