BlenderArt Magazine - 07 - Blender Materials

EDITO RIAL 02
Thank you all !

Welcome to our 1st Anniversary Issue! Yes, thatâs right, Okay, now on to what you really want to know about -
we actually made it a whole year! When Gaurav and I whatâs in this issue! Materials, lots and lots of material
started this magazine, we had no idea how much we information. Admit it, you want it and you need it. You
would end up needing to learn. But learn we did, as well put enormous effort into your models and you know, as
as adding staff members to help out with proofing and well as I do, that you just have to add materials at
website maintenance. some point. With the addition of Nodes, or more
commonly called Noodles, whole new effects and
It has been an eventful year for both BlenderArt materials are possible. First, we'll answer a simple
Magazine as well as the Blender community itself. We question ß What are Materials? Then, we have several
have seen the creation and release of Elephantâs Node tutorials, as well as a look at Vector Blur and
Dream, the addition of many needed and just plain Ramp Shading. We also take a look at some current
wanted features in Blender. The Blender community Educational Resources available for Blender users.
continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. BlenderArt
Magazine reader numbers have continued to grow as So here we go, letâs get our Blender world all colored
Sandra Gilbert well. With each new issue, we gain a larger audience. up!
And we appreciate all of you!
Managing Editor Happy Blending
We have had an amazing response from the sandra@blenderart.org
community in terms of contributions to the magazine.
While Gaurav and I could have still put out a magazine
without all their help, it would not have been anywhere
near as interesting. Iâd like to recognize all of our
contributors at this point; they deserve a round of
applause for their efforts on all our behalves.
Here they are, in no particular order, and I sure hope I

didnât forget anyone; if I did I apologize in advance.
Enrico Valenza Christian Martin Mackinlay

Juan J. Pena Guckelsberger Ed Cicka
David Lettier Manuel Perez Cory King
Zsolt Stefan Claudio Andaur Early Ehlinger
Claudio Malefico JosÈ Mauricio Mariano Hidalgo
Andaur Rodas R. Edouard de Mahieu
Stefano Selleri RogÈrio Perdiz Sergey Prokhorchuk
Claas Eicke Kuhnen Manuel Bastioni Roja
Daniel LaBarge Alessandro Proglio Andreia Leal
Christopher Kulla Antonio Di Cecca Schemid & Zag
Kernon Dillon Giovanni Lanza Diego Restrepo ParÌs
www.blenderart.org Issue 7 November 2006

CO NTENTS 03
ED ITO R/D ESIGNER

GauravNaw ani
gaurav@ bl e nde rart.org
M ANAGING ED ITO R Artistic Gl

ow U sing Bl
e nde r's Com positor Node s 6
Sandra Gilbe rt
s andra@ bl
e nde rart.org
W EBSITE
Nam Ph am
nam @ bl
e nde rart.org
PRO O FER
Ke rnon D il l
on D O F U sing Bl
e nde r's Com positor Node s 8
Ph ill
ip A.Ryal s
Ke vin C.Braun
D e re k M ars h
W RITERS
Ol ivie r Saraja
D anie lLe Barge
Joh n Al lie
M ich ae lW ach Cre ating Re al
istic Environm e ntfor BGE 11
CO PYRIGH T© 2006
‘Ble nde rArt M agazine ’ ,‘bl e nde rart’
and bl e nde rArt l ogo are copyrigh t of
GauravNaw ani.‘Izzy’ and ‘Izzy
logo’are copyrigh t Sandra Gil be rt.
Al lproducts and com pany nam e s
fe ature d in th e publ ication are Bl
e nde r And D ispl
ace m e ntM apping 24
trade m ark or re gis te re d trade m ark s
ofth e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs .
CO VER ART
W is e M e n
by M ath ias Pe de rs e n
Bl
e nde r and Ve ctor Bl
ur 27
w w w .bl
e nde rart.org Is s ue 7 Nove m be r 2006
Izzy Tal
ks 04
re allife .Th e re w il
lbe dus t, rus t, s cratch e s , de nts W h at do you s m e l llik e ?
Bl
e nde r M ate rial
s and a m ul titude ofoth e r s igns th at th is m ate rialh as
gone th rough ove r th e pe riod oftim e .Notice th e s e
O fte n you can ide ntify im portant cl
h ow th e obje ct s m e l l
ue s by noticing
s .Le ath e r s m e l
l
s diffe re nt
s igns ofw e ar and de cide ifth e y are s igns of th an plas tic, diffe re nt m e tals h ave diffe re nt s m e l
l
s.
W ith th e “m ate rial” or “te xture ”.
m ul titude of H ow can Is e e you?
tool s avail able Te xture attribute s /q ual
itie s can be brok e n dow n by Ide ntify th e ligh t s ource , l igh ting ofth e m ate rialw il l
in Bl e nde r, jus t ans w e ring th e foll
ow ing q ue s tions : pl ay an im portant part in h ow it is re cre ate d.W arm
about any ligh t s ource s w oul d produce w arm h igh l igh ts or
m ate rialcan W h at are you? h ots pots , cooll igh ts th e oppos ite .W h e n gath e ring
be O fte n th e s im ple act ofide ntifying an obje ct can your re fe re nce m ate rial s , m ak e s ure to note in a
convincingl y h elp you unde rs tand w h at k ind ofm ate rial s you w ill journalor m e ntal ly w h at th e l igh t s ource w as , tim e
cre ate d.But be cre ating. ofday (ifouts ide )s o you can re cre ate th e m ate rial
th e re is a Exam pl e : a fire h ydrant te l
ls you its s h ape ;th at it is accurate l y.
s aying in CG, m ade ofth ick s te e ll e ft out in th e w e ath e r, and
it’s not th e m os t ofte n painte d. W h e re are you?
tool , it’s th e Is th e obje ct ins ide or outs ide ?Ifouts ide , it w il lbe
artis t th at W h at is your e s s e nce ?Try to ide ntify th e m os t e xpos e d to w e ath e r, h e at, m ois ture .Th is w il
laffe ct
cre ate s art. im portant fe ature ofth e m ate rial its appe arance .Ne w obje cts q uick l ylos e th e ir
Th e s am e can be s aid about m ate rial s .Al lth e Exam pl e : a radiator’s m os t im portant fe ature m igh t ne w appe arance by acq uiring de nts , dings ,
late s t, ne w tool
s are n’t going to cre ate re al is tic or be its rus ty q ual ity.As you ide ntify th e m os t s cratch e s , dus t e tc.K now ing w h e re it is l ocate d
am azing m ate rial s for you.You s tillh ave to k now im portant fe ature , k e e p l
ook ing de e pe r and w illh e l
p ide ntify th e s e q ualitie s .
h ow to us e th e m and m ore im portantl y, you h ave noticing e ach uniq ue fe ature ofth e m ate rial , it w il
l
to k now h ow m ate rial s are cre ate d and w h at give you a l is t offe ature s to add to th e m ate rial ; W h at do you l ook l ik e ?
m ak e s th e m convincing. adding m ore re al is m and de pth w ith e ve ry one you Now com e s th e part w h e re you s tart de s cribing
add. th e te xture q ual itie s .Th e be tte r you can de s cribe
So, ins te ad offocus ing on tool s , w e are going to w h at you s e e , th e e as ie r it w il
lbe to re cre ate .
tak e a l ook at w h at m ate rial s are and w h at m ak e s W h at are you m ade of?Be fore dis s e cting th e Som e th ings to l ook for:
a good m ate rial .W ith th at inform ation, you can m any l aye rs ofte xture s th at m ak e up a m ate rial , Col or te xture
th e n us e allth e am azing tool s m ore e ffe ctive l
y. you ne e d to ide ntify th e bas e m ate rial .By Re fl e ctions and s h adow s
Le t’s s tart w ith a fe w de finitions . ide ntifying th e bas e m ate rial , you w illm ore e as ily Is th e obje ct trans pare nt?
s e e th e de tails (te xture s )th at m ak e it th at Is th e obje ct lum inous ?
M ate rial
: is th e bas e s ubs tance ofa s urface particul ar m ate rial . W ith h e at?
(i.e .w ood, m e tal , gl
as s ) Exam pl e : an old m e tals ign;k now ing th at it is W ith out h e at?
m e tal ,le ads you to re al ize th at s om e m e tal s are From an outs ide s ource ?
Te xture : is th e adje ctive ofth e m ate rial(i.e . prone to rus ting, s o l ook for s igns ofrus t and From th e obje ct its e lf?
rus ty iron, brus h e d s te e l
, s oil
e d cl
oth , fros te d gl
as s ) corros ion.Is th e s ign painte d?(O l d paint h as a
te nde ncy to ch ip or fl ak e aw ay, ne w paint w il ll
ook Lum ine s ce nt obje cts can h ave one or tw o of
Anytim e you cre ate a ne w m ate rial , you s h ould s h iny and s om e w h at re fl e ctive .) th e s e q ual
itie s and ide ntifie d as :
gath e r re fe re nce m ate rial s .It can be an obje ct w ith Trans l uce nt
th e m ate rialyou are trying to cre ate or a good W h at do you s ound l ik e ?As odd as it m igh t Iride s ce nt
ph otograph ofit.Th e s e re fe re nce m ate rial s w il
l s ound, s om e tim e s your e ye s w illfoolyou.Tap on O pal e s ce nt
h elp you “vis ual ize ” w h at you are trying to cre ate . th e obje ct, w h at doe s it s ound lik e ?M e tal
, gl
as s Fl uore s ce nt
W h e n gath e ring re fe re nce , ve ry rare ly w il
lyou find pl as tic... Incande s ce nt
pris tine m ate rials w ith out s igns ofw e ar and te ar in
w w w .bl
Izzy Tal
ks 05
Bl
e nde r Ne w s
W h at do you fe e ll ik e ?
H ow doe s th e obje ct fe e l ?Is it bum py or s m ooth ,
w arm or cool , s oft or h ard?
Tactil
e q ual
itie s : Ton h as announce d th at Bl e nde r is s l
ow l
y h e ade d for anoth e r re l
e as e . It l
ook s l ik e w e m ay ge t a ne w
Te m pe rature re l
e as e in tim e for Ch ris tm as .A h os t ofne w fe ature s h ave be e n adde d.Re l e as e l ogs h ave al
re ady
Bum pine s s be e n w ritte n for th e foll
ow ing fe ature s ;
Rough ne s s Anim ation
Sm ooth ne s s W al k Cycl e M odifie rs
Proxy O bje cts , for l ocalcontrolove r re fe re nce d data from Librarie s
W h at’s your s tory?
Try to ide ntify th e h is tory ofth e obje ct, h ow h as
us age contribute d to w e ar and te ar? Re nde ring
Re nde r fe ature s : tange nts and norm alm aps
By ans w e ring th e s e q ue s tions , you w illbe tte r Irre gul
ar Sh adow Buffe rs
unde rs tand your m ate rialand h ow to go about Sh adow buffe r, H al fw ay ave rage
re cre ating it.It w il
l
, ofcours e , tak e practice and
lots ofobs e rvation to m as te r th e s e s k ill
s .You ne e d Re nde r Bak ing
to le arn to train your artis tic e ye to re al l
y s e e w h at
you are l ook ing at.Soon, bre ak ing m ate rial s dow n Com pos iting
w illbe autom atic and your m ate rial s w illim prove M atte Node s
dram atical l
y. M atte Node s , tutorial
Th e inform ation for th is articl e w as paraph ras e d
from O w e n D e m e rs book ‘D igitalTe xturing & Link s to th e foll
ow ing fe ature docum e ntation w il lbe pos te d as s oon as th e y are finis h e d.
Painting’ (ISBN 0- 7357- 09 18- 1).Ih igh l y M ode l ing
re com m e nd re ading th is book for anyone w anting M odifie r Stack upgrade s
to tak e th e ir m ate rials k il
l
s to th e ne xt l
e ve l
. Scul pt m ode ling, m ul
ti- re s ol
ution M e s h and Re topo
Fluid D ynam ics s upporting anim ate d O bje cts
M ulti- l
e ve lUVe diting
Te s ting buil
ds can be dow nl
oade d from w w w .bl
e nde rbuil
ds .com .
A ne w ble nde r book h as be e n announce d and th e y are l ook ing for contributors to h e lp w ith com ple tion
ofth e book .Ifyou are inte re s te d in h e l
ping, contact Rol
and H e s s at bl
e nde rbas ics at h ark ym an dot com .
Editor Rol and H e s s w rite s :

“Th e book can be us e d as a ful lintroduction to 3D art and Bl e nde r, or as a re fe re nce for pe ople alre ady
e xpe rie nce d w ith oth e r appl ications .Each ch apte r cons is ts ofa tutorials e ction and th e ory s e ction,
m e ant to s pe ak to ne w us e rs and give th e m a grounding in th e s ol id bas ics ne e de d to s ucce e d w ith
Bl e nde r.”
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - Artis tic Glow U s ing Bl
e nde r's Com pos itor Node s 06
Artistic Gl
ow U sing Ble nde r's
Com positor Node s
- by D anie lLaBarge
Artis tic Gl ow is an e ffe ct th at is a com pone nt of

al m os t e ve ry m ajor ph oto e diting s oftw are
pack age .Bl e nde r h as th e ability to re cre ate th is
e ffe ct, but w ith m ore controland m ore fine s s e ,
be caus e ofth e uniq ue node bas e d s ys te m in
w h ich gl ow can be appl ie d.Th e re are m any w ays
ofadding gl ow , incl uding us ing oth e r program s
s uch as GIM P or Bl e nde r's Glow pl ugin for th e
s e q ue nce r.W e are going to tak e a l ook at h ow to Im age 1.Enabl
ing node com pos itor
add gl ow us ing Bl e nde r’s Com pos itor Node s .
Le t's firs t tak e a l
ook at th e im age as re nde re d
Pre re q uis ite s original ly.O bvious l y th e s ce ne is s e tup w ith are as
ofs trong contras t to h e l p w ith appl ying re al is tic
Th is articl e as s um e s th at you h ave a s ce ne w h ich Spe cul ar Gl ow ins te ad ofjus t Inte ns ity Gl ow .W e
contains s om e are as ofcontras t and th at you w illbas e th e gl ow on th is col or val ue , and th e n m ix
k now your w ay around Bl e nde r.It is s afe to s ay th e gl ow m as k on top to com pl e te th e Gl ow e ffe ct.
th at th is is for inte rm e diate to advance d us e rs . Im age 2.Exam pl
e s ce ne in diffe re nt s e ttings
Cre ating th e Gl
ow M as k
Ge tting Starte d ne e d to m odify th e RGB col or val ue s .Th e node for
To cre ate th e Gl ow M as k w e ne e d to h igh l igh t th e th is is th e RGB Curve s node .H ook th e Im age
To cre ate Gl ow in Bl e nde r w e ne e d to do s e ve ral de tail s in th e im age .To do th is Il ik e to firs t us e a output ofth e Fil te r node up to th e Im age input of
th ings .Firs t, e nable th e Com pos itor.To do th is , Sh arpe n Fil te r.Add a Fil te r node and h ook up th e th e RGB Curve s node .
pl e as e re fe re nce Im age 1 w h ich s h ow s th e D o Im age input to th e Im age output ofth e Re nde r
Com pos ite e nabl e d.You can find th e s e in th e Laye rs node .H ook ing up a Vie w e r node to th e Th e curve re q uire s tuning according to your
Re nde r Buttons (F10)unde r th e Anim Pane l . output Im age ofth e Fil te r node w il ldis pl
ay th e s ce ne .You w ant a picture th at e xh ibits th e m os t
re s ul
ts ofth e fil te r e ffe ct.W e w illbe us ing Fil te r contras t be tw e e n dark ne s s and l
igh tne s s .To
Now w e are re ady to be gin com pos iting our s ce ne Type Sh arpe n, as te s ts h ave s h ow n it to be th e adjus t th is curve us e th e Com bine curve tab and
w ith Glow .O pe n up th e Node Editor W indow and be s t for e nh ancing th e de tail s ofth e im age , se le ct l
ocations on th e curve and m ove th e m .
by de faul t it s h ould h ave a Re nde r Laye rs node alth ough it cre ate s m any artifacts w h ich w e w il l H ook ing up a Vie w e r node to th e Im age output
conne cte d to tw o output node s , Vie w e r and h ave to de alw ith l ate r. h elps .
Com pos itor.It is a good ide a to ope n up th e UV
Im age Editor W indow and s w itch th e im age to Now w e ne e d to is ol ate onl y th e s pe cul ar are as , or
Vie w e r Node to ge t a l arge r vie w ofth e Vie w e r at l
e as t th e are as w ith th e m os t inte ns ity, w h ich
output.Th is h e l ps w ith fine tuning. typical l
y are th e are as ofs pe cul arity.To do th is w e
w w w .bl
Afte r th e output h as e nough contras t you now

ne e d to conve rt th is to black and w h ite .For th is
s te p w e 'l
lne e d to add an RGB to BW Conve rte r
node .H ook up th e Im age output ofth e RGB Curve s
node to th e Im age input ofth e RGB to BW
Conve rte r node and th e n h ook up th e output to a
Vie w e r node to s e e th e re s ul
ts .
W e 're al m os t th e re , but as you can s e e , th e m as k

is ve ry pixe l ate d and h as l ots ofartifacts .To fix
th is , w e ne e d to bl ur it.
Add a Bl ur node , conne cting th e Value output of

th e RGB to BW Conve rte r node to th e Im age input
ofth e Bl ur node .Us e a fil
te r type ofQ uadratic and
a pixe lradius (X and Y s e ttings )appropriate for th e
s ce ne .Enabling Gam m a bl urring also h e l
ps .
H ook up a Vie w e r node to th e output to s e e th e
finalgl ow m as k .
Appl
ying th e Gl
ow M as k
To appl y th e Gl ow M as k to th e Im age w e ne e d a
M ixe r node .Th is node tak e s th e Im age inputs and Im age 3 Th e Noodl
e s for 'Soft Gl
ow '
th e n m ixe s th e tw o inputs toge th e r bas e d on a
Filte r Type .In m os t cas e s you w illw ant to us e th e diffe re nt val
ue s at e ach s tage in th e com pos ition.
Add type .Th is w il lpe rform a pixe l- by- pixe laddition Al s o include d is th e s ch e m atic for th e Gl
ow node
be tw e e n th e tw o col or value s ofth e Im age inputs . s e tup.
FinalTouch e s
You can now h ook up a Vie w e r node and a NO TE

Com pos itor node to th e Im age output ofth e M ixe r
node . You w il ls e e th e com bine d im age s w ith th e Th is s ch e m atic s h ow s th e Gl ow node s ins ide a Group
Gl ow e ffe ct.Ifal lw e nt corre ctl
y, you s h oul d now node cal l
e d Gl ow .Th is is not re q uire d for th e final
h ave a picture th at h as inte ns ity al ong al lofth e NO TE output.
e dge s th at e xh ibit s pe cul
arity or inte ns e ligh t You s h oul d find a re fe re nce Ble nde r file incl ude d w ith
diffus ion. th is is s ue to track and trace a w ork ing e xam pl e ofth is
NOTE: Th is articl e w as cre ate d us ing a CVS ve rs ion of
Bl e nde r and s om e fe ature s s h ow n in s cre e ns h ots s e tup.
You can us e th e Factor s e tting in th e M ixe r node to
controlth e m ixing ofth e tw o Im age inputs .Fine m ay not be avail abl e at th e curre nt publ ication ofth is
articl e .Th rough th e m ain Bl e nde r re l
e as e h ow e ve r, Be s ure to vis it h ttp://w w w .ids tudios .org for m ore
tuning m ay be re q uire d, and th e e xtra Vie w e r
node s w il
lh e l
p m ak e tuning e as y. th e e ffe ct de s cribe d h e re can be us e d in th e curre nt inform ation on cre ating Gl ow and oth e r s pe ciale ffe ct
Bl e nde r re l
e as e . node s .
Be l
ow you w il
ls e e th e output s e ttings for th e
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - D e pth O f Fie l
d U s ing Bl
O ffs e t and Size .O ffs e t, in

D e pth O f Fie l
d U sing Bl
e nde r's m y e xpe rie nce , h as al
be e n a ne gative val
w ays
ue and
Com positor Node s it appe ars to be th e
Bl e nde r grid units from th e
cam e ra to th e focus .Size
appe ars to be a gradie nt
filte r th at control s th e
- by D anie lLaBarge abruptne s s ofth e trans ition
be tw e e n s h arpne s s and
bl urrine s s w h e n us e d w ith
D e pth ofFie l d (D O F)is a ve ry popul ar e ffe ct to be th e Bl ur node .
s im ulate d in com pute r ge ne rate d im age ry as it
adds to th e ove ral lre alis m ofan im age .True , D O F Pos itive val ue is us e d for
as your e ye pe rce ive s it is not ye t pos s ibl e w ith back ground bl ur and a
Im age 1 Enabl
ing node com pos itor and Z pas s
Bl e nde r, but a ve ry cl os e s im ul
ation offore ground ne gative val ue is us e d for
and back ground bl ur can be ach ie ve d.W e w il lbe output.Th is h e l
ps w ith fine tuning. fore ground bl ur.Th e cl os e r
look ing at one m e th od, us ing Bl e nde r's built in th e val ue is to 0, th e s ofte r th e gradie nt.Ne gative
Com pos itor Node s . Le t's tak e a l ook at th e im age as re nde re d val ue s are typical ly ve ry s m al l
, us ually no m ore
original ly. O bvious l y th e s ce ne is s e tup and th e th an - 0.250.You can tak e a l ook at th e ne w Z
Pre re q uis ite s ele m e nts are arrange d to e xh ibit good D O F. W e ch anne loutput by h ook ing up a Vie w e r node to
w illbe bl urring th e color val ue s us ing th e de pth th e Val ue output and l ook ing at th e Z ch anne lin
Th is articl e as s um e s th at you h ave a s ce ne w h ich ch anne l . th e UVIm age Editor.
e xh ibits a ne ce s s ity for D O F and th at you k now
your w ay around Bl e nde r.It is s afe to s ay th at th is Now l e t's l
ook at th e Z Ch anne l , de l
ive re d in th e Z
is for inte rm e diate to advance d us e rs .. Pas s to th e Com pos itor.To do th is , add a ne w
Vie w e r and conne ct th e Z input to th e Z
Ge tting Starte d output ofth e Re nde r Laye r node .In th e UV
Im age Editor cl ick on th e icon th at s h ow s
To cre ate D e pth ofFie l d in Ble nde r w e ne e d to do th e Z val ue .Th is is w h at th e de pth val ue s
s e ve ralth ings . Firs t, e nabl e th e Com pos itor and look l ik e for th e s ce ne .
pas s th e Z Ch anne l(Bl e nde r's de pth ch anne l )to
th e Com pos itor.To do th is pl e as e re fe re nce Im age M apping th e Z Ch anne l
1 w h ich s h ow s th e D o Com pos ite e nabl e d and th e
Z Pas s e nabl e d.You can find th e s e in th e Re nde r Th e s e val ue s , alth ough appe aring corre ct,
Buttons (F10)unde r Anim Pane land Re nde r Laye rs w on't actual l
y cre ate a prope r D O F e ffe ct if
Pane l . s e nt to th e Bl ur Fil te r node as th e Size
input. To fix th is , w e ne e d anoth e r node
Now w e are re ady to be gin com pos iting our s ce ne cal l
e d M ap Val ue .Th is node w il ltak e th e
w ith D O F.O pe n up th e Node Editor W indow . By val ue s as inputs and adjus t th e m .Th e
de faul t, it s h oul
d h ave a Re nde r Laye rs node Val ue input s h oul d be conne cte d to th e Z
conne cte d to tw o output node s , Vie w e r and output ofth e Re nde r Laye r node .Th e re are
Com pos itor.It is probabl y a good ide a to ope n up s e ve rals e ttings , incl uding clam p functions ,
th e UVIm age Editor W indow and s w itch th e im age to s e t th e M inim um val ue range and th e M axim um Im age 2.Exam pl
e s ce ne in diffe re nt s e ttings
to Vie w e r Node to ge t a l arge r vie w ofth e Vie w e r val ue range .Th e tw o s e ttings w e w il lus e are
w w w .bl
Cre ate tw o M ap Val ue node s and h ook th e m up to

th e Z output ofth e Re nde r Laye rs node .Se t O ffs e t
to a ne gative val ue , approxim ate ly th e s am e
num be r ofgrid units from cam e ra to focus point.
Th e O ffs e t value s s h oul
d be ide nticalor ve ry
cl os e .Th e Size val ue for one s h ould be a ne gative
val ue be tw e e n - 0.050 and - 0.250, and th e oth e r
s h oul d be a pos itive val ue be tw e e n 0.250 and
1.000.
Bl
urring th e Im age
Ne xt w e 'l
lne e d to us e th e s e val ue s to bl ur th e
im age .Th is is w h e re th e Bl ur node com e s into pl ay.
Add tw o Bl ur node s and h ook up th e Im age input
to th e Im age output ofth e Re nde r Laye r node .
H ook up th e Size input to th e Val ue output ofth e
M ap Val ue node .Re pe at for th e oth e r M ap Val ue
node .Th e Bl ur node h as s e ve rals e ttings . Ih ave
found th at Q uadratic fil te r type and Gam m a
e nabl e d w ork be s t.Th e X and Y s e ttings control
th e radius ofth e bl ur e ffe ct in pixe l s .For m ore bl ur
us e a h igh e r num be r.Ifyou h ook up a Vie w e r node Im age 3 Th e Noodl
e s for 'D e pth O fFie l
d'
to th e Im age output you w il ls e e th e re s ults ofth e
D O F and you can e dit th e M ap Val ue s accordingl y. FinalTouch e s w h ile trying to m ix val ue s .Th e s e cre t to anim ate d
Th e one Vie w e r node w il ls h ow th e fore ground bl ur D O F is to m ix “k e yfram e d” M ap Val ue s al ong a
and th e oth e r w il
ls h ow th e back ground bl ur. You can now h ook up a Vie w e r node and a Tim e node .As l ong as you h ave th e D O F s e t for a
Com pos itor node to th e Im age output ofth e Z particul ar fram e you can controlth e M ixing us ing
Now w e h ave th e tw o im age s bl urre d but w e ne e d Com bine node and you w il ls e e th e com bine d th e curve in a Tim e node .Th is can ge t re al l
y bul ky
th e fore ground and back ground bl ur com bine d. im age s w h ich w ills h ow th e D O F e ffe ct.Ifal lw e nt and Ican't w ait for th e Bl e nde r de ve lope rs to
Th e re are s e ve ralw ays to do th is but th e prope r corre ctl y you s h oul d now h ave a picture th at h as cre ate an input for th e M ap Val ue O ffs e t, but until
w ay is to us e anoth e r s pe cialty node .Th is node is fore ground bl ur and back ground bl ur w ith th e th at fe ature is im ple m e nte d you can us e th e
cal le d Z Com bine .H ook up th e Im age output of ce nte r range s h arp and in focus .Fine tuning m ay re fe re nce s ch e m atic be l
ow .
one Bl ur node to th e firs t Im age input ofth e Z be re q uire d, and th e e xtra Vie w e r node s w il lh e l
p
Com bine node , and th e n h ook up th e oth e r m ak e tuning e as y. You s h oul d find a re fe re nce Bl
e nde r fil
e incl
ude d
corre s ponding M ap Val ue 's Val ue output to th e Z w ith th is is s ue to track and trace a w ork ing
input ofth e Z Com bine node . Be l ow you w ills e e th e output s e ttings for th e e xam pl e ofth is s e tup.
diffe re nt val
ue s at e ach s tage in th e com pos ition.
Re pe at for th e oth e r Bl
ur node and M ap Val ue Al s o include d is th e s ch e m atic for th e D O F node
node .Notice th at th e corre s ponding Im age input s e tup. NO TE
goe s to th e oppos ite Val ue output ofth e M ap
Val ue node .Th is is im portant to prope rl
y com bine W h at About Anim ations ?
Th is s ch e m atic contains a cus tom Group node for
th e tw o im age s w ith out artifacts .
Anim ating D O F w ith Com pos itor node s is a l ittl
e adding D O F to th e finalcom pos ition, and is not
too l
e ngth y to e xpl ain, but th e ide a h it m e one day re q uire d for th e finaloutput.
w w w .bl
Im age 4 D O F Noodl
e s for Anim ation
Spe cialth ank s go to Ce h uk e n ofBl e nde rArtis ts

wh oh elpe d e xplain th e node s e tup for a s im il
ar
D O F approach to th e Bl e nde r com m unity.
I'm 17 and h ave be e n a fre e l ance s ince Iw as 15 doing e ve ryth ing

from w e bs ite de s ign to graph ic de s ign...Noth ing too im portant!
Artis t [w w w .ids tudios .org]
W rite r [w w w .ble nde rnation.com ]
D e ve l
ope r [w w w .m ons te rw e b.ne t]
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - Cre ating Re alis tic Environm e ntFor Th e Bl
e nde r Gam e Engine 11
w ayw ard pl aye rs are de voure d by “grue s .” Th e s e

Cre ating Re alistic Environm e nt are not re com m e nde d be caus e th e y s e e m unfair
to th e pl aye r, and cos t l
ive s .Ifyou de cide to us e a
For Th e Ble nde r Gam e Engine de ath zone , m ak e s ure th at th e pl aye r is w e l
inform e d ofth e are a's s tatus .Noth ing is m ore
l
-
frus trating th an a “s urpris e ” de ath zone .
In th is article , w e w il lbe w ork ing tow ard a re al is tic

- by Jh on Al
lie Is l
and s ce ne .I'm not e xpe cting you to fol low al ong
w ith th e tutorial , s im pl
y re ad it and look at th e
Im age 1 D iffe re nt e nvironm e nt bounds s te ps Itak e to im prove th e is l and's re alis m .Le arn
Bl e nde r's gam e e ngine is fairl y s im ple as s uch th e s e te ch niq ue s , and you'llh ave al lth e tool s you
th ings go, but w ith a l ittle h ard w ork one can s til l Is l
and is us ual l
y w h at it s ounds lik e .Th is is an ne e d to w ork on your ow n cre ations .
cre ate re l ative l
y re alis tic gam e s .In th is articl
e , I’m e xtre m e l y popul ar m e th od ofde fining s ce ne
going to try to h e l p you l e arn h ow you can us e boundarie s : s im pl y put in a vas t oce an and pe opl e H e re 's th e l
ittl
e is l
and w e 'l
lbe im proving:
th e s e fe ature s to m ak e your Bl e nde r gam e s as im m e diate l y as s um e th e y cannot trave rs e it.In m y
re al is tic as pos s ibl
e. gam e Th e Voyage ofth e Gol de n Arm , Ius e d th e
Is l
and te ch niq ue in a de s e rt as w e l l: one ofth e
Pl
anning gam e 's l e ve l
s tak e s place on a l arge h il l, w h ich is
s urrounde d on al ls ide s by a de s e rt w as te l and.Th e
Be fore you be gin m ak ing a gam e s ce ne , you e ffe ct is th e s am e th ough th e “oce an” is an oce an
s h oul
d h ave a s e t ide a in your m ind ofw h at you ofs and and not w ate r.Anoth e r variation is th e
w ant th e s ce ne to be .D e cide : “butte ,” in w h ich th e gam e are a is atop a h igh cl iff,
W h at doe s th e are a l ook lik e ? s urrounde d on al ls ide s by ve rticaldrops . Is l ands
W h at is th e pl aye r m e ant to accom pl is h h e re ? can al s o be com bine d w ith invis ibl e w al ls , to
W h at is th e are a's “re al” purpos e ? (i.e .- ifth e are a re al
l
y pre ve nt th e m os t de te rm ine d pl aye rs from w al k ing
e xis te d, w h at purpos e w oul d it s e rve ?) too far into th e oce an.
O nce you've w ork e d out th e ans w e rs to th e s e Canyon is an e nvironm e nt w h ich is s urrounde d on

q ue s tions , you’re re ady to ge t to w ork on your al ls ide s by ins urm ountabl e w al ls .Pre fe rably, th e s e
s ce ne . Som e pe opl e pre fe r to m ak e s k e tch e s of s h oul d be h igh w al ls : s h ort fe nce s te nd to frus trate
th e ir gam e s ce ne s ah e ad oftim e , but Ius ual l
y jus t pe opl e , as in re all
ife th e y w oul d s im pl y s te p ove r Im age 2.Th e Is l
and s ce ne
go s traigh t to Bl e nde r. th e m .Th e be s t Canyon w al l
s s h oul d be m uch
h igh e r th an th e gam e ch aracte r's h e igh t.
W h e n de s igning your s ce ne , re m e m be r th at th e In alllik e l
ih ood, your gam e art is not as bad as th is ,
pl aye r ne e ds to be fe nce d in s om e h ow .No m atte r Tunne lw as popul arize d in gam e s l
ik e D oom , w h e re but th is doe s de m ons trate q uite a fe w ofth e
w h at, pe opl e al
w ays s e e m to w ant to go be yond allth e action tak e s pl ace ins ide clos e d- in corridors . probl e m s I've s e e n in be ginne r art.W e 'l
lus e
th e confine s ofyour gam e m ap, and you'l lne e d to Tunne l s h ave falle n out offavor be caus e th e y te ch niq ue s ofs h ading, te xturing, and m ode l ing to
com e up w ith a good e xcus e as to w h y th e y can't. all
ow for ve ry l ittle varie ty in your gam e s ce ne ry. m ak e th is is l
and m ore re al is tic.
Pre ve nting th e pl aye r from le aving th e m ain part of
th e s ce ne is not e nough , you m us t al s o convince D e ath Z one is th e l
e as t re com m e nde d ofth e
h e r th at s h e doe s not w ant to le ave it. acce ptabl e boundarie s .A de ath zone is an are a
outs ide th e m ain gam e e nvironm e nt w h ich caus e s
Th e m os t popul ar form s ofe nvironm e nt bounds ins tant de ath ife nte re d.An e xam pl e is th e dark
are as fol l
ow s : cave rns ofth e te xt adve nture Z ork , in w h ich
w w w .bl
Sh ading
Sh ading is h ow w e s im ulate ligh ting in th e gam e
e ngine .Sh ading de fine s l
igh t and dark ne s s on your
m ode ls , and is one ofth e m os t im portant tool s for
adding re al is m .
Th e e as ie s t w ay to s h ade your m ode l s is to m ak e

th e m ligh t- s e ns itive .Se l e ct th e m ode lyou w ant to
m ak e l igh t- s e ns itive , pre s s F to e nte r UVface -
se le ct m ode , and pre s s W to ope n th e Spe cial s
m e nu. (It's im portant to m e m orize h otk e ys ,
e s pe cially unintuitive one s l ik e th is one .) Se le ct
Ligh t from th e Spe cial s m e nu.
Im age 4 Ligh t- s e ns itive is l

and) Im age 6 Sm ooth e d, l
igh t- s e ns itive is l
and
for al
lth e obje cts :
Ligh t s e ns itivity is not a good s ol

ution for
inanim ate obje cts , th ough , be caus e it e ats a l
ot of
proce s s or pow e r.
Im age 3 Enabl
ing Ligh t Se ns itivity
O ur h orribl
e l
ittl
e is l
and is m ore re al is tic al
re ady! Im age 5 Enabl
ing Sm ooth Re nde ring
Re alis lands are n't face te d l
ik e th is , th ough .
Now th at it's s m ooth , th e is l

and l
ook s m uch m ore re al
.H e re 's w h at it w oul
dlook l
ik e ifw e s e t Ligh t Im age 7 Re al
- tim e s h ading
w w w .bl
Bl e nde r h as anoth e r l
igh t- s im ul
ating fe ature , Th e Ve rtColbak ing option is gre at w h e n you're in a
th ough , w h ich s im ul
ate s th e l igh t only once , th e n h urry, but th e re s ult te nds to be k ind ofdark .
bak e s it to th e obje ct's ve rte x col ors . Sim pl y Adding m ore l am ps can h e l p re m e dy th is problem,
se le ct th e obje ct you w is h to appl y th e e ffe ct to, as th e val ue s are cal culate d from th e s ce ne 's
and cl ick th e Ve rtColbak e button in th e Edit lam ps .H e re 's th e s am e s ce ne , w ith ve rte x colors
Buttons . bak e d from tw o l am ps :
Im age 8 Bak ing Ve rte x Col

or Sh ading
Im age 10 Bak e d Sh ading w ith Tw o Lam ps
Im age 11 Re m e m be r Ligh t D ire ctions !
Th e l as t s h ading m e th od is to paint th e ve rte x
col ors by h and.Th is is m y pre fe rre d m e th od
be caus e it give s m uch m ore control , but it doe s
tak e m uch m ore e ffort.Ifyou de cide to s h ade your
m ode l s th is w ay, m ak e s ure th at you try to
s im ulate th e l igh t corre ctl
y.Try to re m e m be r w h e re
th e ligh t is com ing from , and s h ade your m ode l s
accordingl y.
In ge ne ral , w h e n painting rounde d m ode l s l

ik e
Suzanne , Ius e th e Ve rte x Paint brus h .W ith angul ar
m ode ls s uch as buil dings , Is e l
e ct th e face s
individual l
y and fil lth e m us ing th e Se t Ve rtCol
button. Som e tim e s , I'l lal
s o add a s l igh t gradie nt
w ith Ve rte x Paint.
Im age 9 Bak e d Sh ading Im age 12 Se tting Ve rte x Col
ors By H and
w w w .bl
Care fulus e ofve rte x col ors can do w onde rs for

your gam e e nvironm e nt.In th e re alw orl d, one
ne ve r e ncounte rs an obje ct w ith out s h ading, s o it's
im portant to k e e p th is in m ind w h e n m ak ing your
gam e e nvironm e nts .Sh ade e ve ryth ing, no m atte r
h ow s m al lit is !
M ode l
ing
Now w e 'l llook at h ow to im prove your gam e
m ode ling.Le t's tak e a l
ook at th e w ire m e s h ofour
uglylittle is l
and.
Im age 13 H and- painte d gradie nts

Im age 16 Te m pl
e Me s h
To l e arn h ow to s h ade w e l l
, pay atte ntion to your is now com patibl e w ith th e GE, it s h oul
d not be
s urroundings .Try to l e arn w h ich are as are brigh te s t us e d on gam e m ode l s .Th e inte ntion ofgam e
or dark e s t. You m ay w ant to run s om e Radios ity or m ode l ing is to cre ate “l ow - poly” m ode ls w h ich are
Am bie nt O ccl us ion s im ulations in Bl e nde r for Im age 15 Is l
and M e s h as s im ple as pos s ibl e .Subs urfw ork s by turning
re s e arch .(D on't us e Radios ity output in th e gam e e ve ry face ofyour m ode linto m any s m al l
e r face s ,
e ngine , th ough - th e m ode l s it ge ne rate s are W h at appe ars to be a s im pl e s ce ne is not ve ry and is th e re fore an e xtre m e l y counte rproductive
e xtre m e ly com pl e x!) s im ple from th e e ngine ’s point- of- vie w ! Th e is land m e th od w h e n it com e s to th e gam e e ngine .
is m ade from a com pl e x UVs ph e re , th e m onk e y
h e ad h as be e n “s ubs urfe d,” and th e tre e s and W h e n w ork ing in th e gam e e ngine , your inte ntion
buil ding col um ns are both m ade from cyl inde rs at s h ould be to k e e p your m ode ls as s im ple as
th e de faul t s e tting, 32.It's im portant to re m e m be r pos s ible : avoid us ing anyth ing w h ich m ak e s your
h e re th at th ough Bl e nde r can be us e d to m ak e m ode l s m ore com pl icate d.
gam e s , its prim ary purpos e is cre ating re nde re d
im age ry. Le t's ge t s tarte d on our gam e m ode l
s by im proving
th e “te m pl e .”
Th is is w h y th e re are m any Bl e nde r fe ature s w h ich
are incom patibl e w ith th e gam e e ngine , and m any
m ore w h ich th ough com patibl e s h ould not be us e d.
Im age 14 D ark e ning corne rs can im prove re al

is m Subs urfis an e xam pl
e ofth e l
atte r.Th ough s ubs urf
w w w .bl
W e 'llfix th e col um ns firs t.Th e col um ns , as you can W e 'llcre ate a ne w col um n m ode land s e t it to 10 button, s e l e ct th e h idde n face s at both e nds w ith
s e e in th is im age , appe ar to be al m os t a s ol id ins te ad of32. th e B- k e y s e l
e ct m ode , pre s s th e D e l
e te k e y, and
col or.W h e n your gam e m ode l s l ook l ik e th is , it’s a As you can s e e , a col um n w ith 10 ve rtice s s til
l cl ick Face s .
fair be t you've us e d too m any pol ys .Th irty- tw o, look s ve ry round.It's not im portant to m ak e
th e de faul t s e tting for cyl inde rs , is ove rk il
lfor th e e ve ryth ing in your gam e h ave a “pe rfe ct” s h ape . Re m e m be r to ch e ck for th e s e face s ! Th e y're ve ry
gam e e ngine .Te n ve rtice s s h oul d be e nough , you Pe opl e e xpe ct gam e obje cts to h ave s l igh tl
y com m on, and th e y do te nd to add up.Unim portant
can probabl y ge t aw ay w ith onl y 7, and you s h oul d jagge d s h ape s , and th e m ind can e as ily fillout th e as th e y m ay s e e m , h aving l
arge num be rs ofth e m
ne ve r ne e d m ore th an 15 or 20. m ode lto its corre ct s h ape . can l e ad to a gam e s l ow dow n.
Th e trick is to find th e h appy m e dium be tw e e n too

m any ve rtice s and not e nough .Te n is jus t about
righ t for th is col um n.For a bigge r col um n, 20 m igh t
be m ore appropriate .For ve ry s m al lobje cts , you
m ay w ant to re duce th e num be r to four or e ve n
th re e .Avoid 6- or 8- s ide d cyl inde rs , th ough : th e
m ind is fam il iar w ith th e s e s h ape s and your pl aye r
m ay h ave a h ard tim e ignoring th e m .
Low - pol y m ode l ing al s o m e ans re m oving anyth ing

th at is not ne e de d, w h ich incl ude s face s th at can't
be s e e n.Th is col um n h as face s on e ith e r e nd
w h ich cannot be s e e n.Cl ick th e “face s e l
e ction”
Im age 17 Se tting num be r ofve rtice s for a cyl

inde r
Im age 20 Care l
e ssl
y m ade te m pl
e s te ps
Cons ide r th is :
Each col um n h as 10 face s on e ach e nd, none of
w h ich are vis ible to th e playe r.W ith allfour ofth e
buil ding's colum ns , th e re are 80 e xtra face s !
Al w ays re m e m be r to ch e ck for and e lim inate
gam e e ngine w as te .
Now , l
e t's tak e a l
ook at th e te m pl
e s te ps .
Som e tim e s , w e ne e d to divide face s into s m al

ler
face s in orde r to cre ate s om e th ing.O ne w ay to
cre ate m ore face s is to us e th e Subdivide tool , but
th is tooldivide s e ve ry face into l ots ofs m al l
er
face s , cre ating a lot ofunne ce s s ary e xtra face s
and adding to gam e e ngine w as te . A m uch be tte r
option is to us e th e K nife tool .
Im age 18 Ne w col
um n from 10- ve rte x cyl
inde r Im age 19 D e l
e ting H idde n Face s
w w w .bl
Th e K nife tool 's purpos e is to add e xtra ve rtice s to Th is is not a pal m tre e .Th is is a cartoon ofa pal m Th e re s ul
t w il
lbe a
an e dge .Th is w il lal l
ow you to divide up your tre e , and a ve ry h igh - poly one at th at.Th e trunk , plane w ith a triangul ar
m ode l 's face s onl y as m uch as th e y ne e d to be lik e th e col um ns on th e buil ding, is a 32- ve rte x face attach e d at e ach
divide d, and pre ve nt gam e e ngine w as te .To us e cyl inde r.It is abs urdl
y s traigh t: th e naturalw orl d e nd.Now us e th e K nife
th e K nife tool ,s e le ct th e e dge s you w is h to s im pl y doe s not h ave s uch s traigh t l ine s .O ur firs t toolto divide th e pl ane
ope rate on and pre s s Sh ift+ K .Th e K nife m e nu w il l orde r ofbus ine s s w il lbe to im prove th is trunk . ve rtically dow n th e
appe ar. Se l e ct Exact Line for now , and th e n draw m iddl e.
al ine th rough your e dge s and pre s s Ente r. Add a 7- ve rte x tube and re s ize
it untilit's long, s traigh t, and Se l e ct th e ne w ve rtice s
narrow .Scal ing it s m al lth e n and m ove th e m up s o
e nlarging it on th e Z axis th at th e l e afw il
lcurve
s h ould w ork .(M ak e a h abit of in th e m iddl e.
us ing tube s in pl ace of
cyl inde rs w h e n ne ith e r e nd w il l
be vis ibl e . In th is cas e , one e nd
ofth e trunk w il lbe be l ow Im age 25 Us ing th e M e rge tool
, Ste p 2
ground, and th e oth e r w il lbe
above pl aye rs ' h e ads . Ne ith e r
Im age 21 Us ing th e K nife tool w illbe s e e n, s o you can us e a
tube in pl ace ofa cyl inde r and
O ur face is now cut in h al f, and re ady to be s ave yours e l fs om e pol ys .)
e xtrude d into s te ps ! Ifw e h ad us e d Subdivide , th e O nce your tube is re ady, us e
face w oul d h ave be e n divide d into four s e ctions , th e K nife toolto s l ice it up a
far m ore th an w e actual ly ne e d. Now w e can fe w tim e s , th e n give it a s ubtl e
e xtrude th e face and finis h cre ating our s taircas e . be nd. Scal e it dow n a bit
Th e re s ul t w il
lbe a tow ard th e uppe r e nd.
bas e for th e
te m pl e w ith fe w e r
th an h al fth e face s Im age 23 Ne w tre e m e s h
ofth e original .
D on't forge t to
de l e te th e Th is trunk is not onl y m ore r
unde rs ide ofth e e alis tic, it h as fe w e r pol
ys as Im age 26 Cre ating Pal
m Le ave s , Ste p 3
te m pl e 's bas e : it wel l!
w illbe
unde rground, s o To cre ate th e l
e ave s , add a
th e re is no re as on plane and e xtrude once from
to s ave it. e ach e nd:
Th e te m pl e is Now , s e le ct your e nds one at

pre tty good now ! a tim e , pre s s W , and s e l
e ct
Le t's l
e ave it al
one M e rge .
and tak e a l ook at
th os e obnoxious
Im age 22 Pal
m Tre e palm tre e s . Im age 24 Cre ating Pal
m Le ave s , Ste p 1 Im age 27 Com pl
e te d Pal
m Le afm e s h
w w w .bl
Th is is our bas ic l e afm ode l .You can tw e ak it a Th e l arge Suzanne h e ad Iw il ls im ply de l e te .

littl
e ifyou l ik e .It m ay not l ook ve ry m uch l ik e a Al w ays try to m ak e your ow n m ode l s : th e y'llm ore
pal m l e afye t, but th e te xture w il lim prove th at.It cl os e l y re s e m bl
e your ow n s tyl e , and th e y m ay
s h oul d be note d th at s ince l e ave s are cl os e to e ve n be m ore com patibl e w ith th e gam e e ngine .
be ing fl at, it is pe rfe ctl y acce ptabl e , and Th e re is no ne e d for a giant s tone m onk e y h e ad
re com m e nde d, to portray th e m w ith pl ane - bas e d h e re , th ough , s o th e re is no re as on to incl ude it.If
obje cts l ik e th is one .In th e gam e e ngine , try to you are m ak ing a Bl e nde r- th e m e d gam e , h ow e ve r,
portray com pl e xity th rough te xturing rath e r th an incorporating Suzanne is e ncourage d!
m ode l ing, w h e ne ve r pos s ibl e . Th is pal m le afdoe s
not ne e d to be ve ry com pl e x, be caus e its true Le t's s pe nd s om e tim e re building th e is land its e l
f.
re al is m w il lbe appl ie d th rough its te xture .W e w il l At th e m om e nt it's jus t a big round th ing.Th at's fine
be cove ring te xturing s h ortl y, but I'l ljum p ah e ad ifyour gam e is about Th e Far Side , but ifyou're
jus t a m om e nt to s h ow you w h at th e com pl e te d aim ing for s om e th ing m ore re al is tic, w e h ave to
pal m tre e l ook s l ik e . im prove it a bit.
Th is is one tim e w h e n Icons ide r th e us e of

Subdivide to be jus tifie d.Add a pl ane , s cal
e it up a
bit, and s ubdivide it a fe w tim e s .
Th e il
l
us tration s h ow s th e pl
ane afte r four
s ubdivis ions .Th at s h oul
d be e nough .Now pre s s [O
Ke y]or ope n th e m e nu to activate Proportional
Falloffe diting m ode .
Im age 30 Subdivide d pl
ane
Im age 28 O riginal& Im prove d Pal

m Tre e s
Look h ow grote s q ue th e originalpal m tre e look s ,

now th at it's s h ow n be s ide one th at's s o re al is tic!
It's alw ays w orth going th e e xtra fe w s te ps to
m ak e your gam e l ook good.D on't be afraid to
inve s t th e e xtra tim e - in al
llik e l
ih ood, your gam e
w il lnot onl yl ook be tte r, but it m ay run fas te r as
wel l
.
Im age 29 Subdivide button Im age 31 ProportionalFal
l
offM e nu
w w w .bl
Now s e le ct a fe w ve rtice s and be gin m oving th e m . s e am l

e s s cl
ouds around th e h orizon, but it h ide s
You w ills e e th at ne arby ve rtice s w illbe gin th e corne rs ofth e ground or oce an pl ane as w e l l
.
follow ing th e m al ong.You can m ove th e A nice w ay to anim ate Tube cl ouds is to m ak e th e
m ous e w h e e lto adjus t th e e xte nt ofth e e ffe ct.Pul l
up th e ground to m ak e s om e s ubtl e h il
ls .Ipre s s e d
Z w h il
e trans l ating to lock m ove m e nt to th e
ve rticalaxis .
Im age 34 Ugl
y Sk ybox
m appe d onto a giant box.Som e pe opl e can m ak e
Im age 32 Us ing ProportionalFal
l
offto M ak e H il
l
s
th is te ch niq ue w ork ve ry w e ll
, but I've found th at
Your com pl e te d is l
and s h oul dl
ook s om e th ing l
ik e it's e xtre m e l
y difficult to dis guis e th e fact th at it's a
th is : h uge box.Ipre fe r to us e tube s , s ph e re s , or plane s Im age 36 Tube Cl
ouds
Note th at th e h igh e s t points ofth e is l
and are in th e to cre ate cl ouds .Th e rounde d e dge ofth e tube or
s ph e re is m ore s ubtle th an a cube 's righ t angl e s, tube rotate ve ry s l
ow l
y. Th e e ffe ct is s ubtl
e but
and th e re fore h arde r to s pot and e as ie r to h ide . e ffe ctive .
Th e tube is a gre at w ay to m ak e cl ouds .It re q uire s Th e Sph e re s k y m e th od w ork s bas icall
y th e s am e
a bit ofe xtra w ork on your part to m ak e its s pe cial as Tube , but Ifind th at it's h arde r to m ap te xture s
Im age 33 Ne w Is l
and M e s h te xture , but th e re s ult is w orth th e troubl e .You onto a s ph e re , and th e y h ave m ore pol ys as w e l l.
s im ply ne e d to cre ate a good cl oud te xture , and Th e advantage ofSph e re is th at it al low s clouds
m iddl e , and th e e dge s s lope dow nw ard into th e th e n us e your painting program to add a col or- to- to be on al ls ide s ofth e s ce ne .
oce an.Th is is actual ly a pre tty good is l and m ode l , trans pare ncy gradie nt s k y col or at th e top, to
al th ough th e s te e p s l ope s m igh t m ak e it difficul t to ach ie ve a re s ul tlik e th is : Th e Pl ane m e th od is fairly s im pl
e .You can s im pl y
navigate .It's al s o w orth noting th at s om e vide o add a pl ane above th e s ce ne and cl oud- te xture it.
cards (m any Inte lch ips e ts , e s pe cial l
y)e xpe rie nce Th e n m ap th e te xture onto th e tube , and s e t W h e n Ius e th is m e th od, Iofte n cre ate an obje ct
a s trange probl e m w h ich caus e s l ands cape s l ik e Bl e nde r's w orl d l
ik e th e one on th e l e ft, and ve rte x paint it as s e e n
th e s e to “s q uirm .” Ifyou e xpe rie nce th is probl em, col or to th e s am e on th e righ t:
s im pl y se le ct th e e ntire m ode lin e dit m ode and s k y col or as th e
pre s s Control + T to triangul ate th e m e s h . im age .Th e re s ul t:
Pre tty nifty, e h ? Not
O ne las t th ing to look at be fore w e m ove on to onl y doe s th e Tube
te xturing - th e “Sk ybox.” m e th od cre ate nice ,
As you can s e e , th e cl
oud te xture is l
ite ral
l
y Im age 35 Cl
oud Te xture for Tube
w w w .bl
I e xpe rie nce s om e probl e m s due to th e fact th at

face s are , by de faul t, vis ible on one s ide but not
th e oth e r.You'l lh ave to re cal cul ate th e cl oud
obje ct's norm al s to m ak e it vis ible from th e ins ide .
In e dit m ode , s im ply se l e ct allits ve rtice s and
pre s s Ctrl + Sh ift+ N. Th is s h ould fix th e probl em.
Finalth ough ts about gam e m ode l ing

Try to us e th e s m al l
e s t num be r ofpol ys pos s ibl e.
Sm al lobje cts can ofte n ge t aw ay w ith ve ry, ve ry
fe w .A h andl e on a door, for e xam pl e , m igh t be
m ade out ofa th re e - s ide d tube ! Large obje cts
Im age 37 Pl
anar Cl
oud O bje ct m e s h and ve rte x ofte n ne e d a h igh e r- re s olution m e s h , th ough : don't
colors be afraid to give th e m w h at th e y ne e d.
Re s is t th e te m ptation to cre ate h igh - pol y m ode l s
th e n m ap it w ith a bl ack - and- w h ite cl
oud te xture , and th e n de cim ate th e m .D e cim ation cre ate s ugl y,
and s e t it to Add in Face - Se l e ct m ode . com pl icate d m e s h e s w h ich are h ard to te xture
Th e s e s e ttings cre ate s im pl
e cl ouds w h ich fade Im age 39 Pl
anar Cl
ouds and e xtre m e l y difficul t to anim ate .
w h e re as Tube cl ouds appe ar onl y at th e h orizon. Th e D e cim ate d ve rs ion ofth e H igh - Pol
y Suzanne
Sph e re can be cons ide re d “th e be s t ofboth is not e q ualto th e original .Eve ryth ing w il
lbe
w orl ds ,” but it's a bit h arde r to w ork w ith .H ow e ve r, e as ie r ifyou s tart out m ode ling low - poly in th e firs t
s om e pe rs e ve rance can ge t you a nice e ffe ct.
O ne l
as t w ord about cl
ouds : you'l
lprobabl
y
Im age 41 W h y D e cim ation is Not Your Frie nd

pl
ace .D on't try to ch e at by m ode l
ing h igh - pol
y
and de cim ating it l
ate r.
Im age 38 Enabl
ing Add Re nde ring
out around th e e dge s .Th e y h ave th e appe arance

ofal lAdd- re nde re d obje cts , but you can alw ays
ch ange th at by cre ating a te xture de s igne d to be
opaq ue ins te ad.
Note th at pl
ane - bas e d cl
ouds appe ar onl
y above , Im age 40 Sph e re Cl
ouds
w w w .bl
Te xturing s e tting.In th e UVface s e l e ct m ode , pre s s A to

Th ough s h ading and m ode l ing are both crucialto se l e ct al lth e face s , and pre s s U to ch oos e a
cre ating re al is tic gam e e nvironm e nts , your m os t m apping option.Bl e nde r 2.42a de l ive rs a h orde of
pow e rfulw e apon by far is te xturing.It doe s not ne w UVm apping options , and I'l ladm it th at I'm not
m atte r h ow pe rfe ct your m ode l s are or h ow w e ll fam il iar w ith allofth e m ye t! I've found, h ow e ve r,
th e y're s h ade d: ifth e y h ave bad te xture s , th e y w il
l th at for re l ative ly flat obje cts l ik e our is l
and, th e
look te rribl e ! Te xturing is th e finalw ord, it al
one “proje ct from vie w ” option w ork s nice l y. Se l e ct it
“m ak e s or bre ak s ” your e nvironm e nt. w h ile vie w ing th e is l and from above , th e n s im pl y
s cal e th e e ntire UVm ap up and dow n in th e UV
Im ak e ne arl y al lofm y te xture s m ys e l
f.Itak e w indow untilyou l ik e th e re s ul
t.
ph otograph s ofinte re s ting s urface s and conve rt
th e m into te xture s us ing Gim p.Th e re is no As you can s e e , th e is l
and's appe arance is al
re ady
al te rnative to ph otograph ic te xture s w h e n one Im age 43 Non- s e am l
e s s and s e am l
e s s te xture s
w is h e s to ach ie ve re al
is m .
s ay, te xture - m ak ing cons is ts m os tl
y ofal
te ring
Th e m os t im portant th ing to re m e m be r w h e n ph otograph s untilth e y can be re pe ate d w ith out
cre ating te xture s is to m ak e th e m s e am l e s s .You obvious re pe tition.
can do th is q uite e as il
y in Gim p by navigating to
Fil
te rs - >M ap- >M ak e Se am le s s in th e m e nus .Th is Ifyou look at th e is l
and, you’l ls e e th at its te xture is
e ffe ct is not obvious ly re pe ating.Th e ground te xture contains a
pe rfe ct, but it s trongl
y de fine d “purple ” s pot, w h ich is re pe ate d
doe s h ide th e again and again for a crazy “pol k a- dot” e ffe ct.
s e am s in your
te xture s q uite O ne q uick w ay to re m e dy th is is to s w itch from th e
nice l y.You de fault 1/1 UVte xturing s e tting to a diffe re nt
m ay s til lne e d
to
dodge /burn
by h and a
littl
e to e ns ure
a uniform
Im age 45 Im prove d UVm apping
s h ade , but for
th e m os t part,
m ak ing dras tical ly im prove d.Th e purpl e s pots , th ough not
te xture s is gone , are not s uch a big probl e m any m ore .You
painl e ss. m ay s til
lw ant to try to ch ange th e ir tone , th ough ,
w h ich can be e as il y ach ie ve d th rough s om e s m al l
I'm not going Gim p tw e ak s .
to give a Th e e as ie s t, and ofte n m os t e ffe ctive , m e th od is
w h ol
e te xture - to s im pl
y se l e ct a gre e nis h color, th e n brus h ove r
cre ation th e purpl e are as w ith th e brus h tools e t in “Col or”
tutorialh e re . m ode .
Suffice it to
Im age 42 M ak ing a te xture Se am l

e s s in Gim p Im age 44 Se l
e cting a UVm apping option
w w w .bl
te xture s on th e re ! Le t's s tart by adding a be ach

w h ich runs around th e e dge .
Firs t cre ate a s and te xture , and th e n cre ate a

s e cond te xture w h ich bl e nds th e s and te xture into
th e gras s te xture . It s h ouldl ook s om e th ing l
ik e th is :
I'm going to as s um e h e re th at you h ave s ufficie nt
k now l e dge ofGim p (or Ph otos h op)to do th is .
Th ough a s te p- by- s te p guide to cre ating te xture s
Im age 49 Is l
and w ith Tw o Te xture s
Im age 46 El
im inating Col
or Variation in Te xture s
Im age 48 Gras s - > Sand Te xture
w ould be us e ful
, it is be yond th e s cope ofth is
articl
e.
Now , m ap your pl ain s and te xture (w ith out gras s )

onto th e face s around th e e dge ofth e is l and (Se e
Im age 49 ).
Ne xt, is th e tim e - cons um ing part. M ap th e

“ble nde d” te xture w e m ade to th e face s in
be tw e e n th e gras s face s and s and face s .Ifind Im age 50 Tw o Te xture s Sm ooth l
y Bl
e nde d
Im age 47 Is l
and w ith Im prove d Te xture s th at th e 1/1 s e tting w ork s be s t for th is .Ge tting th is
pe rfe ct can tak e a w h il e , s o be pre pare d to s pe nd
Th e is l
and look s a l ot be tte r now th at th e ugl y a good de aloftim e on it.
purpl e s pots h ave be e n e l im inate d... but be fore it
can l ook re alis tic, w e ne e d a fe w m ore diffe re nt
w w w .bl
Im age 52 M ak ing W ave s
Th e s e s m al
lrippl e s inte grate th e is l
and w ith th e
s e a, finall
y pulling toge th e r e ve ry as pe ct ofour
gam e s ce ne . Ifyou'd l ik e , you can e ve n anim ate
t
Im age 54 Com pl
e te d Is l
and
Im age 51 Im prove d O ce an w h il
e re ading th is articl e , you gaine d a be tte r
unde rs tanding ofh ow to th ink l ik e a gam e
Look at h ow re al is tic th e is l
and is now com pare d de ve l ope r.W h e th e r or not you now h ave a l ittl
e
to th e w ay it l ook e d at th e e nd ofth e M ode l ing is l
and s ce ne doe s not m atte r, w h at m atte rs is th at
s e ction! Th is s h ow s h ow im portant te xture s are to now you be tte r unde rs tand th e conce pts and
your s ce ne ry.W e coul d cal lth is finis h e d now , but appl ication ofgam e s ce ne cre ation in Bl e nde r.
le t's apply a fe w m ore ch ange s firs t.
Pl an ah e ad to cre ate th e be s t s ce ne pos s ibl e .Try
Firs t, l
e t's fix th e te xture on th e oce an plane . to s tart w ith s om e ide a ofw h at you w ant th e
Th e re 's noth ing w rong w ith th e te xture , but w e finis h e d proje ct to l ook l ik e . Cre ate conce pt
ne e d to s cal e up th e UVm apping s l igh tl
y to s k e tch e s ifyou pre fe r.
incre as e th e de tailon th e w ate r s urface . Sh ade your m ode l s , e ith e r th rough ve rte x col ors or
Im age 53 M ak ing W ave s by us ing l igh t s im ulation. Ke e p your e ye s ope n in
Notice h ow e ve n s ligh t ch ange s can im prove th e th e re alw orl d, and try to l e arn h ow ligh t be h ave s .
ove ral lappe arance dras tical ly.Ials o tw e ak e d th e h e m w ith th e “UVs crol
l
” Pyth on s cript.
s e a's ve rte x col
ors s l
igh tl
y to m ore clos e l
y m atch Th ink w h ile you m ode l : ne ve r us e 10 face s ifth re e
th e s k y. For one finaltouch , you m ay w is h to cre ate w illdo, and us e face - dividing tool s s paringl
y.
s h adow s for your pal m tre e s .A nice tutorialabout De l e te unne e de d face s , and ne ve r m ak e your
Now l e t's add s om e s ubtl
e w ave s th at lap at th e cre ating s h adow te xture s for gam e s w as cre ate d m ode l s m ore com pl icate d th an ne ce s s ary.Try to
e dge s ofth e is l and.Add a pl ane at th e e dge ofth e by m as te r gam e m ak e r ST150, and is avail able at s e e h ow s m al la face count you can ge t.
is l
and and be gin e xtruding it s o it fol low s th e e dge
cl os e l
y.Ke e p doing th is untilyou've h ttp://w w w .ble nding-
circum navigate d th e is l and, th e n m e rge th e e nds onl ine .co.uk /8501/50779 .h tm l
toge th e r to cre ate a continuous ring.
M ak e a nice bl ack - and w h ite “ripple s ” te xture , and

Cl
os ing
M aybe you didn't w ant to cre ate a s im pl e is land
m ap it 1/1 to th e face s . Se t al lth e face s to “Add” lik e th is one , and m aybe you didn't e ve n try to
re nde r m ode , and paint th e oute r ve rtice s bl ack . fol l
ow al ong.It doe s n't m atte r: m y h ope is th at
w w w .bl
Im age 51 Im prove d O ce an
Cre ate your ow n te xture s w h e ne ve r pos s ibl e .Bring

your cam e ra w ith you on trips , and ph otograph as
m any diffe re nt s urface s as pos s ibl e .W h e n
proce s s ing your te xture s , s trive to obs cure th e
re pe tition.
Ne ve r be afraid to add re al is tic de tails , e s pe cial ly
one s w h ich h ave l ittle e ffe ct on pol ycount.
As a finaltouch , you m ay w ant to e xpe rim e nt w ith
adding m otion.A s l igh t s w aying to th e tre e s or a
s pinning w e ath e r- vane can add to th e gam e 's l ook
be autiful ly.Th e w orl d is fullofm otion, and a l ittl
e
m otion can be a gre at addition to your gam e . Try
to m ak e s ure th at th e pl aye r is not th e onl y th ing
m oving in your w orl d.
And th at's th at! Ih ope you e njoye d re ading th e

articl e .I've s trive d to incl ude in th is article Joh n Al
l
ie / Pl
antPe rs on
e ve ryth ing a be ginning gam e artis t m igh t find
us e ful . Adm itte dl y, th e re are a l ot ofth ings Ididn't Ih ave be e n us ing Bl
e nde r s ince April2000. M y
m e ntion, but th e re is e nough m ate rialh e re to ge t curre nt gam e proje ct is an adve nture gam e cal l
ed
s om e one on th e ir fe e t and s ol ve s om e com m on "Into th e Titan."
probl e m s .W ith th e s e s k il
ls in place , you’l lbe w e l
l
on your w ay to cre ating a gre at Bl e nde r gam e .Go W e bs ite :
s tart up Bl e nde r, and ge t to w ork ! Il ook forw ard to w w w .goril
l
a3d.com /pl
antpe rs on
s e e ing w h at you cre ate !
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - Blende r And Ve ctor Blur 24
In th e H e ade r ofth e Node

Bl
e nde r And Ve ctor Bl
ur Editor, you w il lfind a m e nu
for th e vie w (Vie w , Se l e ct,
Add, Node )and th e n tw o
icons : (th e gre y s ph e re
icon)e nabl e s M ate rial
-by O l
ivie r Saraja Node s , and (th e s m al l
face picture icon)e nabl es
Introduction Com pos ite Node s .Cl ick
th e Com pos ite Node s .
Ve ctor Bl ur is an inte re s ting s olution th at goe s .
be yond th e l im itations ofre gul ar M otion Bl ur.It Th e de faul t Com pos ite
re lie s on th e Com pos ite Node s Editor to pe rform . node s ne tw ork s h oul d be
But e ve n ifth e Node s Editor m ay l ook intim idating Im age 1 An e xam pl
e ofIPO curve s affe cting a dis pl aye d on th e s cre e n.
at firs t gl
ance , it is in fact ve ry e as y to s e t up.Th is m oving obje ct. Us ing th e [LM B], draw a
s h ort tutorialw il lgo th rough th e bas ic s te ps for box th at w il lcros s th e l ink
e nh ancing your re nde rs (both s til ls and anim ations ) be tw e e n th e Re nde r Laye r
w ith good l ook ing m otion bl ur. node and th e Com pos ite
node : th e l ink s h ould
dis appe ar.Now , us e th e
Add m e nu: Add>> Fil te rs
Im age 3 Turn one ofth e vie w s into th e Node Editor
Th e m ain th ing to unde rs tand is th at th e obje ct, to Im age 4 Cl ick on th e Com pos ite m ode icon and
w h ich th e M otion Bl ur w il
lbe appl ie d, s h ould h ave th e n activate th e Us e Node s button.
be e n anim ate d be fore h and.Th is m e ans th at th e
obje ct m us t fol low a curve or be anim ate d us ing >>Ve ctor Bl ur.A ne w node s h oul d appe ar, titl
ed
IPO s .In fact, th e re nde re d picture w il lbe turne d Im age 2 H e re 's h ow it w ouldl ook on a re gul ar Ve ctor Blur.M ove it be tw e e n th e tw o pre vious
into a 3D m ode lw ith de pth , and a s pe e d ve ctor anim ation re nde ring, w ith out ve ctor- bas e d m otion de faul
t node s , and s tart th e m agic: conne ct th e
w illbe cal culate d for e ach pixe lofth e picture .As a bl ur output Im age , Z and Spe e d from th e Re nde r Laye r
pos t- proce s s , th e Com pos ite Editor w il ladd th e node to th e input Im age , Z and Spe e d from th e
m otions to th e finalpic in a bl urre d w ay.Th is is w h y Ve ctor Blur node , us ing th e [LM B].O nce done ,
de fining th e m otion ofth e obje ct is abs ol ute ly A s te p- by- s te p ofth e Ve ctor Bl
ur proce s s conne ct th e output Im age from th e Ve ctor Bl ur
m andatory. node to th e Im age input ofth e Com pos ite node .
Firs t, you w illne e d to turn one ofyour 3D vie w s
A ve ry brie fe xam pl e fil
e ofs uch an anim ation can into a Node Editor vie w .Th is is done by cl ick ing on
be found at th e fol low ing URL: th e grid- l
ik e icon at th e le ft e nd ofth e H e ade r of
h ttp://fe e bl e m ind.tuxfam ily.org/dotcl e ar/im age s / th e vie w .A m e nu w il lpop up and l e t you de fine th e
ate lie r- im probabl e /ve ctor type ofvie w ne e de d.Ch oos e th e Node Editor.
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - Blende r And Ve ctor Blur 25
You can now re nde r your picture in tw o w ays : ve locity) obje cts .Th is is re ally us e fulduring
cam e ra m ove m e nts or s l igh t back ground
You obvious ly al re ady k now th e [F12]s h ortcut or m ove m e nts .
th e REND ER button in th e Re nde r pane l M axSpe e d - Ifyou h ave e xtre m e l y fas t obje cts in
You can als o re nde r th e picture us ing th e tiny th e s ce ne but th e bl ur doe s not re nde r w e l l
Re nde r icon in th e Re nde r Laye r node e nough , th e n you can m ak e us e ofth is param e te r
to be tte r th e ve ctor blur.Note th at a 0.0 val ue
m e ans th at no m axim um is us e d.
Bl urFac - Th is param e te r w ills cale th e ve ctor
Im age 4 Th e Com pos ite node s are s e t to de l
ive r a s pe e ds , calculating from th e m ove m e nts ofth e
Ve ctor Bl
ur bas e d re nde ring obje ct.Th e vis uale ffe ct is cl os e to th e s h utte r
s pe e d ofa re gul ar cam e ra.
But, lik e anyth ing e l s e in Ble nde r, tak ing into
account th e e ffe ct ofth e Ve ctor Bl ur is noth ing but Conce rning th e us e ofVe ctor Bl ur, a good tip is to
an option.You ne e d to te l lBl e nde r th at it m us t do put fas t m oving obje cts on a Re nde r Laye r, s l ow or
th e pos t- proce s s ing s im ulating th e m otion bl ur s tatic obje cts on anoth e r, and to s pe cify
e xplicitly.Th is is done in th e Sce ne [F10]m e nu, in inde pe nde nt param e te rs for e ach , for be tte r
th e Re nde r buttons , in th e Anim pane l .You w il l control .
h ave to activate th e D o Com pos ite button.As a
finalpre - re q uis ite for Ve ctor Bl ur m otions , you w il l M ore ove r, l
arge obje cts not e ntire ly s e e n from th e
ne e d to activate th e Ve c option in th e Re nde r cam e ra s h ould be s ubdivide d s o th at at l e as t
Laye rs tab. s om e norm al s ofth e obje ct are actual ly s e e n from
th e cam e ra, or th e bl
ur e ffe ct could be draw n on
Im age 5 D o th e w rong s ide , com pare d to th e m ove m e nt.
not forge t to
activate th e Th e re are s om e l
im itations th at you s h oul
d k now
Im age 2 H e re 's h ow w oul dlook th e s am e
Do about.
anim ation re nde ring, w ith ve ctor bas e d m otion
Com pos ite bl ur e nabl
ed
button in th e
Anim pane l Som e e xpl anations on th e Ve ctor Bl ur node
and th e Ve c Th is node onl y h as a fe w s e ttings ;m os t ofth e m
button in th e coul d w ork q uite w e l lw ith th e ir de faul
t val
ue s .But
Re nde r s om e tim e s (ifnot e ve ry tim e !), you ne e d to go
Laye rs tab be yond de faul t s e ttings to ge t re alcoolre s ul ts .
Th e re are four s e ttings to k now about.
Sam pl e s - Th is s e tting control s th e bl ur e ffe ct

inte ns ity: th e h igh e r th e s am pl e s , th e m ore bl urre d
th e obje ct w il llook .
M inSpe e d - Ife ve ryth ing is bl urre d, but s om e
obje cts are a l ot s l ow e r th an oth e rs (or total l
y
s tatic, as th e back ground ofth e pic, for e xam pl e ),
th e n th is param e te r w il lh e lp diffe re ntiate h igh -
ve locity obje cts from nul l
- ve l
ocity (or s l ow -
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - BLe nde r And Ve ctor Blur 26
Since Ve ctor Bl
ur is a pos t- proce s s e ffe ct:
ifan obje ct is ve ctor bl urre d, it’s s h adow is not

bl urre d!
ifa ve ctor bl urre d obje ct is m oving be h ind a
(Z Trans p or RayTrans p)gl as s , it w on't appe ar
bl urre d th rough th e gl as s
ifa ve ctor bl urre d obje ct is m oving in front ofa
(EnvM ap or RayM ir)m irror, it w on't appe ar bl urre d
in th e re fle ction
Ol
ivie r Saraja
Ol ivie r Saraja is an O pe n Source e nth us ias t running

on Linux s ince 19 9 9 or s o.H e us e s Bl e nde r s ince
ve rs ion 1.63a and al w ays de dicate d h im s e lfto w riting
tutorial s for th e com m unity, both in fre nch and in
e ngl is h .H e h as jus t w ritte n a fre nch book about
Ble nde r: "La 3D Libre ave c Bl e nde r"(w h ich coul d be
trans l ate d as "Fre e 3D w ith Bl e nde r")at
Eyrol le s Editions :
h ttp://w w w .e ditions e yrol l

e s .com /Livre /9 78221
2119 59 6/l a- 3d- libre - ave c- ble nde r
H e is al
s o a cas ualW ik i contributor ofBl
e nde r's
docum e ntation.
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - Bum p & D is pl
ace m e nt M apping for Be ginne rs 27
an e xtre m e l ylarge am ount ofpol ygons .Th is h igh m ate rialin th e M ate rialSh ading Pane l[F5], and add
Bl
e nde r & D is pl
ace m e nt re s ol
re al
ution obje ct can appe ar m uch m ore ph oto-
is tic th an bum p m apping, ifus e d prope rl y.As
a ne w te xture .Now s w itch to th e Te xturing Pane l
[F6], w h e re w e w illcre ate th e bum p m ap.From th e
M apping for Be ginne rs com pute rs are be com ing m ore and m ore pow e rful
dis pl ace m e nt m apping m ay s oon be abl
,
e to re nde r
"Te xture Type "box, s e l
de faul t s e ttings al
e ct "M us grave ".Il
e ft th e
one , but you m ay ch oos e to pl ay
at s pe e ds ne ce s s ary for a re as onabl e gam e around w ith th e m .You can al s o add a ram p- s h ade r
-b y M ich ae lW ach e ngine .H ow e ve r, curre nt te ch nol ogy doe s not h e re ifyou are pl anning on adding uniq ue col ors to
m e e t th e h e avy proce s s ing re q uire m e nt. th e te xture .
Introduction
Be fore you s tart Now , w e ne e d to configure th e m os t im portant
Bum p m apping and D is pl ace m e nt m apping are Bum p m apping & s e ttings for th e bum p m ap.Th e s e control s are
tw o s pe cialte ch niq ue s for m ak ing an obje ct D is place m e nt locate d in th e M ate rialSh ading Pane l[F5]unde r
appe ar to h ave a rough or irre gul ar s urface . m apping te ch niq ue s th e "M ap To"tab.You m ay ch oos e to dis abl e th e
are ve ry fas t and te xture 's col or (Col)w h e n m odifying your bum p or
W h at is Bum p m apping? e as y to do in dis pl ace m e nt m aps .Th is can s om e tim e s give you
Bum p m apping tak e s a grays cal e im age and re ads Bl e nde r, e ve n ifyou a be tte r ide a ofw h at's going on w ith e ach s e tting.
th e ligh t and dark inform ation to s im ul ate an are ne w to Bl e nde r's
irre gular s urface .W h e n you re nde r an obje ct w ith te xturing tool s.
a bum p- m appe d m ate rial ,l igh te r (w h ite r)are as of Pl e as e note th at
th e m ap appe ar to be rais e d and dark e r (bl ack e r) dis place m e nt m aps Im age 1 Re gul
ar Te xture
are as appe ar to be l ow e re d.Note th at bum p are not dis pl aye d in
m apping doe s not m odify th e ge om e try, onl y th e th e 3D vie w port.
norm al s. Bum p m aps can
dis play a ve ry bas ic
Th e bum ps are a s im ul ation cre ate d by pe rturbing pre vie w w ith s h ading
face norm al s be fore th e obje ct is re nde re d. [Sh ift+ Z ]turne d on.
Th e re fore , bum ps don't appe ar on th e s il h oue tte of
bum p- m appe d obje cts .Bum p m apping is us e fulfor Bum p m apping in
adding de tailto an obje ct w ith out incre as ing th e Bl e nde r
pol ygon count. For th is tutorial , Iw il
l
us e one ofBl e nde r's Im age 2 Bum p M ap
W h at is D is pl ace m e nt m apping? m any proce dural
D is pl
ace m e nt m apping is ve ry s im ilar to bum p te xture s , "M us grave ".
m apping;w h e re a tw o- dim e ns ionalim age 's Fe e lfre e to pick
grays cal e inform ation is us e d to ch ange th e anoth e r type , or Im age 4 Enabl
ing Nor M apping
appe arance ofa th re e - dim e ns ionalobje ct.Ligh te r e ve n us e your ow n
tone s cre ate rais e d bum ps and dark e r tone s bum p m ap im age ! To e nabl e bum p m apping, pre s s th e norm al(Nor)
cre ate l ow e re d inde ntations as us ual .Unl ik e bum p Be gin by ope ning button.You can adjus t th e s tre ngth ofbum pine s s
m apping, w h ich onl y affe cts th e obje ct's te xture , Bl e nde r and cre ating w ith th e s l
ide r button l
abe l e d "Nor".
dis place m e nt m apping affe cts th e obje ct's a ne w obje ct.Ius e d Us e bum p m aps w h e n you w ant to tak e th e
ge om e try, cre ating additionalpol ygons according th e popul ar s m ooth ne s s offa s urface , or to cre ate an
th e dis place m e nt m ap's prope rtie s . "Suzanne "(m onk e y) Im age 3 D is place m e nt M ap e m bos s e d look .Ke e p in m ind, h ow e ve r, th at th e
m ode lfor th is de pth e ffe ct ofa bum p m ap is l im ite d to th e
D is pl
ace m e nt m apping can be ve ry de m anding on e xam pl e. norm al(Nor)s l ide r.
your com pute r's pe rform ance as it te nds to cre ate Ne xt, cre ate a ne w
w w w .bl
3D W ork sh op - Bum p & D is pl
ace m e nt M apping for Be ginne rs 28
D is pl
ace m e nt m apping in Bl
e nde r
Th e w ay you cre ate a dis pl ace m e nt m ap is ve ry
s im il
ar to th e w ay you cre ate a bum p m ap.Th e
onl y diffe re nce is , you m us t e nabl
e th e
dis place m e nt (D is p)button.You m ay turn offth e
norm al(Nor)button de pe nding on your de s ire d
e ffe ct.
Th e dis place m e nt s l
ide r control s h ow far aw ay
from th e originalm e s h th e ve rtice s w il
lbe m ove d.
Th e norm al(Nor)s l ide r als o h as a gre at im pact on
your dis place m e nt re s ults .Be care fulw h e n us ing
dis pl
ace m e nt m aps be caus e th e y can be ve ry
proce s s or de m anding.
M ich ae lW ach
Im age 4 Enabl
ing D is pl
ace m e nt M apping Is an 18 ye ars ol d from Cl e ve l
and, O h io.Curre ntl y
s tudying at th e Unive rs ity ofAdvancing Te ch nol ogy.
Concl
us ion H e w ork s ove r inte rne t for a Ne w York City bas e d
O ve rall, bum p m apping and dis pl ace m e nt m apping pate nt attorne y, cre ating 3D re pre s e ntations ofh is
are ve ry h andy tool s ifyou k now h ow to us e th e m . ide as us ing Bl e nde r 3D and YafRay.Al s o m ak e
M aps th at s h ade be tw e e n w h ite and bl ack w e bs ite s , com pos e digitalaudio, re cord and e dit
ge ne ral ly w ork be tte r th an m aps w ith h ard e dge s digitalvide os and w ork s w ith a l ot of2D il lus trations ,
be tw e e n th e w h ite and bl ack are as .Ih igh ly te xture s , and ph otograph s .
re com m e nd pl aying around w ith th e s e ttings and
re nde ring your re s ul ts to h e l
p de e pe n your
Ch e ck w w w .m ik e w ach .com or contact h im at
unde rs tanding ofth e m both .
m ail@ m ik e w ach .com
w w w .bl
2D W ork sh op - Cre ating A Ligh tning Boltin th e GIM P 29
Supe rs am pl ing’.Cre ate a ne w bol ts are h ardly us abl e as

Cre ating A Ligh tning Bol t laye r ove r th e nois e l
draw a s m al
aye r and
lgradie nt ove r th e
th e y appe ar virtual ly gl
toge th e r.Go to Laye r>>
ue d
in th e GIM P ne w l aye r (s e e Im g3)).O ne

th ing to re m e m be r h e re is th at
Col or>> Le ve ls .Th is w il
up th e Le ve ladjus t dial
lbring
og
you s h oul d try to draw th e box (s e e im g6).D rag th e
gradie nt ove r th e part ofth e input l e ve l
s m id- pointe r
s olid nois e w h ich contains tow ards th e righ t.
-b l
e nde rart m os tly w h ite and it’s
s urrounding are as are dark e r. W h ile you do th is , you can
Th at is w h e re you ge t good al s o s e e th e form ation oftw o
Introduction contras t for th e l igh t bolt. ne at l igh tning bol ts (Se e
Th is tim e , w e w il ll
e arn th e proce dure for cre ating im g7).Adjus t th e am ount of
al igh tning bol t s prite from th e GIM P. s h arpne s s you w ant th e n,
Ligh tning bol ts find good us e in 3D gam e SFX, l ik e pre s s ‘O K ’.
zapping an ite m or e ne m y from an e l e ctric
w e apon, de noting te ns ion in s ci- fi s ce narios , or jus t
a naturall igh tning bol t to e nh ance
th e e nvironm e ntalm ood.
Le ve l: Ne w bie to Inte rm e diate
Ste p1.Launch
th e GIM P and
cre ate a ne w Im age 4 Laye rs D ial
og
256x768 im age .
Go to Im age 2 Gradie nt s e ttings
Fil te rs >>Re nde r>
>Sol id Nois e .In Ste p3.
th e pop- up, e nte r Go to th e ‘Laye rs ’ dial og box
th e val ue s as and ch ange th e l aye r- m ode
s h ow n in Im g1 or, ofth e gradie nt l aye r to
ch oos e one of ‘D iffe re nce ’ s e e im g 4.
your ow n by Im m e diate l y, you can s e e th e
h itting 'Ne w form ation ofth e bol t.Now go
Se e d' button. to Im age >>Fl atte n
Final ly, pre s s th e Im age to fl atte n al lth e laye rs
Im age 1 Sol
id Nois e pop- up O K button to into one s ingl e laye r.Now go
re nde r th e nois e . to Laye r>>Col or>>Inve rt to
inve rt th e col or ofth e l aye r.
Ste p2.
Cre ate a ne w l aye r ove r th e curre nt l
aye r.Go to
th e ToolBox and s e l e ct th e gradie nt tooland in th e Ste p4. Im age 3 D raw n Gradie nt Im age 5 Ligh tning bol
ts
ToolO ptions , s e l
e ct th e s h ape ofth e gradie nt as W h at you ge t is a
Bi- l
ine ar and e nabl e ‘Adaptive - s tre ak oftw o ligh tning bolts (Se e im g5), but th e s e Im age 6 Le ve ladjus tm e nt
w w w .bl
2D W ork sh op - Cre ating A Ligh tning Boltin th e GIM P 30
Ste p5. random nois e ge ne ration

To s e parate th e l igh tning bol ts as an Al ph a w h ich can re s ult in m ore
ch anne l , you w illne e d to conve rt th e bl ack color to varie d ligh tning bol ts .I
alph a.To do th at, go to Laye rs >> Trans pare ncy>> h ope th is h as provide d
Col or to Al ph a. you w ith a nice and e as y
In th e Col or to Al ph a dial og, cl ick th e ‘From ’ button w ay to cre ate l igh tning
and ch oos e a bl ack col or th e n pre s s ‘O K ’.You now bol ts .
h ave an al ph a- bas e d ve rs ion ofth e l igh tning bol t
(Se e im g8).Th e l as t th ing to do is s ave it in a fil e
form at th at s upports trans pare ncy, l ik e PNG or TGA.
Im age 7 Re nde re d l
igh tning bol
ts
Im age 8 Ligh tning bol

ts w ith al
ph a ch anne l
Concl
us ion
Al th ough th is m e th od onl y ge ne rate s pre tty
s traigh t l
igh tning bol ts , you can com pl im e nt it
w ith th e nois e ge ne ration pl ug- ins for th e GIM P
cal le d ‘Pl
as m a2’ e tc.Th is w illal low you to h ave
w w w .bl
Bl
e nding - A Com pos itor Node O ve rvie w 31
and jus t re ce ntl

y by th e proje ct Pl um ife ros . lik e Input Val ue s , O utput Val ue s are e ith e r RGBA or
A Com pos itor Node Al th ough de s igne d for anim ations and com pute r-
ge ne rate d im age ry, th e Com pos itor h as found its
range val
ye l l
ue s .An RGBA val
ow and a range val
ue output is al
ue output is al
w ays
w ays gre y
O ve rvie w w ay into th e toolbox ofm any graph ic artis ts w h o
us e 3D and 2D program s to cre ate il lus trations and
and s pe cialch anne lval
ch anne l s )are al w ays bl
ue s (Norm aland Ve ctor
ue .To vie w range val ue s ,
artw ork .Th e pos s ibilitie s are onl
yl im ite d by your you m ay h ave to conve rt it to an RGBA val ue or
im agination and abs traction ofth e node - bas e d us e s pe cialfil te rs w h e n vie w ing.An output th at
layout! re pre s e nts e ach pixe lin an im age is ofte n re fe rre d
-b y D anie lLaBarge to as a pixe l m ap or im age m ap.
Inputs Val
ue s
W ith th at q uick prim e r on inputs and outputs and
Sandra Gil be rt and Idis cus s e d th e fact th at w ith al l Inputs are variabl e s e ttings on al lEffe ct and w h at can and cannot be us e d, l e t us tak e a l
ook at
ofth e ne w fe ature s com ing from th e Bl e nde r O utput node s .Input node s do not contain inputs h ow th e s e inputs and outputs can be us e d
re l
e as e s , it is ofte n h ard to k e e p up w ith th e m . th e m s e l
ve s , th e y us e th e inputs from th e actual toge th e r w ith node s .Ple as e note th at in th e
O fte n, you ne ve r actual l
y ge t to us e th e fe ature in Sce ne .An input can e ith e r be an RGBA val ue follow ing e xpl anations , an actualw ork ing m ode l
a proje ct be caus e you are s im pl y too bus y (Im age inputs )or a range val ue (Factor, Size , Val ue w on't be de s cribe d but rath e r h ow e ach s e tting
e xpl oring al lofth e diffe re nt w ays ofus ing th e ne w inputs ).Th e k e y diffe re nce be tw e e n RGBA val ue s can be us e d w ith in e ach node and h ow , w h e n
functional ity.To h e lp th os e ge t up to s pe e d fas te r, and range val ue s are th at e ach pixe lre pre s e nts a com bine d w ith oth e r inputs , th e y w illch ange .
I'l
lgive a q uick ove rvie w ofth e Com pos itor Node col or/al ph a val ue or a val ue re pre s e nting an input
s ys te m . am ount (0- 255). RGBA val ue s are typical ly th e Input Node s
pixe ls th at m ak e up th e finalim age w h e re as range
val ue s are typical ly val ue s th at controlth e Re nde r Laye r Node s are inputs from th e Sce ne .
NOTE: Th e de s cription ofh ow e ach node w ork s trans form ing ofth e pixe l s and are us ual ly Z , Ve ctor, Curre ntly th e onl y available output s e ttings for th is
is bas e d onl y on th e utility and not on th e actual Norm al , Alph a or oth e r range val ue s . node incl ude Im age (RGB), Al ph a, Z (de pth ),
m ath e m aticalor graph icalfunctional ity ofth e Norm al(m apping), and Spe e d (ve ctor).Th e Re nde r
node .A m ore accurate de s cription ofh ow e ach Inputs can onl y acce pt one input ch anne land Laye r Node contains an Im age Pre vie w and a
node functions and ope rate s is be yond th e re pre s e nt th e e ntire picture on a pe r pixe lbas is . se l
e ctor for s e le cting Sce ne s and Re nde r Laye rs
s cope ofth is articl e and w il lprobabl y appe ar in Inputs are e ith e r from th e s ce ne or tak e n from th e from th e s e le cte d Sce ne .Note th at th e Norm al
future articl e s on th e Ble nde r W ik i at output ofanoth e r node or a s e t val ue (s uch as and Spe e d val ue outputs are col ore d bl ue , th is is
h ttp://m e diaw ik i.bl
e nde r.org. Im age inputs , w h ich can s im pl y us e an RGBA be caus e th e y are s pe cialval ue outputs .Th e y can
val ue ). be tre ate d th e s am e as any range val ue , but onl y
Com pos itor Node Sys te m w ork for re late d node s .
Th e Com pos itor Node Sys te m is an advance d An RGBA val ue input is alw ays ye l low and a range
pos t- production e ditor th at al low s for q uick and value input is alw ays gray.Bl ue inputs are s pe cial Th e Im age output dis pl ays th e RGB col or value s
e as y configurabl e m odifie rs , cal l
e d node s , to be inputs w h ich only w ork w ith th e as s ociate d s ce ne for e ach pixe l.Th e Al ph a output is a bl ack and
h ook e d toge th e r (us ing noodl e s )bas e d on various data (Norm aland Ve ctor ch anne l s ).An RGBA val ue w h ite range val ue w h ich re pre s e nts th e opacity
inputs and outputs .Th e configurations are fl e xibl
e input m ay h ave to be conve rte d to be us e d as a for e ach pixe lw ith a range from 0
and th e re s ul ts can be q uite dram atic or ve ry range val ue input.An input th at re pre s e nts e ach (black /trans pare nt)to 255 (w h ite /s ol id).Th e Z
s ubtl e bas e d on de s ign and ne ce s s ity.Th e m ajor pixe lin an im age is ofte n re fe rre d to as an pixe lor output is a range val ue th at give s de pth
fe ature ofth e Com pos itor Node Sys te m im age m ap. inform ation (th e dis tance from th e cam e ra to th e
(Com pos itor)is th e abil ity to m ix various re nde r virtualobje ct)on a pe r- pixe lbas is .
pas s e s (com bine d RGBA, Z , Ve ctor, and Norm al O utput Val
ue s
val ue s )w ith oth e r inputs to ach ie ve advance d O utputs val ue s are variabl e s e ttings on allEffe ct
e ffe cts . Th e s e fe ature s h ave com e about m ainl y and Input node s .O utput node s do not contain
th rough th e de ve l opm e nts m ade by O range Studio outputs th e m s e l
ve s , th e y dis play th e inputs .Jus t
w w w .bl
Bl
Im age Node s are inputs from an im age fil e .An us e fulfor control
l
ing th e ch ange s th at occur during produce an e rror.
im age fil e can e ith e r be a valid im age type fil e an anim ation, and is ofte n us e d as an input for
(jpg, png, bm p, e tc.)or a range im age type fil e (e xr, anoth e r node . Vie w e r Node is ide nticalto th e Com pos itor node
h dri, e tc.)or e ve n a m oving im age fil e (avi, m pe g, e xce pt th at ins te ad ofdis pl aying re s ul
ts to th e
m ov, e tc.).Curre ntl y th e only avail able output Te xture Node is s im il ar to th e Im age Node e xce pt Re nde r Buffe r, it utilize s th e UVIm age Editor unde r
s e ttings for th is node incl ude Im age (RGB), Al ph a, th at it us e s inte rnalte xture s from th e Bl e nde r th e Vie w e r Im age .Th is is a dynam ic im age th at
and Z (de pth ).Th is node al s o contains an Im age s ce ne as th e inputs .Th is give s you a l ot ofcontrol dis pl ays th e pre vie w ofth e curre ntl y se l
e cte d
pre vie w . be caus e you can us e Norm alm apping to control Vie w e r node .Th is m e ans th at you can h ave
th e O ffs e t and Scal ing dynam ical ly and can us e m ul tiple Vie w e r node s w h ich w illdis play th e
W h e n a fil
e is loade d, a s m al licon re pre s e nte d by th e RGBA val ue s as e ith e r a range Val ue output or various outputs ofoth e r node s ...us e fulfor
film tape appe ars .W h e n you e nabl e th is , m ore an RGBA Col or output.Th is node al s o include s an de bugging and te s ting diffe re nt attribute s ofth e
options be com e avail abl e .You can s e t th e num be r Im age pre vie w w h ich dis pl ays th e te xture s e l
e cte d com pos ition.
offram e s in th e anim ation and s e t th e s tarting from th e s ce ne .Th is is good for adding proce dural
fram e and w h e th e r or not to cycl e th rough th e te xture ove rl ays and gradie nt e ffe cts . Col
or Node s
fram e s .Th is m ak e s us ing raw im age output from
th e anim ation re nde r e as y to load into th e O fal lofth e Input Node s , onl y th e Te xture Input RGB Curve s Node is a ve ry pow e rfulnode
com pos itor for pos t production, s ince Bl e nde r actual l
y h as input s e ttings .Th e s e are l im ite d to th e be caus e it can controlth e col or ofth e im age by
nam e s e ach fram e bas e d on a num be r. Ble nde r s ce ne h ow e ve r, th e y are s tilldynam ic. varying th e infl ue nce ofe ach col or s e parate l
y, and
O ve r all, th e Input Node s are e s s e ntialto us ing th e al lofth e col ors toge th e r.Th is node h as a Factor
Al s o, Bl
e nde r can re ad th e file nam e and ge t th e Com pos itor as th e y s e rve as th e bas e to w h ich Input (range val ue )and an Im age Input (RGBA
ne xt fram e ofth e anim ation.Anoth e r icon al so ch ange s are m ade .Th e y al s o al low for control val ue ).Th e Im age O utput is a com bination ofal lof
s h ow s up and can be e nabl e d, w h ich w il
ltak e ove r e ffe cts appl ie d to oth e r inputs .Th e th re e th e RGB Curve s w h ich incl ude Com bine d, Re d,
e ach fram e from th e fil e ifth e fil e is a m oving m os t com m onl y us e d Input Node s are th e Re nde r Gre e n, and Bl ue .Th e re are “+ ” and “- ” s ym bol s
im age .Typical ly, onl
y th e Im age (RGB)output is Laye r, Im age , and Tim e node s . w h ich zoom in and out accordingl y s o th at you
us e d but, ifa s ce ne fil
e is cre ate d, you can us e it can fine tune th e curve and al ign it m ore e as ily to
as input w h ich w oul d de live r th e Al ph a and Z NOTE: At th e tim e ofth is w riting, CVS ve rs ions th e grid.
val ue s to be us e d. ofBl e nde r include ne w output node s .Th e s e
node s w il lnot be dis cus s e d in th is articl
e as Th e w re nch icon al l
ow s for controlove r th e grid
Val ue Node is a ve ry s im pl e node .You s e t a th e y h ave not ye t m ade it into th e official vie w and th e curve h andl ing (Auto and Ve ctor),
num e ric val ue (0.00 to 1.00)and th e value output Bl e nde r re l
e as e . You s h oul
d note , h ow e ve r, th at and it al s o al l
ow s you to re s e t th e curve to th e
de l ive rs it as a range .Program m e rs can th ink of advance d node s do e xis t and w il lprobabl y be line ar de faul t.An orange grid icon al low s for
th is as pre de fine d variabl e. m ak ing th e ir w ay into future Bl e nde r ve rs ions . cl ipping to controlth e m axim um val ue s .Th e “X”
icon de l e te s th e curre ntl
y se l
e cte d point.Points
RGB Node is bas ical l
y th e s am e th ing as a Val ue are s e le cte d us ing th e Le ft M ous e Button (LM B).
Node e xce pt th at it outputs an RGBA val ue ins te ad O utput Node s
ofa range val ue .Th is node contains a col or Ne w points are adding by us ing Ctrl + LM B.Th is
pal
e tte w h ich m ak e s it e as y to s e l
e ct th e de s ire d Com pos itor Node s ounds k ind ofre dundant but, it node is m os t com m onl y us e d for contras t control
col
or. is actual ly th e only w ay to output th e finalch ange s and for fine tuning th e col or range s .It is e as y to
to th e Re nde r Buffe r.Curre ntly, th e re can onl y be m ak e ve ry boring im age s inte re s ting us ing th is
Tim e Node is a ve ry practicalnode be caus e it is one Com pos itor pe r s ce ne and it onl y acce pts node .
e s s e ntiall
y a variable Val ue Node . Th e diffe re nce Im age , Al ph a, and Z inputs .Th e node us e s an
is th at th e variation is bas e d on th e num be r of Im age pre vie w for dis playing th e re s ults in th e
fram e s .Th e Factor output is a range val ue w h ich is Node W indow . Th e Re nde r Buffe r (F11)w il lal so
s e t us ing a curve .You can s e t th e Start and End dis play th e Com pos itor node output.Ifno
fram e for w h ich th e curve re pre s e nts .Th is node is Com pos itor node is found th e re nde re r w il l
w w w .bl
Bl
M ix Node doe s e xactl y w h at it s ounds l ik e – it titl

e w ork as w e l
las com pos iting s ce ne s . M ap Val ue Node is anoth e r us e fultoolfor
m ixe s tw o Im age inputs bas e d on a Factor and ch anging val ue range s .It acce pts any range Val ue
filte r type and outputs th e re s ul t as an RGBA val ue . Z Com bine Node is a ve ry inte re s ting node in th at input and can l im it its M inim um and M axim um
Th is node h as tw o Im age inputs , but it w il lacce pt it can e as ily ge t tangl e d.It h as a s ingle Im age val ue s and can be furth e r m odifie d bas e d on Size
range val ue s .Th is m ak e s it good for m ixing a output but acce pts tw o Im age inputs and tw o Z and O ffs e t value s .Th e s e s l
ide rs are not lim ite d to
pre s e t val ue w ith a Tim e Node val ue to h ave a range val ue inputs .It com bine s th e pixe l s bas e d on 0.0 and 1.0 be caus e th is node is not de s igne d onl y
varying range val ue for node s th at don't h ave th e Z range val ue s and pas s e s th at com bine d for range val ue s ofth at k ind.It al s o acce pts Z ,
m ul tipl
e range inputs .Am ong th e fil te r type s are im age to th e output.Th e probl e m w ith th is is th at Norm al , and Ve ctor ch anne l s and can is ofte n us e d
m ix, m ul tiply, add, s ubtract, divide , s cre e n, ove rl ay, th e Z val ue th at corre s ponds to th e Im age (at l e as t in com bination w ith th e Z ch anne lto re m ap it for
dark e n onl y, ligh te n only, and m any oth e rs .Th is in th e s ce nario w h e re th is node is us e ful)is th e fore ground and back ground bl ur or in com bination
node is good for m ixing col ors as w e llbe caus e be low th e oppos ite Im age input. w ith a Ve ctor ch anne lto produce m otion bl ur.
th e Im age inputs can be s e t as a fixe d RGBA val ue
ins te ad ofa pixe lm ap. Th us , th e noodl e s th at conne ct th e node s can Fil
te r Node s
e as ily ge t cros s e d and fol l
ow ing th e m ge ts m e s s y
H ue Saturation Node is pe rfe ct for fine tuning th e ifm ul tiple node s are us e d.Th is node is m os t Filte r Node is th e m os t com m onl y us e d node in
RGB col ors .Ifbl ue is n't blue e nough , th is is th e com m onl y us e d w ith s ce ne com pos iting.In th is th is s e t.It can be us e d for a broad range of
node th at you w il lfind th e m os t us e ful .It acce pts m e th od, th e s ce ne is re nde re d in s e ctions and e ffe cts , s uch as s oft bl urring, e dge e nh ance m e nts
an Im age input and a Factor range val ue input, and laye rs .Th e l aye rs are re as s e m ble d afte r pos t- for cartoons , ne on s igns , de cal s , and m uch m ore .
outputs th e m odifie d Im age .Th e H ue s l ide r production is com pl e te d.Us ually th e s ce ne 's Z Th is node acce pts an Im age input w h ich can be
control s th e H ue val ue s (s im il
ar to RGB)w ith 0.500 ch anne lis us e d to do th is . control l
e d us ing a Factor range val ue and w il lth e n
be ing no ch ange .Th e Saturation (inte ns ity)s l ide r m odify th e pixe l s bas e d on a diffe re nt fil te r or
control s th e s aturation ofth e H ue s w h ich can be Ve ctor Node s e ffe ct type .Th e re s ul t is pas s e d to th e Im age
us e d to flood a ph oto or jus t s l igh tl
y tint an im age . output.Th e s ofte n fil te r type appl ie s a ve ry s m al l
Th is node is ve ry us e fuland is m os t popul arly us e d Norm alNode h as to be one ofth e cool e s t node s bl ur to th e pixe lto e l im inate s m al lartifacts .
as a tint fil te r for s uch nigh t s ce ne s w h e re a s l igh t avail abl e .Ionl y re ce ntl y figure d out h ow am azing it Sh arpe n atte m pts to e nh ance th e e dge s be tw e e n
blue tint is ne e de d. re ally is .Bas ical ly, you can th ink ofit as a pos t- th e pixe l s to de fine th e e dge s be tte r (th is ofte n
production l igh t.It us e s th e Norm alch anne las its cre ate s artifacts ).Lapl ace , Sobe l , Pre w itt, and
Al ph a O ve r Node is th e titl e e ffe ct life s ave r.Th is input and th e n you can m ove a l ittl
e s ph e re around K irs ch are al lve ry s im il ar and th e y e nh ance th e
node al low s one im age to be l aid ove r anoth e r and to re locate th e l igh t s ource .Th e avail abl e outputs e dge s and dark e n th e re s t.Sh adow is k ind ofl ik e
trans pare ncy is us e d as th e “w indow ” in w h ich th e incl ude th e re m appe d Norm alch anne land a D ot e ngraving and appl ie s a s e l
fs h adow on th e
back ground is l e t th rough .Th is node h as tw o range val ue output w h ich re pre s e nts th e l igh t and e dge s .Th is node is ofte n us e d to m ak e im age s
Im age inputs and a Factor range val ue input.Th e norm alinte ns ity in a grays cal e pixe lm ap.Th e th at are “too pe rfe ct” s e e m cris pe r.
Factor can be e as il y conne cte d to a Tim e Node pos s ibil itie s for th is incl ude s pe cul ar m apping, nigh t
and th e n you can fade in/out th e e ffe ct.Conve rt ligh ting, s ubs urface s catte ring, and m uch m ore . Bl ur Node is a ve ry s im pl e node .It tak e s an Im age
Pre m ulus ual ly bl e nds th e trans pare nt e dge s input and (bas e d on a Size range val ue w h ich
toge th e r be tte r s o artifacts are re m ove d.It al so Ve ctor Curve s Node is s im il ar to th e RGB Curve s influe nce s th e am ount ofbl ur)w illbl ur th e pixe l s
conve rts RGB bl ack to Al ph a, w h ich w ork s w e llfor node in th at you can controlth e Ve ctor ch anne l bas e d on diffe re nt fil te rs or m e th ods .It w il lfilte r it
cre ating Al ph a m aps . val ue s for th e X, Y, and Z axis .Th e only input and bas e d on an X and Y val ue and can e ve n be
output are Ve ctor ch anne ldata w h ich m us t be appl ie d to Gam m a corre cte d val ue s .Enabl ing
It's im portant to k e e p a “laye r” m e ntal
ity w h e n loade d e ith e r from a Norm alnode or th e s ce ne Bok e h fil te ring w il
lus e a circul ar filte r ins te ad of
w ork ing w ith th is node .Th e top Im age input is th e its e l
f.It contains th e s tandard curve w idge t and th e s im pl e s q uare m e th od.Am ong th e fil te r
“laye r” w h ich is place d on top ofth e bottom Im age controlfe ature s .Th is node is m os t us e fulfor m e th ods avail able are Fl at, Q uadratic, Cubic,
input and tak e s pre ce de nce ove r th e pixe l .Any re m apping th e Ve ctor ch anne lfor fine tuning Gaus s ian, CatRom , M itch , and Te nt.
trans pare nt pixe l s th e n al
low th e back ground to m otion bl ur, e tc.
s h ow th rough .Th is node is gre at for ove rl ays and
w w w .bl
Bl
Each one fil te rs diffe re ntly and any one ofth e m th e RGBA Im age input and can be us e d as s uch or Group Node s
can be us e d to obtain th e de s ire d e ffe ct.Th e as a value output.
re s ul
ting e ffe ct is appl ie d to th e im age and pas s e d Group node s are noth ing m ore th an cus tom node s
to th e Im age output.Th is is ve ry us e fulfor D e pth Se parate RGBA Node is ve ry ve rs atil e be caus e it w h ich are m ade by tak ing th e ge ne ric node s and
ofFie l d and m otion bl ur.It can al s o be us e d allow s you to m odify e ach col or ch anne l grouping th e m w ith Ctrl + Gk e y.Th is group is th e n
cle ve rly for inte re s ting titl
e w ork and ove rl ays . inde pe nde ntl y.It acce pts an RGBA Im age input avail abl e as a dupl icate to th e curre nt group.To
and outputs th e corre s ponding Re d, Gre e n, Bl ue , ungroup th e node s , you can pre s s Al t+ Gk e y.To
Ve ctor Bl ur Node is bas ical ly a one - purpos e node , and Al ph a ch anne l s as grays cal e value s .At th e add a group node you can e ith e r us e th e Add
but it doe s its job ve ry w e l l.It re q uire s th re e inputs tim e ofth is w riting, th e ne xt officialre l
e as e of m e nu or pre s s Sh ift+ Gk e y for a l is t ofcurre ntl y
to ge ne rate th e de s ire d output.Th e s e th re e inputs Bl e nde r w il
linclude a Com bine RGBA Node w h ich avail abl e node s .W ork ing w ith group node s can
are an Im age , a Z ch anne lm ap, and a Ve ctor w illdo th e re ve rs e ofth is node . s ave a l ot oftim e for re pe titive e ffe cts , but s h oul d
Spe e d input.Al lofth e s e can be gath e re d from th e be us e d w ith caution.A ne w group s h oul d be
s ce ne and Ve ctor Node s .Th is m e th od us e s al l Se parate H SVA Node is e s s e ntial l
y th e s am e as adde d, th e n ungroupe d and re groupe d as a
th re e ch anne l s toge th e r to bl ur th e im age bas e d a th e Se parate RGBA node but it s e parate s th e H ue , diffe re nt group node .Th is ge ts around th e
pixe ls tre tch ing m ode l .Th e inne r w ork ings ofth is Saturation, Val ue , and Al ph a ch anne ls for th e probl e m ofcopy node s ins te ad ofdupl icate node s .
m e th od are be yond th e s cope ofth is articl e but im age .Th e y are grays cal e val ue s jus t l
ik e th e Group node s are m os t ofte n us e d in th e de faul t
th e functional ity is a ve ry fas t and e fficie nt pos t- Se parate RGBA node .At th e tim e ofth is w riting, Bl e nde r fil
e , th at w ay com m onl y us e d e ffe cts can
production e ffe ct.It us e s a Sam pl e val ue to th e ne xt officialre le as e ofBl e nde r w il
lincl ude a be done q uick l y.
controlth e q ual ity ofth e bl ur, a M inSpe e d to s e t Com bine H SVA Node w h ich w il ldo th e re ve rs e of
th e m inim um s tre tch for e ve ry pixe land a th is node . Concl us ion
M axSpe e d for th e m axim um s tre tch for any pixe l .It Iw oul dlik e to e ncourage you to e xpl ore th e
th e n us e s a Bl urFactor w h ich can be us e d to fine - Se t Al ph a Node is good for titl e w ork and various s e ttings and us e s for th e node s .Al s o, vis it
tune th e bl ur from s trong to w e ak .Th e h igh e r th e ove rlays but h as it's purpos e in oth e r node s as th e s upport forum s for various re fe re nce
Sam pl e s and th e h igh e r th e Bl urFactor, th e wel l
.It acce pts an RGBA Im age and th e n al low s an s ch e m atics w h ich can h e l p you unde rs tand th e
s tronge r th e bl ur.It is im portant to s e t th e M in and Al ph a value to be s e t or ove rw ritte n by a Value m ath e m aticaland graph icalfunctional ity ofe ach
M ax s pe e ds to incl us ive e nough val ue s , but not input.Al ph a value of0.0 is trans pare nt and 1.0 is node .For practicalpurpos e s , th e Com pos itor is a
too broad to be com e m e m ory inte ns ive .Th is node opaq ue .Th e com bine d RGBA val ue s are pas s e d ve ry pow e rfultooland s h oul dn't be cons ide re d a
is m os t ofte n us e d for m otion bl ur. to th e Im age output.Th is node is ofte n us e d w ith a gl orifie d Se q ue nce r – you can do a l ot m ore w ith
Tim e node to controlth e fade in or fade out ofa th is th an you coul d e ve r do w ith th e Se q ue nce r.In
Conve rte r Node s s ce ne . fact, Iw oul dn't be a bit s urpris e d ifyou ne ve r us e
th e Se q ue nce r again!
Col orRam p Node is a dualpurpos e node in th at it Trans l ate Node is th e onl y m oving anim ation node
bl e nds col ors and val ue s , and outputs both an RGB avail abl e at th e m om e nt (m ore advance d node s Th is h as be e n a brie fde s cription ofth e
Im age output and a range val ue Alph a output.Th e for rotation, e tc.are be ing de ve l ope d).Th is node Com pos itor, w h ich is onl y h al
fofth e Node w indow .
al ph a output can be us e d as any val ue output but w illtrans late or m ove an Im age input a s e t val ue Th e re is m ore to le arn, s uch as th e inte rface , th e
is m os t ofte n us e d for trans pare ncy.Th e Factor from th e top l e ft ofth e bas e canvas s ize .It w il
lbe M ate rialnode s , and th e various w ays in w h ich
input can be e ith e r a range val ue or a tim e l
ine m ove d X (h orizontal )pixe ls by Y (ve rtical
)pixe l s. th e s e node s can be us e d toge th e r.
controlto controlth e infl ue nce ofth e node .Th e Th e s e val ue s can be variabl e X and Y inputs w h ich
ram p s lide r can us e col ors and trans pare ncie s to is us e fulfor anim ations w h e re a Tim e node can be Again, Ie ncourage e ach us e r to practice us ing
cre ate a gradie nt w h ich is us e fulfor gradie nt us e d to s lide a s ce ne or im age acros s th e canvas . node s and le arn th e “ins and outs ” ofth is tool
.
e ffe cts on ove rlays and for val ue tuning. Th e re s ulting Im age is output w h ich can th e n be H ave fun!
pl ace d on top ofanoth e r Im age for “m e rging dow n”.
RGB to BW Node is th e s im pl e s t node avail able .It
tak e s an RGBA Im age input and outputs a range
Val ue output.Th is is a grays cal e re pre s e ntation of
w w w .bl
K now H ow - Inde x O f Re fl
e ction 35
Inde x O f Re fl
e ction Inde x of Re fraction th e gl
l
as s .As s uch , it is s l
igh t, and w il
ow e d dow n to a gre ate r e xte nt th an a w ave ofre d
lbe be nt to a gre ate r de gre e .Th is accounts for th e orde r ofth e
Re fraction occurs w h e n th e e ne rgy of col ors th at w e s e e in a rainbow .It is al s o w h at give s a diam ond th e rainbow
an incom ing l igh t w ave m atch e s th e fringe s th at m ak e it s o pl e as ing to th e e ye .
-by Sandra Gil
be rt naturalvibration fre q ue ncy ofth e
ele ctrons in a m ate rial .Th e l igh t w ave D e finition ofInde x ofRe fraction tak e n from
pe ne trate s de e pl y into th e m ate rial , h ttp://s cie nce .h ow s tuffw ork s .com /l
igh t12.h tm
and caus e s s m al lvibrations in th e e l
e ctrons .Th e e le ctrons pas s th e s e For a m ore te ch nicalde s cription you ch e ck out th e e xpl
anation at
vibrations on to th e atom s in th e m ate rial, and th e y s e nd out l igh t w ave s ofth e
s am e fre q ue ncy as th e incom ing w ave .But, th is al ltak e s tim e . h ttp://e n.w ik ipe dia.org/w ik i/Re fractive _ inde x
Th e part ofth e w ave ins ide th e m ate rials l ow s dow n, w h il e th e part ofth e Now w h y is th is im portant?W h e n cre ating m ate rial s , you ne e d to tak e Inde x
w ave outs ide th e obje ct m aintains its originalfre q ue ncy.Th is h as th e e ffe ct of ofRe fraction into account.O th e rw is e , your m ate rial s w il
lnot be convincing.
be nding th e portion ofth e w ave ins ide th e obje ct tow ard w h at is cal le d th e And w ith th e ne w trans m is s ivity fe ature adde d in th e l as t re le as e in addition
norm all ine , an im aginary s traigh t line th at runs pe rpe ndicul ar to th e s urface of to th e IO R s e ttings pane lalre ady in pl ace , bl
e nde r is capabl e ofconvincing
th e obje ct.Th e de viation from th e norm all ine ofth e l igh t ins ide th e obje ct w il
l IO R val ue s .
be l e s s th an th e de viation ofth e l igh t be fore it e nte re d th e obje ct.
H e re is a l
is t ofIO R val ue s for your re fe re nce .Th is im age is rath e r s m al
l
, for a
Th e am ount ofbe nding, or angle ofre fraction, ofth e l
igh t w ave de pe nds on cle are r copy pl e as e ch e ck th e pdfincl ude d w ith th is is s ue .
h ow m uch th e m ate rial
sl ow s dow n th e l igh t.
D iam onds w oul d not be
s o gl itte ry ifth e y did not
sl ow dow n incom ing
ligh t m uch m ore th an,
s ay, w ate r doe s .
D iam onds h ave a h igh e r
inde x ofre fraction th an
w ate r, w h ich is to s ay
th at th e y s low dow n
ligh t to a gre ate r
de gre e .
O ne inte re s ting note

about re fraction is th at
ligh t ofdiffe re nt
fre q ue ncie s , or
e ne rgie s , w il
lbe nd at
sl igh tl
y diffe re nt angl e s.
Le t's com pare viol et
ligh t and re d l igh t w h e n
th e y e nte r a gl as s pris m .
Be caus e viol e tligh t h as
m ore e ne rgy, it tak e s
longe r to inte ract w ith
w w w .bl
K now H ow - EducationalRe s ource s 36
Th e l
as t ye ar h as s e e n a m ajor incre as e in us e r docum e ntation.W ith th e Cours e W ork / Guide d Tutorial
s
arrivalofne w book s in s e ve rall anguage s , dow nl oadabl e m anual s and cl as s
book s /cours e s , l
e arning Bl e nde r h as be com e e as ie r th an e ve r.Le t’s tak e a ‘Ble nde r Bas ics ’ by Jim is th e s e cond e dition of‘Bl
e nde r Bas ics ’;h is
l
ook at w h at is curre ntl y availabl e for our e ducationale njoym e nt. clas s room tutorialbook .It is a ve ry th orough , re ady to us e guide of118
page s .
Book s
‘Introducing Ch aracte r Anim ation w ith Bl e nde r’ by Tony M ul
le n, w il
ls oon be Ne alH irs ig from Tufts Unive rs ity offe rs com pl e te cours e m ate rial s for Tufts
finis h e d and is now avail
abl e for pre - orde r at Am azon.com .It is 432 page s Unive rs ity 3D D e s ign clas s can be found at h ttp://ocw .tufts .e du/Cours e /28
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convincing ch aracte r anim ation, giving a th orough and practicalintroduction or th e Bl ack board cours e s ite at: h ttp://bl ack board.tufts .e du Us e rw ord:
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ink to th e cours e s ite l
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ate d vide o tutorial s and s om e 25 PD F tutorial s .Al
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“La 3D l ibre ave c Ble nde r” (Fre nch m anual )by O l ivie r Saraja is available in
France .It is around 356 page s , fe aturing s om e col or pl ate s by w e l
lk now n Ne alinvite s com m e nts on th e cours e m ate rialand can be re ach e d at
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Th e book is aim e d both at th e be ginning and th e advance d Ble nde r us e r h ttp://m e diaw ik i.bl
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Gam e Engine D ocum e ntation
‘Bl e nde r Be ginne r’s Bibl e ’ (Japane s e m anual ), by Sh inich i Tas ak i w as Gl os s ary
re le as e d in Se pte m be r.‘Bl e nde r Be ginne r’s Bible ’ is aim e d at th e be ginning Q uick Start
Bl e nde r us e r, cove ring allth e ne w fe ature s and tool s th at h ave be e n adde d Noob to Pro w ik ibook
to Bl e nde r s ince th e l
as t Japane s e book w as re l e as e d in 2003. Bl e nde r Sum m e r ofD ocum e ntation
Apre nde e n 24 H oras Bl e nde r & Yafray D is e no Grafico 3D con Softw are Introdu ction to Pyth on Scripting b y Ste ph e n Sw ane y (stivs)
Libre (Spanis h Bl e nde r 2.41 M anual ) Introdu ction to th e Gam e Engine by M al
h ttp://w w w .boxe l.info/m orcy/inde x.ph p?e ntry=e ntry060805- 185712
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Th e printe d book (or PD F ve rs ion)is actual
ly a com pilation ofth e tutorial s Introdu ction to Rigging Robe rt Ch ristian (w ave z)
from th e cours e 'Anim ation for Com m unication' w h ich w as taugh t at th e Introdu ction to Ph ysicalSim u l ation by Fe lipe Be rgam in Boral li
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a Supe rior de Inform atica ofCas til l
a- La M anch a Unive rs ity in Spain, in Introdu ction to M ode l ing by M ich ae lW orce ste r (M ick M cM ack )
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Introdu ction to th e Principl e s of Anim ation b y W il l
ian Padovani Ge rm ano (Ianw il
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Introdu ction to M ate rials and Proce du ralTe xtu ring b y Col in Litste r (Cog)
Introdu ction to th e Ble nde r D atab ase by Frédéric van de r Esse n (e fb ie )
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EDITO RIAL 02

Thank you all !

Here they are, in no particular order, and I sure hope I

Enrico Valenza Christian Martin Mackinlay

www.blenderart.org Issue 7 November 2006

ED ITO R/D ESIGNER

M ANAGING ED ITO R Artistic Gl

Editor Rol and H e s s w rite s :

Artis tic Gl ow is an e ffe ct th at is a com pone nt of

Afte r th e output h as e nough contras t you now

W e 're al m os t th e re , but as you can s e e , th e m as k

Add a Bl ur node , conne cting th e Value output of

You can now h ook up a Vie w e r node and a NO TE

O ffs e t and Size .O ffs e t, in

Cre ate tw o M ap Val ue node s and h ook th e m up to

Spe cialth ank s go to Ce h uk e n ofBl e nde rArtis ts

I'm 17 and h ave be e n a fre e l ance s ince Iw as 15 doing e ve ryth ing

w ayw ard pl aye rs are de voure d by “grue s .” Th e s e

frus trating th an a “s urpris e ” de ath zone .

In th is article , w e w il lbe w ork ing tow ard a re al is tic

O nce you've w ork e d out th e ans w e rs to th e s e Canyon is an e nvironm e nt w h ich is s urrounde d on

Th e e as ie s t w ay to s h ade your m ode l s is to m ak e

Im age 4 Ligh t- s e ns itive is l

Ligh t s e ns itivity is not a good s ol

Now th at it's s m ooth , th e is l

Im age 8 Bak ing Ve rte x Col

In ge ne ral , w h e n painting rounde d m ode l s l

Care fulus e ofve rte x col ors can do w onde rs for

Im age 13 H and- painte d gradie nts

Im age 14 D ark e ning corne rs can im prove re al

Th e trick is to find th e h appy m e dium be tw e e n too

Low - pol y m ode l ing al s o m e ans re m oving anyth ing

Im age 17 Se tting num be r ofve rtice s for a cyl

Som e tim e s , w e ne e d to divide face s into s m al

Th e te m pl e is Now , s e le ct your e nds one at

Th is is our bas ic l e afm ode l .You can tw e ak it a Th e l arge Suzanne h e ad Iw il ls im ply de l e te .

Th is is one tim e w h e n Icons ide r th e us e of

Im age 28 O riginal& Im prove d Pal

Look h ow grote s q ue th e originalpal m tre e look s ,

Now s e le ct a fe w ve rtice s and be gin m oving th e m . s e am l

I e xpe rie nce s om e probl e m s due to th e fact th at

Finalth ough ts about gam e m ode l ing

Im age 41 W h y D e cim ation is Not Your Frie nd

out around th e e dge s .Th e y h ave th e appe arance

Te xturing s e tting.In th e UVface s e l e ct m ode , pre s s A to

Im age 42 M ak ing a te xture Se am l

te xture s on th e re ! Le t's s tart by adding a be ach

Firs t cre ate a s and te xture , and th e n cre ate a

Im age 48 Gras s - > Sand Te xture

Now , m ap your pl ain s and te xture (w ith out gras s )

Ne xt, is th e tim e - cons um ing part. M ap th e

Im age 52 M ak ing W ave s

M ak e a nice bl ack - and w h ite “ripple s ” te xture , and

Cre ate your ow n te xture s w h e ne ve r pos s ibl e .Bring

And th at's th at! Ih ope you e njoye d re ading th e

In th e H e ade r ofth e Node

Im age 3 Turn one ofth e vie w s into th e Node Editor

Sam pl e s - Th is s e tting control s th e bl ur e ffe ct

ifan obje ct is ve ctor bl urre d, it’s s h adow is not

Ol ivie r Saraja is an O pe n Source e nth us ias t running

h ttp://w w w .e ditions e yrol l

Supe rs am pl ing’.Cre ate a ne w bol ts are h ardly us abl e as

in th e GIM P ne w l aye r (s e e Im g3)).O ne

Le ve l: Ne w bie to Inte rm e diate