4

So I've just started using Blender (2.74) and wanted to use a reference image.

So I made a reference image in Adobe Illustrator and saved it as JPG, then dragged into blender. It's not visible, even though I am in Orthographic Mode (Yes, I've tried googling it)

I have also gone to "properties" and enabled background image, and I have tried changing the axis of the image and then changed the camera to the axis. I could of course make a plane and place the image there, but it would be anoying every time I go into wireframe mode.

It's extremely frustrating! Can anyone help me out? Thanks for reading.

Screenshot:

blender 3D view with no background image

David
  • 49,291
  • 38
  • 159
  • 317
Nicolay
  • 41
  • 1
  • 4
  • 4
    related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/118/how-do-i-set-a-background-image-while-i-am-editing –  May 25 '15 at 17:32

2 Answers2

5

Reference images are visible when you are in orthographic top, down, back, front, right or left view. The shortkeys are, respectively: Numpad 7, CtrlNumpad 7, Numpad 1, CtrlNumpad 1, Numpad 3 or CtrlNumpad 3. And also in camera view Numpad 0, with thanks to cegaton :)

Faceb Faceb
  • 3,885
  • 3
  • 29
  • 51
2

Setting to All Views, means all 'isoplane' views (Top, Left, Right etc). Not free floating rotated. From the image (the blue pixels shown by the 3d icon bottom left in the 3d view) we can see that the view is slightly rotated.

enter image description here

Use the numpad keys to get an isoplane view. You need to be in one of the Top, Front, Left, Right, Bottom, or Back views to see the background image, and in Orthographic mode. It doesn't make much practical sense to be able to see the background image while in perspective or rotated view, because we use those images as a reference to a known plane.

zeffii
  • 39,634
  • 9
  • 103
  • 186
  • Thanks guys! I don't have numpads, obviously need to get a bigger keyboard. But it worked by going to view > and change the cameras from there. Thanks alot! – Nicolay May 26 '15 at 23:00