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Monday, November 22, 2010

Blend file: Quick Test of Animating Curves with the RotoBezier Addon

There are so many new possibilities with this new tool! Here's a quick test.




Here's the blend file...
(You don't need the RotoBezier addon to use the blend file, but you will need to get one of the latest builds at graphicall.org if you want to access the tool.)

Saturday, November 20, 2010

News: Demo of RotoBezier Addon in Blender 2.5

This is a very interesting development for visual effects in Blender. It's an addon for roto masking that's available in the latest SVN builds. It's so simple you really don't need a tutorial for it. The demo video below demonstrates it quite well.

Check the latest builds at graphicall.org for builds that include this feature.

ZanQdo says:

Showing of a quick roto mask right inside Blender with my new RotoBezier addon. Thanks to Campbell Barton for all the API features and fixes needed for this :)



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Monday, November 15, 2010

Tutorial: Changing Cameras during an Animation in Blender 2.5

In this video, we'll take a look at how to change cameras during an animation in Blender 2.5. This process is easier and more intuitive than in previous versions of Blender.


Watch the video tutorial (low-res)...


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Friday, November 12, 2010

News: BlenderArt Mag Issue #30 is Available

Stories are easier to tell in animation form than in just a single image. But even though they are easier to tell, they require an enormous amount of work, planning and dedication on the part of the storyteller. In Issue 30 we take a look at some techniques and tips to tell great stories.

So grab your copy today.
Also be sure to check out our gallery of wonderful images submitted by very talented members of our community.

Table of Contents:

* 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling
* Does Your Character Have Any Feelings
* The Parent Inverse and the Origin of Children
* Rule of Thirds
* The Importance Of Body Language

And Lot More…

Click the magazine to view it full screen.


You can find download links for the PDF at the BlenderArt website...

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Monday, November 08, 2010

Blender 2.5 Tip: How to Setup Keymaps to Change Transform Manipulator Modes

This time-saving tip will allow you to setup hotkeys to change the mode of the Transform Manipulator (translate, rotate, scale).

Here's how:

This is the Transform Manipulator when enabled.




These are the button controls for enabling the manipulator and changing its mode. They're located on the Header Bar of the 3D View window.




Before setting up new hotkeys, be sure to start a New scene to load your Blender startup file. This is important because if you want to save these changes as new default settings, you'll want to save them to your startup file.



Now, load the User Preferences dialog from the File menu.



Go to the Input tab.



Locate and open the 3D View, 3D View (Global) section.



Click the Edit button for the 3D View section.


Note that the button's caption changes to Restore. You can use this to restore the factory default keymaps.



Now, scroll down to the bottom of this section until you see the Add New button. Click it to add a new keymap panel.



Open the panel to access its interface.



In the field highlighted, type view3d.enable_manipulator. This is the name of the operator that will get called when the assigned input (keystroke, mouse click, etc.) is performed.



In order to avoid conflicts with existing hotkeys, I decided to create a new modifier key (common modifier keys are Ctrl, Shift, Alt, etc.). Blender can create a modifier key from any regular key that you specify. So, let's setup the new modifier key by clicking the blank button at the right side of the interface.



After clicking the button, it's caption reads "Press a key".



Simply press a key to have it assigned as the modifier key for this particular keymap. I pressed the ESC-key, but you can assign this to a key of your choice.



Now, do the same with the button shown below. This is where you assign the main part of the keystroke.



I chose to assign this to the Number 1 key. At this point, the full keystroke is ESC-1.



Now we just need to assign the desired mode of the manipulator. I've selected the Translate mode to be assigned to the ESC-1 keystroke. That's it! You can immediately test this by going to the 3d view. The new keymap will work in both the Object and Edit modes.
Note that this won't enable the manipulator if it's disabled, so make sure it's already enabled (Ctrl-Spacebar).



Now do the same for the remaining two modes. Start by pressing the Add New button located just below the keymap panel just completed.



Repeat the process for the Rotate and Scale modes.



Welcome to new efficiency bliss! If you like your new setup, be sure to save it to your startup blend file by clicking the Save As Default button at the bottom of the Preferences dialog (or you can press Ctrl-U).





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Thursday, November 04, 2010

News: Download Blender Conference 2010 Resources (Papers, Presentations, Videos)



This is the list of confirmed speakers and presenters on the 2010 Blender Conference. If a title has a link, it provides a link to the paper, a download or website of speaker.

Some of the resources are not available, yet. But, they seem to be getting added as they become available.

Download the resources...


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News: Blender 2.55 Beta Officially Released (with Bug Fix List)

Well, it's been officially released, and there's quite a long Bug Fix list included.



Official Blender 2.55 Beta Release...
Bug Fix List...


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Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Blender 2.55 Tip: Hiding the Console Window

There's a very simple, but nice new feature in Blender 2.55 that allows you to hide the Console window that appears when Blender first loads (for Windows users). Yay! It still loads, but at least you can toggle it off, now.



The Console Window is a great tool for debugging Blender and also seeing any error messages that get spit out from different functions. But, if you don't need it, it tends to get in the way.

Here's how to control it:



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News: BlenderNewbies DVD Update (texturing sample)

I'm creating texturing exercises for the Blender 2.5 DVD, and here's a series of test renders for one of them.








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News: Blender 2.55 Beta is available for download!



Blender 2.55 Beta is about to be officially released from the Blender Foundation! Release notes will be available at the time of the official release.

You can download it, here...


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Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Watch the Sintel Making-Of / Documentary

"Sintel" is an independently produced short film, initiated by the Blender Foundation.
This making of/documentary shows the stages of the production from November 2009 until July 2010.
As a making of the processes from concept to finished product are explained, as documentary the feel of an international team and the personalities of the artists are depicted.



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