Resource: Incredible Design and Composition Lessons from Feng Zhu

The Feng Zhu Design School provides valuable video lessons on composition, color design, lighting, digital painting techniques, and more. These lessons are packed with extremely insightful information that's very relevant to what we do in Blender.

The lessons are free and given by Feng Zhu, himself! Feng Zhu is one of the most in-demand concept artists in the game and feature film industry.



Here's the first "episode". I recommend going through them in order because some of the content is progressive.


Here's a link to their YouTube channel to see all of the videos...

The information in these videos, if studied and applied, will greatly improve the final results you get in your 3d graphics work. A lot of important issues are addressed in these videos that are rarely adequately covered in a "3d" tutorial.

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

Rigged Character: Ivo Grigull's Norman Rig with video manual

I think I've finally found a rigged character for Blender 2.5 that looks great and is really well-rigged! And, it's free (Creative Commons)!

Character animation in Blender 2.5 with the Norman Rig - Video Manual from Ivo Grigull.

Addendum: Adding custom variants of the Norman Rig from Ivo Grigull.

You can download the rigged character from Ivo's blog...

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

News: Download 130 Free 3D Trees and Plants from Xfrog

Xfrog is providing free sample downloads of 3d trees and plants from its XfrogPlants collection!

You can import them into Blender using the OBJ format.

Check it out...

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

Resource: Animation Insiders Ebook

I'll get straight to the point...This is gold. It's free. Get it. Read it.

NOTE: Link updated.



I haven't had time to really dig into this, yet. But, scanning through it, it's easy to see that it's definitely something to completely absorb. It's an incredible knowledge resource for animators at any level of experience, from some of the industry's leading animators.

More info...

What is Animation Insiders?

Animation Insiders is a book dedicated to animation. AI book #1 is a compilation of know-how, experience and anecdotes from 13 talented animators. Animation Insiders is aimed at people who are passionate about animation, those who are looking to surpass their limits and acquire new techniques. Every book of this amazing series will explores a new theme.

Excerpts from the Introduction and Conclusion

Animation Insiders offer a new approach by compiling the various work
methods of many different artists. In the industry, this is what we call
“gold.” Back in the old days, many artists in the field of special effects
and animation did not want to give away their secrets. At Disney, the
nine old men did not pass on their knowledge and expertise until the
end of their careers. Fortunately, this philosophy has changed and
education has become more open and shared.

This book allows you to peer into the artistic approaches
of professionals, so that you can gain some insight into the way
they go about solving specific problems.

From its very inception, this book was to be dedicated to animation
in general, workflow in particular. We gave different artists the opportunity
to introduce themselves in their own words and to unveil the
“Shaman,” as acting coach Ed Hooks calls it, behind their magic.
In all the various animation topics, workflow seems to be the only one
that is ever redefining itself. Animation Insiders is, therefore, a platform
for talented animators to share their thoughts, experiences and workflow
tips.

The best animators use every resource to enhance their work.
I trust this book will be one of many in your arsenal that enable you to
push your work to the next level.

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

News: BlenderArt Magazine Issue 27 - Shadow Showdown

In this issue, we explore lighting and creation of shadows with a nice variety of tutorials and articles on various lighting tools and techniques.

Also be sure to check out our gallery of wonderful images submitted by very talented members of our community.

FEATURED CONTENTS

• Articles/Tutorials on Fun with Shadows
• I finally get it! Ambient Occlusion
• Mesh Lights
• Studio Pack Shot
• Robbie the Robot
• Using textured light to spice up a scene
• Lighting the Vault
• Lighting Troubleshooting Tips
• & more…
  

Grab your copy today!

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

News: Blender Community Toolbar Review

Ira Krakow has done a nice review of the Blender Community Toolbar, along with sharing some kind words (although maybe a little embarrassing) about BlenderNewbies. I appreciate the effort and kind thoughts. Thanks!



Ira also has a blogsite featuring many Blender tutorials, so be sure to check out his site at http://blender3dvideos.blogspot.com/

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

News: The BlenderNewbies Tutorial Compilation DVD-ROM available for pre-order!

I'm very happy to announce that the BlenderNewbies Tutorial Compilation DVD-ROM has been completed!



You can get full details about the DVD-ROM and how to order it at the link below. I've done my best to pack it with as much helpful content as possible so, there are plenty of Bonus items in addition to the BlenderNewbies Tutorials!

In fact, during the pre-order period, I'll be creating some new timelapse videos demonstrating a wide variety of things in an attempt to cram as much content onto the disc as possible. (Later on, I'll revisit those timelapse videos to convert them to "real" tutorials.)

During the pre-order period, which ENDS October 13th, you'll be able to receive an additional 5% discount so, be sure to take advantage of that.

Anyway, enough talk! Here's the link for more info:
The BlenderNewbies Tutorial Compilation DVD-ROM

I appreciate people's patience with the site being so dead while working on this and a few other projects.

Thanks again for all of the support and attention that you all have provided in keeping this little site alive!


Sincerely,
Kernon

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

Free Art and Graphics Books from wowio

I've recently discovered a resource for free and legal electronic books! These aren't your ordinary watered-down ebooks that we've all encountered. These are licensed electronic versions of really great books that you can find on the shelves of any large retail bookstore! The free service is provided by "wowio" and I highly recommend that you take the time to grab some of these great books.

I had already downloaded many for myself (with many, many more queued for later downloading) and I decided that it would be a shame if I didn't let you all know of the kinds of books they have that are related to art and graphic design. So, to save you some time, I went through and made a note of all of the books that I felt would be of interest to you. This is a complete listing as of this writing but, since they add new books every day, I can't claim that the list will always be complete. I'll update the page every now and then if anything particularly great needs to be added. They also have a ton of other books in a variety of categories.

I'm real excited about all of the new, high-quality learning materials that I've been able to get from them and I hope you find some things of interest as well.

Here is the book listing that I made. Enjoy!


Kernon

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