Blenderart Magazine - 07 - Blender Materials

EDITO RIAL

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Thank you all ! Welcome to our 1st Anniversary Issue! Yes, thatâs right, we actually made it a whole year! When Gaurav and I started this magazine, we had no idea how much we would end up needing to learn. But learn we did, as well as adding staff members to help out with proofing and website maintenance.

Sandra Gilbert Managing Editor

It has been an eventful year for both BlenderArt Magazine as well as the Blender community itself. We have seen the creation and release of Elephantâs Dream, the addition of many needed and just plain wanted features in Blender. The Blender community continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. BlenderArt Magazine reader numbers have continued to grow as well. With each new issue, we gain a larger audience. And we appreciate all of you! We have had an amazing response from the community in terms of contributions to the magazine. While Gaurav and I could have still put out a magazine without all their help, it would not have been anywhere near as interesting. Iâd like to recognize all of our contributors at this point; they deserve a round of applause for their efforts on all our behalves.

Okay, now on to what you really want to know about whatâs in this issue! Materials, lots and lots of material information. Admit it, you want it and you need it. You put enormous effort into your models and you know, as well as I do, that you just have to add materials at some point. With the addition of Nodes, or more commonly called Noodles, whole new effects and materials are possible. First, we'll answer a simple question ß What are Materials? Then, we have several Node tutorials, as well as a look at Vector Blur and Ramp Shading. We also take a look at some current Educational Resources available for Blender users. So here we go, letâs get our Blender world all colored up! Happy Blending [email protected]

Here they are, in no particular order, and I sure hope I didnât forget anyone; if I did I apologize in advance. Enrico Valenza Juan J. Pena David Lettier Zsolt Stefan Claudio Malefico Andaur Stefano Selleri Claas Eicke Kuhnen Daniel LaBarge Christopher Kulla Kernon Dillon

www.blenderart.org

Christian Guckelsberger Manuel Perez Claudio Andaur JosÈ Mauricio Rodas R. RogÈrio Perdiz Manuel Bastioni Alessandro Proglio Antonio Di Cecca Giovanni Lanza

Martin Mackinlay Ed Cicka Cory King Early Ehlinger Mariano Hidalgo Edouard de Mahieu Sergey Prokhorchuk Roja Andreia Leal Schemid & Zag Diego Restrepo ParÌs

Issue 7 November 2006

CO NTENTS

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ED ITO R/D ESIGNER GauravNaw ani gaurav@ bl e nde rart.org M ANAGING ED ITO R Sandra Gil be rt s andra@ bl e nde rart.org

Artistic Gl ow U sing Bl e nde r's Com positor Node s

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D O F U sing Bl e nde r's Com positor Node s

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Cre ating Re al istic Environm e ntfor BGE

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Bl e nde r And D ispl ace m e ntM apping

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Bl e nde r and Ve ctor Bl ur

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W EBSITE Nam Ph am nam @ bl e nde rart.org PRO O FER Ke rnon D il l on Ph il l ip A.Ryal s Ke vin C.Braun D e re k M ars h W RITERS Ol ivie r Saraja D anie lLe Barge Joh n Al l ie M ich ae lW ach CO PYRIGH T© 2006 ‘Bl e nde rArt M agazine ’ ,‘bl e nde rart’ and bl e nde rArt l ogo are copyrigh t of GauravNaw ani.‘Izzy’ and ‘Izzy 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 gis te re d trade m ark s ofth e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs . CO VER ART W is e M e n by M ath ias Pe de rs e n

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Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006

Izzy Tal ks Bl e nde r M ate rial s W ith th e m ul titude of tool s avail abl e in Bl e nde r, jus t about any m ate rialcan be convincingl y cre ate d.But th e re is a s aying in CG, it’s not th e tool , it’s th e artis t th at cre ate s art. Th e s am e can be s aid about m ate rial s .Al lth e l ate s t, ne w tool s are n’t going to cre ate re al is tic or am azing m ate rial s for you.You s til lh ave to k now h ow to us e th e m and m ore im portantl y, you h ave to k now h ow m ate rial s are cre ate d and w h at m ak e s th e m convincing. So, ins te ad offocus ing on tool s , w e are going to tak e a l ook at w h at m ate rial s are and w h at m ak e s a good m ate rial .W ith th at inform ation, you can th e n us e al lth e am azing tool s m ore e ffe ctive l y. Le t’s s tart w ith a fe w de finitions . M ate rial : is th e bas e s ubs tance ofa s urface (i.e .w ood, m e tal , gl as s ) Te xture : is th e adje ctive ofth e m ate rial(i.e . rus ty iron, brus h e d s te e l , s oil e d cl oth , fros te d gl as s ) Anytim e you cre ate a ne w m ate rial , you s h oul d gath e r re fe re nce m ate rial s .It can be an obje ct w ith th e m ate rialyou are trying to cre ate or a good ph otograph ofit.Th e s e re fe re nce m ate rial s w il l h el p you “vis ual ize ” w h at you are trying to cre ate . W h e n gath e ring re fe re nce , ve ry rare l y w il lyou find pris tine m ate rial s w ith out s igns ofw e ar and te ar in

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re all ife .Th e re w il lbe dus t, rus t, s cratch e s , de nts and a m ul titude ofoth e r s igns th at th is m ate rialh as gone th rough ove r th e pe riod oftim e .Notice th e s e s igns ofw e ar and de cide ifth e y are s igns of “m ate rial ” or “te xture ”. Te xture attribute s /q ual itie s can be brok e n dow n by ans w e ring th e fol l ow ing q ue s tions : W h at are you? O fte n th e s im pl e act ofide ntifying an obje ct can h el p you unde rs tand w h at k ind ofm ate rial s you w il l be cre ating. Exam pl e : a fire h ydrant te l l s you its s h ape ;th at it is m ade ofth ick s te e ll e ft out in th e w e ath e r, and m os t ofte n painte d. W h at is your e s s e nce ?Try to ide ntify th e m os t im portant fe ature ofth e m ate rial Exam pl e : a radiator’s m os t im portant fe ature m igh t be its rus ty q ual ity.As you ide ntify th e m os t im portant fe ature , k e e p l ook ing de e pe r and noticing e ach uniq ue fe ature ofth e m ate rial , it w il l give you a l is t offe ature s to add to th e m ate rial ; adding m ore re al is m and de pth w ith e ve ry one you add. W h at are you m ade of?Be fore dis s e cting th e m any l aye rs ofte xture s th at m ak e up a m ate rial , you ne e d to ide ntify th e bas e m ate rial .By ide ntifying th e bas e m ate rial , you w il lm ore e as il y s e e th e de tail s (te xture s )th at m ak e it th at particul ar m ate rial . Exam pl e : an ol d m e tals ign;k now ing th at it is m e tal ,l e ads you to re al ize th at s om e m e tal s are prone to rus ting, s o l ook for s igns ofrus t and corros ion.Is th e s ign painte d?(O l d paint h as a te nde ncy to ch ip or fl ak e aw ay, ne w paint w il ll ook s h iny and s om e w h at re fl e ctive .) W h at do you s ound l ik e ?As odd as it m igh t s ound, s om e tim e s your e ye s w il lfoolyou.Tap on th e obje ct, w h at doe s it s ound l ik e ?M e tal , gl as s pl as tic...

W h at do you s m e l ll ik e ? O fte n you can ide ntify im portant cl ue s by noticing h ow th e obje ct s m e l l s .Le ath e r s m e l l s diffe re nt th an pl as tic, diffe re nt m e tal s h ave diffe re nt s m e l l s. H ow can Is e e you? Ide ntify th e l igh t s ource , l igh ting ofth e m ate rialw il l pl ay an im portant part in h ow it is re cre ate d.W arm l igh t s ource s w oul d produce w arm h igh l igh ts or h ots pots , cooll igh ts th e oppos ite .W h e n gath e ring your re fe re nce m ate rial s , m ak e s ure to note in a journalor m e ntal l y w h at th e l igh t s ource w as , tim e ofday (ifouts ide )s o you can re cre ate th e m ate rial accurate l y. W h e re are you? Is th e obje ct ins ide or outs ide ?Ifouts ide , it w il lbe e xpos e d to w e ath e r, h e at, m ois ture .Th is w il laffe ct its appe arance .Ne w obje cts q uick l yl os e th e ir ne w appe arance by acq uiring de nts , dings , s cratch e s , dus t e tc.K now ing w h e re it is l ocate d w il lh e l p ide ntify th e s e q ual itie s . W h at do you l ook l ik e ? Now com e s th e part w h e re you s tart de s cribing th e te xture q ual itie s .Th e be tte r you can de s cribe w h at you s e e , th e e as ie r it w il lbe to re cre ate . Som e th ings to l ook for: Col or te xture Re fl e ctions and s h adow s Is th e obje ct trans pare nt? Is th e obje ct l um inous ? W ith h e at? W ith out h e at? From an outs ide s ource ? From th e obje ct its e l f?

Lum ine s ce nt obje cts can h ave one or tw o of th e s e q ual itie s and ide ntifie d as : Trans l uce nt Iride s ce nt O pal e s ce nt Fl uore s ce nt Incande s ce nt

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Izzy Tal ks

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Bl e nde r Ne w s

W h at do you fe e ll ik e ? H ow doe s th e obje ct fe e l ?Is it bum py or s m ooth , w arm or cool , s oft or h ard? Tactil e q ual itie s : Te m pe rature Bum pine s s Rough ne s s Sm ooth ne s s

W h at’s your s tory? Try to ide ntify th e h is tory ofth e obje ct, h ow h as us age contribute d to w e ar and te ar? By ans w e ring th e s e q ue s tions , you w il lbe tte r unde rs tand your m ate rialand h ow to go about re cre ating it.It w il l , ofcours e , tak e practice and l ots ofobs e rvation to m as te r th e s e s k il l s .You ne e d to l e arn to train your artis tic e ye to re al l y s e e w h at you are l ook ing at.Soon, bre ak ing m ate rial s dow n w il lbe autom atic and your m ate rial s w il lim prove dram atical l y. Th e inform ation for th is articl e w as paraph ras e d from O w e n D e m e rs book ‘D igitalTe xturing & Painting’ (ISBN 0- 7357- 09 18- 1).Ih igh l y re com m e nd re ading th is book for anyone w anting to tak e th e ir m ate rials k il l s to th e ne xt l e ve l .

Ton h as announce d th at Bl e nde r is s l ow l y h e ade d for anoth e r re l e as e . It l ook s l ik e w e m ay ge t a ne w re l e as e in tim e for Ch ris tm as .A h os t ofne w fe ature s h ave be e n adde d.Re l e as e l ogs h ave al re ady be e n w ritte n for th e fol l ow ing fe ature s ; Anim ation W al k Cycl e M odifie rs Proxy O bje cts , for l ocalcontrolove r re fe re nce d data from Librarie s Re nde ring Re nde r fe ature s : tange nts and norm alm aps Irre gul ar Sh adow Buffe rs Sh adow buffe r, H al fw ay ave rage Re nde r Bak ing Com pos iting M atte Node s M atte Node s , tutorial Link s to th e fol l ow ing fe ature docum e ntation w il lbe pos te d as s oon as th e y are finis h e d. M ode l ing M odifie r Stack upgrade s Scul pt m ode l ing, m ul ti- re s ol ution M e s h and Re topo Fl uid D ynam ics s upporting anim ate d O bje cts M ul ti- l e ve lUVe diting Te s ting buil ds can be dow nl oade d from w w w .bl e nde rbuil ds .com . A ne w bl e nde r book h as be e n announce d and th e y are l ook ing for contributors to h e l p w ith com pl e tion ofth e book .Ifyou are inte re s te d in h e l ping, contact Rol and H e s s at bl e nde rbas ics at h ark ym an dot com . Editor Rol and H e s s w rite s : “Th e book can be us e d as a ful lintroduction to 3D art and Bl e nde r, or as a re fe re nce for pe opl e al re ady e xpe rie nce d w ith oth e r appl ications .Each ch apte r cons is ts ofa tutorials e ction and th e ory s e ction, m e ant to s pe ak to ne w us e rs and give th e m a grounding in th e s ol id bas ics ne e de d to s ucce e d w ith Bl e nde r.”

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3D W ork sh op - Artis tic Glow

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U s ing Bl e nde r's Com pos itor Node s

Artistic Gl ow U sing Bl e nde r's Com positor Node s - by D anie lLaBarge Artis tic Gl ow is an e ffe ct th at is a com pone nt of al m os t e ve ry m ajor ph oto e diting s oftw are pack age .Bl e nde r h as th e abil ity to re cre ate th is e ffe ct, but w ith m ore controland m ore fine s s e , be caus e ofth e uniq ue node bas e d s ys te m in w h ich gl ow can be appl ie d.Th e re are m any w ays ofadding gl ow , incl uding us ing oth e r program s s uch as GIM P or Bl e nde r's Gl ow pl ugin for th e s e q ue nce r.W e are going to tak e a l ook at h ow to add gl ow us ing Bl e nde r’s Com pos itor Node s .

Pre re q uis ite s Th is articl e as s um e s th at you h ave a s ce ne w h ich contains s om e are as ofcontras t and th at you k now your w ay around Bl e nde r.It is s afe to s ay th at th is is for inte rm e diate to advance d us e rs . Ge tting Starte d To cre ate Gl ow in Bl e nde r w e ne e d to do s e ve ral th ings .Firs t, e nabl e th e Com pos itor.To do th is , pl e as e re fe re nce Im age 1 w h ich s h ow s th e D o Com pos ite e nabl e d.You can find th e s e in th e Re nde r Buttons (F10)unde r th e Anim Pane l . Now w e are re ady to be gin com pos iting our s ce ne w ith Gl ow .O pe n up th e Node Editor W indow and by de faul t it s h oul d h ave a Re nde r Laye rs node conne cte d to tw o output node s , Vie w e r and Com pos itor.It is a good ide a to ope n up th e UV Im age Editor W indow and s w itch th e im age to Vie w e r Node to ge t a l arge r vie w ofth e Vie w e r output.Th is h e l ps w ith fine tuning.

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Im age 1.Enabl ing node com pos itor Le t's firs t tak e a l ook at th e im age as re nde re d original l y.O bvious l y th e s ce ne is s e tup w ith are as ofs trong contras t to h e l p w ith appl ying re al is tic Spe cul ar Gl ow ins te ad ofjus t Inte ns ity Gl ow .W e w il lbas e th e gl ow on th is col or val ue , and th e n m ix th e gl ow m as k on top to com pl e te th e Gl ow e ffe ct.

Cre ating th e Gl ow M as k To cre ate th e Gl ow M as k w e ne e d to h igh l igh t th e de tail s in th e im age .To do th is Il ik e to firs t us e a Sh arpe n Fil te r.Add a Fil te r node and h ook up th e Im age input to th e Im age output ofth e Re nde r Laye rs node .H ook ing up a Vie w e r node to th e output Im age ofth e Fil te r node w il ldis pl ay th e re s ul ts ofth e fil te r e ffe ct.W e w il lbe us ing Fil te r Type Sh arpe n, as te s ts h ave s h ow n it to be th e be s t for e nh ancing th e de tail s ofth e im age , al th ough it cre ate s m any artifacts w h ich w e w il l h ave to de alw ith l ate r.

Im age 2.Exam pl e s ce ne in diffe re nt s e ttings ne e d to m odify th e RGB col or val ue s .Th e node for th is is th e RGB Curve s node .H ook th e Im age output ofth e Fil te r node up to th e Im age input of th e RGB Curve s node . Th e curve re q uire s tuning according to your s ce ne .You w ant a picture th at e xh ibits th e m os t contras t be tw e e n dark ne s s and l igh tne s s .To adjus t th is curve us e th e Com bine curve tab and se l e ct l ocations on th e curve and m ove th e m . H ook ing up a Vie w e r node to th e Im age output h el ps .

Now w e ne e d to is ol ate onl y th e s pe cul ar are as , or at l e as t th e are as w ith th e m os t inte ns ity, w h ich typical l y are th e are as ofs pe cul arity.To do th is w e

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3D W ork sh op - Artis tic Glow

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U s ing Bl e nde r's Com pos itor Node s

Afte r th e output h as e nough contras t you now ne e d to conve rt th is to bl ack and w h ite .For th is s te p w e 'l lne e d to add an RGB to BW Conve rte r node .H ook up th e Im age output ofth e RGB Curve s node to th e Im age input ofth e RGB to BW Conve rte r node and th e n h ook up th e output to a Vie w e r node to s e e th e re s ul ts . W e 're al m os t th e re , but as you can s e e , th e m as k is ve ry pixe l ate d and h as l ots ofartifacts .To fix th is , w e ne e d to bl ur it. Add a Bl ur node , conne cting th e Val ue output of th e RGB to BW Conve rte r node to th e Im age input ofth e Bl ur node .Us e a fil te r type ofQ uadratic and a pixe lradius (X and Y s e ttings )appropriate for th e s ce ne .Enabl ing Gam m a bl urring al so h e l ps . H ook up a Vie w e r node to th e output to s e e th e finalgl ow m as k .

Appl ying th e Gl ow M as k To appl y th e Gl ow M as k to th e Im age w e ne e d a M ixe r node .Th is node tak e s th e Im age inputs and th e n m ixe s th e tw o inputs toge th e r bas e d on a Fil te r Type .In m os t cas e s you w il lw ant to us e th e Add type .Th is w il lpe rform a pixe l - by- pixe laddition be tw e e n th e tw o col or val ue s ofth e Im age inputs .

Im age 3 Th e Noodl e s for 'Soft Gl ow ' diffe re nt val ue s at e ach s tage in th e com pos ition. Al s o incl ude d is th e s ch e m atic for th e Gl ow node s e tup.

FinalTouch e s You can now h ook up a Vie w e r node and a Com pos itor node to th e Im age output ofth e M ixe r node . You w il ls e e th e com bine d im age s w ith th e Gl ow e ffe ct.Ifal lw e nt corre ctl y, you s h oul d now h ave a picture th at h as inte ns ity al ong al lofth e e dge s th at e xh ibit s pe cul arity or inte ns e l igh t diffus ion. You can us e th e Factor s e tting in th e M ixe r node to controlth e m ixing ofth e tw o Im age inputs .Fine tuning m ay be re q uire d, and th e e xtra Vie w e r node s w il lh e l p m ak e tuning e as y.

NO TE

NO TE NOTE: Th is articl e w as cre ate d us ing a CVS ve rs ion of Bl e nde r and s om e fe ature s s h ow n in s cre e ns h ots m ay not be avail abl e at th e curre nt publ ication ofth is articl e .Th rough th e m ain Bl e nde r re l e as e h ow e ve r, th e e ffe ct de s cribe d h e re can be us e d in th e curre nt Bl e nde r re l e as e .

Th is s ch e m atic s h ow s th e Gl ow node s ins ide a Group node cal l e d Gl ow .Th is is not re q uire d for th e final output. You s h oul d find a re fe re nce Bl e nde r fil e incl ude d w ith th is is s ue to track and trace a w ork ing e xam pl e ofth is s e tup. Be s ure to vis it h ttp://w w w .ids tudios .org for m ore inform ation on cre ating Gl ow and oth e r s pe ciale ffe ct node s .

Be l ow you w il ls e e th e output s e ttings for th e

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3D W ork sh op - D e pth

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O f Fie l d U s ing Bl e nde r's Com pos itor Node s

O ffs e t and Size .O ffs e t, in m y e xpe rie nce , h as al w ays be e n a ne gative val ue and it appe ars to be th e Bl e nde r grid units from th e cam e ra to th e focus .Size appe ars to be a gradie nt fil te r th at control s th e abruptne s s ofth e trans ition be tw e e n s h arpne s s and bl urrine s s w h e n us e d w ith th e Bl ur node .

D e pth O f Fie l d U sing Bl e nde r's Com positor Node s - by D anie lLaBarge D e pth ofFie l d (D O F)is a ve ry popul ar e ffe ct to be s im ul ate d in com pute r ge ne rate d im age ry as it adds to th e ove ral lre al is m ofan im age .True , D O F as your e ye pe rce ive s it is not ye t pos s ibl e w ith Bl e nde r, but a ve ry cl os e s im ul ation offore ground and back ground bl ur can be ach ie ve d.W e w il lbe l ook ing at one m e th od, us ing Bl e nde r's buil t in Com pos itor Node s .

Pre re q uis ite s Th is articl e as s um e s th at you h ave a s ce ne w h ich e xh ibits a ne ce s s ity for D O F and th at you k now your w ay around Bl e nde r.It is s afe to s ay th at th is is for inte rm e diate to advance d us e rs .. Ge tting Starte d To cre ate D e pth ofFie l d in Bl e nde r w e ne e d to do s e ve ralth ings . Firs t, e nabl e th e Com pos itor and pas s th e Z Ch anne l(Bl e nde r's de pth ch anne l )to th e Com pos itor.To do th is pl e as e re fe re nce Im age 1 w h ich s h ow s th e D o Com pos ite e nabl e d and th e Z Pas s e nabl e d.You can find th e s e in th e Re nde r Buttons (F10)unde r Anim Pane land Re nde r Laye rs Pane l . Now w e are re ady to be gin com pos iting our s ce ne w ith D O F.O pe n up th e Node Editor W indow . By de faul t, it s h oul d h ave a Re nde r Laye rs node conne cte d to tw o output node s , Vie w e r and Com pos itor.It is probabl y a good ide a to ope n up th e UVIm age Editor W indow and s w itch th e im age to Vie w e r Node to ge t a l arge r vie w ofth e Vie w e r

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Pos itive val ue is us e d for back ground bl ur and a ne gative val ue is us e d for fore ground bl ur.Th e cl os e r th e val ue is to 0, th e s ofte r th e gradie nt.Ne gative val ue s are typical l y ve ry s m al l , us ual l y no m ore th an - 0.250.You can tak e a l ook at th e ne w Z ch anne loutput by h ook ing up a Vie w e r node to th e Val ue output and l ook ing at th e Z ch anne lin th e UVIm age Editor.

Im age 1 Enabl ing node com pos itor and Z pas s output.Th is h e l ps w ith fine tuning. Le t's tak e a l ook at th e im age as re nde re d original l y. O bvious l y th e s ce ne is s e tup and th e el e m e nts are arrange d to e xh ibit good D O F. W e w il lbe bl urring th e col or val ue s us ing th e de pth ch anne l . Now l e t's l ook at th e Z Ch anne l , de l ive re d in th e Z Pas s to th e Com pos itor.To do th is , add a ne w Vie w e r and conne ct th e Z input to th e Z output ofth e Re nde r Laye r node .In th e UV Im age Editor cl ick on th e icon th at s h ow s th e Z val ue .Th is is w h at th e de pth val ue s l ook l ik e for th e s ce ne .

M apping th e Z Ch anne l Th e s e val ue s , al th ough appe aring corre ct, w on't actual l y cre ate a prope r D O F e ffe ct if s e nt to th e Bl ur Fil te r node as th e Size input. To fix th is , w e ne e d anoth e r node cal l e d M ap Val ue .Th is node w il ltak e th e val ue s as inputs and adjus t th e m .Th e Val ue input s h oul d be conne cte d to th e Z output ofth e Re nde r Laye r node .Th e re are s e ve rals e ttings , incl uding cl am p functions , to s e t th e M inim um val ue range and th e M axim um val ue range .Th e tw o s e ttings w e w il lus e are

Im age 2.Exam pl e s ce ne in diffe re nt s e ttings

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U s ing Bl e nde r's Com pos itor Node s

Cre ate tw o M ap Val ue node s and h ook th e m up to th e Z output ofth e Re nde r Laye rs node .Se t O ffs e t to a ne gative val ue , approxim ate l y th e s am e num be r ofgrid units from cam e ra to focus point. Th e O ffs e t val ue s s h oul d be ide nticalor ve ry cl os e .Th e Size val ue for one s h oul d be a ne gative val ue be tw e e n - 0.050 and - 0.250, and th e oth e r s h oul d be a pos itive val ue be tw e e n 0.250 and 1.000.

Bl urring th e Im age Ne xt w e 'l lne e d to us e th e s e val ue s to bl ur th e im age .Th is is w h e re th e Bl ur node com e s into pl ay. Add tw o Bl ur node s and h ook up th e Im age input to th e Im age output ofth e Re nde r Laye r node . H ook up th e Size input to th e Val ue output ofth e M ap Val ue node .Re pe at for th e oth e r M ap Val ue node .Th e Bl ur node h as s e ve rals e ttings . Ih ave found th at Q uadratic fil te r type and Gam m a e nabl e d w ork be s t.Th e X and Y s e ttings control th e radius ofth e bl ur e ffe ct in pixe l s .For m ore bl ur us e a h igh e r num be r.Ifyou h ook up a Vie w e r node to th e Im age output you w il ls e e th e re s ul ts ofth e D O F and you can e dit th e M ap Val ue s accordingl y. Th e one Vie w e r node w il ls h ow th e fore ground bl ur and th e oth e r w il ls h ow th e back ground bl ur. Now w e h ave th e tw o im age s bl urre d but w e ne e d th e fore ground and back ground bl ur com bine d. Th e re are s e ve ralw ays to do th is but th e prope r w ay is to us e anoth e r s pe cial ty node .Th is node is cal l e d Z Com bine .H ook up th e Im age output of one Bl ur node to th e firs t Im age input ofth e Z Com bine node , and th e n h ook up th e oth e r corre s ponding M ap Val ue 's Val ue output to th e Z input ofth e Z Com bine node . Re pe at for th e oth e r Bl ur node and M ap Val ue node .Notice th at th e corre s ponding Im age input goe s to th e oppos ite Val ue output ofth e M ap Val ue node .Th is is im portant to prope rl y com bine th e tw o im age s w ith out artifacts .

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Im age 3 Th e Noodl e s for 'D e pth O fFie l d'

FinalTouch e s You can now h ook up a Vie w e r node and a Com pos itor node to th e Im age output ofth e Z Com bine node and you w il ls e e th e com bine d im age s w h ich w il ls h ow th e D O F e ffe ct.Ifal lw e nt corre ctl y you s h oul d now h ave a picture th at h as fore ground bl ur and back ground bl ur w ith th e ce nte r range s h arp and in focus .Fine tuning m ay be re q uire d, and th e e xtra Vie w e r node s w il lh e l p m ak e tuning e as y. Be l ow you w il ls e e th e output s e ttings for th e diffe re nt val ue s at e ach s tage in th e com pos ition. Al s o incl ude d is th e s ch e m atic for th e D O F node s e tup.

W h at About Anim ations ? Anim ating D O F w ith Com pos itor node s is a l ittl e too l e ngth y to e xpl ain, but th e ide a h it m e one day

w h il e trying to m ix val ue s .Th e s e cre t to anim ate d D O F is to m ix “k e yfram e d” M ap Val ue s al ong a Tim e node .As l ong as you h ave th e D O F s e t for a particul ar fram e you can controlth e M ixing us ing th e curve in a Tim e node .Th is can ge t re al l y bul ky and Ican't w ait for th e Bl e nde r de ve l ope rs to cre ate an input for th e M ap Val ue O ffs e t, but until th at fe ature is im pl e m e nte d you can us e th e re fe re nce s ch e m atic be l ow . You s h oul d find a re fe re nce Bl e nde r fil e incl ude d w ith th is is s ue to track and trace a w ork ing e xam pl e ofth is s e tup.

NO TE Th is s ch e m atic contains a cus tom Group node for adding D O F to th e finalcom pos ition, and is not re q uire d for th e finaloutput.

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U s ing Bl e nde r's Com pos itor Node s

10

Im age 4 D O F Noodl e s for Anim ation Spe cialth ank s go to Ce h uk e n ofBl e nde rArtis ts wh oh el pe d e xpl ain th e node s e tup for a s im il ar D O F approach to th e Bl e nde r com m unity.

I'm 17 and h ave be e n a fre e l ance s ince Iw as 15 doing e ve ryth ing from w e bs ite de s ign to graph ic de s ign...Noth ing too im portant! Artis t [w w w .ids tudios .org] W rite r [w w w .bl e nde rnation.com ] D e ve l ope r [w w w .m ons te rw e b.ne t]

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3D W ork sh op - Cre ating Re alis tic Environm e ntFor Th e

w ayw ard pl aye rs are de voure d by “grue s .” Th e s e are not re com m e nde d be caus e th e y s e e m unfair to th e pl aye r, and cos t l ive s .Ifyou de cide to us e a de ath zone , m ak e s ure th at th e pl aye r is w e l l inform e d ofth e are a's s tatus .Noth ing is m ore frus trating th an a “s urpris e ” de ath zone .

Cre ating Re al istic Environm e nt For Th e Bl e nde r Gam e Engine - by Jh on Al l ie Bl e nde r's gam e e ngine is fairl y s im pl e as s uch th ings go, but w ith a l ittl e h ard w ork one can s til l cre ate re l ative l y re al is tic gam e s .In th is articl e , I’m going to try to h e l p you l e arn h ow you can us e th e s e fe ature s to m ak e your Bl e nde r gam e s as re al is tic as pos s ibl e.

Pl anning Be fore you be gin m ak ing a gam e s ce ne , you s h oul d h ave a s e t ide a in your m ind ofw h at you w ant th e s ce ne to be .D e cide : W h at doe s th e are a l ook l ik e ? W h at is th e pl aye r m e ant to accom pl is h h e re ? W h at is th e are a's “re al ” purpos e ? (i.e .- ifth e are a re al l y e xis te d, w h at purpos e w oul d it s e rve ?)

O nce you've w ork e d out th e ans w e rs to th e s e q ue s tions , you’re re ady to ge t to w ork on your s ce ne . Som e pe opl e pre fe r to m ak e s k e tch e s of th e ir gam e s ce ne s ah e ad oftim e , but Ius ual l y jus t go s traigh t to Bl e nde r. W h e n de s igning your s ce ne , re m e m be r th at th e pl aye r ne e ds to be fe nce d in s om e h ow .No m atte r w h at, pe opl e al w ays s e e m to w ant to go be yond th e confine s ofyour gam e m ap, and you'l lne e d to com e up w ith a good e xcus e as to w h y th e y can't. Pre ve nting th e pl aye r from l e aving th e m ain part of th e s ce ne is not e nough , you m us t al s o convince h e r th at s h e doe s not w ant to l e ave it. Th e m os t popul ar form s ofe nvironm e nt bounds are as fol l ow s :

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Im age 1 D iffe re nt e nvironm e nt bounds Is l and is us ual l y w h at it s ounds l ik e .Th is is an e xtre m e l y popul ar m e th od ofde fining s ce ne boundarie s : s im pl y put in a vas t oce an and pe opl e im m e diate l y as s um e th e y cannot trave rs e it.In m y gam e Th e Voyage ofth e Gol de n Arm , Ius e d th e Is l and te ch niq ue in a de s e rt as w e l l : one ofth e gam e 's l e ve l s tak e s pl ace on a l arge h il l , w h ich is s urrounde d on al ls ide s by a de s e rt w as te l and.Th e e ffe ct is th e s am e th ough th e “oce an” is an oce an ofs and and not w ate r.Anoth e r variation is th e “butte ,” in w h ich th e gam e are a is atop a h igh cl iff, s urrounde d on al ls ide s by ve rticaldrops . Is l ands can al s o be com bine d w ith invis ibl e w al l s , to pre ve nt th e m os t de te rm ine d pl aye rs from w al k ing too far into th e oce an. Canyon is an e nvironm e nt w h ich is s urrounde d on al ls ide s by ins urm ountabl e w al l s .Pre fe rabl y, th e s e s h oul d be h igh w al l s : s h ort fe nce s te nd to frus trate pe opl e , as in re all ife th e y w oul d s im pl y s te p ove r th e m .Th e be s t Canyon w al l s s h oul d be m uch h igh e r th an th e gam e ch aracte r's h e igh t. Tunne lw as popul arize d in gam e s l ik e D oom , w h e re al lth e action tak e s pl ace ins ide cl os e d- in corridors . Tunne l s h ave fal l e n out offavor be caus e th e y al l ow for ve ry l ittl e varie ty in your gam e s ce ne ry.

In th is articl e , w e w il lbe w ork ing tow ard a re al is tic Is l and s ce ne .I'm not e xpe cting you to fol l ow al ong w ith th e tutorial , s im pl y re ad it and l ook at th e s te ps Itak e to im prove th e is l and's re al is m .Le arn th e s e te ch niq ue s , and you'l lh ave al lth e tool s you ne e d to w ork on your ow n cre ations . H e re 's th e l ittl e is l and w e 'l lbe im proving:

Im age 2.Th e Is l and s ce ne In al ll ik e l ih ood, your gam e art is not as bad as th is , but th is doe s de m ons trate q uite a fe w ofth e probl e m s I've s e e n in be ginne r art.W e 'l lus e te ch niq ue s ofs h ading, te xturing, and m ode l ing to m ak e th is is l and m ore re al is tic.

D e ath Z one is th e l e as t re com m e nde d ofth e acce ptabl e boundarie s .A de ath zone is an are a outs ide th e m ain gam e e nvironm e nt w h ich caus e s ins tant de ath ife nte re d.An e xam pl e is th e dark cave rns ofth e te xt adve nture Z ork , in w h ich

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Sh ading Sh ading is h ow w e s im ul ate l igh ting in th e gam e e ngine .Sh ading de fine s l igh t and dark ne s s on your m ode l s , and is one ofth e m os t im portant tool s for adding re al is m . Th e e as ie s t w ay to s h ade your m ode l s is to m ak e th e m l igh t- s e ns itive .Se l e ct th e m ode lyou w ant to m ak e l igh t- s e ns itive , pre s s F to e nte r UVface se l e ct m ode , and pre s s W to ope n th e Spe cial s m e nu. (It's im portant to m e m orize h otk e ys , e s pe cial l y unintuitive one s l ik e th is one .) Se l e ct Ligh t from th e Spe cial s m e nu.

Im age 4 Ligh t- s e ns itive is l and)

Im age 6 Sm ooth e d, l igh t- s e ns itive is l and for al lth e obje cts : Ligh t s e ns itivity is not a good s ol ution for inanim ate obje cts , th ough , be caus e it e ats a l ot of proce s s or pow e r.

Im age 3 Enabl ing Ligh t Se ns itivity O ur h orribl e l ittl e is l and is m ore re al is tic al re ady! Re alis l ands are n't face te d l ik e th is , th ough . Now th at it's s m ooth , th e is l and l ook s m uch m ore

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Im age 5 Enabl ing Sm ooth Re nde ring re al .H e re 's w h at it w oul dl ook l ik e ifw e s e t Ligh t

Im age 7 Re al - tim e s h ading

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3D W ork sh op - Cre ating Re alis tic Environm e ntFor Th e Bl e nde r h as anoth e r l igh t- s im ul ating fe ature , th ough , w h ich s im ul ate s th e l igh t onl y once , th e n bak e s it to th e obje ct's ve rte x col ors . Sim pl y se l e ct th e obje ct you w is h to appl y th e e ffe ct to, and cl ick th e Ve rtColbak e button in th e Edit Buttons .

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Th e Ve rtColbak ing option is gre at w h e n you're in a h urry, but th e re s ul t te nds to be k ind ofdark . Adding m ore l am ps can h e l p re m e dy th is probl em, as th e val ue s are cal cul ate d from th e s ce ne 's l am ps .H e re 's th e s am e s ce ne , w ith ve rte x col ors bak e d from tw o l am ps :

Im age 8 Bak ing Ve rte x Col or Sh ading Im age 10 Bak e d Sh ading w ith Tw o Lam ps Im age 11 Re m e m be r Ligh t D ire ctions ! Th e l as t s h ading m e th od is to paint th e ve rte x col ors by h and.Th is is m y pre fe rre d m e th od be caus e it give s m uch m ore control , but it doe s tak e m uch m ore e ffort.Ifyou de cide to s h ade your m ode l s th is w ay, m ak e s ure th at you try to s im ul ate th e l igh t corre ctl y.Try to re m e m be r w h e re th e l igh t is com ing from , and s h ade your m ode l s accordingl y. In ge ne ral , w h e n painting rounde d m ode l s l ik e Suzanne , Ius e th e Ve rte x Paint brus h .W ith angul ar m ode l s s uch as buil dings , Is e l e ct th e face s individual l y and fil lth e m us ing th e Se t Ve rtCol button. Som e tim e s , I'l lal s o add a s l igh t gradie nt w ith Ve rte x Paint. Im age 9 Bak e d Sh ading

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Im age 12 Se tting Ve rte x Col ors By H and

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Care fulus e ofve rte x col ors can do w onde rs for your gam e e nvironm e nt.In th e re alw orl d, one ne ve r e ncounte rs an obje ct w ith out s h ading, s o it's im portant to k e e p th is in m ind w h e n m ak ing your gam e e nvironm e nts .Sh ade e ve ryth ing, no m atte r h ow s m al lit is !

M ode l ing Now w e 'l ll ook at h ow to im prove your gam e m ode l ing.Le t's tak e a l ook at th e w ire m e s h ofour ugl yl ittl e is l and.

Im age 13 H and- painte d gradie nts To l e arn h ow to s h ade w e l l , pay atte ntion to your s urroundings .Try to l e arn w h ich are as are brigh te s t or dark e s t. You m ay w ant to run s om e Radios ity or Am bie nt O ccl us ion s im ul ations in Bl e nde r for re s e arch .(D on't us e Radios ity output in th e gam e e ngine , th ough - th e m ode l s it ge ne rate s are e xtre m e l y com pl e x!)

Im age 16 Te m pl e Me s h

Im age 15 Is l and M e s h W h at appe ars to be a s im pl e s ce ne is not ve ry s im pl e from th e e ngine ’s point- of- vie w ! Th e is l and is m ade from a com pl e x UVs ph e re , th e m onk e y h e ad h as be e n “s ubs urfe d,” and th e tre e s and buil ding col um ns are both m ade from cyl inde rs at th e de faul t s e tting, 32.It's im portant to re m e m be r h e re th at th ough Bl e nde r can be us e d to m ak e gam e s , its prim ary purpos e is cre ating re nde re d im age ry.

is now com patibl e w ith th e GE, it s h oul d not be us e d on gam e m ode l s .Th e inte ntion ofgam e m ode l ing is to cre ate “l ow - pol y” m ode l s w h ich are as s im pl e as pos s ibl e .Subs urfw ork s by turning e ve ry face ofyour m ode linto m any s m al l e r face s , and is th e re fore an e xtre m e l y counte rproductive m e th od w h e n it com e s to th e gam e e ngine . W h e n w ork ing in th e gam e e ngine , your inte ntion s h oul d be to k e e p your m ode l s as s im pl e as pos s ibl e : avoid us ing anyth ing w h ich m ak e s your m ode l s m ore com pl icate d. Le t's ge t s tarte d on our gam e m ode l s by im proving th e “te m pl e .”

Th is is w h y th e re are m any Bl e nde r fe ature s w h ich are incom patibl e w ith th e gam e e ngine , and m any m ore w h ich th ough com patibl e s h oul d not be us e d. Im age 14 D ark e ning corne rs can im prove re al is m

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Subs urfis an e xam pl e ofth e l atte r.Th ough s ubs urf

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3D W ork sh op - Cre ating Re alis tic Environm e ntFor Th e W e 'l lfix th e col um ns firs t.Th e col um ns , as you can s e e in th is im age , appe ar to be al m os t a s ol id col or.W h e n your gam e m ode l s l ook l ik e th is , it’s a fair be t you've us e d too m any pol ys .Th irty- tw o, th e de faul t s e tting for cyl inde rs , is ove rk il lfor th e gam e e ngine .Te n ve rtice s s h oul d be e nough , you can probabl y ge t aw ay w ith onl y 7, and you s h oul d ne ve r ne e d m ore th an 15 or 20.

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

W e 'l lcre ate a ne w col um n m ode land s e t it to 10 ins te ad of32. As you can s e e , a col um n w ith 10 ve rtice s s til l l ook s ve ry round.It's not im portant to m ak e e ve ryth ing in your gam e h ave a “pe rfe ct” s h ape . Pe opl e e xpe ct gam e obje cts to h ave s l igh tl y jagge d s h ape s , and th e m ind can e as il y fil lout th e m ode lto its corre ct s h ape .

button, s e l e ct th e h idde n face s at both e nds w ith th e B- k e y s e l e ct m ode , pre s s th e D e l e te k e y, and cl ick Face s . Re m e m be r to ch e ck for th e s e face s ! Th e y're ve ry com m on, and th e y do te nd to add up.Unim portant as th e y m ay s e e m , h aving l arge num be rs ofth e m can l e ad to a gam e s l ow dow n.

Th e trick is to find th e h appy m e dium be tw e e n too m any ve rtice s and not e nough .Te n is jus t about righ t for th is col um n.For a bigge r col um n, 20 m igh t be m ore appropriate .For ve ry s m al lobje cts , you m ay w ant to re duce th e num be r to four or e ve n th re e .Avoid 6- or 8- s ide d cyl inde rs , th ough : th e m ind is fam il iar w ith th e s e s h ape s and your pl aye r m ay h ave a h ard tim e ignoring th e m . Low - pol y m ode l ing al s o m e ans re m oving anyth ing th at is not ne e de d, w h ich incl ude s face s th at can't be s e e n.Th is col um n h as face s on e ith e r e nd w h ich cannot be s e e n.Cl ick th e “face s e l e ction” Im age 17 Se tting num be r ofve rtice s for a cyl inde r Im age 20 Care l e ssl y m ade te m pl e s te ps Cons ide r th is : Each col um n h as 10 face s on e ach e nd, none of w h ich are vis ibl e to th e pl aye r.W ith al lfour ofth e buil ding's col um ns , th e re are 80 e xtra face s ! Al w ays re m e m be r to ch e ck for and e l im inate gam e e ngine w as te . Now , l e t's tak e a l ook at th e te m pl e s te ps .

Im age 18 Ne w col um n from 10- ve rte x cyl inde r

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Im age 19 D e l e ting H idde n Face s

Som e tim e s , w e ne e d to divide face s into s m al l er face s in orde r to cre ate s om e th ing.O ne w ay to cre ate m ore face s is to us e th e Subdivide tool , but th is tooldivide s e ve ry face into l ots ofs m al l er face s , cre ating a l ot ofunne ce s s ary e xtra face s and adding to gam e e ngine w as te . A m uch be tte r option is to us e th e K nife tool .

Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006

3D W ork sh op - Cre ating Re alis tic Environm e ntFor Th e Th e K nife tool 's purpos e is to add e xtra ve rtice s to an e dge .Th is w il lal l ow you to divide up your m ode l 's face s onl y as m uch as th e y ne e d to be divide d, and pre ve nt gam e e ngine w as te .To us e th e K nife tool ,s e l e ct th e e dge s you w is h to ope rate on and pre s s Sh ift+ K .Th e K nife m e nu w il l appe ar. Se l e ct Exact Line for now , and th e n draw al ine th rough your e dge s and pre s s Ente r.

Im age 21 Us ing th e K nife tool O ur face is now cut in h al f, and re ady to be e xtrude d into s te ps ! Ifw e h ad us e d Subdivide , th e face w oul d h ave be e n divide d into four s e ctions , far m ore th an w e actual l y ne e d. Now w e can e xtrude th e face and finis h cre ating our s taircas e . Th e re s ul t w il lbe a bas e for th e te m pl e w ith fe w e r th an h al fth e face s ofth e original . D on't forge t to de l e te th e unde rs ide ofth e te m pl e 's bas e : it w il lbe unde rground, s o th e re is no re as on to s ave it.

Im age 22 Pal m Tre e

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Th e te m pl e is pre tty good now ! Le t's l e ave it al one and tak e a l ook at th os e obnoxious pal m tre e s .

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Th is is not a pal m tre e .Th is is a cartoon ofa pal m tre e , and a ve ry h igh - pol y one at th at.Th e trunk , l ik e th e col um ns on th e buil ding, is a 32- ve rte x cyl inde r.It is abs urdl y s traigh t: th e naturalw orl d s im pl y doe s not h ave s uch s traigh t l ine s .O ur firs t orde r ofbus ine s s w il lbe to im prove th is trunk . Add a 7- ve rte x tube and re s ize it untilit's l ong, s traigh t, and narrow .Scal ing it s m al lth e n e nl arging it on th e Z axis s h oul d w ork .(M ak e a h abit of us ing tube s in pl ace of cyl inde rs w h e n ne ith e r e nd w il l be vis ibl e . In th is cas e , one e nd ofth e trunk w il lbe be l ow ground, and th e oth e r w il lbe above pl aye rs ' h e ads . Ne ith e r w il lbe s e e n, s o you can us e a tube in pl ace ofa cyl inde r and s ave yours e l fs om e pol ys .) O nce your tube is re ady, us e th e K nife toolto s l ice it up a fe w tim e s , th e n give it a s ubtl e be nd. Scal e it dow n a bit tow ard th e uppe r e nd.

Th e re s ul t w il lbe a pl ane w ith a triangul ar face attach e d at e ach e nd.Now us e th e K nife toolto divide th e pl ane ve rtical l y dow n th e m iddl e. Se l e ct th e ne w ve rtice s and m ove th e m up s o th at th e l e afw il lcurve in th e m iddl e.

Im age 25 Us ing th e M e rge tool , Ste p 2

Im age 23 Ne w tre e m e s h Th is trunk is not onl y m ore e al is tic, it h as fe w e r pol ys as wel l !

r

Im age 26 Cre ating Pal m Le ave s , Ste p 3

To cre ate th e l e ave s , add a pl ane and e xtrude once from e ach e nd: Now , s e l e ct your e nds one at a tim e , pre s s W , and s e l e ct M e rge . Im age 24 Cre ating Pal m Le ave s , Ste p 1

Im age 27 Com pl e te d Pal m Le afm e s h

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3D W ork sh op - Cre ating Re alis tic Environm e ntFor Th e Th is is our bas ic l e afm ode l .You can tw e ak it a l ittl e ifyou l ik e .It m ay not l ook ve ry m uch l ik e a pal m l e afye t, but th e te xture w il lim prove th at.It s h oul d be note d th at s ince l e ave s are cl os e to be ing fl at, it is pe rfe ctl y acce ptabl e , and re com m e nde d, to portray th e m w ith pl ane - bas e d obje cts l ik e th is one .In th e gam e e ngine , try to portray com pl e xity th rough te xturing rath e r th an m ode l ing, w h e ne ve r pos s ibl e . Th is pal m l e afdoe s not ne e d to be ve ry com pl e x, be caus e its true re al is m w il lbe appl ie d th rough its te xture .W e w il l be cove ring te xturing s h ortl y, but I'l ljum p ah e ad jus t a m om e nt to s h ow you w h at th e com pl e te d pal m tre e l ook s l ik e .

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Th e l arge Suzanne h e ad Iw il ls im pl y de l e te . Al w ays try to m ak e your ow n m ode l s : th e y'l lm ore cl os e l y re s e m bl e your ow n s tyl e , and th e y m ay e ve n be m ore com patibl e w ith th e gam e e ngine . Th e re is no ne e d for a giant s tone m onk e y h e ad h e re , th ough , s o th e re is no re as on to incl ude it.If you are m ak ing a Bl e nde r- th e m e d gam e , h ow e ve r, incorporating Suzanne is e ncourage d! Le t's s pe nd s om e tim e re buil ding th e is l and its e l f. At th e m om e nt it's jus t a big round th ing.Th at's fine ifyour gam e is about Th e Far Side , but ifyou're aim ing for s om e th ing m ore re al is tic, w e h ave to im prove it a bit. Th is is one tim e w h e n Icons ide r th e us e of Subdivide to be jus tifie d.Add a pl ane , s cal e it up a bit, and s ubdivide it a fe w tim e s . Th e il l us tration s h ow s th e pl ane afte r four s ubdivis ions .Th at s h oul d be e nough .Now pre s s [O Ke y]or ope n th e m e nu to activate Proportional Fal l offe diting m ode . Im age 30 Subdivide d pl ane

Im age 28 O riginal& Im prove d Pal m Tre e s Look h ow grote s q ue th e originalpal m tre e l ook s , now th at it's s h ow n be s ide one th at's s o re al is tic! It's al w ays w orth going th e e xtra fe w s te ps to m ak e your gam e l ook good.D on't be afraid to inve s t th e e xtra tim e - in al ll ik e l ih ood, your gam e w il lnot onl yl ook be tte r, but it m ay run fas te r as wel l .

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Im age 29 Subdivide button

Im age 31 ProportionalFal l offM e nu

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

s e am l e s s cl ouds around th e h orizon, but it h ide s th e corne rs ofth e ground or oce an pl ane as w e l l . A nice w ay to anim ate Tube cl ouds is to m ak e th e

Now s e l e ct a fe w ve rtice s and be gin m oving th e m . You w il ls e e th at ne arby ve rtice s w il lbe gin fol l ow ing th e m al ong.You can m ove th e m ous e w h e e lto adjus t th e e xte nt ofth e e ffe ct.Pul l up th e ground to m ak e s om e s ubtl e h il l s .Ipre s s e d Z w h il e trans l ating to l ock m ove m e nt to th e ve rticalaxis .

Im age 34 Ugl y Sk ybox Im age 32 Us ing ProportionalFal l offto M ak e H il l s Your com pl e te d is l and s h oul dl ook s om e th ing l ik e th is : Note th at th e h igh e s t points ofth e is l and are in th e

Im age 33 Ne w Is l and M e s h m iddl e , and th e e dge s s l ope dow nw ard into th e oce an.Th is is actual l y a pre tty good is l and m ode l , al th ough th e s te e p s l ope s m igh t m ak e it difficul t to navigate .It's al s o w orth noting th at s om e vide o cards (m any Inte lch ips e ts , e s pe cial l y)e xpe rie nce a s trange probl e m w h ich caus e s l ands cape s l ik e th e s e to “s q uirm .” Ifyou e xpe rie nce th is probl em, s im pl y se l e ct th e e ntire m ode lin e dit m ode and pre s s Control + T to triangul ate th e m e s h . O ne l as t th ing to l ook at be fore w e m ove on to te xturing - th e “Sk ybox.” As you can s e e , th e cl oud te xture is l ite ral l y

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m appe d onto a giant box.Som e pe opl e can m ak e th is te ch niq ue w ork ve ry w e l l , but I've found th at it's e xtre m e l y difficul t to dis guis e th e fact th at it's a h uge box.Ipre fe r to us e tube s , s ph e re s , or pl ane s to cre ate cl ouds .Th e rounde d e dge ofth e tube or s ph e re is m ore s ubtl e th an a cube 's righ t angl e s, and th e re fore h arde r to s pot and e as ie r to h ide . Th e tube is a gre at w ay to m ak e cl ouds .It re q uire s a bit ofe xtra w ork on your part to m ak e its s pe cial te xture , but th e re s ul t is w orth th e troubl e .You s im pl y ne e d to cre ate a good cl oud te xture , and th e n us e your painting program to add a col or- totrans pare ncy gradie nt s k y col or at th e top, to ach ie ve a re s ul tl ik e th is : Th e n m ap th e te xture onto th e tube , and s e t Bl e nde r's w orl d col or to th e s am e s k y col or as th e im age .Th e re s ul t: Pre tty nifty, e h ? Not onl y doe s th e Tube m e th od cre ate nice ,

Im age 36 Tube Cl ouds tube rotate ve ry s l ow l y. Th e e ffe ct is s ubtl e but e ffe ctive . Th e Sph e re s k y m e th od w ork s bas ical l y th e s am e as Tube , but Ifind th at it's h arde r to m ap te xture s onto a s ph e re , and th e y h ave m ore pol ys as w e l l . Th e advantage ofSph e re is th at it al l ow s cl ouds to be on al ls ide s ofth e s ce ne . Th e Pl ane m e th od is fairl y s im pl e .You can s im pl y add a pl ane above th e s ce ne and cl oud- te xture it. W h e n Ius e th is m e th od, Iofte n cre ate an obje ct l ik e th e one on th e l e ft, and ve rte x paint it as s e e n on th e righ t:

Im age 35 Cl oud Te xture for Tube

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e xpe rie nce s om e probl e m s due to th e fact th at face s are , by de faul t, vis ibl e on one s ide but not th e oth e r.You'l lh ave to re cal cul ate th e cl oud obje ct's norm al s to m ak e it vis ibl e from th e ins ide . In e dit m ode , s im pl y se l e ct al lits ve rtice s and pre s s Ctrl + Sh ift+ N. Th is s h oul d fix th e probl em.

Im age 37 Pl anar Cl oud O bje ct m e s h and ve rte x col ors th e n m ap it w ith a bl ack - and- w h ite cl oud te xture , and s e t it to Add in Face - Se l e ct m ode . Th e s e s e ttings cre ate s im pl e cl ouds w h ich fade

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Im age 39 Pl anar Cl ouds w h e re as Tube cl ouds appe ar onl y at th e h orizon. Sph e re can be cons ide re d “th e be s t ofboth w orl ds ,” but it's a bit h arde r to w ork w ith .H ow e ve r, s om e pe rs e ve rance can ge t you a nice e ffe ct.

Finalth ough ts about gam e m ode l ing Try to us e th e s m al l e s t num be r ofpol ys pos s ibl e. Sm al lobje cts can ofte n ge t aw ay w ith ve ry, ve ry fe w .A h andl e on a door, for e xam pl e , m igh t be m ade out ofa th re e - s ide d tube ! Large obje cts ofte n ne e d a h igh e r- re s ol ution m e s h , th ough : don't be afraid to give th e m w h at th e y ne e d. Re s is t th e te m ptation to cre ate h igh - pol y m ode l s and th e n de cim ate th e m .D e cim ation cre ate s ugl y, com pl icate d m e s h e s w h ich are h ard to te xture and e xtre m e l y difficul t to anim ate . Th e D e cim ate d ve rs ion ofth e H igh - Pol y Suzanne is not e q ualto th e original .Eve ryth ing w il lbe e as ie r ifyou s tart out m ode l ing l ow - pol y in th e firs t

O ne l as t w ord about cl ouds : you'l lprobabl y

Im age 41 W h y D e cim ation is Not Your Frie nd pl ace .D on't try to ch e at by m ode l ing h igh - pol y and de cim ating it l ate r. Im age 38 Enabl ing Add Re nde ring out around th e e dge s .Th e y h ave th e appe arance ofal lAdd- re nde re d obje cts , but you can al w ays ch ange th at by cre ating a te xture de s igne d to be opaq ue ins te ad. Note th at pl ane - bas e d cl ouds appe ar onl y above ,

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Im age 40 Sph e re Cl ouds

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s e tting.In th e UVface s e l e ct m ode , pre s s A to se l e ct al lth e face s , and pre s s U to ch oos e a m apping option.Bl e nde r 2.42a de l ive rs a h orde of ne w UVm apping options , and I'l ladm it th at I'm not fam il iar w ith al lofth e m ye t! I've found, h ow e ve r, th at for re l ative l y fl at obje cts l ik e our is l and, th e “proje ct from vie w ” option w ork s nice l y. Se l e ct it w h il e vie w ing th e is l and from above , th e n s im pl y s cal e th e e ntire UVm ap up and dow n in th e UV w indow untilyou l ik e th e re s ul t.

Th ough s h ading and m ode l ing are both crucialto cre ating re al is tic gam e e nvironm e nts , your m os t pow e rfulw e apon by far is te xturing.It doe s not m atte r h ow pe rfe ct your m ode l s are or h ow w e l l th e y're s h ade d: ifth e y h ave bad te xture s , th e y w il l l ook te rribl e ! Te xturing is th e finalw ord, it al one “m ak e s or bre ak s ” your e nvironm e nt. Im ak e ne arl y al lofm y te xture s m ys e l f.Itak e ph otograph s ofinte re s ting s urface s and conve rt th e m into te xture s us ing Gim p.Th e re is no al te rnative to ph otograph ic te xture s w h e n one w is h e s to ach ie ve re al is m . Th e m os t im portant th ing to re m e m be r w h e n cre ating te xture s is to m ak e th e m s e am l e s s .You can do th is q uite e as il y in Gim p by navigating to Fil te rs - >M ap- >M ak e Se am l e s s in th e m e nus .Th is e ffe ct is not pe rfe ct, but it doe s h ide th e s e am s in your te xture s q uite nice l y.You m ay s til lne e d to dodge /burn by h and a l ittl e to e ns ure a uniform s h ade , but for th e m os t part, m ak ing te xture s is painl e ss.

As you can s e e , th e is l and's appe arance is al re ady Im age 43 Non- s e am l e s s and s e am l e s s te xture s s ay, te xture - m ak ing cons is ts m os tl y ofal te ring ph otograph s untilth e y can be re pe ate d w ith out obvious re pe tition. Ifyou l ook at th e is l and, you’l ls e e th at its te xture is obvious l y re pe ating.Th e ground te xture contains a s trongl y de fine d “purpl e ” s pot, w h ich is re pe ate d again and again for a crazy “pol k a- dot” e ffe ct. O ne q uick w ay to re m e dy th is is to s w itch from th e de faul t 1/1 UVte xturing s e tting to a diffe re nt

Im age 45 Im prove d UVm apping dras tical l y im prove d.Th e purpl e s pots , th ough not gone , are not s uch a big probl e m any m ore .You m ay s til lw ant to try to ch ange th e ir tone , th ough , w h ich can be e as il y ach ie ve d th rough s om e s m al l Gim p tw e ak s . Th e e as ie s t, and ofte n m os t e ffe ctive , m e th od is to s im pl y se l e ct a gre e nis h col or, th e n brus h ove r th e purpl e are as w ith th e brus h tools e t in “Col or” m ode .

I'm not going to give a w h ol e te xture cre ation tutorialh e re . Suffice it to Im age 42 M ak ing a te xture Se am l e s s in Gim p

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

Im age 44 Se l e cting a UVm apping option

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Bl e nde r Gam e Engine

te xture s on th e re ! Le t's s tart by adding a be ach w h ich runs around th e e dge . Firs t cre ate a s and te xture , and th e n cre ate a s e cond te xture w h ich bl e nds th e s and te xture into th e gras s te xture . It s h oul dl ook s om e th ing l ik e th is : I'm going to as s um e h e re th at you h ave s ufficie nt k now l e dge ofGim p (or Ph otos h op)to do th is . Th ough a s te p- by- s te p guide to cre ating te xture s

Im age 49 Is l and w ith Tw o Te xture s Im age 46 El im inating Col or Variation in Te xture s

Im age 48 Gras s - > Sand Te xture w oul d be us e ful , it is be yond th e s cope ofth is articl e. Now , m ap your pl ain s and te xture (w ith out gras s ) onto th e face s around th e e dge ofth e is l and (Se e Im age 49 ).

Im age 47 Is l and w ith Im prove d Te xture s Th e is l and l ook s a l ot be tte r now th at th e ugl y purpl e s pots h ave be e n e l im inate d... but be fore it can l ook re al is tic, w e ne e d a fe w m ore diffe re nt

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Ne xt, is th e tim e - cons um ing part. M ap th e “bl e nde d” te xture w e m ade to th e face s in be tw e e n th e gras s face s and s and face s .Ifind th at th e 1/1 s e tting w ork s be s t for th is .Ge tting th is pe rfe ct can tak e a w h il e , s o be pre pare d to s pe nd a good de aloftim e on it.

Im age 50 Tw o Te xture s Sm ooth l y Bl e nde d

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Im age 52 M ak ing W ave s Th e s e s m al lrippl e s inte grate th e is l and w ith th e s e a, final l y pul l ing toge th e r e ve ry as pe ct ofour gam e s ce ne . Ifyou'd l ik e , you can e ve n anim ate

Im age 54 Com pl e te d Is l and

Im age 51 Im prove d O ce an

w h il e re ading th is articl e , you gaine d a be tte r unde rs tanding ofh ow to th ink l ik e a gam e de ve l ope r.W h e th e r or not you now h ave a l ittl e is l and s ce ne doe s not m atte r, w h at m atte rs is th at now you be tte r unde rs tand th e conce pts and appl ication ofgam e s ce ne cre ation in Bl e nde r.

Look at h ow re al is tic th e is l and is now com pare d to th e w ay it l ook e d at th e e nd ofth e M ode l ing s e ction! Th is s h ow s h ow im portant te xture s are to your s ce ne ry.W e coul d cal lth is finis h e d now , but l e t's appl y a fe w m ore ch ange s firs t. Firs t, l e t's fix th e te xture on th e oce an pl ane . Th e re 's noth ing w rong w ith th e te xture , but w e ne e d to s cal e up th e UVm apping s l igh tl y to incre as e th e de tailon th e w ate r s urface . Notice h ow e ve n s l igh t ch ange s can im prove th e ove ral lappe arance dras tical l y.Ial s o tw e ak e d th e s e a's ve rte x col ors s l igh tl y to m ore cl os e l y m atch th e s k y. Now l e t's add s om e s ubtl e w ave s th at l ap at th e e dge s ofth e is l and.Add a pl ane at th e e dge ofth e is l and and be gin e xtruding it s o it fol l ow s th e e dge cl os e l y.Ke e p doing th is untilyou've circum navigate d th e is l and, th e n m e rge th e e nds toge th e r to cre ate a continuous ring. M ak e a nice bl ack - and w h ite “rippl e s ” te xture , and m ap it 1/1 to th e face s . Se t al lth e face s to “Add” re nde r m ode , and paint th e oute r ve rtice s bl ack .

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t

Im age 53 M ak ing W ave s h e m w ith th e “UVs crol l ” Pyth on s cript. For one finaltouch , you m ay w is h to cre ate s h adow s for your pal m tre e s .A nice tutorialabout cre ating s h adow te xture s for gam e s w as cre ate d by m as te r gam e m ak e r ST150, and is avail abl e at

Pl an ah e ad to cre ate th e be s t s ce ne pos s ibl e .Try to s tart w ith s om e ide a ofw h at you w ant th e finis h e d proje ct to l ook l ik e . Cre ate conce pt s k e tch e s ifyou pre fe r. Sh ade your m ode l s , e ith e r th rough ve rte x col ors or by us ing l igh t s im ul ation. Ke e p your e ye s ope n in th e re alw orl d, and try to l e arn h ow l igh t be h ave s . Th ink w h il e you m ode l : ne ve r us e 10 face s ifth re e w il ldo, and us e face - dividing tool s s paringl y. De l e te unne e de d face s , and ne ve r m ak e your m ode l s m ore com pl icate d th an ne ce s s ary.Try to s e e h ow s m al la face count you can ge t.

h ttp://w w w .bl e ndingonl ine .co.uk /8501/50779 .h tm l

Cl os ing

M aybe you didn't w ant to cre ate a s im pl e is l and l ik e th is one , and m aybe you didn't e ve n try to fol l ow al ong.It doe s n't m atte r: m y h ope is th at

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Im age 51 Im prove d O ce an Cre ate your ow n te xture s w h e ne ve r pos s ibl e .Bring your cam e ra w ith you on trips , and ph otograph as m any diffe re nt s urface s as pos s ibl e .W h e n proce s s ing your te xture s , s trive to obs cure th e re pe tition. Ne ve r be afraid to add re al is tic de tail s , e s pe cial l y one s w h ich h ave l ittl e e ffe ct on pol ycount. As a finaltouch , you m ay w ant to e xpe rim e nt w ith adding m otion.A s l igh t s w aying to th e tre e s or a s pinning w e ath e r- vane can add to th e gam e 's l ook be autiful l y.Th e w orl d is ful lofm otion, and a l ittl e m otion can be a gre at addition to your gam e . Try to m ak e s ure th at th e pl aye r is not th e onl y th ing m oving in your w orl d. And th at's th at! Ih ope you e njoye d re ading th e articl e .I've s trive d to incl ude in th is articl e e ve ryth ing a be ginning gam e artis t m igh t find us e ful . Adm itte dl y, th e re are a l ot ofth ings Ididn't m e ntion, but th e re is e nough m ate rialh e re to ge t s om e one on th e ir fe e t and s ol ve s om e com m on probl e m s .W ith th e s e s k il l s in pl ace , you’l lbe w e l l on your w ay to cre ating a gre at Bl e nde r gam e .Go s tart up Bl e nde r, and ge t to w ork ! Il ook forw ard to s e e ing w h at you cre ate !

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Joh n Al l ie / Pl antPe rs on Ih ave be e n us ing Bl e nde r s ince April2000. M y curre nt gam e proje ct is an adve nture gam e cal l ed "Into th e Titan." W e bs ite :

w w w .goril l a3d.com /pl antpe rs on

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3D W ork sh op - Blende r And Ve ctor Blur Bl e nde r And Ve ctor Bl ur -by O l ivie r Saraja Introduction Ve ctor Bl ur is an inte re s ting s ol ution th at goe s be yond th e l im itations ofre gul ar M otion Bl ur.It re l ie s on th e Com pos ite Node s Editor to pe rform . But e ve n ifth e Node s Editor m ay l ook intim idating at firs t gl ance , it is in fact ve ry e as y to s e t up.Th is s h ort tutorialw il lgo th rough th e bas ic s te ps for e nh ancing your re nde rs (both s til l s and anim ations ) w ith good l ook ing m otion bl ur.

Im age 1 An e xam pl e ofIPO curve s affe cting a m oving obje ct.

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In th e H e ade r ofth e Node Editor, you w il lfind a m e nu for th e vie w (Vie w , Se l e ct, Add, Node )and th e n tw o icons : (th e gre y s ph e re icon)e nabl e s M ate rial Node s , and (th e s m al l face picture icon)e nabl es Com pos ite Node s .Cl ick th e Com pos ite Node s . . Th e de faul t Com pos ite node s ne tw ork s h oul d be dis pl aye d on th e s cre e n. Us ing th e [LM B], draw a box th at w il lcros s th e l ink be tw e e n th e Re nde r Laye r node and th e Com pos ite node : th e l ink s h oul d dis appe ar.Now , us e th e Add m e nu: Add>> Fil te rs Im age 3 Turn one ofth e vie w s into th e Node Editor

Th e m ain th ing to unde rs tand is th at th e obje ct, to w h ich th e M otion Bl ur w il lbe appl ie d, s h oul d h ave be e n anim ate d be fore h and.Th is m e ans th at th e obje ct m us t fol l ow a curve or be anim ate d us ing IPO s .In fact, th e re nde re d picture w il lbe turne d into a 3D m ode lw ith de pth , and a s pe e d ve ctor w il lbe cal cul ate d for e ach pixe lofth e picture .As a pos t- proce s s , th e Com pos ite Editor w il ladd th e m otions to th e finalpic in a bl urre d w ay.Th is is w h y de fining th e m otion ofth e obje ct is abs ol ute l y m andatory. A ve ry brie fe xam pl e fil e ofs uch an anim ation can be found at th e fol l ow ing URL: h ttp://fe e bl e m ind.tuxfam il y.org/dotcl e ar/im age s / ate l ie r- im probabl e /ve ctor

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Im age 4 Cl ick on th e Com pos ite m ode icon and th e n activate th e Us e Node s button. Im age 2 H e re 's h ow it w oul dl ook on a re gul ar anim ation re nde ring, w ith out ve ctor- bas e d m otion bl ur A s te p- by- s te p ofth e Ve ctor Bl ur proce s s

>>Ve ctor Bl ur.A ne w node s h oul d appe ar, titl ed Ve ctor Bl ur.M ove it be tw e e n th e tw o pre vious de faul t node s , and s tart th e m agic: conne ct th e output Im age , Z and Spe e d from th e Re nde r Laye r node to th e input Im age , Z and Spe e d from th e Ve ctor Bl ur node , us ing th e [LM B].O nce done , conne ct th e output Im age from th e Ve ctor Bl ur node to th e Im age input ofth e Com pos ite node .

Firs t, you w il lne e d to turn one ofyour 3D vie w s into a Node Editor vie w .Th is is done by cl ick ing on th e grid- l ik e icon at th e l e ft e nd ofth e H e ade r of th e vie w .A m e nu w il lpop up and l e t you de fine th e type ofvie w ne e de d.Ch oos e th e Node Editor.

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3D W ork sh op - Blende r And Ve ctor Blur You can now re nde r your picture in tw o w ays : You obvious l y al re ady k now th e [F12]s h ortcut or th e REND ER button in th e Re nde r pane l You can al s o re nde r th e picture us ing th e tiny Re nde r icon in th e Re nde r Laye r node

Im age 4 Th e Com pos ite node s are s e t to de l ive r a Ve ctor Bl ur bas e d re nde ring But, l ik e anyth ing e l s e in Bl e nde r, tak ing into account th e e ffe ct ofth e Ve ctor Bl ur is noth ing but an option.You ne e d to te l lBl e nde r th at it m us t do th e pos t- proce s s ing s im ul ating th e m otion bl ur e xpl icitl y.Th is is done in th e Sce ne [F10]m e nu, in th e Re nde r buttons , in th e Anim pane l .You w il l h ave to activate th e D o Com pos ite button.As a finalpre - re q uis ite for Ve ctor Bl ur m otions , you w il l ne e d to activate th e Ve c option in th e Re nde r Laye rs tab. Im age 5 D o not forge t to activate th e Do Com pos ite button in th e Anim pane l and th e Ve c button in th e Re nde r Laye rs tab

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ve l ocity) obje cts .Th is is re al l y us e fulduring cam e ra m ove m e nts or s l igh t back ground m ove m e nts . M axSpe e d - Ifyou h ave e xtre m e l y fas t obje cts in th e s ce ne but th e bl ur doe s not re nde r w e l l e nough , th e n you can m ak e us e ofth is param e te r to be tte r th e ve ctor bl ur.Note th at a 0.0 val ue m e ans th at no m axim um is us e d. Bl urFac - Th is param e te r w il ls cal e th e ve ctor s pe e ds , cal cul ating from th e m ove m e nts ofth e obje ct.Th e vis uale ffe ct is cl os e to th e s h utte r s pe e d ofa re gul ar cam e ra. Conce rning th e us e ofVe ctor Bl ur, a good tip is to put fas t m oving obje cts on a Re nde r Laye r, s l ow or s tatic obje cts on anoth e r, and to s pe cify inde pe nde nt param e te rs for e ach , for be tte r control . M ore ove r, l arge obje cts not e ntire l y s e e n from th e cam e ra s h oul d be s ubdivide d s o th at at l e as t s om e norm al s ofth e obje ct are actual l y s e e n from th e cam e ra, or th e bl ur e ffe ct coul d be draw n on th e w rong s ide , com pare d to th e m ove m e nt.

Im age 2 H e re 's h ow w oul dl ook th e s am e anim ation re nde ring, w ith ve ctor bas e d m otion bl ur e nabl ed

Th e re are s om e l im itations th at you s h oul d k now about.

Som e e xpl anations on th e Ve ctor Bl ur node Th is node onl y h as a fe w s e ttings ;m os t ofth e m coul d w ork q uite w e l lw ith th e ir de faul t val ue s .But s om e tim e s (ifnot e ve ry tim e !), you ne e d to go be yond de faul t s e ttings to ge t re alcoolre s ul ts . Th e re are four s e ttings to k now about. Sam pl e s - Th is s e tting control s th e bl ur e ffe ct inte ns ity: th e h igh e r th e s am pl e s , th e m ore bl urre d th e obje ct w il ll ook . M inSpe e d - Ife ve ryth ing is bl urre d, but s om e obje cts are a l ot s l ow e r th an oth e rs (or total l y s tatic, as th e back ground ofth e pic, for e xam pl e ), th e n th is param e te r w il lh e l p diffe re ntiate h igh ve l ocity obje cts from nul l - ve l ocity (or s l ow -

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3D W ork sh op - BLe nde r And Ve ctor Blur

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Since Ve ctor Bl ur is a pos t- proce s s e ffe ct: ifan obje ct is ve ctor bl urre d, it’s s h adow is not bl urre d! ifa ve ctor bl urre d obje ct is m oving be h ind a (Z Trans p or RayTrans p)gl as s , it w on't appe ar bl urre d th rough th e gl as s ifa ve ctor bl urre d obje ct is m oving in front ofa (EnvM ap or RayM ir)m irror, it w on't appe ar bl urre d in th e re fl e ction

Ol ivie r Saraja Ol ivie r Saraja is an O pe n Source e nth us ias t running on Linux s ince 19 9 9 or s o.H e us e s Bl e nde r s ince ve rs ion 1.63a and al w ays de dicate d h im s e l fto w riting tutorial s for th e com m unity, both in fre nch and in e ngl is h .H e h as jus t w ritte n a fre nch book about Bl e nde r: "La 3D Libre ave c Bl e nde r"(w h ich coul d be trans l ate d as "Fre e 3D w ith Bl e nde r")at Eyrol l e s Editions :

h ttp://w w w .e ditions e yrol l e s .com /Livre /9 78221 2119 59 6/l a- 3d- l ibre - ave c- bl e nde r H e is al s o a cas ualW ik i contributor ofBl e nde r's docum e ntation.

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Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006

3D W ork sh op - Bum p & Bl e nde r & D is pl ace m e nt M apping for Be ginne rs -b y M ich ae lW ach Introduction Bum p m apping and D is pl ace m e nt m apping are tw o s pe cialte ch niq ue s for m ak ing an obje ct appe ar to h ave a rough or irre gul ar s urface . W h at is Bum p m apping? Bum p m apping tak e s a grays cal e im age and re ads th e l igh t and dark inform ation to s im ul ate an irre gul ar s urface .W h e n you re nde r an obje ct w ith a bum p- m appe d m ate rial ,l igh te r (w h ite r)are as of th e m ap appe ar to be rais e d and dark e r (bl ack e r) are as appe ar to be l ow e re d.Note th at bum p m apping doe s not m odify th e ge om e try, onl y th e norm al s.

Th e bum ps are a s im ul ation cre ate d by pe rturbing face norm al s be fore th e obje ct is re nde re d. Th e re fore , bum ps don't appe ar on th e s il h oue tte of bum p- m appe d obje cts .Bum p m apping is us e fulfor adding de tailto an obje ct w ith out incre as ing th e pol ygon count. W h at is D is pl ace m e nt m apping? D is pl ace m e nt m apping is ve ry s im il ar to bum p m apping;w h e re a tw o- dim e ns ionalim age 's grays cal e inform ation is us e d to ch ange th e appe arance ofa th re e - dim e ns ionalobje ct.Ligh te r tone s cre ate rais e d bum ps and dark e r tone s cre ate l ow e re d inde ntations as us ual .Unl ik e bum p m apping, w h ich onl y affe cts th e obje ct's te xture , dis pl ace m e nt m apping affe cts th e obje ct's ge om e try, cre ating additionalpol ygons according th e dis pl ace m e nt m ap's prope rtie s . D is pl ace m e nt m apping can be ve ry de m anding on your com pute r's pe rform ance as it te nds to cre ate

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D is pl ace m e nt M apping for Be ginne rs

an e xtre m e l yl arge am ount ofpol ygons .Th is h igh re s ol ution obje ct can appe ar m uch m ore ph otore al is tic th an bum p m apping, ifus e d prope rl y.As com pute rs are be com ing m ore and m ore pow e rful , dis pl ace m e nt m apping m ay s oon be abl e to re nde r at s pe e ds ne ce s s ary for a re as onabl e gam e e ngine .H ow e ve r, curre nt te ch nol ogy doe s not m e e t th e h e avy proce s s ing re q uire m e nt.

m ate rialin th e M ate rialSh ading Pane l[F5], and add a ne w te xture .Now s w itch to th e Te xturing Pane l [F6], w h e re w e w il lcre ate th e bum p m ap.From th e "Te xture Type "box, s e l e ct "M us grave ".Il e ft th e de faul t s e ttings al one , but you m ay ch oos e to pl ay around w ith th e m .You can al s o add a ram p- s h ade r h e re ifyou are pl anning on adding uniq ue col ors to th e te xture .

Be fore you s tart Bum p m apping & D is pl ace m e nt m apping te ch niq ue s are ve ry fas t and e as y to do in Bl e nde r, e ve n ifyou are ne w to Bl e nde r's te xturing tool s. Pl e as e note th at dis pl ace m e nt m aps are not dis pl aye d in th e 3D vie w port. Bum p m aps can dis pl ay a ve ry bas ic pre vie w w ith s h ading [Sh ift+ Z ]turne d on.

Now , w e ne e d to configure th e m os t im portant s e ttings for th e bum p m ap.Th e s e control s are l ocate d in th e M ate rialSh ading Pane l[F5]unde r th e "M ap To"tab.You m ay ch oos e to dis abl e th e te xture 's col or (Col )w h e n m odifying your bum p or dis pl ace m e nt m aps .Th is can s om e tim e s give you a be tte r ide a ofw h at's going on w ith e ach s e tting.

Im age 1 Re gul ar Te xture

Bum p m apping in Bl e nde r For th is tutorial , Iw il l Im age 2 Bum p M ap us e one ofBl e nde r's m any proce dural te xture s , "M us grave ". Fe e lfre e to pick anoth e r type , or e ve n us e your ow n bum p m ap im age ! Be gin by ope ning Bl e nde r and cre ating a ne w obje ct.Ius e d th e popul ar ace m e nt M ap "Suzanne "(m onk e y) Im age 3 D is pl m ode lfor th is e xam pl e. Ne xt, cre ate a ne w

Im age 4 Enabl ing Nor M apping To e nabl e bum p m apping, pre s s th e norm al(Nor) button.You can adjus t th e s tre ngth ofbum pine s s w ith th e s l ide r button l abe l e d "Nor". Us e bum p m aps w h e n you w ant to tak e th e s m ooth ne s s offa s urface , or to cre ate an e m bos s e d l ook .Ke e p in m ind, h ow e ve r, th at th e de pth e ffe ct ofa bum p m ap is l im ite d to th e norm al(Nor)s l ide r.

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3D W ork sh op - Bum p &

D is pl ace m e nt M apping for Be ginne rs

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D is pl ace m e nt m apping in Bl e nde r

Th e w ay you cre ate a dis pl ace m e nt m ap is ve ry s im il ar to th e w ay you cre ate a bum p m ap.Th e onl y diffe re nce is , you m us t e nabl e th e dis pl ace m e nt (D is p)button.You m ay turn offth e norm al(Nor)button de pe nding on your de s ire d e ffe ct. Th e dis pl ace m e nt s l ide r control s h ow far aw ay from th e originalm e s h th e ve rtice s w il lbe m ove d. Th e norm al(Nor)s l ide r al s o h as a gre at im pact on your dis pl ace m e nt re s ul ts .Be care fulw h e n us ing dis pl ace m e nt m aps be caus e th e y can be ve ry proce s s or de m anding.

M ich ae lW ach Im age 4 Enabl ing D is pl ace m e nt M apping

Concl us ion

O ve ral l , bum p m apping and dis pl ace m e nt m apping are ve ry h andy tool s ifyou k now h ow to us e th e m . M aps th at s h ade be tw e e n w h ite and bl ack ge ne ral l y w ork be tte r th an m aps w ith h ard e dge s be tw e e n th e w h ite and bl ack are as .Ih igh l y re com m e nd pl aying around w ith th e s e ttings and re nde ring your re s ul ts to h e l p de e pe n your unde rs tanding ofth e m both .

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Is an 18 ye ars ol d from Cl e ve l and, O h io.Curre ntl y s tudying at th e Unive rs ity ofAdvancing Te ch nol ogy. H e w ork s ove r inte rne t for a Ne w York City bas e d pate nt attorne y, cre ating 3D re pre s e ntations ofh is ide as us ing Bl e nde r 3D and YafRay.Al s o m ak e w e bs ite s , com pos e digitalaudio, re cord and e dit digitalvide os and w ork s w ith a l ot of2D il l us trations , te xture s , and ph otograph s .

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Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006

2D W ork sh op - Cre ating A Ligh tning Boltin th e

Supe rs am pl ing’.Cre ate a ne w l aye r ove r th e nois e l aye r and draw a s m al lgradie nt ove r th e ne w l aye r (s e e Im g3)).O ne th ing to re m e m be r h e re is th at you s h oul d try to draw th e gradie nt ove r th e part ofth e s ol id nois e w h ich contains m os tl y w h ite and it’s s urrounding are as are dark e r. Th at is w h e re you ge t good contras t for th e l igh t bol t.

Cre ating A Ligh tning Bol t in th e GIM P -b l e nde rart Introduction

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GIM P

Th is tim e , w e w il ll e arn th e proce dure for cre ating al igh tning bol t s prite from th e GIM P. Ligh tning bol ts find good us e in 3D gam e SFX, l ik e zapping an ite m or e ne m y from an e l e ctric w e apon, de noting te ns ion in s ci- fi s ce narios , or jus t a naturall igh tning bol t to e nh ance th e e nvironm e ntalm ood.

bol ts are h ardl y us abl e as th e y appe ar virtual l y gl ue d toge th e r.Go to Laye r>> Col or>> Le ve l s .Th is w il lbring up th e Le ve ladjus t dial og box (s e e im g6).D rag th e input l e ve l s m id- pointe r tow ards th e righ t. W h il e you do th is , you can al s o s e e th e form ation oftw o ne at l igh tning bol ts (Se e im g7).Adjus t th e am ount of s h arpne s s you w ant th e n, pre s s ‘O K ’.

Le ve l: Ne w bie to Inte rm e diate

Im age 1 Sol id Nois e pop- up

Ste p2.

Ste p1.Launch th e GIM P and cre ate a ne w 256x768 im age . Go to Fil te rs >>Re nde r> >Sol id Nois e .In th e pop- up, e nte r th e val ue s as s h ow n in Im g1 or, ch oos e one of your ow n by h itting 'Ne w Se e d' button. Final l y, pre s s th e O K button to re nde r th e nois e .

Cre ate a ne w l aye r ove r th e curre nt l aye r.Go to th e ToolBox and s e l e ct th e gradie nt tooland in th e ToolO ptions , s e l e ct th e s h ape ofth e gradie nt as Bi- l ine ar and e nabl e ‘Adaptive -

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Im age 4 Laye rs D ial og Im age 2 Gradie nt s e ttings

Ste p3.

Go to th e ‘Laye rs ’ dial og box and ch ange th e l aye r- m ode ofth e gradie nt l aye r to ‘D iffe re nce ’ s e e im g 4. Im m e diate l y, you can s e e th e form ation ofth e bol t.Now go to Im age >>Fl atte n Im age to fl atte n al lth e l aye rs into one s ingl e l aye r.Now go to Laye r>>Col or>>Inve rt to inve rt th e col or ofth e l aye r.

Ste p4.

Im age 3 D raw n Gradie nt W h at you ge t is a s tre ak oftw o l igh tning bol ts (Se e im g5), but th e s e

Im age 5 Ligh tning bol ts Im age 6 Le ve ladjus tm e nt

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2D W ork sh op - Cre ating A Ligh tning Boltin th e Ste p5.

To s e parate th e l igh tning bol ts as an Al ph a ch anne l , you w il lne e d to conve rt th e bl ack col or to al ph a.To do th at, go to Laye rs >> Trans pare ncy>> Col or to Al ph a. In th e Col or to Al ph a dial og, cl ick th e ‘From ’ button and ch oos e a bl ack col or th e n pre s s ‘O K ’.You now h ave an al ph a- bas e d ve rs ion ofth e l igh tning bol t (Se e im g8).Th e l as t th ing to do is s ave it in a fil e form at th at s upports trans pare ncy, l ik e PNG or TGA.

GIM P

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random nois e ge ne ration w h ich can re s ul t in m ore varie d l igh tning bol ts .I h ope th is h as provide d you w ith a nice and e as y w ay to cre ate l igh tning bol ts .

Im age 7 Re nde re d l igh tning bol ts

Im age 8 Ligh tning bol ts w ith al ph a ch anne l

Concl us ion

Al th ough th is m e th od onl y ge ne rate s pre tty s traigh t l igh tning bol ts , you can com pl im e nt it w ith th e nois e ge ne ration pl ug- ins for th e GIM P cal l e d ‘Pl as m a2’ e tc.Th is w il lal l ow you to h ave

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Bl e nding -

A Com pos itor Node O ve rvie w -b y D anie lLaBarge Sandra Gil be rt and Idis cus s e d th e fact th at w ith al l ofth e ne w fe ature s com ing from th e Bl e nde r re l e as e s , it is ofte n h ard to k e e p up w ith th e m . O fte n, you ne ve r actual l y ge t to us e th e fe ature in a proje ct be caus e you are s im pl y too bus y e xpl oring al lofth e diffe re nt w ays ofus ing th e ne w functional ity.To h e l p th os e ge t up to s pe e d fas te r, I'l lgive a q uick ove rvie w ofth e Com pos itor Node s ys te m . NOTE: Th e de s cription ofh ow e ach node w ork s is bas e d onl y on th e util ity and not on th e actual m ath e m aticalor graph icalfunctional ity ofth e node .A m ore accurate de s cription ofh ow e ach node functions and ope rate s is be yond th e s cope ofth is articl e and w il lprobabl y appe ar in future articl e s on th e Bl e nde r W ik i at h ttp://m e diaw ik i.bl e nde r.org.

Com pos itor Node Sys te m

Th e Com pos itor Node Sys te m is an advance d pos t- production e ditor th at al l ow s for q uick and e as y configurabl e m odifie rs , cal l e d node s , to be h ook e d toge th e r (us ing noodl e s )bas e d on various inputs and outputs .Th e configurations are fl e xibl e and th e re s ul ts can be q uite dram atic or ve ry s ubtl e bas e d on de s ign and ne ce s s ity.Th e m ajor fe ature ofth e Com pos itor Node Sys te m (Com pos itor)is th e abil ity to m ix various re nde r pas s e s (com bine d RGBA, Z , Ve ctor, and Norm al val ue s )w ith oth e r inputs to ach ie ve advance d e ffe cts . Th e s e fe ature s h ave com e about m ainl y th rough th e de ve l opm e nts m ade by O range Studio

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A Com pos itor Node O ve rvie w

and jus t re ce ntl y by th e proje ct Pl um ife ros . Al th ough de s igne d for anim ations and com pute rge ne rate d im age ry, th e Com pos itor h as found its w ay into th e tool box ofm any graph ic artis ts w h o us e 3D and 2D program s to cre ate il l us trations and artw ork .Th e pos s ibil itie s are onl yl im ite d by your im agination and abs traction ofth e node - bas e d l ayout!

Inputs Val ue s Inputs are variabl e s e ttings on al lEffe ct and O utput node s .Input node s do not contain inputs th e m s e l ve s , th e y us e th e inputs from th e actual Sce ne .An input can e ith e r be an RGBA val ue (Im age inputs )or a range val ue (Factor, Size , Val ue inputs ).Th e k e y diffe re nce be tw e e n RGBA val ue s and range val ue s are th at e ach pixe lre pre s e nts a col or/al ph a val ue or a val ue re pre s e nting an input am ount (0- 255). RGBA val ue s are typical l y th e pixe l s th at m ak e up th e finalim age w h e re as range val ue s are typical l y val ue s th at controlth e trans form ing ofth e pixe l s and are us ual l y Z , Ve ctor, Norm al , Al ph a or oth e r range val ue s . Inputs can onl y acce pt one input ch anne land re pre s e nt th e e ntire picture on a pe r pixe lbas is . Inputs are e ith e r from th e s ce ne or tak e n from th e output ofanoth e r node or a s e t val ue (s uch as Im age inputs , w h ich can s im pl y us e an RGBA val ue ). An RGBA val ue input is al w ays ye l l ow and a range val ue input is al w ays gray.Bl ue inputs are s pe cial inputs w h ich onl y w ork w ith th e as s ociate d s ce ne data (Norm aland Ve ctor ch anne l s ).An RGBA val ue input m ay h ave to be conve rte d to be us e d as a range val ue input.An input th at re pre s e nts e ach pixe lin an im age is ofte n re fe rre d to as an pixe lor im age m ap.

O utput Val ue s

l ik e Input Val ue s , O utput Val ue s are e ith e r RGBA or range val ue s .An RGBA val ue output is al w ays ye l l ow and a range val ue output is al w ays gre y and s pe cialch anne lval ue s (Norm aland Ve ctor ch anne l s )are al w ays bl ue .To vie w range val ue s , you m ay h ave to conve rt it to an RGBA val ue or us e s pe cialfil te rs w h e n vie w ing.An output th at re pre s e nts e ach pixe lin an im age is ofte n re fe rre d to as a pixe l m ap or im age m ap. W ith th at q uick prim e r on inputs and outputs and w h at can and cannot be us e d, l e t us tak e a l ook at h ow th e s e inputs and outputs can be us e d toge th e r w ith node s .Pl e as e note th at in th e fol l ow ing e xpl anations , an actualw ork ing m ode l w on't be de s cribe d but rath e r h ow e ach s e tting can be us e d w ith in e ach node and h ow , w h e n com bine d w ith oth e r inputs , th e y w il lch ange .

Input Node s Re nde r Laye r Node s are inputs from th e Sce ne . Curre ntl y th e onl y avail abl e output s e ttings for th is node incl ude Im age (RGB), Al ph a, Z (de pth ), Norm al(m apping), and Spe e d (ve ctor).Th e Re nde r Laye r Node contains an Im age Pre vie w and a se l e ctor for s e l e cting Sce ne s and Re nde r Laye rs from th e s e l e cte d Sce ne .Note th at th e Norm al and Spe e d val ue outputs are col ore d bl ue , th is is be caus e th e y are s pe cialval ue outputs .Th e y can be tre ate d th e s am e as any range val ue , but onl y w ork for re l ate d node s . Th e Im age output dis pl ays th e RGB col or val ue s for e ach pixe l .Th e Al ph a output is a bl ack and w h ite range val ue w h ich re pre s e nts th e opacity for e ach pixe lw ith a range from 0 (bl ack /trans pare nt)to 255 (w h ite /s ol id).Th e Z output is a range val ue th at give s de pth inform ation (th e dis tance from th e cam e ra to th e virtualobje ct)on a pe r- pixe lbas is .

O utputs val ue s are variabl e s e ttings on al lEffe ct and Input node s .O utput node s do not contain outputs th e m s e l ve s , th e y dis pl ay th e inputs .Jus t

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Bl e nding -

Im age Node s are inputs from an im age fil e .An im age fil e can e ith e r be a val id im age type fil e (jpg, png, bm p, e tc.)or a range im age type fil e (e xr, h dri, e tc.)or e ve n a m oving im age fil e (avi, m pe g, m ov, e tc.).Curre ntl y th e onl y avail abl e output s e ttings for th is node incl ude Im age (RGB), Al ph a, and Z (de pth ).Th is node al s o contains an Im age pre vie w . W h e n a fil e is l oade d, a s m al licon re pre s e nte d by fil m tape appe ars .W h e n you e nabl e th is , m ore options be com e avail abl e .You can s e t th e num be r offram e s in th e anim ation and s e t th e s tarting fram e and w h e th e r or not to cycl e th rough th e fram e s .Th is m ak e s us ing raw im age output from th e anim ation re nde r e as y to l oad into th e com pos itor for pos t production, s ince Bl e nde r nam e s e ach fram e bas e d on a num be r. Al s o, Bl e nde r can re ad th e fil e nam e and ge t th e ne xt fram e ofth e anim ation.Anoth e r icon al so s h ow s up and can be e nabl e d, w h ich w il ltak e e ach fram e from th e fil e ifth e fil e is a m oving im age .Typical l y, onl y th e Im age (RGB)output is us e d but, ifa s ce ne fil e is cre ate d, you can us e it as input w h ich w oul d de l ive r th e Al ph a and Z val ue s to be us e d. Val ue Node is a ve ry s im pl e node .You s e t a num e ric val ue (0.00 to 1.00)and th e val ue output de l ive rs it as a range .Program m e rs can th ink of th is as pre de fine d variabl e. RGB Node is bas ical l y th e s am e th ing as a Val ue Node e xce pt th at it outputs an RGBA val ue ins te ad ofa range val ue .Th is node contains a col or pal e tte w h ich m ak e s it e as y to s e l e ct th e de s ire d col or. Tim e Node is a ve ry practicalnode be caus e it is e s s e ntial l y a variabl e Val ue Node . Th e diffe re nce is th at th e variation is bas e d on th e num be r of fram e s .Th e Factor output is a range val ue w h ich is s e t us ing a curve .You can s e t th e Start and End fram e for w h ich th e curve re pre s e nts .Th is node is

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A Com pos itor Node O ve rvie w

us e fulfor control l ing th e ch ange s th at occur during an anim ation, and is ofte n us e d as an input for anoth e r node . Te xture Node is s im il ar to th e Im age Node e xce pt th at it us e s inte rnalte xture s from th e Bl e nde r s ce ne as th e inputs .Th is give s you a l ot ofcontrol be caus e you can us e Norm alm apping to control th e O ffs e t and Scal ing dynam ical l y and can us e th e RGBA val ue s as e ith e r a range Val ue output or an RGBA Col or output.Th is node al s o incl ude s an Im age pre vie w w h ich dis pl ays th e te xture s e l e cte d from th e s ce ne .Th is is good for adding proce dural te xture ove rl ays and gradie nt e ffe cts . O fal lofth e Input Node s , onl y th e Te xture Input actual l y h as input s e ttings .Th e s e are l im ite d to th e Bl e nde r s ce ne h ow e ve r, th e y are s til ldynam ic. O ve r al l , th e Input Node s are e s s e ntialto us ing th e Com pos itor as th e y s e rve as th e bas e to w h ich ch ange s are m ade .Th e y al s o al l ow for control ove r e ffe cts appl ie d to oth e r inputs .Th e th re e m os t com m onl y us e d Input Node s are th e Re nde r Laye r, Im age , and Tim e node s . NOTE: At th e tim e ofth is w riting, CVS ve rs ions ofBl e nde r incl ude ne w output node s .Th e s e node s w il lnot be dis cus s e d in th is articl e as th e y h ave not ye t m ade it into th e official Bl e nde r re l e as e . You s h oul d note , h ow e ve r, th at advance d node s do e xis t and w il lprobabl y be m ak ing th e ir w ay into future Bl e nde r ve rs ions .

O utput Node s Com pos itor Node s ounds k ind ofre dundant but, it is actual l y th e onl y w ay to output th e finalch ange s to th e Re nde r Buffe r.Curre ntl y, th e re can onl y be one Com pos itor pe r s ce ne and it onl y acce pts Im age , Al ph a, and Z inputs .Th e node us e s an Im age pre vie w for dis pl aying th e re s ul ts in th e Node W indow . Th e Re nde r Buffe r (F11)w il lal so dis pl ay th e Com pos itor node output.Ifno Com pos itor node is found th e re nde re r w il l

produce an e rror. Vie w e r Node is ide nticalto th e Com pos itor node e xce pt th at ins te ad ofdis pl aying re s ul ts to th e Re nde r Buffe r, it util ize s th e UVIm age Editor unde r th e Vie w e r Im age .Th is is a dynam ic im age th at dis pl ays th e pre vie w ofth e curre ntl y se l e cte d Vie w e r node .Th is m e ans th at you can h ave m ul tipl e Vie w e r node s w h ich w il ldis pl ay th e various outputs ofoth e r node s ...us e fulfor de bugging and te s ting diffe re nt attribute s ofth e com pos ition.

Col or Node s RGB Curve s Node is a ve ry pow e rfulnode be caus e it can controlth e col or ofth e im age by varying th e infl ue nce ofe ach col or s e parate l y, and al lofth e col ors toge th e r.Th is node h as a Factor Input (range val ue )and an Im age Input (RGBA val ue ).Th e Im age O utput is a com bination ofal lof th e RGB Curve s w h ich incl ude Com bine d, Re d, Gre e n, and Bl ue .Th e re are “+ ” and “- ” s ym bol s w h ich zoom in and out accordingl y s o th at you can fine tune th e curve and al ign it m ore e as il y to th e grid. Th e w re nch icon al l ow s for controlove r th e grid vie w and th e curve h andl ing (Auto and Ve ctor), and it al s o al l ow s you to re s e t th e curve to th e l ine ar de faul t.An orange grid icon al l ow s for cl ipping to controlth e m axim um val ue s .Th e “X” icon de l e te s th e curre ntl y se l e cte d point.Points are s e l e cte d us ing th e Le ft M ous e Button (LM B). Ne w points are adding by us ing Ctrl + LM B.Th is node is m os t com m onl y us e d for contras t control and for fine tuning th e col or range s .It is e as y to m ak e ve ry boring im age s inte re s ting us ing th is node .

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M ix Node doe s e xactl y w h at it s ounds l ik e – it m ixe s tw o Im age inputs bas e d on a Factor and fil te r type and outputs th e re s ul t as an RGBA val ue . Th is node h as tw o Im age inputs , but it w il lacce pt range val ue s .Th is m ak e s it good for m ixing a pre s e t val ue w ith a Tim e Node val ue to h ave a varying range val ue for node s th at don't h ave m ul tipl e range inputs .Am ong th e fil te r type s are m ix, m ul tipl y, add, s ubtract, divide , s cre e n, ove rl ay, dark e n onl y, l igh te n onl y, and m any oth e rs .Th is node is good for m ixing col ors as w e l lbe caus e th e Im age inputs can be s e t as a fixe d RGBA val ue ins te ad ofa pixe lm ap. H ue Saturation Node is pe rfe ct for fine tuning th e RGB col ors .Ifbl ue is n't bl ue e nough , th is is th e node th at you w il lfind th e m os t us e ful .It acce pts an Im age input and a Factor range val ue input, and outputs th e m odifie d Im age .Th e H ue s l ide r control s th e H ue val ue s (s im il ar to RGB)w ith 0.500 be ing no ch ange .Th e Saturation (inte ns ity)s l ide r control s th e s aturation ofth e H ue s w h ich can be us e d to fl ood a ph oto or jus t s l igh tl y tint an im age . Th is node is ve ry us e fuland is m os t popul arl y us e d as a tint fil te r for s uch nigh t s ce ne s w h e re a s l igh t bl ue tint is ne e de d. Al ph a O ve r Node is th e titl e e ffe ct l ife s ave r.Th is node al l ow s one im age to be l aid ove r anoth e r and trans pare ncy is us e d as th e “w indow ” in w h ich th e back ground is l e t th rough .Th is node h as tw o Im age inputs and a Factor range val ue input.Th e Factor can be e as il y conne cte d to a Tim e Node and th e n you can fade in/out th e e ffe ct.Conve rt Pre m ulus ual l y bl e nds th e trans pare nt e dge s toge th e r be tte r s o artifacts are re m ove d.It al so conve rts RGB bl ack to Al ph a, w h ich w ork s w e l lfor cre ating Al ph a m aps . It's im portant to k e e p a “l aye r” m e ntal ity w h e n w ork ing w ith th is node .Th e top Im age input is th e “l aye r” w h ich is pl ace d on top ofth e bottom Im age input and tak e s pre ce de nce ove r th e pixe l .Any trans pare nt pixe l s th e n al l ow th e back ground to s h ow th rough .Th is node is gre at for ove rl ays and

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A Com pos itor Node O ve rvie w

titl e w ork as w e l las com pos iting s ce ne s . Z Com bine Node is a ve ry inte re s ting node in th at it can e as il y ge t tangl e d.It h as a s ingl e Im age output but acce pts tw o Im age inputs and tw o Z range val ue inputs .It com bine s th e pixe l s bas e d on th e Z range val ue s and pas s e s th at com bine d im age to th e output.Th e probl e m w ith th is is th at th e Z val ue th at corre s ponds to th e Im age (at l e as t in th e s ce nario w h e re th is node is us e ful )is th e be l ow th e oppos ite Im age input. Th us , th e noodl e s th at conne ct th e node s can e as il y ge t cros s e d and fol l ow ing th e m ge ts m e s s y ifm ul tipl e node s are us e d.Th is node is m os t com m onl y us e d w ith s ce ne com pos iting.In th is m e th od, th e s ce ne is re nde re d in s e ctions and l aye rs .Th e l aye rs are re as s e m bl e d afte r pos tproduction is com pl e te d.Us ual l y th e s ce ne 's Z ch anne lis us e d to do th is .

Ve ctor Node s Norm alNode h as to be one ofth e cool e s t node s avail abl e .Ionl y re ce ntl y figure d out h ow am azing it re al l y is .Bas ical l y, you can th ink ofit as a pos tproduction l igh t.It us e s th e Norm alch anne las its input and th e n you can m ove a l ittl e s ph e re around to re l ocate th e l igh t s ource .Th e avail abl e outputs incl ude th e re m appe d Norm alch anne land a D ot range val ue output w h ich re pre s e nts th e l igh t and norm alinte ns ity in a grays cal e pixe lm ap.Th e pos s ibil itie s for th is incl ude s pe cul ar m apping, nigh t l igh ting, s ubs urface s catte ring, and m uch m ore . Ve ctor Curve s Node is s im il ar to th e RGB Curve s node in th at you can controlth e Ve ctor ch anne l val ue s for th e X, Y, and Z axis .Th e onl y input and output are Ve ctor ch anne ldata w h ich m us t be l oade d e ith e r from a Norm alnode or th e s ce ne its e l f.It contains th e s tandard curve w idge t and controlfe ature s .Th is node is m os t us e fulfor re m apping th e Ve ctor ch anne lfor fine tuning m otion bl ur, e tc.

M ap Val ue Node is anoth e r us e fultoolfor ch anging val ue range s .It acce pts any range Val ue input and can l im it its M inim um and M axim um val ue s and can be furth e r m odifie d bas e d on Size and O ffs e t val ue s .Th e s e s l ide rs are not l im ite d to 0.0 and 1.0 be caus e th is node is not de s igne d onl y for range val ue s ofth at k ind.It al s o acce pts Z , Norm al , and Ve ctor ch anne l s and can is ofte n us e d in com bination w ith th e Z ch anne lto re m ap it for fore ground and back ground bl ur or in com bination w ith a Ve ctor ch anne lto produce m otion bl ur.

Fil te r Node s Fil te r Node is th e m os t com m onl y us e d node in th is s e t.It can be us e d for a broad range of e ffe cts , s uch as s oft bl urring, e dge e nh ance m e nts for cartoons , ne on s igns , de cal s , and m uch m ore . Th is node acce pts an Im age input w h ich can be control l e d us ing a Factor range val ue and w il lth e n m odify th e pixe l s bas e d on a diffe re nt fil te r or e ffe ct type .Th e re s ul t is pas s e d to th e Im age output.Th e s ofte n fil te r type appl ie s a ve ry s m al l bl ur to th e pixe lto e l im inate s m al lartifacts . Sh arpe n atte m pts to e nh ance th e e dge s be tw e e n th e pixe l s to de fine th e e dge s be tte r (th is ofte n cre ate s artifacts ).Lapl ace , Sobe l , Pre w itt, and K irs ch are al lve ry s im il ar and th e y e nh ance th e e dge s and dark e n th e re s t.Sh adow is k ind ofl ik e e ngraving and appl ie s a s e l fs h adow on th e e dge s .Th is node is ofte n us e d to m ak e im age s th at are “too pe rfe ct” s e e m cris pe r. Bl ur Node is a ve ry s im pl e node .It tak e s an Im age input and (bas e d on a Size range val ue w h ich infl ue nce s th e am ount ofbl ur)w il lbl ur th e pixe l s bas e d on diffe re nt fil te rs or m e th ods .It w il lfil te r it bas e d on an X and Y val ue and can e ve n be appl ie d to Gam m a corre cte d val ue s .Enabl ing Bok e h fil te ring w il lus e a circul ar fil te r ins te ad of th e s im pl e s q uare m e th od.Am ong th e fil te r m e th ods avail abl e are Fl at, Q uadratic, Cubic, Gaus s ian, CatRom , M itch , and Te nt.

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Each one fil te rs diffe re ntl y and any one ofth e m can be us e d to obtain th e de s ire d e ffe ct.Th e re s ul ting e ffe ct is appl ie d to th e im age and pas s e d to th e Im age output.Th is is ve ry us e fulfor D e pth ofFie l d and m otion bl ur.It can al s o be us e d cl e ve rl y for inte re s ting titl e w ork and ove rl ays . Ve ctor Bl ur Node is bas ical l y a one - purpos e node , but it doe s its job ve ry w e l l .It re q uire s th re e inputs to ge ne rate th e de s ire d output.Th e s e th re e inputs are an Im age , a Z ch anne lm ap, and a Ve ctor Spe e d input.Al lofth e s e can be gath e re d from th e s ce ne and Ve ctor Node s .Th is m e th od us e s al l th re e ch anne l s toge th e r to bl ur th e im age bas e d a pixe ls tre tch ing m ode l .Th e inne r w ork ings ofth is m e th od are be yond th e s cope ofth is articl e but th e functional ity is a ve ry fas t and e fficie nt pos tproduction e ffe ct.It us e s a Sam pl e val ue to controlth e q ual ity ofth e bl ur, a M inSpe e d to s e t th e m inim um s tre tch for e ve ry pixe land a M axSpe e d for th e m axim um s tre tch for any pixe l .It th e n us e s a Bl urFactor w h ich can be us e d to fine tune th e bl ur from s trong to w e ak .Th e h igh e r th e Sam pl e s and th e h igh e r th e Bl urFactor, th e s tronge r th e bl ur.It is im portant to s e t th e M in and M ax s pe e ds to incl us ive e nough val ue s , but not too broad to be com e m e m ory inte ns ive .Th is node is m os t ofte n us e d for m otion bl ur.

Conve rte r Node s Col orRam p Node is a dualpurpos e node in th at it bl e nds col ors and val ue s , and outputs both an RGB Im age output and a range val ue Al ph a output.Th e al ph a output can be us e d as any val ue output but is m os t ofte n us e d for trans pare ncy.Th e Factor input can be e ith e r a range val ue or a tim e l ine controlto controlth e infl ue nce ofth e node .Th e ram p s l ide r can us e col ors and trans pare ncie s to cre ate a gradie nt w h ich is us e fulfor gradie nt e ffe cts on ove rl ays and for val ue tuning. RGB to BW Node is th e s im pl e s t node avail abl e .It tak e s an RGBA Im age input and outputs a range Val ue output.Th is is a grays cal e re pre s e ntation of

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A Com pos itor Node O ve rvie w

th e RGBA Im age input and can be us e d as s uch or as a val ue output. Se parate RGBA Node is ve ry ve rs atil e be caus e it al l ow s you to m odify e ach col or ch anne l inde pe nde ntl y.It acce pts an RGBA Im age input and outputs th e corre s ponding Re d, Gre e n, Bl ue , and Al ph a ch anne l s as grays cal e val ue s .At th e tim e ofth is w riting, th e ne xt officialre l e as e of Bl e nde r w il lincl ude a Com bine RGBA Node w h ich w il ldo th e re ve rs e ofth is node . Se parate H SVA Node is e s s e ntial l y th e s am e as th e Se parate RGBA node but it s e parate s th e H ue , Saturation, Val ue , and Al ph a ch anne l s for th e im age .Th e y are grays cal e val ue s jus t l ik e th e Se parate RGBA node .At th e tim e ofth is w riting, th e ne xt officialre l e as e ofBl e nde r w il lincl ude a Com bine H SVA Node w h ich w il ldo th e re ve rs e of th is node . Se t Al ph a Node is good for titl e w ork and ove rl ays but h as it's purpos e in oth e r node s as wel l .It acce pts an RGBA Im age and th e n al l ow s an Al ph a val ue to be s e t or ove rw ritte n by a Val ue input.Al ph a val ue of0.0 is trans pare nt and 1.0 is opaq ue .Th e com bine d RGBA val ue s are pas s e d to th e Im age output.Th is node is ofte n us e d w ith a Tim e node to controlth e fade in or fade out ofa s ce ne . Trans l ate Node is th e onl y m oving anim ation node avail abl e at th e m om e nt (m ore advance d node s for rotation, e tc.are be ing de ve l ope d).Th is node w il ltrans l ate or m ove an Im age input a s e t val ue from th e top l e ft ofth e bas e canvas s ize .It w il lbe m ove d X (h orizontal )pixe l s by Y (ve rtical )pixe l s. Th e s e val ue s can be variabl e X and Y inputs w h ich is us e fulfor anim ations w h e re a Tim e node can be us e d to s l ide a s ce ne or im age acros s th e canvas . Th e re s ul ting Im age is output w h ich can th e n be pl ace d on top ofanoth e r Im age for “m e rging dow n”.

Group Node s Group node s are noth ing m ore th an cus tom node s w h ich are m ade by tak ing th e ge ne ric node s and grouping th e m w ith Ctrl + Gk e y.Th is group is th e n avail abl e as a dupl icate to th e curre nt group.To ungroup th e node s , you can pre s s Al t+ Gk e y.To add a group node you can e ith e r us e th e Add m e nu or pre s s Sh ift+ Gk e y for a l is t ofcurre ntl y avail abl e node s .W ork ing w ith group node s can s ave a l ot oftim e for re pe titive e ffe cts , but s h oul d be us e d w ith caution.A ne w group s h oul d be adde d, th e n ungroupe d and re groupe d as a diffe re nt group node .Th is ge ts around th e probl e m ofcopy node s ins te ad ofdupl icate node s . Group node s are m os t ofte n us e d in th e de faul t Bl e nde r fil e , th at w ay com m onl y us e d e ffe cts can be done q uick l y. Concl us ion Iw oul dl ik e to e ncourage you to e xpl ore th e various s e ttings and us e s for th e node s .Al s o, vis it th e s upport forum s for various re fe re nce s ch e m atics w h ich can h e l p you unde rs tand th e m ath e m aticaland graph icalfunctional ity ofe ach node .For practicalpurpos e s , th e Com pos itor is a ve ry pow e rfultooland s h oul dn't be cons ide re d a gl orifie d Se q ue nce r – you can do a l ot m ore w ith th is th an you coul d e ve r do w ith th e Se q ue nce r.In fact, Iw oul dn't be a bit s urpris e d ifyou ne ve r us e th e Se q ue nce r again! Th is h as be e n a brie fde s cription ofth e Com pos itor, w h ich is onl y h al fofth e Node w indow . Th e re is m ore to l e arn, s uch as th e inte rface , th e M ate rialnode s , and th e various w ays in w h ich th e s e node s can be us e d toge th e r. Again, Ie ncourage e ach us e r to practice us ing node s and l e arn th e “ins and outs ” ofth is tool . H ave fun!

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Inde x O f Re fl e ction

Inde x O f Re fl e ction

Inde x of Re fraction

Re fraction occurs w h e n th e e ne rgy of an incom ing l igh t w ave m atch e s th e naturalvibration fre q ue ncy ofth e el e ctrons in a m ate rial .Th e l igh t w ave pe ne trate s de e pl y into th e m ate rial , and caus e s s m al lvibrations in th e e l e ctrons .Th e e l e ctrons pas s th e s e vibrations on to th e atom s in th e m ate rial , and th e y s e nd out l igh t w ave s ofth e s am e fre q ue ncy as th e incom ing w ave .But, th is al ltak e s tim e .

-by Sandra Gil be rt

Th e part ofth e w ave ins ide th e m ate rials l ow s dow n, w h il e th e part ofth e w ave outs ide th e obje ct m aintains its originalfre q ue ncy.Th is h as th e e ffe ct of be nding th e portion ofth e w ave ins ide th e obje ct tow ard w h at is cal l e d th e norm all ine , an im aginary s traigh t l ine th at runs pe rpe ndicul ar to th e s urface of th e obje ct.Th e de viation from th e norm all ine ofth e l igh t ins ide th e obje ct w il l be l e s s th an th e de viation ofth e l igh t be fore it e nte re d th e obje ct. Th e am ount ofbe nding, or angl e ofre fraction, ofth e l igh t w ave de pe nds on h ow m uch th e m ate rial sl ow s dow n th e l igh t. D iam onds w oul d not be s o gl itte ry ifth e y did not sl ow dow n incom ing l igh t m uch m ore th an, s ay, w ate r doe s . D iam onds h ave a h igh e r inde x ofre fraction th an w ate r, w h ich is to s ay th at th e y s l ow dow n l igh t to a gre ate r de gre e .

th e gl as s .As s uch , it is s l ow e d dow n to a gre ate r e xte nt th an a w ave ofre d l igh t, and w il lbe be nt to a gre ate r de gre e .Th is accounts for th e orde r ofth e col ors th at w e s e e in a rainbow .It is al s o w h at give s a diam ond th e rainbow fringe s th at m ak e it s o pl e as ing to th e e ye . D e finition ofInde x ofRe fraction tak e n from h ttp://s cie nce .h ow s tuffw ork s .com /l igh t12.h tm For a m ore te ch nicalde s cription you ch e ck out th e e xpl anation at h ttp://e n.w ik ipe dia.org/w ik i/Re fractive _ inde x Now w h y is th is im portant?W h e n cre ating m ate rial s , you ne e d to tak e Inde x ofRe fraction into account.O th e rw is e , your m ate rial s w il lnot be convincing. And w ith th e ne w trans m is s ivity fe ature adde d in th e l as t re l e as e in addition to th e IO R s e ttings pane lal re ady in pl ace , bl e nde r is capabl e ofconvincing IO R val ue s . H e re is a l is t ofIO R val ue s for your re fe re nce .Th is im age is rath e r s m al l , for a cl e are r copy pl e as e ch e ck th e pdfincl ude d w ith th is is s ue .

O ne inte re s ting note about re fraction is th at l igh t ofdiffe re nt fre q ue ncie s , or e ne rgie s , w il lbe nd at sl igh tl y diffe re nt angl e s. Le t's com pare viol et l igh t and re d l igh t w h e n th e y e nte r a gl as s pris m . Be caus e viol e tl igh t h as m ore e ne rgy, it tak e s l onge r to inte ract w ith

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Th e l as t ye ar h as s e e n a m ajor incre as e in us e r docum e ntation.W ith th e arrivalofne w book s in s e ve rall anguage s , dow nl oadabl e m anual s and cl as s book s /cours e s , l e arning Bl e nde r h as be com e e as ie r th an e ve r.Le t’s tak e a l ook at w h at is curre ntl y avail abl e for our e ducationale njoym e nt.

Book s

‘Introducing Ch aracte r Anim ation w ith Bl e nde r’ by Tony M ul l e n, w il ls oon be finis h e d and is now avail abl e for pre - orde r at Am azon.com .It is 432 page s and is an ide als tarting point for anybody inte re s te d in cre ating e ngaging, convincing ch aracte r anim ation, giving a th orough and practicalintroduction to th e functional ity ofBl e nde r. It com e s w ith a com panion DVD th at incl ude s th e com pl e te Bl e nde r ins tal l ation e xe cutabl e for W indow s , M ac, and Linux;th e s h ort fil m "El e ph ants D re am ";al lth e Bl e nde r and s ource fil e s us e d to produce th e e xam pl e s and tutorial s in th e book ;e xte ns ive l ink s for tutorial s and Bl e nde r- re l ate d re s ource s ;and oth e r val uabl e O pe n Source s oftw are dis cus s e d in th e book , incl uding th e popul ar Bl e nde rPe opl e s cript. “La 3D l ibre ave c Bl e nde r” (Fre nch m anual )by O l ivie r Saraja is avail abl e in France .It is around 356 page s , fe aturing s om e col or pl ate s by w e l lk now n artis ts ofth e com m unity (Ste fan Z s ol t, Robe rtt, H ark ym an… ). ‘Bl e nde r 3D - Guia do O s orio’ (Brazil ian / Portugue s e m anual )by Al l an Brito. Th e book is aim e d both at th e be ginning and th e advance d Bl e nde r us e r and it counts 448 page s . ‘Bl e nde r Be ginne r’s Bibl e ’ (Japane s e m anual ), by Sh inich i Tas ak i w as re l e as e d in Se pte m be r.‘Bl e nde r Be ginne r’s Bibl e ’ is aim e d at th e be ginning Bl e nde r us e r, cove ring al lth e ne w fe ature s and tool s th at h ave be e n adde d to Bl e nde r s ince th e l as t Japane s e book w as re l e as e d in 2003. Apre nde e n 24 H oras Bl e nde r & Yafray D is e no Grafico 3D con Softw are Libre (Spanis h Bl e nde r 2.41 M anual ) h ttp://w w w .boxe l .info/m orcy/inde x.ph p?e ntry=e ntry060805- 185712 Th e printe d book (or PD F ve rs ion)is actual l y a com pil ation ofth e tutorial s from th e cours e 'Anim ation for Com m unication' w h ich w as taugh t at th e Es cue l a Supe rior de Inform atica ofCas til l a- La M anch a Unive rs ity in Spain, in 2005/2006, by Carl os Gonzal e z M orcil l o

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EducationalRe s ource s

Cours e W ork / Guide d Tutorial s ‘Bl e nde r Bas ics ’ by Jim is th e s e cond e dition of‘Bl e nde r Bas ics ’;h is cl as s room tutorialbook .It is a ve ry th orough , re ady to us e guide of118 page s . Ne alH irs ig from Tufts Unive rs ity offe rs com pl e te cours e m ate rial s for Tufts Unive rs ity 3D D e s ign cl as s can be found at h ttp://ocw .tufts .e du/Cours e /28 or th e Bl ack board cours e s ite at: h ttp://bl ack board.tufts .e du Us e rw ord: bl e nde r Pas s w ord: bl e nde r.Th e re is a l ink to th e cours e s ite l is te d unde r "M y Cours e s "on th e h om e page dis pl aye d afte r l ogin.Th e Bl ack board s ite is not avail abl e dail y from 1:00AM - 2:00AM Eas te rn Standard Tim e . Th e cours e contains w e e k l yl e arning units cons is ting ofove r a h undre d vide o tutorial s and s om e 25 PD F tutorial s .Al las s ociate d fil e s incl uding com pl e te d tutorial s can be dow nl oade d.Th e vide o tutorial s are in s tre am ing Re alM e dia form at and re q uire broadband or D SLacce s s .Th e s ite al so incl ude s 4 cours e proje cts and e xam pl e s ofprior s tude nt w ork . Ne alinvite s com m e nts on th e cours e m ate rialand can be re ach e d at nh irs ig@ tufts .e du O fficialD ocum e ntation h ttp://m e diaw ik i.bl e nde r.org/inde x.ph p/M ain_ Page Us e r's M anual Gam e Engine D ocum e ntation Gl os s ary Q uick Start Noob to Pro w ik ibook Bl e nde r Sum m e r ofD ocum e ntation Introdu ction to Pyth on Scripting b y Ste ph e n Sw ane y (stivs) Introdu ction to th e Gam e Engine by M al Introdu ction to Ch aracte r Anim ation b y Ryan D al e Introdu ction to Rigging Robe rt Ch ristian (w ave z) Introdu ction to Ph ysicalSim u l ation by Fe l ipe Be rgam in Boral l i Introdu ction to M ode l ing by M ich ae lW orce ste r (M ick M cM ack ) Introdu ction to Ligh ting by Gu il l e rm o S. Rom e ro (gsrb 3d) Introdu ction to th e Principl e s of Anim ation b y W il l ian Padovani Ge rm ano (Ianw il l ) Introdu ction to M ate rial s and Proce du ralTe xtu ring b y Col in Litste r (Cog) Introdu ction to th e Bl e nde r D atab ase by Frédéric van de r Esse n (e fb ie )

Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006

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th e m agazine .

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Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006

Gal l e ria

LaBarge - Gam e r

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Gal l e ria

Guil h e rm e Lope s - Coca

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Gal l e ria

Sal vador Gracia Be rnal- H orm ijas

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Gal l e ria

Scoot M orris on - Gavins Toy Robot

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Gal l e ria

Z ol tan M ik l os i - Air Surfing

42

Gal l e ria

Z ol tan M ik l os i - Janine

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Z ol tan M ik l os i - Je nny

44

Gal l e ria

Ge orge M - Coffe e xp

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U pcom ing...

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Is s ue 8 January 2007 Th e m e : Car M ode l ing M e ga Spe cial !! M ode l ing Cars M ode l ing Tyre s Car Paint and m ore ...

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Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006