Creating Mesh-based Arches from Curves

This video tutorial will show you how to leverage the power of curves to create smooth polygon-based arches. We'll also take a look at how to control the polycount of the resulting mesh. After covering the basics, there are two short timelapse videos demonstrating a couple of variations on the techniques.

The resulting geometry can be used to help create archways, doorways, architectural support structures, etc.



Watch the tutorial online
(FLV streaming, Length - 11:31)
Or, Download the 62MB ZIP file to view it offline (load the HTML file in your browser).

technorati tags: Blender3D, 3D, graphics, Blender tutorials

"Painting" Instanced Objects into your Blender Scene

This tutorial teaches how to use Blender’s particles system to “paint” instanced objects onto mesh surfaces. Similar to Maya’s “Paint Effects”, though not nearly as powerful, it’s a very nice way to fill a scene with flowers, vegetation, rocks, pebbles, gravel, debris, etc.

There's so much you can do with these techniques! The end of the tutorial includes a timelapse demonstrating a practical application of the techniques.




The tutorial is hosted by BlenderCookie. There's a streamed version of the tutorial at a nice resolution of 960x600 (10 fps) and, there's a downloadable version that includes

• 1280 x 800 resolution, 30 fps, MOV format
  
• better audio quality
  

Check it out!



Check out the video tutorial...

technorati tags: Blender3D, 3D, graphics, Blender tutorials

Bring Out More Details in Some of your Applied Image Textures

Do some of your applied image textures look a little blurry when rendered?

Well, here's a tip that can easily add a little bit more crispness to some of those textures. This applies specifically to Image textures.

The parameter involved is called MipMap. It can be found in the Texture buttons window (F6), on the Map Image panel. This panel is only visible after having added an Image texture to your object.



MipMap

With the MipMap option enabled (the default), Blender will create several lower-resolution images of your texture and automatically use them based on the objects distance from the camera. Because less memory is require to process these low-res textures, render speeds can be enhanced, as well as increased framerates within the Game Engine.

However, this can sometimes result in less crisp textures, it depends on the texture and your preference for how things should look. The difference is usually subtle and it often requires doing some test renders, but it can often result in crisper looking image textures. This may not provide consistent results in an animation so, you'll need to do some comparision renders to be sure.

How it Works (from Wikipedia)
Each bitmap image of the mipmap set is a version of the main texture, but at a certain reduced level of detail. Although the main texture would still be used when the view is sufficient to render it in full detail, the renderer will switch to a suitable mipmap image (or in fact, interpolate between the two nearest, if trilinear filtering is activated) when the texture is viewed from a distance or at a small size. Rendering speed increases since the number of texture pixels ("texels") being processed can be much lower than with simple textures. Artifacts are reduced since the mipmap images are effectively already anti-aliased, taking some of the burden off the real-time renderer. Scaling down and up is made more efficient with mipmaps as well.

Here are two renders where the only settings difference is the MipMap option.


Find more info on the other options available on the Map Image panel.

technorati tags: Blender3D, 3D, graphics, Blender tutorials

QuickTip: Assigning a 3D Object to be Visible on Multiple Layers

You can easily assign a selected object(s) to be visible on a certain layer by using the M-key while in the Object mode. The following dialog will appear:



Simply select the desired layer button and click OK. The object will then be moved to that layer.

However, what if you want to make an object visible on more than one layer?

Well, it's simple. With your object selected, press the M-key to display the Move Object dialog. Now, hold down the Shift-key while selecting all of the other layers where you want your object to visible, then click OK.



That's it! You can now view that object on multiple layers.

technorati tags: Blender3D, 3D, graphics, Blender tutorials