Feature Demo: Continuous Physics in Blender 2.46

The upcoming 2.46 version of Blender will be packed with so many new features it boggles the mind. Development is happening at a breakneck pace.

Here's a new feature that I only recently became aware of and it's definitely cool. It will be of great use when using Blender's physics simulation features. The new feature is call "Continue Physics" and it's available in the Playback menu of the Timeline window. Basically, it allows you to continue tweaking your scene while still seeing the real-time effects of any physics simulations that are in place!

From Blender.org:

For tweaking physics systems, it is useful to work with the timeline Play button enabled. Making changes will then be automatically be reflected in the results. Further, a new option in the Playback menu, "Continue Physics", will continue the simulating physics system regardless of the current frame. This makes it possible to interact with the physics system by moving collisions objects, shaking a softbody object, etc.

UPDATE - Faster loading video!:
Here's a video demonstration that shows the new feature in action. (MOV, 9.5MB)

The scene shown in the video is available as a downloadable .blend file from Blender.org. The new "Continue Physics" feature is only available in the very latest release candidate for Blender v2.46 (rc4) and, of course, the pending official release of v2.46.

For more info and a link to the .blend file, visit Blender.org.

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

Lighted Christmas Tree (Part 3 - Lights and Garland)

NOTE: This tutorial is no longer fully-compatible with the latest versions of Blender. If you wish to follow along with the tutorial, you'll need to use Blender 2.45 or earlier. You can find earlier versions of Blender, here. A new version of this tutorial series will be created to maintain full compatibility.

This is Part 3 of 6 tutorials demonstrating the different aspects of making a lighted Christmas tree (including gift boxes). The commentary in these tutorials is minimized because my goal is to present something that will, hopefully, spark ideas of your own.

In the real world, setting up a Christmas tree is a very personal endeavor. I wanted to try and recreate that by not providing a step-by-step tutorial on exactly how to do it but, instead, simply show you ways to create the different parts that make up the tree. Part 6 will show how you can take the examples in parts 1 thru 5 and create a nice little Christmas tree of your own.

My ideas are based on an artificial Christmas tree, the kind that you would buy at the store and have to piece together on your own.



Watch the tutorial online
(SWF streaming)
Or, Download the ZIP file to view it offline (load the HTML file in your browser).
Or, Download via Torrent.

Get the Free Flash Player: Windows version or Linux version

Lighted Christmas Tree (Part 1 - The Floor and Mat)

NOTE: This tutorial is no longer fully-compatible with the latest versions of Blender. If you wish to follow along with the tutorial, you'll need to use Blender 2.45 or earlier. You can find earlier versions of Blender, here. A new version of this tutorial series will be created to maintain full compatibility.

This is Part 1 of 6 tutorials demonstrating the different aspects of making a lighted Christmas tree (including gift boxes). The commentary in these tutorials is minimized because my goal is to present something that will, hopefully, spark ideas of your own.

In the real world, setting up a Christmas tree is a very personal endeavor. I wanted to try and recreate that by not providing a step-by-step tutorial on exactly how to do it but, instead, simply show you ways to create the different parts that make up the tree. Part 6 will show how you can take the examples in parts 1 thru 5 and create a nice little Christmas tree of your own.

My ideas are based on an artificial Christmas tree, the kind that you would buy at the store and have to piece together on your own.



Watch the tutorial online
(SWF streaming)
Or, Download the ZIP file to view it offline (load the HTML file in your browser).

Get the Free Flash Player: Windows version or Linux version