---
title: "Getting Started in Blender"
canonical: "https://rmanwiki-27.pixar.com/space/RFB27/544637021/Getting%20Started%20in%20Blender"
format: markdown
---
![image](media://bf5b7892-b042-4e97-8999-1187fb7d0510)

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### Loading the Addon

Like any other addon for Blender, RenderMan for Blender can be loaded/enabled from the Preferences (Edit→Preferences), under the Addons tab. 

![image](media://9d6cacd0-e515-408b-a7c6-d2a0a720e010)

  
  


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### Finding RenderMan Pro Server

As mentioned in the [installation](https://renderman.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/RFB27/pages/544636971/Installation+of+RenderMan+for+Blender) docs, RenderMan for Blender requires RenderMan Pro Server (RPS) to be installed on your machine. How the addon finds RPS can be set in the preferences:

![image](media://7a2b3290-e610-4b5d-83da-cb3db56777df)

Changing **RenderMan Location** to **Choose From Installed** will allow you to select from the ones that are installed in the default location. You can also set it to **Set Manually** and manually set the location of RPS. The default is to consult the **RMANTREE** environment variable. Any changes to this will require a restart of Blender.

The addon will try a couple of different fallbacks if one of the methods fails. Here's the order of operations:

- First, try and find based on your preference.
- If the choice from installed or set manually has failed, we fallback on consulting the **RMANTREE** environment variable
- If the preference was to consult **RMANTREE **and that failed, we fallback to try and detect the latest version found in the default installation path


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### Your First Render

To start rendering with RenderMan, change the current Render Engine setting to RenderMan Render.  
  


**To do that you can either:**

1. Use the handy Use RenderMan shortcut in the object context menu. Right-click in the viewport and select Use RenderMan.

![image](media://2cd90abf-8b23-4900-815a-8f5c2978f270)


2. Or change it from the render properties panel

![image](media://3066626b-db58-4fa8-b730-02d1ec454312)


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To render, you can click on the Render button in the render properties panel, or use the Render shortcut from the object context menu in the viewport:

![image](media://a92a8a37-4637-4227-a951-2b84f545166b)

![image](media://747bd715-bb7a-415a-b20b-f487e6b22765)


Your render should appear in the Blender render window.

Alternatively, you can also render to RenderMan's "[it](https://renderman.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/REN26/pages/19661909)" framebuffer by changing the **Render To** setting from "Blender" to "it".