Tip: Adding a Background Image

by Jonathan Williamson

If you are modeling from a reference file, concept art, or model sheet placing a background image in the viewport can be very helpful. This allows you to use the reference as a blueprint of sorts, making the modeling process much easier and more efficient.

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Discussion

7 Responses to “Tip: Adding a Background Image”
  1. miranda
    Posts: 3

    This video is a little short. When i use a background image the side view and front view don’t match up. How do i do fix that? I feel you should have included that in your video.

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    1
     Nov 25, 2009 at 9:55 am
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  2. Fabian
    Posts: 2

    Im trying to add a backround image in Blender 2.5 but it doesnt work like 2.49. what do i have to do differen in 2.5?

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    2
     Dec 23, 2009 at 3:25 pm
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    • jonathanwilliamson
      Posts: 1415

      In 2.5 Alpha 0 you must first load the image through the UV/Image Editor, then you can select it from the Background Image panel. In any of the current revisions from http://www.graphicall.org you can load it right from the background image panel as you would expect.

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      2.1
       Dec 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm
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      • Fabian
        Posts: 2

        thx i didnt even know what the uv editor was for

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        2.1.1
         Dec 23, 2009 at 10:13 pm
  3. odrium
    Posts: 1

    Hi, I’m trying to add a background image in blender 2.5 Alpha 2 but when I add the image in the background image box in the properties panel it doesn’t seems to do anything. I’m sure I missing a step or something, so what should I do?.

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    3
     May 11, 2010 at 11:14 pm
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  4. kjelle392
    Posts: 1

    I can’t get background images to work in 2.49b. It seems that the views and the reference between them is wrong.

    I import the blueprints front-, side- and topview in their respective views.

    To get all images same size, I place a plane in topview and align it to the reference image. Then I try to scale/move the other images to match up, but now the front-image seems to have become the “back-view”, and the sideview is flipped. All is suddenly “reversed” – even if the viewports is correct as far as I can tell from their descriptions.

    I can’t even begin modelling! What is wrong?

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    4
     Feb 26, 2011 at 4:17 am
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