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Issue 5 Jul

y 2006 | Bl
e nde rart

M od e l
ing Te ch niq ue s &
Ble nd e r Scripts
Bl
e nde r l
e arning m ade e asy

Bl
e nde r Mate rialLibrary

Ge n3 - Tre e Ge ne rator

UV Mapping Te ch niq ue s

Bl
ue print Se tup

Spin Mode l
ing
Conte nts 2

Cl
ick im age /page no to jum p to articl
e.

EDITOR/DESIGNER
Gaurav Naw ani gaurav@ bl
e nde rart.org Bl
e nde r Mate rialLibrary (Script) Pg - 6
MANAGING EDITOR
Sandra Gil
be rt s andra@ bl
e nde rart.org

W EBSITE
Nam Ph am nam @ bl
e nde rart.org Ge n3 Tre e Ge ne rator (Script) Pg - 10
PROOFREADING
K e rnon D il
lon

COVER IMAGE
Jas on Pie rce Mode l
ing Rupe rt - "Th e EvilMonk e y" Pg - 13

W RITERS
Mariano H idalgo
Edouard de Mah ie u
Se rge y Prok h orch uk
Roja Kitch e n W ork s (Spin Mode l
ing) Pg - 21
Andre ia Le alSch e m id & Z ag
Die go Re stre po París

COPYRIGH T© 2006
‘Bl e nde rart M agaz ine ’, ‘bl e nde rart’
and bl e nde rart l ogo are copyrigh t UV Mapping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Pol
y) Pg - 28
Gaurav Naw ani. ‘Iz z y’ and ‘Iz z y l ogo’
are copyrigh t Sandra Gil be rt. Al
l
products and com pany nam e s
fe ature d in th e publ ication are
trade m ark or re gis te re d trade m ark s of Se tting Up Bl
ue prints in Bl
e nde r Pg - 38
th e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs .

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
Editorial 3

As I brow se th e forum s, th e one m e th od w ork s be st for you. Not gre ate r fle xibility and add
q ue stion I ofte n se e popping up e xactl y som e th ing a ne w com e r use fulfunctions and fe ature s
from ne w com e rs, is al w ays w ants to h e ar. to th e Bl e nde r w ork fl ow . Th is
som e variation of “W h at is th e issue w e w il le xpl ore som e of
be st w ay/m e th od/te ch niq ue to W el lin th is issue w e w il lsh e d a th e se w onde rfull ittl e scripts
m ode l. . . (inse rt re l e vant little ligh t on w h ich te ch niq ue s and sh ow just h ow th e y can
obje ct h e re )?O r e ve n m ore to use and w h e n, k e e ping in m ak e your l ife e asie r.
ge ne ric q ue stion lik e “W h at is m ind th at anyth ing can be
th e be st w ay to m ode l ?” I cre ate d using any of th e sandy@ bl
e nde rart.org
re m e m be r m y ow n frustration te ch niq ue s avail able in Bl e nde r,
Sandra Gil
be rt in finding th e pe rfe ct answ e r to but som e te ch niq ue s l e nd
Managing Editor th at q ue stion and sym path iz e th e m se lve s m ore re adil y to
w ith ne w com e rs w h o are ce rtain type s of m ode l s. And
curre ntl y trying to find th e w h ile th is is obviousl y h elpful
pe rfe ct m e th od and w ork fl ow . to th e ne w com e r, e ve n th e
m ore e xpe rie nce d am ong us
Th e sh ort answ e r is . . . w illbe ne fit from be ing
“w h ate ve r m e th od w ork s be st re m inde d th at th e re is al w ays
for your purpose and pe rsonal m ore th an one w ay to m ode lan
w ork flow ” Not re alh e l pful , obje ct.
now is it?Unfortunate l y, th e As m uch as w e re l y on favorite
long answ e r is not m uch be tte r. m ode l ing te ch niq ue s, w e ofte n
Th e re ason be ing th at is tim e , find som e task s are e ith e r too
e xpe rie nce and m assive daunting, re pe titive or just a
e xpe rim e ntation is ge ne ral l
y pain to com pl e te m anual ly.
re q uire d in orde r to de cide on Ente r Pyth on scripts to th e
an obje ct by obje ct basis w h ich re scue . Pyth on scripts al l
ow

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
Lizzy K now s 4

Basical ly, you start by cre ating a basic box, w ith m ost m ode l
ing m e th ods.
Izzy's Tal
k on Mode l
ing th e n de fining de tail
s as you carry on.
Extrude : [E k e y] Ve rtice s, Edge s and Face s
Ve rte x Push ing can al
lbe e xtrude d to buil d your m ode l
s.
Be fore you
Al so re fe rre d to as point-to-point m ode l ing.
can de cide
Th is m e th od re q uire s m ore patie nce but K nife : [K k e y] can be use d to cre ate
w h ich
all ow s for gre ate r pre cision, e spe cial
ly w h en additionalEdge s and Face s, use fulin adding
m e th od of
cre ating sm ooth Edge Loops for anim ation. m ore de tailonce your basic m ode lis cre ate d.
m ode l ing
Start w ith one ve rte x, e xtruding and/or Ve rte x/Edge /Face Se l e ct: (Toggle buttons on
w ork s for
adding ve rtice s one -by-one , adjusting and th e 3D w indow H e ade r Bar [l ook s lik e
you, it
re fining your sh ape untilyour m ode lis dots/l ine /triangle ]) Use fulfor se le cting just
h elps to
com pl e te d. th e are a you ne e d.
k now
e xactl y
Th is m e th od is in contrast to th e box m ode l ing Loop Se le ct: [Alt + MMB] al l
ow s you to se l
e ct
w h at
te ch niq ue . It suits pe opl
e w h o are able to an e ntire loop for m odification.
options are
conce ive th e sh ape and de tail s in advance , Subsurf: (Subdivision Surface s found in th e
avail able and h ow th e y w ork . Bl e nde r offe rs a
inste ad of adding de tail slate r. Modifie rs pane lof th e Edit buttons w indow )
gre at se t of core tool s to m ak e w h ate ve r
m e th od you use as productive as possibl e. Subsurf sm ooth s th e h ard angle s of your
Curve s m ode l, m aintaining low pol ygon counts w h ile
H e re is a l
ist of m e th ods and tool s for you to
All
ow s you to cre ate sm ooth sh ape s and m ode ling.
conside r as you start your ne xt proje ct:
com ple x ge om e try. Gre at for l
ogos.
Box Mode l
ing Th e re are actual ly m any m ore use fultool s
Nurbs incl ude d w ith in Bl e nde r, but th e se are th e
Ge ne ral l
y th e e asie st m e th od w h e n you first
O ne of th e m ore difficul t m e th ods of one s use d m ost ofte n. More inform ation on
start l e arning. You'd be am az e d by h ow m any
m ode l ing. You cre ate patch e s th at are th e n Bl e nde r's tools and m e th ods, as w e l las
th ings ge t th e ir start as a cube . Start by
stitch e d toge th e r to cre ate sm ooth se am le ss various tutorial s can, of course , be found in
adding a pre -m ade prim itive (usual ly a cube ,
m ode l s. Gre at for organic m ode l ing. th e Ble nde r w ik ibook found at:
but can be any of th e oth e r prim itive s i.e .
Sph e re , Cone , Tube e tc). Th e n e xtrude , de l e te
Me tabal
ls h ttp://m e diaw ik i.bl
e nde r.org/inde x.ph p/Main
e dge s and ve rtice s as ne e de d to ach ie ve your
Much l ik e w ork ing w ith clay. You add _Page
de sire d sh ape .
additionalm e tabal ls w ith varying influe nce
(can be positive or ne gative infl ue nce ) to
Th e use of Box Mode l ing is pre fe rable if you
build up your m ode l .
are abl e to conce ive th e de sire d sh ape in
le sse r am ounts of de tailin th e be ginning.
Tool
s th at can be use d in conjunction

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
Ne w s Fl
as h 5

Artw e ave r 0 .4 re leas e d Ink s cape 0 .44 re leas e


Earl ie r th is m onth , th e
A ne w e r Ink scape te am re l e ase d
ve rsion of one of th e ir m ost l ong-
Artw e ave r 0.4 aw aite d re l e ase s. It w as
w as re le ase d im portant be cause th e y
on Jul y 18th . h ave im prove d l ots of
Th e ne w issue s th at h ad h ounde d Ink scape in th e past.
update brings Th e m ost prom ine nt be ing th e sl uggish ne ss
al ot of ch ange s to Artw e ave r. It now w h e n e diting obje cts at h igh e r z oom l e ve ls.
sports a m uch im prove d inte rface for Th is re le ase brings a re fre sh ing im prove m e nt
h andling brush e s. Al so, th e re are a fe w in spe e d w h e n h andl ing large r and m ore
ne w tool s in th is re l
e ase : Erase r, Stam p com pl e x obje cts. Th e node e diting is about
and Pe rspe ctive Grid. 30% faste r and obje ct m ove m e nt on th e canvas
h as al so gotte n a boost in spe e d. Using th e
Th e arrange m e nt of th e Tool s and Fig. Artw e ave r 0 .4 Im prove d inte rface cal ligraph ic pe n is al so faste r in ce rtain case s.
O ptions dialogs pre se nt a cl e an inte rface
com pare d to e arlie r ve rsions. Th is update al so brings num e rous
im prove m e nts to th e Ink scape UI. Notice abl e
Al so m ak ing an appe arance are a fe w im prove m e nts are th e Col or Pal e tte Bar at th e
ne w filte rs such as Ligh ting Effe cts, bottom and an incl usion of m ore options on
Fish Eye Le ns, and Drop Sh adow . Now , th e top tool bar. Al so im pl e m e nte d is th e
saving and l oading of se l
e ctions is al so Laye rs dial og box. Th e ove rh aulof th e
possibl e . In addition to th e se fe ature s, a Pre fe re nce s dialog box m ak e s m odifying
lot m ore are avail able (incl uding a pre fe re nce s a bre e z e . And, th e re 's th e addition
conside rabl e am ount of bug fixe s). Re ad of Ke yboard configuration.
th e Re l
e ase Log for de tail s.
Th e re are pl e nty m ore im prove m e nts and lots
You can ge t th e late st copy at and l ots of ne w fe ature s pack e d into th is
h ttp://artw e ave r.de re l
e ase . Go to h ttp://ink scape .org and
dow nl oad th e late st re l
e ase to l
e arn m ore
about al lth e ne w fe ature s.
Fig. Ink scape 0 .44

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Using th e Blende r M ate rialLibrary Script 6

O nce dow nl oade d, jus t pl ace th e s cript in your Firs ts te ps


Ble nde r's s cripts fol de r and s tart or re s tart Th e s cript s tarts in
Ble nde r (you can al s o us e (Scripts >> Update brow s ing m ode . At th e
Me nus ) to re fre s h your s cripts ). Th e s cript w il l top, th e re are th re e drop-
now be l is te d in th e (Scripts >> Obje ct>> Bl e nde r dow n m e nus . Th e
- b y M ariano H id al
go Library) s cripts m e nu. uppe rm os t one is th e
curre ntl y brow s e d library,
O n th e firs t run it w il las k th e oth e r tw o are
Le ve l:Inte rm e diate you to ch oos e a l ocation cate gorie s and s ub-
for th e l ibrary fol de r. cate gorie s . Sub cate gorie s
'Ble nde r Library' is a pyth on s cript for Bl e nde r Ple as e try to ch oos e a are optional , but th e y
inte nde d to provide an e as y w ay to s tore , dire ctory not too de e p in be com e us e fulonce you
m anage and re trie ve fre q ue ntl y us e d ite m s ; your fil e s ys te m , th is w ill s tart fil
ling th e library w ith
s uch as m ate rial s , te xture s , obje cts , e tc. It also avoid pos s ibl e probl em s
trie s to de fine a s tandardiz e d w ay of s h aring w ith Pyth on's path ib rary in b row sing m od e .
Fig2. Th e M ate riall
s tuff be tw e e n th e re s t of th e Bl e nde r h andl ing, e ve n th ough
com m unity, w ith buil t- in im port and e xport us e rs re port th at th is is no lots of s tuff. Th e l
ittl
e arrow s on th e s ide of th e
functional ity (Th is fe ature ne e ds a ful lPyth on longe r an is s ue in l ate s t m e nus al l
ow to q uick ly brow s e th e conte nt.
ins tallation for th e com pre s s e d s upport, pl e as e ve rs ions of th e s cript.
re ad be l ow for w ork around). Now you can s tart e xpe rim e nting w ith th e
Th at's it! your library is s cript. Eith e r add s om e s tuff you h ave (re ad
Since th e s cript is m e re ly an inte rface buil t on re ady to be fille d w ith be l ow ), or go to Bl e nde r Stuff (h ttp:\ \ bl e nde r-
top of th e curre nt Bl e nde r appe nding s ys te m ite m s . s tuff.bye th os t32.com ) and dow nl oad s om e
[Sh ift+ F1] it w il lbe m os t lik e l
y com patibl e w ith Fig1. Initiald ial
og. re ady to us e ite m s . D ow nl oade d ite m s can be
al lfuture e nh ance m e nts in upcom ing Bl e nde r im porte d one by one or in a batch m ode . If you
re le as e s . As an e xam ple th e m ate riall ibrary w as Untilyou ge t com fortabl e w ith th e s cript th e re dow nl oade d s e ve ralite m s , jus t ch oos e "Im port
code d be fore th e de ve l oping of th e ne w is a conte xt h e lp fe ature , and if you l e ave it a Fol de r" acce s s ibl
e from th e 'Righ t Cl ick ' M e nu
M ate rialNode s and w ith out ch ange s in th e ope n it w illcons tantl y s h ow tips and advice as and point it to th e fol de r w h e re th e ite m s
s cript it can now s tore m ate rial s w ith node s . you ope n m e nus and navigate th e form s . O nce re s ide .
you h ave m as te re d e ve ryth ing, you can cl os e it
Se tting itup: Grab th e s cript from h e re . by Jus t click ing on th e l ittle button on top w ith O nce you re ach a cate gory w ith ite m s on it, a
h ttp://us e l
e s s dre am e r.bye th os t32.com /s cripts /bl
e nde r an inte rrogation m ark . So th e s cript w indow row w ith e xtra buttons w il lappe ar, al ong w ith a
_l ibrary.py ge ts s m alle r and don't e at th at m uch s pace on pre vie w im age and a drop- dow n m e nu to
your s cre e n. q uick ly jum p to oth e r ite m s in th e cate gory.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Using th e Blende r M ate rialLibrary Script 7

Th e buttons above th e pre vie w are : Adding Ite m s Now its tim e to cl ick th e Add Ite m button to
• Th e LOAD button. It w il lpop a m e nu w ith To add your ow n s tuff to th e l ibrary, cl ick in th e finis h th e proce s s . Th e s cript w illw arm you
diffe re nt loading options , de pe nding of th e type Add button at th e bottom of th e s cript. A form about th e ne e d to re ope n th e curre nt bl e nd file
of ite m . w il
ls h ow up. Se l e cting th e de s ire d ite m s w ork s afte r adding. Th is is a s m al llim itation (w h ich
• Th e INFO button, to dis pl ay a m e nu w ith a bit diffe re nt de pe nding on w h ich l ibrary your m ay dis appe ar in future ve rs ions ) s o pl e as e
e xte nde d inform ation about th e curre nt ite m . If are on. s ave your bl e nd be fore adding s tuff to th e
you [Ctrl+ LMB] in ite m 's nam e or de s cription library. If you accide ntal l
y forgot to s ave and
you can ch ange th e m . Auth or's inform ation is Th e 'O bje ct' and 'Lam p' l ibrarie s can s tore los e w ork , you can s e arch for th e q uit.bl e nd
dis playe d be l
ow and can't be ch ange d for th e s e ve ralBl e nde r's databl ock s in th e s am e ite m , file , th at is a Bl e nde r fe ature to re cove r bl e nd
m om e nt. s o you are not l im ite d to s tore s ingle m e sh e s. file , w h ich Bl e nde r autom atical ly cre ate s for
You can s tore and s h are a ful lch aracte r, s afe ty.
To m anage th e conte nt, th e s cript provide s com pl e te w ith props and arm ature , an e ve n
s e ve raloptions in th e M ANAGE m e nu. You can s h ape k e ys attach e d. By s toring s e ve rall am ps Afte r re l
oad, run th e s cript again and th e ite m
re nam e , de le te or m ove th e conte nt to oth e r in th e s am e ite m you can cre ate l am ps s e ts to you h ave jus t adde d w illbe th e re for q uick
cate gorie s . You can al s o im port a cus tom ach ie ve re us abl e ligh ting e nvironm e nts or on re us e .
pre vie w im age to re pl ace th e curre nt one . cl ick - to- s e tup fak e gl obalil l
um ination. Ch oos e
th e de s ire d obje cts or l am ps on th e 3D Vie w If you pl an to s h are your ite m s , and to prote ct
Afte r th e s e fis t s te ps , it w il
lbe coolto ope n up and th e n type a nam e for th e ite m in th e SET your righ ts as a cre ator it is pos s ibl e to bundl e
th e pre fe re nce s dial og, w h e n you can e nte r NAM E: l abe l. a Lice ns e Te xt w ith e ve ry ite m you add to th e
your pe rs onalinform ation. Th e n, w h e n adding library. To do th is , h ave your l ice ns e te xt
ite m s you can us e th e FILLbutton in th e AD D For th e re s t of th e librarie s you s e l e ct th e ope ne d in th e curre nt .bl e nd and th e n s e le ct it
form to de s ire d ite m from a m e nu acce s s e d from th e from th e drop dow n m e nu. W h e n pe opl e load
autom atica righ t pointing arrow ne xt to th e NAM E l abe l. In your ite m , th e s cript w illw arn th e m about th e
lly e nte r th is cas e th e labe lw il lbe auto fil le d w ith pre s e nce of th e lice ns e and its te xt w illload
your data, ch os e n databl ock 's nam e . D e s pite th is , al l into th e proje ct.
s aving re late d s tuff to th e ch os e n ite m is al s o adde d. If
you s om e you add a m ate rial , it's te xture s and Ipos are Exporting Ite m s
typing al s o adde d, and s o on. If you w ant to s h are your cre ations w ith oth e r
e ve ry tim e pe ople , us e th e Export Ite m option in th e
you m ak e For s om e l ibrarie s you can turn on th e ENABLE M anage m e nu. You can e xport com pre s s e d TAR
ne w ite m . RAY button, in cas e you w ant a ray trace d pack age s onl y if you h ave a ful
lPyth on
pre vie w im age , and for m ate rial s you can al so ins tal
lation.
ch oos e th e s h ape of th e pre vie w obje ct from a
drop- dow n m e nu.
Fig3. Ad d ing stuffto th e l
ib rary

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Using th e Blende r M ate rialLibrary Script 8

As an al te rnative you can run a s e arch on Th e Librarie s For th e late r to w ork , you ne e d to nam e e ach
googl e or you favorite s e arch e ngine and l ook Le ts tak e a l
ook at s om e of th e l
ibrarie s . force fie ld and de fl e ctor be ginning w ith th e
for th e s e tw o fil
e s : s h util
.py and tarfil e .py; nam e of th e particl e obje ct, plus a dot, pl us
dow nl oad and pl ace in your Bl e nde r's fol de r. Th e Mate rialand Te xture Libs Th e m ate rial th e ir nam e
Now you can e xport and im port com pre s s e d library is th e s tar of th e s h ow . It can s tore
ite m s . re gul ar m ate rials , m ate rials w ith node s and (for e xam pl
e : PARTICLEO BJECT.FO RCEFIELD ,
e ve n m ate rials w ith IPO s attach e d. If th e PARTICLEO BJECT.D EFLECTO R.001)
W h e n you e xport com pre s s e d ite m s th e s cript m ate rialus e s Im age ' te xture s , th e im age fil es
give s you a JPG im age al ong w ith th e TAR w il lbe autom atical ly pack e d. Th e te xture l ibrary Th e Arm ature , Action,
pack age . Th e im age is not ne e de d to im port th e is coolfor s torage of proce durals e ttings and Pos e and IPO Libs .
ite m back , rath e r it provide d s naps h ot w h ich e nvironm e nt m aps . As a pl us , te xture s of type Favorite s for anim ators ,
you can s h ow as pre vie w in th e forum s or Bl e nd can be us e d to s tore col or bands . th e y s tore anim ation
w e bs ite s w h e n you m ay be pos ting your s tuff. re late d databl ock s and
Th e (Gam e ) Logic Lib Th is is inte nde d for gam e e ve n s ingl e pos e s .
If you are e xporting uncom pre s s e d ite m s , th e n de ve lope rs and is a q uick w ay to s tore l ogic Th e pos e l ibrary curre ntl y
th e th re e re s ul
ting fil
e s are ne e de d and you brick s . Th is w ay you can s tore your k e yboard doe s n't s tore th os e pos e s
s h ould dis tribute th e m al l. It w ould be a good m appings or th e brick s ne e de d to m ak e a pan w h ich us e attach e d Targe t
ide a to pack th e m m anual ly as a TAR fil e by and rotate vie w tooland q uick l y re us e th e m IK s , but th is m ay ch ange
h and. late r. To s tore gam e m ode l s is be tte r to us e th e in future ve rs ions . Th e
O bje ct library ins te ad, th e TEXFACE button w il l autom atic IK w ork s jus t
allow you to ge t a righ t pre vie w for UV te xture d fine .
m ode l s.
Fig5. A com pl
e te anim ate d particl
e sy ste m justone
Th e Sce ne Lib Al lth e tim e pe opl e dow nl oad cl
ick aw ay
from th e ne t ble nds w ith e xam pl e s and
conce pts , us ually w ith a s ingl
e s ce ne . W ith th is
lib you can e as ily catal og th at fil
e s and al s o its Th e W orl
d Lib
a good pl ace to s tore s e ve ralas s orte d ite m s It is pos s ibl
e to s tore anim ate d w orl ds , a ve ry
you m ay w ant to l oad at once . coolfe ature for pe opl e us ing Bl e nde r for
adve rtis ing or m ul tim e dia de s ign. In th e l ate s t
Th e Particle Lib. ve rs ion of th e s cript, you can al s o ch oos e to
Can s tore s tatic (h air, fur, gras s ) or anim ate d jus t load Particl e or M is t s e ttings , to m e rge w ith
particle s ys te m s , th e l
ate r w ith attach e d force your curre nt w orl d.
fie l
ds and de fl e ctors .
Fig4. Exporting ite m s

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Using th e Blende r M ate rialLibrary Script 9

Extra Functional
ity H ope th e Ble nde r H e ads around th e w orl d find
O nce you s tart col le cting ite m s , you'llne e d th e th is toolus e fuland w e 'lls oon s tart cre ating a
Se arch function, w h ich can be acce s s e d from h uge com m unity of pe opl e s h aring allk ind of
th e 'Righ t Click ' M e nu. It w il lle t you s e arch a gre at Ble nde r conte nt.
s pe cific l
ibrary for m atch ing ite m s both by
ite m 's nam e and auth or's nam e . O nce found, - Se e ya around
th e m atch ing ite m s w il lbe s h ow n jus t l ik e in M ariano H id al go
th e brow s ing m ode , re ady to be l oade d in your
curre nt proje ct. Al s o re m e m be r th at m os t us e d
ite m s can be adde d to favorite s for q uick acce s s
and th e y w il
lbe l is te d at th e bottom of th e
LO AD m e nu. To re m ove a favorite jus t [Ctrl+
LMB]on it's nam e .

Round D ow n
Curre nt ve rs ion of th e
s cript is 1.3.4. For future
ve rs ions th e s m all
im pl e m e ntationalq uirk s
m ay be gone and h ope ful ly
th e re w il lbe no longe r
ne e d to re ope n th e .ble nd
afte r adding s tuff. Al s o,
m aybe giving th e s cript a
cus tom s pace w il lbe a cool
ide a. M ariano H idal
go A.K.A.
use l
e ssdre am e r
Fig6. Look ing for m ate rial
s in th e se arch pane l

You can vis it th e Bl e nde r Library th re ad at I'm a graph ic artist, de signe r and
Bl e nde rArtis ts forum to pos t doubts q ue rie s or m usician from Bue nos Aire s, Arge ntina.
fe ature re q ue s ts . You can al s o tak e a l
ook at m y
s ite h ttp://us e le s s dre am e r.bye th os t32.com for Som e tim e s I code for fun and I m anage
m ore s cripts . to ge taw ay w ith it;)

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Ge n3 th e Tre e M ode lGe ne rator (Script) 10

Th e am ount of incl ude d param e te rs de s cribing Afte r copying th e fil


e s , you are re ady to us e th e
tre e fe ature s are vas t. Broadl y, th e s e s cript.
param e te rs al l
ow th e us e r to de s cribe th e trunk
and branch e s s iz e s , th e ir s plit probabil itie s , Us age
branch l ocations re l ative to e ach oth e r and s o You can acce s s th e Ge n3 s cript via
- b y Se rge y Prok h orch uk on. Curre ntl y, th e inte rface is not us e r- frie ndly (Scripts >>Mis c>>Ge n3) s e e fig1. If you do not
and m ay s care off ne w us e rs , but th e UI re - s e e "Ge n3" e ntry in th e Scripts m e nu th e n s e le ct
im pl e m e ntation is a pos s ibil ity for future (Scripts >>Update Me nus ) - it w il lupdate th e l is t
Le ve l- Inte rm e diate re le as e s . of avail able s cripts .

M anual ly cre ating re alis tic tre e m ode l s is a h ard Ins tal
lation Afte r launch ing th e s cript, you w il ls e e al
lth e
tas k in 3D /CG. To s im pl ify th is tas k , various To ins tal lGe n3, you control s w h ich al low you to controlparam e te rs
pl ug- ins and program s , w h ich can be us e d to s h oul d dow nl oad affe cting th e m ode lof th e tre e . You can find
cre ate 3D pl ant m ode l s autom atical l
y, w e re th e l ate s t ve rs ion of com pl e te de s cription of al
lth e s e param e te rs in
cre ate d. Th e s e program s al low th e us e rs to th e s cript from th e [W e be r9 5]pape r.
de s cribe pl ant s tructure by inputing s om e h e re [Ge n3]. (At th e
param e te r s e ttings w h ich are us e d to ge ne rate tim e of th is w riting, Th e re are s e ve ralbuttons at th e bottom part of
th e 3D m ode l . th e l ate s t ve rs ion s cript's GUI, of w h ich th e m ain button is th e
avail abl e is 0.5) "Ge ne rate " button. Upon cl ick ing th is button,
For Bl e nde r us e rs , [LSys te m ]and [Arbaro], are Unpack th e th e s cript s tarts ge ne rating a 3D m ode l . To
th e tw o com m on pl ant ge ne rators . [LSys te m ]is dow nl oade d arch ive m ak e th ings e as ie r for you, th e re are s om e
a pyth on- bas e d s cript for Bl e nde r w h ich buttons w ith th e nam e of tre e type s on th e m .
ge ne rate s pl ant m ode l s bas e d on th e "L- Fig1. Scriptacce ss m e nu Th e s e buttons w il lfillup pre de fine d param e te rs
s ys te m " algorith m - th at's w h y th e nam e for th e s e l
e cte d tre e w h ich can be a good pl ace
"Ls ys te m ". [Arbaro]is a s tand- al one Java- to a te m porary dire ctory and copy th e fil e for you to s tart e xpe rim e nting.
appl ication, w h ich ge ne rate s pl ants us ing th e ge n3.py and th e “gt” s ub- dire ctory to your
m ode lde s cribe d in [W e be r9 5]. Bl e nde r s cript dire ctory (W h ich can be l ocate d in For a q uick s tart, you can pre s s th e "Q uak e
th e Bl e nde r ins tal l
ation path ). It is h igh ly As pe n" button and th e n pre s s th e “Ge ne rate "
Ge n3 is a re l ative ly ne w tre e ge ne ration pl ug- re com m e nde d to e ns ure th at th e ve rs ions of button. Afte r a w h ile (tim e w il
lvary de pe nding
in/s cript for Bl e nde r. Its firs t ve rs ion (v0.1) w as th e 's tandal one Pyth on Ins tal l
ation' and th e on your com pute r configuration), you w il ls e e a
re le as e d on June 17th of 2006. To ge ne rate tre e Bl e nde r Pyth on ve rs ions are th e s am e and w e re ge ne rate d tre e m ode lin th e 3D vie w w indow .
s tructure s , it us e s m ode ls de s cribe d in com pil e d w ith th e s am e buil d options . Th is
[W e be r9 5](th e s am e m ode lth at Arbaro us e s ). re q uire m e nt is ne ce s s ary as Ge n3 us e s s om e
m odul e s w h ich are part of th e Pyth on l ibrary.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Ge n3 th e Tre e M ode lGe ne rator (Script) 11

Im porting param e te rs from [Arbaro] Cre dits


Since Ge n3 us e s th e s am e al gorith m as Arbaro, I'd l
ik e to th ank Jas on W e be r and Jos e ph Pe nn for th e ir e xce l
le nt pape r on pl
ant s tructure s . Al s o, I
it is pos s ibl e to im port tre e param e te rs w ant to s ay th ank s to allm e m be rs of th e h ttp://bl e nde rartis t.org forum for th e ir re s pons e s , advice s
ge ne rate d by Arbaro. Notice th at th e im port and s ugge s tions . Th ank s to al lw h o've h e l
pe d in th e de ve l
opm e nt of Ge n3.
fe ature is avail abl e onl y if th e Bl
e nde r pyth on
inte rpre te r h as acce s s to th e xm l .dom .m inidom b y - Se rge y
m odul e , w h ich is a part of Pyth on l ibrary. Prok h orch uk

If it is ins tal
le d prope rly th e n, you w ills e e th e
"Im port" button righ t unde r th e "Ge ne rate "
button. To im port param e te rs , s im pl y pre s s th e
"Im port" button and s e l e ct th e Arbaro
ge ne rate d XM Lfil e to im port param e te rs . O ne
th ing th at m us t be note d is th at s om e Arbaro-
s pe cific param e te rs are not s upporte d in Ge n3,
s o th e ge ne ration of tre e s m ay diffe r.

Cus tom l
e ave s us age
Ge n3 al low s th e us e of any m e s h /obje ct as a
te m pl ate for l e af ge ne ration. To
us e a cus tom m e s h /obje ct as a l e af te m pl
ate ,
you m us t add a pre fix "Le af" to its nam e
("Le afSm al l" for e xam pl e ). To re fre s h avail
abl e
le af te m plate s for th e s cript, pre s s th e "P"
button l ocate d ne ar th e "Le afSh ape " drop- dow n Fig2. Ge n3 UI e xpl
aine d

lis t.
Link s
Afte r re fre s h ing, al
lm e s h e s w h ich h ave th e
"Le af" pre fix in th e ir nam e w il lbe avail abl e in [Arb aro] h ttp://arb aro.source forge .ne t
[LSysInfo] h ttp://e n.w ik ipe dia.org/w ik i/Linde nm aye r_ syste m
th e "Le afSh ape " drop- dow n l is t. Se l
e ct th e [LSyste m ] h ttp://jm sol e r.fre e .fr/util
/b l
e nde rfil
e /im age s/l
syste m /l
syste m .h tm
ne e de d obje ct in th e l is t and it w il lbe us e d [Ge n3] h ttp://ge ocitie s.com /b ge n3
during th e ge ne ration of l e ave s . [W e b e r9 5] Jason W e b e r, Jose ph Pe nn, "Cre ation and R e nde ring of R e al istic Tre e s",
Proce e dings of ACM SIGGR APH 19 9 5: pp. 119 - 128.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Ge n3 th e Tre e M ode lGe ne rator (Script) 12

L-Sys te m

L-s ys te m is a m e th od ofde s cribing s e l f-s im il


ar s tructure s , itcan be vague l y com pare d to fractal s . L-s ys te m
de finition cons is ts of:
1. Se tofs ym bol s from s om e al ph abe t.
2. Production rul es.
3. Me anings attach e d to e ach s ym bolfrom th e al ph abe t.
Th e m ain partofL-s ys te m is a s tring re w riting m odul e , w h ich applie s production rul e s to s om e initials tring.
Th e Re w riting proce dure is appl ie d to th e s tring in a re curs ive m anne r. Afte r s om e ite rations , re s ul ting
s trings can de s cribe ve ry com pl exsel f-s im ilar s tructure s . Since m any pl ants h ave s e lf-s im il
ar prope rtie s , L-
s ys te m can be us e d to de s cribe th e m . Note , th atL-s ys te m can al s o be us e d for ge ne rating m any oth e r
com pl e x s tructure s and th e re fore is notre s tricte d to jus tpl ants .

Jas on W e be r and Jos e ph Pe nn's tre e ge ne ration m ode l Se rge y Prok h orch uk

Jas on W e be r and Jos e ph Pe nn's tre e ge ne ration m ode linform ation box ---
Th is m ode l, unl ik e th e L-s ys te m , is orie nte d s pe cifical
ly for 3D plantge ne ration. In th is m ode l , tre e s are I am a softw are de ve l ope r atViaSoftLtd,
de s cribe d unde r trunk and s e ve rall e ve ls ofbranch e s . Th e m ode lde s cribe s param e te rs and form ul as w h ich Uk raine . Since I h ave som e e xpe rie nce in
are us e d to ge ne rate onl y tre e m ode l s . Som e param e te rs appl y to m ode ls in ge ne ral , s om e to trunk , C/C+ + and Pyth on program m ing, I try to use
branch e s or l e ave s onl y. Th e param e te r s e ttings are rich e nough for com pl e x tre e fam ilie s . itin diffe re ntare as of 3D-graph ic. O th e r
com pute r-re l ate d are as I'm inte re ste d in are :
Th e s e s e ttings al l
ow configuration ofs iz e s and orie ntations , trunk s and branch e s , s h ape s , probabilitie s of program m ing th e ory, artificialinte l lige nce
s te m s s plitting, le afs h ape s and s o on. Param e te rs de s cribing trunk flaring, lobe s and tre e s h ape pruning and cryptograph y.
are al s o pre s e nt. Since th is m ode lw as cre ate d s pe cial
ly for tre e m ode lge ne ration, itcan be unde rs tood
and m odifie d m ore e as il y th an m ode ls bas e d on th e L-s ys te m . A ful
lm ode lde s cription can be found in
[W e be r9 5].

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 13

Ch il
dre n’s toys m ak e w onde rfulre fe re nce In Ph otos h op (GIM P can be us e d jus t as w e l l,
m ode l s for ch aracte rs . Th e y provide a w ide and or any oth e r im age program th at you fe e l
range of ch oice s from col orfulfantas y type s to com fortabl e w ith ), I put both im age s s ide - by-
re al
is tic ch aracte rs and e ve ryth ing in be tw e e n. s ide , m ak ing s ure th at th e s iz e of e ach m atch e d
Eve n if th e ch aracte r you h ad in m ind is n’t to be up.
- b y Sand ra Gil
b e rt found in th e toy ais l e , m os t l
ik e l
y you can find
s om e th ing cl os e to ge t you s tarte d and th e n Ne xt, le t’s ge t h im into Bl
e nde r. In th e front
you can al te r it from th e re to m atch w h at you vie w [Num pad 1], go to (Vie w > > Vie w
h ad in m ind. Back ground). A dial og box w il
lpop up (fig 1).
Brow s e to w h e re you h ave s tore d your im age of
In th is tutorial , I'm going to s h ow you h ow I Rupe rt.
w e nt about m ode l ing an e vilm onk e y. Th e
re fe re nce m ode lI'm us ing com e s from a ve ry Il ik e to w ork in a s plit- s cre e n l
ayout, w ith one
popul ar l
ine of toys by H as bro, “M y Littl e s t Pe t s cre e n for front vie w and one for s ide vie w , s o I
Sh op”. Th e y are ve ry s im pl e ch aracte rs bas e d re pe ate d th e pre vious s te p for m y s ide vie w
on a w ide range of anim al s . (And ye s , I h ave s cre e n [Num pad 3]. You s h oul d now h ave an
m os t al lof th e m , for m ode ling re fe re nce of im age of Rupe rt in both s cre e ns to w ork from .
cours e )

Th is tutorialis a be ginne r to inte rm e diate range


tutorial . Alth ough I do as s um e th at you can at
le as t ge t around fairl y com fortabl y in Bl e nde r, I
Le ve l- Inte rm e diate w illdo m y be s t not to s k ip s te ps th at I th ink are
com m on k now l e dge . Th at be ing s aid, le t’s ge t
Ch aracte r m ode l ing is one of m y favorite s tarte d. M ak e s ure you h ave a cl e an w ork s pace ,
activitie s in Ble nde r. I ge t th e bigge s t k ick out if you norm al l
y h ave a cube or pl ane by de faul t,
of cre ating a ch aracte r and w atch ing it com e to de le te it.
life . Since m y s tyle of m ode l ing le ans tow ard
toon- s tyl e ch aracte rs (obvious l y I s pe nt w ay too Firs tw e ne e d to ge tour re fe re nce im age
m uch tim e w atch ing Loone y Tune s as a ch il d), into Ble nde r
and I adm itte dl y don’t draw as w e l las I w ant, I
find m os t of m y ins piration for ch aracte rs in th e For m y purpos e s , I took a front and s ide ph oto
toy ais l e of m y localde partm e nt s tore . of m y m onk e y, w h o I h ave nam e d “Rupe rt”.
Fig1. R upe rtin Bl
e nd e r b ack ground

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 14

Le t’s ge tm ode l
ing: H e ad In front vie w [Num pad 1], s e le ct al
lth e ve rtice s Ne xt, [Ctrl+ LMB] cl ick additionalve rtice s
Th e re a coupl e of te ch niq ue s th at coul d be us e d and m ove th e m to th e ce nte r of Rupe rt’s face around Rupe rt’s e ye , m ak ing s ure you adjus t
h e re . Alth ough I norm al ly us e box m ode l ing, (fig 3). from both front and s ide vie w s , al s o cre ate a
for th is m ode l , w e are going to e xpl ore point- line of ve rtice s going from h is nos e , dow n
to- point (or ve rtice ) m ode l ing, in an atte m pt to acros s h is ch e e k and around h is e ye . (fig 5)
cre ate nice e dge l oops for pos s ibl e anim ation
(LO Lal th ough I am ful ly aw are th at th is
probabl y could be de m ons trate d be tte r by
s om e one m ore s k il le d at it). Al
s o, I pre fe r to
m ode lone h al f of a ch aracte r firs t, m irror it and
th e n add variations to both s ide s .

Fig3. Positioning ve rtice s

M ak e s ure al lve rtice s are de s e l


e cte d [A], s e l
e ct
th e ve rtice righ t at th e s pot w h e re Rupe rt’s face Fig5. Ad d ing e y e
ch ange d from tan to brow n, th e n ControlLM B
click around th e tan face are a. I s tarte d in s ide
vie w [Num pad 3] and th e n in front vie w , I m ove d Le t’s finis h cre ating l
ine s for h is ch e e k and
e ach ve rtice untilit m atch e d th e tan are a in m outh are a, th e n w e can s tart fil ling in th e
Fig2. Ad d ing ve rtice s for h e ad front vie w al s o. (fig 4) face s in th e front of h is h e ad. (fig. 6)

H e ad
Go to m e nu (Add>> Pl ane ), s e l
e ct and de l e te 3
of th e 4 ve rtice s .
In s ide vie w [Num pad 3] RM B cl ick to s e l
e ct th e
re m aining ve rtice , [G k e y]to grab and m ove th e
ve rtice to th e tip of Rupe rt’s nos e .

[Ctrl+ LMB] cl ick around Rupe rt’s h e ad to


cre ate an outline to w ork from . Se e figure 2 for
re fe re nce .
Fig4. Positioning ve rtice s Fig5. Ad d ing m ore d e tail
s

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 15

Fil
ling in ofFace s Tim e to cre ate th e back ofh is h e ad
Th is part ge ne ral ly tak e s a l
ittl
e adjus ting for It w il
lbe jus t l
ik e cre ating th e e dge s for h is
m e . Th e goalis to l ine up al lyour nice e dge s face . ControlLM B cl ick to cre ate ne w ve rtice s
into cl e an 4 s ide d pol ygon face s . Th e be s t w ay follow ing along th e re fe re nce ph oto, m ak ing
to go about it is to jus t jum p in and s tart fil ling s ure to adjus t from both front and s ide vie w s to
th e m up. I pre fe r h aving m ore controlove r th is cre ate a nice s m ooth , rounde d h e ad. (fig. 9 )
proce s s s o I do th e m one at a tim e , fixing
probl e m are as as I go. M ak e s ure to m ode laround w h e re th e e ar w il
l
go. If you cove r it up now , it w il
ljus t be adde d
To fil lin face s , s e l
e ct 2 ve rtice s and cre ate an s te ps to attach th e e ar l
ate r.
e dge be tw e e n th e m [F], continue to cre ate
e dge s untilyou h ave a cl os e d box (or pol ygon).
O nce you h ave a cl os e d are a, s e l
e ct al
lfour Fig8. R upe rtafte r face fil
ling
ve rtice s and h it [F] again to fil lth e pol ygon. (fig
7) I fixe d it by s e le cting 2 ve rtice s to e ith e r s ide
of th e probl e m are a and h itting
(W >> Subdivide ) in 'Edit M ode ' to cre ate
additionalve rtice s . For th e m os t part, I
m anage d to cre ate cl e an four- s ide d pol ygon
face s . Th e re are a fe w triangl e s th at coul dn’t be
h el pe d and h ope ful ly w on’t caus e a probl e m . If
th e y do, w e w il lde alw ith th e m l ate r.
Fig9 . Sm ooth surface
At th is point, you can ch e ck your progre s s in
s ol id m ode [Z ]. M ak e s ure you h ave s e l e cte d Th e e ye s s ay ital
l
your m ode land h ave pus h e d th e 'Se t Sm ooth ' Since m y re fe re nce ph oto is e ntire ly too cute for
Fig7. Fil
ling th e face s button in th e 'Edit buttons ' w indow . Al s o, at th is an e vilm onk e y, w e are going to m odify h is
point you m ay h ave norm al s facing th e w rong cute ne s s factor. And s ince th e e ye s s ay it al
l,
Continue cre ating e dge s and fil ling in face s w ay. To fix th at, s e le ct al
lve rtice s w h il
e in 'Edit th at is w h at w e are going to m odify.
untilyour m ode lre s e m bl
e s (fig8). M ode ' and pre s s [Ctrl+ N] to s e t th e m al lin th e
s am e dire ction. Rupe rt is l ook ing pre tty good at
M os t l
ik e l
y you w il
lrun into s am e probl e m as I th is s tage . If you w ant, you can tak e a l ook at
did. O n s om e of th e e dge l ine s , I didn't cre ate h im w ith Subs urf on (re m e m be r, Subs urf h as
e nough ve rtice s for e ve ry th ing to l ine up nice ly. be e n m ove d to th e M odifie r s tack in
Bl e nde r2.4x).

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 16

Se le ct th e ve rtice s jus t above th e e ye s ock e t Ne xt, it is tim e to re fine th e e ye s ock e t. Se l e ct Ears


(fig. 10). Grab th e m [G]and m ove th e m forw ard al lth e ve rtice s around th e e ye s ock e t. Pre s s [E You coul d e ith e r m ode lth e e ar s e parate ly and
to cre ate a m ore prom ine nt brow l ine and th e n k e y] to e xtrude , do not m ove th e m ous e and attach it l ate r or m ode lit dire ctl y on th e h e ad.
rotate in both s ide and front vie w to give it a im m e diate l y pre s s [S k e y] to s cale th e ve rtice s Se e ing as h ow th e e ar l ook s l ik e a m odifie d
m ore s inis te r look . D o th e s am e th ing w ith th e sl igh tl
y s m al l
e r th an th e s ock e t. Pre s s [E k e y] to s ph e re , I am going to m ode lit s e parate l y and
row of ve rtice s jus t above th e one you jus t e xtrude again, th is tim e m ove th e ne w row of th e n attach it.
al te re d (fig. 11). ve rtice s back into th e h e ad and th e n pre s s [S
k e y] to s cale it s l
igh tly s m alle r. Firs t (Add>> Me s h >> UVSph e re )- {8 s e gm e nts : 8
rings }. Scal
e it dow n to fit th e e ar. (fig. 13)
At th is point you can add in your e ye bal l
. Th e re
are m any good tutorial s on cre ating e ye s , s o Se l
e ct e nd pol e ve rtice and th e firs t ring, w ith
I’m not going to cove r th at h e re . M y favorite by proportionale dit [O k e y]on {us e Sm ooth
far is th e Pixar e ye tutorial (you can do a googl e Falloff}. Pre s s [G k e y]to m ove th e ve rtice s back
s e arch for it). So us e th e e ye bal lof your ch oice into th e s ph e re , th e n s e l
e ct a coupl
e of th e
and pl ace it into th e s ock e t. (Q uick re nde r of outs ide ve rtice s and m ove th e n back (fig. 14)
e ye balladde d, fig. 12)

Fig10 . R e fining e y e sock e t

Fig13. Ad d ing e ar

Fig11. R e fining e y e sock e t

Fig12. R upe rt's 'e y e '

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 17

Ne xt, w e w illbe w ork ing on th e body. Rupe rt’s At th is point you s h oul d be re ady to m ode lth e
h air w il
lbe adde d as a finalcos m e tic m odification tail, jus t k e e p e xtruding, fol low ing th e s h ape of
w h e n w e h ave finis h e d. th e tail.(fig. 18) Paus e and tak e a l ook at your
m ode lfrom al ls ide s , adjus ting are as th at look
Le t’s ge tm ode l
ing: Body
At th is point, th e e xtrude tool[E k e y]is going to
be our be s t frie nd. W e w il
lbe e xtruding out from
th e bottom of th e h e ad to cre ate a s e am l
e s s fl
ow
into th e body.

Ne ck & Body
Se le ct th e 4 bottom ve rtice s of th e h e ad. Th is w il l
Fig14. Ed iting e ars be w h e re w e s tart cre ating th e ne ck (fig. 16) and
e xtrude dow n, adjus ting ve rtice s as ne e de d to
M ove th e e ar furth e r into th e e ar h ol e , join th e m atch up w ith th e im age . You w il lnotice th at a
e ar to th e h e ad, k e e p pre s s e d [Sh iftk e y]th e little adjus ting w illbe ne e de d w h e re it m e e ts th e
RM B cl ick to s e l
e ct both obje cts and th e n pre s s h e ad as w e ll. Continue to e xtrude th e ne w ve rtice s
[J k e y]. Start m e rging [Al t+ M]ve rtice s w h e re dow n, s h aping it to th e re s t of th e body, s cal ing
th e y line up. O nce w e h ave th e e ar firm l y and rotating as ne e de d to cre ate th e rounde d Fig18. ad d ing tail
conne cte d, w e w il lde l e te unne e de d ve rtice s body s h ape . (fig. 17)
al ittl
e off. I fatte ne d up h is body from th e front
from ins ide th e h e ad. (fig. 15) Se e ing as h ow
Fig16. Ad d ing ne ck vie w (s e l
e ct allbody ve rtice s and pre s s [Al t+ S],
e ars are difficul t to e xpl ain, pl e as e l
ook at th e
drag your m ous e h oriz ontal ly to th e s cre e n),
incl ude d bl e nd fil e for pl ace m e nt and e ar- type
you can al s o grab ve rtice s in th e front and back
tw e ak ing of th e s ph e re .
h ip are as and pul lth e m out a l ittle to cre ate a
m ore rounde d body. Turn on Subs urf to ch e ck
for s m ooth ne s s and a pre vie w of h ow Rupe rt
look s (fig. 19 ).

Fig15. Joining e ars to th e m ain m e sh

Bas ical l
y you w il lw ant to pus h and pul lth e
ve rtice s ins ide th e e ar to cre ate th e il
lus ion of
fol ds and ridge s . Th at concl ude s th e buil ding of Fig19 . Ch e ck ing m e sh in Sub surf
th e h e ad.
Fig17. Extrud e d b od y

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3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 18

Le t’s ge tm ode l
ing: Le gs You w il lne e d to adjus t ve rtice s in both th e I h ave s toppe d jus t s h ort of th e h and for th e
Now w e ne e d s om e le gs , w e w il
lbe box front and s ide vie w s to ge t your cube to l ine up front l e g. Since I plan on anim ating Rupe rt at a
m ode ling h is l
e gs and attach ing th e m late r to w ith th e im age . (fig. 21) late r date and tim e , e ve ntual l
y I am going to
h is body. actual ly m ode la h and and curlit up us ing
arm ature s .
M ove th e s e le cte d ve rtice s to l
ine up rough l y
w ith w h e re th e front l e g w il
lgo, do th e s am e You can e ith e r m ode la com pl e te h and or jus t
for th e back l e g. (fig. 20) m ode lth e h and curl e d up as in th e im age
de pe nding on your ne e ds . For th e s cope of th is
Ne xt, ge t out of 'Edit m ode ' [Tab k e y]and th e n tutorial, I w il
ljus t m ode lh is h and curl e d up.
de s e l
e ct th e m onk e y. W e w illbe buil ding h is (fig. 23)
le gs s e parate ly and th e n attach ing th e m l ate r.
Go to l aye r 2 to cre ate th e l e gs ( it w il
lbe e as ie r
to s e e w h at w e are doing w ith out h is body
be ing in our w ay)
Fig21. Ad d ing h and s
Box m ode l ing al low s for q uick buil
d up of a
m ode l . Extrude th e bottom four ve rtice s dow n
th e l
e ngth of Rupe rt’s arm , adjus ting ve rtice s
(s cal
ing and rotating) as ne e de d to ach ie ve th e
bas ic s h ape . (fig.22)

Fig23. Finish ing h and s

Us ing th e s am e m e th od, cre ate th e back l e g.


(fig. 24) Re m e m be r to cre ate toe s w h e n you ge t
to th e foot. It is an e as y m atte r to e xtrude out 3
Fig20 . Ad d ing l
e gs re gions for th e individualtoe s . Al th ough
de pe nding on h ow you e xtrude d from th e top
Now do (Add> > Cube ). Pos ition it jus t ove r th e of th e le g, you m ay h ave to m ak e s om e Loop
front le g of our im age . Scal
e it dow n s o th at it Cuts [K k e y] to cre ate 3 e q uals e gm e nts at th e
m atch e s th e im age . front of th e foot.
Fig22. Ad d ing h and s

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3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 19

Us ing th e Sm ooth button (found in th e 'M e s h


tool s ' pane lof th e 'Edit buttons ' w indow ), s e l e ct
any parts of your m ode lth at l ook a l ittl
e too
s h arp or bum py and th e n cl ick th e Sm ooth
button a fe w tim e s to s m ooth th os e are as .
W h e n you h ave finis h e d s m ooth ing out and
tw e ak ing your m ode l , h e s h oul dl ook
s om e th ing l ik e th is . (fig. 27)

Fig25. M oving to anoth e r l


ay e r
Fig24. Finish e d l
e gs

Now com e s th e re al l
y fun part (ins e rt h e avy
s arcas m ). W e ne e d to attach th e l
e gs to th e
body. Firs t th ing w e ne e d to do is ge t th e l e gs
on th e s am e l aye r as th e body. So, s e l
e ct both
le gs and pre s s th e [M k e y](m ove to ne w l aye r)
(fig. 25) and pus h th e Laye r 1 button. Your l e gs
s h ould now be on th e s am e l aye r as your body.
Fig27. Th e b od y in 'sol
id sh ad e vie w m od e '

W ith th e l e gs s tills e l
e cte d (and w h ile in 'O bje ct
M ode '), s e le ct th e body m e s h al s o and pre s s Putting ittoge th e r
[Ctrl+ J] to join al lth e pie ce s toge th e r. Fig26. Al
igin ve rtice s Wel l
, w e h ave h alf a m onk e y, w h ich in its e l
f
coul d be l ots of fun, but not ove rl y us e ful. Tim e
Sw itch to 'Edit M ode '. Now com e s th e fun part. to M irror and join th e tw o h al ve s to m ak e a
Pre s s [Al t+ M]to m e rge th e ve rtice s . You w il l w h ole m onk e y.
You are going to be m atch ing up individual
ne e d to de l e te s om e unne e de d ve rtice s from
ve rtice s from th e le gs to th e body. It m igh t be
both th e body and th e l e gs once you are Mirroring
h elpfulat th is point to s e le ct e ve ryth ing not
finis h e d. D on’t ge t ups e t if you h ave to go back W e w il lbe us ing th e 'M irror M odifie r' to cre ate
ne e de d for th is ope ration and h ide it us ing th e
to your s ave d fil e and s tart ove r a fe w tim e s . It Rupe rt’s oth e r s ide . Firs t off, w h il
e in front
[H k e y](fig. 26)
tak e s a little e xpe rim e ntation to ge t it line d up vie w , m ak e s ure your obje ct ce nte r is on th e
jus t righ t. ins ide e dge of Rupe rt. Th is w il lal low th e
Th e re is no re ale as y w ay to e xpl ain h ow to do
th is part. Save your fil e be fore you s tart. Start M odifie r to accurate l y pl ace Rupe rt’s oth e r s ide
O nce you h ave attach e d your l e gs , turn on (fig. 28)
se le cting individualve rtice s from th e l e g and
Subs urf (it is in th e M odifie r s tack in th e 'Edit
th e cl os e s t m atch ing one from th e body.
buttons ' w indow ) and l ook at your m ode l .

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3D W ork s h op - M ode ling R upe rt th e "EvilM onk e y" 20

Ne xt, s e le ct allth e ins ide e dge s of Rupe rt. Pre s s And be s t of al l, you ge t to de cide h ow you w il l
th e [S k e y], th e n th e n [Al tk e y] w h il
e m oving th e te xture h im . W il lyou go for toon s h ading?Fur?
m ous e h oriz ontal ly, to s cal e th e m into a M aybe fe ath e rs , jus t to be diffe re nt. It's up to
s traigh t line you. Pe rs onal ly, I’m jus t gonna give h im a
s im ple col oring, e nh ance d w ith Ram p s h ade rs ,
Now turn your 'M irror M odifie r' back on, h is s o th at h e m atch e s up w ith s om e oth e r
e dge s s h oul dline up nice r now . You m igh t ch aracte rs I am al re ady doing.
ne e d to m ove th e obje ct ce nte r of Rupe rt a l ittl
e
clos e r to h is ins ide e dge . (To m ove an obje ct
Fig28. M irroring ce nte r, s e l
e ct a ve rtice on th e ins ide e dge of
Rupe rt, pre s s [Sh ift+ S]. Se l e ct “Curs or to
As you can s e e , th e de faul t s e ttings in th e Se le ction” on th e popup m e nu. Ne xt, go to th e
'M irror M odifie r' s h ow a m inor probl e m w ith 'Edit buttons ' w indow and ch oos e , “Ce nte r to
putting Rupe rt toge th e r. H is e dge s are n’t l ining Curs or” in th e M e s h Pane l .)
up re al ly nice ly at al l
. So, turn off th e dis pl ay in
th e M irror M odifie r w h ile w e fix h im up. (If you If Rupe rt l ook s al lnice and l ine d up, go ah e ad
s tillh ave th e Subs urf m odifie r on, turn it off and appl y th e 'M irror M odifie r'. If not, adjus t th e
Fig30 . Ee e k !! th e 'e vilm onk e y is al
ive '
al s o) obje ct ce nte r s om e m ore untilh e l ine s up
nice ly. O k ay, now tak e a l ook at Rupe rt from al l
Se le ct th e top ve rtice s of Rupe rt’s body and tail , angl e s . Th e re are a fe w m is s ing face s th at w e
e xtrude once from top vie w [Num pad 7), l ine it ne e d to fil lin (Se le ct s urrounding ve rtice s and
up w ith th e ve rtice s from h is h e ad. (fig. 29 ) pre s s [Sh ift+ F] to fil lal lof th e m ). Al s o at th is
tim e , s m ooth aw ay any w e ird angl e s w ith th e
“Sm ooth Button” in th e M e s h Tool s pane l .

Adjus t and tw e ak any are as th at jus t don’t l ook


righ t. Your finalm ode ls h oul d re s e m bl e
s om e th ing clos e to (Fig. 30). (I did go back and
se l
e ct h is tailand s cal e d it to be a l ittle th inne r,
but th at is a pe rs onalch oice I w il ll e ave up to
you.)

At th is point you are te ch nical ly done , now you


can put h im in your favorite jungl e and w h e r-
e ve r h e th ink s h e ne e ds to be . You can add
Fig29 . Line ning up ve rtice s
arm ature s and s w ing h im on a vine . Fig31. R upe rtafte r te stre nd e r

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 21

us e d to ach ie ve th e be s t re s ults ". Th e re are no Spin tool


be tte r te ch niq ue s , in th e be ginning s tage s of Th e Spin toolis s im pl e to us e and unde rs tand.
3D m ode l ing, th an tak ing an anal yticall ook at In th is article from Proce duralM agaz ine - th e
your de s igns and as k ing s om e pre l im inary firs t PD F M agaz ine in Braz il , K H A (nick nam e of
By And re ia Le alSch e m id q ue s tions : Lady Andre ia Le alSch e m id), w e w il ldis cus s
s om e difficul tie s re l
ate d to th is m e th od and th e
Engl
ish transl
ation b y Z ag.
Som e ge ne ralq ue s tions : s olutions to de alw ith good w ork in "Spin
• W il lI ne e d pre cis ion in m y w ork ? M ode l ing".
Le ve l- Inte rm e diate • W il lth is m ode lbe anim ate d?
• W h atl e ve lofde tailis ne e de d? In th is articl e , w e 'l
lcons truct a m ode lof a w ine
H ow coul
d w e de fine 3D - M ode l
ing? gl as s , util
iz ing th e Spin te ch niq ue . Spin is a
Som e s pe cific q ue s tions : ve ry s im pl e toolth at al l
ow s us to q uick ly
3D - M ode l ing is a s e t of te ch niq ue s and • W il lth e m ode lbe s ym m e trical ? re m ak e al lof th e m e s h or adjus t it by m oving
m e th ods us e d to cre ate a com pl e x, re alor • Sh oul d itbe as s e m ble d from s im ple parts , pre - s om e ve rtice s w h e n ne ce s s ary. Th is could
im aginary m ode l . Us ing th e tool s e t of a 3D m ade m e s h e s or w il litbe a one -pie ce m e s h ? re duce a l ot of m ode l ing w ork .
m ode l ing program , w e s tart from s im pl e • H ave w e s om e s tructure s or parts th atare
ge om e trie s , com bining and organiz ing th e m in re pe ate d?Sh oul d w e us e dupl ication to cre ate th e s e
s uch a m anne r th at th e y facil itate th e parts ?
cons truction of th e m ode l . • W h ats tyl e is be s tfor m y m ode l?
• W illth e m ode lbe pre dom inantl y curve -bas e d or
Th e re is a lot to talk about th is is s ue .Practical ly, ve rte x-bas e d?
w e can im agine one te ch niq ue for e ach toolor • Can bas ic form s be us e d to s tartth e m ode l ing?
m e th od th at w e h ave in Bl e nde r. Th e re fore ,
s om e of th e m are ge ne ral - us e te ch niq ue s and Th rough out th e m ode l ing proce s s , ne w
can be us e d in m os t w e ll- de ve lope d 3D q ue s tions and ne w de cis ions w il
lpop up th at
program s . m us t be addre s s e d.
Furth e rm ore , th e re s ul
ting m e s h w il
lbe total
ly
Th e firs t q ue s tion th at w e h ave to as k ours e lve s So, h ow can w e s urvive in th is ne ve r- e nding s ym m e trical
. Th e Spin toolcre ate s a 3D m e s h
is , “W h ich is th e be s t m ode ling te ch niq ue to proce s s w ith out giving up?Th e ans w e r is by rotating a s h ape around an axis .
us e ”? O RGANIZ ATIO N! O rganiz e your proje ct, your (blue l ine on fig 2).
re s ource s , your bas ic ide as , and m os t
Wel l, it de pe nds on your k now l e dge of th at im portantl y: K now Your tool s and your s k il
ls.
te ch niq ue and your s k il l
s at us ing it, but any
artis t or de s igne r w il
ls ay: "Your m ode l ,
bas ical ly, w il
lde fine th e te ch niq ue th at m us t be

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 22

Fig2. Sping m od e l
ing

Th e firs t th ing w e ne e d is a s h ape to w ork on.


In th e front vie w [Num pad 1], add a pl ane
[Space bar >> Add >> Pl ane ] as you s e e in figure Fig5. R e m oving th e ve rtice s
4. Now s e l e ct th is ve rte x w ith th e [RMB]and m ove
it to a ve rticall ine [Ctrl+ LBM]cl ick (th e ce ntral
blue l ine ) Im age 6- 7. in th e front vie w .

Fig6- 7. Extrud ing th e ve rtice Fig8. Th e sh ape ofth e gl


ass

Startth e Sh ape draw ing


W ith th e ve rte x s e l
e cte d, pre s s and h old
Fig4. Ad d ing a pl
ane Fig9 . Num b e r ofve rtice s in th e sh ape
[CRTL]. W ith th e l e ft m ous e button, cl ick and
ge ne rate m ore ve rtice s in a s e q ue nce . You W e h ave to draw th e e xte rnaland th e inte rnal
As w e are in th e Edit m ode , w e w il
lde l
e te th re e coul d us e Grab [G Ke y] to m ove th e ne w l
ine s to obtain th e th ick ne s s . Anoth e r im portant
of th e four ve rtice s of th e pl
ane . ve rtice s and cre ate a s h ape as you s e e in th e point is th at th e s tarting ve rte x and th e final
figure 8. one m us t line up ve rtical l
y.
Us e [Sh ift+ RMB]to m ul tipl
e se l
e ct ve rtice s , and Anytim e you m ak e m is tak e s , us e [U Ke y]to
[X Ke y] or [De lKe y]to re m ove th e s e l e cte d undo th e e rror and k e e p on w ork ing. Th e num be r of ve rtice s m ay vary;I h ave us e d
ve rtice s . Se e th e figure 5. Re m e m be r, th at w h e n w e are m ode l ing an 53 ve rtice s in total
. As a rul e , us e m ore ve rtice s
e m pty obje ct, in th e m ore curvace ous parts of th e s h ape .

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 23

Th e Pos ition ofth e 3D Curs or Ch anging th e Vie w to Rotate


Th e 3D Curs or pos ition w il lde fine th e pos ition Th e curre nt vie w w illde fine w ith axis th at w ill
of th e rotation axis . Th e n, w ith th e s h ape be us e d for rotations . Th e n go to th e top vie w
finis h e d, m ove th e 3D Curs or ove r th e ve rtical [Num pad 7]. Pre s s [F9 ]and in th e "M e s h Tool s"
bl ue l ine . To do th at, cl ick th e [LM B]on th e bl ue pane lof e dit buttons , s e t th e param e te rs for
line , pre s s [Sh ift+ S]and in th e th e Spin tool . (figure 12)
Snap pop- up, s e l e ct [Curs or>> Grid]. Se e fgure
10.

Fig13. Th e cre ate d m e sh afte r 'spin'


O bs e rve th at th e s tart s h ape is s til
ls e l
e cte d,
and th e finals h ape of th e rotation and initial
one are coincide nt. But, th e m e s h is not a
clos e d m e s h .

Fig12. Se ttim g th e 'spin tool


'

D e fine [D e gr]to 360, to h ave a com pl


e te turn
of th e s h ape .
Th e num be r of Ste ps to 12.
Fig10 . Th e 3D Cursor m uststay in th e sam e Th e num be r of Turns to 1. Fig14. Cl
ose up ofse l
e cte d sh ape s
line ofth e startand e nd points ofth e sh ape Click [Spin]to s tart.
To cl os e it, w e ne e d to s e le ct th e ve rte x in th e
Al s o, be s ure th at th e 3D Curs or is on th e You m igh t pre fe r to m ak e your m e s h w ith m ore initialand in th e finals h ape s us ing th e box
O bje ct Ce nte r in th e top vie w [Num pad 7] as you Ste ps . To do th at, jus t pre s s [U]. Th e n, m odify se le ction tool[B K e y]. Pay atte ntion to not s e l e ct
s e e in th e figure 11. th e Ste ps num be r and [Spin]. I pre fe r to k e e p it th e pink ve rte x too. W ith al lth e ve rtice s
s im pl e and, afte rw ards , us e Subs urf to s m ooth se le cte d, ve rify th e totalnum be r of s e l e cte d
th ings out for th e Re nde r. Anoth e r im portant ve rtice s . In m y e xam pl e , I h ave 128 w h ich is
th ing is to ve rify th at th e [Clock w is e ]button is gre ate r th an 106(53x2). s e e th e figure 15
pre s s e d. O ur m e s h w il
lbe autom atical l
y
form e d.
Fig11. Th e top vie w of3D Cursor position

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 24

Now , s e l
e ct only th e ve rtice s form ing th e circle
Fig18. O nl
y startand e nd ve rtice s are se l
e cte d
and look at th e num be r of ve rtice s s e l e cte d.
Fig15. W rong num b e r ofve rtice s In m y e xam pl e , th e re are 24. Se e fig 21.
W e s e e a pop- up m e nu inform ing h ow m any
W h at's w rong?M aybe th e s tart and e nd points ve rtice s w e re re m ove d;in th is cas e , 53 - s e e
coul d not be pe rfe ctly aligne d in a ve rticall ine figure 20
and th e n w e cre ate a circle w h e re w e ne e d jus t
a point. Se e figure 16.

Fig21. Countofve rtice s

In th e front vie w ,[Num pad 1]w e can s e e th at


th e s e ve rtice s be l
ong to tw o diffe re nt circl
e s.
Fig16. Th e startand e nd ve rtice s are not Se e figure s 22 and 23.
aligne d and th e rotation ge ne rate s a circl
e
Fig19 . Joining th e ve rtice s
To s ol ve th is , s e l
e ct e xcl
us ive l
y th e ve rtice s in
th e s tart and e nd s h ape s . You s h oul d h ave
se le cte d 106 ve rtice s in total .D e - se le ct th e
ve rtice s th at form th e circl e (figure 17) and be
s ure th at th e oth e r ve rtice s are s tills e l e cte d
(figure 18).

Fig22- 23. Tw o se rie s

Fig17. O nl
y startand e nd ve rtice s se l
e ction Fig20 . Now th e m e sh is prope rl
y cl
ose d

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 25

W e w ant to k e e p th e ve rtice s in th e bas e of th e Le t's join th e s e ve rtice s . Pre s s th e [S K e y]to


glas s s e le cte d. Th e ve rtice s l ocate d ins ide th e s cale th e circl e , m oving th e m ous e untilth e
glas s w il lbe de l e te d. Us e th e box s e l e ction tool ve rtice s ove rl ap. (figure 26)
[B K e y]and drag- s e l e ct th e ve rtice s in th e top
part of th e gl as s w h ile k e e ping th e k e yboard
button [Al t]pre s s e d. Th is w il lde - s e l
e ct th os e
ve rtice s .(figure 24)
Fig28. Transform prope rrtie s
To re m ove doubl e s , pre s s th e [W K e y]and in
s e q ue nce [re m ove doubl e s ]in th e pop- up
m e nu. (figure 29 )
A ne w pop- up m e nu w il ls h ow th e num be r of
ve rtice s re m ove d. In m y e xam pl e , th e re w e re 11
ve rtice s re m ove d. Now onl y one ve rte x re m ains
at th at l ocation. D o th e s am e w ith th e circl e at
Fig26. Joining th e ve rtice s
th e top. Th is is jus t to de m ons trate th at a
Fig24. De se l
e cting ve rtice s insid e th e gl
ass W e now ne e d to re m ove any dupl icate ve rtice s s im pl e m e th od coul d h el p us a l ot. But, if w e
found in th e s e l e ction. To Re m ove D oubl e s, us e it in an
Go to th e top vie w [Num pad 7]and w e s e e th at pre s s th e [W K e y]and th e n s e l
e ct Re m ove inade q uate
only th e circul ar ve rtice s in th e bas e are D oubl e s in th e pop- up m e nu. (figure 27) w ay, w e m ay
se l
e cte d. (figure 25) h ave m ore
probl em s
th an w e h ad
be fore . Al l
of th is w ork ,
h ard w ork ,
is abs ol ute l
y
unne ce s s ary.

Fig25. Th e circl
e ofth e b ase se l
e cte d Fig27. R e m oving th e d oub l
es Fig29 . transform prope rtie s

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 26

Now th at w e k now th at th is probl e m coul d Pre s s th e [Tab k e y]to e xit th e Edit m ode . You Pre s s th e [Tab k e y]to go back to Edit m ode .
occur, w e can m odify our m e th od w ith s om e w illnow be in th e O bje ct m ode (you h ave to be M ak e s ure al lve rtice s are s e l
e cte d. Cl
ick th e
pl anning. Le t's s e e : going back to th e ve ry in O bje ct m ode to us e th e Ce nte r Curs or Spin toolbutton (m ak e s ure you're in th e Top
be ginning, if w e pay atte ntion to th e fe ature ). Now , go to th e M e s h pane land cl ick vie w ).
coordinate s of th e initialand e nd points w h e n [Ce nte r Curs or]. (figure 31)
cons tructing our s h ape , and pos ition th e m in a Se l
e ct allve rtice s again. Pre s s th e [W K e y], and
s traigh t ve rticalline , w e w il
le lim inate th e "tube - se l
e ct Re m ove D oubl e s from th e pop- up m e nu.
fication" on our m ode l(th at's th e circul ar m e s s
w e jus t cle ane d up). To ge t th e s e tw o ve rtice s Go to th e front vie w [Num pad 7]
al igne d ve rtically, w e h ave to us e th e Trans form Pre s s [Z ]to ch ange to Sol id m ode .
prope rtie s pane l[N K e y]as s h ow n in figure s 28 Pre s s [A]to s e l e ct al
lth e ve rtice s of th e s h ape
and 29 . Ch ange th e val ue s of th e x, y or z Pre s s th e [Se t Sm ooth ]button in th e Link and
coordinate s as ne e de d. M ate rial s pane l
(figure 32)
W e coul d pl ace th e Ce nte r point to be al igne d
w ith th e initialand e nd points h ow e ve r, I pre fe r Fig31. JCe nte r cursor If you w ant a be tte r look , you coul d us e th e
to m ak e th e Ce nte r point coincide nt w ith th e Subs urf m odifie r found in th e Edit buttons
initialpoint. Se l e ct th e initialpoint (ve rte x) of Now , be fore you us e th e Spin tool , place th e 3D w indow . Add th e Subs urf m odifie r and adjus t
th e s h ape , pre s s [Sh ift+ S]and in th e pop- up Curs or at th e ce nte r point of th e s h ape . th e s ubdivis ion num be r to 2. Se e fig 33. Turn
m e nu, s e le ct th e option [Curs or > > Se l e ction] off th e [D oubl e Side d]button.
(fig 30). Pre s s [Tab]to l
e ave e dit m ode , pre s s [Al
t+ S]
Figure 31 activating s e t s m ooth and th e n
[Curs or > > Se l
e ction]

Fig30 . Pl
acing th e cursor Fig32. Se tSm ooth Fig33. Th e M e sh pane l

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3D W ork s h op - Kitch e n W ork s (Spin M ode ling) 27

If you s e e bl
ack l
ine s in your m ode l
, you w il
l
ne e d to Re cal
culate th e Norm als.

Pre s s [Ctrl+ N]and th e n s e l


e ct Re cal
c Norm al s
O uts ide from th e pop- up m e nu. Th e norm al s
w il lbe re calcul
ate d to point outs ide th e m e s h ...
s e e figure 34.

Fig35. Using e xtrusion w e can cre ate oth e ob je cts

Fig34- 35. Be fore and afte r norm alcal


cul
ation

Your w ine gl as s s h ouldl ook l ik e figure 35.


Pre s s [Tab]and tak e a l ook at your w ork . W ith
th is m e th od, as you can im agine , can e as il y be
appl ie d to m ak ing a l ot of k itch e nw are . W e jus t
cons truct th e s h ape , pl ace th e s tart and e nd
ve rtice s in a s traigh t ve rticall ine and us e th e
[Spin]toolto h ave a w e l l- m ade m e s h .

I h ope th is tutorialw as h e l
pfulin s h ow ing Fig36. Exam pl
e sh ape s w h ih can m e m ad e b y
e xam pl e s of h ow th ings can go w rong. So, 'spinn tool
'
w h e n you are cons tructing your m ode l , m ak e
s ure to pl an th ings ah e ad. If s om e th ing goe s
w rong, l e arn from th e probl e m , and ne ve r give
up.

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 28

- By R oja

Le ve l
: Inte rm e diate

Pre paring a m ode lfor UVMapping Fig1. A l


ow pol
y h ouse w ith and w ith out
UV m apping is a s k il lth at tak e s a l
ot of tim e , w ire fram e
practice , and e xpe rim e ntation to m as te r. O nce
you ge t it, and unde rs tand it, it's re ally not ve ry Both UV m apping and te xturing on th is m ode l
h ard at all. It can be frus trating and tak e up w ay w as done e ve n be fore th e m ode l
ing w as
too m uch tim e if you don't do it prope rl y or are com ple te . Le t m e e xpl
ain.
laz y about it h ow e ve r.
Tak e a l ook at th e re d col ore d w oode n be am s in
W h at I'm going to e xpl ain h e re is h ow I go th e Fig1 , th e y are re pe ate d al love r th e m ode l
about pre paring, or s e tting up a m ode lfor UV and th e w indow s are re pe ate d too, as w e l las
m apping. I w il lfocus on a s im pl e low pol ygon, th e s h arp pointe d pol ls s tick ing th rough th e
s ym m e trical, gam e m ode l. Th e re are , h ow e ve r, roof. If I h ad to m ode l e d th is e ntire h ous e , Fig2. A ge ne ric m od e l
m any diffe re nt w ays to go about doing th is , norm alm e th od w oul d h ave be e n to firs t m ode l
m ainl y de pe nde nt on w h at your m ode lis . it th e n UV unw rap e ach re pe atabl e part A s e cond e xam pl e is for s m al l
e r re pe titive
individual l
y! Ins te ad, I m ode l e d 1 w oode n obje cts in your m ode l . In th is e xam pl e th e
Th e im portance ofpl
anning be am , th e n I UV m appe d th at be am , te xture d m ons te r h as a s pik e d cl ub, and al so a h e l m et
Be fore you e ve n s tart to m ode l
, you s h oul
d al
so it(al th ough you can te xture it at a l ate r s tage ), w ith s pik e s on it. Se e th e h igh l igh te d s pik e s in
be pl anning & th ink ing about UV m apping & th e n adde d it to th e m ode l , dupl icating th e th e im age . Sim il arl y th e re are a l ot of s pik e s in
te xturing. obje cts as I ne e de d. th e m ode l , and it w illtak e s om e tim e for you to
dupl icate al lth os e obje cts , rotate th e m , and
Th e re as on for th is is to s ave you tim e w ith UV Sam e th ing for th e w indow s and oth e r pl ace th e m . Again th e m os t optim alw ay to do
m apping w h e n you ge t to th at s tage . Th e be s t re pe ating ite m s in th e m ode l
. Th is w il
lcl
e arl
y th is is to firs t m ode l1 s pik e .
w ay to e xpl ain th is is to give s om e e xam pl e s. s ave you a TO N of tim e .
Th e n UV m ap it, TH EN dupl icate and pl ace it to
finis h your m ode l. So again, you're UV m apping
be fore ! you h ave th e m ode lfinis h e d.

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 29

ins tance of your m ode lby de l e ting h alf of it in As you can s e e , th e as ym m e tric m e s h h as tw o
e dit m ode l (bas ical ly s plitting it in h al f diffe re nt s h oulde r pads , 1 norm alh and, 1 w ith
s ym m e trical ly), th e n s e l
e ct th e m e s h in obje ct a h ook , and 1 norm all e g w ith a boot, 1 w ith a
m ode , and pre s s al t+ d to ins tance it. Th is w oode n pe g l e g. For th is type of m ode l , it is
cre ate s a dupl icate th at is an Ins tance . Th e n in be s t to m ak e th e com pl e te m ode lfirs t.
O bje ct m ode , In th e h e ade r bar cl ick on O bje ct-
> M irror and ch oos e an axis to m irror th e m e s h , Starting out
and l ine it up ne xt to th e oth e r. In curre nt For th e re m ainde r of th is tutorialI'm going to
Bl e nde r re l
e as e s you can us e th e M irror us e a com pl e te l
y s ym m e tricalm ode las an
m odifie r w ith s im il ar re s ul ts . e xam pl e . UV m apping on an as ym m e trical
m ode lus e s th e s am e te ch niq ue s , it jus t m ay
tak e a l ittle e xtra tim e . H e re is a picture of m y
finis h e d m ode l , re ady to be w ork e d on for UV
m apping:

Fig3. A sy m m e te ric m od e l

Exam pl e 3 s h ow s a total ly s ym m e tricalm ode l ,


th at I m ode l e d us ing an ins tance d*copy. Since I
onl y actual ly m ode l e d h alf of it, and I plan on
m ak ing th e te xture total ly s ym m e trical, I s h ould
onl y UV m ap h al f of it! So be fore joining both
Fig4. Asy m e te ric m od e l
h alve s of th e m e s h to finis h th e m ode l, it's be s t
to UV m ap it at th is s tage .
A fourth e xam pl e is de aling w ith partial ly(or
*Eve n th ough th is is not a m ode l ing tutorial,I ful ly) as ym m e tricalorganic form s , s uch as a
th ough t it'd be im portant to note th is : An ch aracte r m ode lth at h as parts , or al l, of th e
ins tance d copy is a s e parate obje ct th at is te xture , or m e s h as ym m e tric. Th e im age s h ow n
ch ange d in th e e xact s am e w ay as th e original be l ow give s an e xam pl e of a s ym m e tricalm e s h
obje ct is w h e n you e dit it. You can m ak e an (le ft), and an as ym m e tric m e s h (righ t).
Fig5. M e sh re ad y for UVm apping

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 30

H is body is com pl e te l
y s ym m e trical , as is h is Se am s
w e apon. Righ t now th e re are 3 s e parate obje cts , For an organic m ode ls uch as th is , I al m os t
2 are th e h al ve s of h is body, th e oth e r is th e al w ays us e onl y 2 diffe re nt UV unw rapping
w e apon. It's e as ie r to k e e p th e w e apon as a te ch niq ue s found in th e UV Cal cul
ations Pane l
:
s e parate obje ct righ t now , and join it(s e l e ct LSCM Unw rap, and From W indow (Pl anar
both m e s h e s th e n ctrl + j to join) w h e n you're M apping).
done if you ne e d it to be joine d in th e final
m e s h . W e 're going to focus on th e body righ t Th e LSCM Unw rap function is nice be caus e it
now , s o l e t's de le te th e one h al f and put th e doe s a s ort of autom atic unw rap afte r you've
w e apon on anoth e r l aye r, or h ide it for now . So de fine d s e am s on your m ode l . I us e th e LSCM in
th is is w h at w e 've got: conjunction w ith a pl anar m apping function Fig7. M ark ing th e se am
be caus e s om e parts of th e m ode lw ork be s t Cl ick M ark Se am . Now you can de - s e l e ct th e
w ith one te ch niq ue , oth e r parts w ith anoth e r. e dge s , and a Se am e dge l ine w il lappe ar. And
th at's al lth e re is to m ak ing s e am s ! You can al so
Se am s are ne ce s s ary for LSCM to w ork prope rl y, 'Cl e ar Se am s ' incas e you m e s s e d up or w ant to
but th e y als o h ave one oth e r re al l
y nice fe ature , ch ange th e m , do s o by pre s s ing [Ctrl+ E]and
and th at is th at th e y l
e t you s e l
e ct pie ce s of ch oos ing th e Cl e ar Se am s option in th e Popup.
your m e s h in UV Face Se l e ct m ode by pre s s ing L M oving al ong w e 're going to m ark m ore s e am s
th rough out th e e ntire m ode l . Th is ne xt picture
and h aving your m ous e curs or ove r or ne ar th e
s h ow s a s e am m ark e d
face . Th is w il
lbe com e inval uabl e w h e n w e ge t dow n ins ide of th e l e g,
to th e UV e diting s tage . and around th e w ais t.

O k ,l e t's s tart de fining th e s e am s ! W e 're going Re m e m be r you s h oul d


to s tart w ith a re al ly e as y part, th e bottom of m ak e your s e am s in
th e foot. Start in obje ct m ode , pre s s tab to go pl ace s th at are not
into e dit m ode , th e n m ak e s ure you're in Edge dire ctl y vis ible in th e
Se le ct M ode , be caus e w e 're going to s e l e ct s ce ne , jus t in cas e you
e dge s to m ak e th e s e am s . h ave a te xture s e am
s h ow ing. You al s o w ant
to put th e m in pl ace s th at
Se le ct al
lth e e dge s around th e bottom bas e of
m ak e it e as y to bre ak up
th e foot. H old [Sh ift k e y]as you s e l
e ct th e m s o
th e te xture w ith out
Fig6. Th e h al
fpartofth e m e sh you can add e dge s to your s e l e ction. Th e n caus ing vis ibl e s e am s (l
ik e
pre s s [Ctrl+ E]and a pop up box w il lappe ar. a be lt around th e w ais t).
Fig8. Le g se am s

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 31

Ne xt is th e arm I de fine d th e s e am around th e H e re 's an UVUnw rapping a 3D m ode lus ing LSCM Unw rap
s h oulde r joint, dow n and ins ide of th e arm , and im age (Fig11) and "From w indow " Pl
anar proje ction.
at th e bottom of th e h and as s h ow n in th e Fig9 . of th e s e am s I
Note th at I al s o h id parts of th e m e s h (s e l
e ct m ade for h is Inte rface Se tup
are as you w ant h idde n, th e n pre s s [H K e y]) to h am m e r Be fore w e be gin, I'd l ik e to m e ntion th at h aving
m ak e it e as ie r to click on th e e dge s . To un- h ide w e apon. I put a good w ork s pace (or s cre e n) s e t up in Bl e nde r
th e m e s h , pre s s [Al
t+ H ]. s e am s around w ith al lth e tool s in your re ach m ak e s it a l ot
th e circl e s at e as ie r to w ork w ith . I m ade a cus tom s cre e n
And l as tl
y, th e e nds of s e tup in Bl e nde r jus t for UV m apping.
th e h e ad. I th e cyl inde rs ,
w e nt around and al so a I h ave a 3d ve iw port, th e Action tim e l ine
th e bas e of s e am going s h ow ing be ne ath th at(in cas e I w ant to s e e th e
th e ne ck , al ong one m ode lin a diffe re nt anim ation pos e w h il e
w h e re h is s ide of th e te xturing), th e UV/Im age e ditor w indow , and
be ard pol l
. al s o th e buttons w indow s crol le d ove r to th e UV
attach e s to Cal cul ation m e nu(note th at you h ave to be in
h is face , th e UV Face Se l e ct m ode , and th e Editing pane l
Fig10 . Se am s for h e ad
and be caus e to s e e it). H e re 's w h at m y UV m apping inte rface
I w ant to look s l ik e :
m ak e h im And th ats
bal d on th e about it for
top of h is th e s e am s !
h e ad w ith Now l e ts
s om e h air m ove on to
Fig9 . Se am s for arm on th e back , th e actual
I put th e UV
s e am on th e back of h is h e ad to re fle ct th at. I proje cting
al s o put a s e am around th e face its e lf. Now and
w e 're done putting s e am s on h is body. Se e fig unw rapping.
10.

Fig11. Se am s for h am m e r Fig12. Th e UVm apping inte rface

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 32

Us ing LSCM Proje ction Mapping In th e poppe d up UV Cal cul


ations m e nu, cl ick
Se l
e ct your m ode l , and go into UV Face Se l e ct on LSCM Unw rap. Th e LSCM Unw rap function
m ode by pre s s ing [F k e y], or by ch oos ing th at us e s th e s e am s w e cre ate d to unw rap th e face s .
m ode from th e m e nu th e 3d Ve iw port pane l . You s h oul d ge t s om e th ing s im il
ar to th is ,
Your m ode lw il lturn w h ite . M ak e s ure you h ave de pe nding on your m ode lof cours e :
D raw Se am s , D raw Edge s , and D raw Face s al l
se l
e cte d in th e UV Cal cul ations m e nu, l ik e th is :

Fig15. UVim age se ttings

Norm alte xture s iz e s for gam e s are s q uare and


fol low th e pow e rs of 2 i.e 64, 128, 256, 512,
1024. So ch oos e th e one th at w ork s be s t for
you. As a s ide note , I find it be s t to w ork in a
te xture s iz e th at is bigge r th an w h at w il l
e ve ntual ly go in th e gam e . So if m y te xture s iz e
is 256x256 in th e gam e , I'l lw ork w ith one
th at's 512x512, and re s iz e it w h e n th e tim e
com e s . Th is is be caus e it's e as ie r to w ork w ith a
large r s iz e (as l
ong as it's not too l arge ), and it
Fig13. UVcal
cul
ation m e nu pre s e rve s m ore de tailif you e ve r w ant your
te xture to be bigge r.
Ne xt, w e ne e d to m ak e a ne w im age in th e
UV/Im age Editor. Cl ick Im age - > Ne w , th e n in A bl ack box w il lpop up in th e UV e ditor, you
th e box th at pops up type in a nam e if you w ant m ay h ave to z oom out a l ittl
e to s e e th e w h ol
e Fig16. Th e LSCM um rappe d UV
to, and al s o your te xture s iz e th e n pre s s ok . th ing. Now , m ak ing s ure you're s tillin UV Face
Se le ct m ode w ith your m ode l, pre s s [A k e y]to Now , as you can s e e , w e 've got s om e cl e an up
se le ct allth e face s . w ork to do. W e 're going to h ave to do s om e
w ork to re s iz e , rotate , and m ove th e pie ce s
Th e y s h oul d allbe com e h igh l
igh te d, and you'l
l around to fil lup th e te xture s pace and to l ay
al s o s e e s om e boxe s pop up in th e UV e ditor- th e m out as w e w ant th e m .
th os e are th e face s th at w e h ave to unw rap.

Fig14. UVim age e d itor

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 33

Th e UVTe s tGrid W e al s o w ant to s e e th is te xture on our m ode l . O k , now w e can s tart to s iz e th e diffe re nt UV
W h e n UV m apping a m ode l , you ge ne ral ly w ant If you're not al re ady in Te xture m ode in th e 3d pie ce s and s e e th e m update d on our m ode l
to k e e p al lpie ce s in proportion to e ach oth e r as vie w port, pl ace your m ous e ove r th e 3d us ing th e grid te xture . Th e grid te xture can be
m uch as pos s ibl e to pre ve nt te xture s tre tch ing. vie w port and pre s s [Al t+ Z ], or cl
ick on th e annoying to vie w th e UV's prope rl y at tim e s , s o
So a good w ay to s e e if parts are be ing Vie w port Sh ading button in th e h e ade r and cl ick you can al w ays turn it off by m ak ing a ne w
s tre tch e d is to turn on th e UV Te s t Grid. To do Te xture d. Now your m ode ls h oul dl ook lik e th is : im age te xture and de s e l e cting th e UV Te s t Grid.
th is , Click on (Im age > > Ne w ), and m ak ing s ure
your te xture s iz e is corre ct, cl ick on UV Te s t As you l ook at your m ode lyou'l lnotice th at
Grid and cl ick ok . Now you'l ls e e s om e th ing lik e s om e of th e grid bl ock s are large r th an oth e rs ,
th is : th at's w h e re th e UV's are s tre tch e d, th e y don't
accurate l y re pre s e nt th e proportions , s o you'l l
h ave to m ak e up for th at by m oving th e UV
ve rtice s around as you w ork on unw rapping.
Ide al l
y, you w ant th e col ore d grid boxe s to be
th e s am e s iz e acros s th e e ntire m ode l (or as
clos e as pos s ibl e ).

Fre q ue ntl
y Us e d H otk e ys
W ork ing in th e UV im age e ditor us e s a l ot of th e
s am e h otk e ys as m ode l ing doe s . Pre s s A to
se le ct all, A again to de s e l e ct. G m ove s th e
ve rtice s , S s cale s , R rotate s , B for th e s e le ction
draw re ctangl e , M for m irror.

Al s o a VERY pow e rfulh otk e y is [L], for s e l e cting


an El e m e nt or Group of ve rtice s (jus t h ove r your
m ous e ove r th e m and pre s s [L]). You can al so
do th is ove r your 3d m ode l - and s e l
e ct an e ntire
group m ade w ith s e am s as one e xam pl e . D oing
Fig17. UVte stm ap
th at m ak e s it fas t and e as y to is ol
ate are as you
w ant to w ork on, w ith out both e ring th e re s t of
th e m e s h or UV's

Fig18. Te xture d vie w ofth e m e sh

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3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 34

In addition to th e h otk e ys m e ntione d above to


pl ace th e UV's into th is pos ition, I al s o us e a
fe w oth e r functions to do diffe re nt th ings . To
pl ace 2 ve rtice s righ t on top of e ach oth e r(l ik e
m e rging th e m ), s e le ct th e m both , th e n pre s s S
th e n 0 (th at is a z e ro). O r you can jus t Scal e (S)
th e m untilth e y are as cl os e as pos s ibl e.

In th e im age s be l ow , you can s e e th at I m ade


th e ve rtice s of th e front and back e dge s of th e
tors o in a s traigh t l ine . I did th at by s e l
e cting al
l
of th e m on th e e dge , th e n pre s s ing S th e n X
th e n 0. Th is aligns th e m al lpe rfe ctl
y on th e X
axis . Subs titue X for Y if you w ant th e m l ine d
up h oriz ontal l
y.

Som e tim e s it's h ard to te l lw h at face l ine s up


w ith th e conne cting face from anoth e r group. Fig19 b . Unw rapping and pl
acing
To do th is , go into Active Face Se l e ct M ode by M oving on to th e face , I'm not h appy w ith h ow
pre s s ing C in th e UV e ditor, or cl ick ing Se l e ct- th e LSCM unw rappe r m ade it. I rath e r paint it
> Active Face Se l e ct, th e n cl ick on one face from s traigh t on, as it's m ore naturalth at w ay. So
one group, and you w il ls e e it be com e s Fig19 . Active face s
w h at I'm going to do is to us e Pl anar m apping
h igh ligh te d w ith 2 w h ite e dge s , one gre e n Th e re are a lot of diffe re nt functions th at you for th e diffe re nt pie ce s of th e h e ad, in addition
e dge , and one re d e dge . s h ould try out and pl ay around w ith l ocate d in to th e face , th e n attach as m any e dge s to e ach
th e UV/Im age Editor drop dow n m e nus . oth e r as pos s ibl e.
Th is h igh l igh te d face is als o s h ow n on th e 3d
m ode l ! So by s e le cting diffe re nt face s you can Unw rapping & Pl
acing
s e e w h at line s up w ith w h at! Th is al s o m ak e s it I s tart off by w ork ing w ith th e tors o and l eg
e as y to s e le ct and m ove one , or a group of UV's . I w ant to com bine th e m toge th e r s o th at
face s at a tim e , ins te ad of pick ing up ve rtice s . th e y w il
lbe s e am le s s al
ong th e w ais t. As long
as you're not w as ting ne e de d te xture s pace , it's
a good ide a to com bine 2 parts w h e ne ve r
pos s ibl e.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 35

Each pie ce ne e ds to be is ol ate d in th e UV And be l ow is anoth e r be fore /afte r picture


e ditor, and m appe d one at a tim e . So firs t m ak e s h ow ing th e re s ul
t of pl
anar m aping th e face ,
s ure al lUV face s are de s e l e cte d in th e 3d top of th e h e ad, s ide of th e h e ad, and be ard,
vie w port and UV e ditor by pre s s ing A in th e 3d th e n joining s om e e dge s toge th e r, and m oving
vie w port. Th e n, s e l
e ctive ly pre s s Lon th e group s om e ve rtice s around(unw rapping) a l ittl
e.
you w ant to s tart w ith , l e t's do th e face . O nl
y
th e ve rtice s of th e face w il lappe ar in th e UV
e ditor.

H ove r your m ous e ove r th e 3d vie w port and


pre s s 1 on th e num pad to give you a front
orth ograph ic vie w (note th at if you didn't
pos ition your m ode lfacing th is dire ction it
w on't be a frontalvie w - you can ch ange th at by
rotating your m ode ls o it face s th e front). Now
go to th e UV cal culations m e nu and cl ick on
From W indow :
Fig21. Unw rapping for h e ad and b e ard Fig22. Th e finalUnw rapping

And now w e 're re ady for te xturing, th e UV


For e ach pie ce I us e d a diffe re nt vie w from th e m apping is al ldone *! You can now dupl icate
3d vie w port th e n I uv m appe d it from th at vie w - th e oth e r h al
f of your m ode land join th e pie ce s
not al lw e re done from th e frontalvie w . So for toge th e r.
ins tance w ith th e top of th e h e ad, I firs t
se le cte d onl y th os e face s by pre s s ing Lin th e *As you te xture th e m ode l , you m ay h ave to do
3d vie w port, th e n on th e num pad pre s s 7 for a s om e s m al ltw e ak s w ith th e UV's h e re and
top dow n vie w , th e n I cl ick e d on th e From th e re , but try your be s t to k e e p th e m to a
W indow button. Pre s s 3 for a s ide vie w (s ide of m inim um unl e s s th e re is s om e th ing m ajorl
y
th e h e ad). w rong.
Fig20 . se l
e cting UVm apping Afte r doing a fe w m ore adjus tm e nts , and l aying Us ing Ble nde r's Te xture Painting m ode to cre ate
e ve ryth ing out w ith th e l e as t am ount of bl ank an outl ine d unde rbas e .
unus e d s pace pos s ibl e , th is w as m y re s ul
t:
Fig22.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 36

Note : th at th is tutorialre q uire s you to h ave a Th e Im age Paint box w il


lpop up: H e re you can
prope rl y UV m appe d m ode lal lre ady to be
te xture d.

Bl e nde r's Te xture Painting fe ature s cannot


re pl ace a good 2D paint program , but it can be
q uite us e fulin bl ock ing out im portant de tail s
th at can be h ard to find th e righ t pl ace m e nt of
s uch as e ye s , m us cl
e line s , e tc. Th is w ay you'l l
be going back and forth be tw e e n your 2D
program and Bl e nde r a lot le s s , be caus e you
can ge t th e pl ace m e nt righ t th e firs t tim e !
Fig25. Paintcol
our se l
e ction
So w e s tart by h aving at l e as t a 3d vie w port
w ith a m ode lal lre ady to be te xture d, and th e ch oos e th e col or of th e paint, th e brus h , s iz e ,
UV/Im age e ditor ope n. Cl ick on th e button th at opacity, e tc. Pl ay around w ith th e diffe re nt
look s lik e a pe ncil: fe ature s and paint s trok e s on th e canvas to s e e
w h at doe s w h at. Fig26. UVm ap afte r painting
4. M ak e s ure you h ave Update Autom atical
ly
A fe w tips to note : turne d on in th e vie w m e nu!
1. You cannot undo. If you pre s s undo in
Fig23. Te xture painting anoth e r vie w port, you w il lundo ALLpainting And h e re 's w h at a
you h ave done ! If you pre s s undo in th e UV re al
ly q uick bl ock in
Th e n Cl
ick on Vie w - > Vie w Paint Tool
. e ditor, noth ing h appe ns . can look l ik e :
2. Righ t cl ick ing in th e UV e ditor in Paint m ode l
w ills e l
e ct th e color be ne ath th e m ous e - a ve ry
h andy fe ature !
3. It's a good ide a to turn off D raw Face s unde r
th e Vie w m e nu of th e UV/Im age Editor. Th is is
be caus e th e face s are s l igh tly s h ade d, and if
you righ t cl ick on th e m to pick up th e col or th at
dark e r col or w il lbe pick e d up ins te ad of th e
Fig24. Painttool
s re alpaint col or unde rne ath .

Fig27. Th e UVte xture afte r painting

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - UV M apping Te ch niq ue s (Low -Poly) 37

You can ce rtainl y s pe nd m ore tim e and de tail


on it in Ble nde r. Since I pl an on tak ing it to a 2D
paint program , I didn't both e r w ith m ak ing it
look pre tty, or ge tting th e col ors corre ct. Jus t
e nough to ge t th e de tail s I w ante d place d. You
can th e n click on Im age - > Save ... to s ave your
painte d te xture !

And h e re is w h at m y m ode land te xture l


ook
l
ik e com pl e te l
y finis h e d:

*Note th at I did us e a 2D paint program to do


th e ful
lte xture , not Ble nde r.

As a finalnote , I e ncourage al lne w com e rs to


e xpe rim e nt w ith th e diffe re nt tools Ble nde r
Finalm od e l
offe rs for unw rapping, as th at's th e be s t w ay to
le arn- to s e e w h at th e y do(in addition to re ading Finalte xture
th e m anual ! ;) D on't be afraid to pus h buttons ,
jus t m ak e s ure you s ave d your fil e firs t!

- Roja

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Using Blue prints in Blende r 38

- By Ed ouard d e M ah ie u

Le ve l
: Inte rm e diate

Us ing Bl
ue prints in Bl
e nde r
M ode l ing com pl e x s h ape s and m ode l s in
Bl e nde r, or in any oth e r 3D appl ication, m ay
se e m l ik e a daunting tas k if you do not k now
w h e re and h ow to s tart. H ow are you s uppos e d
to m ode la car w ith its com pl e x h ood or fe nde r Fig1. Ad d ing b l
ue printas b ack ground in Bl
e nd e r
curve s ?Th is is w h e re Bl ue prints com e in. Th e y Th e s e cond s te p is dividing your bl ue prints into
w il lact as a m ode l ing guide to h e l p m ak e th e s e parate im age s . You m us t tak e s pe cialcare to
s h ape s you w oul d norm al l
y h ave troubl e m ak e s ure th at th e s iz e s and dim e ns ions of an
m ak ing w ith out bl ue prints . Th is articl e w ills tart im age s tay proportionalto th e oth e r im age s
by e xpl aining h ow to prope rl y s e t up bl ue print oth e rw is e you w illfind th at th e y do not fit
guide l ine s in Ble nde r and th e n e xpl ain h ow to toge th e r in Ble nde r.
us e th e m for m ode l ing.
Th is re q uire s re s iz ing th e blue prints in th e
Se tup Gim p or Ph otos h op but w il lnot be e xpl aine d in
Th e firs t s te p is obvious ly obtaining bl ue prints th is article . You s h oul d, afte r th e m odifications ,
to w ork w ith . If you do not h ave th e m al re ady, h ave an im age for e ach s ide /dire ction of your
th e n Googl e is your frie nd. You s h ould al so m ode l , in th is cas e , four (front, back , s ide , top).
ch e ck out h ttp://w w w .th e - bl
ue prints .com . W e Se e fig2 bl ue prints w ith s am e dim e ns ions .
w illbe us ing th e bl ue prints of a Ford Es cort
us e d in ral l
y racing.

Fig2. Bl
ue printfrom d iffe re ntsid e s

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
3D W ork s h op - Using Blue prints in Blende r 39

O nce th is is done , w e ne e d to s e t th e m up in
Bl e nde r. Th e advantage of th is s e tup is th at you
can h ave s e ve ralbl ue prints on th e s am e s cre e n
and be abl e to vie w th e m at diffe re nt angl es
w h ile giving you a be tte r ide a of de pth and
m ak ing it e as ie r to m ode lth e pie ce s . To do
th is , s tart Ble nde r and go to th e top vie w port
and add th e firs t im age to th e back ground by:
(Vie w >> Back ground Im age >> Us e Back ground
Im age ) and s e l e ct your im age . Your firs t im age ,
in th is cas e , th e top im age , appe ars in th e top
vie w port. Th e n add a pl ane : (Add>> Me s h >>
Pl ane ). And s cal e to fit your back ground e xactl y Fig4.Ad d ing a pl
ane
us ing th e [S k e y]+ [X k e y, Y k e y or Z k e y]. Fig3. Bl
ue prints proje cte d on pl
ain m e sh
Th e firs t e dge goe s dire ctly in th e m iddl e , as w e
You now h ave a s trong bl ue print s e tup th at w il
l w il
lbe us ing a M irror m odifie r for th e m ode l .
Now go to th e m ate rialtab, add a ne w m ate rial e as e and guide your m ode l ing. Now , if th is is Th e s e cond e dge s h oul d be furth e r to th e righ t.
and give it an appropriate nam e . Add a ne w done corre ctl y, allth at is le ft to do is to actual l
y W e w illbe e xtruding th is e dge of tw o ve rtice s ,
Te xture and l oad th e s am e im age as be fore . In m ode l . I w il
lnow try to e xpl ain, th rough an m ak ing s m al ladjus tm e nts to th e ir pos ition to
th e m ap input m e nu s e l e ct UV. Spl it th e e xam pl e , h ow to m ode lth e h ood of th e car follow th e bl ue prints . You s h ould now h ave a
vie w port and ope n up th e UV/Im age Editor. us ing th is bl ue print s e tup. m e s h s im il
ar to th e follow ing s cre e ns h ot:Fig5.
Load up th e s am e im age . Se l e ct your obje ct and
go into th e UV Face Se l e ct M ode . Mode l
ing th e Pie ce s
Pre s s th e [U k e y]and s e le ct Cube from th e Go into top vie w [Num pad 7] and (Space bar>>
m e nu. Th e pl ane UV coordinate s w il lnow Add>> Pl ane ). Pl ace th e firs t four ve rtice s as
appe ar in th e UV/Im age Editor. Pos ition th e s e e n in th e s cre e ns h ot. Fig4
ve rtice s as be fore to m ap th e im age corre ctl y
on th e pl ane . M ak e s ure th e y fit corre ctl y. Now
go into th e (Draw Type >> Te xture d), us ing th e
[ALT-Z ] s h ortcut. Th e te xture w il lappe ar
m appe d on th e pl ane .

Re pe at w ith e ach of your im age s and pos ition


th e plane s corre ctly as to h ave a re s ul
t s im il
ar
to th e follow ing s cre e ns h ot: Fig3.
Fig5.Extrud ing th e m e sh

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
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3D W ork s h op - Using Blue prints in Blende r 40

Now , go into front vie w and al ign th e ve rtice s


w ith th e front bl ue print. M ak e s ure th at you
al ign th e corre ct ve rtice to th e corre ct l ine s on
th e blue prints . You now h ave th e ge ne ral
outl ine of th e h ood. Your m e s h s h oul d now
look l ik e w h at you s e e in th e s cre e ns h ot: Fig6

Fig7.Finish e d h ood as se e n in th e se tup


M os t bl
ue prints w il
lgive th e ge ne raloutl ine of
your m ode lbut not e ve ry s ingle tiny de tail.
Fig6. Ad justing in th e fron vie w
As pointe d out by th e bl ue arrow of th e l as t top H appy Bl
e nding
s cre e ns h ot, th e h ood h as a curve al ong its righ t
e dge . Subdivide th e pl ane us ing Loop cuts :
[CTRL+ R] and us e your m ous e w h e e lto add Edouard de M ah ie u A.K.A.
s e ve ralcuts at e q ualdis tance s . Al ign th e ne w Ede e h e m or Sl
e pnyrl
ve rtice s to th e bl ue prints . Th e m ode lof th e
h ood is now e s s e ntial ly finis h e d.
Il ive in Be l gium and I am in m y l astye ar
Concl
us ion of h igh sch ool . I h ave m any h ob b ie s such
Continue us ing th is te ch niq ue al ong w ith th e as m ode l ing or te nnis b utcom pute rs are
bl ue prints to com pl e te your m ode l . You s h oul d m y m ain occupation.
I h ave b e e n using Bl e nde r for ab outtw o
e nd up w ith a fairl y corre ct re production of th e
and a h al f ye ars now . I al so spe nd a lotof
bl ue prints in 3D . It w illof cours e re q uire s m all tim e on th e Bl e nde rArtistforum s trying
m odifications and de tail s th at you s h ouldl ook to m ak e m yse l f use fuland participating
up in re fe re nce picture s . in th e conte sts h e l d th e re .

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
Bl
e nding - A Sonorous Trip 41

But h ow can I cre ate th is proje ct?My only basis A pe rson approach s th e w orld de ve lopm e nt by
is in m y ow n e xpe rie nce s w ith th e gam e s and m e ans of its re lationsh ip w ith sounds and
artistic proje cts in 3D. obje cts. Th at's w h y th e inte rface be com e s so
- By Die go R e stre po Paris
im portant; th e inte raction w ith th e pad de m ands
My w ork is innovative be cause it is a gam e base d a corpore alforce . Th is pape r re q uire s basic
ABSTRACT on an e nvironm e nt m ade of artistic conce pts and k now ledge of th e th re e m e ntione d softw are
Th e m ain goalof th is proje ct w as to cre ate an be side s, be cause of th at, is not a com m on tools use d to cre ate th e virtuale nvironm e nt.
im m e rsive virtuale nvironm e nt. An e nvironm e nt artw ork .
w h e re th e use r's body m ove m e nts, as se nse d by CATEGO RIES AND SUBJECT DESCRIPTO RS
a dance pad, allow h im or h e r to e xplore and My pallet transform s in th e te xture s and th e
de ve lop th e ge ne ralatm osph e re of its diffe re nt com position in th e 3D space . Th e DESIGNING TH E W O RLD
e nvironm e nt th rough th e m anipulation of a dance pad is innovative be cause it re q uire s a Alle lem e nts, artistic and synth e tic, de pe nd on
se rie s of sonorous and visualcue s. Se condary ne w function; you use your fe e t to m ove in a e ach oth e r. First, you ne e d to h ave a good ide a
goalof th is proje ct w as to te st th e flexibility of virtuale nvironm e nt and find diffe re nt sounds about th e k ind of artistic and synth e tic conce pts
fre e softw are for cre ating a proje ct of th is k ind. around you, e ve ry tim e th at you be gin th e gam e , you w ant to e xpre ss be fore th e sound and
Blende r w as use d to cre ate th e 3D e nvironm e nt th e e xpe rie nce w illbe diffe re nt. te xture librarie s can be built.
and also as a re al-tim e 3D e ngine . Csound and
Audacity w e re use d to e xpe rim e nt w ith sound I use th e traditionalart form s of painting,
ge ne ration and proce ssing. Th is last goalw as a sculpting and installations com bine d w ith
ve ry im portant pe rsonalone as I use fre e synth e tic sounds and digitalgraph ics to m ak e a
softw are be cause of m y convictions: Th ough t ne w art obje ct.
m ust be ope n and flexible. Art is fre e and ide as
m ust be available for anyone outside th e artists' W h y is th is gam e artistic?Be cause I cre ate d a
inne r space . pe rce ption ove r th e re ality itse lf; th e goalis to
unde rstand th e dynam ics of th e gam e , th at is
INTRO DUCTIO N w h y it is not e asy to go from on w orld to anoth e r.
I alw ays lik e d th e gam e s. My goalis to m ak e
artistic gam e s base d on th e inte llect. Som e of H ow did I ge t th e ide a of th is proje ct?I se arch e d
th e gam e s w ith th e se ch aracte ristics are MYST, for a w ay to e xpre ss diffe re nt se nsation in th e
Monk e y Island (1, 2, and 3), and Indiana Jone s of body w ith re ality, so I taugh t in virtualform s. I
Lucas Arts Film s. didn't w ant just a virtual3D space to m ove
around in, I w ante d ne w w ays to re late w ith th e
I th ink th at gam e s can h e lp cre ate ne w ide as for w orld th rough art. Th e ide a w as to m ak e a 3D
artistic proje cts. I be gan to e njoy th e gam e s e nvironm e nt th at involve s th e spe ctator.
com bine d w ith art.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
Bl
e nding - A Sonorous Trip 42

Alle lem e nts, artistic and synth e tic, de pe nd on EXTERIO R You pass to th e ne xt w orld afte r you h ave
e ach oth e r. First, you ne e d to h ave a good ide a sm ash e d th e ballinto a golf h ole.
about th e k ind of artistic and synth e tic conce pts First w orl d
you w ant to e xpre ss be fore th e sound and Th e re , I im agine d a golf course th at h as a
te xture librarie s can be built. natural , fantastic gam e am bie nce . I base d it
in th e th e ory of Pyth agoras of th e stars
For th is proje ct, th e conce pt in allm aps is to sounds; h e said th at one sph e re produce s
trave lacross th e e xpe rim e ntalvirtual3D diffe re nt sounds in th e unive rse . Th e bal lis
e nvironm e nts w ith synth e tic sounds. use d in th is le ve lto produce sounds.

[1] Exte rior = e xpre ss libe rty, fre e dom ; strange Al so, Pl
ato said th at th e stars produce a
language from a diffe re nt outside w orld. h arm onic sound and th is sounds are true in
[2] H ouse = articulate s ide as about fam ily, th e gam e e nvironm e nt. Th e e nvironm e nt h as
com m unity, prote ction, progre ss and a big bal land you ne e d to push th e bal l
inte llige nce . around in th e w orld, th e bal lsm ash e s on th e
[3] Se cre t Lab = com m unicate s m e tallic sounds, obje cts producing diffe re nt sounds.
aggre ssive , th e dark -side w orld. Th is w orld is base d on th e atm osph e re of a
Colom bian colonialh ouse . Th is h ouse h as th re e
TEXTURE leve ls: th e first leve lh as doors, w h e n you touch
I use th e conce pts of th e Exte rior, Se cre t Lab th e m , constant sounds are produce d so you can
and th e H ouse to cre ate th e te xture s in th e com pose m usic using diffe re nt orde rs of
picture s using GIMP 2. W h e n you save th e final touch ing th e doors.
im age , it is im portant to conve rt it to JPG
form at so it use s less m e m ory in th e gam e
e ngine .

Th e te xture s of e ach leve lh ad to e xpre ss th e


conce pt of th e e nvironm e nt. If you ne e d to
m ak e a re alistic e nvironm e nt you ne e d a
re alistic te xture . If you w ant a fantasy look , you
ne e d te xture s w ith fantasy conce pts. O th e rw ise ,
it is a good com bination to m ix re ality w ith th e
fantasy; it re sults in an e ye -catch ing contrast.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
y 20 0 6
Bl
e nding - A Sonorous Trip 43

O n th e se cond floor, th e picture s m ak e th e SECRET GRAIL: Th ird w orld In th is w ay, you can e nrich your proce ss
e nvironm e nt; you ne e d to find th e picture s using In th is l
e ve l, you h ave to find th e re algrail cre ative ly w ith your ow n stuff.
th e clue s of th e diffe re nt paragraph s th at are all cup and l iste n to th e e nvironm e nt. Th e grailis
around th e place . m ade of w ood be cause Je sus is a carpe nte r
and norm al l
y th e cup is of w ood. I l ik e d th e
conce pt tak e n from th e m ovie be cause it
e xpre sse s auth e ntic approach e s to th e w orl d's
de ve lopm e nt by its re l ation w ith sounds and
obje cts. Th at's w h y th e inte rface be com e s so
im portant; th e inte raction w ith rug de m ands
a corporalforce .

ACKNO W LEDGMENTS
I w ould lik e to th ank th e follow ing pe rsons for
Th e th ird floor is a suicide prove base d in faith , th e ir support in m ak ing th is proje ct a re ality:
you ne e d to de cide to go dow n to th e h ouse . I C. Pinzón, Te ch nicaland gam e e ngine support.
base d it on th e m ovie , Indiana Jone s (19 89 ). L.M. Barre ro, (w riting h e lp).
D. Prie to and D. Doria sounds and m usic.

REFERENCES
h ttp://w w w .e tc.cm u.e du/curriculum /bvw /
CO NCLUSIO NS & FUTURE W O RK h ttp://w w w .blende r.org/cm s/H om e .2.0.h tm l
You can cre ate an artistic proje ct w ith a 3D h ttp://w w w .its2.uidah o.e du/cti/
e nvironm e nt, using fre e softw are . I w ork e d h ttp://w w w .csounds.com /
w ith conce pts about sounds and im aginary Giose ffo Z arlino, H arm onice s Mundi.
e nvironm e nts. It is im portant to m ak e a pl an Aristóte les, De lcie lo .
of w h at you w ant to do. But w h at is im portant Pitágoras, La Re pública
w h e n you m ak e th e proje ct, is to ge ne rate
th e ide as during th e building proce ss.

Bl
e nde rartM agazine - Jul
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Bl
e nding - A Sonorous Trip 44

ID 172609 Tras 16#133-30 int 34


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Die go R e stre po Paris

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