Blenderart Magazine - 04 - Character Modeling

Issue 4 M ay 2006 | Bl e nde rart

CH AR ACTE R M O D E LING !! blende r learning m ade e asy

Ch aracte r M ode l ing at Pl um ife ros !! M ode l ing a Butte rfl y Rapid Prototyping in Bl e nde r Bl e nde r2Pov Ch aracte r De sign 2d sk e tch to 3d Re sPow e r Supe r/Farm M ak e H um an

CONTENTS

Issue 4 M ay 2006

EDITOR/DESIGNER GauravNaw ani gaurav@ blende rart.org

Ne w s Fl as h

M ANAGING EDITOR Sandra Gil be rt sandra@ blende rart.org

3 d W o rk s h o p

W EBSITE Nam Ph am nam @ blende rart.org PROOFER K e nron Dil l on W RITERS Ch ristian Guck e l sbe rge r M anue lPe re z Cl audio Andaur José M auricio Rodas R. Cl aas Eick e K uh ne n Rogério Pe rdiz M anue lBastioni Al e ssandro Progl io Antonio Di Ce cca Giovanni Lanz a M artin Ed Cick a COPYRIGH T© ‘Bl e nde rart M agaz ine ’, ‘bl e nde rart’and bl e nde rart l ogo are copyrigh t Gaurav Naw ani.‘Ask Bl e ntuu’and ‘bl e ntuu l ogo’ are copyrigh t Sandra Gil be rt. Al lproducts and com pany nam e s fe ature d in th e publ ication are trade m ark or re giste re d trade m ark of th e ir re spe ctive ow ne rs.

Ch aracte r m ode l ing at Pl um ife ros M ode l ing a natural istic Butte rfl y Rapid Prototyping w ith Bl e nde r Re nde ring w ith Bl e nd2Pov Ch aracte r De sign 2d sk e tch to 3d

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Pg8 Pg12 Pg23 Pg27 Pg34

In s i d e rVi e w M ak e H um an Spl it/Fram e re nde ring on Re sPow e r Supe r/Farm

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R e vie w s 3d Cre ature w ork sh op 3d Ph otore al ism tool k it

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G al l e ria

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Cre dits

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D is cl aim e r

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EDITORIAL

Issue 4 M ay 2006

Sandra Gil be rt M anaging Editor

Ch aracte r m ode l ing h as got to be one of m y favorite th ings to do in Bl e nde r. Th e re is noth ing l ik e starting w ith a bl ank scre e n and e nding up w ith l iving, m oving ch aracte rs.Now grante d, not al l m y ch aracte rs turn out as good as I w oul dl ik e , but th at just k e e ps m e trying.And th e re are so m any th ings to try. One of th e be st th ings about ch aracte r m ode l ing is th at a ch aracte r can be anyth ing.Th e m ost com m on one s are anim al s, al ie ns, robots and h um anoids, but th ose k inds of ch aracte rs are but a sm al lse l e ction of w h at is possibl e .W ith al ittl e w ork and im agination, you can turn any e ve ryday obje ct into a ch aracte r.As soon as it starts m oving and sh ow ing pe rsonal ity, it be com e s a ch aracte r.Te l e vision com m e rcial s are ful lof such am using ch aracte rs. As m uch fun as ch aracte r m ode l ing can be , it can al so be frustrating at tim e s.

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Ach ie ving a good m ode lth at pose s w e l l and conve ys a se nse of l ife and pe rsonal ity can be an e l usive goal . Ligh ting and te xturing ofte n pl ay a big rol e in h e l ping bring a ch aracte r to l ife , as w e l las a good unde rstanding of h ow a ch aracte r sh oul d m ove and th e tim ing invol ve d for be l ie vabl e m ove m e nt. In th is issue , w e w il lbe l ook ing at a coupl e of ch aracte rs for you to m ode l and pl ay w ith , as w e l las a ve ry inform ative articl e on h ow to tak e your m ode lfrom th e com pute r scre e n to a re al - w orl d ph ysical3D statue ! (W oul dn’t I just l ove to h ave one of th ose m ach ine s at m y h ouse . J) Additional l y, M al e fico Andaue r give s us a be h ind- th e - sce ne s l ook at som e of th e de cisions m ade for th e Pl um ife ros Ch aracte rs. So sit back , grab a cup of coffe e and re ad al labout it - sandra@ blende rart.org

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Iz z y k now s...

Issue 4 M ay 2006

- Iz z y

• W h at k ind of ch aracte r?Fantasy, M e ch anical , Anim al , H um anoid, e tc… • Appe arance : H ow m any arm s, l e gs, e ye s, e ars, e tc… doe s it h ave any at al l ? • H ow w il lyour ch aracte r inte ract w ith it’s e nvironm e nt?Doe s it h ave /ne e d cl oth e s? • H ow doe s it m ove ? • H ow do you pl an on using your ch aracte r?Stil lim age , gam e ch aracte r, anim ation, e tc… • W il lit spe ak , m ak e noise , bare it’s te e th ?(i.e .w il lit ne e d a ful lm outh se tup or can you m ode lit cl ose d?)

You h ave your re fe re nce im age s l oade d into bl e nde r, now w h at?W e l l , now you start m ode l ing.Th e re are various te ch niq ue s avail abl e to com pl e te your m ode l .Ch oose th e one th at be st fits your w ork fl ow and give s th e be st re sul ts for your m ode l .I pe rsonal l y pre fe r box m ode l ing, but I h ave be e n k now n to use a varie ty of m e th ods to ge t m y m ode lto l ook just h ow I w ant.

W h e n m ode l ing your ch aracte r, you w il l ne e d to de cide h ow m uch de tailyou Ch aracte r M ode l ing & w ant to m ode lvs.h ow m uch of it can be D e s ign: A sh ortrun- dow n ofth ings to adde d l ate r w ith te xture s.Eve n if you conside r be fore you start. Once you h ave de cide d on w h at you de cide th at a l ot of th e de tail s can be w ant your ch aracte r to l ook l ik e , it is adde d l ate r, you w il lstil lne e d to m ak e Just w h e re and h ow do you start tim e to ge t re fe re nce m ate rial .If you sure th at you h ave adde d e nough de tail de signing a ch aracte r?Of course , th e re draw w e l l , you can sk e tch out front and for prope r posing/anim ation.Th e m ost is al w ays th e “ just jum p righ t in and do side vie w s of your ch aracte r to l oad into com m on are as th at ne e d adde d de tail it” m e th od.W h ich som e tim e s w ork s bl e nde r for re fe re nce .If you don’t draw are th e joint are as.If you don’t add w onde rful l y, but al ltoo ofte n w il lcause w e l l , you sh oul dl ook for im age s th at e nough de tail , th e joints w on’t de form future probl e m s de pe nding on w h at you cl ose l y re se m bl e w h at you are going for. prope rl y and your m ode lw on’t be se e n h ad pl anne d to do w ith your ch aracte r. Th e inte rne t is a gre at re source for in it’s be st l igh t. Be fore you ope n Bl e nde r, it is al w ays a re fe re nce im age s.Anoth e r option, (one I good ide a to sit dow n and th ink about use a l ot), is tak ing a trip to m y l ocal Th is w raps up our run- dow n of th ings to your ch aracte r.H e re is a l ist of q ue stions de partm e nt store and h e ading straigh t conside r be fore starting your ch aracte r. you m igh t w ant to conside r be fore you for th e toy aisl e .Ch il dre n’s toys m ak e Now fire up Bl e nde r and ge t m ode l ing! actual l y start m ode l ing: gre at re fe re nce obje cts for m ode l ing. Your ch aracte rs are w aiting to m ak e Th e y are h igh l y de tail e d and com e in th e ir big de but! • W h at styl e of ch aracte r are you going e ve ry type im aginabl e. for?Re al istic, Se m i- re al istic, Toon.

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NEW S FLASH

Proje ct O range Th e l ong aw aite d “ El e ph ant’s D re am ” w as pre m ie re d M arch 24th at Cine m a K e te l h uis, Am ste rdam .By al laccounts, it w as a re sounding succe ss. Th is fil m m ark s an im portant ach ie ve m e nt in Bl e nde r and ope n source h istory.

Issue 4 M ay 2006

Artw ork for th e DVD disc and pack age sl e e ve h as be e n final iz e d and Joe ri h as be e n h ard at w ork ge tting e ve ryth ing re ady for DVD production. As of April24th , th e m aste rs h ave be e n finish e d and al lfil e s se nt to th e re production com pany.

Th e DVD w il lincl ude not onl y th e fil m , but al lproje ct fil e s and a docum e ntary for us to droolove r and tak e apart for our ow n e ducation. By tim e th is articl e com e s out, m ost of us sh oul d h ave re ce ive d our purch ase d DVDs and th ose w h o didn’t Afte r th e pre m ie r and purch ase it can l ook forw ard w ork sh ops h e l d th at w e e k e nd to dow nl oading th e fil es at M onte vide o (K e iz e rsgrach t sh ortl y th e re afte r. 264, Am ste rdam ), th e Proje ct Orange te am finish e d up l ast A h uge round of appl ause is m inute w ork and h e ade d for due for th e Orange te am and h om e .But th e proje ct stil l al lth e y h ave accom pl ish e d. h ad a l ot to accom pl ish , Th e ir h ard w ork h as be e n an nam e l y, th e production of th e inspiration for us al l prom ise d DVD.

G oogl e sum m e r ofcode 20 0 6 Once again, Bl e nde r h as be e n invite d to tak e part in th e Googl e Sum m e r of Code . Googl e Sum m e r of Code is a program sponsore d by Googl e for stude nts to appl y for a sum m e r coding grant. Tak e n from a ne w s ite m pos te d b y Ton:

dire ctions for Bl e nde r. Coordination of th e Bl e nde r SoC proje cts is again done by Ch ris W ant. Stude nts inte re ste d to w ork on a Bl e nde r proje ct during Jul y/August can find th e inform ation in th e l ink s be l ow .Proje ct appl ications w il lstart on M ay 1 and w il l e nd M ay 8 by 17:00 Pacific Dayl igh t Tim e

Last ye ar ove r 400 stude nt proje cts w e re grante d (10 for Bl e nde r), and Googl e e xpe cts to approve th is ye ar e ve n m ore . Bl e nde r SoC

inform ation:

Al th ough w e 've cre ate d a l ist of ide as for proje cts, w e e spe cial l y invite stude nts to subm it proje cts base d on past e xpe rie nce and com pe te nce s, or base d on th e ir curre nt re se arch , so th at th e y can e fficie ntl y bring in ne w de ve l opm e nt

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h ttp://m e diaw ik i.bl e nde r.or g/inde x.ph p/Bl e nde rDe v/S OC_ 2006_ ide as Googl e SoC inform ation:

h ttp://code .googl e .com /su m m e rofcode .h tm l

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New s Flash

Issue 4 M ay 2006

Sh arp Construct 0 .12 Sh arpConstruct is an 3D m ode l ing appl ication th at al l ow s you to w ork out on de tail s of your pre viousl y cre ate d 3d m ode l .You can e ve n cre ate th e m ode l s e ntire l y in it as w e l l .It al l ow s you to w ork on an 3d m ode las if you are w ork ing on cl ay push ing and pul l ing th e surface into pl ace to cre ate sh ape s.Th e variations in brush e s incre ase th e l e ve l of ope ratibil ity for th e use r.On th e fl y w ork ing on Sub- divsurface s m ak e s it an e xce l l e nt tool , th e re sponsive ne ss l e ve l s at de ce nt e nough de nse m e sh e s m ak e s w ork ing in it q uite pl e asurabl e. Sh arp construct h ave be e n in ne w s l ate l y ow ing to its spe e dy de ve l opm e nt, it h as be com e m uch stabl e and usabl e w ith th e re l e ase of ve rsion .12x.Due to its nice e nough inte rope rabil ity be tw e e n Bl e nde r it m ak e for an pre tty use fultool for Bl e nde r- h e ads, al th ough Bl e nde r h ave it sh are of tool s th at m im ic functional ity of Sh arpConstruct but none is m ore fe ature rich th an

Sh arpConstruct. Sh arpConstruct com e s in th e ge nre of Z brush .Al th ough it is no w ay as advance as Z brush itse l f but give n th at it is ve ry young proje ct and h as sh ow n a l ot of pote ntialup til lnow , w e can e xpe ct it to be com e one of th e m ost pow e rfultool s Ope n- source h as to offe r. It is avail abl e for both W indow s and Linux ath ttp://sh arp3d.source forge .ne t

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New s Flash

Issue 4 M ay 2006

Expre sso 1.1.1 Re l e ase Bl e nde r h as fe ature s th at are sim il ar to Sh arpConstruct, and in th e form of tw o scripts. One com e s w ith Bl e nde r 2.41 and anoth e r m ore m ature script, cal l e d Expre sso. It is an e xce l l e nt pyth on script w ritte n by M ich ae lSch ardt.It w ork s in re al - tim e w ith in Bl e nde r. It's inte rface is pre se nte d ne atl y w ith in Bl e nde r's 3d w indow .Expre sso h as th e m ost intuitive l y de signe d pyth on script for Bl e nde r, e ve r.

Fe stivalde Vide o- Portugal SECOND SINTRA VIDEO FESTIVAL Afte r th e succe ss of th e first e dition, th e Sintra City Counciland th e "Le t's M ak e Te l e vision" program m e , are once again organiz ing th e Sintra Vide o Fe stival . "Adve rtising" is th e th e m e of th is ye ar's fe stival , w h ich is aim e d at al lyoung pe opl e unde r 30, re siding in any part of th e country.

Expre sso1.1.1 inte rface constant annoyance w ith pyth on scripts

Th e curre nt ve rsion1.1.1 w ork e d w ith out any probl e m s in Bl e nde r 2.41 for W indow s but on Fe dora Core You can find it h e re at et/ 5, it crash e d e ve n be fore it starte d, a h ttp://m em bers.fortunecity.de/pytabl

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W ork s m ay be subm itte d in th e form of spot adve rtising, docum e ntary, or vide o. Th e priz e - giving ce re m ony w il ltak e pl ace on April22, and w il ldistinguish th e be st fil m , th e be st ide a, th e be st fil m of Sintra are a, th e be st actor/actre ss, and th e be st dire ctor. Rul e s and appl ications are avail abl e from w w w 2.cm - sintra.pt Pl e ase note th at th e w e b site is onl y in Portugue se Language

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3d W ORKSH OP Ch aracte r M ode l ing at Pl um ife ros

Issue 4 M ay 2006

our ow n e xpe rie nce .

Anim alPl ane t Th e Art De partm e nt not onl y m ade by drafts of th e vie w s ne e de d to m ode lth e M anue l“ Picasus” Pe re z and ch aracte r, th e y al so m ade drafts of th e ch aracte r's e xpre ssions and m ove m e nts. Cl audio “ m al e fico” Andaur It's ve ry im portant to pay atte ntion to M ode l ing a ch aracte r is al w ays th e se sk e tch e s since th e y w il lbe th e ch al l e nging be cause it's al w ays difficul t k e ystone for m e sh topol ogy. to ge t a good topol ogy in orde r to ge t W h e n th is m ate rialge ts to us m ode l e rs, nice de form ations and e xpre ssions.For w e draw al le dge l oops on top of th e m . our fil m proje ct “ Pl um ife ros” , w e h ad to Th e n w e use diffe re nt m ode l ing m ode lse ve ralch aracte rs am ong h um ans, cats, diffe re nt type s of birds and e ve n a bat! Since th e y h ave com pl e te l y diffe re nt sh ape s and anatom ie s, w e h ad to study e ach case se parate l y. At M anos Digital e s Anim ation Studio, w e w ork our m ode l s starting from a ve ry sol id ch aracte r anal ysis m ade in col l aboration w ith th e Art De partm e nt. De signe rs h ave l ong- h our tal k ings w ith th e Dire ctor untila l ook th at re fl e cts th e ch aracte r's pe rsonal ity is ach ie ve d. H ow e ve r, som e tim e s a l ook th at is appe al ing for de signe rs w il lnot w ork in 3D or it w il ltak e too m uch tim e to sk in/de form corre ctl y.In th e se case s, w e sugge st m odifications according to

te ch niq ue s.Som e of us pre fe r th e face to- face (or pol y2pol y) approach w h e re w e cre ate th e face s of th e m ain e dge l oops first, and th e n join th e m . And, som e of us use subdivision m ode l ing (or box m ode l ing) w h ich is starting from a cube and subdividing and conform ing th e m e sh .In any case , w e start our w ork as if th e ch aracte rs w e re com pl e te l y sym m e trical .

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3d W ORKSH OP Th is spe e ds up th e proce ss.W e m ode l onl y one h al f using a “ M irror M odifie r” to ge t th e w h ol e picture as m ost pe opl e do.W h e n th e m ode lis finish e d, th e se m odifie rs are “ bak e d” and nonsym m e tricalde tail s are adde d.

Issue 4 M ay 2006

w ith th is in m ind m ade it e asy to im agine .W h e n be ak s are too l ong, w e ch ange topol ogy and k e e p th e usual l oops ne ar th e h e ad. De ntalparts of non- bird ch aracte rs are m ode l e d as se parate obje cts and th e n

Illustration 3: Th ree ch aracters w ith differentanatom y: H um an, Pigeon, Bat.Edgeloops are pretty sim ilar in th e end. One of th e first probl e m s w e h ad w as to figure out h ow to de alw ith th e bird ch aracte r's m outh , since birds h ave no l ips nor nose .Afte r som e e xpe rim e nts, it w as cl e ar th at th e bird's be ak coul d be tre ate d just as if it w as a “ com bo” of m outh and nose .Cre ating e dge l oops

Ch aracte r m ode ling atPlum ife ros

joine d to th e re st of th e inne r parts of th e m outh . Ch aracte rs are m ade of parts Ch aracte rs are usual l y m ade of a uniq ue continuous m e sh .W e de cide d to use m ul ti- m e sh ch aracte rs for Pl um ife ros,

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m e aning ch aracte rs m ade out of diffe re nt m e sh obje cts w ork ing toge th e r, but ne ve r joine d.Th is approach h as th e fol l ow ing advantage s: * W e can h ave m ore th an 16 m ate rials pe r ch aracte r. * W e can re use som e parts (w e igh tpainting and sh ape k e ys include d) for oth e r ch aracte rs. * From an inte rface point- of- vie w , w e can ge t diffe re ntdraw m ode s for diffe re ntparts ofa ch aracte r, spe e ding up th e anim ation proce ss w ith outsacrificing de tail. * M osttools w ork be tte r w ith less ve rtice s or m e sh se ctors, lik e m irroring. * It's m ore suitable for te am w ork . * W e can ch ange parts ofth e ch aracte r for diffe re ntsce ne s e asily (e ve r trie d to join tw o m e sh e s w ith sh ape k e ys?).e g: dre ss ch ange s Th e onl y draw back s of such a de cision is th e m ore com pl icate d sk inning w ork fl ow (you ne e d to sk in e ve ry part se parate l y and th e n “ stitch ” th e parts in som e w ay).For al lth e se draw back s, Pyth on cam e to re scue .Th e re is a ve ry h andy pyth on script, w ritte n by Cam pbe l lBarton, th at w e use d a l ot: M e sh W e igh t Copy.

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3d W ORKSH OP Lord of th e W ings For our bird ch aracte rs, w e de cide d to m ode la “ basic w ing” m e sh and from th at, buil d th e w ings for al lch aracte rs w ith onl y m inor m e sh e diting.Since w e are using m ul ti- m e sh ch aracte rs, w e coul d add w ings at any tim e w h il e anim ators are w ork ing on corporalor faciale xpre ssion.For th is basic w ing to pe rfe ctl y fit oth e r ch aracte rs, w e h ad to de sign a prope r “ w ing- body” inte rface th at w oul d w ork for al lch aracte rs.

Issue 4 M ay 2006

body.Th e se fe ath e rs w il lbe anim ate d, for instance , w h e n th e ch aracte r spre ads its w ings or sh uts th e m . Th e w ing fe ath e rs patte rn is a ve ry com pl e x and im portant de tail .

Im g4

W e use d se ve ral re fe re nce s from al l k ind of source s incl uding vide os Illustration 5: "Basic w ing" for allbird ch aracte rs fil m e d by ourse l ve s. Fe ath e rs w e re m ode l e d and pl ace d by h and as se parate d obje cts.Diffe re nt W h e n re fe rring to fe ath e rs, I m e an th e ain col our m ate rial s w e re appl ie d in m ain fe ath e rs th at are use d in th e bird's pl orde r to be tte r ide ntify th e type s of fl igh t, not th e fe ath e rs cove ring th e

Ch aracte r m ode ling atPlum ife ros

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fe ath e rs in th e w ing.Al lof th e se fe ath e rs w e re joine d into one m e sh . Be side s th e se “ functional ” fe ath e rs m e sh e s, anoth e r m e sh re pre se nting th e m ain part of th e w ing w as m ode l e d.In th is m e sh , e dge l oops w e re im portant since th is part w oul d act l ik e a re alw ing, and w oul d be de form e d h e avil y.

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3d W ORKSH OP Th e bat ch aracte r re q uire d a com pl e te l y diffe re nt approach .Parts of th e w ing sh oul d be h ave com pl e te l y el astic al l ow ing th e ch aracte r to e xpand it or com pre ss it al m ost l ik e cl oth , and oth e r parts sh oul dl ook fl e xibl el ik e th e rays of an um bre l l a.For th e m e m brane parts, w e trie d to stay on th e bare m inim um ve rte x count, trying al so to k e e p cl e an l ine s of de form ation to avoid artifacts on w ing be nding. M ode l ing and R igging Once th e basic l ook and fe e lof a

Issue 4 M ay 2006

ch aracte r is ach ie ve d, th e m e sh suffe rs furth e r m odifications in th e sk inning/rigging proce ss.H e re al l topol ogy probl e m s, th at w e re n't fore se e n, sh ow up in a sort of painful w ay.Th e w orst part is th at th e m e sh ne e ds to be corre cte d w ith out ch anging its e xte rnalsh ape .So, as a re fe re nce , w e use d orth ogonalre nde rs of th e original m e sh e s. If a m e sh de form s poorl y, it coul d be cause d by poor rigging, bad sk inning, or bad topol ogy.Eve n w h e n al lth e se

conditions are OK , som e tim e s a m e sh just h as a l ack of e dge l oops.Som e tim e s m ode l e rs, se e k ing a m inim alam ount of ve rtice s, forge t to add e nough e dge l oops to guarante e prope r de form ations. W e te st th e m e sh e s in diffe re nt actions and se e h ow th e y be h ave .In th is stage of th e proce ss, w e use d to m ode lcl oth w rink l e s, or ch ange e dge l oops dire ctions untilw e got th e nice de form ation w e w ante d.For th is k ind of job, w e e dit th e m e sh in its “ re st” state , or if ne e de d, use th e arm ature 's de form ate d state (th e so- cal l ed “ Craz y Space ” ). FinalW ords I w ish w e h ad m ore spare tim e to w rite a m ore de tail e d articl e but, our production sch e dul e is ve ry tigh t.:( W e w oul dl ik e to say Th ank You to al l th e Bl e nde rh e ads around th e gl obe w h o are supporting our proje ct and h el ping us in m any w ays, to Ton and th e Orange Te am for th e ir inval uabl e w ork , and to al lcode rs w h o are m ak ing Bl e nde r bigge r and bigge r h ttp://w w w .pl um ife ros.com /

Ch aracte r m ode ling atPlum ife ros

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3d W ORKSH OP M ode l ing a natural istic butte rfl y by Ch ristian Guck e l sbe rge r Le ve l : Inte rm e diate

Introdu ction Be cause of th e re l ative l y h igh com pl e xity of th e m ode l ing proce ss, I de cide d to w rite th is tutorialfor th e inte rm e diate bl e nde r artists.Th e re w il l be passage s, w h e re you ne e d to continue w ork ing on yourse l f on th e m ode luntil th e ne xt im portant ste p is be ing e xpl aine d.At al l , th is is not a ste p- byste p instruction guide ;it is an atte m pt to sh ow you h ow to cre ate organic m ode l s base d on a butte rfl y w ith h igh l igh ts on th e m ost im portant parts of th e anim al . Do not forge t th at a m ode l ing proce ss is a proce ss of continuous de tail ing and re fining. W h at is th e m ode lbe ing m ade for? I de cide d to m ak e a fil m for a portfol io pre se ntation, in w h ich th e butte rfl y pl ays th e rol e of a guide .In th at case , th e re w il lbe m any cl ose - up and anim ation sh ots.Since th e sh ots w il lbe cl ose , I m ade th e butte rfl y re l ative l y

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de tail e d, but not too de tail e d be cause of th e l ong anim ation re nde ring tim e s.You w il lne e d to trade off th e de tailof your m ode lfor yourse l f, w atch ing it's final de stination. Pre parations I de cide d to m ode la natural istic butte rfl y.Be cause I h ad not re al l y h ad any cl ue about th is sort of anim alat al l ,I succe ssful l y re nte d a sh ow case and a book about butte rfl ie s from sch ool . Trust m e , th e book did a good job afte r al l , th e butte rfl ie s in th e sh ow case w e re too sm al lto use th e m as a m ode l ing re fe re nce .So be fore starting, you sh oul d h ave a re fe re nce , tak e a l ook into th e l ibrary or th e Inte rne t.(Fig.1 and 2) sh ow th e re fe re nce s th at I use d.Th e re is

a side pe rspe ctive as w e l las a pe rspe ctive of th e h al f- front h e ad. Le t's s tart. Th e abdom e n. As you sh oul d do w ith al m ost e ve ry

Fig2 organic m ode l , first m ak e a sim pl e construction out of prim itive s and re fine it l ate r.I did not use a re fe re nce picture in th e back ground, but you can do so if you l ik e . Use Vie w >>Back ground Im age >>Im age to add an im age to your back ground.

Fig1

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Fine .Le t's do th e th ing from th e back on and start w ith th e abdom e n.I use d a cube from th e side pe rspe ctive [Num 3] and e xtrude d it 4 tim e s.Th e n, I inse rte d tw o ve rte x row s by e nte ring [K ] in e dit m ode [TAB], using a l oop cut.As an al te rnative , you can al so use norm alcuts [K ] or m ul ticuts [K ] or subdivide it tw ice or se ve raltim e s, but w ith th e l ast m e th od, you w il lprobabl y h ave to de al w ith unw ante d ve rtice row s at th e e nd. (Fig.3) sh ow s h ow th e e xtrude d cube l ook s afte r al igning it on th e sim pl e sh ape of th e butte rfl y abdom e n. Fig3

Now you w il lne e d to continue e xtruding th e m e sh righ t to th e th orax part (Fig.4).Afte r al igning th e prim itive m e sh to th e butte rfl y sh ape from th e side pe rspe ctive , you w il lal so h ave to do th e sam e from th e top one [Num 7].Try to m ak e th e m ode lsm ooth and round.

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re fine th e back - e nd of th e inse ct. Now it is tim e to de fine th e diffe re nt sh e l lse gm e nts th e first tim e .Se l e ct th e m iddl e of th e 3 row s w h ich indicate a sh e l ldivision and scal e it a bit sm al l er [s] (Fig.6).You sh oul d re pe at th is w ith e ve ry row , th e n continue w ith th e ne xt ste p.

Fig6 You can al so al re ady use Subsurfs (Editing>>M odifie rs>>Subsurf>>Le ve l s) to se e h ow th e m ode ll ook s sm ooth e d. (Fig.5) Pay atte ntion to th e h igh l igh te d ve rte x row in (Fig.5).Late r, it sh oul d be com e th e borde r be tw e e n th e uppe rbody (inse ct sh e l l ) and th e l ow e r body. As you can se e in (Fig.5) too, I al so al re ady adde d 2 cuts to e ve ry ve rtical one to indicate th e l ate r borde rs Ok ay, now w e w il lcontinue de fining th e be tw e e n th e sh e l lse gm e nts, as w e l las to diffe re nt se gm e nts of th e abdom e n.To de fine th e uppe r sh e l l , use th e face se l e ct m ode and se l e ct al lface s th at are l ow e r th an th e borde r l ine be tw e e n th e sh e l land th e l ow e r- body (Fig.7).

Fig5

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Fig7 Now w e use [E] to e xtrude th e l ow e r part and inse rt one m ore row of face s and th e scal e - tool[S] to scal e th e w h ol e l ow e r part just a bit sm al l e r.Le t's m ove th e w h ol e th ing [G+ M M B] ve rtical l y untilboth l ine s (th e uppe r l ine of th e se l e cte d se gm e nt and th e sh e l lborde r l ine ) ne arl y cove r e ach oth e r (Fig.8).

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borde r l ine anym ore .Use th e scal e - tool [S+ M M B] again and just scal e th e l ow e r part h oriz ontal l y th is tim e , untile ach ve rtice appe ars unde r its ne igh bor again.You can al so use th e m ove - tool [G] for th is, but it de finite l y w il lne e d m ore tim e be cause you w il lne e d to m ove e ve ry pair of ve rtice s on th e ir ow n. Th e Th orax + H e ad Proce e d e xtruding th e m e sh righ t to th e h e ad and al ign it to th e inse ct sh ape again.Do not forge t to al ign it al so from th e top pe rspe ctive ! :) For th e h e ad, w e can use a sim pl e box subdivide d by th e l ine s w e al re ady got, so just e xtrude th e th orax again a l ittl e bit.Look on (Fig.9 ) to se e th e w h ol e proce ss so far.You Fig9

h e ad sm ooth e r, m ak ing it l ook l ik e a l ow - de tail e d h al f- sph e re from th e side pe rspe ctive .Use th e m ove - tool s [G] to ach ie ve th is by e asil y m oving th e ve rtice s w h ich w e al re ady got due to our form e r cuts (Fig.10).(Fig.11) sh ow s an im age of th e m ode lw e got so far w ith Subsurface turne d on (l e ve l2). Fig10

Fig11

Fig8 As you can se e , th e ve rtice s of th e uppe r sh oul d al so pay atte ntion to th e row of th e se l e cte d se gm e nt do not re fine m e nt of th e back - e nd w h ich I stand dire ctl y unde r th e one s of th e al re ady did.Now continue to m ak e th e

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D e tail s of th e h e ad As you can se e , th e butte rfl y on th e re fe re nce picture h as got ante nnas on h is h e ad.Th e re are diffe re nt, bre e d- spe cific ante nnas but w e w il ltry to im itate th e se one s.Se l e ct tw o face s w h ich are l arge e nough to be com e th e ante nnas on th e uppe r h e ad from th e top vie w and e xtrude th e m by [E>>IndividualFace s] th e w ay it is sh ow n in (Fig.12).If you ne e d to se l e ct tw o or m ore face s on e ach side of th e h e ad (e ach side sh oul d be e q ual , as m irrore d if you did e ve ryth ing righ t so far), you ne e d to e xtrude th e ante nnas se parate l y.

Fig12

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th e h e ad [V] as you can se e in (Fig.12).I first did th e e xtrusion w ith one or tw o face s, th e n inse rte d som e m ore row s in it and scal e d th e m a bit ve rtical l y/h oriz ontal l y from th e top vie w to m ak e th e ante nnas a bit sm ooth e r, not th at cubic.Try to give th e se parts of th e body th e ir spe cific l ook by e xtruding straigh t, e xtruding and siz ing, e xtruding and siz ing again and th e n e xtruding straigh t again...al so try to m ak e th e individualse gm e nts diffe re nt from e ach oth e r to give th e m ode la random l ook .

3]) to pre ve nt an unw ante d sh ifting of th e ve rtice s.In both l ast Fig., I al re ady be nt th e ante nnas a bit to th e l e ft and righ t (se e n from th e front) by se l e cting som e of th e uppe r ve rtice s, turning Proportional Edit Fal l off on [O], se l e cting a give n fal l off m e th od (h e re I use d a com bination of sm ooth and root fal l off) and m oving th e w h ol e th ing w ith th e m ove - tool[G]. Probabl y you w il l ne e d to e xpe rim e nt a bit w ith th e righ t fal l off m e th od to As you can se e on th e re fe re nce im age , re ach satisfying th e ante nnas be com e l arge r at th e top, so re sul ts.Try it on your If you l e t's do ow n.If th e re are al so ne e d so, th e m as unw ante d ve rtice s, do it sh ow n in e .g.from th e w ith (Fig.13). ne igh bor ante nna one , You sh ifte d w ith , try to th e n sh oul d m ove th e oth e r copy it al so ante nna far aw ay and al w ays w ith Proportional conne ct tak e a l ook Edit Fal l off off and th e on th e sh ift th e m back l ate r l ow e r oth e r (Fig.14 sh ow s th e face s pe rspe ctiv w h ol e , finish e d w ith e s (front ante nna of m y m ode l ). th e [Num 1], face s of Fig13 Fig14 side [Num

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3d W ORKSH OP Fine .Le t's m ak e th e h e ad a bit m ore com pl e x now .I adde d face t- e ye s to th e h e ad by adding an Icosph e re (4 Subdivisions), m oving it to th e corre ct pl ace from th e front and side pe rspe ctive and e rasing th e part of it th at protrude s into th e inse cts h e ad.I use d to cre ate th e Icosph e re s out of th e e dit m ode [TAB] to h ave th e m as a singl e m e sh and on th at w ay, se parate l y for th e l ate r te xturing proce ss.Final l y I got a bit m ore th an a h al f Icosph e re on e ach side w h ich I fitte d on th e h e ad by using th e ProportionalEdit Fal l off Tool s [O] again. Th is action coul d ne e d som e tim e until th e w h ol e e ye fits (ne arl y) pe rfe ctl y to th e h e ad.So tak e som e coffe e and be patie nt.:) In addition, I al so adde d a ring, m ade by Fig15 e xtruding a circl e se ve ral tim e s (using th e scal e - tool [S]) and fitte d it on th e h e ad as w el l , as a k ind of

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th ing a bit m ore com pl e x to give it a bit of structure as you can se e in (Fig.17). Th e re is al so a "m outh " (or be tte r: h ol e) sh ow n w h e re th e be ak com e s out.I took th is scre e nsh ot w ith Subsurface s turne d off, so you h ave a be tte r insigh t into th e m ode l ing structure .As you can se e above th e be ak (or m outh , se e n from th e top or front pe rspe ctive ), I h ad to m ak e som e m ore cuts to de fine th e m .Do not use l oop cuts [K ] al lth e tim e .Inste ad of th is, use norm alcuts [K ] to incre ase just th e part of ge om e try you re al l y w ant to incre ase in de tailand avoid probl em s e m s w ith As you can se e in (Fig.16), I al so cre ate d w ith too m any face s or probl too ch ise l e d e dge s (Th is occurs w h e n a be ak w h ich h oists spiralunde r th e too m any e dge s com e too cl ose toge th e r h e ad.You can e asil y cre ate th is by e xtruding on oth e r re gions of th e m e sh , e .g.) w h e n turning Subsurf on again. one face from th e uppe r m iddl e h e ad and continuing e xtruding [E] and rotating [R] it until you h ave a spiral .I did th e w h ol e Fig16 Fig17 fram e for th e inse ct e ye s (Fig.15).As a furth e r e ffe ct, th is re ve al s th e unattractive are a w h e re th e Icosph e re h its th e H e ad's Surface . Afte r appl ying th e e ye s, w e w il l continue w ith th e se cond instrum e nt th e se anim al s h ave on th e ir h e ad.As you can se e on (Fig.15), th e y start out as ne arl y as unde r th e e ye and l ong until th e uppe r e nd of it.Th e ir structure is re l ative l y e q ualto th e one of th e ante nnas, so use th e sam e te ch niq ue to cre ate th e m .

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3d W ORKSH OP Th e l e gs and th e ir conne ction to th e body. As se e n on th e re fe re nce im age , th e butte rfl y h as a sh e l laround it's l e gs as w el las on th e part w h ich final l y conne cts to th e re st of th e body.Th is part l ook s re l ative l y com pl e x w h ich w oul d ne e d a l ot of additionalve rtice s in th e th orax ge om e try and on th at w ay coul d probabl y disturb th e Subsurf functional ity or e asil y incre ase th e ve rte x count unne ce ssaril y.Be cause of th is, I did th e se e l e m e nts as w e l las th e l e gs se parate l y.So - l e t's ge t of e ditm ode [TAB] and first cre ate tw o l e gs as Fig18

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se e n on (Fig.18).I starte d out w ith a circl e (about 5- 7 ve rtice s) from th e top vie w and e xtrude d it untilI re ach e d a m ode las sh ow n in th e figure .To cre ate th e individualsh e l lse gm e nts, you can use th e sam e te ch niq ue as al re ady done w ith th e abdom e n or th e ante nnas.To m ak e th e individualsh e l lparts sh ifting unde r e ach oth e r, m ove [G] and scal e [S] th e m untilth e y re ach a bit unde r th e ne igh bor sh e l lse gm e nt, as se e n in (Fig. 19 ). Th e re is al so th e l ow e st part of th e inse ct, its cl aw s, sh ow n.M ode l ing th e m h igh l y de tail e d incre ase s th e visual out w ith th e com pl e xity of your finalm ode l . conne ctions to th e body.I W e w il luse th e te ch niq ue sh ow n did a cube at atte ne d h e re to re fine th e first, fl abdom e n l ate r in it a bit [S+ M M B], th e de tail s se ction.Now w e e rase d th e bottom face sh oul d h ave m ode l s as in (Fig. and th e n inse rte d som e 20) and in (Fig. l oop cuts [K ]. 18, th e oth e r l e gs). Now w e w il lstart

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Fig19

Fig20

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3d W ORKSH OP I continue d m oving th e ve rtice s untilI re ach e d a form as in th e re fe re nce im age s.Th e n, I fitte d th e m on th e th orax by using th e ProportionalEdit Fal l off tool s from th e 3d- and side pe rspe ctive [Num 3] and e xtrude d one e dge untilth e y re ach e d th e uppe r m iddl e of th e th orax.As a l ast ste p, I m irrore d th e part and joine d th e tw o m e sh e s by h itting [J].Now I conne cte d th e parts I e xtrude d be fore to th e uppe r m iddl e of th e th orax toge th e r (Use [V]k e y w h il e h aving 2, 3 or 4 unconne cte d ve rtice s se l e cte d to cre ate a l ine , a tri, or a q uad).Th at's it.Now you just ne e d to Fig21

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m ak e 2 variations of th is form for th e oth e r 2 pairs of l e gs. You can al so cre ate som e de e pstructure by m ak ing 3 ve rticalcuts again and m oving th e m iddl e of th e m al ong

Fig22 th e z - axis of th e m ode l .You can se e th is in (Fig.21).Look for (Fig.18) to se e th e conne ction parts from th e side pe rspe ctive .

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R e fining th e m ain body Ok ay...th e m ode lisn't l ook ing bad, but th e re are stil lth ings th at ne e d to be m ore inte nsive , e xpre ssive to l ook natural istic.For e xam pl e : Th e sh e l l se gm e nts (again! ;) ).W e w il luse th e sam e m e th od of m oving one sh e l l se gm e nt unde r its ne igh bor as w e al re ady did w ith th e cl aw s.Se l e ct one row of face s in face - se l e ct- m ode , scal e th e m a bit sm al l e r [S] and m ove [G] th e m unde r th e oth e r face row .(Fig.22)

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Now w e w il lfinish - up th e back - part of th e inse ct.As se e n in th e re fe re nce again, th e re is a k ind of incision in th e sh e l lw h e re anoth e r part of th e body is visibl e be tw e e n th e uppe r and l ow e r sh e l l .You m ay al so m ode lth is th e fol l ow ing w ay: First e l ongate th e uppe r part a bit and de l e te th e face s be tw e e n th e uppe r and l ow e r part.Afte r th is, e xtrude th e borde r face s of th e ope n l ow e r part to th e m iddl e and se condl y to th e inne rm ost part of th e inse ct.Th e n, I e xtrude d it again out of th e m e sh and form e d th e body part w h ich is m ark e d in (Fig.23).Final l y, do not forge t to cl ose th e ope n m e sh by se l e cting 4 ve rtice s and h itting [V].

Fig24

As a th ird de tail , you can e xtrude som e ch ose n face s of th e top th orax and e xtrude th e m too, to cre ate al so som e sh e l lse gm e nts on th is pl ace .Se e (Fig.24) for th is

Fig23

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3d W ORKSH OP Th e w ings As you can al so se e in (Fig.24 and Fig. 25), I se l e cte d 2 pairs of face s and e xtrude d th e m on both side s of th e body in th e top pe rspe ctive [Num 7].You can use th e scal e - tool[S] in th at case to e xtrude th e m aw ay from th e m idpoint afte r h itting [E] for e xtrude .Now , start to buil d a construct of m uscl e s and/or ve ins w h ich start at th e body and be com e sm al l e r and sm al l e r in th e w ings re gion.Th e l ook of th e se m uscl e s/ve ins diffe rs from e ach butte rfl y too, so tak e a l ook at your pe rsonalre fe re nce or e asil y

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do it as you l ik e :).Do not forge t to m ak e th e se gm e nts a bit th inne r at th e e nd, using th e scal e - tool[S] again.Pl e ase do th is w h ol e action for just one side at first.Now se l e ct your one - side construction, m irror it, and attach it to th e oth e r e xtrude d e nds on th e oth e r side by [V]- k e y (Fig.26). Ok ay. Le t's start w ith th e w ings surface s. Th e re are se ve ralm e th ods to ach ie ve th is, e .g.3d spl ine s, pol ygonalsurface s… e tc. For now , w e w il lcontinue w ith our te ch niq Fig25 ue w e use d so far: Go out of e ditm ode [TAB] to m ak e it e asie r to te xture l ate r. Now start

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Fig26 w ith a sim pl e cube again and fl atte n it so it be com e s ve ry th in (but don't forge t th at it probabl y be com e s e ve n th inne r w h e n Subsurfs are turne d on).Try to cre ate tw o sh ape s (Fig.27) by e xtrusion [E] and re fining ([K ] for l oop cuts or norm alcuts e tc.) w h e re as th e uppe r one (as se e n in (Fig.28)) ove rl aps th e l ow e r one just a l ittl e bit.

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3d W ORKSH OP Now , turn subsurface s on and m ak e th e w ings in de pth a bit irre gul ar.For th is, w e can al so use th e ProportionalEdit Fal l off- Tool[O] de spite w e coul d al so use l attice s, e tc.But for now , w e w il ltry to m inim iz e th e assortm e nt of tool s use d and tak e th e first one .You sh oul d pay som e atte ntion to th e w ings th at stil l ove rl ap, but ne arl y conne ct to e ach oth e r w ith th e ir l ow e r and uppe r surface .In (Fig.29 ), th e de pth s of th e surface I use d h e re are m ark e d, just for

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e xam pl e. Now com e s th e l ast ste p w e ne e d to do: W e w il lne e d to tak e a l ook to se e if th e m uscl e s or ve ins w e did just som e ste ps be fore are stil lvisibl y conne cte d to th e w ings in top [Num 7] and bottom pe rspe ctive .If th e y are not, try to ach ie ve th is by m oving or w e l ding th e m w ith th e ProportionalEditing Tool s [O] and/or th e m ove - tool[G].

Fig28

Ok ay - now re cl ine and be h ol d your m ode l- did you e ve r im agine th at a butte rfl yl ook s l ik e th at?Ch e ck your re fe re nce - if it's ide ntical , you did a ve ry good job. Fig29

Fig27

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Th e final , ye t unte xture d and unrigge d re sul t can be se e n be l ow .I h ope I h ave succe ssful l y cove re d al l aspe cts of th e m ode land h ave w ritte n a com pre h e nsibl e tutorial

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Rapid Prototyping w ith Bl e nde r for Je w e l ry/M e talArtists

e xport 3D ge om e try into th e STL(Ste re o Lith ograph y) form at to transcribe to 3D printe rs.

By

It is im portant to k e e p one l im itation in m ind about Bl e nde r: Bl e nde r doe s not support advance d NURBS tool s.And NURBS tool s are e sse ntialw h e n Th e M ak ing of Spe cialPEZ de signing sh ape s and e l e m e nts th at D ispe nse rs re q uire a h igh am ount of pre cision.And In m y re ce nt M FA Th e sis Exh ibition, I pol ygons do not offe r th at pre cision pre se nte d PEZ dispe nse rs w h ich w e re e ith e r.H ow e ve r, w h e n a NURBS obje ct is constructe d w ith found obje cts, h and e xporte d into th e STLform at, th e surface fabricate d and com pute r ge ne rate d is te sse l l ate d and save d as a pol ygon el e m e nts.In th is articl e I w il lfocus on m e sh . Good re sul ts w il l re q uire a h igh th e te ch nicalpossibil itie s th at Bl e nde r te sse l l ation of th e NURBS obje cts.Th is is provide s artists in cre ating CAD sim il ar to w ork ing w ith Pol ygons.W h il e ge ne rate d e l e m e nts. pol ygons cannot re pl ace NURBS, th e y Toge th e r, Bl e nde r and Yafray are a ve ry h ave th e ir ow n advantage s.Organic m ode l ing is today’s stre ngth of Pol ygons. strong tool se t w h ich provide al lne e de d m ode l ing and re nde ring tool s to visual iz e Toge th e r w ith Subdivide d Surface s, you not onl y h ave th e e asy m ode l ing tool s to ide as and e xpl ore variations in a sh ort q uick l y cre ate your de sire d sh ape s, but pe riod of tim e .W ith it’s e xce l l e nt al so Subdivide d Surface s th at are ne e de d m ode l ing and anim ation tool s, Bl e nde r for fine te sse l l ation to gain sm ooth STL al l ow s th e de signe r to virtual l y cre ate h is fil e s. obje ct and proof m e ch anicale l e m e nts. Yafray tak e s core for a ph otore al istic During th e past th re e se m e ste rs at re nde ring. Bow l ing Gre e n State Unive rsity, I h ave H ow e ve r, in te rm s of m ode l ing, e xpl ore d a de sign proce ss in w h ich I Bl e nde r al so offe rs th e possibil ity to Cl aas Eick e K uh ne n

Th e M ak ing ofSpe cialPEZ dispe nse rs

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incl ude traditionaland com pute r- aide d approach e s to e xpl ore , de ve l op, and construct m y art obje cts. Th is proce ss be gins w ith fe w q uick sk e tch e s to capture th e m ost im portant ide as of th e proje ct.H and sk e tch ing al l ow s one to q uick l y e xpl ore m any ide as in a ve ry rough w ay.H ow e ve r sk e tch e s,

by nature , h ave a h abit of be ing tw odim e nsional , static, and disproportionate .Th is is w h e n Bl e nde r be com e s an e sse ntialtool .Afte r th e m ain el e m e nts are w ork e d out, Bl e nde r is use d to construct ide as in a th re e - dim e nsional space and to re fine th e obje cts.

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w h e n you are incorporating rapid prototype d obje cts into your art.For e xam pl e , if it is too th in, th e obje ct m igh t crack .

Th e advantage of sw itch ing to Bl e nde r afte r th is be ginning stage is th at th e m ain and im portant ide as are e xpl ore d and a sol id foundation is cre ate d on w h ich Bl e nde r can re st.Afte r an initial m ode l ing se ssion (w h ich ofte n re q uire s q uite som e tim e ), appl ying ch ange s to th e de sign, adding sm al le l e m e nts, or ch anging th e point of vie w onl y re q uire fe w cl ick s of th e m ouse .It is during th is stage th at de cisions conce rning m ate rial th ick ne ss, scal e and proportions are m ade .Spe cifical l y, w h e n m e ch anical el e m e nts are invol ve d in th e de sign, th e ir inte raction w il lbe e xpl ore d and re fine d. W ork ing w ith th e corre ct m ate rialth ick ne ss is ve ry im portant

Th e M ak ing ofSpe cialPEZ dispe nse rs

fil e d, be nt, and/or sol de re d toge th e r. H ow e ve r, cre ating a re al istic h e ad out of a sh e e t of m e talis not so e asy.Th is task re q uire s a diffe re nt approach . Th ank s to Bl e nde r’s STLe xport fe ature , th e natural istical l y m ode l e d h e ad coul d be se nt to a z Core 3D printe r to cre ate tipl e , re alth re e - dim e nsional At th is point, al lof th e im portant aspe cts m ul re pl ications. During th is proce ss it w as of th e de sign’s de ve l opm e nt are im portant to w ork w ith cl ose d surface s. com pl e te .In th e fol l ow ing ste p, Th e z Core softw are ne e ds cl ose d sol ids, orth ograph ic vie w s of th e 3D m ode lare ose d surface s w ith a m ode l ed printe d out in 1:1 and use d as a re fe re nce or cl cul ate w h e re it h as to to start constructing th e m e tale l e m e nts. th ick ne ss to cal gl ue th e starch pow de r toge th e r, w h ich at th e e nd w il lturn into th e de sire d Th e m ajority of th e m e talw ork can be obj e ct. constructe d using fl at sh e e ts of m e tal . Th e te m pl ate s ne e d to be saw e d out,

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Th e z Core 3D Printe r w ork s l ik e a re gul ar printe r, but inste ad of using ink it use s gl ue . Th e printe r starts by l aying dow n a ve ry th in l aye r of starch ove r w h ich th e printe r h e ad puts dow n gl ue drops w h e re th e 3D m ode lre q uire s it.Afte r th at th e printe r brush e s anoth e r th in l aye r of starch pow de r ove r th e first one and again gl ue dropl e ts are appl ie d. Th rough th is proce ss th e z Core Printe r cre ate s your 3D re pl ication l aye r by l aye r.

pre ve nt any dam age .Th is proce ss w ork s be st w h e n th e 3D prints are pl ace d in an ove n to w arm th e m up.Th e te m pe rature w il lm ak e th e e poxy gl ue sink de e p into th e surface w h e n appl ie d.Th is pre ve nts any gl ue re m aining on top of th e surface and cove ring any structuralde tail .Tw o coats of gl ue are e nough to cre ate a ve ry sol id pl astic h ul lor surface .

Th e onl y re m aining ste p is to El e ctroform th e pie ce s.To e l e ctroform m e ans th at you are grow ing m e talonto your pie ce . In th is case , coppe r is use d. To pre ve nt any dam age to th e sol id obje ct or th e e l e ctroform e r, th e starch pow de r inside th e 3D print sh oul d be w ash e d out w h e n th e 3D print onl y h as a ve ry th in e poxy gl ue se al ing.It coul d h appe n, th at som e w ate r w il lfl ow th rough th e porous e poxy sk in and m ak e th e starch e xpand w h e n pl ace d into th e el e ctroform e r.Th is w il lre sul t in crack e d surface s w h ich , h ow e ve r, al so can re sul t into be autifulcrack de tail s w h e n de sire d. Afte r appl ying e l e ctrodag (a coppe r paint) to th e h e ad and se al ing th e inside w ith w ax and attach ing a coppe r w ire to it, th e 3D h e ad can be pl ace d into th e el e ctroform e r.

Th e se fragil e 3D prints sh oul d be se al ed w ith a spe cial and fastdrying e poxy gl ue to

Th e M ak ing ofSpe cialPEZ dispe nse rs

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el e ctrodag, w h il e th e righ t side onl y re ce ive d one ve ry th in l aye r.Th is re sul te d in th e l e ft side be ing strong and sol id and th e l e ft side be ing th in, fragil e and onl y partial l y el e ctropl ate d. Th rough a l onge r pl ating proce ss w ith a l ow am p se tting, a sol id and e ve n coppe r surface w as cre ate d.Tow ards th e e nd of th e proce ss, th e am ps w e re incre ase d to cre ate a strong nodul ation on th e righ t side of th e face .Th e nodul ation turne d into an e ffe ct, w h ich l ook s l ik e th e h e ad is de caye d. Th e finalstage of th e de sign proce ss is re ach e d.W h il e m ost im portant e l e m e nts w e re final iz e d w ith th e first sk e tch se ssion and l ate r in Bl e nde r, during th e proce ss of asse m bl ing al l el e m e nts, th e de sign is tw e ak e d and ch ange d furth e rm ore .Th e printe d de sign pl ans are a pe rfe ct pl ayground for som e m ore re fine d sk e tch ing.Quite ofte n is it th e case th at th e probl em sol ving re q uire s you to go forw ard and back w ards be tw e e n For th e finalh e ad, th e l e ft side of th e face got th re e coatings of th e se tw o approach e s untilth e finalre sul t is re ach e d

Th e M ak ing ofSpe cialPEZ dispe nse rs

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Re nde ring w ith Povray from Bl e nde r By

Povray.You m ay al so w ant to instal l M e gapov, as it is com patibl e to Povray and h as additionalfe ature s l ik e H DRI support and Fil m Exposure .

Righ t now , th e re is no e xe cutabl e instal l ation for Bl e nd2pov, so you h ave to unz ip th e rar arch ive of bl e nd2povinto a Al th ough Povray is an e xce l l e nt rayfol de r and re nam e th e bl e nde r.e xe to tracing softw are , Bl e nde r use rs did not som e th ing l ik e bl e nde r2pov.e xe and copy h ave m any w ays of using it cl e anl y until it to th e de faul t Bl e nde r instal l ation th e re l e ase of Bl e nd2Pov.Al th ough fol de r.You m ay al so w ant to cre ate a Bl e nd2Povw as born as a script, just l ik e sh ortcut to it for your de sk top. th e JM S Bl e nde r- to- POVe xporte r, th e Fig1.Povray as re nde ring e ngine . script e xporte d th e XM Lge ne rate d by Be fore going any furth e r, e xe cute th e 'Re nde r buttons w indow ' Bl e nde r for Yafray to a POVform at.Now Bl e nd2Povprogram to m ak e sure it l oads in th e ir l ate st ve rsion (0.0.6a at th e corre ctl y.If it give s som e m issing fil e m om e nt of w riting th is articl e ), Ram on e rrors, m ak e sure th at you pl ace d th e Carl os Ruiz (RC Ruiz , th e script auth or) re nam e d Bl e nd2Povfil e in your Bl e nde r h as succe ssful l y inte grate d it as th e instal l ation fol de r. re nde r UI w ith in Bl e nde r (Figure 1).Th is provide s al m ost se am l e ss inte gration for Afte r th e succe ssfulinstal l ation of PovRay, base d on cl e ve r usage of th e Bl e nd2Povand Povray, you'l lbe abl e to Yafray code .Th is articl e w il lte ach you acce ss it dire ctl y from Bl e nde r's Re nde r h ow to use Bl e nd2Pov. button just as you do w ith Yafray (Figure José M auricio and Rodas R."M orfe us"

1). Instal l ation To m ak e it w ork , you w il lne e d to instal l Fe atu re s th e Bl e nd2Povbinary w h ich you can find Now w e w il lde scribe e ach one of th e at El ysiun, and al so th e ne w e st ve rsion of buttons for th e Bl e nde r2PovGUI in th e

Re nde ring w ith POVRay from Blende r

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Fig2.Th e Povray GUI

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3d W ORKSH OP Bak e R adio& Ph ot Th e purpose of th is is to save th e radiosity* and ph otons data in "e xp.rad" and "e xp.ph " fil e s th at are store d in th e de faul t Yafray path .If you w ant to re nde r an anim ation w ith PovRay, it is re com m e nde d th at you re nde r th e FIRST fram e w ith th is button activate d. Th e n, disabl e 'Bak e Radio& Ph ot' and e nabl e 'Load Pre vious Bak e '.Final l y, re nde r th e anim ation.Doing th is w il l save you som e tim e on radiosity cal cul ations.

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Radiosity

Fig3.Radiosity se lector

Load Pre viou s Bak e Th is button is use d afte r you h ave save d th e Radiosity and or Ph oton data in th e first fram e of your anim ation.It save s tim e during th e re nde ring by using th e save d data from th e "e xp.rad" and "e xp.ph " fil e s.

Radios ity is a te ch niq ue us e d for th e cal cul ation of Gl obalIl l um ination. Il l um ination is done by e m itting l igh t from e ach obje ct in th e s ce ne . O bje cts abs orb ce rtain q uantitie s of th e e ne rgy and al s o re fl e ct s om e part, for w h at can be cons ide re d as l igh t e m is s ion by re fl e ction. It is done in s uch a w ay th at al lth e s urface s in th e s ce ne act as am bie nt l igh ts , and th e re fore e ach one affe cts th e il l um ination of th e oth e r s urface s (w e l l -k now n ph e nom e non as D iffus e Inte r-re fl e ction of th e l igh t ). Th e cal cul ation of Radios ity is bas e d on m ath e m aticalm e th ods th at are de pe nde nt on Raytrace rs . Povray us e s th e Gre g W ard M e th od for radios ity cal cul ation. Th is provide s a form of re pl acing th e ol d cal cul ations (cons tant val ue of am bie nce ) w ith a val ue of l igh t bas e d on th e inte raction of l igh t in th e ne igh boring s urface s .

Th e quality ofth e radiosity is configure d by de faultpre se ts in Blen2Pov, w h ich tak e s advantage ofth e store d value s in th e "rad_ de f.inc" files.

Fig4.Radiosity Options

Re nde ring w ith POVRay from Blende r

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3d W ORKSH OP Now w e w il lgo th rough th e avail abl e radiosity type options. No Radios ity: W h e n se l e cting th is option Bl e nd2Povdoe sn't cal cul ate radiosity. Radios ity D e faul t: As th e nam e indicate s it l oads th e de faul t radiosity param e te rs, th e re sul ts m ay be bad de pe nding on th e sce ne , but it is good e nough to m ak e te st re nde rs w ith out sacrificing re nde r tim e . Radios ity Fas t: Th is m ak e s a q uick cal cul ation for radiosity, th us is of l ow q ual ity but supe rior to th e De faul t. Radios ity Norm al : Th is use s typical val ue s of radiosity for sce ne s w h e re ge ne ral l y a good re nde r is re q uire d, but not sacrificing too m uch on re nde ring tim e (for e xam pl e , anim ations). Radios ity 2Bounce : Th is use s val ue s of 'Radiosity Norm al ' but m ak e s a doubl e bounce of l igh t, im proving th e sce ne . Th is is ach ie ve d by al te ring a spe cial Povray param e te r cal l e d 'th e re cursion_ l im it'.Th is param e te r control s th e q uantity of tim e s th at th e l igh t inte racts w ith an obje ct.Th e re is m axim um of 20.In th is case , th e val ue of th e re cursion_ l im it is at 2.Th is al so incre ase s th e re nde r tim e .

Re nde ring w ith POVRay from Blende r

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De fault(20 Se c)

Fast(38 Se c)

Norm al(1 50 Se c)

2Bounce ( 5M in 50 Se c)

Above com paris on of th e q ual ity and re nde r tim e s w ith diffe re nt radios ity on th e s am e s ce ne :

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3d W ORKSH OP th e nam e indicate s, it is use d for h igh q ual ity re nde rs and as you gue sse d w ith e ve n h igh e r re nde r tim e s. Radios ity O utdoorLQ: Th e l ow - q ual ity radiosity re nde ring for outdoor sce ne s.It w il lbe spe e die r.It is use d to sim ul ate radiosity in e xte rnalsce ne s in w h ich th e l igh t com e s from a source of punctual l igh t.Th e re nde r is of l ow q ual ity and is ide alfor te sting due to th e l ow re nde r tim e s. Radios ity O utdoorH Q: Th is is th e opposite of th e pre vious se tting and is use d for h igh - q ual ity re nde rings of outdoor sce ne s. Radios ity O utdoorLigh t: Th is is use d to sim ul ate radiosity in e xte rnalsce ne s w ith th e sun as a prim ary source of l igh t. H ow e ve r, th e q ual ity is sim il ar to OutdoorLQ. Radios ity IndoorLQ: Th is is use d to sim ul ate radiosity in inte rior sce ne s.It use s a 're cursion l im it' val ue of 2. Radios ity IndoorH Q: Th is is use d to sim ul ate radiosity in inte rior sce ne s using a 're cursion_ l im it' val ue of 3.Th e re nde r tim e is h igh so, th is is be st use d for your finalre nde rs.

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Radios ity Final : As

Final(13 M in 37 Se c)

Outdoor LQ (32Se c)

Outdoor H Q (12 M in 11 Se c)

Outdoor Ligh t(20 Se c)

Above com paris on of th e q ual ity and re nde r tim e s w ith diffe re nt radios ity on th e s am e s ce ne :

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You can ach ie ve be tte r radiosity configurations by m odifying th e radiosity param e te rs inside Povray or, by m odifying th e PovGl obal Rad val ue from w ith in Bl e nde r. Re m e m be r, w h e ne ve r you m odify Radiosity param e te rs in Bl e nd2POVyou w il lh ave to ge ne rate ne w Bak e Radio& Ph ot. Ph otons Th is button e nabl e s th e ge ne ration of caustics in your sce ne .If not activate d by de faul t, fak e caustics are ge ne rate d, w h ose re sul ts can som e tim e s be good.Th e param e te rs of th e ph otons for caustics are store d in th e "e xp.ph " fil e .Th e ph otons are use d as h e l pe rs for Radiosity cal cul ations. Al th ough th e fak e caustic re sul ts are not so gre at, th e se can be use fulin sce ne s w ith l arge q uantitie s of w ate r (for e xam pl e, unde rw ate r in a se a or a pool ).In th e se type of e nvironm e nts, re nde ring th e caustics w ith ph otons w il ltak e a ve ry, ve ry l ong tim e .So, it is sugge ste d to use fak e caustics h e re .Th is can be dire ctl y adjuste d from Povray using th e k e yw ord caustics pow e r, th is com m and can h ave a val ue be tw e e n 0.0 and 1.0.Note th at caustics are not sim ul ate d w h e n th e val ue is se t to 0.0.Th e val ue of caustics pow e r is introduce d as an Inte rior param e te r of th e m ate rial s.

Re nde ring w ith POVRay from Blende r

Indoor LQ (46 Se c)

Indoor H Q (25 M in 36 Se c)

W ith Ph otons

W ith outPh otons

Radiosity 2bounce (11 M in 34 Se c)

Radiosity 2bounce (4 M in 47 Se c)

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3d W ORKSH OP Jitte r Th is is a condition for th e are a l igh t th at m ak e s it ge ne rate a random sam pl ing of th e are a l igh t, th e re by sm ooth ing th e l aye rs of l igh t & sh adow sam pl e s.Th is, h ow e ve r, cause s probl e m s in anim ations as it ge ne rate s random sam pl e s of th e sm ooth ne ss and se e m s to jum p in th e anim ations.Se e th e e xam pl e im age s for a be tte r unde rstanding of its e ffe ct. D e fau l t Am bie nt Th is produce s th e sam e e ffe ct as th at of Bl e nde r's 'Em it' function. Exe c. PovR ay Th e function of th is button is ve ry sim pl e, to run PovRay for re nde ring as soon as re nde r button is pre sse d.If Exe c.PovRay is activate d, th e sce ne ge ts e xporte d to th e Povray form at and th e im age is re nde re d dire ctl y w ith in Povray. Au to AA If th is button is pre sse d, th e re nde r is Antial iase d in Povray.It is ide alfor a te st re nde r.It is pre sse d by de faul t.If you de se l e ct th is button, th re e ne w options w il lappe ar: AA Sam pl e s, AA Passe s and Th r (AA Th re sh ol d).Th e se ne w options

Re nde ring w ith POVRay from Blende r

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W ith Jitte r

W ith outJitte r

Radiosity 2bounce (5 M in 14 Se c)

Radiosity 2bounce (7 M in 55 Se c)

w il lal l ow you to h ave m anualcontrolove r anti- al iasing. Th e AA Sam pl e s is use d w h e n using DOF (De pth of Fie l d).AA Passe s is th e q uantity of passe s th at are use d in th e re nde r for al iasing.Th r (AA Th re sh ol d) is th e se paration val ue of th e pixe lre gion to anti- al ias.

Fig5.Antialiasing options

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3d W ORKSH OP R ayde pth Th is is th e num be r of bounce s of th e ray and is im portant for gl ass and m irrors. H igh e r num be rs e q ualbe tte r re sul ts.Th is al so w il le ffe ct th e re nde ring tim e . Proce ssors Th is option is curre ntl y not active in th is ve rsion of Bl e nd2Pov. Gam a Gam m a is re l ate d to th e OSA proce dure , th e ove rsam pl ing of pixe l s th at are m ixe d to ge ne rate th e finalre nde r.Th e conve ntionalre nde ring h as a Gam m a of 1.00. Exposu re Th is addition sim ul ate s a de cre ase of re active ch e m ical s in fil m e m ul sion during e xposure .Th e are as th at h ave re ce ive d m ore l igh t re act l e ss th an oth e r are as.Use fulfor h igh contrast sce ne s as it brings out th e dark are as and l im its brigh t are as.

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raytrace r from w ith in Bl e nde r.And, of course , as Bl e nd2Povde ve l ops, you w il l be abl e to use e ve n m ore pow e rful fe ature s of PovRay w ith m inim um fuss from w ith in Bl e nde r blende 2povray dow nl oad. h ttp://w w w .graph ical l .org/buil ds/buil ds /sh ow buil d.ph p?action=sh ow & id=116& PH PSESSID=b4c1a7c0379 5db2af8e fe 72e 0349 6 217 Code r: RCRuiz

Im portant To use Exposure you w il lne e d to h ave M e gapovinstal l e d, since Povray doe sn't support th is function.If you use it w h il e re nde ring, M e gapovw il l be e xe cute d autom atical l y.

Concl u sion I h ope th is basic e xpl anation of th e Bl e nde r2Povparam e te rs w il lge t you starte d w ith using th e aw e som e PovRay

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Ch aracte r D e sign 2D Sk e tch to 3D by - Rogério Pe rdiz

Introdu ction Th is articl e focuse s on a ve ry im portant part of 3D Ch aracte r M ode l ing k now n as th e 2D Sk e tch ( or Conce pt De sign).Th e sk e tch artw ork is th e basis for th e succe ssful3D ch aracte r th at e ve ryone h ope s to h ave in th e ir anim ation.It's during th e Conce pt De sign ph ase th at w e de fine e ve ry aspe ct of th e ch aracte r; providing a w e l l - structure d form and ide a w h ich , if prope rl y fol l ow e d, is

Ch aracte r de sign - 2d sk e tch to 3d

difficul t to l ose w h il e 3D m ode l ing. Oth e rw ise , w e m igh t turn our ch aracte r into som e k ind of de form e d al ie n, w h ich m ay onl y be h e l pfulif w e do inte nd to m ak e one .;) Above , you can se e one goodl ook ing ch aracte r sk e tch but, it is not ve ry h e l pfulw h il e 3D m ode l ing.So, for th at re ason I h ave de cide d to do a l ittl e sk e tch tutorialabout w h at goe s into m ak ing a succe ssful3D ch aracte r starting from th e 2D Sk e tch ph ase . Th e Ch aracte r Th e styl iz e d fictitious guy in th e picture is Orion.H e vol unte e re d h im se l f to il l ustrate w h at w il lbe de scribe d in upcom ing paragraph s.For th is, you w il l ne e d a digitaltabl e t or th e traditional pape r and pe ncil . Conce pt D e sign vs 2D Sk e tch Som e tim e s, th e gap be tw e e n th e se tw o te rm s is bl urre d, th us e asil y m isunde rstood.Conce pt De sign re fe rs to th e actualcre ative proce ss of th ough t or ide a and th e de sign proce ss th at suits th e finaloutcom e .It is usual l y re pre se nte d visual l y th rough continuousl y im prove d sk e tch e s or draw ings of som e obje ct or ch aracte r from th e ve ry first ide a until

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th e com pl e tion of a production- re ady draw ing.It al so incl ude s th e sce ne de tail s l ik e e nvironm e nt styl e , ch aracte r spe cial tie s, l igh ting and m ood of th e sce ne and th e te xture styl e as w e l l . Th e 2D Sk e tch is a singl e part of th e Conce pt De sign proce ss.It give s you th e basic form and h ape to h e l p m ate rial iz e th e ide a th at w il lgain, ove r tim e , a m ore organic sh ape on th e pape r.It can al so be cal l e d a rough pre - visual iz ation of th e finalide al iz e d draw ing. Tim e -Saving Tips Unl e ss you're a ve ry gifte d artist w ith th e abil ity to draw q ual ity sk e tch e s l igh tning fast, you w il lne e d l ots of tim e and a fl e xibl e de adl ine .Re m e m be r, since th is is a sk e tch for pre - visual iz ation of a 3D m ode l , you m ay ch oose to be l e ss de scriptive on th e pape r. If you are draw ing th e sk e tch digital l y, use Laye rs in your favorite paint program .Use e ach Laye r for se parate th ings.For instance , put th e h e ad in Laye r 1, th e h air in 2, body in 3, cl oth e s in 4 and so on.

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3d W ORKSH OP Using Laye rs can som e tim e s be trick y but, in th e e nd it w il lbe ne fit you q uite substantial l y, saving you pre cious tim e .

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3D bl ock m ode lm ade in Bl e nde r as m y re fe re nce for th e pe rspe ctive pose s.It give s a naturalcam e ra vie w fe e l For th e m ain ch aracte r sk e tch , your goal to th e pe rspe ctive draw ings and it´s Th e Sh e e t sh oul d be a 3- side d ch aracte r sh e e t re al l y e asy to Th e first th ing you ne e d to re m e m be r is (Front, Side and Back ).Th is is a ve ry de fine th e vol um e of th e ch aracte r. th at w h e n you finish th e 3D m ode l , you'l l crucialste p for th e 3D m ode l ing ph ase of al so ne e d to Rig(*) it so th e ch aracte r can your ch aracte r.You ne e d to de fine th e 3- Sk e tch ing Up be pose d in th e sce ne .It is h igh l y dim e nsionalfe ature s of th e ch aracte r in W h e n I use d to se e draw ings m ade by re com m e nde d th at you pose your th e sk e tch l ik e m uscul ar vol um e and th e profe ssional s, I th ough t to m yse l f ch aracte r w ith th e arm s and l e gs sl igh tl y strik ing contours.Afte r th at, if it's "W h ooo!! I’l lne ve r be abl e to m ak e th at, spre ad apart.You w ant to do th is possibl e , you can de fine m ore de tailon a th e se guys are gods and sim pl e m ortal s be cause , for instance , if th e righ t l e g is cl ay m ode l , but for now your 3- side d l ik e m e w il lne ve r re ach th e m ." W e l l , ve ry cl ose to th e l e ft it w il lbe a m ad job ch aracte r sh e e t sh oul d give you an w h at h appe ns is th at w e usual l y onl y se e assigning th e ve rtice s to th e bone s.Th is acce ptabl e 2D fl atte ne d re fe re nce .Th is th e finaldraw ing, and ignore th e ste ps type of pose facil itate s th e arm ature bone sh oul d be e nough to ge t you going.In th at th e y’ve use d to ge t th e re .You can positioning and m ak e s it a l ot e asie r to addition, if you w ish , you m ay al so do com pare draw ing to th e construction of som e a h ouse or a buil ding.In th e e nd, it l ook s pe rspe ctive pre tty.But w h il e th e artists are w ork ing, sk e tch e s of it’s just a l ot of dirt, trash and individual your parts. ch aracte r w ith re l axe d Rigging pose s.I use th e Pl acing an arm ature or bone inside pe rspe ctive th e m e sh to e nabl e th e draw ings for m anipul ation of th e ch aracte r's additional pose . re fe re nce .I al w ays use a

Ch aracte r de sign - 2d sk e tch to 3d

m ode land w ork w ith th e ch aracte r's pose .

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3d W ORKSH OP Th e Gol de n R u l e of 2D Ch aracte r Sk e tch ing Ne ve r forge t th at th e re is a h e ad unde r th e h air and a body unde r th e cl oth e s.If som e th ing is w rong, you w il l instinctive l y k now it.You m ay not k now e xactl y w h at's w rong but, you w il lk now th at som e th ing isn't q uite righ t.You’l lbe fine if you k e e p th at in m ind.

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I’m not going to de scribe ste p- by- ste p h ow to draw , but if you find m y sk e tch e s gre at th e n you re al l y are in troubl e and I re com m e nd th e fol l ow ing site s th at h ave q uick tutorial s on 2D ch aracte r de sign. Th e y are focuse d m ainl y on th e Japane se anim e styl e but, th e te ch niq ue s de scribe d are fl e xibl e and e asil y adaptabl e to any styl e (de dicate d draw ing book s are pre fe rabl e but, if th e y are out of your re ach , th e se site s are good one s and cove r w e l lth e basics):

e xam pl e , th e h air on top of th e h e ad. W h e n you're done , scan e ve ryth ing and join th e m in th e com pute r. Lik e in 3D, th e first th ing you ne e d is a bl ock m ode l , in th is case a bl ock oval iz e d draw ing.Th is w ay you can de fine th e are a and position of your ch aracte r on th e pape r and avoid boring th ings l ik e , afte r al m ost com pl e ting th e ch aracte r, not h aving e nough room l e ft on th e pape r to draw th e fe e t.

h ttp://w w w .h ow todraw m anga.com h ttp://w w w .bak ane k o.com h ttp://w w w .pol yk arbon.com

Using sim pl e circl e s and oval s is ge ne ral l y a good m e th od to de fine th e body proportions, but is far from be ing th e onl y m e th od.Use circl e s to re pre se nt Th e Front Vie w th e h e ad and th e joints l ik e sh oul de rs, Now th is is w h e re al lth e fun be gins! el bow s and k ne e s.Use oval s to conne ct Ladie s and Ge ntl e m e n! Start th e GIM P (or th e m . w h ate ve r your favorite 2D im age e ditor h appe ns to be ) or just grab a bunch of Ne xt, draw th e h e ad h airl e ss, add th e pape r and your favorite pe ncil .Th e m ost h air, draw th e body and final l y cove r h im im portant th ing, if you're using an im age w ith som e Coth e s.Ne ve r forge t to put e ditor, is to USE LAYERS, SEPARATE e ach th ing on a diffe re nt l aye r. TH INGS, and DON'T DELETE ANYTH ING. If you’re using pe nciland pape r, al so m aintain th e th ings se parate d.Use a l igh t tabl e or ce l lpape r to draw , for

Ch aracte r de sign - 2d sk e tch to 3d

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3d W ORKSH OP

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(Im age l e ft bottom ). Now h e re , som e tim e s th ings can be com e trick y.W h at h appe ns is th at th e Front vie w m ust coincide , as pe rfe ctl y as possibl e, w ith th e Side vie w .Th at’s cal l e d Fore sh orte ning. Fore sh orte ning Fore sh orte ning isn’t e asy to say th e l e ast.W h ate ve r you’re using, th e GIM P or pape r, you’l lne e d to draw h oriz ontall ine s from k e y parts of th e Front vie w and use th e m to draw your ch aracte r from th e Side vie w .In th e GIM P, you can just activate th e Vie w Grid function but, it’s a l ot h arde r, tim e consum ing and e rror- propitious. Pre ss th e [sh ift] k e y w h il e ch oosing tw o points in th e GIM P or Th e Side Vie w use a rul e r on pape r. W h e n you finish th e Front vie w , it's tim e to m ak e th e Side vie w

Ch aracte r de sign - 2d sk e tch to 3d

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3d W ORKSH OP O h M y! So M any Line s!!!

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it's al ldow nh il lfrom th e re .But, th at is just m e , fe e lfre e to start w h e re ve r you l ik e .).Start by just se l e cting your h airl e ss Don’t panic just ye t.Its just l ik e a h ouse , h e ad's l aye r and m ak e e ve ryth ing e l se e ve ryth ing is m ade progre ssive l y.I’ve invisibl e .Save th e im age to som e th ing m ade th e im age be l ow to sh ow you th e l ik e h e adGuide .jpg and, using Bl e nde r, ste ps I’ve tak e n and th at it’s e ve n use ful Th e Back Vie w ope n it in th e Front and Side vie w ports w ith a diffe re nt pose . To cre ate th e Back vie w you use a fusion (in th e 3D vie w port h e ade r, pre ss of th e m e th ods you’ve al re ady use d in Vie w |Back ground Im age ...and th e n cl ick First, you onl y trace l ine s from th e k e y th e Front and Side vie w s.Th e re ’s noth ing th e Use Back ground Im age button) .You parts of th e bl ock m ode ll ik e th e h e ad, m ore to it th an th at.Afte r finish ing th e can adjust th e position to focus onl y on Back vie w , you’re re ady to fire up th e th e one th at m atte rs.Se tup th e Front Bl e nde r th ruste rs! vie w port to use th e Front vie w sk e tch and th e Side vie w port to use th e Side R e ady to Bl e nd vie w sk e tch as back ground im age s. W h e n you finish draw ing, it's tim e to save th e picture s to JPEG fil e s.Th is save s space and is Bl e nde r- frie ndl y.Any oth e r fil e type you pre fe r is OK as w el l , as l ong as Bl e nde r can re cognise it (don't go w ith BM P's). w aist, k ne e s, fe e t (1) th e n, you trace som e m ore to re fine th e h e ad (2) and so on… draw h air, draw th e body (3) and dre ss h im (4) just l ik e th e Front vie w . Don’t forge t to use Laye rs.

Ch aracte r de sign - 2d sk e tch to 3d

Pe rfe ction h e re is th e k e y.Th e m ore pe rfe ctl y you can do it, th e e asie r it w il l be to m ode lth e ch aracte r in 3D.I th ink th at’s w h y I al w ays h ave so m uch troubl e in th e m ode l ing ph ase .

H e re is w h e re th e Laye r division proce ss pays off.Th e first th ing you’l lw ant to do is m ode lth e h e ad (I al w ays pre fe r to start w ith th e h arde st th ing be cause th e n,

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3d W ORKSH OP Afte r you m ode lth e h e ad, you’l lw ant to do th e body.So, se l e ct th e Front, Side and Back body l aye r and m ak e sure th at e ve ryth ing e l se is invisibl e .Save th e im age to som e th ing l ik e bodyGuide .jpg and bl e nd on.For th e cl oth e s, you al so can and sh oul d use th e sam e proce ss.

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coolw ays to do 3D ch aracte r m ode l ing th at are in th is e dition of bl e nde rart m agaz ine ...I’m in fl e as to re ad th e m .H o! About Orion...w e l l , pe rh aps you'l lse e h im again som e day.Untilne xt tim e ...

Cl osu re Note s Re m e m be r, it’s al w ays pre fe rabl e to do a sk e tch be fore going to 3D, e ve n if you’re draw ing sk il l s are not ve ry de ve l ope d. You’l lfind a l ot of draw back s, anatom ical issue s and annoying com pl ications in your ch aracte r de sign during th e 2D sk e tch ph ase th at you, for sure , don’t w ant to find w h il e m ode l ing in 3D. Note th at I´ve onl y sh ow n you h ow to draw a ful lch aracte r.Som e tim e s it's e nough but, if you re al l y w ant to spe cify de tail s, it's be tte r, or is e ve n re q uire d, to do sk e tch e s of onl y th e h e ad, th e fe e t, som e spe cific articl e of cl oth ing, e tc.th at occupie s an e ntire page .H ow e ve r, th e m e th od is pre tty m uch th e sam e . W el l , it's th e e nd of th e journe y w ith m e . I h ope th is tutorialw as som e h ow use ful to you and pre pare s you w e l lfor al lth e

Ch aracte r de sign - 2d sk e tch to 3d

3D Vie w s of Orion

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Insiderview M ak e H um an "M ak ing" H um anoids Since 20 0 0 ! M anue lBastioni (English ve rsion) Alessandro Proglio Antonio Di Ce cca Giovanni Lanza M artin M ack inlay W h at is M H ? M ak e H um an is a softw are pack age , w ritte n com pl e te l y in C+ + and avail abl e for al lth e m ain pl atform s (W indow s, OSX, Linux, e tc..).Its aim is th e m ode l ing of th re e dim e nsionalh um anoids.

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re al istic ch aracte rs, re ady for use in a varie ty of profe ssionalgraph ics appl ications. Sh ort H istory Th e ance s tor

M ak e H um an w as born, ne ar th e e nd of th e ye ar 2000 in an Ital ian com m unity of ope n source graph ic softw are de ve l ope rs. M anue lBastioni h ad pre viousl y de ve l ope d som e th ing sim il ar: a pyth on script for Bl e nde r, w h ich m ode l e d onl y th e ch aracte rs' h e ad.It w as a sim pl e tool cal l e d "M ak e H e ad", and base d on Bl e nde r's ve rte x k e ys, w h ich can be conside re d, in e ve ry re spe ct, M ak e H um an's ance stor.

Use rs can se t up th e age , w e igh t, se x, race , siz e of th e nose , sh ape of th e face , proportions of arm s and l e gs, and a w h ol e se rie s of oth e r w e l lde fine d param e te rs, so w e can say th at M H is an artistic/para m e tricalm ode l ing tool . Eve ry fe ature is de fine d by ch oosing it's pe rce ntage , and al lth e fe ature s are "adde d" to e ach oth e r to obtain e ndl e ss com binations of form s.Th is al l ow s th e cre ation, w ith a fe w cl ick s, of e xtre m e l y

Th e M ak e H um an Proje ct

m ode l ing an e ntire ch aracte r, from h e ad to foot.Oth e rs l ik e d th e ide a, and afte r about four m onth s of de ve l opm e nt, th ank s to th e first group of program m e rs, in particul ar, Fil ippo di Natal e and M ario Latronico, th e first al ph a ve rsion w as finish e d and im m e diate l y re l e ase d unde r th e GPL l ice nse .

Oth e rs w e re re sponsibl e for th e transl ations (Fabriz io Cal i', Lore nz o Dave ri), for l ogos and oth e r aspe cts re l ating to th e m ate rial 's publ ication. Firs t s cript for Bl e nde r

M anue l 's ne w proposalw as to do som e th ing m ore fl e xibl e , w h ich al l ow e d

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Insiderview First m ode l

Eve n if th e GUI w as de fine d, and th e m orph ing code w as m ostl y re ady, th e re w as anoth e r de l icate and im portant probl e m : th e re al iz ation of base h um anoid, w h ich h ad al lth e ne ce ssary ch aracte ristics for it to be transform e d into any ch aracte r, and w h ich w as al so an optim iz e d m e sh , from w h ich coul d be cre ate d th e ch aracte r of a m ovie or a l ow re sol ution ch aracte r suitabl e for vide o gam e s. Furth e rm ore th e basic m e sh h ad to be se xl e ss, age l e ss and race - l e ss, just to m ak e th ings a l ittl e m ore com pl e x.Afte r m uch discussion, it w as final l y m ode l ed by Enrico Val e nz a.Th is w as th e first ve rsion of th e m ode l , w h ich w as be use d up untiltw o ye ars ago, as w e sh al lsoon

Ve rsion 1.6 and th e Blende r Foundation

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se e .Afte r som e tim e , th e proje ct w as official l y re cogniz e d by th e Bl e nde r Foundation, by suppl ying im portant ne w tool s, l ik e a m ail ing l ist, a spe cific forum , bug track e r, and w as incl ude d in Bl e nde r's proje ct page .

Afte r th is re l e ase , th e participation of th e e arl ie r de ve l ope rs, w ith th e e xce ption of th e adm inistrator and a fe w oth e rs (Lore nz o Dave ri and Cicca), w as re duce d drastical l y, and th e proje ct se riousl y sl ow e d dow n.Fortunate l y, it w as onl ya pe riod of transition in w h ich M ak e H um an w as going to adopt a m ore inte rnationall ook th ank s to th e contribution of Craig Sm ith on m ode l ing, to th e contributions of Ol ivie r Saraja, to th e code of M ich ae lSch ardt (im porte xport ve rts group) and to th e syste m of bone s from Andre w K ator.

Unfortunate l y, due to inte rnal disagre e m e nts, th e col l aboration w as re duce d conside rabl y, and th e official site w as m ove d to de dal o- 3d.Afte r a sh ort pe riod tim e , M ak e H um an h ad an im portant m odification.Th e passage from an ol d com pl e x GUI to a l igh te r one w as final l y com pl e te d, base d on th e input from a consol e w ritte n in pyth on by th e Th ank s to th e se ne w aids and num e rous proje ct adm inistrator.Th is m ade w ay for ne w fe ature s, a ne w ve rsion w as re l e ase d th e re l e ase of ve rsion 1.6. w h ich jum pe d dire ctl y from ve rsion 1.6 to 1.8 in a sh ort pe riod of tim e .

Th e stable ve rsion in Pyth on 1.6

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Insiderview FACS

Due to th e succe ss of th is ne w ve rsion as w el las to th e m e diation of Craig and Lore nz o, th e proje ct re ce ive d an im portant donation w h ich consiste d of an e ntire docum e ntation of 20 ye ars of re se arch of th e dott k now n as FACS.Th is so- cal l ed FACS (FacialActions Coding Syste m ), al l ow e d for study of an e ntire syste m of coding of faciale xpre ssions.Th e donation cam e from PaulEk m an, w h o w as a psych ol ogy te ach e r in th e de partm e nt of psych iatry at th e Unive rsity of San Francisco.

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Bl e nde r and to avoid probl e m s w ith th e vide o cards. Th e ne w m e s h

Ve rsion 2.0 of th e script w as conce ive d in a ne w m anne r th at w as optim iz e d for profe ssionaluse and ne ve r succe e de d in m oving be yond th e unstabl e ph ase .Eve n th ough it w asn't ful l y usabl e , it did h ave a ve ry im portant ne w fe ature th at re taine d afte r m onth s of w ork : a ne w basic m e sh .Th e first ve rsion h ad in fact be gun to sh ow it's l im itations Ve rs ion 2.0 in pyth on, unstabl e as m e sh e s th at w e re too At th is point w ith ve rsion 1.8, th e optim iz e d (about 7000 de ve l opm e nt of th e pyth on script ve rte x), did not succe e d in substantial l y stoppe d.Tw o oth e r ve rsions cove ring al lth e re q uire d h ad com e out and w as w ritte n al m ost m orph ings, and w as l ack ing e ntire l y by a ne w de ve l ope r, nam e d Paol o in som e fundam e ntale dge Col om bo, th at introduce d an innovative l oops for th e facialand GUI, be tte r th an th e pre vious one .But th at m uscul ar anim ation.For th is unfortunate l y re m aine d in th e re ason, a ne w m ode l e r, e xpe rim e ntalph ase due to som e K aush ik Pal , al re ady auth or com patibil ity probl e m s w ith Bl e nde r, of e xce ptionalh um anoid Ope nGL, and vide o cards.Th e se draw back s m ode l s for Bl e nde r and M aya cause d se ve re de l ays th at Paol o h ad to (CGtal k th re ad), cre ate d a re w rite th e GUI se ve raltim e s in orde r to ne w m e sh .W h il e not using adapt it to th e ch ange s of th e pyth on API of an e xce ssive num be r of ve rts

Th e M ak e H um an Proje ct

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(about 11000), th e m ode lk e pt up w ith al l th e profe ssionalre q uire m e nts w h ich w as th e re sul t of studie s of m ore w e l l - k now n m e sh e s.In th e fol l ow ing im age s th e m ain diffe re nce s be tw e e n th e tw o m e sh e s are il l ustrate d (th e "critical " points of th e ol d m e sh are m ark e d in re d).

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De spite th e fact th at K aush ik 's m e sh w e re al re ady h igh l e ve l , th e M ak e H um an te am w ante d to pre se nt th e m ode lal so to th e atte ntion of fam ous m ode l e rs.Am ong th e se artists, of w orl d- w ide re putation Ste ve n Stah l be rg and e xpe rt subdivide m ode l ing Tam às Varga just to nam e a fe w .

discussion.

H e re w e q uote th e w ords of M r.Stah l be rg, of w h ich w e are particul arl y proud, answ e ring to our post (by Tom M usgrove ):

Th e turning point: th e s tandal one ve rs ion in C

"Tom , th at's a gre atre source for artists w h o w antto study topology.No re alcrits, e xce pt m aybe you could ch ange th e dire ction ofe dge s dow n th e ch e e k , to e asie r incorporate th e infraorbitalfold (w h ich is one ofth ose th ings th ate ve ryone h as, alth ough it's ve ry subtle w ith som e ).To com m e ntth e face , I th ink th e re d and blue loops are re ally im portant, butth e brow n and gre e n one s don'tre ally ne e d to be pe rfe ct loops.Th e y can be , butth e re 's no pre ssing ne e d im o" Originalth re ad Fe w w ords, but ve ry gratifying for th e te am .Obviousl y th e n th e infraorbitall ine h as since be e n put into pl ace , as w e l las th e oth e r sugge stions th at cam e out during th e

Th e M ak e H um an Proje ct

At th e e nd of th e w ork , w e h ave col l e cte d som e e xpl anatory im age s, particul arl y conce rning th e facialtopol ogy, and in w h ich th e so- cal l ed l ine s of action h ave be e n h igh l igh te d.

H ow e ve r, e ve n w ith th e ne w m e sh , ve rsion 2.0 of th e script w as stil ll im ite d by th e probl e m s de scribe d above .Final l y we re al iz e d th at th e functions, pe rform ance , and stabil ity w e w ante d to ach ie ve w e re n't possibl e w ith M ak e H um an as a pyth on script.It w as ne ce ssary to "m ove " it outside Bl e nde r, and to re w rite it from scratch in h igh pe rform ance l anguage s, such as C or C+ + .Th e first ste p of th is m ajor transform ation w as possibl e th ank s to a m ajor contribution from Paol o, w h o al one , and in ve ry l ittl e tim e h ad w ritte n a ne w

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M ak e H um an com pl e te l y in C, m ul tipl atform , and w ith an innovative inte rface . W e 'd l ik e to m e ntion in particul ar th e "sl ide r- im age s", a ne w button w h ich auto z oom s on m ouse - ove rs (w ork ing as a pre vie w of th e targe t) w h ich pe rm its h ol ding th e m ouse button to se t th e pe rce ntage of m orph ing.Since th is w as a com pl e te l y diffe re nt ve rsion from th e pyth on script and w e h ad re w ritte n it from scratch , th e standal one ve rsion h ad a l ow e r ve rsion num be r: 0.8a.

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curre ntl y avail abl e on Source Forge is stil lPaul 's ve rsion, but w ith som e additions and bug fixe s due carrie d out by oth e r program m e rs (OBJe xporte r by Andre as Vol tz , OSX porting by Tan M e ng Yue ).End use rs found th e program to be q uite usabl e , but program m e rs continual l y w ork e d to furth e r advance th e code , in h ope s of significantl y im proving th e usabil ity for th e e nd use r.W e th e n arrive d at a ne w ve rsion th at's going to be re l e ase d.

Dow nl oading of th e standal one ve rsion of M ak e H um an can be found using h osting provide d by Source Forge . In th is w ay, th e pyth on ve rsion h oste d by th e Bl e nde r Foundation, re m ains se parate from th e ve rsion w ritte n in C.Th e ve rsion

Th e M ak e H um an Proje ct

h um anoid base d on targe ts l ik e M ak e H um an, but al so on use r input m e asure m e nts.

Andre as h ad gotte n in touch w ith th e te am , announcing th at afte r re ce iving h is de gre e , h e w oul d m ak e h is l ibrarie s avail abl e unde r th e GPL.Th is w as gre at ne w s;th e l ibrarie s w e re w e l lw ritte n, h igh l y obje ct orie nte d, and w ritte n to be e asil y e xte nsibl e and m odul ar.Th e C ve rsion on th e oth e r h and, w as de ve l ope d in a proce duralstyl e , and w asn't so e asy to update and ch ange .Th e passage from C to C+ + m e ant offe ring th e use rs a stil lbe tte r product, w ith a m ore Ne xt ve rs ion: M ak e H um an 1.0 (b e ta), standard and com pre h e nsibl e code , w ritte n in C+ + ve ry profe ssional l y and incorporating al l Anim orph s possibl e cautions to satisfy th e rul e s of OOP W h il e w e w e re w ork ing on M ak e H um an program m ing.Ce rtainl y, th is w oul d h ave ve rsion 0.8, Andre as Vol tz , a stude nt of cause d som e de l ays be cause , once again, w e Appl ie d Com pute r Scie nce s at th e sh oul d h ave re w ritte n th e code from Unive rsity of Ful da, in Ge rm any, w as scratch .Th ough , it w as w orth th e troubl e de ve l oping som e conce pts of th e pyth on since subse q ue nt de ve l opm e nt of th e ve rsion in orde r to construct a ne w , appl ication w oul d h ave be e n m ore sl e nde r, m ore fl e xibl e ,l ibrary th at w as pl atform profe ssionaland re l iabl e. inde pe nde nt and w ritte n e ntire l y in C+ + . H is aim w as to use it for th e softw are M H GUI th at h e w as pre paring for h is bach e l or Once it w as de cide d to use Andre as' l ibrary, th e sis cal l e d "M e asure H um an".H e w h ich h e dubbe d "Anim orph ", w e ne e de d w ante d to not onl y m odify aspe cts of 3D to w rite a sim pl e and stabl e GUI.

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In l ine w ith th e ph il osoph y of th e proje ct, w e avoide d th e use of l arge e xisting l ibrarie s.W e w ante d M ak e H um an to be com pact and an e xtre m e l y re l iabl e tool w ith fe w de pe nde ncie s, and w ith w e l l de fine d fe ature s.Afte r h aving re vie w e d a l arge num be r of e xisting l ibrarie s, w e final l y de cide d th at, for th e spe cial inte rface of M ak e H um an, th e be st th ing w oul d be to w rite th e ne ce ssary cl asse s ourse l ve s.Sim pl e = Re l iabl e , Sim pl e = Easy to m anage and update .For th e se re asons, th e GUI contains onl y w h at is ne ce ssary to us and w e are doing e ve ryth ing to te st it th orough l y.Th e core h as be e n w ritte n w ith th e h e l p of Ninibe Labs.A particul ar th ank s goe s to Sim one Re and M anue lw h o toge th e r h ave de ve l ope d th e first sk e tch of th e GUI.Subse q ue ntl y, e ve ryth ing h as be e n re vie w e d by anoth e r program m e r, H ans Pe te r Duse l , w h o h as al so w ork e d on th e porting for OSX.

be ta ve rsion untilit is ful l y stabl e and h as th e ne ce ssary fe ature s to to be conside re d "com pl e te ".Th e fol l ow ing im age s are a pre vie w of th e w ork th at w e are carrying forw ard.

M ak e H um an

Th e ne w inte rface , al th ough it use s th e ide as from ve rsion 0.8, h as be e n care ful l y pl anne d to h ave a sim pl e and intuitive de sign.Each e l e m e nt h as be e n care ful l y studie d to be e asy to unde rstand and use .

Now th at final l y both Anim orph and M H GUI h ave re ach e d a satisfactory l e ve l (e ve n if is our inte ntion to continue to pe rfe ct th e m ), th e onl y th ing th at re m ains is to com bine th e m into a singl e appl ication, M ak e H um an 1.0.Th is w il lbe a

Th e M ak e H um an Proje ct

im prove d to be com e e ve n m ore intuitive , w e are stil lgoing to be pre paring ade q uate docum e ntation.Th is is possibl e th ank s to a te am e xcl usive l y assigne d to th e production of docum e nts, th e ir transl ation and l ogicalorganiz ation.A spe cialth ank s goe s to Al e ssandro Progl io for transl ating th e docum e ntation and adm inistrating th e W ik i (stil lin ph ase of de ve l opm e nt), to M artin M ack inl ay for th e finalre vision of th e ITA- ENG transl ation, and to Antonio Di Ce cca and Giovanni Lanz a, w h o active l y contribute to th e ITA- ENG transl ation.

Eve n if th e GUI w il lcontinue to be

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Insiderview O utput

M ak e H um an is inte nde d to be a ve ry spe cific tool ,l im ite d to a pre cise fie l d: to rapidl y m ode lprofe ssional3D ch aracte rs w ith al lne ce ssary fe ature s for anim ation w ith th e use of suitabl e softw are (M aya, M ax, Bl e nde r, e tc...).Th e re fore it is a tool th at finds itse l f ide al l y positione d in th e profe ssionalpipe l ine s, and th at doe s not w ant or h ave to be an e nd in itse l f.

Additional l y, to a l im ite d e xte nt, w e w ant M ak e H um an to re ach an e q ual l y profe ssionall e ve lw ith static pose s and to

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be abl e to provide ph otore al istic re nde rings of th e subje ct.On one h and, it can se rve as a pre vie w of an e ve ntualpre - production (of gam e s, m ovie s, e tc...), ye t on th e oth e r, can be use d by th e artist to produce final im age s (poste rs, gal l e ry, e tc...).Th e re fore , in concl usion, th e output of M ak e H um an can be divide d in tw o l arge cate gorie s: 1) Exporting in th e m ost com m on form ats, com patibl e w ith th e w ide st range of softw are . 2) Ph otore al istic (but static) re nde ring of th e ch aracte rs in pose , com pl e te w ith h air and cl oth ing, suitabl e for pre vie w ing and th e production of im age s. Curre ntl y onl y e xport in O BJform at is supporte d, ye t e ve n th ough O BJh as be com e a standard, w e h ave inte ntions to add additionalform ats.M any fe ature s h ave al re ady prototype d in pyth on, for e xam pl e †œ h air†, w h ich onl y ne e ds to be transl ate d into C+ + and ade q uate l y incorporate d in th e GUI.W ith re gards to re nde ring, w e are w ork ing on a sk in sh ade r e ngine th ats Re nde rm an com pl iant.H e re are som e im age s m ade w ith Pixie .

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H el p from th e com m u nity M ode l e rs

Any capabl e m ode l e r th at k now s th e basic fe ature s of Bl e nde r are invite d to join and h el p us.Buil ding a ne w m orph is ve ry sim pl e and doe s not re q uire any program m ing k now l e dge . It is onl y if you w ant to e xport a ".targe t" fil e .For e xam pl e , try it dire ctl y in M ak e H um an.A spe cialscript for Bl e nde r, cal l ed "M ak e Targe t", is re q uire d and m ay be dow nl oade d from th e Bl e nde r Foundation's proje ct site . It's a ve ry inte re sting toolbe cause it al l ow s you to al so m anipul ate th e ".bs" form ats.A sh ort introduction to its util iz ation can be dow nl oade d h e re . Program m e rs

H el p on th e de ve l ope r's part is al so w el com e e ve n th ough , obviousl y, th e participation is bound to spe cific rul e s and al l ocations of th e task s by th e adm inistrator.At th e m om e nt, w e ne e d an e xpe rt W indow s program m e r as m ost of th e de ve l ope rs w ork w ith Linux, and th e re fore , th e W indow s ve rsion re q uire s a m aintaine r to m onitor optim iz ations, porting of th e l ibrarie s, and ch e ck ing of th e instal l e r, e tc

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re nde ring w ith Bl e nde r? Th e Bl e nde r Pyth on API h as facil itie s to Th e basic ide a be h ind Spl it/Fram e pe rform a "Borde r Re nde r." Th is re nde ring is to bre ak a singl e fram e into basical l y m e ans th at a re ctangul ar m ul tipl e ch unk s cal l e d "buck e ts". Each se ction of pixe l s from any im age can be by - Cory K ing and Earl y Eh l inge r buck e t is th e n re nde re d on a se parate se l e cte d and th e re nde r e ngine w il lonl y com pute r so th at se ve ral(possibl y one re nde r th e pixe l s w ith in th at re ctangl e, h undre d or m ore ) ch unk s can be run in l e aving e ve ryth ing e l se bl ack . Using th is O utl ine : paral l el . Th is spe e dup is l ine ar in th e ory, m e th od, Re sPow e r can spl it an im age I - W h atis Split/Fram e re nde ring? m e aning th at a fram e spl it into 100 into any arbitrary num be r of buck e ts, II - H ow doe s Re sPow e r accom plish buck e ts sh oul d re nde r 100 tim e s faste r and re nde r e ach buck e t on a se parate Split/Fram e re nde ring w ith Blende r? th an th e sam e fram e re nde re d as 1 com pute r.Th e n, using anoth e r ope n III - W h ataboutre - asse m bly? buck e t. Unfortunate l y, be cause of source softw are pack age cal l ed IV- H ow m uch spe e dup doe s Split/Fram e Am dah l 's Law , th is is not th e case , Im age M agick , th e fram e is autom atical l y provide ? al th ough th e spe e dup can stil l be q uite croppe d to re m ov e al l th e e xtra bl ack V- Re alw orld e xam ples. re m ark abl e . Ch e ck th e side bar for m ore space . Each individualbuck e t's output is VI - Know n Issue s. inform ation on Am dah l . save d as a se parate im age in th e use r's Re nde rs fol de r. I - W h at is Spl it/Fram e Spl it/Fram e re nde ring is not a ne w re nde ring? conce pt and h as be e n avail abl e for m any Th e abil ity to re nde r se parate portions of Re sPow e r is constantl y se arch ing for 3D re nde ring e ngine s for ye ars. a singl e fram e in paral l e lal l ow s 3D w ays to spe e d up th e proce ss of 3D artists w h o w ork w ith stil lfram e s to tak e conte nt cre ation, spe cifical l y in th e are a Profe ssional3D pack age s such as 3DStudio and Ligh tw ave support ful ladvantage of a re nde r farm . W ith of re nde ring. Spe e ding up th e re nde r Spl it/Fram e native l y, but e ve n w ith one th is te ch niq ue , a singl e fram e can be tim e s of anim ations w ith h undre ds or of th e se pack age s th e advantage s of re nde re d at ful lre sol ution in a m atte r of th ousands of fram e s is fairl y Spl it/Fram e are onl y se e n w h e n using a m inute s at Re sPow e r w h e re it m igh t tak e straigh tforw ard;sim pl y re nde r e ach re nde r farm l ik e Re sPow e r. h ours, or e ve n days, to re nde r at th e fram e on a diffe re nt com pute r so th at sam e siz e and q ual ity on a singl e m ul tipl e fram e s run in paral l el . com pute r. Spl it/Fram e re nde ring is basical l y II - H ow doe s R e sPow e r accom pl ish Spl it/Fram e th e sam e proce ss, onl y it is de signe d for

Spl it/Fram e re nde ring on Re sPow e r Supe r/Farm .

stil lfram e im age s.

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On top of th at, an artist can continue to tw e ak h is sce ne , or w ork on som e th ing com pl e te l y diffe re nt w h il e h is fram e is re nde ring be cause h is m ach ine w on't be bogge d dow n w ith th e arduous task of re nde ring.

com pl e te l y el im inate d. Th is m e ans m ore re source s are avail abl e to de vote to th e proce ss of re stitch ing, and th at m e ans custom e rs ge t th e finish e d product faste r. Anoth e r advantage of Im age M agick running from th e com m and l ine is th at re stitch ing can be III - W h at abou t re -asse m bl y? al m ost com pl e te l y autom ate d. W ith a Re sPow e r h as re ce ntl y introduce d th e singl e com m and, th e farm w il lfe tch abil ity to re - asse m bl e al lth e buck e ts e ve ry im age re q uire d, give th e m to from a Spl it/Fram e re nde r w ith a proce ss Im age M agick , and w ait for th e final w e cal l"stitch ing". For fram e s subm itte d output. as Spl it/Fram e , th e re is a com m and on th e jobs page cal l e d Stitch . Stitch ing Th is abil ity is vastl y supe rior to th e ol d once again use s Im age M agick to w ay of re - asse m bl ing buck e t im age s program m atical l y pul lal lof th e w h e re use rs h ad to use ph oto e diting individualbuck e t im age s toge th e r and softw are such as Ph otosh op and appe nd th e m into one ful l - siz e im age . Al l m anual l y put al lth e im age s toge th e r to of th e individualbuck e t im age s re m ain ge t th e finish e d product. avail abl e for dow nl oad if th e use r w ish e s, but an additionalim age cal l ed IV- H ow m u ch spe e du p doe s "fram e _ x.stitch e d.e xt" w il lappe ar in th e Spl it/Fram e provide ? Re nde rs fol de r once th e stitch ing is As I said be fore , th e th e ore ticalspe e dup finish e d, w h e re 'x' is th e fram e num be r for Spl it/Fram e re nde ring is l ine ar, so and 'e xt' is th e fil e e xte nsion, i.e .png, th at a 50 x 50 spl it sh oul d re nde r 2500 jpg, bm p, e tc. tim e s faste r th an no spl it. Unfortunate l y, Re sPow e r h asn't be e n abl e to se cure any Im age M agick w ork s from th e com m and re ale state in Th e ory (price s are l ine so th at ove rh e ad associate d w ith *incre dibl y* h igh th e re ), and th ings th at starting a graph icaluse r inte rface is w ork in Th e ory don't al w ays w ork h e re .

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Th e spe e dup is conside rabl e w ith spl its in th e range of 16 buck e ts al lth e w ay up to 400 buck e ts. Unfortunate l y th e re are m any factors invol ve d in de te rm ining th e be st spl it, and trialand e rror is ge ne ral l y th e be st w ay to find th e optim alspl it. Be cause Bl e nde r is onl y usabl e on th e Re sPow e r Supe r/Farm by purch asing a subscription, custom e rs don't h ave to w orry about pick ing th e w rong spl it. If a 2 x 2 spl it isn't fast e nough , you can try a 4 x 4. If you start w ith 10x10, and you've passe d th e point of dim inish ing re turns, you can back it up for a 8x8 spl it. V- R e alw orl d e xam pl e s. Th e fil e use d for de te rm ining th e se tim e s can be found h e re . It is provide d so you m ay re nde r on your ow n syste m to de te rm ine th e spe e dup you can e xpe ct w h e n using Spl it/Fram e on th e Re sPow e r Supe r/Farm . h ttp://w w w .re spow e r.com /~ CoryK ing/s pl it_ fram e _ te st/

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Th e se are th e tim e s re q uire d to re nde r th is fil e at diffe re nt spl its using onl y th e faste st re nde ring node s avail abl e on th e farm . Th e re sol ution of e ach re nde re d fram e is som e w h e re cl ose to 2048 pixe l s x 2048 pixe l s. Th e sl igh t ch ange s are due to th e fact th at th e w idth and h e igh t in pixe l s m ust be a m ul tipl e of th e num be r of buck e ts for stitch ing to w ork prope rl y. For instance , an 800 pixe lx 600 pixe lfram e sh oul d not be re nde re d w ith a 7 x 7 spl it be cause 7 doe sn't divide e ve nl y into 800 or 600. Pl e ase note th at re nde r tim e s de pe nd on se ve ralfactors incl uding sce ne com pl e xity, ne tw ork stre ss, th e avail abil ity of re nde r node s, and m ore . Be cause of th e se factors, th is ve ry sm al lse t of data is fairl y inconsiste nt. A m ore robust data se t w oul d sh ow a sm ooth e r curve of progre ssion be tw e e n data points 1 x 1 (no spl it) - 2048 pixe l s x 2048 pixe l s re nde r 11 h rs 06 m in 46 se c 2 x 2 - 2048 pixe l s x 2048 pixe l s re nde r 05 h rs 34 m in 08 se c 3 x 3 - 2048 pixe l s x 2048 pixe l s re nde r 01 h rs 53 m in 11 se c 4 x 4 - 2048 pixe l s x 2048 pixe l s re nde r 01 h rs 32 m in 55 se c

5 x 5 - 2050 pixe l s x 2050 pixe l s re nde r 01 h rs 13 m in 21 se c

9 x 9 - 2052 pixe l s x 2052 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 17 m in 17 se c

20 x 30 - 2040 pixe l s x 2040 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 10 m in 10 se c

6 x 6 - 2046 pixe l s x 2046 pixe l s re nde r 01 h rs 01 m in 11 se c

10 x 10 - 2050 pixe l s x 2050 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 27 m in 54 se c

20 x 40 - 2040 pixe l s x 2040 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 9 m in 27 se c

7 x 7 - 2051 pixe l s x 2051 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 27 m in 17 se c

10 x 20 - 2040 pixe l s x 2050 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 13 m in 27 se c

30 x 30 - 2040 pixe l s x 2040 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 16 m in 31 se c

8 x 8 - 2048 pixe l s x 2048 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 40 m in 53 se c

20 x 20 - 2040 pixe l s x 2040 pixe l s re nde r 00 h rs 33 m in 21 se c

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Am dah lvs Gus tafs on: a Paral l e lSh ow dow n

spe e dup=1/(s+ p/N)

W ith anim ations, w e te nd to incre ase th e siz e of th e probl e m m ore th an th e num be r of proce ssors. As a re sul t, you se e a scal ing m ode w h e re 400 fram e s finish in rough l y th e sam e am ount of tim e as 1 fram e . You h ave n't incre ase d But w h at about Spl it/Fram e re nde rs? Can you divide a singl e fram e 700 w ays th e spe e d of any individualfram e you've just done m ore fram e s.So, w as and h ave it re nde r 700 tim e s faste r? Am dah lw rong, or Gustafson? Unfortunate l y, for individualfram e s, Re sPow e r's te sting indicate s th at th e se rialpe rce ntage invol ve d is significantl y h igh e r th an for anim ations, th e y're both righ t, de pe nding on your pe rspe ctive . If you k e e p th e probl em and you start to se e a point of siz e constant and add proce ssors, you dim inish ing re turns m uch soone r. As se e a ve ry l ogarith m ical l y- sh ape d curve , th e ch arts sh ow , you se e a tre m e ndous w ith m axim um be ne fit around 100- 200 boost ve ry q uick l y, but afte r about 100e ast for th e te st sce ne w e 200 com pute rs, adding buck e ts doe sn't com pute rs (at l W ith re nde ring, th e pe rce ntage s are use d). If you ch ange th e probl e m siz e in spe e d th ings up ve ry m uch . typical l y inve rte d: 1% or l e ss of a conjunction w ith th e num be r of re nde r's tim e is spe nt in th e se rial proce ssors, you se e a ne arl yl ine ar curve . W h y is th at? W e l l , Joh n Gustafson portion, so adding proce ssors can give cre ate d a re buttalto Am dah lth at you a ne arl yl ine ar spe e dup: going from As it turns out, Dr.Yuan Sh i ove r at e xpl ains it fairl y w el l . W ith a singl e 1 to 2 proce ssors w il lgive you ne arl y Te m pl e Unive rsity w as abl e to prove Spl it/Fram e re nde r, th e siz e of th e doubl e th e th rough put, and going from 1 probl m ath e m atical l y th at Gustafson and e m re m ains unch ange d, and so to 700 proce ssors w il lgive you ne arl y Am dah lw e re both saying e xactl y th e your spe e dup fol l ow s Am dah l 's Law . 700x th e th rough put. In oth e r w ords, if Th e sh ape of th e curve l sam e th ing, w h e n you account for th e ook s al m ost you w ant to re nde r 700 fram e s of im pre cision in th e ir re spe ctive e xactl yl ik e a graph ing of Am dah l 's anim ation, and h ave 700 com pute rs to te rm inol ogie s. e q uation: do it w ith , you can e xpe ct it to tak e Am dah l 's Law state s th at a paral l el proce ss cannot ach ie ve l ine ar scal ing be cause th e re is a portion of e ve ry program th at m ust occur in se rial . Th is portion de te rm ine s a l im it to th e spe e dup one can h ope to ach ie ve by adding proce ssors. If 80% of your program 's tim e is spe nt in th is se rial portion, th e n adding an infinite num be r of proce ssors can e l im inate , at m ost, 20% of th e program 's totale xe cution tim e , and th at's assum ing th at th e com m unications invol ve d com e at no cost.

rough l y th e am ount of tim e it w oul d tak e you to re nde r th e first fram e on 1 com pute r. At Re sPow e r, w e routine l y se e th is sort of spe e dup for anim ations.

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Am dah lvs Gus tafs on: a Paral l e lSh ow dow n Th e ir form ul ae al lw ork e d out to th e sam e th ing, w ith re sul ts th at jive w ith w h at w e se e at Re sPow e r: a static probl e m siz e yie l ds dim inish ing re turns, but additional proce ssors l e t you sol ve l arge r probl e m s in th e sam e am ount of tim e . So th ank s to Dr.Sh i, w e can now se e th at th e unive rse m ak e s se nse again and pe ace h as be e n re store d. R e fe re nce s: h ttp://e n.w ik ipe dia.org/w ik i/Am dah l 's_ l aw h ttp://joda.cis.te m pl e .e du/~ sh i/docs/am dah l /am dah l .h tm l h ttp://w w w .scl .am e sl ab.gov/Publ ications/Gus/Am dah l sLaw /Am dah l s.h tm l

FIg2.Th e de ploy com m and/script.

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Under review

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Once you h ave finish e d m ode l ing your cre ature of ch oice , th e re is a rath e r in de pth se ction cove ring te xturing.Bil l Bil lFl e m ing and Rich ard H .Sch rand Fl e m ing sh ow s som e gre at te ch niq ue s for adding re al istic de tailto your te xture In th is issue w e are doing a dualbook m aps. re vie w .W e w il lbe l ook ing at Bil l W h il e both e ditions are som e w h at Fl e m ing’s “ 3D Cre ature W ork sh op” and de r, noth ing ne w h as h it th e m ark e t th e update d 2nd e dition h e co- w rote w ith ol ace th e am ount of Rich ard H .Sch rand.Both book s cove r th e th at can surpass or re pl inform ation av ail abl e in th e se book s.If sam e gre at ste ps and te ch niq ue s, w ith you w ant your cre ature s/ch aracte rs to be th e 2nd e dition containing four ne w re al istic and appe ar to be as l ife l ik e as ch apte rs h igh l igh ting fantasy cre ature possibl e , th e n you ne e d to ch e ck at l e ast cre ation and th e anim ation of singl e m e sh m ode l s.A varie ty of ne w cre ature s one of th e se book s out. are use d to il l ustrate te ch niq ue s in th is If you fol l ow th e fol l ow ing l ink , you can dow nl oad a sam pl e ch apte r e dition as w e l l . of th e 2nd e dition from Ch arl e s Rive r M e dia.

3D Cre ature w ork sh op

W h e th e r you h ave a copy of th e first or se cond e dition, you are h ol ding an inval uabl e re source on cre ature /ch aracte r m ode l ing and cre ation.Each book starts off w ith a th orough discussion of cre ature de sign.Th e n you w ork th rough th e e l e m e nts of cre ating a cre ature biograph y th at w il lh e l p you w ith your de sign de cisions.Th e re is al so a gre at se ction on th e val ue of source m ate rialand h ow it fits into de signing your cre ature .

3D Cre atu re W ork sh op

Th e ne xt m ajor se ctions contain ch apte rs th at cove r m ode l ing in various softw are program s.And w h il e th at m igh t put you off buying th is book , don’t l e t it.Th e tutorial s are w e l lw ritte n and w h il e sl ante d tow ard spe cific program s, can be appl ie d ve ry e asil y to bl e nde r te ch niq ue s and tool s.

by Bil lFl e m ing and Rich ard H .Sch rand · Pape rback : 441 page s · Publ ish e r: Ch arl e s Rive r M e dia;2 e dition (Fe bruary 1, 2001) · Language : Engl ish · ISBN: 1584500212

Book re vie w s

by Bil lFl e m ing · Pape rback : 450 page s · Publ ish e r: Ch arl e s Rive r M e dia;Bk & CD Rom e dition (M ay 19 9 8) · Language : Engl ish · ISBN: 1886801789 3D Cre atu re W ork sh op, Se cond Edition

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Under review

Issue 4 M ay 2006

3D Ph otore al ism tool k it by Bil lFl e m ing

In th is issue w e are re vie w ing “ 3D Ph otore al ism Tool k it” by Bil lFl e m ing. H ave you e ve r w ork e d l ong h ours to m ode l , rig, stage and l igh t your sce ne , just to re nde r it and say “ som e th ing just is not q uite righ t” ? If you w e re not abl e to figure out w h at th at “ som e th ing” w as, th e n th is book m ay be for you. 3D Ph otore al ism Tool k it, by Bil lFl e m ing, provide s m any ide as on h ow to ach ie ve th at cove te d “ Ph otore al istic” l ook . Th is is not a H ow - to book pe r se . Inste ad, it is a group of good ide as th at you can use to h e l p im prove your im age cre ating abil ity – a true Tool k it. Th e book is divide d into five parts, e ach one cove ring a spe cific are a of th e cre ation proce ss.

Book re vie w s

Part I is an

introduction to th e e l e m e nts th at m ak e up ph otore al ism , it is a 10,000 foot vie w of w h at w il lbe cove re d in de tailin th e re st of th e book . Part II dive s into m ode l ing te ch

niq ue s th at e nh ance th e de tail s of th e m ode l s, incl uding th e use of scre w s, se am s, be ve l s and fil l e ts, e tc. It al so discusse s th e m e ch anics of h ow th ings are put toge th e r, as w e l las th e m ate rial s th at th e y are m ade of. In Part III, Fl e m ing discusse s surfacing te ch niq ue s, conce ntrating on fundam e ntal s, such as aging surface s, prope r use of spe cul arity, h ow to use im age s and proce duralm aps. Part IVde al s w ith

staging te ch niq ue s to incl ude h ow to pl an your im age , w h at ite m s to incl ude , h ow to cl utte r th e stage , e tc.

use s to sh ow th is is incl uding a w e l d be tw e e n a fire h ydrant and its base . W ith out th e w e l d, e ve n w ith al lof th e te xture s and l igh ting, th e im age stil ldoe s not l ook righ t. Just th e addition of a fe w e xtra pol ygons and th e im age l ook s l ik e a ph otograph . Th e book doe s h ave som e draw back s. It is cove ring a l ot of ground in a re l ative l y sm al l num be r of page s, so som e are as are not as de tail e d as one w oul dl ik e . Th e l arge st part of th e book cove rs th e first th re e parts, l e aving th e l ast tw o sh ort on de tail .Final l y, be cause th e book is a bit ol d by com pute r standards (19 9 8), som e of th e te ch niq ue s, partial l y for som e of th e l igh ting te ch niq ue s, fe e la bit date d. H ow e ve r, th e book is nonappl ication spe cific and be cause th e te ch niq ue s be ing taugh t are w e l lfounde d, th e re ade r w il lfind th at th e se ite m s are not a draw back .

Part Vtal k s about using cam e ra angl e s and

Th is is a “ m ust re ad” book for be ginning and l igh ting to th e m ost advantage . Again th e inte rm e diate CG artists and e ve n e xpe rie nce d e m ph asis is on th e th e ory of h ow th is im pacts pe opl e m ay find som e ge m s th at th e y h ad not th e finalim age , back e d w ith e xam pl e s of h ow k now n or th ough t about be fore it w ork s. Nam e : 3D Ph otore al ism Tool k it A uniq ue ite m about th is book is th at it doe s Auth or: Bil lFl e m ing not e m ph asis te ch niq ue as m uch as h ow Edition: 19 9 8 im portant it is to be aw are of your Pape rback : 328 page s e nvironm e nt. As artists w e h ave to l ook Publ ish e r: Joh n W il e y & Sons, Inc. de e pl y at th e w orl d to find th e sm al lde tail s Language : Engl ish th at, w h e n l e ft out, m ak e our sce ne s l ook ISBN 0- 471- 25346- 4 unnatural . A gre at e xam pl e th at Fl e m ing

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GAlleria

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CONTRIBUTIONS

Issue 4 M ay 2006

Bl e nde rart Staff GauravNaw ani Sandra Gil be rt Nam Ph am K e nron Dil l on

-

Editor/De signe r M anaging e ditor/Proofe r W e b Adm inistrator/Proofe r Proof re ade r

Bl e nde rart Contributors Bu tte rfl y tu torial Ch ristian Guck e l sbe rge r h ttp://w w w .abyi.com /

Bl e nde r2pov José M auricio Rodas R.(M orfe us)

M ak e h u m an M anue lBastioni (Engl ish Ve rsion) Al e ssandro Progl io Antonio Di Ce cca Giovanni Lanz a M artin M ack inl ay h ttp://source forge .ne t/proje cts/m ak e h um an/

R apid Prototyping w ith Bl e nde r Cl aas Eick e K uh ne n (F.ip2) w w w .ck brd.de w w w .concol ori.de

Ch aracte r m ode l ing at Pl u m ife ros M anue lPe re z (Picasus) Cl audio Andaur (m al e fico) h ttp://w w w .pl um ife ros.com /

Book R e vie w - 3D Ph otore al ism Tool k it Ed Cick a

Ch aracte r D e sign 2d sk e tch to 3d Rogério Pe rdiz (rogpe r)

R e spow e r Cory K ing Earl y Eh l inge r h ttp://w w w .re spow e r.com /

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Upcom ing

Issue 4 M ay 2006

Is s ue 5 avail abl e in Jul y 2006 Th e m e :

M ode l ing trick s and Bl e nde r Scripts

Articl es :

Using Bl e nde r for 3d gam e asse sts Various m ode l ing approach e s Exte nding your Bl e nde r via Scripts

Dis cl aim e r bl e nde rart.org doe s not tak e s any re sponsibil ity both e xpre sse d or im pl ie d for th e m ate rialand its nature , or accuracy of th e inform ation w h ich is publ ish e d in th is PDF m agaz ine .Al lth e m ate rial s pre se nte d in th is PDF m agaz ine h ave be e n produce d w ith th e e xpre sse d pe rm ission of th e ir re spe ctive auth ors/ow ne rs .bl e nde rart.org and th e contributors discl aim al l w arrantie s, e xpre sse d or im pl ie d, incl uding, but not l im ite d to, im pl ie d w arrantie s of m e rch antabil ity or fitne ss for a particul ar purpose .Al lim age s and m ate rial s pre se nt in th is docum e nt are printe d/re - printe d w ith e xpre sse d pe rm ission from th e auth ors/ow ne rs . Th is PDF m agaz ine is arch ive d and avail abl e from th e bl e nde rart.org w e bsite .Th e bl e nde rart m agaz ine is m ade avail abl e unde r Cre ative Com m ons ‘Attribution- NoDe rivs2.5’l ice nse . Th e CC lice nse is available ath ttp://cre ative com m ons .org/lice nse s/by- nd/2.5/legalcode

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