tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56579728783519877222024-03-12T23:32:23.869+00:003D Gridmaddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-81219089074101722662010-08-11T13:11:00.004+01:002010-08-11T16:23:03.686+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 2 - Building a boat - Part 6Welcome to the sixth and final part of the "Building a boat" tutorial.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 2 - Building a polygon boat</b></span><br />
<b>Part 6 - The big finale</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
You're almost done with modelling your boat. But, as always, some new things have to be added before we can take a alook at the final product.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>This is the link to the video tutorial of part 6 - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBNj-R5Cais">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBNj-R5Cais </a></b><br />
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If you've followed the tutorial so far, your boat should be almost done. But we still need the classic life buoy a post and a stairway to the cargo bay.<br />
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The life buoy is made out of a circle at first, which you will extrude and immediately scale inwards, like in the video. Select the newly created faces and extrude them upwards, till you get the desired height.<br />
The next tool which will be used can be found in any other 3d application. In Blender 2.53 it's called a subdivision surface (or subsurf).<br />
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The stairway is made out of a cube. Remove one of the faces, then sale it accordingly, just like in the video and place it on the deck, in front of the cabin.<br />
The post is made out a cylinder, just like the safety bars on the sides. Just extrude it, like it's shown in the video, then place in in the front of the deck, just behind the stairway.<br />
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At the end of the video, you will see the rendered model of the boat. It took us long to get here, but with a little bit of practice, you can actually finish it in less than an hour.<br />
I hope that this tutorial was useful and that you've learned something from it. If something doesn't work right the first time, don't worry. Keep practicing and you'll see that the results will get better and better :)maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-44387701907054689792010-08-11T12:58:00.000+01:002010-08-11T12:58:15.435+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 2 - Building a boat - Part 5Welcome to part 5 of the "Building a boat" tutorial.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 2 - Building a polygon boat</b></span><br />
<b>Part 5 - The steam horn</b><br />
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Finally we're going to finish working on the connections between the tubes. We're almost at the end, but there are some other elements that need to be added to our boat.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>This is the link to the video tutorial of part 5 - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-2JJIu8XPw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-2JJIu8XPw</a></b><br />
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If you remember what I said about instead of selecting 4 vertices to create faces between the bars you should select two edges, this video shows you how. So we're done with those bars and it's time to move on.<br />
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The steam horn will be placed on top of the cabin's roof and will be the spot from where steam (what else) is evacuated. It is build out of a simple tube. But that's not all. In this video you'll see the "knife" tool for the first time. Select it, go to the side view of the tube and draw the white line (while in wireframe mode), just like shown in the video. Delete the upper faces, the use a neat tool Blender offers: the subdivision surface.What it does is basically increases the thickness of the inner walls of the horn.<br />
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Scale and move the new object and place it on the roof. That wasn't so hard after all :P<br />
See you in part 6, which is the final part of this tutorial.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-91108499217557001462010-08-11T12:39:00.000+01:002010-08-11T12:39:55.731+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 2 - Building a boat - Part 4Welcome to the fourth part of the "Building a boat" tutorial.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 2 - Building a polygon boat</b></span><br />
<b>Part 4 - Connecting the bars</b><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this is going to be a very looong process. There is almost no way of skipping it, if you want the model to look top-notch, but hopefully the video attached to this article will make your job easier.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>This is the link to the video tutorial of part 4 - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLjhCn2QLsY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLjhCn2QLsY</a></b><br />
<br />
Again, there is not much to say here. First of all we will want to make all the tubes hollow inside, so we're going to select all the faces at the end of each tube and delete them (be careful to delete only the faces). This process is shown at the beginning of the video.<br />
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After managing to do that, it's time to start connecting the tubes. This tutorial is made using Blender, but the other software should have the following options too.<br />
Remember what you did at the end of part one when working at the cabin roof and how you created faces between the vertices? This is basically it. The only difference is that this time you are going to select each individual vertex at the end of each tube and connect it to the one of the next tube, this way creating new faces that connect one bar to another.<br />
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This is going to be a very time-consuming task, but at the end of it you will be happy with the results.<br />
Just as a little tip (not shown in this video), instead of selecting individual vertices to form a face (4 required), try selecting the edge at the end of which are two vertices. This way you will only have to do two clicks (one for selecting each edge).maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-59502740487028560362010-08-11T12:29:00.000+01:002010-08-11T12:29:55.152+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 2 - Building a boat - Part 3Welcome to part 3 of the "Building a boat".<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 2 - Building a polygon boat</b></span><br />
<b>Part 3 - Tubes and cylinders</b><br />
<br />
When you're on a boat which is sailing in dangerous waters, safety is very important. That's why in this third part we're going to create some safety bars on the edge of the deck.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>A bar can be modeled very easily by using tubes or cylinders. If you've got this far, you already know how to create a cylinder, how to change its size, length and how to rotate it.<br />
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<b>This is the link to the video tutorial of part 3 - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZH9JEbmnQw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZH9JEbmnQw</a></b><br />
<br />
It's all about tubes and cylinders now. Create a new object then start rotating, scaling and translating it, just like in the video. There aren't too many things to write about this time, as most of the operations you need to do are shown in the video tutorial above.<br />
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You should get four of these bars to follow the outline of the boat's deck. But do not extrude or connect them yet, as this will be covered in the next part of the tutorial. Also make two other bars, one for the front and one for the bottom of the ship.<br />
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Always change views. The top vies of the model will easily help you place the bars on the deck's outline, while the side view will help you adjust their height. If you're paying attention to the video there shouldn't be any problems.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-18223283547381302182010-08-11T12:20:00.001+01:002010-08-11T12:40:29.205+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 2 - Building a boat - Part 2Welcome to part 2 of the "Building a polygon boat" tutorial. Just like the first time, this tutorial is going to also have a video showing each step that needs to be made.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 2 - Building a polygon boat</b></span><br />
<b>Part 2 - Some adjustments and finishing the cabin</b><br />
<br />
It is highly recommended that you watch the videos in order. Before continuing make sure you've watched part 1.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>This is the link to the video tutorial of part2 - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISj2cid6dw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISj2cid6dw</a></b><br />
<br />
Make some more adjustments to the shape of the boat. Try to keep it nice and simple and use the video as a reference.<b></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Now that that's done, let's start building the window for the cabin. Use two edge loop cuts and cut the surface in two places, where the top and bottom of the window will be. Then add another edge loop cut, this time vertical and create the side limit of the window. The newly polygon in the middle of this whole thing should be proportional to the dimensions of the cabin's wall.<br />
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Select this large polygon and extrude it inwards, but not too much. There you have - it's the window.<br />
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Another smaller window should be added on the side of the cabin, So head to that wall and start doing some edge loop cuts, just like before. Two horizontal cuts should be enough this time, one for the bottom and one for the top of the window. The sides should already be there, if you've followed this tutorial step-by-step.<br />
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Watch the video closely and observe how the vertices are translated. The shape does not necessarily need to be exactly rounded, just try to make it look like that. After the vertices are in place, select the four faces where the window should be and extrude them inwards just like you did with the bigger window earlier.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-81810442734082313092010-08-11T11:58:00.002+01:002010-08-11T12:40:42.129+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 2 - Building a boat - Part 1Riding on a boat is good, but building one yourself is even better! Welcome to the next chapter in our Grid Tutorial series, where we're going to take a look at how to model a basic boat, made out of polygons. Not only that, but this tutorial will be accompanied by a six-part video tutorial which will follow the entire progress step-by-step.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 2 - Building a polygon boat</b></span><br />
<b>Part 1 - It all started from a cube</b><br />
<br />
Now it's time to do some more serious modelling. In Chapter 1 we took a look at some of the basic operations and ways to work in a three dimensional environment, but the models we created back there seemed to be a little to simple.<br />
As someone said in the past: "playtime is over!" Let's start building our boat.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>This is the link to the video tutorial of part 1 - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMKRuliXtYc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMKRuliXtYc</a></b><br />
Be sure to always keep up with what's shown on the video, so that you can better understand how to follow the instructions in this article. Pause the video, if you have to, and make sure that you keep the work organized. <br />
<br />
Like it is shown in the video, everything starts off with a cube, which we will cut in half, so that we can later mirror it.<br />
Select one of the vertical faces of the cube and start extruding outwards four times. This is the body of our boat.<br />
From here on, select the vertices or edges on the bottom side and move them until you get the desired shape. The same goes for the ones forming the deck.<br />
Always pay attention to the shape of the boat, so that you do not get too many sharp edges - we want the shape to be smooth.<br />
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Like in the video, after doing most of the adjustments, it's time to start working on the cabin. Go to a side view and use the loop cut tool to create a new edge which goes all the way from the front to the bottom of the ship. Select the two polygons, like in the video, and extrude them upwards, until you get to a certain height.<br />
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For the roof of the cabin, it's time to select the edges at the top. Extrude them outwards, but not too much. Also, remember to first select and extrude the edges on one side and after you're done with those then go to the next group.<br />
You will notice that the vertices at the corners are not connected at all. So what you should do is select the three vertices at the corners and create a face between them (it will be a triangle).<br />
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The roof is almost done. The only thing remaining is to select all the faces creating the roof and extrude them slightly upwards. Before finishing, be sure to check one last time that there are no "empty" polygons below the roof. If they are, then select three or four vertices and then create the faces between them.<br />
<br />
This concludes the first part of the "Building a boat" tutorial. See you next time.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-39324377067011416912010-08-10T13:36:00.002+01:002010-08-10T15:04:18.965+01:00Grid Tutorials Episode 1 - Modelling Basics - Part 4Welcome to part 4 of the Modelling Basics chapter.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics</b></span><br />
<b>Part 4 - Simple polygonal modelling</b><br />
<br />
Until now we've learned how polygons work, what they are made of, what is a vertex an edge or a mesh. It's time to put the new found knowledge to good use and start doing some simple modelling.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It has been said before, but I feel the need to say it again: this first chapter can be learned and practiced, regardless of what 3D graphics software you're using. The polygonal modelling, at first, is similar and the steps you have to follow are the same. We are not going to do any software-specific modelling yet.<br />
<br />
Without any further ado, let's start doing some modelling!<br />
<br />
Create a square on any plane. Select the mesh and extrude it upwards, until you have something looking either like a cube or a rectangular <span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title="">parallelepiped. Notice the new meshes on the sides the program creates.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucaYWcEpiSYM3E_30A_ZoQioIrS3MKbnVsN1dIfzzKd3VEj4J78naR2PIlUXWAgv1-r7uOgXvg2Z3DlvGws2Ut-CtmWaTPwlugBWLVd5wTv7p3S7U92qw4E2IrgovKc4MuB-htDhxhEmi/s1600/polygonal+modelling+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucaYWcEpiSYM3E_30A_ZoQioIrS3MKbnVsN1dIfzzKd3VEj4J78naR2PIlUXWAgv1-r7uOgXvg2Z3DlvGws2Ut-CtmWaTPwlugBWLVd5wTv7p3S7U92qw4E2IrgovKc4MuB-htDhxhEmi/s400/polygonal+modelling+1.png" width="400" /></a></div><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title=""> Then pick the two vertices on one edge and translate them until the shape becomes something like in the picture. Notice that some of the edges which are affected by this translation have changed in size and orientation to correspond with the new shape.</span></span><br />
<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title="">Now select the face marked by the yellow stripes and extrude it outwards. Again, the program automatically creates some new edges and faces.</span></span><br />
<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title=""><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title="">If you take a look around the new shape, you will see that the sharp edges are making light fall not so smoothly on the object itself. It's time for a bevel.</span></span><br />
<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title=""><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title="">Select the edges like shown in the image below, go to where the software you're using has the bevel function and apply this operation.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOCWabFNDNBmqX-qvpJxGFy606XoeTiJwUA9M_n4wwbyd7p0gGW0wnKUre6pSglI28Dy_wBoGztDI1J-G8vY5biRJ6VcKQKb5KdbHR2W2dnbO04mugDVPBMEAGdQN9nUCcCaYix0Eel3n/s1600/bevel+polygon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOCWabFNDNBmqX-qvpJxGFy606XoeTiJwUA9M_n4wwbyd7p0gGW0wnKUre6pSglI28Dy_wBoGztDI1J-G8vY5biRJ6VcKQKb5KdbHR2W2dnbO04mugDVPBMEAGdQN9nUCcCaYix0Eel3n/s400/bevel+polygon.png" width="400" /></a></div><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;" title=""> As you can clearly see, your object now has more detail than before, and the lightning is smoother, thanks to the newly created </span></span>chamfers.<br />
In order to create a chamfer, the program has added some new polygons at a specific angle.<br />
<br />
Without any examples and using what you have learned so far, try creating a circle (not NURBS) just like you did with the square. Extrude it outwards and create a tube or a cylinder. Use the translation tools, size and rotation to obtain different shapes. You can also select one or more faces of the cylinder and extrude them.<br />
<br />
This practice is important, as in the next part we'll start modelling a simple boat, made only out of polygons.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-8403830317012913602010-08-10T09:45:00.005+01:002010-08-10T13:41:34.634+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics - Part 3Welcome to part 3 of the Modelling Basics tutorial.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics</b></span><br />
<b>Part 3 - Polygons vs NURBS</b><br />
<br />
In this part you will learn what is a NURBS, what is it used for and what differences are between it and a polygon surface.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>NURBS stands for Non-uniform rational B-spline. It is a mathematical model used in 3D applications to create curves and surfaces with a greater precision.<br />
<br />
Let's first compare a NURBS curve with a curve made out of straight lines.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakK_TElT7_SYBBolUFuho8v8UaqQy2CuU1d2KC3gq_cWBRgMlsFnxIK9r2-JU7YUmZaQN7Dfhr6AeHJX-JGAbhAZtaW1Whul3VaEhMrtLogmBln4f246Fbb9AUJCC8iCxbYd_01hIEx0R/s1600/nurbs+curve.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakK_TElT7_SYBBolUFuho8v8UaqQy2CuU1d2KC3gq_cWBRgMlsFnxIK9r2-JU7YUmZaQN7Dfhr6AeHJX-JGAbhAZtaW1Whul3VaEhMrtLogmBln4f246Fbb9AUJCC8iCxbYd_01hIEx0R/s320/nurbs+curve.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In this example, the yellow curve is a NURBS curve, while the black curve is made out of straight lines connected to each other via the red vertices.<br />
<br />
For a even better representation, here is a NURBS circle vs one made out of straight lines.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCA-7qEEJSv4AT7Cf3sqPbPoDCqmsucFY7obLj4kzuKXzWFz-OCpW4DaVmXAgF3ZhVPf4OxtRgCRQZNITOb85_iUwaYK0k4CbfizNXLe9QITlbmILochNsFCq4Ga7e4Dye6Gef_y2aDl5/s1600/circle+polygon+nurbs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCA-7qEEJSv4AT7Cf3sqPbPoDCqmsucFY7obLj4kzuKXzWFz-OCpW4DaVmXAgF3ZhVPf4OxtRgCRQZNITOb85_iUwaYK0k4CbfizNXLe9QITlbmILochNsFCq4Ga7e4Dye6Gef_y2aDl5/s320/circle+polygon+nurbs.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Now let's take a look at some three dimensional objects and surfaces.<br />
For the first comparison, let's look at a cylinder (tube).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MPbBbeeVjPtpo6rS4EPLFzftDsRAW1iS756MMIfWawLOc-7XzuTCnM1cptKjmRzXhws_CHlP_HwKAh2DfhH5QUf6zZsdweuV6VaQDgWZ0vAZRzGz3YquRtqetpRNB8_xihTVxf8aTBXN/s1600/cylinder+nurbs+polygon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MPbBbeeVjPtpo6rS4EPLFzftDsRAW1iS756MMIfWawLOc-7XzuTCnM1cptKjmRzXhws_CHlP_HwKAh2DfhH5QUf6zZsdweuV6VaQDgWZ0vAZRzGz3YquRtqetpRNB8_xihTVxf8aTBXN/s320/cylinder+nurbs+polygon.png" width="320" /></a></div>The cylinder on the left is made out of NURBS, while the one on the right is made out of polygons (in this case, rectangles).<br />
<br />
Here is the comparison between two spheres...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBQL-PmcsJ4SnYvKZY1EHmuJ21J32jtl5dwb4MWO6f99kVu4qTxhSb6jvXRSxfnSJNGceedlmigzk0YiphRxyZhEso5TC_OvZFkG4QBahLnUwu_Eb929CkhJzoTb5UGdLIn_ebR557Loy/s1600/nurbs+polygon+sphere.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBQL-PmcsJ4SnYvKZY1EHmuJ21J32jtl5dwb4MWO6f99kVu4qTxhSb6jvXRSxfnSJNGceedlmigzk0YiphRxyZhEso5TC_OvZFkG4QBahLnUwu_Eb929CkhJzoTb5UGdLIn_ebR557Loy/s320/nurbs+polygon+sphere.png" /></a></div>...and between a NURBS torus and a polygon torus.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0M7cGBIsFhzjpeireMY3-TkqU-LAhhaaUatt0Z2kOc_f8BhAG1gsss9SDGCVqNSoBtrSSYJ3xWBSYPmPB8htfJAEqkJQ5s3uOBYEgl0Ga1_ZoJreOTYOapD34LWNrOUTmcCkSn6Fq8bw/s1600/torus+nurbs+polygon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0M7cGBIsFhzjpeireMY3-TkqU-LAhhaaUatt0Z2kOc_f8BhAG1gsss9SDGCVqNSoBtrSSYJ3xWBSYPmPB8htfJAEqkJQ5s3uOBYEgl0Ga1_ZoJreOTYOapD34LWNrOUTmcCkSn6Fq8bw/s320/torus+nurbs+polygon.png" /></a></div><br />
Notice that the polygonal objects' shapes are not so well defined, since they are made out of polygons connected to each other. Of course, in order to define more rounded shapes, users have the ability to add extra levels of detail to their polygonal objects, as much as they want. The only downside is that the more polygons a shape contains the longer the rendering time will be, as the computer will have to calculate more surfaces.<br />
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Modelling NURBS surfaces has obvious advantages, but the process takes longer to get used to. <br />
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In part 4 we will actually start doing some standard modelling and learn how to create not only standard geometric objects, but also some more complex shapes.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-39890796899903907392010-08-10T08:29:00.004+01:002010-08-10T09:57:12.385+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics - Part 2It's time for the second part of our Modelling Basics tutorial. Now we're going to jump right in to three dimensional modelling.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics</b></span><br />
<b>Part 2 - Starting to model in 3D</b><br />
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Modelling in 3D is very dependent on two dimensional objects. In part 1 we've learned about these 2D elements, like vertices, edges, meshes and polygons and the common tools that can be used to manipulate them. Now we're adding another dimension, which is height.<br />
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Just like in the previous part, we're going to take a look at the basic three dimensional objects, commonly referred to as <b>primitives</b>.<br />
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What can we see in this picture? A <b>cube</b>, a s<b>phere</b>, a <b>cylinder</b> and a <b>pyramid</b>. The <span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">donut-shaped object in the top-left corner is called a torus.</span></span><br />
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<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">The cube has six faces (meshes), each one representing a square.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">Now let's start with the first operation, which is <b>extruding</b> a face. We've talked about the extrude operation in part 1 and here it is pretty much the same thing.</span></span><br />
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<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">If you extrude a face or a group of edges forming a face, it gets translated in the direction you want, while remaining linked to the main body, by creating some new vertices and edges.</span></span><br />
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<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">The green edges represent the ones which have been extruded, while faces 4 and 5 (including two more on the other side which we cannot see, due to the perspective view) are created when the extrusion is made.</span></span><br />
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<span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">You will find yourself using the <b>bevel</b> tool quite often. If you do not want your model to have too sharp edges (and you don't), you will have to create bevels for each one of the edges, so that it will appear as a smoother edge, rather than a completely sharp one.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">Beveling is shown in the picture above. Compare the bevel around face two with the sharp ones around faces 1 and 3.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">Usually, in most 3D graphics applications, you will be able to set the level of beveling, which basically increases the number of bevels created for that edge.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title=""><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">Another tool is the polygon <b>subdivide</b> tool (or subsurf). What this tool does is dividing all the faces of your object (or only the selected edges) by creating another, smoother shape.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title=""><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">In the example above you can see what happens when you first subdivide an entire cube (which is represented via the grey lines).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title=""><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">One of the most used tools is the <b>mirror</b>. What the mirror does is it creates a complete double of the selected object and inverts it depending on the chosen axis.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">In polygonal modelling, you will usually work with just half of the object, so that you can later mirror it and join the two surfaces together, creating the complete object.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">Since we've talked about working with only half of the object, before mirroring it, we should also mention the <b>edge split</b> tool.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">What it does is creating another vertex alongside the selected edge, so that you can later use it for different purposes.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title=""><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">Here is the example of using the edge split tool. The yellow edges and vertices represent the ones we have just created using this operation. In this tutorial we've chosen to split the cube right in half.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">The picture right next to it represents the result of deleting the right side of the cube, after the edge split is complete. As you can see, these geometrical objects are hollow inside, so by deleting the vertices and edges (also meaning the meshes which they form), we can actually see inside it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title=""><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">This concludes part 2 of our Modelling Basics tutorial, where we took a look at some of the standard tools used in three dimensional modelling.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box"><span style="background-color: white;" title="">In part 3 we will discuss about how curved surfaces are created.</span></span></div>maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-75803296351488951582010-08-10T07:01:00.005+01:002010-08-10T10:04:14.825+01:00A brief look at Houdini 11<a href="http://www.sidefx.com/index.php">Houdini</a> is probably one of the most powerful software when it comes to procedural modelling.<br />
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Having shown an increased popularity over the course of the years, SideFX has released a new, better version of Houdini. We can think of it as an enhanced version of Houdini 10 on steroids.<br />
So what are the main features and major changes?<br />
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<a name='more'></a>First of all, the performance has increased a lot when rendering. Compared to Houdini 10 it may not look like much, but trust me it's there and it's important.<br />
While the general UI (user interface) is 90% the same as Houdini 10, this time we have some more tools to work with, as well as a new tool palette in the network editor.<br />
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A very neat feature is the program's ability to calculate vertex normals while in OpenGL mode.<br />
The dynamics algorithms have been also improved. For example the Voronoi-based algorithm which is used for high quality fracturing of objects. It basically allows the user to determine the cracks in the wall for himself and all this just by mostly using the interface.<br />
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As for the rest of the tools, everything has improved since the previous version. There are some new fluid shelf tools, new tools for generating fur, the added support for cloth pinching and layering and some new CHOPS.<br />
Houdini 11 now even supports Disney's "ptex" format.<br />
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The complete list of changes and features in Houdini 11 can be found below.<br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New, bezier-style connectors in the network editors</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New tool palette in the network editor offers a gallery of nodes which can be dragged into the network.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Seamless integration of particles into dynamics networks and dynamics into geometry networks. This makes it easier to focus simulations on particular networks instead of simulating everything at the same time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Enhancements to bundles to strengthen light-linking workflow</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Z-up support</span></li>
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<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Support for vertex normals in OpenGL</span></li>
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<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Network-distributed IPR</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">HQueue for Windows and Mac</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Gold release of Houdini Cloud rendering tools</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Volumes</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Support for multi-resolution volumes with merging, feathering and surfacing tools</span></li>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> VEX Volume Procedural </span>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Volume Quality setting in viewport</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Camera frustum volumes with tapering values.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Higher quality viewport visualization of volumes</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Texturing</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Support for Disney's "ptex" format</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Point clouds</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New point cloud surfacer with adaptive controls (generates a better surface than the existing particle fluid surfacer; more applicable to games)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New point cloud functions</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Fluids</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New Fluid Shelf tools – target smoke, source from surface, resize voxel grid</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">SPH particle fluid solver up to twice as fast</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ability to rotate voxel grid to create non axis-aligned fluid container</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Fur</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">More shelf tools for hair grooming</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Control over guide hair distribution for faster interactivity while grooming</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Combing direction can now be controlled by skin shaders</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">No need for rest attribute</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Distributed wire solver output node</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Cloth</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Support for cloth pinching and layering</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Direct support for non-stretchy cloth (stretch/shear/bend constraints)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ability to simulate 0D cloth particles and to attach 1D cloth strings to 2D cloth surfaces - this provides as unified cloth solver for particles, wires and cloth surfaces.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Distributed cloth solver output node</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Crowd Control</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New CHOPS (foreach, iksolver, objectchain, transformchain, vector ) – for crowds and more </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">New python module that lets developers easily embed C++ code into python code</span></li>
</ul>maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-55581989457043105232010-08-09T22:46:00.011+01:002010-08-10T09:56:20.162+01:00Grid Tutorials Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics - Part 1It's time for the first tutorial here on 3D Grid. This first chapter is mostly for those amongst you who are new to modelling and 3D applications and need some quick information. In this first chapter we will talk about the basics of the modelling process.<br />
In part 1 we will discuss about a very important part of 3D modelling - two dimensional (2D) operations with geometric shapes.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 1 - Modelling Basics</b></span><br />
<b>Part 1 - The two important dimensions</b><br />
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Before starting to create three dimensional objects, you must first learn how to manipulate standard two dimensional shapes and preform operations with them.<br />
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In geometry the point is the core of any geometrical shape, be it a square, a triangle or a circle. While the point has no actual dimensions (like length), we can measure the distance between two points. In 3D modelling, the point is often called a <b>vertex</b> (vertices pl.).<br />
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If two vertices are connected to each other, a line (<b>edge</b>) is created.<br />
Three connected vertices form a triangle (has three edges). Four connected vertices form a quadrilateral (has four edges).Including the triangle, the shapes that contain more and more edges are called <b>polygons</b>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVEnSdJj5I0rE1nu0P5R35BE0Ew0jb3na7jKpqXP20r3Uh6oWEGfvYvLyQsKBiosMui3hlyJMPKRS7n6zrmmLMskbqcmB044lj3gGQoqIoFcCIy8ZsAV0ZKcyiIA5bDDYxkAMGKfmLu70/s1600/basics+3d+modelling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVEnSdJj5I0rE1nu0P5R35BE0Ew0jb3na7jKpqXP20r3Uh6oWEGfvYvLyQsKBiosMui3hlyJMPKRS7n6zrmmLMskbqcmB044lj3gGQoqIoFcCIy8ZsAV0ZKcyiIA5bDDYxkAMGKfmLu70/s200/basics+3d+modelling.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />
When talking about modelling, you should know that most shapes or objects you see generated are usually made out of more polygons. But we will talk more about this in part 2.<br />
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As you can see in the picture above, the triangle and the square are the only ones who have a surface. The surfaces (<b>meshes</b>) will become more important as we move on with this tutorial.<br />
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Of course, the 3D applications allow us to manipulate these two dimensional entities and shapes. Even if we are talking just about vertices, edges or meshes, there is always something we can do to change their size, shape or orientation.<br />
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The first important operation we can do with vertices and edges is the <b>translation</b>. The translation basically means that you can move a vertex , edge or mesh on any axis you want. Below, you will see some examples of translations.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCzyBrI30FlUZBcnR2uFFsjnYQbKNz017eWVLlqRxgpyZtIJmF2t6IFdUTvx5ontXvoJnfVrPw_xGySl7IXJOyln2odmIo9hRthabPErKdQleVaQFxflaoDQvhvNswisBgeY8zTjexSiv/s1600/translation+3d+modelling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCzyBrI30FlUZBcnR2uFFsjnYQbKNz017eWVLlqRxgpyZtIJmF2t6IFdUTvx5ontXvoJnfVrPw_xGySl7IXJOyln2odmIo9hRthabPErKdQleVaQFxflaoDQvhvNswisBgeY8zTjexSiv/s400/translation+3d+modelling.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The red vertices represent the ones that are not selected, while the yellow ones are the vertices that are selected.<br />
In the first example, if we select the two yellow vertices and drag them to the right, we can see them moving in the specified direction. Also notice that the edges that connect them to the other vertices is also changing length.<br />
Right after that, if we move the two selected vertices downwards, we can see that the translation also affects the other two edges which, until now, remained still.<br />
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The second example shows how the translation of a single vertex works. The yellow vertex moves downwards and slightly to the left. This causes the edges connecting to it to also change their orientation. Lastly, the bottom vertex is selected and dragged up and to the right. Notice the changes that occur this time.<br />
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<b>Scaling </b>is another key function of any 3D application. With it's help you can change the size of an edge, mesh or even an entire object. When talking about three dimensional objects, the user can scale them differently on any of the three axis, depending on the result he wants to achieve.<br />
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<b>Rotating </b>an edge, mesh or even an object has it's uses too. Usually what happens is that the center of that edge, mesh or object is rotated around a user-defined axis. Now only that, but you can also rotate these things around other objects or surfaces as well.<br />
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That was pretty easy, huh? :)<br />
Now it's time to get to something more serious, which is the <b>extrusion</b>.<br />
Just like before, this operation can be used on vertices, edges and meshes. Below you can see the example of two extrusion operations.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBh0Q4ab-FO68OgxtfQAx5z6BQCcAUgDZN14UwrfZ7ri2G9YzLEZ17kIdXSJ-Cker4eZ7T7ckuNBVWdpj_Cstsv49qkCUxT10Ky8j_b9cVAVYUzanmk1bMGqHE3ue7l_0NcstqZ6njhV8r/s1600/extrusion+extrude+2d+modelling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBh0Q4ab-FO68OgxtfQAx5z6BQCcAUgDZN14UwrfZ7ri2G9YzLEZ17kIdXSJ-Cker4eZ7T7ckuNBVWdpj_Cstsv49qkCUxT10Ky8j_b9cVAVYUzanmk1bMGqHE3ue7l_0NcstqZ6njhV8r/s400/extrusion+extrude+2d+modelling.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This example shows how the extrusion of one edge works. The green edge is the selected one. The extrusion's direction is, by default, dependent on the normals of that edge or mesh. But the user can manipulate it in any direction he wants afterwards.<br />
Alternatively, selecting the two vertices at each end of the edge would have had similar results, the only difference being that only those vertices would have been extruded, leaving the edge they once formed in place.<br />
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This concludes the first part of this chapter. Even if we are talking about 3D environments, you will be surprised how many times you will have to use the two dimensional view and have to work with 2D objects.<br />
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See you in part 2, where we will actually start working with 3D objects, using many of the things learned in part 1.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-25624316612799640902010-08-09T16:10:00.007+01:002010-08-09T16:17:53.256+01:00Blender 2.53 betaRecently the latest beta version of <a href="http://www.blender.org/">Blender</a> 2.5 was published and we're finally done with the alpha stage.<br />
After three alpha versions, Blender 2.5 becomes beta, to the joy of the users worldwide. Even if I personally thought that even in the alpha stage, 2.5 was really decent, I downloaded 2.53 without hesitation.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Even if some of the basic functions still haven't made an appearance in this beta version (such as the "bevel" tool), the new 2.53 takes a big step in the right direction by firstly getting rid of many annoying bugs of the previous alpha stage.<br />
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Thanks to the Durian open movie project "<a href="http://durian.blender.org/">Sintel</a>", many features developed by the team were added in this version.<br />
I have also noticed a slight improvement in performance, especially during rendering complex scenes and, as always, a performance upgrade is always welcome. Some problems with flickering meshes I've experienced in the early alpha stage are also gone.<br />
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Unlike the alpha stages, where we knew how many of them are going to be, there is no certain number given for the beta versions. We do not know exactly how many of them are going to be and according to the official website, new beta versions are going to be released over and over again, until the program is 100% stable.<br />
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There is another question many have asked: is it worth it to start working with 2.5 now, or should we stay with 2.49 and wait till the final release?<br />
The answer is...both yes and no. While it is certain that the new interface has improved a lot since 2.49, the missing (or not yet implemented) features may cause some users to stick with the old Blender. The smoke and fire simulation or the increased functionality of the overall interface are a strong reason to download 2.53 now, though, so it's really up to the user to decide.<br />
Add to that the fact that 2.49 files are compatible with 2.53 and vice-versa.maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5657972878351987722.post-11387194615751362372010-08-09T15:09:00.004+01:002010-08-09T23:01:15.943+01:00Think in three dimensionsToday is the big day, the day <b>3D Grid</b> is created. So what are the features and what should you expect to see on this blog?<br />
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3D Grid is a blog dedicated to the world of modelling, animating and texturing in three dimensions.<br />
It is a blog where you will find the latest news about all your favourite 3d graphics applications such as Maya, 3DsMax, Blender, Houdini etc. and also read some tutorials, where we will follow almost step-by-step the creation of a certain model or animation.<br />
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While we are currently just at the start of the journey, expect to see here in the near future a large database of all the things you care about most when it comes to 3d applications. The layout will be worked on to keep-up with the continuing flow of information which will be posted here, hopefully, on a daily basis.<br />
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As a first project, aside from the usual industry news, a new tutorial series will soon start. In this new series I will try to show you how to start modeling a ship (actually more ships :)). But it's not just any ship.<br />
Seeing and reading on the web many requests for building Star Wars ships, the 3D Grid tutorial series will begin with a Star Destroyer. Yes, an Imperial Star Destroyer.<br />
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The tutorial will be made using Blender, but if you are using another software, don't worry at all! This is because the workflow is generally the same for all applications, especially in the first stages of the modelling process.<br />
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So get ready for the first part of the tutorial where we will talk about the basic settings, the first steps to make and actually start doing some modelling!maddriverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262679432798274589noreply@blogger.com0