How to apply driver based on geometry-node-generated coordinates I had an idea that I'm attempting to implement with Blender geometry nodes. Basically, a swarm of scarabs, which should open and close their wings when their z-height is close to a certain value.
I've tested it on the original model, and, through the careful usage of a few shape keys, armatures, and drivers, have it set up so that when a varied custom-property z-coordinate is within a certain distance from the scarab's z-coordinate, the wings open up automatically.

So, this part works perfectly. The catch is, I'm using point instancing in geometry nodes to create an entire swarm of them, and I would like that value to vary for each scarab (out of potentially thousands). Imagine a "wave" of them opening their wings and the color gradient change that results from that; there's where I'm trying to go. However, the driver only sees the original location of the scarab; not the geometry node location; which means that all of their wings open and close in synchrony and doesn't have the effect I want.
Here's my current node setup. I'm on 2.93 alpha.

There are a great many different nodes that I'm still coming to understand, but is it possible to have Blender evaluate the driver after-the-fact, instead of beforehand? Like a deferment? If not, is there another way for me to accomplish this by-instance wing opening, without worrying about the entire swarm at once?
The core equation I'm using to adjust the wings, inside the driver, is |z-critical_height/(span/2)|, where span is the range over which the wings should open and close, z is the z-coordinate of the object, and critical_height is the z-coordinate at which I want them to be completely open. I suppose it might also help if I could have my driver reference the z-coordinate of the instance instead of the original, but I'm not sure how to do that.
Thank you for your time, please inform me if I can provide any additional data. I don't have any inputs on geometry nodes other than the geometry itself; and no other modifiers on my framing object (where the geometry nodes are), which for the moment is just a boring UV-sphere until I have the core concept down. In case it's relevant, my driver is on the bone that moves the beetle carapace to expose the wings, and is editable in pose mode.

It seems, thanks to a few useful comments, that geometry nodes exclusively work after the geometry drivers have been applied; but also that this can be done through animation nodes.


How to fill a triangular shape with quads? I need to be able to make these verticies fill with quads and still maintain it's curve. How might one go at this?

Credit to batFINGER (in the comments): "Related, What's the fastest way to turn a triangular face into three quads? in that once a triangle is 3 quads, each quad can be broken down into more. (still maintaining the 3 (edge) pole vert in the middle)"


Can I use a custom Splash screen? The default Splash screens are cool, but I'd like to add some of my own work to remind me of how awesome I am (no, not really).

Is it possible to customize/change the splash screen?

You have to build this with Blender.

It is located at /blender/release/datafiles/splash.png — (old svn link) (new git link).

Just replace1 this file with a similar one.

1Here is a link to the entry on the wiki on how to correctly change it.
You can grab an old template here which should still work and size your image accordingly (src). The template is also in the same directory as splash_template.xcf
BlenderCookie has a tutorial on building Blender (download from archives) in which the author changes the splash screen. (He uses mac but the majority of process can be done pretty much the same way for other platforms)


How do I properly use an alpha texture to create variable transparency areas on a surface? I have been experimenting with projection mapping. Along the way, I'm trying to nail down the particulars of creating transparency effects that account for partial 'blocking' of the light that will be behind the transparency-possessing mesh.
Here's the imported image-plane that I've been hacking apart. it uses the standard node-array you get when you import that way:

Note the vertical blinds in the windows. It's that element of the texture that I have isolated for this partia-alpha treatment, so that emissions behind those windows will peek through. Here is my current (incorrect) node-array for those window areas:

In that screengrab, note the B&W texture that I created to help with the alpha transparency (which I realize now I could have just done via nodes - including a B&W conversion & color ramp).
Does the alpha transparency need to happen later? Anyone want to help me figure this one out? Feels like I'm close...
Thanks for your attention.

I have a solution of sorts. Here is my final node array:

That's just Texture mode (to illustrate how the alpha is figured out).
For a quick and dirty solution, this is just fine. I even went ahead and omitted the alpha map and just drove that value via the diffuse map.
If someone has a superior node-array in mind, I'm sure happy to listen though.
Here's a final render:


How can I scale an object incrementally with Animation Nodes? I need to scale the object along Z-axis several times to different values continuously.
Example: start value "0.01" -> second value "10" -> third value "5" -> end value "15".
I managed to make animation nodes only for the first step scale.
Please help me to make nodes for the remaining scale steps.

Zippy means like this:

This is linear, though, and if you want pauses in between you have to adjust the input min-max in each node.


Move forward view while wheel click It'd be awesome to use the arrows to move the camera reference point with wasdqe, just like in walk mode, as soon as the wheel click is pressed (in addition to rotation (or translation if shift is pressed))

Is there a way to do that ?

Thanks

Open the properties panel in the viewport by pressing N. Then, under the "View" tab of the panel, check "Lock Camera to View".

Go into camera view mode, and then move around the viewport however you want (e.g. in walk mode) and the camera will follow.


Can Someone explain to me what the bone driver properties do? I asked this question yesterday, but the person who answered told me to ask the question with more details. Could someone tell me what each thing does here so I know how to use bone drivers?

Drivers are basically relationships between object settings.

Let's say I have a cube and a sphere in my scene.
I want my cube to move 2 units in the x direction when my sphere is moved 1 unit in the y direction.

First, I add a driver to the x location of my cube and bring up that panel (the one on your image).
The variables below allow you to retrieve information from other objects (here, I want to grab the y location of my sphere since that's what's going to influence the x location of my cube). "var" designates the name of the variable.

Now that I have the y location of my sphere as "var," I can use that variable under "Scripted Expression" to write a Pythonic script the value of which will be assigned to the x location of my cube.
Since I want to move 2 units in x direction for each 1 unit in y direction of the sphere, my expression should be 2*var.

Now when you move the sphere by "var" in the y direction, the cube will automatically move "2*var" in the x direction.

You can add more variables to write complicated expressions. As long as it is syntactically Pythonic, it should work.

You have to enable Auto Run Python Scripts under User Preferences > File.
Try messing around with the graph and see how it affects things.
Try the Blender Manual https://www.blender.org/manual/animation/drivers/introduction.html


Select Pose Bones Per Script In Blender 2.8 Is there a new command for selecting bones when in pose mode?

myPoseBone = bpy.data.objects['metarig'].pose.bones["thigh.R"]
myPoseBone.select = True

does not seem to work (AttributeError: 'PoseBone' obejct has no attribute 'select').

However, everybody seems to do it that way. Does it still work for you?
Thanks in advance,

Matthias

Select the armature bone.
Further to the answer by @yhoho a pose bone has a bpy.types.PoseBone.bone property pointing to its associated armature bone.
Example from python console (where C = bpy.context) , bone of interest has name "Bone", armature object has context.
When unsure of things the python console is a handy way to interactively see what's what
>>> C.object
bpy.data.objects['Armature']

>>> pb = C.object.pose.bones.get("Bone")
>>> pb
bpy.data.objects['Armature'].pose.bones["Bone"]

its associated armature bone, from its bone property
>>> pb.bone
bpy.data.armatures['Armature'].bones["Bone"]

Which tells us could also get this via the armature, ie the data part of the armature object.
>>> arm = C.object.data
>>> arm
bpy.data.armatures['Armature']

>>> bone = arm.bones.get("Bone")
>>> bone
bpy.data.armatures['Armature'].bones["Bone"]

The two bones referenced in different ways are equal
>>> bone == pb.bone
True

but are not an instance of same object,
>>> bone is pb.bone
False

A bone from the armature bones collection of type bpy.types.Bone has a select property, whereas a pose bone bpy.types.PoseBone  from an armature objects pose bone collection has not (AFAIK never has).
Hence as shown to select, can use either of
pb.bone.select = True
bone.select = True

The idea of using collection.get(name) is that it returns None if the named item does not exist and can be checked against None (boolean False)  and handled.
>>> pb = C.object.pose.bones.get("NonExistentBone")
>>> pb is None
True

Related
Set active bone in pose mode from Python script


How to change value of object data property by using python script? I import a texts as an svg file into Blender. I then need to extrude and add a bevel into it. How can I do this with a python script?

Assuming you want to add extrude/bevel to you Curve object :

Select your curves and run:

import bpy

obs = bpy.context.selected_objects

for ob in obs:
    if ob.type == 'CURVE':
        curve = ob.data
        curve.dimensions = "2D"
        curve.offset = 0            # set offset value
        curve.extrude = 0           # set extrude value
        curve.bevel_depth = 0       # set bevel depth value
        curve.bevel_resolution = 0  # set bevel resolution


How can I swap Textures and Materials I just started with Blender after using Max and Maya for years. I am currently at a company that uses a very old modeling program so I was able to 'get' them to install Blender for me, which is awesome.

So far it's a great program but I had a difficult time figuring out how to swap out textures and change up materials etc. It would be great if this was a bit more user friendly. As it is I have to X out the texture that's in there then use Open to go find another one, instead of just using a find texture or replace texture. Is that the only way to do it?

Also is there a way to select poly elements such as the barrel of a gun, instead of just the faces, and then applying a material? In Max you can select elements so thats the only reason I am asking. If theres something similar.

The 3D painter is also awesome! That's primarily what I am using it for.

Added Q's:

1) When I paint in the 3d view and I have a UV/image editor window open, it seems like they don't sync up and they are actually different textures, but I can paint on both of them. I am sure this just takes me getting used to the UI.

2) Is the UV editor window the only place you can save out your textures?

On replacing Textures

You don't actually have to delete the texture. Instead you can "reassign" the slot by just opening a new one.

Assuming you have already a material with a texture

Go to Properties Window -> Texture Panel
Select the desired Texture slot
Scroll down to "Image"

Now here are two possibilities:

If you want to switch between two textures to chose which one looks better, hit the upper folder button and open a new image texture.

Notice how you now have two textures in your selection box?
If you want to switch between them, just click the selection box and change the texture.

If however you want to replace the texture with another one, hit the lower folder button (under Source:)

Notice how your original texture got replaced with the new one

]4

On replacing Materials

Go to Properties Window -> Material Panel
Hit the "+" Button on the right side of the Material Selector. This basically creates a new material slot.
Select the new slot and hit "New".
Make changes to your new Material (Textures, colors, whatever)
With that new material selected Tab into Edit mode and hit "Assign".

You still have both materials to chose from.


Rigid body physics only applied correctly in edit mode I'm confronted with a weird problem in blender's rigid body physics, where the simulation is only applied correctly if the active objects are in edit mode. My test scene: one simple cube and two pallets (euro pallets for logistics) are falling from about 10 meters height onto a simple ground plane. The pallets are real sized and also real weighted. All actives falling for Newton's sake, but the collision on the ground is going wrong. There is a translational impact but no rotational on collision.
The normals are all pointing outwards, but the collision isn't applied correctly, not even close. To check the normals I had to switch to edit mode, did then accidentally hit space, and saw the simulation surprisingly well applied. Almost, because the collision has to be set to convex hull. If set to mesh, both pallets seem to weirdly jam together during collision, almost like the displayed wireframe vertices get stuck together. Sounds silly, but obviously the simulation use the displayed auxilliary mesh overlay for collision, instead of the actual object's data...
The next funny behavior is the fact that the simulation is also rendered correctly in evee or cycles output only if the actives are in edit mode. I don't think that an editor state should yield different output results.
I'm a bit clueless what's going wrong. I've the feeling that something messed up with the pallet's local coordinate system, but I don't know how to fix it.
Btw, I don't know whether it's related or not...but the pallet's appended from another .blend file and there it was imported from an fusion360 exported .fbx file, where I had to fix the scale.

Thanks @zippy for your answer. I checked the mesh again and have to admit that I missed to look on the scaling properties, although the dimensions were fine, it was scaled by factor 0.013;) Now everything collides fine in object mode, too.
Thus you shouldn't play around at 2 am I think;)
The observed behavior makes completely sense now, because the integration steps for the solver are too far away from each other because of the (actual) size.


Reduce width of a loop type model I have a sort of loop type model(something like racing track) where there are 2 paralel curve-typed vertex loops. They're connected together like this
(simplified image):

Red lines - edges of outer loop
Yellow lines - edges of inner loop
Magenta lines - the connections between loops
Green dots - vertices
Blue dots - joint middle points(not actual model data, just imaginary thing for explanation)

What I want is to scale the magenta edges down(move green vertices which are joined with the magenta edges closer to each other) without changing the position of the blue points(the place where the magenta edges are or the place where the 2 connected vertices are). I could do it manually(select each 2 vertices and press S, .7, for example), but it would take a lot of time. Is there any automated way to do it?

Edge Slide

The idea is to pick one of the boundary loops and slide it by pressing GG in order to make it move next to the other other.

In order to use the middle point lines as a pivot, you should create a third loop in the middle with for example Ctrl+R....

...and then slide each loop by the same factor.


How to make smooth edge of box with materials? I have the following box:

What I would like to achieve is to have a smooth edge in the top-right corner, so it looks like a curve.

What I've tried is to make the faces really small, and then apply my red texture to just a few of them, but it still looks hacky.

Anyone sitting on any nice techniques for achiving something like this:

Notice how the black color is kind of rounded around the corner

Why not do this with textures?

Simply make a black-and-white image texture, and use it to switch between two different material node layouts. It'll be better for performance as well, because there's fewer faces.


Half glossy half matt pot So, I was wondering how you would be able to make a single cycles material which is half glossy (one color) and half matt (the other color).

The object in question is half blue gloss with no bump mapping and half white no gloss with ceramic bump mapping but I'm not quite sure how to get it to work - I figured out to use gradient and color ramp but I'm stuck from there.

Thanks!

What my cycles are so far:

You can define a mask to control where different textures etc are to be applied. A mask is usually a black and white image were black equals zero and white equals one. Connecting the mask into a mix shader node lets you choose between two different shaders, connected to a mix RGB node will choose between two colours.

Using a gradient texture to generate a mask.

With your example you can also connect the mask to the roughness input of your principled BSDF node.

For more control you can use texture painting to draw a mask on your model, then connect an image texture node in place of the above colour ramp.


Action Constraint is being animated for some reason Something strange is happening to my rig. I'm using Blender 2.8 and I began rigging with an Action Constraint and for some reason it's playing the Action that I made and stored. I've double checked and there are no keyframes in the timeline and yet it's still playing the Action.

Thinking it as a bug, I tried reproducing it from scratch from a new file but I can't and things seem to work perfectly fine(?). I'm even starting to think that this bug is specific to the file I'm working on and I don't want to start over again...

Here's the file focusing on a sample problem:
what.blend

Because you've pushed the action in the NLA, open the NLA window and remove the strip, your object won't be animated anymore.


Why are all my edges darker when using texture paint when using texture paint I can colour the whole object (in this case its a lightsaber) but when I go in to add detail with a black or any colour the edges become darker all over the object and I don't know why. I first thought it might have been the UV unwrap and when selecting another UV unwrap option like Cylinder Projection it doesn't happen but the texture doesn't go on correctly as in it goes through the other side or something else. I am wanting to do a very basic texture paint with just black in the gaps and I can't figure out how to fix it. If you have any ideas on how to fix it please can you let me know, I have played around with different UV unwrapping but that doesn't seem to take away the problems? Thanks

Since it goes away with a subsurf it is a problem with too little geometry - too few edge loops to get a good interpolation across the edge.
You can

Use manual loops along the discs
Use edge split modifier to not interpolate across the sharp edges
Use the Bevel Modifier (if it doesn't work, google how to use it, or
send me a screenshot of your settings)

EIDT: I just realized, the subsurf modifier you mentioned might also mess with your UVs, try toggling split UVs in the settings.


How make my shape manifold? Substract one face from another? I'm quite new to Blender and I'm having difficulties with a geometry. You can see it here:

As you can see there are holes which I need to fill as I need this to be a manifold, solid shape.

I have managed to fill the holes by selecting similar and fill command but the result is this:

It creates two faces as if they were "concentric circles". For instance if I delete the largest face I end up with this:

But what I want is to have a face only between the "concentric circles". Is there an option to subtract faces? That way what I would like would be to subtract from the large face the smaller face.

Thank you!

You're looking for Ctrl+E > Bridge Edge Loops.


Can particles enherit constraints from their render object? Example:I have a large sphere that emits particles
and a tiny sphere that the will become each individual particle .

If the original tiny sphere gets a Limit distance to surface constraint,
can each particle also inherit the constraint that the original one has?

So that the particles will stick to the surface of a mesh while moving, even if the mesh is irregular.

I can get similar effect with forces but its very delicate and can fly off the surface easily.

As far as I understand, no. Particles do not inherit constraints. If you want particles to stick to a moving object, make it a collision object and play around with the dampening and stick values.


Can I save presets for the inset tool? I am currently working on a model where I find myself making 4 different repeated insets with different depths and thicknesses for bolt head recesses.
The inset tool remembers the previous used setting. Is there a way to load and save a preset for it, and save me typing it in each time and reduce the number of post it notes stuck to my monitor?

If the answer is no could someone indicate if this is the sort of automation script suitable for a relative newcomer to scripting? I'm tempted but a little wary to give it a go.

No there is no way save for scripting to load and save presets for operators that do not explicitly support it in the toolbar. This would not be my recommendation for a first project in blender API however after a few basic tutorials (maybe this ) you should be able to do this sort of thing on your own.

Edit: Another alternative that comes to my mind is duplication. I can't tell if that is helpful but certainly making one bolt by hand is far easier than making a script to do it.


How to keep UV after remesh How do I keep the my UV after remesh I searched around and can't seem to find a good answer to my question any help will be appreciated hopefully someone has  a solution for me

Option 1 (Transfer UVs)
Use the Data Transfer modifier, and select "UVs" under "Face Corner Data". Make sure you click "Generate Data Layers" so it has somewhere to put the transferred coordinates, and play around with the mapping type to find the best result.
Pro:

Allows re-using the same texture map(s).

Con:

Cannot automatically handle seams.

Option 2 (New UVs, Transfer Texture)
Unwrap the re-meshed model separately, and use Render Baking in Cycles, for "Diffuse" colour and with "Selected to Active", to transfer your original model's textures to the remeshed geometry's new UVs.
Pro:

Allows precision down to pixel scale.

Con:

Requires texture duplication, inefficient and lossy.


Rendered viewport shading shows my UV textures but my final render does not show textured objects I am using blender cycles render and only started recently. I am trying to make a rubix cube type thing with Mario textured tiles. In the preview mode for rendering under the viewport shading menu looking at the cube is perfectly fine. However, when I attempt to render my cube none of the textured objects show up. I have no idea whats happening and have done some googling but have come up empty, please help.

Please note that the textures are handled using different materials for each face (as seen in the properties panel) and UV mapping to control orientation, the materials in question are controlled using nodes [Texture Coordinate->Image Texture->Diffuse BSDF->Mix Shader->Material Output]

Also there is actually a big solid cube there in the center of the 26 other cubes wich you can see is being rendered (and a little in the 3D view). It has only a basic diffuse BSDF surface and is working perfectly fine in the final render.

Please help. ;(

Your cubes are restricted from rendering, you can set them renderable again by clicking these camera icons in Outliner:


How would I go about rigging this model? Hey all! I'm trying to rig this mecha for Unreal Engine 4, and I have modelled it (In separate parts)and was wondering how to parent it properly for Unreal Engine 4. If I rig it mechanically as separate parts, UE4 imports the FBX as different Skeletal Meshes. I do not want this. I want it all as one mesh. But if I join it, it bends and warps, not how I want it to

Can anyone offer any advice? I want it to move mechanically but as one mesh

You certainly can join all the separate parts into one mesh, and still have it rigged properly.

Just make sure all vertices in the vertex groups all have a weight of either one or zero. you don't want any blending (like if you painted the weights in weight paint mode.)

Join all the pieces into one object, CtrlJ
(If you do not already have all the bones) add an armature and place the bones accordingly.

Now select the object then the armature, so the armature is the active object, and press CtrlP > Empty Groups.

Go into edit mode and select a piece (L and CtrlL should be very helpful here) make sure you are working on the correct vertex group (naming your bones would of helped) and set the weight to 1, then press Assign.

So in that picture I am "connecting" the bone named "Bone" to the selected cube.
All four cubes are in the same object, but with the weights correct the pieces move independently.

If you enter Weight Paint mode you should only see red and blue (or black if you have restrict turned on). Any other colors, light blue to green means there are other values and thus a bone is going to affect part of something that you do not want it to.


Copying keyframes makes objects snap to one point I am quite new to blender, and I wanted to make two fractured rigid body balls collide in the air, but I am running into problems. I can make a single pice of the fracture move, and then become dynamic which is what I want, but when I try to copy the animation data to all of the other pices, it copies the location keyframes too resulting in all the fractured pices teleporting to a single point(Not what I want). Is there a way to copy the animation data so that the whole ball moves as a single part, and then shatters when it collides with the other ball?

Inorder to prevent fractured pieces from going into a single point, move all the fracture origins to the center of the ball. You can do this by selecting all the fractures, Shift+S, Cursor to selected, Ctrl+Atl+Shift+C, Origin to 3D cursor. And then copy the animation data to other pieces or do what I did in the below file.

Please check the layer2 in attached files to see how I implemented the collision.

I parented the fractures to empties and animated the empties.

For all the fractures just until a few frames before the collision (at about 70 frame), I kept rigid body 'dynamic' option off and 'Animated' on. After this point, 'Animated' off and 'dynamic' on. Let me know if you need more clarification.


Selecting parts of mesh for UV with mirror modifier? I'm trying to get a uv map for this shirt by selecting it (it uses EA's template for Sims 4). I have the mirror modifier on and I can't seem to select these parts. They also don't show up selected in the UV (modifier doesn't apply to it). How can I select these parts?

You can select those parts if you apply the modifier in object mode as shown below:

If you need the modifier and want to keep it, whatever you do in the UV Editor will be mirrored.


How does exporting a hierarchical model to obj manage coordinates? I'm debugging an .obj parser a colleague of mine wrote for a simple Lua game, and I'm having trouble with understanding something. Since the .obj file does not preserve the tree structure I create in a Blender model, but only has the separate objects (the o wheel-like lines), how are the coordinates treated? Let's say I have wheels as children of a car's chassis in Blender, the car is translated from the origin and the wheels have a relative translation, rotation and scale from the car to be in the appropriate position. If I export them to .obj, are the coordinates of their vertices recalculated as global ones (meaning they already are where they should be if I put both the chassis and the wheels in as separate objects) or are they in relative coordinates (meaning I have to recreate the parent-child relation to have them in the right place)?

The .obj format is very simple and stores all vertices in global coordinates. It can't be local coordinates because there is no definition of a world matrix per object in the file format, which would be required to perform a conversion from local to global coordinates.


Selection toolbar is gone Selection toolbar is gone!
Hi, guys, I have downloaded the latest version of the Blender 2.8 (it is 22 June version). And now I can't see a selection toolbar which was earlier. Somebody can say how I can enable the  toolbar

The select options are still available at the top of the 3d viewport, while the old version you had shows text buttons, these have now been replaced with icons.

You can find the options for the current tool in three places, in the 3D viewport header, the tool tab of the properties region and the active tool settings tab in the properties editor.

Note that we have four select tools, Select, Select Box, Select Circle and Select Lasso. The select tool has no options to show and the circle tool has less options. If you can't find the select tool options, it may be because you have the wrong select tool.


How to make water tight surface for 3D printing I´m quite new to Blender and wanted to try out 3D printing. Now I´ve created a form and wanted to add wall thickness. I have already diagnosed it with Netfabb and apart from the fact that it´s not closed it is alright.
My problem now is that I have applied the "Solidify" modifier and it creates a lot of overlapping faces instead of giving it a water tight, printable surface. What am I doing wrong? Here is a image before using any modifiers:

And here with some of the overlapping, messy faces at the back after using solidify:

Is there any way of not modeling the whole interior side manualy?

The thickness you're using for Solidify modifier is 2, that means two blender units, and you're not using clamp, the screenshot's don't show the scale you're using, but just to give you a hint, if you're using meters for instance, you're using 2 meters for thickness.
You can use Offset to change the direction of extruding faces using this modifier, but to be honest, looking at the mesh, I don't believe it's possible to get good result using Solidify, since this will be applied to the whole mesh, so you have to reduce the thickness not to exceed the closest faces to each other, the bolts like faces are too close to each others compared to the scale of the whole mesh.
The best method is to copy the object, make the copy smaller, decimate the mesh to a simpler version, this might need some manual tweaking to make sure no internal faces or overlapping is taking place, then position it in place inside the original mesh, and weld the two meshes together using Ctrl + J


Element indices messed up after switching from Edit to Object Mode I encounter the following problem. If, somewhere in my script, I switch from Object mode to Edit Mode and back, the indices of the elements in my object become messed up.

To recreate the problem: Create a cube (or any mesh object for that matter) and run the following Python snippet:

import bpy

object = bpy.context.active_object

for v in object.data.vertices:
    print('1',v.index)
    bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode = 'EDIT')
    bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode = 'OBJECT')
    print('2',v.index)

I expect the following output:

1 0
2 0
1 1
2 1
1 2
2 2
1 3
2 3
1 4
2 4
1 5
2 5
1 6
2 6
1 7
2 7
1 8
2 8

However, I end up with the following output (the numbers change seemingly randomly everytime I run the script):

1 0
2 123
1 124
2 -166
1 -165
2 116
1 117
2 -164
1 -163
2 153
1 154
2 -162
1 -161
2 182
1 183
2 -160

Does anyone know what causes this problem and how to solve/workaround this? I prefer NOT to use the BMesh module, since the bpy operators suit my needs much better.

Thanks in advance,

Niels

No reason an edit mode bmesh cannot be used with edit ops.

  I prefer NOT to use the BMesh module, since the bpy operators suit my
  needs much better.

They are not mutually exclusive.

In answer to

  1) For every vertex in object 1a) Select this vertex (v.select = True)
  1b) Select neighbor vertices (bpy.ops.mesh.select_more()) 1c) Store
  normal angles 2) Compare normal angles within selection... etc. For
  being able to perform a bpy operator (select_more() in this case) I
  need to toggle to Edit Mode. While (as you said) for manipulating mesh
  I need to be in Object Mode. So I constantly need to toggle, right?

As a simple example, cube in edit mode each vert selected separately and default select more (one face away) called. For the cube this will result in only one vert being unselected.  Note: Select more can also be called with bpy.ops.mesh.select_more(use_face_step=False) to only select via edge connection.

import bpy
import bmesh

context = bpy.context

ob = context.edit_object
me = ob.data

bm = bmesh.from_edit_mesh(me)
print("-" * 33)
for v in bm.verts:
    bpy.ops.mesh.select_all(action='DESELECT')
    v.select_set(True)
    print("Before", v.index, [v.select for v in bm.verts])
    bpy.ops.mesh.select_more()
    print("After", v.index, [v.select for v in bm.verts])

bmesh.update_edit_mesh(me)

Produces output.

---------------------------------
Before 0 [True, False, False, False, False, False, False, False]
After 0 [True, True, True, True, True, True, False, True]
Before 1 [False, True, False, False, False, False, False, False]
After 1 [True, True, True, True, True, True, True, False]
Before 2 [False, False, True, False, False, False, False, False]
After 2 [True, True, True, True, False, True, True, True]
Before 3 [False, False, False, True, False, False, False, False]
After 3 [True, True, True, True, True, False, True, True]
Before 4 [False, False, False, False, True, False, False, False]
After 4 [True, True, False, True, True, True, True, True]
Before 5 [False, False, False, False, False, True, False, False]
After 5 [True, True, True, False, True, True, True, True]
Before 6 [False, False, False, False, False, False, True, False]
After 6 [False, True, True, True, True, True, True, True]
Before 7 [False, False, False, False, False, False, False, True]
After 7 [True, False, True, True, True, True, True, True]

Strongly recommend simply using bmesh for this kind of thing. The linked geometry of an element is readily available.

import bpy
import bmesh

context = bpy.context

ob = context.edit_object
me = ob.data

bm = bmesh.from_edit_mesh(me)
print("-" * 33)
for v in bm.verts:
    # set of all verts surounding based on linked faces
    face_neighbours = {v for f in v.link_faces
            for v in f.verts} - {v}
    # list of edge neighbours
    edge_neighbours = [e.other_vert(v) for e in v.link_edges]
    print(v.index, [v.index for v in face_neighbours])
bmesh.update_edit_mesh(me)

Producing output

---------------------------------
0 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7]
1 [0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
2 [0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7]
3 [0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7]
4 [0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7]
5 [0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7]
6 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7]
7 [0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

An example to get the angle between vert and edge connected verts' normals

[v.normal.angle(n.normal) for n in edge_neighbours]

Hopefully the examples above might move you a little towards bmesh.  Consider the first example above used on a million vertex mesh, would require two million operator calls, as would the question code.

Python performance with Blender operators

Second example requires no operators, nor does it change the selection state. Actually There is no need to update back to the mesh, or use edit mode to obtain all the info needed for this example

Note worth mentioning for this example could be done in object mode directly from mesh data. Quick python console code example, look for faces that contain the vert index.

>>> me = C.object.data
>>> v = me.vertices[0]
>>> v.index
0

>>> set(sum([list(p.vertices) for p in me.polygons if v.index in p.vertices], [])) - {v.index}
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7}

as in both examples above the only vert not in any face containing vert 0 is vert 6.


How to apply proportional force based on length of keypress? I'm making a mini golf game and right now I just have a cube that lurches forward to collide with the ball, there's not variability in the shot power. I'm looking for a way to move the ball forward without using the block, instead based on the length of the keypress to simulate variable power (a quick press = light tap on the ball...long press = hard hit)
I know this is possible because I've seen other blender games that do such a thing. Any ideas?

Here's my .blend file if you wanna have a look
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxB2pKMjGzzqUk9jLXFJWDRGVWc/view?usp=sharing

Ok, I don't have much time today, so I will just provide a few hints and try to guide you in the right direction. I think there are basically three ways of approaching your problem.

The pythonic way. You can use a python script on your golfball which uses the applyImpulse method of the game object. This is basically what you asked for. You need to start some timer once a key is pressed and apply an impulse to your golf ball one the key is released. Bam!
The physical simulation of a golf club. You could use two objects connected by a hinge which serve as a simplified golf club. You can find a nice introduction on John Hamiltons Introduction to rigid body joints
The non pythonic way. The "Action" actuator allows to apply the value of an IPO curve as a force to an object. This basically lets us create arbitrary nonlinear force vs. time curves which can be applied to a certain axis. Here is an example using a force applied to the object in global z-Axis.

Most probably you will find an elegant solution by combining these methods. I know this is not a ready to use example. But hey - I showed you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it. ;]


Weird shading when using Cycles rendering I switched to Cycles rendering, because Eevee didn't render the full image. Now, despite the fact that I put a light in the scene, the whole object is lit, even the back. I already tried changing the power of the light and its size, but unfortunately, it did not help. When moving the colour points in the colour ramp, (the shadow colour position and the lit colour position) the object suddenly turns completely lit or completely unlit. The object is or lit or dark, but there's no in between where there are shadows. What is it that is going on and how can it be fixed?

Two points here:

"Shader to RGB" does not work for Cycles, it is normally Eevee only.

The color is directly pluged into the surface output, so this is considered direct color, unshaded.

You should plug a shader to the surface output, starting from this for instance:


Material - Duplicate then Unlink Material from Original I have a material that took some time to create. I want to duplicate the material, but then unlink it from the original material.

Note: This is NOT a question about unlinking a material from an object, but rather from its original settings.

Problem:

I have a material that is set up as an emission surface and I want to animate its strength over time.
I assign this material to Object 1.
I duplicate the material with the + icon and get a new material based on the first, and it has .001 appended to the original name.
I assign this second material to Object 2.
I want to change the emission strength of the new material-Object 2 and animate it over time as well, just with different settings on different key frames.

However, when I change the strength of either emission setting for either material, it also sets the same emission strength for other material to be the same.

Obviously there is some linking going on in the background, but I cannot find the keystroke or menu options to unlink the two materials from each other. I do see lots of questions answered about how to unlink duplicate objects, but following those instructions does not get the results I need with the materials.

This can be done via NLA editor: simply Push down an Action on duplicated material and delete created NLA Track. Original will remain untouched.

P.S. I'll post some images later if needed.


How to smooth a curve from an already existing model? I'm creating a set of train tracks for a game known as "Garry's Mod". It runs on Valve's Source Engine, and for being an old game engine, it has it's quirks.

Namely, the inability to create smooth curves from within the engine's map editor, "Hammer World Editor".

I can create curves using the editor's built-in arch feature, but the curves aren't smooth, since they are just a bunch of straight blocks put together.

While I can increase the amount of pieces on a curve to make it look smoother, for some reason the editor deforms some of those pieces and makes the tracks look bad.

A friend recommended me to take the "blocky" curve, so to speak, and run it through Blender, to smooth it out. But that's where my problem resides.

How can I do that? I already have the prop loaded in Blender, but I'm a complete novice to it.

You can create brand new curves in blender, and then convert them to those tubes with needed resolution. How to do it, there is a lot of tutorials on youtube. Try to search something like "create pipes with curves in blender".
As for your existing meshes, you can convert them to curves. But segments you would have to handle anyway.
If you want to go this way, you have to get the single edge loop from your tube: Select your tube; go to Edit mode (Tab); switch to edge select mode (Ctrl+Tab, 2). Then select one entire longitudal edge (Alt + RMB on that longitudinal edge); and kill all others (Ctr+I - invert selection; X - delete Edges).
It will give you the wire-like mesh one vertex wide. Here it's good to switch to vertex selection mode (Ctrl+Tab, 1). You can use proportional editing (O) to edit it, use Smooth (Ctrl+V, Smooth), (W, Loop tools / Space), (W, Subdivide smooth) and any other tools you find useful. When you done with the mesh, return to the Object mode (Tab), and convert the mesh to curve (Alt + C, mesh to curve). And how to deal with curves you already know from the tutorials about pipes, that I suggested before :-)


UDIM tiles not importing properly image texture shader I have commissioned a model that was textured using UDIM tiles, which Blender supports. However adding the image texture node and setting it UDIM tile, or dragging the image in where Blender automatically sets it to be a UDIM tile, is not importing the UDIM tiles properly. The UDIM's look to be exported correctly, with the Base Colour folder with the name and 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004...according to the tutorials, I need only bring the first image in and Blender knows to look for the others.
This isn't happening however...only the first image seems to be affecting the material for the mesh, the other tile are not being imported. We've checked triple checked and checked again, the file protocol is right.

There must be something that we are missing...everything looks right, but except the textures...
Can anyone help?

It turns out it was an issue from the creator's end. I will post more details about what went wrong when I find out, in case this happens to anyone else.


Objects appear lit even if there is no light source I'm working on a render and every time I render it as an image, using cycles, it's all lit up (which I don't want).

As you can see in the screenshot, the image is bright even without light sources!

the blend file

In your shaders, you shouldn't plug a texture directly into the "Material" output.

If you don't want your shader to emit light, but only to diffuse external light based on its color, then add a Diffuse shader.

PS: you can tell that a shader is probably wrong when there is a line between two differently-colored sockets. In your case, yellow ("color info") sockets were connected to green ("shader info") sockets.


Principled BDSF shader is not showing up in shader list in node editor Principled BDSF not showing up in my 2.8, when I go into node editor to start a node tree.

As there's not a 2.89, I'll assume you're talking about 2.79.

Check that you're on Cycles mode, and not Blender Internal. You can find it on the upper menu.


How to increase spacing between duplicated objects parented to a curve using *DupliFrame* ? I have a plane that has been duplicated along a curve:

I parented the plane to the curve (Ctrl+P) and then used DupliFrames on the plane to get the above scene. However, I want to increase the relative spacing between the planes. Any suggestions on that?

Please don't ask me use to Array Modifier/Curve Modifier (I know that will solve my current problem but it will also prevent my planes from staying horizontal as they are currently since they will use the normal of the curve for their orientation). Is there a way to increase the spacing under the above setup? Maybe some curve property?

If you want to increase the spacing between all the instances evenly, that necessarily reduces their number, so reduce the number of frames in the curve's path animation panel.


How can I set the sample rate for Audio? I'm using Blender (v2.72) to do some video editing. I record some voice audio at 96kHz and then drop it into the VSE to sync the audio to the scene. Once I make my cuts, I render just the audio to do further post processing.

Every time I render only the audio, it keeps coming out as 44.1kHZ. I want it to be exported as 96kHz. So how do I do this?

When I go into User Preferences, I have the following selected:

OpenAL
Channels: Stereo
Mixing Buffer: 4096
Sample Rate: 96kHz Sample
Format: 24bit Signed.

The control for audio Sample Rate is in Scene settings>Audio>Rate:


Blender resources for architects? My interest in Blender comes from wanting to use it to model physical structures and produce architectural drawings; what I have so far is really impressive, but there doesn't seem to be too much information about my particular interest.

Are there any (Blender-) resources that would be particularly useful for architects? E.g. packages of standard 'elements' like windows, doors, roofs or whatever, or perhaps a discussion group specifically for architects?

Some resources

Add-ons

Archimesh for creating architecture elements

Download

Window Generator
Chimney Generator
Jamb Generator
Balcony Generator

Sites:

Blender 3D Architect

Video Tutorials:

Blenderguru: The complete architecture series
 Edit:This tutorial dates back to 2010, the rendering lessons use an external render engine since Cycles wasn't available. (Edited May 3rd 2016).
Cgcookie: Interior 3d architectural visualization
Edit:CGcookie are no longer streaming this tutorial as " it's time for it to be put to rest" yet ZIP files are available to download the lessons.(Edited May 3rd 2016).

Related questions:

How to model effectively using exact measurements?
How do blender units and meters, feet, or yards correlate?
Is there any way to measure angle between edges/faces, or change the angle so that the mesh changes according to the angle we input?


How do I make an array of objects light up sequentially? I have many cylinders duplicated with an array.
The material emits light.
I need to make the cylinders light up and turn off one after an other in a loop.
Any idea on how to do this?

since the array is an exact copy of the first object, I don't think there is a way to do what I understand you wanna do. What I suggest is copying the object with array (to keep it in case), then apply the array.

Without separating your object and materials, you can animate the light changes with a texture that, depending of the UV, will either light up or not your objects only by keyframing the texture coordinate. So UV unwrap all your cylinders from the front:

Then you have to make a texture that looks like that:

Finally in your material, set it up a bit like that and move the X value of the mapping node to align the white part of the texture over the cylinder you want to light up:

OR you can always have multiple objects with different material that are animated independently (probably more time consuming).


Is it possible to use D-noise from a picture? As far as I know we can use D-noise tool just after rendering. I wonder if we can use it loading an already rendered image instead.

As we can clearly see on https://remingtongraphics.net/tools/d-noise/ after entering "d-noise" on pretty much any search engine and clicking the first result it says:

Denoise Anything
D-NOISE isn’t exclusive to renders like the Cycles denoiser is.
D-NOISE can run on any image loaded into the UV/Image Editor including
texture bakes and even photos!

And here is a screenshot of that:


How to ease the edges of a volumetric texture? I have a volumetric texture, and I don't know how I can ease the edges of this texture, to rub the "cube shape" of the volumetric texture.
I also need this to be keyframed.

I tried to use different combinations of gradient texture nodes, transparency node too, but I was not able to rub the edges.
Can you help me ?
Here's the node setup:

Here's a blend file :
Bye guys ! :)

Using another Shape is indeed not a bad idea. (@Jachym Michal)
But here is a node setup to give you pretty good controll of the density border.
For better visibility I haven't multiplied it with your current density setup yet, but the math node already is sitting in place as you can see.


Reset Curve in Drivers Graph Editor I have a question about the curve displaying in the Drivers Graph Editor. This curve change according to the modifiers and variables I choose in the N menu, but I can also change it manually (add vertices, rotate, etc...). If I ever do these kind of manual modifications but decide to cancel them, how can I come back to its basic shape (only determined by variables and modifiers of the N menu)?

Thanks in advance!

You can actually get back to the default 1:1 f-curve mapping by simply deleting all keyframes from the f-curve (ie, select the curve, press L to select all (linked) points on that curve, press X to delete). While this means that there isn't an f-curve to edit, Blender will assume a 1:1 relationship between driver value and the resultant property to give the same effect as the initial driver f-curve. If there are no Modifiers present then Blender will render the 'curve' as a dashed line rather than the normal 'solid' line.

In order to be able to edit the f-curve again you will need to re-create an actual f-curve. This can be achieved by simply adding a Keyframe to the object property being driven - ie, in the above example by hovering the mouse over the Y location property (shown in purple in the 3D Editor window) and pressing I.

Once you have created a keyframe you will then be able to adjust the f-curve as normal. To get back to the default state, set the Key 'Frame' and 'Value' to [0.0, 0.0], Left Handle to [-1/3, -1/3], Right Handle to [1/3, 1/3], Handle Types to 'Vector'. Then press I in the F-Curve Editor to add a new keyframe to the channel and set this similar to the above, except [1.0, 1.0] for the Frame/Value, [2/3, 2/3] for Left Handle, [4/3, 4/3] for Right Handle.


How can I fix a wrinkle? I did this image from a plane and fill it in.

I didn't do it well so when I fill it in I have a wrinkle.

I tried to fix it with Sculpt mode but I can't. I saw an answer from here. I tried to fix it with Physics but nothing.

Can someone help me? Thanks

Blend File Download

Blend File Download

After filling you might want to triangulate faces CtrlT). Fix the topology by moving vertices. Then you can dissolve unwanted faces (press Space, write dissolve, select "dissolve faces").

Another way (the easier and faster way) is to build an extra cube, and with the boolean modifier, you perfectly cut the face of your model by the face of that extra cube.

To fix the current topology, you might also try to "mark sharp" some of the edges, and or, to bevel or create extra loopcuts near areas you want to be sharper. That way the subdivision modifier won't round up as much on those areas.


improving performance in pose mode I have a 1M poly character, and in pose mode any manipulation will freeze Blender for a few seconds. Disabling the armature modifier won't fix it, only deleting the mesh. Is there a way to increase performance for hig poly rigs?

There are many strategies to animate high poly meshes.
The "professional" way is to retopologize the character, baking all small details into a normal map, so to be able to animate and export a low or mid poly mesh.
Another way is to create a low poly proxy, to be used for programming the animation, and then use the high poly version only for render.
In the render properties panel you can enable the "simplify" option, to allow only a low or null level of subsurf (and let it operate only during render).
You can add a decimate modifier to the mesh to reduce the amount of vertices, and disable it for render.
You can split the mesh into pieces and turn them off when you don't need to look at them.


Rotate Empty on Local X-Axis using Python Script I have created a grid of hexagons.  I want to animate the rotation of a series of them diagonally, so I have parented each hexagon to its own Empty, and rotated the Empty's orientation to the angle I want to rotate the hexagons at.  But when I try to rotate each Empty on its local x-axis using python script, I can't seem to get the expected rotation.  What I've tried so far:

Selected Empty in 3D viewport, then ran (where the value "1.5708" is the equivalent of rotating 90 degrees):

bpy.context.object.rotation.euler[0] = 1.5708

or . . .

bpy.ops.transform.rotate(value=1.5708,
                         axis=(0.866025, 0.5, 0),
                         constraint_axis=(True, False, False),
                         constraint_orientation='LOCAL',
                         mirror=False,
                         proportional='DISABLED',
                         proportional_edit_falloff='SMOOTH',
                         proportional_size=1,
                         release_confirm=True)

The first one results in an error:

  Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "", line 1, in
      AttributeError: 'Object' object has no attribute 'rotation'

The second one rotates the Empty, but not according to local x-axis. (looks like maybe global x-axis)

Note: the above commands come from the info panel where first one is the same as setting rotation in the "Properties" panel (N key in 3D Viewport) and second one is the result of using the 3D Manipulation Widget

I am using Blender 2.73a on Mac OSX 10.8.5

Your first attempt did not work because (as Ray Mairlot pointed out) the attribute is rotation_euler, not rotation.euler. Further more, with the proper notation it will only rotate the active object, not all objects selected.

This five line script rotates all selected objects by 90° on the local X axis.

import bpy
from math import pi
for ob in bpy.context.selected_objects:
    ob.rotation_euler[0] = pi/2
    ob.convert_space(from_space='LOCAL', to_space='WORLD')

The from math import pi line is just so we can use pi/2 instead of 1.5708 as the value to rotate by.


stormy rainy window effect I'm making an indoor scene with a storm outside.
I want the windows in my scene to have rain just bucketing over them. Ideally I would like some animated effect that can be composited over the background, which might be something like a bokeh image. How can I achieve this?

A polygon-rich approach
I gave it a go with a shower of particles. This may be a little bit too resource-intense for just a background feature though.
The setup
I created a simple "room" with

a double-layered window (two plane meshes);

a plane out in the sky, almost vertical, with a particle system;

two strong wind force fields that push the particles toward the window;

a simple icosphere as a dupliobject.

The building and the inner window layer are set as Collision objects with "Kill particles" activated.
The outer window is a Collision object with very high stickiness (no kill), and high damping/friction on particles.
The particle system has strong Normal velocity and low Gravity field weight, so that the rain drops don't fall off screen too quickly; "Object" > "Icosphere" is selected as "Render" option, with "Emitter" un-checked.

(this preview is from an earlier version, with less particles and less friction on the surface)
The render
By giving the icospheres and window layers a Principled shader with very high transmission; adding some orange streetlamps and violet "dusk" sun (and a sad Suzanne in the storm); with some DOF and motion blur: this is a very rough result:

     (Only 7 frames)
Using nodes and a "Geometry" input, I made the raindrop's shader completely transparent (shadeless) when the "y" coordinate is less than y0 (the position of the window) to cut away the part of the sphere that "permeates" the first layer.
This answer's blend file

Even heavier for a close up shot (with metaballs)
If you want a close-up shot as in here, an additional Particle System with similar physics, but from a nearer plane (just near the camera) and with big meta-balls as DupliObjects, can help:

Result:


Blender to Unity, UV Map is messy in Blender and in Unity im New to Blender since i was using Cinema4D all the time,

i´ve done a Medieval House out of 5 different Textures, i baked them together into one Texture 4096 by 4096,

now i deleted all materials which were attached to my Blender Model, i Created a new Material and i attached the UV Map to it,

in Objekt Mode it looks fine:

in Render Mode my Model looks Messy i dont know why, i hope someone can help me.

Blend file

Baked texture

This is what I expected. You have two UV maps. The one called UVW is messed up and ruins your render. Take a look at the screenshot below. You either need to get rid of UVW map (indicated by red area) or plug in the correct UV map into your image texture node (indicated by blue area). Hope this helps.


Image file not showing in file explorer I try to change an image texture, the dialogue box opens so I can view the file explorer, but the image I downloaded (a .jpeg off google) it is no where to be found, as if isn't there.

I have a folder for all my blender files, and other image files load just fine.

Blender automatically adds filters based on the context of where you're adding/searching for files (in the movie clip editor, it'll only show files with movie file extensions, for example).

To disable the filters (in 2.81, might be different in earlier versions), at the top of the Blender file explorer, there should be a filter icon.  Click it and uncheck the "Filter" box.  A test to see if .jpeg isn't recognized by Blender is just to change the file's extension to .jpg and see if it pops up after refreshing.


raycast/bullet force I'm currently developing a game and I'm in need of the bullet force script. I was following a YouTube channel on how to do it but they are quite fast and I think I had a mistake in the code somewhere. Please help
Here's the code

Import bge
from bge import render
render.show mouse[1]

def main() :
        cont = bge.logic.getCurrentController()
        own = cont.owner

        force = cont.sensor ["ray"]
        mouse = cont.sensors ["mouse"]

        if ray.positive:
                render.drawline[own.world position, ray.hit position , [1,0,0]
                if mouse.positive:
                       ray.hitObject.applyForce(force, local)
main()

This code does way too much:

When running your game and you have custom Python code ALWAYS have a console window open, to see if there are errors!
import only once. There is no need to import an already imported (sub)module.
This code wants to enable the system mouse cursor. This has nothing to do with what you want to achieve.  Remove that (it is incorrect syntax anyway).
def main() serves no purpose. It disrupts the reading flow as it forces a reader to jump from top to bottom and back while reading your code [Imagine you read a novel that way]. The name "main" does not serve any information. Better leave the code outside of the function or give it a name that tells what the code is supposed to do. As it is the only function in your script ... the script name should do that already.
Be careful with attribute names: sensor is not the same as sensors
Be careful with syntax. Function names are followed by () rather than []
Try to isolate debug code (drawing a line) from business code (applying a force). Otherwise it makes the code unnecessary complex. [If drawing a line is the business you forget to tell it above]

This leaves the code with:

import bge

controller = bge.logic.getCurrentController()

hit = controller.sensors["ray"]
mouse = controller.sensors["mouse"]

if hit.positive and mouse.positive:
    strength = 1
    force = hit.rayDirection * strength
    hit.hitObject.applyForce(force)

Unfortunately you did not specify what force should be applied to. You can modify the line force = to apply whatever force you like. The above snippet is just an example.
Without more information there is not much to provide.


Light-independent shader in Cycles Is there a way to create a light-independent shader in cycles? The purpose is to create "green screens" to separate a 3d image into depth layers. The output will be a single rgb value (e.g. 0R, 1.0G, 0B) that can be color-selected and set to transparent in Photoshop or GIMP.

The reason to do this instead of using a depth layer to filter a single rendering pass is so that the foreground can be omitted from background renders in a parallax video.

Note: yes, all visibility in the object is off except for the camera.

You can get the transparent background for free. Just enable Transparent under Render > Film.

In case there really is no way around the green screen, use an emission shader for your plate, set its color to green and disable all Ray Visibility options except Camera Visibility.


How to assign different materials to different colors in a texture? I just started using blender a few weeks ago, and am almost completely new to the node aspect of it, so I am not even sure if this is possible.
One of my objects is meant to have blood on it, and while I am not going for photo realism and this will be fairly far in the background, scribbling red on it in texture paint makes it look horrible. My main problem is that the blood is metallic and sparkly just like the steel material:

Is there any way that I can have a differing material depending on what color the texture is?

You can make a mask texture. This kind of map is black and white, where black means 0, and white means 1. So if you plug it into a Mix Shader node with your blood and steel materials like so:

The black areas of the mask texture will indicate steel material, and white will indicate the blood material. So paint the steel portion of your mesh black and paint the blood portion white, and they will have separate materials.


Wrong mix mode on textures What is wrong on this graph, please.
Is it bug in Blender, or is it my fault?

As I supposed, it was my faulut, not blender bug. (Maybe blender's not-intuitivnes)
Thanks @lemon, Mix factor must be set to full 1.


Python script: Give every scene a unique number Is it possible to give every scene the user creates an unique number? I thought about using the UUID lib for that so here is what I got so far:

def register():
    pow2_31 = 2**31
    mask32b = 0xFFFFFFFF
    p_uuid = uuid.uuid4().int
    p_uuid1 = p_uuid >> 96
    p_uuid1 -= pow2_31 if p_uuid1 >= pow2_31 else 0
    p_uuid2 = (p_uuid >> 64) & mask32b
    p_uuid2 -= pow2_31 if p_uuid2 >= pow2_31 else 0
    p_uuid3 = (p_uuid >> 32) & mask32b
    p_uuid3 -= pow2_31 if p_uuid3 >= pow2_31 else 0
    p_uuid4 = p_uuid & mask32b
    p_uuid4 -= pow2_31 if p_uuid4 >= pow2_31 else 0
    bpy.types.Scene.mhfc_uuid1 = IntProperty(
                                name="projectUUID",
                                description="An unique ID. DON'T TOUCH THIS UNLESS YOU ARE SURE WHAT YOU DO.",
                                subtype="UNSIGNED",
                                default= p_uuid1, # most uniqueness possible??
                                options=set()
                                )
    bpy.types.Scene.mhfc_uuid2 = IntProperty(
                                name="projectUUID",
                                description="An unique ID. DON'T TOUCH THIS UNLESS YOU ARE SURE WHAT YOU DO.",
                                subtype="UNSIGNED",
                                default= p_uuid2, # most uniqueness possible??
                                options=set()
                                )
    bpy.types.Scene.mhfc_uuid3 = IntProperty(
                                name="projectUUID",
                                description="An unique ID. DON'T TOUCH THIS UNLESS YOU ARE SURE WHAT YOU DO.",
                                subtype="UNSIGNED",
                                default= p_uuid3, # most uniqueness possible??
                                options=set()
                                )
    bpy.types.Scene.mhfc_uuid4 = IntProperty(
                                name="projectUUID",
                                description="An unique ID. DON'T TOUCH THIS UNLESS YOU ARE SURE WHAT YOU DO.",
                                subtype="UNSIGNED",
                                default= p_uuid4, # most uniqueness possible??
                                options=set()
                                )

The problem is that all scenes have the same uuid while Blender is not restarted. How can I generate a new random number for each scene the user creates?

You have added a property called mhfc_uuid1 to the Scene class and set the default value to the pre-calculated value of p_uuid1. Every scene will then get this same value when it is created.

You may want to set the default to zero and then before using it check if it is zero and then set it to a generated value.

class MyOperator(bpy.types.Operator):

    def execute(self, context):
        if context.scene.mhfc_uuid1 == 0:
            context.scene.mhfc_uuid1 = generateuuid()
        do_interesting_stuff()
        return {'FINISHED'}

You could setup existing scenes as your addon is enabled by adding something like this after you add the properties.

for sc in bpy.data.scenes:
    sc.mhfc_uuid1 = generateuuid()


Why does inserting a second keyframe make blender overwrite the first keyframe? I'm kinda new to blender and also English is not my native language, so sorry for that. The main goal is to animate "Transform Randomization" of multiple objects.
So I'm trying to setup two keyframes of animation, where for the first keyframe the cubes are already randomized and positioned right, and for the second keyframe the cubes go on their native places and make a flat surface.

But when I'm trying to add second keyframe where all the cubes make flat surface - blender kinda ignores everything it memorised and works with new coordinates, so the first keyframe is ruined, and both keyframes are flat surface. It just kinda unavailable to register the action right when I randomize transform.

As you can see both of keyframes now have the cubes making flat surface, instead of animation of randomized cubes falling into their native places making a flat surface.

I somehow solved the problem my self. I think i did something wrong with keyframes from the beginning so the coordinates were both the same no matter what.


My Mesh Distorts When Switching To Object Mode? I have no clue what I did wrong, and I am very new to blender so help please. This mesh is rigged to a skeleton that was rigged and fully functioning, until I edited the shape of the mesh to work on details of the deer, and now every time I exit object mode, the mesh distorts.

Looks like your rig is not in your 't-pose', meaning you adjusted the bones and didn't clear the adjustments you made, meaning the bones' rotations are applying to the mesh. If you want, you can either clear the keyframes on your rig to fix that, or I think leave your armature in edit mode. Your mesh isn't broke, it just looks like the rig is properly affecting it.


Change bone axis orientation I was wondering if anyone knows an answer to this simple question. Googling did not give me satisfactory solutions. I have never dealt with bones previously, and they seem to be rather complicated.

The question is as follows:

Consider the following bone axis orientation (pose mode selected):

The Y-axis is oriented along the bone length. What I need for the script is to make the X-axis orient along the bone length. Basically, I need to rotate the whole axis system 90 degrees around Z-axis.

I would really love to have this orientation for the script. Converting the script itself would be highly problematic.

To conclude with: Can I rotate the pivot 90 degrees around the Z-axis?

I would very much appreciate if anyone replies to this.

Cheers!

Duplicate one of your bones and rotate 90 degrees on the Z axis. This will be the object from which we will make the desired set of axes.

Open the properties panel using N and press control + alt + spacebar to create a custom axis. In the properties panel under "Transform Orientation" you can rename your custom axis, here I've named it "x = y and y = x".

Now select your original bones, X and Y have traded axes. In the 3D window footer, you can see we are now using the custom orientation created.


How do I create a hinged wing? So I'm planning this semi-photorealistic animation involving a flying ship, some green miles, and a supervoid as special effects, and some of the many models that are going to need to be created are:

Chen, a Nekomata from the Touhou Project (Perfect Cherry Blossom.)
A Parasect from Pokémon.
Several angels with wings.

I'm trying to figure out how to would a hinged wing actually work in Blender? For that matter, should wings, tails or other tentacular appendages be animated through bones, or through simple physical rotation?

It's only been laid out on paper, and the entire project's pretty much ground to a halt because I can't seem to remember how to parent a mesh to an armature.
(Also, feel free to submit some blends to help me out here.)
Thanks, Nefer007 (Anyone who responds gets to be mentioned in the credits!)

For Tails consider a Armature a Spline Constraint, employing curves, which can provide the smooth visuals.  That is just a starter.
Armatures are suggested for Wings.  Thus you have control over the flapping motion. I assume you will need that control.
You stated [I can't seem to remember how ..].  Consider a video website for tutorials. You may want to search .. Blender Tutorial Spline Constraint.
Once some of the basics are there you can consider hundreds of subtleties.


blank white square appears only when rendering Whenever I render an image that appears. It shows up nowhere else in my scene or view port.

When part of an image is transparent, a checker board pattern is shown.

With the background set as transparent, you will see this in the render, This can also be visible in the viewport when it is set to render preview.

In evee and cycles, the transparent background setting can be found in the film panel of the render properties.

It is also possible to get the same effect for a single object. For this you need to use a holdout shader for the object, or setup compositing nodes to cut it out.


How can I apply a modifier to a multi-user data object? I made a scene with a lot of instance objects (Alt+D) and when I press 'Apply' to the  Displace modifier, it doesn't let me.

Is there any way to make it work? Or make the animation of the Displace modifier be still?

I was thinking on copying one, keep the parameter, then deleting the modifier on the instances and then link the instanced object modifier but...it still doesn't work.
Or maybe an option to make the objects as separate in order to apply the modifier?
I need to apply it because it's animated, and I need it still.

You can create a plain duplicate using ShiftD (instead of a Linked Duplicate).

Then apply the modifier on the duplicate. Now this unique mesh data will have the modifier applied to it.

After that, for any object that you want to use the modified mesh, just go to the Mesh Context and select it from the drop-down list.

In this example 'Cube.001' is the mesh with the modifier applied.


UV unwrapping the exterior of a hollow cylinder I'm pretty new to blender, and only have some idea of what I'm doing when it comes to UV unwrapping. Basically I'm trying to add a texture to the exterior of a hollow cylinder, but every time I unwrap it it also unwraps the interior which is not what I want.

Screenshot:

Could the solidify modifier I put on the cylinder be causing this issue?

Apply your Solidify modifier so that the inner side will is different, now you are able to give it another texture.


Cannot scale vertices Currently, I am following some tutorials on the blender. On latest tutorial we were supposed to create a little creature here's the photo of what it looks like in development.

I am trying to scale those selected vertices to give a more rounded shape. In the tutorial, the instructor successfully does this, however, when I try the scale tool it does not move the vertices.

Why I am failing on this, but the instructor can successfully do it?

Here are the settings I am using:

Note: I am using Blender 2.77.

It appears you have set the origin to Bounding Box Center.
  Set it to Median Point, and this should work.


How can I set the linearVelocity so that the object travels a specific distance with python? What velocity should I set an object to in order to have it travel 30 Blender Units in 0.25 seconds.The object will be traveling on its Y local axis. This is being done in python rather than an actuator because I couldn't get the results I needed, and I imagine that there is a specific syntax for velocity.
This object is being spawned on a click. Then, when its timer property is 0.25 or more, it dies. I need it to travel that exact (or pretty close...no one would notice that much) distance before then.

Use velocity=distance/time, in your case velocity=30/0.25=120 BU/s however the blender game engine units are BU/game-frame (default=60) therefore the correct value would be 2 BU/game-frame. To make the object travel 120BU/s on the local Y-axis, I believe you need to use (assuming default game-frame):

setLinearVelocity((0.0,120.0,0.0),True)

EDIT: Apparently the units are BU/s


Render isn't showing my active viewport - just a texture This is only occurring with this one .blend file I'm working on. For some reason rendering the image using Blender Render doesn't give me a fully-rendered version of what I've got in the active camera. Instead it results in a single, flat picture of a texture while OpenGL rendering is giving me the expected result.

Any ideas on what settings might be causing this?

.blend file can be downloaded here:
dof-test.blend

You need to enable Face Textures and Face Textures Alpha

And uncheck color as influence


Blender for Game Development - Unity3D I've been getting into Unity game dev recently. Previously, I've also done some modeling from within Blender. Of course, there's a big difference between the rendering methods on the two different platforms. Cycles can take hours to render, but Unity is real time. Furthermore, I'm planning on developing for the Oculus Rift, so models will have to be mega-uber optimized. And that means I need to know what affects the speed of a render the most.

Verts, Faces, Tris

I've typically paid minimal attention to the Verts, Faces, and Tris in Blender, but now that's different. I need to know which affects the rendering speed the most. I suspect I'll want to focus on making the tris lower, but I don't really know.

Texture Sizes

On top of that, there's textures. Are textures more or less influential in the speed of the render than the afformentioned Verts/Faces/Tris? How can I optimize my textures? Would a lower bit depth do anything or even be worth it? How much does blurring a texture affect the speed?

Blender's Part in this Problem

Evidently, this issue isn't caused by Blender at all. It should be the user's responsibility to optimize their model. The reason I ask this, though, is because I wonder if there are some tools provided by Blender to automatically make a model more efficient. Is there any way to "lower the resolution" of a model to keep the model's shape generally the same while having a lower amount of faces?

As you can see, there is quite a bit about optimization that I don't really understand. There's a good chance that the model complexity and texture size aren't the only factors in optimization. If I am missing something, please bring it to my attention.

I'm not an expert and have never used Unity but from my experience the golden rule of optimization is to reduce the amount of draw calls in the CPU. Each mesh in the scene induces a draw call. You should therefore avoid large number of meshes by merging geometries, doing instancing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry_instancing) = fancy technique of cloning things and in general learning how to calculate stuff with the GPU (shaders). Other things are reusing materials whenever possible and making sure anything not visible on the player's screen is being drawn. All of these are not related to blender though... the only thing you can do in blender is to go low-poly. AFAIK when it comes to textures they are more of a burden on memory than fps.


Removing all weight painting on a bone? I am very new to blender and im trying to make a player model for gmod. but the thing is that inside the head theres weight paint. which i cant reach.
So im wondering if theres a way to remove ALL weight paint on a specific bone. I have tried to find a tool for that but it just destroys everything.

Thank you.

Go into editmode and select everything.
Go in the Properties Panel to Object Data (The Triangle Symbol) and go to Vertex Groups.
Select the Vertex Group that is named exactly like your bone.
Set Weight to 0.
Click Assign.

That should do it


Rendering only affecting some faces I think I can "Fix" this by deleting the chess board and appending an older version of the scene which only had the chessboard, however I'd like to understand whats going on.

It appears that only certain squares are taking my rendering options.

What I've tried doing to fix this.

Removing and recreating lights, in case it was a lighting issue.
Merging vertices, (in case it was in issue with geometry)
Reassigning materials to the squares.

The initial scene notice the lines on the middle of the board.

changing the material for white and black

Note only the middle squares are showing as taking the texture in rendered.

This is the same in preview render and full render.

Only with blender render. If I choose cycles render then the board looks correct. (i.e. its taken the colors given)

Any idea whats going on?

Uploaded file here.

These are the shading effects visible on the mesh. They were added with Tangent Shading from the Materials > Shading rollout.

From the manual:

  Tangent Shading
      Use the material’s tangent vector instead of the normal for shading - for anisotropic shading effects (e.g. soft hair and brushed metal).

You could see on the preview white line across the ball. Once you turn off the option the preview will be changed.
When unchecked the mesh will be rendered as usual:

If you unwrap the mesh, the tangent shading will use the UV map to define the direction of shading and it won't be interrupted as it is in the original file. See related topic - Strange anisotropic artifacts?


how can i get sharp edges? I want to make a model that looks like the first picture (i just put a plane and i circle and extruded). The way i want to do it is like the second picture, this i made from a subdivided plane, where i used the loop tool on the corner face to create a circle and then extruded everything...but with the subdivide modifier, i can not get sharp edges where i want them..i tried as you can see in my picture to use the crease tool to select edges i want sharp, but i can not use it on all edges i want sharp, cause that deforms the cylinder shape..any advices?

Do not use the Subsurf modifier on everything you make

Subsurf modifier is not a must. It creates a lot of geometry that is not always necessary. Just model the geometry you need. You can have more vertices in the cylindrical part alone. You can use bevel modifiers to make the forms more realistic since objects rarely have completely sharp edges. Two bevels with the first forming loops to fix shading work nice:

You could also use Y.A.V.N.E. add-on to calculate face area weighted normals to have nice shading with only one bevel.

You don't need those extra loops to hold this form:


Can I recover my old keymap without opening Blender? After my Graphics Card broke I want to use Blender 2.79 on a new PC. Unfortunately I cannot open Blender without a Graphics Card to export my Keymap (and other Settings, like Design). Can I get these Settings without installing the Graphics Card back and forth?

All you need is to copy the userprefs.blend file from the old computer to the new one.
If you are using windows the file is usually in your user's app data roaming folder. For more. Info please refer to this post:
Where is the startup file stored?


I'm unable to set the f-stop and depth of field of the viewport using Eevee renderer I've been using 3D programs for 15 years and this is a little nuts. I just want to make the viewport not blurry  I should be able to select the viewport camera like you can in Maya   and adjust the depth of field the f-stop the blooming and depth of field   , also I don't even know how to look through cameras I don't know how to change them or move them or really how to create a new camera it's extremely frustrating having spent two hours already just trying to create a new camera and make the viewport match what I'm seeing in the camera and vice versa

You can enable or disable the Depth of Field in Viewport Shading by going into the Viewport Shading settings. Click on the down facing arrow button on the right of all the shading styles in the top right of the screen. The Depth Of Field settings is at the bottom of the settings.


How to Delete Camera "Track To" Constraint, But Keep Transformation Settings? I have the camera tracking an object with a "Track To" Constraint.  After the camera is done tracking the object I want it to continue, but I want to delete the constraint at a certain keyframe and keep the camera set to the exact same coordinates.
When I delete the constraint the camera jumps back to it's state before the constraint was added.  How do I get around this?
In other words: Can you apply a Constraint?

There is an Influence parameter in camera Track To constraint.
You can use a copy location constraing as explained in this post Camera follow object and then stop in place


Can Vertex Paint Normalize Color Channels? I'm using vertex colors to control texture splatting on my model. Each color channel controls the blending weight of a texture:

pixel = (texture1 * vertex.r) + (texture2 * vertex.g) + (texture3 * vertex.b);

To achieve consistent results, I want the sum of all color channels to be 1.0 in all cases.

Otherwise I would sum up multiple textures resulting in brightness > 1. Here's an example of what would happen if colors aren't normalized (that lower left corner has been painted with all three color channels set to 1, so its brightness is r+g+b=3):

Is there a way to "normalize" a color (just like I would normalize vertex group weights) in Blender?

I've managed to script myself a solution:

import bpy
import random
import math
from mathutils import Color, Vector

bl_info = {
  "name": "Vertex Color Normalizer",
  "description": "Allows the vertex colors of a mesh to be normalized (useful if colors control texture splatting).",
  "author": "Markus Ewald",
  "version": (1, 0),
  "blender": (2, 65, 0),
  "location": "View3D > Add > Mesh",
  "warning": "", # used for warning icon and text in addons panel
  "wiki_url": "http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/"
              "Scripts/VertexColorNormalizer",
  "category": "Paint"
}

class VertexColorNormalizer(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = "object.normalize_vertex_colors"
    bl_label = "Normalize Vertex Colors"
    bl_description = "Normalize vertex colors to enable additive texture splatting"

    def execute(self, context):

        # What I want to do:
        # - Iterate over the colors of all the vertices in active mesh
        # - Normalize each color (divide by sqrt(r *r + g * g + b * b))
        # - Assign it back to the vertex

        for i in context.active_object.data.vertex_colors[0].data:
            r = i.color[0]
            g = i.color[1]
            b = i.color[2]

            magnitude = math.sqrt(r * r + g * g + b * b)
            if magnitude > 1:
                normalized_color = (r / magnitude, g / magnitude, b / magnitude)
                i.color = Color((normalized_color))

        return {'FINISHED'}

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(VertexColorNormalizer)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

Save as C:\Users\<Login>\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.72\scripts\addons\NormalizeVertexColors.py
Start Blender, activate Preferences, Addons, Paint, "Vertex Color Normalizer"
Select target mesh, spacebar, type 'normalize' and pick the "Normalize Vertex Colors" entry

My knowledge of Python or the Blender object model are too limited to let this happen automatically when painting vertices, but it's better than nothing, I guess :)


why there is no difference in render after denoise is on? Why there is no difference even though denoise is on? Am I doing something wrong?
The only difference (very minor), I can see is on the reflection of glass at bottom. Also, I don't see it as a good quality render, any suggestion to improve are welcomed.
Render Settings are:
GPU ENabled
Tiles 256 x 256
Sampling: 250
Denoising: Open Image
The first image is with denoising on.

This image is with denoise off:

However, when I see viewport with denoising off, I see much noise!

Let me give you a subtle hint of one possibility why this might happen:

What you may have noticed in the picture is that there are different sampling settings for the render and the viewport.

...but what could be the reason for having the same result with "denoising"on and off?

This might be when you take a clean image rendered with enough samples for it not to have much noise and try to denoise it. The difference is minimal in that case because the denoiser does not have much noise to remove. In your specific case the difference is there and I would not even call it that small. Let's actually look for the difference in the images you have provided for a minute:


Can't activate experimental Particle Nodes/ Simulation Window Was the experimental Particle Nodes Feature removed in 2.91.0 Beta? (Nov 8, 00:34:11)
I’m Trying to access it via Preferences > Experimental but there is nothing there but “Debugging”-Features. Interface > Developer Tools is checked.
Did search for it excessively, but couldn’t find anything about that problem.
Also I wasn’t able to find a branch.
And I got the same problem in 2.9 and 2.92 Alpha.
Maybe it’s a bug in my install? Factory Reset doesn’t change anything, sadly.

The experimental features are only included in the experimental 'daily' builds, not the official releases. You'll probably need to download from https://builder.blender.org/download/branches/ for those features.


Smooth subsurface problem I used a subsurface modifier, but the surface is still not smooth. I'm not sure what is wrong here. My setup is shown  above.

Because you are in edit mode?
If you want to affect object by modifier in edit mode press triangle icon.
For more informations about modifier see manual.

What is this triangle icon? Blender Manual sayes:

Show on cage (vertices-triangle icon) – Meshes only

Depends on the previous setting, if enabled, the modified geometry can also be edited directly, instead of the original one.

Warning

While it shows edited items in their final, modified positions, you are still actually editing original data. This can lead to weird and unpredictable effects with some tools, and should be disabled whenever you need to perform complex or precise editing on the mesh.


3D Print a solid object How can I 3D print a solid object?

I am trying to create a coin. I have built a model and of course it's just a wire-frame shell. 3D print services tell me that some faces are too thin. I need to fix that and I would prefer to fill it and make a solid.

Anybody know of a software or process that can convert the file to a solid for printing?

Well, that probably means that you need to make the coin thicker. With the coin selected, tab into edit more. Press A to select all. Then press S to scale them. You might also want to make the coin's features (numbers, etc.) bigger as some fine details cannot be printed depending on the extruder size that company uses.

This issue is definitely not caused by the object being a hollow shell. As long as the mesh is closed, slicers will recognize it as a solid object. As a 3D printer owner, I can easily verify that.


Objects, shadows and reflections not rendering in EEVEE I started to work with EEVEE short time ago and I was amazed by the capabilities of this engine. However, I noticed something strange when I was rendering some tests. Some objects/reflections/shadows dissapear when they're off canvas. I imagine that maybe this is for save memory data, but it can be not suitable to some projects.
To make my point graphical, I made a simple scene with simple objects. The main object is the sphere with a mirror-like shader. Out of focus there are different objects with different shaders. A yellow cone, a blue cylinder and a white cube light. But surprisingly, those objects dissapear when the composition is rendered. See the rendered animation below:

Notice that the blue cylinder is not even showing at all in the final render. And the blooming effect from the light cube also dies.
I would like to improve this bahaviour and render the objects that are still out of canvas using EEVEE. Do I missing something like memory configuration or reflection/shadow tweaks? Is this caused by the EEVEE engine or by my GPU config (GTX1060)?
Thank you in advance!

As Jaroslav mentioned in his comment this is an intrinsic limitation of EEVEE's rendering system, and in fact a broader shortcoming of screen space effects in general.

Since they are, as the name says, computed in screen space, only currently visible on screen objects are actually accounted for, as such, for performance reasons, as soon as an object is out of view it is discarded to save memory and rendering steps, and thus is no longer rendered.

This generally isn't a problem for direct lighting and visibility, but can have nasty side effects in inter-object relationships, like shadows, reflections, refraction, indirect lighting, among others.

There really isn't any elegant workaround or solution to this.

Luckily to minimize the effect the developers added an overscan option.
As of commit Eevee: Implement Overscan option it can be set in the Properties Window > Render Tab > Film > Overscan.

It is an option that internally increases render size, while keeping the field of view intact, virtually creating an invisible buffer area around the camera where objects are no longer directly visible to the user but still accounted for in screen space effects that need it.

  EEVEE: Implement Overscan option

  This option make the internal render size larger than the output size
  in order to minimize screenspace effects disappearing at the render
  edges.

  The overscan size added around the render is the maximum dimension
  multiplied by the overscan percentage.

This is a workaround however and doesn't really solve the underlying limitations. While it may slightly reduce these kinds of issues, it does so at the expense of performance.

If this is still insufficient you can improve the situation by using reflection probes to get proper reflections.

If those are still not giving good enough results, it is likely a sign that you are probably reaching real time rendering limitations, and may actually need to change render engines to something more robust with proper raytracing like Cycles or third party solutions.


I did 3d model at work, did save .blend file to cloud... textures missing at home So my problem: I did 3d model at work, did save .blend file to cloud... textures missing when im loading this .blend file at home. I have same texture files at home, but diffrent folder structure. How can i modify .blend file to search those textures (jpg) on hard drive? Now my model is simple purple coloured without textures (at home).

Go to File menu / External Datas / Find missing files, then select the right folder on your computer.
A way to avoid this is to check "Automatically pack into .blend" (in File / External Data) before saving ; this will include every texture into the blend file.
Another (better?) way is to use Relative Path data and keep the same folder structure. I usually don't "move" a blend alone, but his entire folder, including his textures/assets/etc subfolders.


Bones move out of mesh when changing from Edit mode to Object mode I imported a mesh to play around with it and I tried to animate it so it put bones in it. When I am in editor mode everything looks right but when I change the mode the bones of the torso are moving out of the mesh:

I was able to find something in the Internet but it didn't work.
Thank you!

You have a bit messed up your armature in Pose mode, so you need to switch back to Pose mode, select all your bones, then alt s, alt r, alt g (reset scale, rotation and location)


Pinning cloth to animated model is making cloth go crazy Something is wrong with my cloth.
I made a wizard robe skirt but it goes out of shape when I bake it.

Here is my file.

There are few things that seem to be causing this.

The main thing was that the legs had a largish outer collision margin which was causing the robe to collide constantly.

Try changing this to something like .004 on both legs:

Also try making the skirt bigger initially. There has to be room for the legs to move ;)

Result:

I also pinned the entire top edge loop instead of just the corner vertices, reduced the collision quality to about 3 and disabled self collision. These massively decreased the bake time without a lot of visual impact once the collision issue was fixed.


Create a solid from 2D math function Is it possible to create a solid based on a 2D function in Blender?
Example:
I have a function $y=x^2$ where $x \in [0,1]$. Here 'Z' is simple projection of XY plane so, extrude shall do the job.

I looked at the 3D Math addon functions but it not what I really want.

I finally want to create an stl image (attached). The attached stl is done using OpenSCAD but I found few issues like the symmetry is missing, scales are not accurate and I was not flexible in increasing the face count to have an accurate shape.

You can achieve this with the Extra Objects addon, XYZ Math Surface option.

To enable the addon, open the User Preferences and search for the Extra Objects addon and enable it. Now in the Add menu you should find Mesh/Math Function/XYZ Math Surface. This allows you to define the coordinates of points in XYZ space as two variables (U and V) are varied.

To create your equation (y=x^2/(x^2+(1-x)^2)) you need to vary U over the range 0.0 to 1.0 and substitute x for u - by defining X as simply u and defining Y as u**2/(u**2+(1-u)**2) (note that power (^) needs to be written as **).

In order to turn this into a symetrical surface we need two points, one at +y and the other at -y. For this we can use V and vary it between -1 and 1 with only 2 steps (so it flips between -1 and +1 for each point) and multiply the previous equation by v :

To produce the shape in your question we need to stretch the two sides apart - achieved by adding a constant to the equation :

Finally, to add the 'ends' we can extend the range and use "ternary" operators to allow us to use 'x if condition else y' form. Here we set it effectively to 0.5 if u < 0 else our_equation if u <= 1 else 1.5. This produces the following result :

Note the settings in the left-hand panel. Increase the U step for more vertices along the mesh. Decrease U min for a longer 'handle', increase U max for a longer 'paddle'.

Once you're happy with the shape you can simply enter edit mode (Tab) and Extrude (E) to give it some thickness (or add a Solidify modifier if you prefer).


Filter current selection in edit mode is there a way, like in maya, to filter current vertices / edges / faces selection or whole selection if none is selected by default ?

for example if none is selected, i would like to select all border edge , but if a group of edge is already selected , within my currrent seclection of edge, filter and select only the edge on border ?

or within the current face selection, select all triangle / quad etc  only etc ...

Thanks

To select border edges (I assume you mean ones located on the sharp edges of the mesh) use Select > Sharp Edges in the 3D viewport footer.

If you want to select these only based on current selection of edges then press Shift+H to hide everything but them and run Sharp Edges. Then invert selection, unhide and invert selection again - sharp edges from those selected before will be shown.

The simplest way to check for polygon sides is the same as above - hiding all but selection and running Select Similar menu or via Shift+G with one polygon selected. Or use addons like MeshLint which check for triangles / ngons (even real time) and report that in their menu.

To select edges located on the border of any hole in the mesh use Select Boundary Loop either from Select menu or via Ctrl+E.

Note that it runs based on selection, so it willselect boundary edges only from those already selected. You can also use Select All By Trait > Non-Manifold, option Boundaries is the one that does that.