BlenderMasterClass:ahands-onguidetomodeling,sculpting,materials,andrendering

BenSimonds

PublishedbyNoStarchPress

Thisbookisdedicatedtomyparents,JamesandKatrina.

Acknowledgments

ThisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutpatienthelpfromBillPollock,AlisonLaw,andeveryoneelseatNoStarchPresswhohelpedputittogether.

ThanksalsotothemindsbehindCGTextures(http://cgtextures.com/),whohaveputtogetherafantasticresourceforartistsandwhokindlygavepermissionforthetexturesusedintheprojectsinthisbooktobeincludedontheDVD.

Mostofall,thankstoTonRoosendaalandallthosewhohavecontributedtoBlender.It’smyfavoritepieceofsoftwareandonearoundwhichmylivelihoodislargelybuilt.I’mverygratefulforit.ThankstoThomasDinges,whoisnotonlyanactivedeveloperofBlenderbutalsotookthetimetodothetechnicalreviewofthisbook.ThankstotheBlendercommunity,tothemembersoftheBlenderArtistsCommunity(http://www.blenderartists.org/),andtoeveryonewhocontributestotheBlenderwikiandotherresourceslikeit.It’sgreattobeamemberofsuchacreative,open,andfriendlybunch.

AbouttheAuthor

BenSimondsisa3Dartistandco-directorofGeckoAnimationLtd.,ananimationandpost-productioncompanybasedinLondon,England(http://geckoanimation.com/).HefirststartedmessingaroundwithBlenderbackin2005,whenhehadnoideaitwouldeventuallybecomeamajorpartofhisdayjob.Sincethenhe’sauthoredawidevarietyoftutorialsandarticlesforhisownwebsite(http://bensimonds.com/)andotherBlendercommunitywebsites,includingBlenderCookieandBlenderNation.

AtGeckoAnimation,heproducesvisualeffects,models,animation,andgraphicsforTVandadvertising.HisworkhasappearedonmajorUKTVchannelsliketheBBC,Channel4,andDave.GeckoAnimation’sin-houseshortanimationAssembly:LifeinMacrospacewonthe2011SuzanneAwardforBestDesignedShortFilmattheBlenderConferenceinAmsterdam.

AbouttheTechnicalReviewer

ThomasDingeswasbornin1991.HestartedusingBlenderandbecameinterestedin3Dgraphicsattheageof16,afterseeingtheworld’sfirstopenmovie,ElephantsDream.In2009,hestartedworkingonBlenderasadeveloper,helpingcreatethenewinterfacefortheBlender2.5xproject.HealsohasorganizedtheGermanBlenderconference,BlenderDay,since2009.Hiswebsiteishttp://www.dingto.org/.

Introduction

Welcome!Thisbookisdesignedtoteachyouhowtocreatemodelsandenvironmentsin3D,usingtwopiecesofsoftware:Blender,for3Ddesignandanimation,andGIMP,for2Dimageediting.IneachchapterItakeyouthroughapartoftheprocessofcreatingthreecomplete3Dscenes.You’lllearnhowtoblockoutandcreatemodels,sculptanddetailthem,textureandcreatematerials,uselighting,andrenderfinishedimages.Inthecourseofthebook,IdiscussthewidearrayoftoolsthatBlenderandGIMPofferandhowtousetheminrealprojects.

MygoalistoteachyouhowtoapproachandfinishyourownprojectsinBlender,usingthreeofmyownprojectstoprovidethenarrativeandexamplesofthetasksrequired.Bytheendofthisbook,youshouldbeabletocreateyourownprojectsfromscratchusingtheprinciplesdemonstratedinthethreeexampleprojects.

TopicsCoveredHere’sabriefsummaryofeachchapterinthebook.

Chapter1andChapter2offeranintroductiontoBlenderandGIMP.Youlearnwhattheyare,whereyoucangetthem,andwhatyoucandowiththem.Ialsointroduceyoutotheiruserinterfacesandthebasicsofworkingwiththem.Chapter1focusesonBlender.Welookataddingandmanipulatingobjects,savingandloading,andbestpracticeswhenworkingonaproject.InChapter2weexaminecreatingimagesinGIMPusingitsvariousbrushesandfilters,aswellashowtoworkwithlayersandselections.

Chapter3coversgatheringreferencematerial,creatingconceptartandusingthesematerialsinBlendertomakeiteasiertobringyourideastolifein3D.Idiscussusingorthographicreferences,creatingreferencesheets,andimportingreferenceimagesintoBlender’s3DViewporttousewhilemodeling.

InChapter4andChapter5wemoveontoblockinginthemostimportantaspectsofascenewithsimplegeometryandthenfleshingoutthesebasicformswithmoredetailedmodels.Welookin-depthatBlender’s3Dmodelingtoolsandhowtocreatemodelswithsimple,efficientgeometry.

Chapter6coversBlender’ssculptingtoolsandhowtocombinethemwithBlender’sMultiresolutionmodifiertoproduceamodelthatcanbesculptedlikeclay—perfectforcreatingdetailed,organicmodels.

Chapter7looksathowtomodifythehigh-resolution,sculptedgeometryfromChapter6tocreatesimplergeometry.WelookatafewofthedifferentmethodsBlenderoffersforretopologyandhowtheycanbeappliedtoturnoursculptedmeshesintofinalmodels.

Chapter8looksatBlender’sUVunwrappingtoolsthatallowyoutomap2Dimagesontothesurfaceofyourmodels.Thisletsyoupaintonthemandgivethemcolorsandtextures.

Chapter9coverscreatingstrandparticlesystemswithBlender’sparticletools.Thesecanbeusedtogeneratehairandfur,andBlender’sparticlemodebrushesallowyoutocombandcutthathairorfurintomanyshapesandstyles.WelookatthevarioussettingsforparticlesystemsandhowtouseBlender’schildparticlestogeneratevastnumbersofparticlesfromrelativelyfewparentsinordertocreatecomplex,thickhairandfurwithminimuminput.

Chapter10looksattexturebaking,theprocessofautomaticallygeneratingtexturesbasedonthegeometryofamesh,whileChapter11coverstexturepainting,whichcombinesthebakedtexturesfromChapter10withhand-painteddetailsandphotographsusingBlender’stexturepaintingtoolsandGIMP.

Chapter12andChapter13coverBlender’smaterialsandlightingoptions.WelookattheBlenderInternalrendererandtheCyclesrenderengine,andhoweachimpactsthewaywesetupourlightsandmaterials.InChapter12welearnhowtousethetexturescreatedinChapter10andChapter11tocreatematerialsthatgiverealisticresultswhenrendered.Chapter13coverscreatinglightsandhowtosetthemupforboththeBlenderInternalandCyclesenginestogetattractivelightingandshadowsthatrenderquickly.

InChapter14webringtogetherallofthecomponentscreatedinpreviouschapters,includingmodels,lights,materials,andtextures,torenderourfinal

images.WediscussthemostimportantrendersettingsfortheBlenderInternalandCyclesengines,alongwithhowtogetthebestresultsquickly.WealsoexamineBlender’snode-basedcompositorandhowtouseittofurtherpost-processyourfinalrenders.Finally,weuseGIMPforsomeextratouch-upsandforpaintingbackgroundsforourimages.

InChapter15wetakeafinallookattheprojectscovered,andthinkaboutwhatcouldbedonetotakethingsfurther.Icoveraddingafewembellishmentstotheprojectsandlookatthemfromsomedifferentperspectives,beforeexaminingwaystotakeourstillimagesandmakethemmovewithBlender’sriggingandanimationtools.

WhatIsn’tCoveredBlenderisanextremelypowerful3Ddesignandanimationpackage.Ithastoolsformodeling,texturing,creatingmaterials,andparticlesystems,aswellastoolsforriggingandanimation,compositing,andscripting;afull-featuredgameengine;anon-linearvideoeditor;andsomeadvancedfluid,cloth,andrigidbody-simulationtools.ThisbookattemptstodealonlywiththeaspectsofBlenderthatareneededtocreate,texture,andrendermodelsasstillimages.Itdoesn’tcoverBlender’sriggingandanimationtools,simulationtools,orthegameengine.Thereareawealthofotherresourcesoutthereonsuchtopics.Ifyou’reinterestedinfindingthem,tryhttp://www.blender.org/education-help/.

RequirementsTomakethemostofthisbook,youwillneedareasonablycurrentcomputer,runningarecentversionofMicrosoftWindows,MacOSX,orLinux.Inparticular,whenitcomestothesculptingportionsofthebook,someextraRAM(8GBisgood)andareasonablyfastgraphicscardwillproveuseful.Apressuresensitivepentablet(forexampleaWacomBambooorIntuos)willbereallyhelpfulwhenyoureachthetexturingandsculptingsectionsofthebook,butitisn’tanabsolutenecessity.

TheProjects

Inordertoprovideacommonthreadasweprogressthroughthisbook,I’vechosentocenterthediscussiononthreeprojects.Eachwaschosentoprovidedifferentchallengesandthusprovideyouwithbroad,practicalknowledgeofthetoolsandoptionsinBlenderandGIMP.

TheBatCreatureTheBatCreatureprojectfocusesonorganicmodelingtocreateahumanoid,ifmonstrous,creature(Figure1).Forthisprojectwefirstcreateasimplebasemeshandthensculptthemorecomplex,organicformsofthebodywithBlender’ssculpttools.WecomplementthisbycreatingfurwithBlender’sparticlesystems.Wemoveontounwrappingandtexturingourcreatureandthencreaterealisticmaterialsfortheskinandfur,whichfeaturesubsurfacescatteringandrealistichair.WerenderthisprojectwiththeBlenderInternalengineinordertouseitshighlycustomizablematerialsandfast,efficientrenderingofhairandfur.FinallywecreatesomedramaticlightinginChapter13,whereyoulearnhowtogetthebestresultsfromBlender’slightsandhowtoachieverealisticshadowswhenworkingwithfur.

TheSpiderBotIncontrasttotheorganicformsoftheBatCreatureproject,theSpiderBotprojectwillshowyouhowtocreateamechanical-looking,hard-surfacemodelofaroboticspider(Figure2).ThistaskrequiresadifferentapproachateachstageoftheprojectwhencomparedwiththeBatCreature.Webeginbyblockinginbasicformswithsimplegeometry,butweuseduplicationtocreatetherepeatedpartsofthemodel,suchasthelegs.WhensculptingweuseBlender’shard-surfacebrushestoarriveatasmoother,lessorganicfinalresult.ThenweuseBlender’sretopologytoolstorefinethemodelintosomethingsmoothandsleek.Finally,werenderthisprojectwiththeCyclesrenderenginebecauseitoffersrealisticrenderingofshinymaterialsandcomplexlighting.

Figure1.TheBatCreature

TheJungleTemple

Figure2.TheSpiderBot

TheJungleTempleprojectcentersonanenvironmentinsteadofacharacter:aruinedtempledeepinthejungle(Figure3).Welookatblockinginasceneandkeepingitscompositiontailoredtothecamera.Weuseduplication,particlesystems,andBlenderadd-onstocreatevariedvegetation.Whentexturing,wefocusoncreatingmultipleseamlesstexturesusingGIMP,whichcanbetiledandrepeatedacrossmultipleobjectstoallowawidevarietyofmaterialstobe

createdusingonlyafewuniquetextures.WerenderthisscenewiththeCyclesengine(whichallowsforthequickcreationofrealisticlighting)inChapter14,andthenuseBlender’scompositortoaddsomepost-processing.Finally,weuseGIMPtopaintabackgroundforthescene.

Figure3.TheJungleTemple

HowtoFollowtheProjects

Whiletheprojectsformthemainnarrativeofthisbook,Idon’tcovereverystepofcreatingthem.Instead,Ifocusonthemostimportantordifficultaspectsofcreatingeachprojectateachstageofitsdevelopmentandleavetherestasanexerciseforyoushouldyouwishtoproduceasimilarresult.Ihopethatthisapproachwillshowyouhowtogoaboutcreatingallkindsof3DimageswithBlenderandthethoughtprocessesandchallengesinvolved.Tohelpwiththisgoal,mostofthechaptersinthisbookalsofeaturesupplementaryinformationandtipsthatoffermoregeneralguidancethatyoushouldfindusefulinawiderangeofprojects.

ResourcesAccompanyingThisBookTheDVDaccompanyingthisbookcontainsallthefilesfortheprojectsinthisbook,includingseparate.blendfilesforeachproject(correspondingtoeachchapterinthebook)andeachprojectinitsfinalstateattheendofeachchapter(whererelevant).Theseresourcesshouldallowyoutolookin-depthattheworkingsofeachprojectandtoexaminehoweachonetakesshape.Creating3Dartisacomplexprocess,andtheendproductisoftenaresultofsomeamountofexperimentation.Theseprojectfilesarenotaliteralsnapshotoftheprojectsastheyprogressed;instead,theyareanidealized,tidied-upversionofwhateachprojectwouldlooklikeatagivenstage.

Alsoincludedarethetexturesusedforeachproject,.blendfileswithsomeusefulbrushesforsculptingandMatCapmaterials(seeChapter6formoreonsculptingandMatCapmaterials),andtheGIMPbrushcreatedinChapter11thatyoucanuseinyourownprojects.

Youcanusethesefilesanywaythatyoulike.AllarelicensedundertheCreativeCommonsnoncommercialattribution(CC-BY-NC)license,withtheexceptionofthetextures,whichareincludedwiththekindpermissionofCGTextures(http://www.cgtextures.com/),afantasticonlineresourceforfindingtextures.ThesemaynotbedistributedunmodifiedwithoutpermissionfromCGTextures.

Let’sBeginThisintroductionhashopefullyletyouknowwhatthisbookisaboutandwhere

inthebookyoucanlookfortheinformationyouneed.I’veoutlinedtheprojectswewillbeworkingthroughandwhatyoucanhopefullyexpecttolearnfromthem.NowwecanstartgettingacquaintedwithBlenderandGIMP,beforedivingintotheprojects.Ifyou’realreadycomfortablewiththebasicsofBlenderandGIMP,youcanskiptoChapter3.Otherwise,thenexttwochaptersshouldprovideabasicintroductiontotheworkingsofthesoftwarewewillbeusinginthisbook.

Chapter1.IntroductiontoBlender

Inthischapter,wewilllookatthebasicsofusingBlenderinordertobuildafoundationforourworkinlaterchapters.We’llexploreitsuserinterface,howtonavigatethe3DViewport,andhowtoaddandinteractwithobjects.Throughoutthischapter,I’llpointtolaterpartsofthebook,wherevarioustopicswillbecoveredingreaterdetail.IfyouarealreadycomfortablewithBlender,feelfreetoskiptoChapter2,onGIMP,orChapter3,onpreparingyourprojects.

AboutBlenderBlenderisafreeopensource3Ddesignandanimationpackage,availableforWindows,Linux,andMacOSX.Originallycreatedasanin-houseanimationpackageforDutchanimationstudioNeoGeo,itwaslaterreleasedundertheGNUGeneralPublicLicensewhenitsdeveloper,NotANumber,wentbankruptandtheBlendercommunityraised€100,000topaycreditorstoreleasetheBlendersourcecode.

Sincethen,BlenderhasundergonecontinueddevelopmentbytheBlendercommunity,overseenbytheBlenderFoundation(headedbyTonRoosendaal,oneoftheoriginaldevelopersofBlender).Thecurrentversion(Blender2.6x,asthisbookgoestopress)boastsawidearrayoffeaturescompetitivewithmanycommercial3Dapplicationsandhasacommittedandenthusiasticcommunitycreatingartandanimationwithit.

Blenderisusedtodaybymanyanimationstudios,gamedevelopers,artists,andhobbyists.Ithasbeenusedtomakefeaturefilms,shortfilms,andgames.OfparticularnotearetheBlenderFoundation’sopenmovieprojects—community-fundedshortfilmprojectsthatareusedtodrivethedevelopmentofBlenderforwardbyusingitinaproductionenvironment.Todate,fourshortfilmsandonegamehavebeencompleted,eachyieldingsignificantimprovementsandnewfeaturesinBlender’srepertoire.Thefirstshortfilm,ElephantsDream,premieredin2006.It’sasurrealtaleinwhichtwocharacterstravelthrougha

bizarremechanicalworld.Itintroducedparticle-basedhairandfurrendering,aswellasnewanimationtoolsandimprovementstoBlender’srenderengine.In2008,BigBuckBunnyintroducedimprovementstofurrendering,particles,andtherenderpipeline,aswellasmoreadvancedriggingandanimationconstraints.In2010,Sintel,ataleaboutagirlandherdragon,broughtadvancedsculptingtools,newsimulationtools,andshadingandrenderingimprovements.

Thelatestopenmovie,TearsofSteel,focusedonaddingadvancedvisualeffectstoolstoBlender.ItbroughtmajorimprovementstothenewCyclesrenderengineandhasintroducedcameratrackingtools,newfeaturesforBlender’scompositor,improvedsimulationtools,andbettercolormanagement.

Current,stableBlenderbuildsforWindows,Linux,andMacOSXareavailablefromhttp://www.blender.org/.Inaddition,youcanfinddevelopmentbuildsfeaturingthelatestupdatesfromhttp://www.graphicall.org/.Thesedevelopmentbuildsaredesignedformoreadvancedusersorthosewhowishtotrynewfeatures;theycanbeunstable,sostickwiththeofficialbuildsforimportantwork.

TheBlenderUserInterfaceBlender’suserinterface(UI)hasearnedareputationforbeingdifficulttograsp.Inearlierversions,thisreputationwassomewhatjustified,butsinceBlender2.5,theinterfacehasseenmajorupdatesandisnowmuchmorepredictableandeasiertolearn.Plus,withtheadditionofthesearchfunction,ifyouhavetroublefindingaparticularoperator,youcansearchforitbypressingthespacebartobringupasearchdialoginwhichyoucansearchforoperatorsbyname.

OnceyouhavegraspedtheUI,you’llfindthatBlenderisveryfastandextremelycustomizable.Mostfunctionshavekeyboardcommandsforquickeraccess,andtheinterfaceisnon-blocking,whichmeansthatwindowsanddialogswon’tbelayeredontopofoneanother,obscuringyourview.

LayoutandUITerminologyWhenyoufirststartBlender,thedefaultlayoutshouldlooksomethinglikeFigure1-1.TheBlenderwindowisbrokenintoareascallededitors.Theseeditorsincludethe3DViewport,thePropertieseditor,theOutliner,theInfo

editor,andtheTimeline,asshowninFigure1-1.

Figure1-1.Blender’sdefaultUIlayout.Thewindowisbrokendownintodifferenteditors(orange),whicharethenfurthersplitintoregions(green).

Editorsarefurtherbrokendownintoregions.Inthecaseofthe3DViewportinFigure1-1,theregionsaretheMainregion(thatis,the3Dview),theHeaderregionatthebottomoftheeditor,andtheToolShelfontheleft.

Regionsthatcontainbuttonsandproperties—likethePropertieseditorortheToolShelfinthe3DViewport—arefurtherbrokendownintopanels.Apanelmaycontainanynumberandcombinationofoperatorbuttons,information,andproperties.Thepanel’snameisshownatthetopofthepanel(seeFigure1-2)andindicateswhatsortofpropertiesandinformationthepanelcontains.

Figure1-2.PanelswithinthePropertieseditor

SwitchingEditorsandCustomizingtheUIBlender’sUIlayoutishighlyconfigurable.Youcanswitchanyeditorinthe

currentlayouttoadifferenteditortypebyselectinganewonefromthedrop-downmenuatthefarleftoftheHeaderregion(seeFigure1-3).

Youcanalsoresizeexistingeditorsandaddorremoveeditorsbysplittingormergingexistingones.Toresizeaneditor(oraregion),clickanddragonitsborder.Tosplitormergeeditors,right-clicktheeditor’sborderandchooseeitherSplitAreaorMergeArea.(Inlaterchapters,we’llusethistechniquetoadjustBlender’slayouttobettersuitvariousstagesofeachproject.)

Figure1-3.Blender’sdifferenteditortypes

MultipleLayoutsBecausedifferentUIlayoutsaresuitablefordifferenttasks,BlenderallowsyoutostoremultipleUIlayoutssothatyoucanswitchbetweenthemasyouwork.Toswitchlayouts,clickthescreenlayoutdrop-downmenuintheInfoeditorheader(seeFigure1-4).

Bydefault,BlenderincludeslayoutsnamedAnimation,Compositing,Default,GameLogic,Scripting,UVEditing,3DViewFull,MotionTracking,andVideoEditing,eachofwhichisprettywellsuitedtothetaskthatit’snamedfor.(DefaultisthedefaultlayoutwhenyoustartBlenderandisgoodformodeling.)Toaddyourownlayout,clickthe+iconattherightofthedrop-downmenutocopythecurrentlayoutandmodifyit,ordeletethecurrentlayoutbyclickingtheXicon.Layoutsaresavedalongwithyour.blendfilewhenyousaveyourwork,soyoucanreturntothemwhenyoureopenthefile.

Figure1-4.Switchinglayoutswiththescreenlayoutdrop-downmenu

Youcanmakealayoutavailablebydefaultbysavingitaspartofthedefault.blendfile,thefilethatisloadeduponstartingBlender.Todoso,loadthedefault.blendfile(CTRL-N)andthencreatethelayoutyouwantusingthemethodsoutlinedabove.UseCTRL-Utosavethecurrentfileasthenewdefaultstart-upfile.(Torestoretheoriginaldefault.blendfile,selectLoadFactorySettingsfromtheFilemenuandthensavethedefault.blendfileagain.)

Figure1-5.Blender’s3DViewportindetail

EditorTypesEachofBlender’seditorsoffersadifferentfunctionality.Notalleditorswillbeusefultousinthecourseofthisbook,soIwilldiscussjustthosethatarerelevanttotheprojectswe’lltackle.

The3DViewportThisisBlender’smostimportanteditortype.The3DViewport(seeFigure1-5)iswhereyoucanviewyoursceneanditsobjectsandthenmove,manipulate,andorganizethem.

The3DViewporthasfourregions:themain3Dview;theHeader,whichisfoundeitheratthetoporbottomoftheeditor(usuallythebottom);theToolShelf;andthePropertiesregion,thelasttwoofwhichcanbehiddenwiththehotkeysTandNwhilethemouseisoverthe3DViewporteditor.

Navigatingthe3DViewport

It’sveryimportanttolearntonavigatethe3DViewport,andthereareseveralwaystodoso.Thesimplestiswiththemouse.Scrollingthemousewheelzoomsinandout,holdingthemiddlemousebuttonrotatestheview,andSHIFT-middlemousebuttonpanstheview.Tocentertheviewonthecurrentlyselectedobject,pressNUMPAD.(period),andtoresettheviewtocenteronthescene’sorigin,pressSHIFT-C.

NOTEBlendertreatsthenumberpadkeysandthecorrespondingkeysonthekeyboarddifferently.Forexample,thenumberpad(numpad)numbersareusedfornavigatingthe3Dview,whilethecharacterkeynumbersareusedtotogglevisibilityofdifferentscenelayers.

Youcanalsosnaptheviewpointtospecificanglesusingthenumberpad.NUMPAD7snapstotop-downview,NUMPAD1snapstofrontview,andNUMPAD3snapstosideview.NUMPAD5switchesbetweenaperspectiveview,whereobjectsinthedistanceappearsmaller(asinreallife),andanorthographicview,whereobjectsappearthesamesizeatalldistances.Whencombinedwiththetop,side,andfrontviews,orthographicviewismostusefulforaligningobjectsprecisely.

The3DViewporthasmultipledisplaymodesthatcanbeselectedfromthe3DViewportheader(seeFigure1-5).Theseviewingmodesincludethedefaultsolidview;wireframe;boundingbox,whichrepresentsobjectsassimpleboxesinsteadofdisplayingtheirgeometry;andtexturedview,whichcandisplayshadingandtexturing.Inlaterchapters,we’lllookatcustomizingthe3DViewportfordifferentpurposes,includingusingdifferenttexturedshadingmodesandworkingwithlayersandhidingobjects.

Coordinatesin3DandtheGridFloorIfyouhaven’tdealtwith3Dgraphicsbefore,youmaynothavethoughtabouthowtodefineapointinspace.Ofcourse,3Dmodelsareessentiallycreatedbyconnectingpointsinspace.Thankfully,FrenchphilosopherandmathematicianRenéDescartesgaveusasolutiontothisproblemseveralcenturiesbeforewegotaroundtoinventingcomputersand3Dgraphics.

Todefineapointin3Dspace,weneedinformationaboutthepoint’spositionineachspatialdimensioninrelationtoareferencepoint.InBlender,thisinformationcomesintheformofthepoint’sx-,y-,andz-coordinates,whichindicatethepoint’spositionalongthreeaxesthatrunperpendiculartooneanother.ThesearecalledBlender’sglobalcoordinates.Thereferencepointweuseiscalledthescene’sorigin—thepointwhosecoordinatesforeachoftheaxesiszero.

Byconvention,wegenerallythinkofthex-axisasbeingthe“left–right”axis,they-axisasthe“forward–back”axis,andz-axisasthe“up–down”axis.(Thedifferentviewpointsgivenbythekeyboardshortcutsmentionedaboveconformtothisconvention—thetop-downviewlooksdownwardalongthez-axis,andsoon.)Youcanseethex-andy-axesinBlender’s3DViewportasredandgreenlines,respectively.Extendingfromtheselinesinlightgrayisthegridfloor,whichwegenerallyuseasthegroundheightofthescenewhenplacingobjects.Thedivisionsofthegridareall1Blenderunitapartbydefault,givingyouaguidetouseforplacingobjectsandjudgingtheirsize.Thex-andy-axesandthegridfloorarealsousefulwhenorientingyourselfinBlender’s3DViewport.

ThePropertiesEditorThePropertieseditoriswhereyoucandefinethesettingsandpropertiesforasceneoraselectedobject.ThePropertieseditorisdividedintoHeaderandMainregions,withtheMainregionbeingsplitintotabs(asshowninFigure1-2).Eachtabcontainsadifferentsetofpropertiesthatrelatestoeitherthecurrentsceneortheactiveobject.Inorderofappearance,thetabsareasfollows:Render.TheRendertabcontainssettingsforrenderingyourscene,includingrenderdimensions,shadingoptions,andoutputformats.(We’lldiscussthisinmoredetailinChapter14.)Scene.TheScenetabletsyousetthepropertiesofyourscene,suchastheactivecamera,certainsoundsettings,andthescene’sunits(arbitraryBlenderunits,imperial,ormetric).

World.TheWorldtabletsyoudefinethescene’sbackground,aswellastheworldlightingoptions,suchasenvironmentlightingandambientocclusion.(We’lldiscussthisinmoredetailinChapter13.)Object.TheObjecttab(seeFigure1-2)letsyousetanobject’stransformationsmanuallybyusingnumericalvaluesratherthanmovingtheobjectaboutinthe3DViewport.Youcanmanage

anobject’sgroupmembershipaswellashowitisdisplayed.(We’llusegroupsinChapter9toduplicatemultipleobjectsusingparticlesystems.)ObjectConstraints.TheObjectConstraintstabcontainsanobject’sconstraintsstack.Thisisusefulforanimationbutnotatopicthatwe’llcover.(SeetheBlenderwikiathttp://wiki.blender.org/formoreonconstraints.)ObjectModifiers.Thistabcontainsanobject’smodifiersstackandletsyouaddnewmodifiers.Modifiersareprocedural,nondestructivemethodsformanipulatingandgeneratingamesh’sgeometry.Asyouaddnewmodifierstoanobject,theyareappliedintheordertheyappearinthestack(fromtoptobottom).(We’lldiscussmodifiersinmoredetailinChapter4andChapter5.)ObjectData.TheObjectDatatabletsyousetwhichdatablocktheactiveobjectusesandexposesthedifferentsetsofdataassignedtothisdatablock(seeDatablocks).Thecontentsofthistabvaryaccordingtotheobject’stype.Forexample,inthecaseofameshobject,thistabwilldisplaythemesh’svertexgroups,shapekeys,andUVcoordinatesets,whereasforalampobject,itwillcontainthelamp’scolor,energy,andshadowsettings.Theiconforthistabalsochangestomatchtheactiveobject’stype:Formeshobjects,theiconisacube;forlamps,alight;andsoon.TheObjectDatatabwillcomeupthroughoutthisbook.

Material.TheMaterialstabdisplaysanobject’smaterialslotsandthematerialsassignedtothem.Here,youcaneditthebasicpropertiesofthematerialsyoucreate,turnonoroffdifferentshadingoptions,andadjustthepropertiesofanobject’smaterial.

Textures.TheTexturestabcomplementstheMaterialspanel.Itletsyouassigntexturestoamaterial,definehowtexturesaffectthepropertiesofamaterial,anddeterminehowtheyaremappedtoanobject’ssurface.(We’llcoverthistabinmoredetailinChapter12.)YoucanalsousetheTexturestabtoassigntexturestoyourworldbackgroundortoparticlesystems.

Particles.TheParticlestaballowsyoutoassignparticlesystemstoanobjectanddefinetheirproperties.Blenderhastwokindsofparticlesystems:dynamicemitterparticlesandhairparticles.InChapter9,we’lldiscussusinghairparticlestocreatehair,fur,andfoliage,andwe’llreviewthesettingsforhairparticlesinmoredetail.

Physics.ThePhysicstabcontainstoolsforsimulations,allowingyoutosimulatesmoke,fluids,cloth,andrigidandsoftbodyphysics.(Learnmoreaboutthese

optionsontheBlenderwiki.)

TheInfoEditorTheInfoeditor(seeFigure1-6)lookslikearegularmenubar,butit’sactuallyaneditor,likethe3DViewportandthePropertieseditor.It’susuallykeptscaleddowntoshowjusttheheader,whichisitsmostimportantpart.Theheadercontainsvariousmenus,includingtheFilemenu,theHelpmenu,andmenusforaddingobjectsandrendering.

Thedrop-downmenuselectorstotherightofthesemenusletyouchangethewindowlayout(discussedabove)andthecurrentscene(discussedinScenes).Nexttotheseselectors,adrop-downmenuallowsyoutoselectwhichrenderenginetouse.(SeeChapter12,Chapter13,andChapter14fordiscussionsofBlender’stwonativerenderengines.)Aftertherenderenginedrop-downmenu,you’llfindseveralpiecesofinformation,includingtheversionofBlenderyouareusingandsomeinformationaboutthescene.Fromlefttoright,thesceneinformationincludesthevertexcount(Verts);facecount(Faces);numberofobjectsinthescene(Objects);numberoflamps(Lamps);thescene’smemoryconsumption;andthenameofthecurrentlyselectedobject.

IfyoudragdowntheborderoftheInfoeditor,youwillseethatBlenderusestherestoftheeditortoprovidealogofyouractionsasPythoncommands.Thisinformationprovidesaglimpseintothebehind-the-scenesworkingsofBlender’sPythonAPI(applicationprogramminginterface)asyouwork,anditcanbemosthelpfulwhencreatingPythonscripts.However,sincewewon’tneedBlender’sscriptingfeaturesforanyoftheprojectsinthisbook,itcanremainhiddenmostofthetime.

Figure1-6.TheInfoeditorheader

TheNodeEditorTheNodeeditorisamultipurposeeditorforanythingthatis(orcanbe)constructedwithnodes.Thisincludesthecompositor,whichusesnodesbydefault,aswellasnodematerialsandtextures,whichmayormaynotbenodebased.YoucanswitchbetweenviewingBlender’svariousnodesetupsbyclickingiconsintheNodeeditor’sheader(seeFigure1-7).Theheader’smainregiondisplaysthecurrentnodesetuponagrid,allowingyoutoadd,delete,ormovenodesandtoviewandedittheirconnections.

We’lllookattheNodeeditorinmoredetailinChapter12whenwecreatenode-basedmaterialsfortheCyclesrenderengineandinChapter14whenwecreatenodetreesforcompositing.

TheUVImageEditorTheUVImageeditoristhe2Dequivalentofthe3DViewport.Here,youcanviewimages(Image▸OpenImagefromtheheaderorselectanalreadyloadedimagefromtheimageselectordrop-downmenu)andedittheUVcoordinatesofunwrappedmeshes.Whilerendering,BlenderdisplaysthecurrentrenderinaUVImageeditor.Usethedrop-downmenutoviewthemostrecentrenderortoviewthevieweroutputsofcompositingnodetrees.We’lldiscusstheUVImageeditorinmoredetailinChapter3,Chapter8,Chapter10,Chapter11,andChapter14.

Figure1-7.TheNodeeditorheader

OtherEditorsBlenderhasseveralothertypesofeditors.We’llcoversomeinthisbook,butwe’llleaveoutonesliketheGrapheditor,whichistailoredtoanimation,andtheLogiceditor,whichistailoredtoBlender’sgameengine.Formoreontheseeditors,seetheBlenderwiki(http://wiki.blender.org/).

UsingBlenderNowthatwehavesomeknowledgeofBlender’sUI,wecanlearnhowtoactuallyuseBlender.We’lllookatthedefault.blendfileandthenexploreworkingwithobjectsinthe3DViewportandthePropertieseditor.We’llalsoexaminehowBlenderfilesareconstructed,whichwillhelpuswhenworkingonourprojects.

ScenesThereisahierarchicalstructureto.blendfiles(seeDatablocks),atthetopofwhichisascene.A.blendfilecancontainonesceneormany.Eachsceneisitsownseparate3Dspacewhereyoucancreateobjectsandbuildyourproject,andeachscenehasitsownsettingsthatdefinehowitisrendered.

ThecurrentsceneisshownintheinfoheaderatthetopoftheBlenderwindow,nexttothecurrentlayout(seeFigure1-8).Tocreateanewsceneina.blendfile,clickthe+icontotherightofthecurrentscene’sname.Blenderwillaskyouwhetheryouwanttocreateanemptysceneorcopydatafromthecurrentone.Althoughitcanbeusefultocreateextrasceneswhenworkingwithmorecomplexprojects,we’lluseonesceneper.blendfileforeachprojectinthisbook.

Figure1-8.Thecurrentsceneisdisplayedintheinfoheader.

TheDefault.blendFileWhenyoufirstopenBlender,youarepresentedwithasingle,simplescene(asshowninFigure1-1).Bydefault,thisscenecontainsthreeobjects:acube,alamp,andacamera.Theseobjectsareallthatisrequiredtogetasimplerenderofsomethingmorethanablankbackground.ThecameratellsBlenderwhatviewpointitshouldrender,thecubeprovidessomethingforthecameratoview,andthelampilluminatesthecubeandmakesitappearasmorethanasimple

blacksilhouette.

However,agraycubeonagraybackgrounddoesn’tmakeforthemostinterestingofrenders.Tocreatesomethingmoreinteresting,weneedtocreateourownobjectstoreplacetheseratherdullones.

AddingObjectsToaddanobjecttoyourscene,placeyourcursoroverthe3DViewportandpressSHIFT-AtobringuptheAddmenu.Here,youcanaddanyobjecttypethatBlendersupports,includingmeshes,curves,empties,lamps,cameras,andsoon.(We’lldiscusstheseobjecttypesasweprogressthroughthebook.)

The3DCursorNewobjectswillbeaddedatthelocationofthe3Dcursor,whichisBlender’seasilyconfigurablewayofquicklydefiningapointinspace.The3Dcursor(showninFigure1-9)iswherenewobjectswillbeaddedbydefault.Youcanalsosettransformoperators,suchasrotationandscaling,tousethe3Dcursorasthepivotororiginpointfortheoperator.

Figure1-9.The3Dcursor

Byclickingwithinthe3DViewport,youcanmovethe3Dcursortowhereveryouclick(thecursor’sdistancefromyourviewpointwillremainthesame).Youcanalsomovethe3Dcursorbychangingitslocationvaluesinthe3DCursorpanelofthePropertiesregionofthe3DViewport.(Ifyoulosethe3Dcursororsimplywanttoresetittothescene’sorigin,pressSHIFT-Ctoresetthe3DViewport’sviewandplacethe3Dcursoratthescene’sorigin.)

SelectingObjects

Toselectanobject,right-clickit.Toselectmultipleobjects,SHIFT-right-clickthem.Selectedobjectsareoutlinedinorangebydefault.Themostrecentlyselectedobjectiscalledtheactiveobjectandisoutlinedinbrighterorangethantherestofyourselection.ThepropertiesoftheactiveobjectaretheonesthatwillappearinthePropertieseditor.Mostoperatorsuseoractontheactiveobject,thoughsomeactonyourwholeselection.

ManipulatingObjectsThereareseveralwaystomanipulateobjectsinthe3DViewport.Perhapsthesimplestwayistousethekeyboardshortcuts:Gtomove,Rtorotate,andStoscale.Youcanalsousethemanipulatorwidget(seeFigure1-10)tomanipulateobjectsbyclickinganddraggingoneofitsthreehandlestomanipulateoneaxisorbyclickinganddraggingthewhitecircleinthemiddletomanipulatetheobjectonanyaxis.

Bydefault,themanipulatorappearsasthreecoloredarrows.Clickanddragonthearrowstomoveyourselectedobjectsinthedirectionstheypoint(alongtheglobalx-,y-,andz-axesbydefault).Usetheiconsinthe3DViewportheadertohavethemanipulatorwidgetletyourotateorscaleobjectsinsteadofmovethem(seeFigure1-10).

Bydefault,wheninObjectmode,Blenderusestheobject’slocalcoordinateorigin(seeFigure1-11)asthepositionofthemanipulatorwidget.Tochangethepivotcenterofanoperator,usethePivotCenteroptioninthe3DViewportheader.Youcanswitchbetweenusingthemedianpointoftheselectedobjectsorigins(thedefault),theoriginoftheactiveobject,theindividualoriginsofeachobjectinyourselection,the3Dcursor,andthecenterofahypotheticalboundingboxdrawnaroundallselectedobjects.Thisnotonlymovesthemanipulatorwidgetbutalsousestheselectedpivotcenterforanytransformationsoroperatorsyoudousingkeyboardshortcutsorthemouse.

Figure1-10.Thethreefunctionsofthemanipulatorwidget:translate,rotate,andscale

InChapter4andChapter5,we’llexaminemanipulatingobjects,meshes,andcurvesinmoredetail.

OtherCoordinateSystems

Figure1-11.Choosingdifferentpivotpointsforthe3Dmanipulatorwidget

Figure1-12.Globalandlocalcoordinates

ThecoordinatesystemdescribedinCoordinatesin3DandtheGridFloorisdefinedrelativetothescene’sorigin,anditscoordinatesarereferredtoasglobalcoordinates.Theseareuniversaltothescene.However,objectsalsohavetheirownindividualcoordinatesystemsandtheirownorigins(thelatterbeingindicatedbyasmallorangecirclewhenyouhavetheobjectselected).Thesecoordinatesarecalledtheobject’slocalcoordinates,andtheymaymatchupwiththescene’sglobalcoordinatesortheymaynot(seeFigure1-12).Forexample,whenyoumoveanobjectinObjectmode,youmoveitslocalcoordinateoriginalongwithit,andwhenyouscaleorrotateit,youscaleorrotateitslocalcoordinateaxes.Thismaysoundconfusing,butithasanimportantpurpose.Thepositionsoftheverticesofamesh(thatyoucaneditinEditmode)aredefinedrelativetotheobject’slocalcoordinates.Thismeansthathoweveryoumove,scale,orrotateanobjectinObjectmode,themesh’sverticesremainunchangedintermsoftheirlocalcoordinates.We’llusethistoouradvantagelaterwhencreatingmultipleduplicatesofobjects,whichwillsharethesamemeshdataandlocalcoordinatesbutalsobeabletobescaledandrotatedindependentlyofoneanotherinBlender’sglobalcoordinates.

InFigure1-12,twoidenticalmonkeyheadmesheshavebeencreated.ThefirsthasbeenmovedinObjectmodesothatitsoriginisnolongerattheglobalorigin,butitsaxesstillpointinthesamedirectionsastheglobalcoordinateaxes.Thesecondhasbeenmovedandalsorotatedsothatneitheritsoriginnorthedirectionsofitslocalcoordinateaxesmatchupwiththeglobalcoordinates.Withrespecttotheobjects’meshes,however,thelocalcoordinatesstillpointinthesamedirections—they-axisoutofthetopofthemonkey’sheadandthex-axisoutfromitsleftear.

Youcanviewanobject’slocalcoordinatesbygoingtotheObjecttabofthePropertieseditorandenablingtheAxissettingintheDisplaypanel.

OperatorsTranslation,rotation,andscalingareamongthesimplestwaystointeractwithanobject.Othersimplewaysincludedeletinganobject(X),hidingit(H),orduplicatingit(SHIFT-D).Theseandsimilaractionsarealloperators.We’llcoveramuchgreaterrangeofoperatorsinChapter4whenwebeginmodeling,andwe’llcontinuetoexpandthisrepertoireofoperatorsthroughoutthebook.

DatablocksEverythinginBlenderisbuiltoutofdatablocks,whicharesimplychunksofdata.AllofBlender’sobjects,meshes,materials,textures,andimagesaredifferenttypesofdatablocks.Eventhesceneitselfisadatablockthatpointstothedatablocksthatmakeupitscontents.

Datablocksarearrangedhierarchically.Forexample,ascenedatablockwillcontainobjectdatablocks,whichreferencemeshdatablocks.Meshdatablocks,inturn,referencematerialtextureblocks,andsoon.ThisstructureisshowninFigure1-13.

ThetopofthePropertieseditor’sObjectDatatabdisplaysthedatablockusedbytheactiveobject.Clicktheicontotheleftofthedatablock’snametochangethedatablockused(seeFigure1-14).

Figure1-13.Blender’sdatablockstructure

Figure1-14.Examiningobjectdata.Here,acubeobjectusesameshdatablocknamed“Cube.”Otherdatablockscanbeselectedtochangethemeshthattheobjectuses.Thenumberofusersadatablockhas

isshowntotherightofitsname.

DefiningobjectsasdatablocksallowsyoutoeasilycopyandduplicateobjectswithinBlender.Forexample,youcancreatearegularduplicatebypressingSHIFT-D,whichcreatesanewobjectwithacopyoftheoriginal’sdatablock.(Youcaneditthisduplicatewithoutaffectingtheoriginal.)YoucanalsocreatealinkedduplicatewithALT-D.Thelinkedduplicateusesthesamedatablockastheoriginal,whichmeansthatwhenyoueditoneduplicate,theotherisupdatedidentically.(We’llusethistechniqueinlaterchapterstosavetimewhenworkingonmultiplecopiesofthesameobject.)Thesamegoesforotherkindsofdatablocks.Forexample,inthecaseofmaterialsandtextures,youcanassignthesamematerialtomultipleobjectsorthesametexturetomultiplematerials,tosavetimeandtoavoidhavingtocreateuniquematerialsandtexturesforeveryobject.Ofcourse,thisfeaturealsomeansthatwehavetokeeptrackofwhichobjectisusingwhichdatablocksandhowmanyusersadatablockhas.Toseehowmanyusersadatablockhas,looknexttoitsnameinthedrop-downmenuwhereitisselected.Datablockswithmultipleuserswillshowhowmanyuserstheyhavetotherightoftheirname(seeFigure1-14).(Clickthisnumbertomakeanew,uniquecopyofthatdatablock.)DatablockswithnousersaredeletedwhenyouquitBlender.Tokeepadatablockthathasnousers,suchasamaterialyoumightwanttoreuseoranearlierversionofameshdatablock,protectitbyclickingtheFiconnexttothedatablock’sname(seeFigure1-14).Thiscreatesa“fake”usersothatthedatablockwillbesavedalongwithyourfile.

NamingDatablocksTorenameadatablock,clickitsname.Whennamingdatablocks,it’sgoodpracticetogivethemdescriptivenamestomakeiteasiertopickaparticulardatablockfromalist.Renamingyourdatablockswithdescriptivewords,suchasWood,RedPaint,Skin,andsoon,willmakeyoursceneeasiertonavigateandunderstandlateron.

ModesBlenderhasdifferentmodesforeditingthedifferentaspectsofanobject’sdata.ThedefaultisObjectmode,whichletsyouaddanddeleteobjectsandalsomove,scale,androtatethem.Othermodesletyoueditmeshdataandparticle

systems,sculptonmeshes,painttextures,andadjustvertexgroupweights.

Blender’stwomostimportantmodesareObjectandEditmode.Toswitchbetweenthem,usethehotkeyTAB.Toaccessothermodes,clicktheModesdrop-downmenuintheheaderofthe3DViewport(seeFigure1-5)andselectthemodeyouwant.

InChapter4andChapter5,we’lluseEditmodeextensivelyformodeling,andinChapter6,we’lluseSculptmode.TheninChapter8,we’lluseParticlemodeandWeightPaintmodetocreateandcombparticlehairandpaintvertexgroupsforcontrollingfur.Then,inChapter11,we’lluseTexturePaintmodetopainttexturesonourmodels.

SavingandLoadingSavingandloadinginBlenderworksmuchthesamewaythatitdoesinanyapplication.UseFile▸Save(CTRL-S)tosaveandFile▸Open(CTRL-O)toopenafile.

Blendersavesfilesinaunique.blendformat.Bydefault,externalfiles,suchasimagesloadedintoBlender,arenotsavedalongwiththe.blendfilebutarereferencedrelativetothefile.Thus,toopena.blendfileonanothercomputer,youneedtocopyoverthe.blendfileplusalltheotherfilesitreferencesandre-createthesamedirectorystructurebeforeopeningthe.blendfile.Alternatively,youcan“pack”your.blendfile,whichsavesexternaldatasuchasimageswithinthe.blendfile,sothatyoucanthenopenupthe.blendfileonanymachineandhaveallthedataitneeds.

AppendingandLinkingBlenderlacksthestandardcopy-and-pastefunctionalityforobjectsorotherkindsofdatablocksthatyoumightexpectfromusingmoreconventionalapplications.Tocopyanobject,youcaneitherduplicateitorsimplyreferencethesamedatablockusinganexistingobject.Butwhatifyouwanttobringsomethinginfromanexternal.blendfile?

That’swheretheAppendandLinkfeaturescomein.Appendingandlinkingletyoubringdatablocksfromone.blendfileintoanother.Append(File▸Append)bringsthedatablockwhollyintothecurrent.blendfileasanindependentcopyof

theoriginal.Linking(File▸Link)referencestheoriginaldatablockintheotherfile.Linkeddatablockscannotbeeditedinthe.blendfiletheyarelinkedinto;rather,theymustbeeditedintheoriginalfile.

Appendingisusefulforquicklybringinganexistingresourceintoyour.blendfilesothatyoucanuseandeditit.Linkingisusefulforcombiningmultipleelementsinlargerprojectswhen,forexample,differentpeopleareeditingvariouspartsindependently.Bylinkingalltheelementsofaprojectintoonescene,peoplecanworkonpartsindependentlyinseparate.blendfiles,whilekeepingthefinalassemblyofmultiplelinkedobjectsup-to-date.(Ifyoulinkadatablockandwishtoedititlocally,makeitintoalocaldatablockusingtheMakeLocaloperator(L).)

InReviewThischapterhasofferedabasicintroductiontoBlender.You’velearnedthebasicsofhowtoworkwithBlender’suserinterfaceandessentialtools.WelookedatitsUIterminologyanditsdifferenteditortypes,exploredthebasicsofaddingandmanipulatingobjects,anddiscussedhowobjectsanddatablocksworkinBlender.Wealsolookedathowtosaveandloadfilesandimportelementsfromone.blendfileintoanother.

Inthenextchapter,wewillmoveontolearningalittleaboutGIMP,afreeopensourceimage-editingprogramthatmakesanidealcompaniontoBlenderwhenyou’reworkingonprojects.

Chapter2.IntroductiontoGIMP

Inthischapter,we’lltakealookatthebasicsofusingGIMP:whatGIMPis,wheretogetit,andhowtonavigateitsuserinterface.Then,I’llcoverthebasicsofactuallyusingGIMPtocreateandeditimages,aswellashowtouseGIMP’sarrayofbrushesandfilters,sothatwe’llbereadytomoveontomoreadvancedGIMPfeaturesinlaterchapters.

AboutGIMPGIMPisapowerful,free,opensourceimage-editingpackage,withawealthoftoolsformanipulatingandpaintinggraphics.GIMPfirstappearedin1996astheprojectofSpencerKimballandPeterMatthis,studentsattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.Originally,theacronymGIMPstoodforGeneralImageManipulationProgram.Later,thiswasredefinedtostandforGNUImageManipulationProgramwhen,in1997,GIMPbecamepartoftheGNUProject.Sincethen,GIMPhasundergonesignificant(ifsporadic)development,anditscurrentfeaturesetiscomparabletothatofcommercialimage-editingpackages,likeAdobePhotoshop.GIMPhastoolsforpainting;manipulatingcolors;andworkingwithselections,layers,paths,andchannels.Italsooffersawidevarietyoffiltersandplug-insandsupportsnumerousimageformats.

GIMPisavailableforLinux,Mac,andWindows.OfficialbuildsforLinuxandMacOSXcanbefoundathttp://www.gimp.org/.You’llfindWindowsbuildsathttp://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/andunofficialMacOSXbuilds(withsomeusefulextraplug-insandfilters)athttp://gimp.lisanet.de/.

WhyGIMP?YoumightbewonderingwhyI’vechosentocoverGIMPinabookthatisprimarilyaboutcreating3DartwithBlender.ThereasonisthatwhileBlenderisapowerful3Dgraphicsapplication,we’llneedtodosome2Dimageediting

throughoutthebook.Forexample,we’llneedtopreparereferenceimages,createtexturesformodelsandalphasforsculptingbrushes,andaddsomefinaltweakstoourfinalrenders.ThoughBlenderdoeshave2DpaintingtoolswithintheUVImageeditor,wereallyneedsomethingmorecapableandgearedtowardeditingimages.

GIMPisjustsuchatool,anditmakesforanexcellentcompanionapplicationtoBlenderwhencreating3Ddigitalart.InChapter3,wewillprepare(orevenpaint)ourreferenceimagesinGIMP,usingguidestoalignorthographicreferencesandlayerstocreatecollagesoutofmultipleimagesforquickreference.InChapter11,wewilldosomeofourtexturepaintinginGIMP,usinglayerstocombinebakedimageswithotherelements,suchasphotos,andwe’lluseGIMP’spaintingtoolstorefineandaddtotextureswepaintinBlender.Finally,inChapter14,wewilldosometouchingupofourfinalrendersinGIMP.

TheGIMPUserInterfaceLikethatofBlender,GIMP’suserinterfaceisknownforbeingalittleunorthodox.Primarily,thisisduetoitsdefaultmulti-windowlayout,wherethecanvas,Toolbox,andotherdialogsaresplitintoseparatewindows.Thisiseasyenoughtogetusedto,butforatidierlayout,switchtothenon-blocking,single-windowlayoutbyenablingSingle-WindowmodeintheWindowsmenu(seeFigure2-1).Mostofthescreenshotsinthisbookusethislayout,withextradialogsaddedasneeded.

Figure2-1.Single-WindowmodeinGIMParrangesallofGIMP’stoolsanddialogsinasinglewindow.Thedefaultsingle-windowlayoutinGIMPshouldlooksomethinglikethis.

TheToolboxGIMP’smaintoolsarehousedintheToolbox(seeFigure2-1).Clicktheiconforeachtooltypetoswitchtothattoolsothatyoucanuseitonthecurrentlayeronthecanvas.GIMPoffersthefollowingtools(listedlefttoright,toptobottomintheToolbox).

Selection.Thesetoolsletyoumakeselectionsinordertorestricttheareasofthecurrentlayerthatyoucanpaint,applyfiltersto,orcopyandpastefrom(seeSelections).TheRectangleandEllipseSelecttoolsletyoumakeselectionsusingparticularshapes.LassoSelectletsyoudrawfreehandselections.MagicSelectautomaticallyselectsareasthataresimilartotheareasyouclickonthecanvas,andSelectbyColorselectssimilarcolors.ScissorsSelectletsyoudrawaroughoutlinearoundaselectionbyclickingtoplaceaseriesofpoints;thenGIMPtriestogeneratethebestselectionbydetectingedgesintheimage.ForegroundSelectletsyoudefinearoughforegroundareabypaintingonit,andthenittriesto

generateaselectionusingthepaintedareaasaguide.

Paths.ThisletsyoudrawpathsusingBéziercurves.ThepathsyoucreatecanbemanagedfromthePathsdialog,andtheycanbeusedtogenerateselectionsorbe“stroked”tocreateprecisebrushstrokesanddifferenteffects.

ColorPicker.Thisletsyouchoosecolorsfromthecanvasbyclickingthem.

Zoom.Usethistozoominandoutofthecanvas.

Move.Thisletsyoumovelayers.Bydefault,itmovesthetopmostvisiblelayerunderyourcursor,butyoucanusetheToolOptionsdialogtosetittomovetheactivelayerinstead(regardlessofwhereyouclick).

Align.Thisoffersseveralfeaturesforaligninglayersandselections.

Crop.Usethistocropanimage.YoucanalsocroptheimagetoaselectionfromtheImagemenu.

Transformation.Thesetools(includingRotate,Scale,Shear,Perspective,andFlip)willtransformthecurrentlayerorselection.

Text.Createtextonthecanvasasanewlayer.Textlayersremaineditableasstringsoftext(meaningyoucaneditanexistingtextlayerwiththeTexttool)untilyoupaintonorapplyfilterstothem,atwhichpointtheyareconvertedtopixels.

BucketandBlend.Fillthecanvaswithsolidcolorsorgradients.

Pencil,Paintbrush,Eraser,Airbrush,andInk.Thesestandardpaintingtoolsbehaveliketheirreal-worldequivalents.ThePencilmakessharp,pixelatedmarksonthecanvas,whilethePaintbrushmakessmootherstrokes.TheErasererases,theAirbrushgraduallyaddscolorasyouholddownthemouse,andtheInktoolmakesflowing,calligraphiclines.

Clone,Heal,andPerspectiveClone.Theseletyou“clone”imagedatafromonepartofthecanvas(theclonesource)toanother(whereveryoupaint)andarethereforeusefulforcreatingtexturesandfillinginareas.TheHealtoolisparticularlyuseful,asitautomaticallyblendstogethertheboundariesofthenewlyclonedpixelswiththeoriginalsurroundings.CTRL-clickingonthecanvassetstheclonesource,afterwhichyoucanstrokenormallytoclonepixelsfromthesourcetoanotherareaonthecanvas.

BlurandSmudge.Theseletyoublurorsmudgepixels.

Dodge/Burn.Thisletsyouselectivelybrighten(dodge)ordarken(burn)areasofyourimage,whichcanbeusefulformodifyingshadowsandhighlightsonanimage.Usetheseeffectssparinglybecauseit’seasytobeheavy-handedwiththistool.

CageDeform.Thisletsyoudrawacagearoundpartofanimageandthenfreelytransformitbyadjustingtheshapeofthecage.

ThetwocolorswatchesatthebottomoftheToolbox(seeFigure2-1)denotethecurrentforegroundandbackgroundcolors.Bydefault,mostbrushespaintwiththeforegroundcolor,withthebackgroundcoloractingasanalternatecolorthatyoucanquicklyswitchtobypressingX.(Sometools,suchastheGradienttool,usebothforegroundandbackgroundcolorsatthesametime.)Thetwosmalliconsattheupperrightandbottomleftofthecolorswatchesallowyoutoswitchbetweenthemandresetthemtoblackandwhite,respectively.

TheCanvasThecanvasiswhereGIMPdisplayscurrentlyopenimages.Youcanpaint,makeselections,anduseallofGIMP’sothertoolsbyclickingthecanvas.Rulersdowntheleftandtopedgesofthecanvasshowthepositionofthecursorwithsmallarrowsasyoumovearound.Clickinganddraggingoutfromtheserulerscreatesverticalandhorizontalguidesthatyourcursorandselectionswillsnaptobydefault.Thissnappingactioncancomeinhandywhenliningupimagesforuseasreference(asyou’lllearninChapter3).Alongthebottomofthecanvasareoptionsforcontrollingtherulers’unitsofmeasurementandthezoomlevelofthecanvas.

DialogsMostoftheinformationaboutyourcurrenttoolandcurrentlyopenimagesisavailablefromGIMP’sdialogs.SomedialogsarevisiblebydefaultwhenyoustartGIMP,withothersfoundunderWindows▸DockableDialogs.TwoofGIMP’smostimportantdialogsaretheToolOptionsandLayersdialogs.YoucanseebothinFigure2-1,ToolOptionsontheleftbelowthetoolbox,andtheLayersdialogonthetoprightwiththeChannels,Paths,andUndodialogs.TheToolOptionsdialogcontainstheoptionsforthecurrentlyselectedtoolthat

definehowitworks.Forexample,inthecaseofthePaintBrushtool,theToolOptionsdialogletsyouadjustthebrushopacity,shape,size,andaspectratio,aswellasallowingyoutochoosefromGIMP’sbrushdynamicsoptions.TheLayersdialogdisplaysthelayersthatmakeupthecurrentimageandletsyoutoggletheirvisibility,lockthemtopreventfurtherediting,oredittheirblendmodestochangehowtheycombinewithotherlayers.TheiconsatthebottomoftheLayersdialogletyouadd,delete,andduplicatelayers,aswellascreategroupstoorganizelayers.(We’llcoverworkingwithandorganizinglayersinfurtherdetailwhenwediscusspaintingtexturesinChapter11.)GIMPallowsyoutorearrangeandreorganizedialogsasyouwish.ThedefaultdialogsarealreadygroupedandorganizedintotabsandcolumnsdownthesidesofthemaincanvaswheninSingle-Windowmode.Torearrangetabs,clickanddragtheiconatthetopofthedialogeitherintoanothergroupoftabsortotheborderbetweentwoareasoftheUItoplacethetabinitsownroworcolumn.

UsingGIMPNowwe’llexplorehowtoactuallyuseGIMPtocreate,paint,andeditimages.Inlaterchapters,we’lllookatmuchofthisinmoredetail;fornow,we’lljustlookatthebasics.Aswegoalong,I’llpointtolaterchaptersthatgointoeachfeatureinmoredetail.

CreatinganImageUnlikeBlender,GIMPdoesnotopenanydefaultfileatstart-up.Whenyoufirststarttheprogram,youcaneitheropenanexistingimage(File▸Open)orcreateanewone(File▸New).Whenopeningimages,GIMPnormallyopenseachimageasanewfile,butyoucanuseFile▸OpenasLayersinsteadtoopenimagesasnewlayerswithinthecurrentfile.

Whenyoucreateanewfile(seeFigure2-2),GIMPasksyouwhatdimensionsyouwantittohaveinpixelsandthencreatesanew,single-layerimagewithawhitebackgroundthatyoucanbeginpaintingon.

Figure2-2.CreatinganewimageinGIMP

PaintingandDrawingPaintinganddrawingareaccomplishedinGIMPsimplybyclickinganddraggingstrokesonthecanvas,usingoneoftheavailabledrawingtools.YourstrokewillbedrawnusingthecurrentforegroundcolorandthebrushshapeselectedintheToolOptionsdialogortheBrushesdialog.

BrushesandBrushDynamicsGIMPhasasophisticatedbrushenginethatusesvariousinputstodeterminetheappearanceofyourstrokes.InadditiontoanysettingsyouapplyintheToolOptionsdialog,suchasopacityorsize,youcanalsochoosefromavarietyofbrushshapesintheBrushesdialog(seeFigure2-3).Yourstrokeswillbedrawnusingtheshapeyouselect.

GIMPcanalsouseinformationsuchasthespeedatwhichyoudrawastrokeorthepressureinputfromagraphicstablettoaffectthelookofyourstroke.TheseoptionsarecalledPaintDynamicsinGIMP.YoucanchoosedifferentdynamicsfromtheToolOptionsdialogorcreateandedityourowninthePaintDynamicsEditordialog.(WewillexaminethisfeatureinmoredetailwhencreatingourownbrushesinChapter11.)

Filters

GIMP’sfiltersactasaproceduralwaytomodifyyourimagesbyapplyinganalgorithmtothepixelsofthecurrentlayertocreateanewresult.Thereareseveralfilters,includingonesforblurringandsharpeningimages,removingorcreatingnoise,anddistortinganddeformingimages.Youwillalsofindfiltersthatapplyartisticeffectsandonesthatallowyoutocreatecompletelynewimagesandpatternsfromscratch.

Figure2-3.SomeofGIMP’sbrushshapes

ChoosingafilterfromtheFiltersmenuusuallybringsupadialogwithsomeoptionsthatadjusthowthefilterworks.Forexample,ifyouselecttheGaussianBlurfilter,thedialogshouldcontainoptionsfortheradiusoftheblurandtheblurringmethodused,aswellasasmallpreview(seeFigure2-4).ClickingOKinthisdialogappliesthefiltertothewholeimage.(WewillusesomeofthesefilterswhenpaintingtexturesinChapter11.)

Figure2-4.Usingfilters.TheGaussianBlurfilterisshownhere.

LayersAsalayer-basedimageeditor,GIMPletsyoucreateanimagefrommultiplelayerscompositedontopofoneanother,combiningelementsfromeach.TheLayersdialogshowsyouallthelayersinyourimageandallowsyoutoedittheirorderingandhowtheyarecombined.Bydefault,eachlayerreplacestheonebelowit,withanytransparentpartslettingthelayerunderneathshowthrough.However,youcanalsochoosefromseveralotherwaystoblendlayersusingtheLayerModedrop-downmenuatthetopoftheLayersdialog.

Whenyoupaintonthecanvas(oruseanyothertoolorfilter),yourstrokesarepaintedontotheactivelayer(highlightedintheLayersdialog).We’llcoverlayersinmoredetailinChapter11.

SelectionsOnewaytorestrictthepixelsyoupaintonistouseGIMP’sselectiontools.With

these,youcandrawoutaselectionyouwishtoworkonwithinthecurrentlayer.Brushes,filters,andothertoolswillthenaffectonlytheselectedpixels(seeFigure2-5).Selectionscomeinhandywhenyouwanttoworkonanisolatedpartofanimage.Theyalsoletyoucopy(CTRL-C)andpaste(CTRL-V)partsofyourimageorsplitpartofanimageoffintoanewlayer.We’llcoverthesetoolsinmoredetailinChapter11.

Tocancelaselection,clickoutsideofitwithaselecttool.Youcanalsoinvertit(CTRL-I),swappingtheselectedandunselectedareas.YoucanaddtoorsubtractfromyourcurrentselectionbyholdingtheSHIFTorCTRLkeyswhiledraggingoutaselection.Inlaterchapters,we’lllookatotherwaystoworkwithselectionsusingtoolslikeGIMP’sQuickMaskfeature.

SavingandExportingGIMPcanopenalmostanyimageformat,butonceyouhaveanimageopen,itdistinguishesbetweensavinganimage(CTRL-S),whichitdoesonlyinitsnative.xcfformat,andexportingit(CTRL-E)toamoreconventionalimageformat,suchasaJPEGorTarga.Youcanchoosetheimageformattoexporttobyaddingthecorrectsuffixtothefilename(forexample,.jpgforJPEGand.tgaforTarga)orbyselectingitmanuallyfromthelistatthebottomoftheSavedialog(seeFigure2-6).

Whenworkingonthetexturesandotherimagesfortheprojectsinthisbook,Ibothsaveandexportmytextures.Savingthe.xcffilemeansIhavemytextureinalayeredformatthatIcaneditlater,whileexportingittoanormalimageformatsuchas.pngor.tgagivesmeanimagethatIcanopenanduseinBlender.

InReviewThischapterhasofferedabasic,high-levelintroductiontoGIMP.WelookedalittleatGIMP’shistory,whatitdoes,andwhereyoucangetit.WealsolookedatthelayoutofGIMP’sUIanditsavailabletools,andwecoveredthebasicsofhowtoworkwithimagesinGIMP.Weexploredthebasicsofworkingwithtools,filters,layers,andselectionsanddiscussedsaving,loading,andexporting.

InChapter3,we’llpreparetoworkonthedifferentprojectsinthisbookbefore

weputGIMPandBlendertoworkinearnest.

Figure2-5.Creatingaselection(shownhighlightedinthetopimage)letsyourestrictGIMP’stoolstoaparticularareaofyourimage.

Figure2-6.SavingimagesinGIMP

Chapter3.Preparation

Inthischapter,you’lllearnhowtobestlaythegroundworkthatwillmakecreatingprojectsinBlendereasy.Thisincludesgatheringandcreatingreferences,designingyourcharacters,planningthecompositionofthefinalimage,andsettingupBlendertomaketheresourcesyouhavegatheredavailablewhileyouwork.Attheendofthechapter,wewillbereadytostartmodelingourprojects,withamoresolidideaofwhatitiswewanttocreateandhowtogoaboutgettingthere.

ConceptArtandReferencesAnyprojectrequiresresearchandpreparation.Beforecreatingtheprojectsinthisbook,IspentsometimethinkingaboutwhatIreallywantedtomake,collectingreferenceimages,andcreatingbasicconceptarttokeepmeontrack.

Whenpreparingtotackleaparticularproject,playwithvariousroughideasanddesigns,discardingorchangingonesthatdon’tworkquiterightbeforespendingalotoftimeonanyone.Forexample,Figure3-1showsvarioussketchesthatImadeforcharactersbeforechoosingtheBatCreaturedesignusedinthisbook.

Creating,Finding,andUsingReferencesConceptartservestwopurposes:First,itisaquickwaytoexperimentwithideas,andsecond,itservesasaguidetorefertowhencreatingyourproject.Thismeansthatyoudon’tneedtokeepthewholeofyourideainyourheadallthetime,andyoucanplanaheadforthedifferentpartsofyourproject,savingyoutimeandeffort.Useyoursketcheseachtimeyoubeginpartofyourprojectasareminderofyourgoals.YoucanusereferenceimagesorconceptartdirectlyinBlenderorGIMPtohelpwiththemodelingandtexturingprocess,whetheryouusethemasbackgroundimagesorasastartingpointforprojectingandbakingtextures.

Whenconceptualizingyourproject,considerwhethertherearereal-worldreferencesthatyoucanuse.TheInternetisagreatresource,ofcourse,asarebooks,objectsaroundyou,andyourownphotographs.Forexample,whendevelopingtheJungleRuinsprojectinthisbook,IbeganbysearchingFlickrandGoogleImageswithphraseslike“jungleruin”and“Mayantemple”andthengatheringimagesIliked.(Obviously,youshouldmakesurethatyouaren’tdirectlycopyingsomeoneelse’swork;gatheringinspirationisfine,butcopyrightviolationisnot!)

Figure3-1.Workingthroughdifferentideasforcharacters

Evenwhenyouwanttocreateacompletelyfictionaldesign,likeadragonorasci-fispaceship,itcanhelptoexaminereal-worldobjectsthatsharesomeaspectsofyourdesigninordertohelpbettervisualizeyourcreation.Forexample,whencreatingadragon,youmightsearchforimagesofdinosaurs,lizards,largebirds,bats,orevenmammalianpredators,likelionsorwolves.Eachanimalmighthavesomeaspectthatyoucanuseinyourdragon,likethepatternofscalesonalizardorthewingstructureofabirdorbat.Whencreatingaspaceship,youcouldexamineexistingcrafts,likespaceshuttles,airplanes,industrialvehicles,orevenautomobiles.Adoptingaspectsofexistingthingswillhelpbringrealismandbelievabilitytoyourwork.

Onceyou’vegatheredsomereferences,youcoulddivestraightintomodeling,oryoumightsketchsomeaspectsofyourproject.Figure3-2showsexamplesofsomeofmystudiesofMayanarchitecturefortheJungleRuinsproject.

Ifyou’renotmuchofatraditionalsketcher,considersculptingaroughconceptofyourprojectinBlenderfromasimplebasemesh(seeChapter6)orblockoutaroughideaofyourscenein3DinBlenderusingsimplegeometricshapes.Rememberthateachaspectofanyproject,whetherit’scomposition,lighting,textures,ormodels,willaffectyourconceptart,sothinkaboutandplaywitheachoftheseaspectsbeforestartingyourprojectinearnest.

WhattoLookforinReferenceMaterialWhencollectingreferencematerial,herearesomethingstokeepinmind.

Subjectmatter.Trytocollectorcreateasmanyimagesasyoucanthatmatchthesubjectmatter;whoknowswhenonemightcomeinhandy.Themorereferencematerialyouhaveatyourdisposal,thebetter!

Pointofview.Trytocollectorcreatereferencematerialthatshowsyoursubjectfrommanydifferentangles,bothcloseupandasawhole,tomakesurethatyouwon’tgetstuckwhenitcomestimetocreatethebackofyourcharacterorasmallobjectinyourscene.

Lighting.Bothstronglylitandevenlylitreferencesareuseful.Whentexturing,itcanbereallyhandytohavereferencematerialthatdoesn’tshowstronglightingorspecularhighlights,butwhenyou’remodeling,youwillwantthosehighlightsandcontrastinglightingtoshowtheshapeofyoursubject.Don’tpassupeitherkindofreference.

Figure3-2.SketchesofdifferentelementsofMayanarchitecture

Lens.Whenusingphotography,trytocollectimagestakenwithaslongalensaspossible,especiallyifyouplantouseyourreferencedirectlyasanorthographicreferenceinBlender’sViewportformodeling.Theshorterthelens,thegreaterthedegreeofdistortionintheimage,andifyoublindlyincorporatethisdistortionintoyourmodel,youareboundtogetsomestrangeresults.Ifyoucan’tgetaphotographtakenwithalonglens,atleasttrytodeterminewhatlenswasusedwhentheimagewastakenandkeepthisinmindwhenmodeling.

Licensing/copyright.Whileyoucanuseanyimagelooselyforinspirationorasajumping-offpoint,ifyouplantouseaphotoorartworkcreatedbyotherpeople,youmustcomplywiththeirintentionsfortheirwork.Ifanimageisprotectedbycopyright,youmustgetthecopyrightholder’spermissiontouseitorperhapscontactalicensingthirdparty,like3d.skoriStockPhoto.Iftheimageisunderalessrestrictivelicense,likeCreativeCommons,besuretocomplywiththespecifictermsofthatlicense.Whenindoubt,assumethatanimageisprotectedbycopyrightanddon’tdirectlyuseitinyourwork.

Aboveall,rememberthatallphotographicreferenceshavetheirlimitations.Inadditiontomanifestationsoflensdistortion,imagesmaybesmall,takenfromawkwardangles,poorlylit,blurry,orincomplete.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatimperfectimagesaren’tuseful,butdon’tbeaslavetoyourreferences.Whatmattersintheendisthatthingslookright,andiftheydon’t,don’tletyourreferencedeceiveyouintomakingpoorartisticdecisions.Ifsomethingdoesn’tlookright,changeit.

CompositionWhencreatinganyartwork,whetheranimatedorstill,itisimportanttothinkaboutcomposition,anddoingsobeforeyoustartwillmakeitaloteasiertofittogetherthefinalelementsofyourscene.ThiswasparticularlytruefortheJungleRuinsproject,wherethegoalwastocreateafinalimagefromasinglevantagepoint.Rememberthatyouwantthefinalresultsnotonlytolookconvincinganddetailedbutalsotobepleasingtotheeyewhenplacedwithinthesettingofyourfinalrenders.

Compositionisaveryrichsubject,anditisbeyondthescopeofthisbooktocoveritindetail,butherearesomebasicprinciples.

TheRuleofThirdsTheruleofthirdsprinciplearguesthatthepointsofinterestinanimageshouldfallroughlyinlinewithanimaginarygriddrawnovertheimage.Thisimaginarygridsplitstheimageintothirdsalongbothitslengthandwidth.Thegoalistocarvetheimageintolesssymmetricalareastoproducesomethingthatisgenerallymorepleasingtotheeye,asopposedtoanimagesplitrightdownthemiddlebythevariouspointsofinterest.Figure3-3showshowIsplitanimageintoatotalofninesections,usingthreerowsandthreecolumns.

Figure3-3.TheJungleRuinsprojectattheblocking-instage,witharuleofthirdsgridoverlaid

Foranotherexampleoftheruleofthirdsinaction,thinkofasceneshowingtheskyandahorizontogetherwithsomebuildings.Applyingtheruleofthirds,wewouldplacethehorizonatonehorizontaldivisionoftheimage(aboutone-thirdofthewayupfromthebottomordownfromthetop),withtheskyoccupyingtheareaabovethehorizon.Ifthemainpointsofinterestaresituatedabovethehorizon,suchasatallbuildingoralitmooninthenightsky,wemightplacethehorizonabovethelowerthirdoftheimagetoallowthebuildingandmoontooccupymorespace.Ontheotherhand,ifthemainpointsoftheimagearebelowthehorizon,saysomeboatsonalake,placingthehorizonattheupperthirddivisionwouldallowustogivetheboatsmorespacewhilecreatingabalancedcomposition.

Theruleofthirdsdoesn’talwaysapplytoimagescontainingsinglecharacters,

however.Forexample,ifyourimageisaportraitorfull-bodyshotofacharacter,itwilllikelymakemoresensetogivethesubjectcenterstage.Buteveninthesecases,youmightapplytheruleofthirdstootheraspectsoftheimage,suchasthecharacter’seyelineoraheavyobjectcarriedinhisarms.

It’sworthpointingoutthattheruleofthirdsisn’ttheonlytheorydrivenbythebeautyofasymmetryandimbalance.Otherrules,likethegoldenmean,whichplacesthegridlinesaccordingtothegoldenratio(approximately1.618:1),havesimilareffectsandsharethegoalofnotdividinganimageintoobvioussymmetricalhalves.

SilhouettesandNegativeSpaceForyourimagetoreadwell,itmusthaveastrongsilhouette.Thesilhouetteistheoutlineofyoursubject,asshowninFigure3-4.Ifwhenlookingatyourimage’ssilhouetteyoucanstilltellwhattheimageis,youhaveastrongdesign.Ifthesilhouettelookslikejustajumbleofshapes,however,viewersmayhaveahardtimeprocessingtheimage,eveninitsfinalstate.Togetabetterideaofyourmodel’ssilhouette,tryaddingablackmaterialtoitwithnospecularity(seeChapter12),andrenderitonitsowntoseeitasablackshapeonaplainbackground(Figure3-4).

Inthesameway,thenegativespacearoundandbetweenyoursubjectandanyotherobjectsalsoaffectstheappearanceofyourcomposition.Forexample,whenplacingthehorizononaruleofthirdsline,asdiscussedintheprevioussection,wearelikelytocreateapleasingnegativespaceintheformofthesky.

Figure3-4.SilhouetteoftheBatCreature

SimplicityandFocusWhencreatinganyimage,youshouldstrivetocontroltheviewer’sgaze.Ifyourimageisbusywithtoomuchgoingon,aviewermaybeoverwhelmedandnotknowwhattopayattentionto.Toavoidpotentialconfusion,animageshouldhavesome“rest”areas—partsthataresimpleanddon’tdemandattentionsothatother,moreimportantpartsarenotoverlooked.Forexample,ifyoumodelandtextureafantasticportrait,youmightavoidputtingacomplex,clutteredbackgroundinthenegativespacebehindtheportraitbecausethisbackgroundmightdistracttheviewer.Thenegativespaceinthisexampleistherestarea,butrestareasmaysimplybelesscomplexanddetailedpartsofthemainimageitself.

Thesameideaappliestoallaspectsofdesign:Keepthingssimpleandcontroltheviewer’sfocus.Ifyoucoverthewholeofanyobjectinelaboratedetail,theresultmaybeanindecipherablemélangeofcompetingfocalpoints.Ifinsteadyoufocusthedetailsinspecificareaswhilekeepingotherssimple,theviewer

canmoreeasilyunderstandyourdesign.Forexample,intheSpiderBotprojectshowninFigure3-5,someaspectsofthedesign,likethelegsandthemechanicaldetailsofthejointsbetweenthebodysegments,arequitedetailed,whileotherareas,likethesurfaceofthebody,arekeptsimple.

Definingareasoffocusandsimplicitycanbeaccomplishedinmanyways,themostobviousofwhichisbyplacement:Simplyleavespacebetweenthecomplexareasinyourscene.Butthereareotherways,too.Forexample,youcanuselightingtoputlessimportantareasofacompositionindarknessortooverexposethoseareassothattheyaremostlywhite,oryoucanusedepthoffieldtoputforegroundandbackgroundareasoftheimageoutoffocus.(We’lltouchonthesetechniquesinvariouschapters,especiallyinChapter13andChapter14.)

Figure3-5.Spiderconceptart.Becausethelegsareverycomplex,thedesignofthebodyiskeptsimpletomakeiteasierfortheviewertounderstandtheoverallimage.

VisualPath

Mostimagescontainmultipleelements.Whenworkingwithsuchanimage,youshouldcreateapaththatdrawsviewersthrougheachelementbeforetheylookawayfromtheimage.Byplanningthispath,youcanmakeyourimagetellastoryandexposemoreofyourscene.

Youcanusetheruleofthirdstocreateavisualpaththroughanimage,astheviewerwillnaturallylooktotheintersectionsoftheruleofthirdslinesfirst.Youcanalsouseperspective,allowingconverginglinesintheimagetodirecttheviewerthroughyourcomposition’svariousfocalpoints.Oryoumightframethepointsofinterestwithnegativespace.Inimagescontainingcharacters,youmighthavethecharacterslookatthefocalpointsothattheviewerfollowstheirgaze,oryoumightevenjusthavethecharacterspointatit!

TestingCompositionsinBlenderBlendercanbeusefulwhenblockingincompositionsforascenebeforegoingall-outandcreatingit.Forexample,inthecaseoftheJungleRuinsscene,Itriedvariouscompositionssimplybycreatingaroughblockingofthesceneusingcubes,andIthenaddedsimplelightingtoseehowdifferentoptionswouldaffectthecomposition.

Blenderalsohassomehandytoolsforyoutouseinguidingyourcompositionchoices.Withyourcameraselected,youcanaccessthesetoolsfromtheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor,asshowninFigure3-6.Forexample,tobetterseehowyourimageisframed,youcanturnuptheAlphavalueofthePassepartoutsettingtohidetheareaoutsideyourcamera’sview.You’llalsofindseveralcompositionguidesthatyoucantoggletohelplineupyourcompositionaccordingtotheruleofthirds,thegoldenratio,orthecenterlines,asshowninFigure3-6.

Figure3-6.CompositionguidesinBlender

PreparingReferencesinGIMPWhetheryou’recollectingreferencesforaprojectfromphotosordrawingthem,itusuallypaystoinvestsometimeinGIMPmakingsurethatyourreferenceswillbeasusefulaspossibleonceyoubringthemintoBlender.Forexample,youcanuseGIMPtocombineimagesintoreferencesheetsortocorrectdistortionsinyourimagestogetthebestreferencepossible.

CreatingaReferenceSheetItisgenerallyusefultohavemultipleimagesonhandthatyoucanquicklyreferencewhenworkingonyourproject.Forthisreason,ithelpstocombinealotofimagesintoasinglereferencesheetthatyoucanthenloadasasingleimageintoBlender.

Tocreateareferencesheet,chooseFile▸OpenAsLayersinGIMPandthenselecttheimagesyouwanttoimport.Next,increasethesizeofyourcanvasusingImage▸CanvasSizesothatyoucanspreadoutyourimagesandarrangethemtofitontheonecanvasusingtheMovetool(M),asshowninFigure3-7.ScaledownanyimagesthataresignificantlylargerthanothersusingtheScaletool(SHIFT-T).Finally,addablackbackgroundbehindtheimagesbyaddinganewlayer,fillingitwithblack,andmovingittothebottomofthelayerstack.Savethereferencesheetasa.jpgfile.

AligningOrthographicReferencesOrthographicreferences,ororthorefs,arereferenceimagesdrawnortakenfromspecificvantagepoints(front,side,back,ortop)withaslittleperspectiveaspossible.It’seasytoreduceperspectivewhendrawing;toreduceperspectivewithphotos,takethemasfarawayfromthesubjectaspossible,usingalonglens.

Ifyouwillbeusingorthographicphotoreferencesordrawingsinyourproject,consideraligningtheminGIMPinasingleimage,asshowninFigure3-8,beforeopeningtheminBlendersothatthefeaturesofeachpartlineupineachimage.Byaligningyourimages,youwillbeabletofolloweachfeaturefrommorethanoneviewpointwhenmodeling.

Figure3-7.CreatingareferencesheetinGIMP.Youcanopenmultipleimagesaslayers,laythemoutwiththeMovetool,andsavetheresultasasingleimagethatyoucanthenopeninBlender.

Figure3-8.AligningorthographicreferencesinGIMP.Here,photosofanartist’smannequintakenfromthefront,side,andthree-quarterperspectivesarebeingalignedusinghorizontalguidelines.Eachphoto

hasbeenimportedasaseparatelayerandalignedusingtheMovetool.

Ifyourreferencewastakenwithalonglensordrawninorthographicperspective,youshouldbeabletoaligniteasily.Todoso,openyourimagesaslayers,asdescribedinCreatingaReferenceSheet,andthenpickonelayertousetoalignalltheothers.Useguides(clickanddragfromtherulersatthesideoftheimagewindow)tomarktheverticalpositionsofthekeyfeaturesandthenuseGIMP’sRotate,Scale,andMovetoolstopositionyournextlayersothatthefeatureslineup.Byrepeatingthesestepsforasmanyorthographicviewsofyoursubjectasyouhave,you’llessentiallycreateablueprintofyourprojectthatyouthencanuseformodeling(seeFigure3-9).

Notethatwhenaligningimageswithphotoreferences,somefeaturesmaynotlineupperfectlyineveryviewduetolensdistortionandperspective,particularlyiftheyweren’tallthesamedistancefromthecamera.WhileyoucancorrectlensdistortiontosomeextentusingGIMP’slensdistortionfilter(Filters▸Distort▸LensDistortion),theresultwillnotbeaperfectorthorefbecauseyoustillwon’tbeabletocorrectforperspective.It’seasiertosimplyalignthekeyfeaturesasbestyoucanandrememberthatyouaren’tshackledtoyourreferencewhenmodeling;youcancorrectforanyerrorsthatyouknowwillbethereusingyourownjudgment.

Figure3-9.Workingwithorthographicreferences.Theabilitytoseefeaturesfrommultipleanglesmakesiteasiertomodelthemaccurately.

UsingConceptsandReferenceImagesinBlenderOnceyou’vepreparedyourconceptartandreferenceimages,thereareseveralwaystomakethemavailableforuseasreferencesinBlender.Ofcourse,youcanjustopenyourimageinyourstandardimageviewerandkeepitofftoonesideofyourscreen,butyoucanalsouseBlender’sUVImageeditor,backgroundimages,ortheimagedisplayoptionforanemptyobject.

UVImageEditorToopenupanimageinBlender’sUVImageeditor,selectImage▸OpenImagefromtheheader,navigatetoyourreferenceimageorconceptartinthefilebrowser,andselectOpen.BlendershouldopenyourimageintheUVImageeditor.Ifyouthenopenanotherimage,youcanaccessanypreviouslyopenedimages,aswellasanyusedbytexturedatablocks,fromthedrop-downmenuintheheader.

Whenworkingwithseveralreferenceimageswhilecreatingmycompositions,I

liketocombinethemallintoonebigreferencesheetinGIMP.Ithensavethatreferencesheetasa.jpgfileandopenitinBlender’sUVImageeditor,asshowninFigure3-10.ThisreferencesheetallowsmetopanaroundtheimageandzoominandouttolookmorecloselyatspecificreferenceswithouthavingtoloadeachintoBlenderseparatelyandswitchbetweenthemconstantly.

Figure3-10.ReferencecollageinUVImageeditorinBlender

BackgroundImagesIfyouwanttodisplayanimageinBlender’s3DViewport,thesimplestwayisbyusingbackgroundimages.Withyourcursoroverthe3DViewport,pressNtobringupthePropertiesregion,whichcontainstheBackgroundImagespanel(seeFigure3-11).Hereyoucanaddimagestothe3DViewport,changetheirsizeandlocationinthe3DView,anddefinewhichviewstheyappearfromusingtheAxissetting.

ImageEmptiesBackgroundimagesarereallyusefulwhenmodelingfromorthographic

referencesbecauseyoucansetthemtoappearonlyfromthecorrectvieworwhenlookingfromthecamera’sviewpoint.

Ifthere’sadownsidetousingbackgroundimages,it’sthattheyaren’tvisiblewhenyouhaveperspectiveenabledinthe3DViewport.Fortunately,Blender2.6allowsyoutoaddanimageasthedrawtypeforanyempty,whichyoucanthenpositionasyoulike.Thismakesimageemptiesgreatbothforarbitrarilyplacingreferenceimagesinyourscenesoyoucanmovethemasyoupleaseandforsettinguporthographicreferencesthatcanbeviewedfromanyangle.

Touseanimageempty,createanemptyinyoursceneusingSHIFT-A▸Empty.TheninthePropertieseditorundertheObjectDatatab,youcansettheempty’sdisplaytypetoImageandselectanimagetodisplay(seeFigure3-12).Theemptywillnowdisplaythisimageonaplanethatyoucanmove,scale,androtatetoplacetheimageinyoursceneasyouwouldanyobject,butthisobjectwon’tinterferewithyourrendersbecauseitwillbevisibleonlyinthe3DViewport.

Figure3-11.UsingbackgroundimagesinBlender.YoucanaddfurtherimagesusingtheAddImagebutton,whichallowsyoutoseemultiplereferencesatonce.

Figure3-12.Thesameimageusedasanimageemptycannowbeviewedfromanyangle.IfyourimagehasanAlpha(transparency)channel,ittoowilldisplayasatransparentimageintheViewport.

InReviewInthischapter,wehavelookedatthepreparatorystepstothinkaboutwhenworkingonaprojectinBlender,includingplanningwhatyouwanttomake,collectingreferenceandconceptart,andgeneratingideasforyourfinalcomposition.WethenmovedontodiscusswaystomakethisinformationavailabletoyouinBlenderwhileyouwork.Inthenextchapter,webeginmodelingourprojects.Byblockingoutthekeyelementsofourprojects,wewilldevelopafoundationonwhichtobuildmorecomplexmodels.

Chapter4.BlockingIn

Withpreparationfinishedandconceptartandreferenceattheready,wecanmoveontomodeling.Modelingistheprocessofcreatinga3Dobjectthatismadeupofindividualpointsconnectedtoformfaces,whichinturnmakeupmorecomplexshapes.TherearemanywaystocreatemodelsinBlender,frommodifyingprimitives,likeasimplecubeorsphere,tobuildingthesurfaceofameshfacebyfaceordrawingsmoothcurvesthatBlendercanconvertintoobjectscomposedofverticesandfaces.

Modelingcanbealongprocess,andtosavetime,ithelpstoknowwhereyouaregoingwithaparticularmodelingtask.Still,youcan’tmodelanobjectallatonce;youhavetostartsomewhere,andthat’swhereblockingincomesin.Blockinginistheprocessofaddingsimpleplaceholdersfortheobjectsyouwanttocreatesothatyoucanbetterplanhowtheyfittogether,considertheirindividualconstructions,andspotproblemsbeforetheybecomemajorissues.Onceascenehasbeenblockedin,youcanmoveontorefining,replacing,oraddingtoeachparttocreateafinalmodel.Forexample,intheJungleTemplescene,simpleelementslikecubesareusedasplaceholdersforkeyelements;forotherprojects,wecreatesimplebasemeshesforsculptingthatactasafoundationfordevelopingthefinalformofoursculptedmodels.

BasicModelingTermsBeforewedivein,herearesomedefinitionsofBlender’sbasicmodelingconceptsthatI’llusethroughoutthischapter.Table4-1liststheminhierarchicalorder:Verticesmakeupedges,whichmakeupfaces,andsoon.

EditModeEditmode(showninFigure4-1)iswherethemodelingmagichappens.Withameshobjectselected,youcanenterEditmodebypressingTABorbyclickingthe

modedrop-downmenuinthe3DViewportheaderandselectingEditmode.OnceinEditmode,yourselectedobjectiseditable(ifitisinfacteditable—emptyobjectsandlamps,forexample,arenot).Whenanobjectiseditable,youcanselectandmanipulatepartsaswellascreatenewparts.

Table4-1.ImportantTermsforModelinginBlender’sEditMode

Term Description

vertex(pluralvertices);alsoknownasavert

Asinglepointin3Dspacewithaspecificlocation.Verticesareconnectedtoconstructmeshes.

edge Alineconnectingtwovertices.

face(orpolygon)

Threeormoreverticesconnectedbyedgesandfilledwithaflatsurface.Apolygonformedofthreeverticesiscalledatri(shortfortriangle).Apolygonformedoffourverticesiscalledaquad(shortforquadrangle).Polygonswithmorethanfourverticesarecalledn-gons.

normal Thedirectioninwhichafaceorvertexpoints.Imagineaflagpolepointingstraightoutfromthesurfaceofanobject.Thedirectionitpointsisthefacenormal.Verticesandedgescanalsohavenormalswhentheyarepartofasurface.

mesh Acollectionofvertices,faces,andedgesthatareallpartofasingleobject.

topology Atermthatreferstothewaythefacesofamesh“flow”overitssurface.(SeeChapter5andChapter7formoreontopology.)

operator Anyoperationyouperformonpartofamesh,suchastranslating,scaling,duplicating,andsoon.Operatorsgenerallytakeinputfromtheuser(suchasthedistanceanddirectionyouwanttomovesomething)andthendosomethingtotheselectedobjectasaresult.

Figure4-1.Blender’s3DViewportinEditMode

Table4-2.FrequentlyUsedOperatorsinEditMode

Operators Hotkey Description

Delete X Deletestheselectedvertices,edges,orfaces.

Duplicate SHIFT-D Duplicatesyourselectionandallowsyoutomoveit.

Extrude EorCTRL-click

Createsnewgeometryby“pulling”newverts,edges,andfacesoutfromthecurrentselection.Theresultsofextrudingdependonwhatyouhaveselected(seeFigure4-2).CTRL-clickinginEditmodewithnothingselectedwillcreateanewvertexwhereveryouclick.Doingsomultipletimeswillcreateastringofconnectedvertices.

Fill F Iftwoverticesareselected,Fillcreatesanedgejoiningthem.Ifthree,four,ormoreverticesareselected,itcreatesatri,quad,orn-gonfromthem.

Rotate R Rotatesthevertices,edges,orfacesyouhaveselected.(Youcanalsousethe3DManipulatorwidgetinRotatemode.)

Scale S Scalesthevertices,edges,orfacesyouhaveselected,allowingyoutoresizepartorallofamesh.(Youcanalsousethe3DManipulatorwidgetinScalemodetodothis.)

Shrink/Fatten ALT-S Movestheselectedverticesalongthedirectionoftheirnormalstoinflateamesh,almostlikeaballoon,ortoshrinkittomakeitthinner.

Smooth W▸Smooth Smoothssharpanglesbetweenedgesandfacessothattheresultingmeshissmoother.

Subdivide W▸Subdivide Dividesallselectededgesintotwoandfacesintofour,creatingmoredensegeometry.

Translate(alsoknownasGraborMove)

G Grabsthevertices,edges,orfacesyouhaveselectedandallowsyoutomovethem.(Youcanalsousethe3DManipulatorwidgetinTranslatemodetodothis.)

Dissolve X AnalternativetoDelete,thisdeletestheedgesorverticesselectedbutfillstheholeleftbehindwithann-gon.

Connect J Connectstwoverticesthatarepartofthesameface,splittingthefaceintwointheprocess.

Cut K Givesyouaknifetoolthatletsyoucuttheselectedgeometryalongthelinesyoudraw.HoldCTRLtosnaptoverticesandthemiddleofedges.

NOTEBlenderalmostalwayshastwowaysofperforminganaction:throughtheUIandbyusingakeyboardshortcutand/orSearch.Inmanycases,itpaystolearnbothbecauseknowinghowtoquicklyperformactionsandswitchbetweenmodeswillgreatlyspeedupyourwork.

OnceinEditmode,youcanselectthingsbyright-clickingthem.YoucanextendyourselectionwithSHIFT-right-click.Toselectordeselecteverythinginthecurrentmesh,pressA.Toswitchbetweenselectingvertices,edges,andfaces,clickthevertex,edge,orfaceselectbuttonsinthe3DViewportheader(seeFigure4-1).

PressLtoselectallpartsofameshconnectedtothepartofthemeshunderyour

cursor.Withpartofameshselected,youcanperformvariousoperationsonyourselectioninordertoedityourmesh.

Table4-2liststheoperatorsthatyou’llusemostoftenwhenmodelinginBlender.Therearemanyotherwaystointeractwithamesh,butI’llcoverthoseaswegoalong.

TolearnmoreaboutanoperatorinBlender,searchforitonhttp://wiki.blender.org/.Youcaneasilydiscovermoreoperators(orsearchforanexistingone)usingtheSearchmenu(spacebar)orbylookingthroughtheheadermenusandpanelsofBlender’sdifferenteditors.YoucanhoveroverbuttonsinBlendertoseeatooltipdescribingwhatanoperatordoesandwhetherithasakeyboardshortcut.

Figure4-2.Extrudingfaces1,extrudingedges2,andextrudingasinglevertex3.Extrudingoperationsondifferentselectionswillhavedifferentresults.Extrudingverticeswillcreateedges,whileextrudingedgesorfaceswillcreatefaces.Extrudinganentireclosedmesh(notshown)willduplicatethatmesh.

InEditmode,theWkeybringsupamenuwithalotofhandytoolsformodeling.AlloftheoperatorsyouwilluseinEditmodecanbefoundinthe3DViewport.AsofBlender2.5,whenyouusemostoperators,theToolOptionspanelwillappearatthebottomoftheToolShelf,allowingyoutochange,retroactively,theparametersoftheoperatoryoujustused.Forexample,afterapplyingtheSubdivideoperator,youcanusetheToolOptionspaneltochangehowmanysubdivisionstoapplyandwhethertosmooththem.

OtherWaystoModel:CurvesYoucanuseBlendertocreatemodelsinanumberofdifferentways,including

usingvariouscurves,metaballs(whichbehavesomewhatlikeblobsofclaythatsticktogetherwhentheygetclosetooneanother),NURBSsurfaces(surfacesconstructedfromcrosssectionsdefinedbycurves),textobjects,andBéziercurves.Eachhasitsplaceinmodeling,butthemostimportant(aftermeshes)areBéziercurves,whichwe’lluseoftenthroughoutthemodelingsectionsofthisbook.

Béziercurvesdefineapathin3Dspaceandareconstructedusingcontrolpointsandhandles.Theycanbeusedtomakebothwire-orribbon-likeobjectsthatfollowthepathofacurve(usingclosedoropencurves)andflatsurfacesthataredefinedbytheiroutline(usingclosed2Dcurves).Eachcontrolpointhastwohandlesthatdefinehowthepathflowsthroughthatvertex,allowingyoutocreateawidearrayofsmoothandsharppathswithacurve.

Modelingwithcurvesworksverymuchlikeusingmeshes;youcangrab,rotate,scale,duplicate,andextrudecontrolpointsortheirhandles.(Youcan’tmakefacesfromcurves,though;youcanonlyconnecteachvertexinacurvetotwoothers.)

Whenworkingwithcurvesbearthefollowinginmind:

Thegeometrygeneratedbycurvesisprocedural.ThismeansthatthecurvesyoudefineareusedtogenerateameshaccordingtothesettingsyouapplytothecurveintheObjectDatatab(Figure4-3)ofthePropertieseditor.Youcanchangethingslikethenumberofdivisionspercurvesegmentandthebevelingandextrusionappliedtothecurve.

Figure4-3.TheObjectDatatabforacurveobjectallowsyoutochangebetweena2Dand3Dcurve,setthedensityofthemeshcreatedfromthatcurve(Resolution),anddefinehowthecurveisbeveledand

extrudedtocreatea3Dobject(Geometry).

Curvescanbeopenorclosed.Tocloseacurve,selectitstwoendsandpressFtojointhem.YoucandeleteasegmentofaclosedcurvebyselectingtwoormoreconnectedpointsandchoosingX▸Segmenttomakeitopenagain.Curvescanbeeither2Dor3D.Pointsona2Dcurvecannotbemovedalongthecurveobject’sz-axis,whichallowsyoutocreateaflatobjectbydefiningitsoutlinewithacurve.Blenderthenfillsintheshapewithfacesaccordingtothe

Fillsetting(seeFigure4-3).YoucanthenextrudetheoutlineofaclosedcurvetocreateasolidshapeusingtheGeometrysettingsintheObjectDatatab.Youcanalsoadddetailslikebevelededgesandchangethecurve’sresolutionhere.

3Dcurveshavea“tilt”thatdeterminesthedirectionofextrusionofthecurve,asshowninFigure4-4.Youcanseethedirectionofthetiltfromthenormals(arrowheads)displayedalongthelengthof3Dcurves.YoucaneditthistiltwithCTRL-T,allowingyoutocreateacurvethattwistsalongitslength.

Curvescanbeusedtodeformmeshes.Meshobjectscanbestretchedalongthepathtakenbyacurvebyapplyingacurvemodifiertothem.

Thecurvehandlescanworkinoneofseveralways,asshowninFigure4-5.Thedefaultisusuallyautomaticoraligned,dependingonthesortofcurveobjectyouadd.Automatichandlessimplycreateasmoothpathfromonecontrolpointtothenext,withthehandlespointinginoppositedirections.Ifyougrabonehandleandmoveit,itscontrolpointwillswitchtousingalignedhandlesthatpointinoppositedirectionsbutcanberotatedandscaled,allowingyoutocreatemoreflexiblecurves.YoucanchangetootherhandletypesusingtheshortcutV(orviatheCurvemenuintheheader).Vectorhandlescreatestraightlinesbetweenpointswithsharpcorners.Freehandlescreatesharpcornerstoo,butyoucanalsograbthemandmovethemaroundlikealignedhandles,allowingyoutocreatecurvedsegmentsbetweencontrolpoints.

Figure4-4.Differenttypesofcurves.Left:A2Dcurveextrudedandbeveledtomakeaflatcutoutshape.Right:3Dcurvesextrudedtomakeribbons.(Thetiltofthecurvedefineshowthecurvetwists.)

ModifiersModifiersallowyoutoprocedurallyandnondestructivelyperformoperationsonyourmodels.TheyarefundamentaltocreatingjustaboutanythinginBlender.Somemodifiersgeneratenewgeometry,replacingoraddingtoyourmesh,whileothersdeformexistinggeometryaccordingtocertainrulesorofferwaystoplugsimulationsandothermorecomplexentitiesintoyourscene.

We’llfocusmainlyonmodifiersthatgenerateanddeformthemeshestheyareappliedtobecausethey’rethemostusefulforcreatingmodels.SomeofthemostimportantonesformodelingarelistedinTable4-3.Inparticular,theMirrorandSubdivisionSurfacemodifiersareusedinpracticallyallorganicmodeling.Theeffectsofthemostcommonlyusedgeneratemodifiersareshownonahalf-sphereinFigure4-6.

Figure4-5.Curveswithdifferenthandletypes(clockwisefromtopleft:automatic,aligned,vector,andfree)

Table4-3.UsefulModifiersforModeling

Type Modifier Effect

generate Mirror Mirrorsthegeometryofthemeshalongthespecifiedaxis,abouttheobject’sorigin,orofanotherobject.Mirrormodifiersareveryusefulforcreatingsymmetricalobjects.

Array Copiesthemeshgeometryandoffsetsitusingafixedoffsetrelativetotheobject’ssizeorsomeotherobject.Arraysareusefulformodelswithrepeatingelements.

SubdivisionSurface(Subsurf)

Divideseachfaceofameshintofoursmallerfacesandsmoothsthem,creatingasmoothermeshwitheachiteration.Subsurfsareusefulforobjectswithsmoothsurfaces,particularlyorganicmodels.

Solidify Extrudesthegeometryalongitsnormalstocreateasolidshellfroma

surface.

deform Lattice Usesa3Dgridofpointstosmoothlydistorttheshapeofamesh.

Shrinkwrap Projectsthemeshontothesurfaceofanotherobject.

Curve Deformsameshalongthepathofacurve.

Figure4-6.Differentgeneratemodifiersandtheireffects.Fromthetop,weseehalfasphere1,withaMirrormodifier2,anArraymodifier3,aSolidifymodifier4,andaSubdivisionSurfacemodifier5applied.Modifierscanbecombinedtocreateallsortsofshapesmoreeasilythanmodelingthemby

hand.

BlockingintheJungleTempleLet’sconsidertheJungleTemplescene.Forthisproject,myinitialconcernwasdesigningalayoutfortheenvironmentthatlentitselftocreatinganicecomposition.Ibeganwithonlythemainelementsinthescene:adoorintothe

interiorofthetempleandsomestoneblocksandtreesstrewnaroundtheruins.

Tocreatethedoor,IaddedacubeinObjectmode(SHIFT-A▸Mesh▸Cube)andscaledit(S)toaboutthesizeIneeded.OnceyouactivatetheScaleoperator,youcanconstrainscalingalongoneaxis(bypressingX,Y,orZ)toscaletheobjectinonlyonedirection.YoucanalsoscaleonallbutoneaxisbypressingSHIFTandX,Y,orZ.

SwitchingtoEditmode(TAB),Iaddedaholebyextrudinginthetwooutsidefacesandscalingthemonthex-andz-axesonly.Next,Ideletedthecenterfaces(X)andcreatednewfacesaroundtheholeinthecenterbyselectingtwoopenedgesatatimeandmakingafacebetweenthem(F),asshowninFigure4-7.

BackinObjectmode,Iaddedaplane(SHIFT-A▸Mesh▸Plane)andscaledituptoformthegroundplaneofthescene.ThenIaddedacameraandmovedittoroughlyviewthedoorIwaslookingfor.Aquickwaytodothisistonavigatetotheviewyouwantjustwithinthe3DViewportandthenpressCTRL-ALT-0tosnapthecameratothecurrentview.Youcanalsojustmoveandrotatethecameralikeanyotherobject.Notethatthismightresultinthecameragettingslightlytilted.YoucanrectifythisbymanuallysettingtheYrotationofthecamerato0,usingtheRotationpropertiesintheTransformpanelofthePropertiesregion(N).

Fromhere,Iaddedsomesimplewallstoformthemainboundariesofmyscenesimplybyadding,scaling,moving,andextrudingcubes.Next,Ibeganaddingmorecubes,keepinginmindhowtheywouldbecomethefinalarchitecturalelementsofthescene,likestonewalls,statues,andlooseblocksofstone.ThisprogressionisshowninFigure4-8.

Withthesimpleelementsblockedin,IbegantoaddroughproxiesforthetreesIwantedgrowingovertheruins.Tocreatetheseproxies,IaddedaBéziercurveobjectandsetthehandlestoautomatic.ThenIusedBlender’sSnappingtoolstoextrudecurvesresemblingtherootsandtrunksoftreesoverthesurfacesoftheplaceholderobjects(Figure4-9).IaccomplishedthisbyturningonSnapping,settingthesnappingtargettofaces,andenablingProjectontoSurface(Figure4-10).Thisprojectsthecurvesontotheotherobjectsinthesceneasyoumoveandextrudethem,allowingyouto“drawout”thetreesoverthetopoftheexistingscene.

Figure4-7.Makingasimpledoor

Figure4-8.Blockinginwithsimpleelements.Ibeganwiththedoorandthenaddedagroundplane,walls,andcubestorepresentmajorelementsinthescene.

Figure4-9.Bysnappingthetreerootstotheirsurroundings,wecanquicklyblockintreerootscrawlingoverthesurfaceoftheruins.

Figure4-10.Snappingicons

SnappingBlenderhastoolsforsnappingobjects,vertices,faces,oredgestoallsortsofthings.ToturnonSnapping,clicktheSnappingicon(thehorseshoemagnet)intheheaderofthe3DViewport(seeFigure4-10).Then,fromthedrop-downmenubesidetheSnappingicon,selecthowBlenderwillsnapyourselectionwhenit’smoved,scaled,orrotatedfromamongthefollowingoptions:

Increment.Yourselectionwillsnaptothenearestincrementsothatyoucanconstructobjectswithpreciselyalignedpoints.Thisisusefulformodelingthingslikebuildingsormechanicalobjectswhereyouwantperfectlyalignedwallsandfloorswithnolumpsorbumps.(YoucanalsosnapyourselectiontoBlender’sgridbypressingSHIFT-S▸SelectiontoGrid.)Vertex/Edge/Face/Volume.Yourselectionwillbesnappedtothevertices,edges,faces,orinteriorofanyobjects.YoucanchangewhatBlenderchoosestosnaptofromthedrop-downmenuthatappears.Clicktheicontotherightofthedrop-downmenutorotatetheselectionsothatitalignswiththenormalverticesthatitsnapsto.

OneveryimportantsnappingoptionisfoundinFaceSnappingmode.EnablingFaceSnappingcausestheProjectontoSurfaceicontoappear.ProjectontoSurfacewillcausegeometryyoucreatetosnapontothesurfaceofexistingobjectsasyoumove,scale,orrotatethemaround.Thisoptionallowsyoutocreatenewtopologyoverthesurfaceofanexistingobject.InChapter7,wewillbecreatingnewtopologyoverthesurfaceofexistingobjectstobettercapturetheirshapesafterwehavesculptedtheoriginals.

BaseMeshesTocreatetheBatCreature,Ineededasimplebasemeshthatcouldbesculptedon.Abasemeshisasimplemodelthatcapturesthebasicshapesofthemodelyouwanttosculpt.Onceyou’vecreatedabasemesh,youcanaddaMultiresolutionmodifierandbeginsubdividingandsculptingdetailsinSculptmode(seeChapter6).

Yourbasemeshshouldcapturetheoverallproportionsofthemeshandbedesignedtosubdivideeasilyinordertoprovideaniceevenmeshtosculpton.

Wecanretopologizethesculptedbasemeshlatertocreatethefinalmodel,butworkingwithverysimplegeometrynowwillleavemorefreedomforexperimentationwhilesculpting.

Abasemeshcanhaveanylevelofcomplexity,buttrytocreatetopologythatwillsupporttheformsthatyouknowyouwanttocreate,withoutintroducingtoomanydetailsthatyoumightnotbesureabout.Dependingonhowsureyouareofwhatyouwantyourmodeltolooklike,youcanincludetopologyforfeatureslikeeyes,mouths,andmusclegroups,oryoucanleaveitassimpleasabasicsphereorcubeifyou’rejustmodelingaface.

FortheBatCreature,Iaimedforabasemeshthatgavetopologyfortheoverallbodyplanbutleftoutfinedetails,suchasthehead.Idevelopedthebasemeshbysettingmyconceptartasabackgroundimageandusingitasaguide.

BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMeshIstartedwiththetorsoofthecreaturetoprovideaguideforthescaleoftherestoftheparts,aswellassomethingtoattachthemto.Tobegin,Itookthedefault.blendfile(thesceneyouarepresentedwithwhenBlenderstartsup)anddeletedanyobjectsalreadypresent.ThenIloadedintheconceptdrawingfortheBatCreature(asshowninFigure4-11).(Forhelpwiththis,seeUsingConceptsandReferenceImagesinBlender.)WhileIdidn’tplantousethisconcepttomodelfromexactly,itmadeausefulguideforjudgingtheproportionsasIworked.Atthispoint,Ileftthewingsoutofthebasemeshforthebody,asIplannedtomodelthemseparatelylater.

Figure4-11.Conceptartloadedinasabackgroundimage

Next,Iaddedacube,changedtoEditmode(TAB),andscaledittotheroughproportionsofthetorso.Ididthisfirstinoveralltermsbyjustscalingittotherightwidth(S).ThenIscaledupthez-axis(S▸Z)beforescalinginonthey-axis(S▸Y)tomakeittallerandshallower.Byaddinghorizontalloopcuts(extraringsofedgesaroundthemesh,asdiscussedbelow)aroundthemiddleofthecube(CTRL-R)andmovingthemforwardalittle,Iaddedabitofcurvaturetothetorsoandbeganrefiningitsshape.

Atthispoint,itwaseasiertostartusingaMirrormodifiertokeepmymeshsymmetricalbecausethemodelwasbecomingmorecomplex.Todoso,Iaddedaloopcutverticallyaroundthemiddleofthetorsoanddeleteditsright-handside.AddingaMirrormodifierthenmirroredthegeometryoftheleft-handsideofthebodytocreateasymmetricalwholethatonlyrequirededitingononeside(seeFigure4-12).Atthesametime,turningonclippingkeepsverticesonthemidlinefromstrayingawayfromtheobject’sxorigin,whichpreventsholes

fromappearinginthemeshifyouaccidentallymoveavertexslightlyawayfromthelineofsymmetry.

LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoopsAfaceloopisastringofquadsconnectedend-to-endinacontinuouspath,allowinganedgeloop(achainofconnectedvertices)tobecutthroughthemiddle.Forexample,inFigure4-13,addingtwoedgeloopsaroundthefaceloopencirclingthecylindercreatesanewfacelooprunningaroundthemiddle.Technically,anedge/faceloopshouldbeonecontinuouscyclicalpath,butthetermisoftenusedtomeananyreasonablylongchainofquads/edges.

Figure4-12.AddingaMirrormodifiertothebodyrequiresaddinganedgelooparoundthemiddleanddeletinghalfofthetorsofirst.Bydefault,themirrormodifiermirrorsobjectsaroundthex-axis,butyoucanchangethistomirroraroundanycombinationofthex-,y-,andz-axes,dependingonyourmodel.

TheLoopCuttool(CTRL-R)isextremelyimportantbecauseitfollowsapathofquadsthroughyourmesh,cuttingthrougheachonetocreatenewedgesthatflowthroughthefaceloop.IfyouactivatetheLoopCuttoolandmouseoveranedge,Blenderwillhighlightthepathinpurple.Ifthepathreachesatriangleoranopenedgeofthemesh,itstops.

Loopcutsareusefulbecausetheyallowyoutoadddefinitiontoyourmodelwhilemaintainingcleantopology.Youcancreatemultipleloopcutsbyscrolling

yourmousewheelafterpressingCTRL-Randbeforechoosinganedgetostartcuttingfrom(seeFigure4-13).

Blenderhasotheroperatorsforinteractingwithedgeloopsandfaceloops,includingonesfordeletingtheloop(joiningthefacesoneithersidetogethertokeepthemeshwhole)andslidingtheloopupanddowntheedgesparalleltoit.Youcanalsoselectanentireedgeloopatoncetomanipulateit.(Ifitisn’tcyclic,Blenderwillsimplyfindthelongestpaththatitcan.)TheseoperatorsaredetailedinTable4-4.

Asthenextstepinmyproject,Iextrudeddownfromthehipstomakethelegandaddedloopcutstofleshoutitsshape,asshowninFigure4-14.Forthearms,Iaddedabendattheshoulderbyextrudingoutfromthebodyandthendownfromthebottomfaceofthenewlyextrudedregion,asshowninFigure4-15.Thisgavetheshoulderanicer,morenaturalcornerthanitmighthaveifI’dextrudeddowndirectlyfromthebody.

Figure4-13.YoucanaddmultipleloopcutsbyscrollingyourmousewheelorenteringanumberwiththekeyboardafterpressingCTRL-R.Loopcutsterminatewhentheyreachatriangleortheedgeofa

mesh.

Table4-4.EdgeLoopOperators

Operator Hotkey Function

DeleteEdgeLoop

X▸EdgeLoop

Deletestheselectedportionofanedgeloop,leavingthesurfaceotherwiseintact.

EdgeSlide CTRL- Allowsyoutoslideallorpartofanedgeloopalongtheedges

E▸EdgeSlide

runningperpendiculartoit.

LoopCut CTRL-R Createsanewedgeloopstartingfromtheedgeunderthecursor.

SelectEdge/FaceLoop

ALT-right-click

Selectsanedge/faceloop(dependingonselectionmode).

Figure4-14.Addingloopcutstotheleggavememoreverticeswithwhichtodefineitsshape.

PosesforModelingCharactersTheposeyoumodelacharacterorcreatureinisveryimportanttoitsultimatelook,andyourstrategywilldependonwhatyouwanttouseyourmodelfor.So

far,I’vemodeledtheBatCreatureinarelaxedposethatisclosetotheclassicTpose:armsstraightoutandlegsshoulderwidthapart.TheTposeisusefulwhenriggingacharacter(theprocessofcreatinganarmaturethattellsthemeshhowtomoveasifithadbonesandjoints).However,theTposelooksrathertenseandunnaturalwhenmodeling,aneffectthatcanstickaroundwhenposingacharacterintootherpositions.Instead,IwantedthecharactertolookasrelaxedandneutralaspossiblewhileintheearlystagesofmodelingsothatIcouldprogressawayfromthisneutralpositionlater.Byrelaxingthearmsdowntowardthecharacter’ssides,Ieliminatedthistensiontomakethecharacter’sdefaultposemuchmorenatural.

Figure4-15.Extrudingthearms.Creatingacornerattheshouldersgavethearmamorenaturalshape.

Figure4-16.Addinganextraedgelooparoundthetorsoandlegsandmergingacoupleofedgesto

cleanupthemesh

NOTEThoughwewon’tcoverriggingindetail,notethatthereisareasonfortheclassicTpose.Whenitcomestorigging,havingacharacter’sarmsoutstraightcanmakeitsimplertosetupbonechainsandconstraints.However,continuingimprovementsinBlender’sriggingtoolshavemadeitsomewhatlessnecessarytodothis.Youcanalwaysre-poseyourmodelintheTposeafterhavingmodeledandsculpteditinamorerelaxedpose.

Next,Iselectedalltheedgesrunningdownthefrontandbackofthebodyandlegsandsubdividedthem(W)toallowmetorefinetheshapeofthetorsoandlegs.Doingsocreatedsomeawkwardtopologyatthepelvis,whichIfixedbyselectingthetwonewedgesandmergingthem,asshowninFigure4-16.Ididthesamefortheedgesonthebackside,too.

Iaddedanedgelooparoundthemiddleofthecharacterasseenfromtheside(Figure4-17)andrunningacrossthechestanddownthearms.Ithenfurtherrefinedthebodyshape,tuckinginthewaistatthebackandroundingouttheshapeofthelegsandarms.Thisstepbroughtthenumberofverticesaroundthearmsandlegstoatotalofeight,whichwouldbeimportantwhenaddinghandsandfeet.

Figure4-17.Refiningthebodyinsideview(left)beforeaddinganedgelooprunningaroundthemiddle(right)

AsIwentalong,Itriedtomakesurethatmymeshwascompletelycomposedofquads,andIaimedtokeepthesizeandshapeofthequadsapproximatelyevenandsquare.Thisisimportantwhencreatingabasemeshforsculptingbecausetriangles,n-gons,andlong,thinfacesgenerallycreateartifactswhensculptedon.

Tocreatealoopoffacesrunningaroundtheshoulder(Figure4-18),Iselectedthefacesofthearmandsplitthemfromthebody(Y).IthenshiftedthearmoutandbridgedtheedgesaroundthegapusingtheBridgeoperator(W▸BridgeTwoEdgeLoops).Thisconnectedtwostringsorloopsofverticestogether,fillingtheminwithfacesfromonetotheother.Thetwomusthavethesamenumberofverticestobejoined.

Figure4-18.Addingaloopoffacesaroundtheshoulder.Thisloopmadeiteasytorepositionthearmindifferentposeswithoutdeformingthechest.

ThenIaddedsomemoreloopcutsovervariouspartsofthebody,runningacrosstheforms,toevenoutthemeshandgiveanevendistributionofroughlysquarequads(Figure4-19).YoucanadjustthepositionofanexistingedgeloopusingtheEdgeSlideoperator(CTRL-E▸EdgeSlide),whichletsyouslideedgeloopsupanddown.

Figure4-19.Addingsomeextraedgeloopsaroundthelegs,arms,andtorso

ModelingtheHandsandFeetTomodelthehands(asshowninFigure4-20),Ibeganwithacubeandflatteneditbyscalingitdownalongitsx-axistoformthebasisforthepalm1.ThenIaddedsomeloopcutsaroundthemiddleandvertically2.

Atthispoint,Icouldhaveextrudedthefingersstraightoutfromeachfaceatthebaseofthepalm.Doingso,however,wouldhavecreatedsomenastytopologywherethefingersmeeteachotherthatwouldneithersculptnordeformwellwhenposed.Instead,Ididsomeextrudingtoaddfaceloopsthatrunbetweenthefingers3.Forthemiddleone,Isimplyselectedhalfofthehandandextrudedout.Fortheoutertwogaps,Iextrudedinthemiddle4facesonthebottomhalfofthehandonbothsides,aswellasthoseconnectingthetwosidesalongthebottom,foratotalof10faces.

Figure4-20.Creatingthehand

Toreducethenumberoffacesalongthetopsideofthehand(whereitwilleventuallyjoinwiththearm),Imergedthetwopairsofedgesonthetopcornerofthehandoppositethethumb4.(RememberIwasaimingtohaveeightverticestojoinwiththearm,sothisareaneededtobekeptsimple.)

Forthethumb,Iextrudedouttwicefromthefacesonthefrontofthehand5andthenmergedtheverticesonthecornertocreateabend6.Ithenaddedaloopcutrunningaroundtheoutsideofthehand7,extrudedthefingersandthethumb8,andsmoothedthemslightly(W▸Smooth).Next,Igavethefingersandthumbabitofacurlinwardbyselectingandfirstrotatingthewholefinger,thenthelasttwo-thirds,andthenjustthetip9.Ialsoadjustedtheshapeofthewholehandbyselectingpartsofthehandfromthetopviewandrotatingthemwithproportionaleditingturnedontogivethepalmandthumbaslightcurve.

Ismoothedthehandslightly(W▸Smooth)tomakethefingersandpalmabitlessblocky.Byselectingthesurfaceofthepalm,andwithproportionaleditingturnedon,Iinflateditslightly(ALT-S)togivethehandabitmorevolume10.ThiscompletesthemodelingstagesshowninFigure4-20.

Toconnectthehandtothearm(Figure4-21),Ideletedthefourfacesinthemiddleofthetopsideofthehand,movedthehandintoplace,andthenjoinedthehandwiththemainbodyinObjectmode(CTRL-J).TheninEditmode,I

deletedthecorrespondingfacesattheendofthearmandbridgedtheloopstoconnectthehandtothearm.

Figure4-21.Joiningthehandtothearm

BecauseIkeptthenumberofverticesaroundtheendofthearmandthewristthesame,thehandjoinedtothearmwithaminimumoffuss,asshowninFigure4-21.Becausethejoinnowhadtwoedgeloopsquiteclosetogether,Ideletedone(selectingitwithALT-right-click,thendeletingwithX▸EdgeLoop)tocreateamoreevendistribution.

Modelingthefeetwasmuchthesame,asshowninFigure4-22.Beginningwithacube,Ifirstextrudedthegeneralshapeofthefoot1.Iaddedfaceloopstoproducegapsbetweenthetoes(2to4),extrudedthetoes5,smoothedthefootalittle6,andthenmergedthecorneredgesonthebackofthefoottoimprovethewaythattheedgeloopsflowaroundthebackandreducedtheoverallpolycount,

asIdidwiththehand7.IusedInflateandproportionaleditingtomakethebigtoebiggerandrefinetheslopeofthefoot,whichslopesdownforwardfromtheleganddownfromthebigtoesidetothelittletoeside8.Again,becausethereareeightverticesaroundthecircumferenceoftheleg,Icoulddeletefourfacesfromthetopofthefootandbridgethegapwiththeleg(9and10).ThenIcleaneduptheedgeloopdistributionalongthelowerlegbysliding,deleting,oraddingedgeloopstogetmoreevenlyspacededgeloops(11and12).

ModelingtheHeadTheheadbeganasjustacubeextrudedout,onceatthefrontandthendownatthebasetocreatethechin(Figure4-23).Afteraddingafewloopcuts,Iextrudedoutfromthebottomtocreatetheneckandthensmoothedandrefinedtheshapetogiveitabettersilhouetteandtomakeitslightlynarroweratthefront.Iextrudedoutfromthefacesonthesideoftheheadtocreatesomegeometryfortheears.Then,aswiththebody,IdeletedhalfandaddedaMirrormodifier.Next,Iconnectedtheheadtothebody,deletingthefacesinbetweenandbridgingthegapwiththeBridgeoperator.

Figure4-22.Constructingthefoot

Figure4-23.Makingtheheadandattachingittothebody

NOTEBesurethatthexlocationoftheoriginoftheheadalignswiththebodybeforejoiningitwithCTRL-J.Ifyoudon’t,theMirrormodifieronthebodywillhaveadifferentcenterthanthehead,causingittosplittheheadapartandforcingyoutojointhefacestogetheragain.

TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

Ifyoudon’tliketheproportionsofcertainareasofyourmodel,youdon’thavetotweakeveryvertexindividually.Instead,youcanuseBlender’sproportionaleditingtograb,scale,orrotateonevertexanddragnearbyverticesalongwithitsothatchangesaremadeproportionally.

Toturnonproportionalediting,usethecirculariconinthe3DViewportheader(asshowninFigure4-1)ortheshortcutkeyO.Onceproportionaleditinghasbeenturnedon,youcanadjustthedistanceoverwhichthenearbyunselectedverticesaredragged(alongwithselectedones),aswellasthefalloffcurvefortheeffect.Tochangetheradius,scrollyourmousewheelwhilemanipulatingyourselection.Selectthefalloffcurvefromthedrop-downmenunexttotheProportionalEditingiconintheheader.Youcanalsosetproportionaleditingtoaffectonlyconnectedvertices(ALT-O),whichwilldragonlynearbyverticesinthesamemeshasthoseselected,allowingyoutodothingslikemoveanarmwithoutaffectingyourmodel’swaist.

Differentfalloffsettingscansignificantlyimpacttheeffectoftransformingpartofyourmesh.Forexample,theSharpFalloffoptionwillcreatesharppeaksifyougrabandmoveasinglevertex,whereastheSphereFalloffoptionwillcreatebulbous,sphericalshapes.TheRandomFalloffoptionisusefulforrougheningupthesurfaceofamesh;bygrabbingasinglevertexandmovingitalittle,withawideradiusforthefalloff,youcanaddaslightrandomvariationtothesurfaceofamesh.

Proportionaleditingisusefulformanythingsbesidestweakingproportions.Forexample,youcanuseittocreateinterestingcurvedortwisteddeformationsbygrabbingorrotatingpartsofthemesh(Figure4-24)orforposingcharacterswithouthavingtorigthem.

Figure4-24.Proportionaleditinghasmanyuses.Hereit’susedtodeformasubdividedcolumnusing(lefttoright)Translate,Rotate,andScaleoperationsandthestandard“smooth”falloff.

Iusedproportionaleditingtomakeafewtweakstofinalizethemesh,suchaspullingbackthearmsandshouldersslightlyandnarrowingthebackwhereit’slevelwiththewaist.

CreatingtheWingsTomakeiteasiertosculptonthebodyandwings,IcreatedthemasseparatemeshesthatIcouldjoinlaterwhenretopologizing.Tocreatethewings,Ifirstblockedintheskeletonusingthereferenceasaroughguide,beginningwithasmallplaneandworkingalongthelengthofthebones(seeFigure4-25).TomakeiteasiertogetthetopologyIwanted,Ikeptthemesh2Datthispoint.

Withthebasicskeletonblockedin,Ibeganfillinginthewingsbetweenthebones.Tomakesurethegapcouldbefilledinneatly,Ispacedouttheverticesalongthebonessothattheyroughlymatchedupwithoneanother,addingmoreasneededorshiftingexistingones.Next,Iextrudedandscaledtheedgestocreateacleandivisionbetweenthewingandthebones,andIbeganfillinginthegaps.(Theextrusion/scalingwon’tproduceperfectresults,butyoucantweakthe

positionoftheverticesmanuallytogetanicerlayout.)

Withthegapsfilledin,Iselectedthewholemodelandextrudeditbacktogiveitsomethickness,asshowninFigure4-261.Next,IselectedjustthewingmembraneareasandusedtheShrink/Fattentool(ALT-S)tomaketheseareasslightlythinneragain2.Atthispoint,thewinghadsomethicknessbutwasstillveryflatlooking.Torectifythis,Ifirstselecteditsmorecentralpartsandshiftedthembackslightlytogivethewingabitofaconcaveshape3.

NOTESometimesBlenderwillcalculatethenormalsofameshincorrectly,whichcancauseoperatorslikeShrink/FattenandmodifierslikeSubdivisionSurfaceorBeveltobehavestrangely.Youcanoftenseethisifyousetyourmeshtodrawsmooth,asblackboundarieswillappearbetweenareaswithconflictingnormals.Tofixthis,simplyselectyourwholemeshinEditmodeandusetheRecalculateNormalsoperator(CTRL-N)toforceBlendertorecalculatetheobject’snormals.

NextIusedtheWarpoperator(SHIFT-W)togivethewingacurve4.Thisoperatorusesthe3Dcursorpositionasthecenteroftheoperationandarrangestheselectedverticesinacirclearoundthatcenter.Youcandefinehowfartheverticesarewarpedwithyourcursor;settingthe3Dcursorfurtherfromthemeshbeforeusingtheoperatorwillgivethecurveawiderradius.

Asaresultofthesetreatments,IwasabletoaddanicecurvetothewingbyswitchingtothetopviewandusingWarp.Also,byrotatingthemeshandusingWarpagain,Icouldaddasimilarcurvetothewing’sprofile5.

TheWarpoperatorwilloftenmovethemeshaboutabit,soIdroppedbackintoObjectmode(TAB)andmovedthewingbacktowhereIwanteditbeforeapplyingthetransforms(CTRL-A▸ApplyLocationandthenrepeatforRotationandScale,too).

Figure4-25.Blockinginthewings.Startingwiththelayoutofthewingin2Dkeepsthingssimpleandmakesiteasiertoproducethestructurewewant.

Figure4-26.Blockinginthewings.Thewingsareextrudedandthemembranesbetweenthebonesmadethinner.ThenthewholewingisgivensomecurvatureusingtheWarptool.

ApplyingTransformsOperationslikeWarpcanmoveyourobjectoutofplaceandrequireyoutorotate,scale,ortranslateyourmeshtoputitbackinplace.It’softeneasiesttodothisbymovingtheentiremeshatonceinObjectmode,thoughdoingsowillalsoaffecttheobject’slocalcoordinates,whichcanleadtostrangeresultswhenusingoperatorsandmodifiers.Forexample,InextwantedtouseaMirrormodifiertocopythewingsoverontotheothersideofthebasemeshfortheBatCreature,butafterusingtheWarpoperatorandmovingandrotatingthewingsinEditmode,addingaMirrormodifierwouldhavegivenincorrectresults(seeFigure4-27).ThereasonforthisisthatbyrotatingtheobjectinObjectmode,Irotateditslocalcoordinates,too.BecausetheMirrormodifierusesthese

coordinatestomirrortheobject,theresultswerenotwhatyoumightexpect.

Toseeanobject’slocalcoordinates,turnontheAxessettingintheObjecttabofthePropertieseditor(seeFigure4-27).Toresettheaxestomatchtheglobalcoordinatesystem,useeachoftheApplyLocation/Rotation/ScaleoperatorsinObjectmode(CTRL-A)inturn,whichwillplacetheobject’soriginattheglobaloriginandmatchtherotationandscalingofitslocalcoordinatestotheglobalcoordinateswithoutaffectingitsshape.Asaresult,you’llbeabletomodel,addmodifiers,andperformotheroperationswithmorepredictableresults.

Figure4-27.Withtheobject’scoordinateaxesturnedon,itbecomesobviouswhytheMirrormodifierisn’tproducingthedesiredeffects.Applyingthetransformsonthemeshbeforeapplyingmodifiers

producesmorepredictableresults.

NOTEOfcourse,insteadoftheabove,youcanmanipulateanobject’slocalcoordinatestoyouradvantage.Forexample,youcoulduseaMirrormodifiertocreateasymmetricalobjectandthenmoveandrotateittoapositioninyourscenethatdoesn’tmatchtheglobalcoordinates.Aslongasyoudon’tapplythesetransformsinObjectmodeatthispoint,theresultsofthemodifiershouldstaythewayyouwantthemto.

Finally,aswiththebody,IaddedaMirrormodifierandthenusedproportionaleditingtobetteralignthewingswiththebackandtweaktheshape.

Atthispoint,Ihadcompletedblockinginthebat’sbody,asshowninFigure4-28.We’llcreateitsfinaltopologyoncethesculptingisfinished,asdiscussedinChapter5andChapter7.

ShadingModesNoticethatsofarinblockingouttheprojects,Ihavekeptthemesheswehavebeencreatingshadedflat—thatis,thefacesappearfacetedanddonotblendintooneanother.Thereasonforthisisthatitmakesiteasiertoreadataglancethedirectionthatthefacesofamesharepointingandtoseehowtheformsofthemeshareprogressing.Lateron,Iwillusesmoothshadingtorendersomeofthemodelsinordertomakethemlooksmooth(Figure4-29),butfornowthisisn’tnecessary.Toswitchbetweenthetwo,simplyselectyourmesh,andintheToolShelf,usetheFlatandSmoothoperatorstoswitchtheshadingofyourselectionbetweenflatandsmoothshading.YoucandothiseitherinObjectmode,whichaffectsthewholeofeachselectedobject,orEditmode,whichaffectsonlytheselectedfaces.

Figure4-28.Thefinishedbodybasemesh

Figure4-29.FlatandSmoothshadingmodes.Smoothshadingblendsbetweenthenormalsofamesh’sfacestomakeitlooksmooth.YoucanswitchbetweenthetwomodesusingtheShadeSmoothandShade

FlatoperatorsineitherObjectorEditmode.

CreatingtheSpiderBotToblockintheSpiderBot,Ineededonlythebasicpartsofthebodyandlegs.Togeneratemoredetailedideasforthemainpartsofthebody,Iusedsculptingandthenretopologizedtheresultsandaddedmoremechanicalpartswithtraditionalmodeling.

Beginningwithtwocubes,onefortheabdomen(backsegment)andtheotherforthecephalothorax(headandbodysegment),Iscaledthemroughlytothecorrectproportions,asshowninFigure4-301.ByaddingaSubsurfmodifier(CTRL-1),Iwasabletogetamoreroundedshapewithouthavingtoaddandmanuallyadjustlotsofedgeloops.JustaddingacouplemoreedgeloopsbroughtmeclosertotheshapesIneeded2.

AfterjoiningthetwocubesintothesameobjectinObjectmode(CTRL-J),IappliedtheSubsurfmodifieratsubdivisionlevel1togivemoregeometrytoplaywith3,butIcopiedthemodifierfirsttofurthersubdividethemesh.Whena

modifierisapplied,changesitmakestothemeshareappliedtothemeshandthusconvertedintogeometryyoucanedit.Thisallowedmetoextrudesomeofthenewfacesfromthefrontofthebodytocreateabumpforthehead4.Withtheextrudedfacesstillselected,IpressedCTRL-+togrowtheselection,fatteneditabitwithALT-S,andthensmootheditalittletocompletemybasemeshforsculptingthebody.

Forthelegs,Ibeganbylayingoutmyplanforthemainpartoftheleg,consistingoflong,flattened,bone-shapedpiecesforthelongsegmentsofthelegandshield-shapedpiecesforthekneeandfootsegments.Icreatedtwoslightlydifferentvariationsofthelongsegments,oneforthefirstandlastpairsoflegsandoneforthemiddletwopairs5.Tocreatethesepieces,Ibeganwithaplane,addedaMirrormodifiertomakethelegsymmetrical,andthenextrudedoneedgeandaddedloopcutstocreatethetop-downplanoftheleg.Next,Iselectedthewholething(A)andextrudeditoutalongitsnormalsbyfirstextruding(E)withoutmovingthenewfaces.Ithenmovedthenewfacesalongtheirnormals(ALT-S)togivethelegsegmentauniformthickness.Fornow,Icreatedonlyonecopyofeachpiece;aftersculptingandretopology,I’llduplicatethefinishedpartsandpositionthemtomakethelegs.ThiscompletessomebasicpartsfortheSpiderBot.

Figure4-30.CreatingbasemeshesfortheSpiderBot

InReviewThischapterlaidthefoundationsforthemodels.FortheSpiderBotandtheBatCreature,thisentailedcreatingbasemesheswithsimpletopologythatwe’lllaterusetosculptonandfleshoutthedesignsofourcharacters.InthecaseoftheJungleTemple,Iblockedinthemostimportantelementsofthescenewithsimpleplaceholdermeshes.Inthenextchapter,wewillreplaceandexpandupon

theseplaceholders,aswellasmodelsomeextradetailsfortheothertwoprojectsanddiscusssomemorein-depthmodelingconceptsalongtheway.TheninChapter6,wewillmoveontosculptingthebasemeshescreatedinthischapterusingBlender’ssculpttools.

Chapter5.ModelingtheDetails

InChapter4,weblockedinthebasicelementsoftheprojects,creatingtheblockinoftheJungleTempleandmodelingbasemeshesforsculptingtheBatCreatureandSpiderBot.Inthischapter,you’lllearnhowtofleshoutthisframeworktocreatefinishedmodels.

Tocreatethefinalmodels,weneedtotransformoursimplegeometryusingamixoftechniques.Thesetechniquesincludeusingmodifierstoaddproceduraldetailsaswellasmodelingelementsbyhand.Ouraimshouldbetoendupwithclean,well-modeled,detailedmeshes,withoutovercomplicatingthingsorintroducingunhelpfulgeometrythatcouldslowdownrendersorcreateartifacts.

Modelingdetailsisgreatfun,butitcanalsobequiterepetitive,soIwon’texhaustivelycovertheprocessofmakingeverypart.Instead,I’llfocusonkeyaspectsofcreatingcertainelementsofprojectsthatarethemostinterestingortrickyandleavetheresttoyourimagination.We’llbeginwithsomediscussionoftopology,discusswhatconstitutesa“good”mesh,andthenmoveontotheactualmodeling.

TopologyTopologydescribesthewaythattheedgesandfacesofameshconnectandflowacrossitssurface.WecoveredthebasicsoftopologywhencreatingthebasemeshesforsculptingtheBatCreatureandSpiderBot—namely,creatingevenloopsofverticesaroundthearmsandlegsandavoidingtriangularfaces.Nowlet’stalkaboutwhywedothingsthisway.

Therearemanywaystocreatemeshesthathavethesamebasicshapesbutuseverydifferentconfigurationsoffacesintheirconstruction,asyoucanseeinFigure5-1.

WhiletheshapesinFigure5-1areroughlythesame,themiddlemeshisthemostusefulbecauseitsgeometryflowswiththeformoftheface,creatingloops

aroundtheeyesandthemouthandrunningneatlydowntheneckandoverthehead.Also,itdescribestheformsoftheheadjustaswellas(orbetterthan)theothermeshes,whileusingfewerfaces.

Theflowingcharacteristicsofthismesharealsoimportantforanimationbecausetheyallowthemeshtodeformeasilyandsmoothly.Forexample,closingtheeyesoropeningthemouthwon’tstretchedgesawkwardlyorcausepartsofthemeshtointersectunpleasantly.Thiskindofloop-basedtopologyalsohelpswhencreatingfurthervariationsontheshape,anditmakesiteasiertoplaceUVseamsandtoUVunwrapthemeshwithouttoomuchstretching(seeChapter8formoreonunwrapping).

Figure5-1.Thesameheadshapewiththreeverydifferentmeshes

AnotherreasonthatthemiddlemeshinFigure5-1isthebetterchoiceisthatitstopologyisthebestsuitedforusewiththeSubdivisionSurface(Subsurf)modifier.TheSubdivisionSurfacemodifier,whichwecoveredinChapter4,isusedtosubdivideandsmoothamesh.ThealgorithmusedbytheSubdivisionSurfacemodifier,Catmull-Clarksubdivision,worksbestwhengivenameshconstructedlikethisone.WhentheSubdivisionSurfacemodifierisusedwithameshcontainingalotoftrianglesorlong,oddlyshapedfaces,itcangivepoorresults,butwhengivenwell-constructed,flowingtopology,itproducesverypredictable,smoothforms.

WhatIsGoodTopology?Goodtopologyforanimationisusuallygoodforsubdivisionandviceversa.Butwhatconstitutesgoodtopology?Whiletherearenoabsoluterules,thereareafewimportantprinciples.It’samixofartandscience.

Avoidtrianglesandn-gonswherepossible.Thisisthebigone.Whiletrianglesarefineinastaticmeshthatyoudon’tintendtosubdivideorinalow-polyobjectforagame,ifyouplantosubdivideyourmesh,useasfewtrianglesaspossiblebecausetrianglesdon’tsubdivideaswellasquads.Equally,n-gonsareconvertedtotrianglesbeforebeingsubdivided,resultinginthesamekindsofproblems.

Avoidpoleswithlotsofedges.Apoleisavertexwherethree,five,ormoreedgesmeet—thatis,apointinameshthatdeviatesfromagrid-likestructure.Liketriangles,polescancreateartifactswhensubdividingamesh.Poleswiththreeorfiveedgesaren’tsobad—indeed,it’sjustaboutimpossibletocreateanythingbuttoroidsandgridswithoutcreatingafewpoles—butpoleswithsixormoreedgessubdividepoorly.

Createloopsaroundimportantforms.Thisallowsyoutoeasilyselect,deform,andanimateyourmeshes,anditalsoensurestheywillsubdividecleanly.Forexample,inFigure5-1,theuseofedgeloopsthatflowaroundtheeyesmakesiteasiertoadjusttheirshape.

Alignedgeswiththeform.Ifyourobjectisroughlycylindrical,theedgesofthemeshshouldflowarounditscircumferenceandalongitslength.Ifyourobjectisroughlycuboidal,createitbystartingfromacubeandaddingloopcuts.Ingeneral,trytocreateameshstructurethatgoeswiththe“grain”oftheshapeyouaretryingtocreate,asshowninFigure5-2.

DealingwithDifficultTopologyTheruleslistedabovearesimple,butyoumayrunintotroublefollowingthemfromtimetotime,especiallywhentryingtoeliminatetrianglesandpolesfromyourmodels.Herearesometipsfordealingwithdifficulttopology:

Planahead.Mosttopologywoescanbesidesteppedsimplybyplanningahead.That’swhy,forexample,wemadesuretherewereeightverticesintheloopsaroundthearmsandlegswhencreatingthebasemeshfortheBatCreature:It

madejoiningthehandseasy,astherewerenosurplusedgestojointogetherwhenitcametobridgingthegap.Powersof2(8,16,or32)areoftenagoodwaytothinkaboutthis,butregardless,trytokeeptoevennumberswhencreatingedgeloops.Ifyouarenewto3Dmodeling,itcanbehelpfultosketchyourdesiredmeshoveraphotooryourconceptart,eitherinGIMPoronpaper,asshowninFigure5-3.

Twotrismakeaquad.Youcanjointwoadjacenttrianglestomakeaquad,killingtwobirdswithonestone.Toconvertmultipletrianglesintoquadsautomatically,selectyourmeshandpressALT-Jtoturnsuitablepairsoftrianglesintoquads.

Figure5-2.Topologydosanddon’ts:Avoidtriangles1,avoidpoles2,createloopsaroundimportantforms3,andalignedgeswiththeforms,notagainstthem4.

Rotateedgestomovetriangles.Torotateor“spin”anedge,selectitandpressCTRL-E▸RotateEdgeCW/CCW(clockwise/counterclockwise).Thisrearrangesthefacesaroundthatedge,allowingyoutomovetriangles.Youcancombinethistrickwiththejoiningadjacenttrianglestrickabove:Byspinningedgestobringtwotrianglestogether,youcaneliminatethem,asshowninFigure5-4.

Figure5-3.Sketchingyourtopologybeforehandcanhelpyouavoiddifficulties.

Addanedgeloop.Addingaloopcut(CTRL-R)thatendsonatrianglewillturnthattriangleintoaquad(ortwotriangles,whichyoucanmergeintoaquad).Ifthenewedgeloopterminatesatanopenedge,you’veeliminatedyourtriangle.Ifyourmeshisclosed,itmightjustmovethetriangletotheotherendoftheedgeloop,and,ifyouhavetrianglesatbothends,youcantakeouttwoatatime(seeFigure5-5).

Splitapoleintwo.Apolewithsixedgescaneasilybesplitintotwofivesbyaddingafaceloopbetweenthetwohalves.Addfurtherfacesforevencleanertopology,asshowninFigure5-6.

Cut,dissolve,andjoin.Thecuttool(K)allowsyoutoarbitrarilycutedgesandfacestogetthetopologyyouwant.YoucancombinethistoolwiththeDissolveoperator(X▸Dissolve)togetridofvertices’edgeswithoutdeletingthefacestheyarepartof.ThenusetheJoinEdgesoperatortoconnecttwoverticesthatarealreadypartofafacebutdonothaveanedgeconnectingthem.Thesetoolsaregreatforarbitrarilyrearrangingdifficulttopology.

Figure5-4.Rotatingedgestobringtwotrianglestogetherallowsyoutoeliminatethem.

Figure5-5.AddingedgeloopswiththeLoopCuttool(CTRL-R)cangetridoftriangles.Ifyouaddonebetweentwotriangles,youcaneliminatethembothinonego.Alternatively,youcoulddeleteoneofthe

edgeloopsalreadypresentwithsimilareffect.

Figure5-6.Addingfacestoremovepoles.Addingonefaceloopacrosssixpolesreducesittotwofivepoles,whichwillsubdividemuchmorecleanly.

Figure5-7.Thistrianglehiddeninthecornerofanearisn’tlikelytocausemuchtrouble.

Ifyoucan’tgetridofit,hideit.Ifyoureallycan’tgetridofatriangle,hideitwhereitwon’tcausetroubleorcreatesubdivisionartifacts,suchasinsideanearornostrilorsomeplacereallyflatthatdoesn’tneedtodeform,asshowninFigure5-7.

Whenindoubt,startover.Ifyoumanagedtomakesomethingonce,chancesareyoucandoitagainandgetitright.Itmighttakesomeextratime,butit’susuallyworthit.

ModelingtheDetailsoftheJungleTempleTheJungleTemplescenewasalreadyblockedin,sonextitneededtoberefinedtomakeitmorefinal.ThisprocessrequiredmetothinkabouttheshapesIwantedtocreateandtomodelmorecomplexmesheswiththeshapesIwantedinthefinalrenders.

WallsForthemainwallsoftheJungleTemple,Ifirstlaidoutcubestoformthestoneblocksofthewall(seeFigure5-8).Beginningwiththebottomrow,Iaddedeachonebyhandandmodifieditslengthtogivesomevariation.Next,Ibuiltupthehigherlayersbyduplicatingandscalingthecubes.Toaddfurthervariety,Iselectedblocksatrandom,movedtheminoroutfromthewallabit,androtatedthemslightlytomakethesurfaceofthewallsomewhatmoreuneven.Leavingthebasicwallsfromtheblocking-instagebehindthenewblocksprovideda

fillerforthegapsbetweentheblocks.

Toaddabevelededgetotheblocks(seeFigure5-8),Isubdividedthemacoupleoftimes(selectall[A]inEditmode,thenW▸Subdivide)andthenaddedaBevelmodifierandsetthe“limit”methodtoAngle.Thelimitrestrictsthebevelingtoedgesbetweenfacesatasharpangle,andsettingtheangletoabout45°givesanicelyroundedbevelthatisheavieronthecornersoftheblocksthanattheedges.Thesidesareleftalone.

NOTEWhenapplied,theBevelmodifiercancreateerrorsthatwillturnyourgeometryintotrianglesandcreatealotofduplicatevertices.Tofixthis,applythemodifieronlyonceyou’refinishedmodeling.Then,inEditmode,selecteverything(A)andusetheRemoveDoubles(W▸RemoveDoubles)operatortoeliminateduplicatedvertices.Next,usetheTrianglestoQuadsoperator(ALT-J)toreturntoacleanermeshwithoutsomanytriangles.YoucanalsobevelindividualedgesandverticesinEditmode,usingtheBeveloperator(W▸Bevel).

Fortheblockdetails,Isubdividedsomeoftheblocksandthenaddedextrafeatures,suchasacrackdownthemiddle,achunkoutofacorner,andasplit.Iaddedloopcutsorsubdividedspecificpartsandmovedverticesaroundtocreatecracks,dents,andchips.Becausethemeshwon’tbesubdividedordeformedsignificantly,there’snoneedtoavoidtriangleshere;theywon’tcauseproblems.

Topreventtheblocksfromlookingfaceted,IsettheirshadingmodetoSmoothandthenaddedanEdgeSplitmodifiertosplitthemeshatcertainedgesinordertoproduceseparatesurfaces(seeFigure5-9).TheEdgeSplitmodifierbreaksthemeshintoseparatepiecessothatwhenshadedsmoothorwhenfurthermodifiersareapplied,theedgebetweenthepiecesispreserved.YoucansetEdgeSplittosplitthemesheitheralongedgestaggedasSharpinEditmode(CTRL-E▸MarkSharp)oralongedgeswithsharpenoughanglesbetweentheirfaces.Usingtheanglesonlywithasettingof30°resultedinnice-lookingblocks.

Icreatedtheotherincidentalblocksandpavingslabsinthesamewayasthewalls,usingtheinitialblockincubesasaguideforplacementandthendeletingtheoldgeometryoncethenewblockswereplaced.Thefinalblocksareshown

Figure5-8.Creatingthestoneblocksforthewalls.First,Iblockedinthewallswithsimplecubes,whichIscaledandmovedtobuildupthewall.Next,Idamagedthewallsabitbyaddingsomebasicsubdivisionsandrougheningsomeedges.Finally,IbeveledtheedgesoftheblocksusingaBevel

modifierlimitedbyangle.

inFigure5-10.

Figure5-9.Thefinalwalls,withaBevelandanEdgeSplitmodifiertogivethembevelededgesandflatsides

StatuesImodeledthestatuesinthecornersbythedooroftheJungleTempleusingfairlybasicbuildingblocksandmyconceptartasaguide.Eachpartbeganwithasimpleprimitive—usuallyacubeorcylinder—transformed,subdivided,andextrudedtocreatewhatIneed.

AsshowninFigure5-11,eachpartisfairlysimple.Toaddbevelededges,IusedthesamemethodthatIusedforthewallandfloorblocks.Addingsomeloopcutsaroundtheendsofsomepieces(forexample,tothe“legs”andtheendsofthearms)allowedtheseedgestoretaintheirsquareshapeandsharpercornerswhenbeveled,withouttoomuchsubdivision.

Figure5-10.Therestofthestoneblocksinthesceneweremodeledinthesamewayasthewalls.

StoneCarvingsForthestoneglyphs,Iusedmyconceptartasasingleorthographicreference,

loadingitasabackgroundimage,asdiscussedinChapter3.Then,beginningwithaplane,Itracedeachpieceofthedesigns,stickingprimarilytoquadswherepossible.Next,Iextrudedthewholedesigndownwardtogiveitsomethicknessanddeletedthenewfacesafterwardtoleavejustthesidesandfrontofthedesign.Byplacingedgesalongtheformsofthedesign’sinteriorelements,Icouldmovethegroovesinthedesigndownwardtocreatethedetails.

Tocleanupthedesign,Iusedcreasing(seeFigure5-12).ByaddingaSubsurfmodifierandtaggingedgesascreased,youcancreatesmoothobjectswithsharpcreasesalongthetaggededges.Creasingallowedmetoaddtightcreasestothemodelwithoutusingmorepolygonsthannecessary.AddinganEdgeSplitmodifieraftertheSubsurfmodifierthengaveanicesmoothmeshwithsharptransitionsatthecreasededges.

Figure5-11.Thestatuemodelexplodedintoitsconstituentparts.Mostarederivedfromsimplecubesorcylinders.

Withthecarvingscomplete,Imovedontoplacingtheminmysceneby

replacingsomeoftherowsofstoneblocksinthewallswithrowsoftheglyphs.Todothis,IlinedupallsixglyphsinarowandthenusedanArraymodifiertorepeatthedesigntofillthelengthofthewall(seeFigure5-13).

TaggingEdgesTheedgesofameshcanbetaggedormarkedinavarietyofways,eachofwhichtellsdifferentBlenderoperatorsandmodifiershowtoperformoperationsonthemesh.TheshortcutforEdgeoperators,includingTagging,inEditmodeisCTRL-E.EdgescanbemarkedasSharp,whichallowsoperatorslikeBevelandEdgeSplittoworkonlyontheseedges.Theycanalsobegivenacreasevalue,eitherfromtheCTRL-EmenuorwithSHIFT-E,whichtellstheSubsurfmodifiernottosmooththeseedgeswhendoingsubdivision,resultinginnicesharpedges.

SharpEdgesandSubdivisionCreasingisonewaytoachieveasharpcreaseinasubdividedmesh;anotherwayiswithsupportloops.Supportloopsworkbyplacingtwoormoreedgeloopsclosetogetherattheedgeofaform.Whenthemeshissubdivided,thenewgeometrycan’tbesmoothedoutasmuchbecausetheextrageometrydefinesthecornermoretightly(seeFigure5-14).

Bothmethodshavetheirplace.Supportloopsarethebetterchoicewhenyou’retryingtoproducenicelybevelededgesandneedfinecontroloverpreciselyhowyourformslook.However,ifyourgoalistoproduceverysharpcreasesoryouareworkingwithsimplermodelswithlessextratopology,creasingispreferable.Youcanalwaysmixandmatchbothmethodsasthesituationdemands.

Supportloopsarealsousefulforensuringthatobjectssubdividetogivetheshapesyouwant.Forexample,Figure5-15showsacubewithaSubsurfmodifierappliedanditswireframevisible.Withnosupportloops,themodifierturnsitintoasphere.Withextrasupportloopsrunningaroundthemiddleofthefaces,theobjectmorecloselyresemblesacube,andshiftingthesesupportloopstowardtheedgesofthecubemakesthecornerssharper.Thisisusefulwhenmodelingallsortsofsurfaces.

Figure5-12.Creatingthestonecarvings.Ifirstblockedoutthecarvingsasindividualpiecesovertheconceptart,usingprimarilyquads.Next,Itaggedsomeedgesascreased(purple)togivesharpedgeswhensubdivided.Finally,IaddedSubsurfandEdgeSplitmodifierstogivesmoothcarvingswithsharpedgeswheretheedgeshadbeentagged.TheresultusesfewerpolygonsandsimplertopologythanifI

hadusedsupportloopstoproducesharpedges.

Figure5-13.UsingtheArraymodifiertorepeatthestonecarvingsmultipletimes

Figure5-14.Twomethodsofgettingsharpedgeswhenworkingwithasubdivisionsurface.Top:UnalteredmeshwithagentleslopeandaSubdivisionSurfacemodifierapplied.Middle:Supportloopsaddedtogivesharpedges.Bottom:Edgescreasedtogivesharpedges(withoutextrageometry).

Figure5-15.Clockwisefromtopleft:Acubewithzeroloops,oneloop,twowidelyspacedloops,andtwoevenlyspacedloopsrunningaroundthemiddleofeachside.Astheedgeloopsgetclosertothe

edge,thecornersbecomemoresharplydefined.

PlantsTheplantsinthisscenearesimple.Tocreatethem,Ibeganbymodelingafewvarietiesofleavesfromplanes;Iscaledandsubdividedtheplanesintoleafyshapes(seeFigure5-16).Next,Istartedduplicatingthesedifferentleafobjectsandplacingthemaroundthescene.BycreatinglinkedduplicateswithALT-D,youcancreatemultiplecopiesofthesamemeshthatallupdatetogetherwhenyouchangeoneduplicate,whichmakescreatingUVsandtexturesmucheasierbecauseyouonlyhavetodosoonceforeachtypeofplant.ByscalingandrotatingtheseduplicatesinObjectmodeandplacingthemaroundthescene,youcangivetheimpressionofalotofvariationwithouthavingtocreatealotofdifferentmeshes(seeFigure5-17).

TherearetwowaystoduplicateameshinObjectmode.Onewayistocreatea

simplecopy,whichthenbecomesauniqueobject(SHIFT-D);theotheristoduplicatealinkedcopy(ALT-D),whichretainsthesamemeshdataandmaterialsastheoriginalandupdatesalongwithit.Youcanstillapplydifferentmodifierstoalinkedduplicateandmove,scale,androtateitindependentlyinObjectmode,butitsmeshdataandmaterials,aswellasotherdata,willremainlinkedwiththeoriginalobject;ifyoueditone,thechangesareappliedtoboth.

Bothmethodsareextremelyusefulfordifferenttasks.Basically,youshouldusesimpleduplicatesinthefollowingsituations:

Youwanttoeditthenewobjectindependently.

Figure5-16.Theplantswereallmadewithverysimplemeshes(shownwithaSubdivisionSurfacemodifierapplied).

Youplanonrecombiningthenewmeshwithotherelementsinthescene.

Youwanttokeeptheoldmeshasabackuporalternative.

Youshoulduselinkedduplicatesifthefollowingistrue:

Youwanttocreatemanycopiesofasingleobjectanddon’twanttoeditthemindividually.

YouwantonlyonesetofUVsandmaterialsformultipleobjects.

Figure5-17.Duplicatingthedifferentplantcomponentsandplacingthemaroundthescene.Varyingthescaleandrotationoftheduplicatescangoalongwaytowardmakingthemdistinctive.

Whenyouselectalinkedduplicate,youcanseehowmanyusers(copies)ofthatobjectareusingthesamedatablockbyexaminingitsobjectdatapropertiesinthePropertiespanel(seeFigure5-18).Youcanalsomaketheobjectuniqueby

clickingthenumbericonnexttothedatablock’sname.Makingtheobjectuniquecreatesanewmeshdatablockthatisnowindependentoftheoneitwascopiedfrom,allowingyoutoedittheobject’smeshandchangeitsmaterialsseparately(asifitwereasimplecopy).

IvyGenTheIvyGenadd-onforBlenderisaproceduralgeneratorthatallowsyoutoquicklycreateivy-likevinesthatcreepoveryourscene(seeFigure5-19).Touseit,firstenableitfromtheUserPreferenceseditor(File▸UserPreferences)andthenlookundertheAdd-OntabintheAddCurvecategory.Onceyouhaveenabledtheadd-on,youshouldhavetheoptiontogrowivyonaselectedobjectviatheAddmenu(SHIFT-A▸Curve▸AddIvyToMeshinObjectmode).

Figure5-18.Checkingthenumberofusersofameshdatablock.Clickthenumber(4inthiscase)nexttothedatablock’snametocreateanewcopythatyoucaneditindependently.TheFiconwillcreatea“fake”userofthatdatablock,whichwillsavetheobjectandpreventitfrombeingdeletedwhenyou

savethe.blendfile,eveniftherearenoinstancesofthatmeshinthescene.

Figure5-19.UsingIvyGentogenerateproceduralvines.TheparametersforhowyourivywillgrowareintheToolOptionsregionontheleftwhenusingIvyGen.Forclarityhere,I’veaddedagreenmaterial

fortheleavesandabrownmaterialforthevines.

InorderforIvyGentogeneratevines,itneedsasinglemeshobjectforthemtogrowover,soweneedtocreateanewmeshthatincludesallofthegeometrywewanttogrowvinesover.Todoso,selectalloftheobjectsyouwanttheivytocover,duplicatethem(SHIFT-D),applyanymodifiers(usingtheConverttoMeshoperatorinObjectmode—ALT-C),andmergethemintooneobject(CTRL-J).Theresultshouldbeoneobject.Ifyourscenehasahighpolycount,youmightwanttoskipapplyingmodifiersthatincreasethepolycountalotinordertogiveyoualower-polymeshtogrowivyover;unfortunately,thismaycomeatthecostofsomeaccuracyinhowitwillgrow.

Later,onceyou’vefinishedgrowingyourivy,deletethisduplicateormoveitto

anotherlayersothatitdoesn’tgetinyourway(M).

Next,placethe3DcursorwhereyouwanttheivytostartandactivateIvyGenwiththeAddCurvemenu(SHIFT-A▸AddCurve▸AddIvyToMesh).TheIvyGenallowsyoutotweaknumerousparameterstodeterminehowtheivylooks,themostimportantofwhicharetheMaxIvyLengthoption,whichdetermineshowfartheivyspreads,andtheIvySizeandLeafSizeoptions,whichdeterminethethicknessofthevinesandthesizeoftheleaves.Theleafprobabilityoptiondeterminestheleafdensity.Otheroptions,likeFloatLengthandAdhesionLength,determinehowfarthevinescanreachoutfromthewallandhowtheyareaffectedbygravity.

KeeptweakingIvyGen’ssettingsandpressingUpdateIvytoregenerateyourivywithanynewsettingsuntilyou’rehappywiththelookofyourfoliage.KeepinmindthatthehigheryousettheMaxIvyLength,thelongertheivywilltaketogenerate.Also,ifyouwanttocoveralargearea,it’seasiertorunIvyGenrepeatedlyusingdifferentstartinglocationsinordertocreatemultipleivymeshes.Forexample,intheJungleTemplescene,Ihidthestartinglocationsinthecornersofthesceneinacoupleofdifferentstartinglocationsandletmyivygrowoutfromthere.YoucanseethefinalresultsinFigure5-21.

Figure5-20.Addingpuddlestothescenebyfirstcreatingdepressionsinthemaingroundplanemeshandthenaddingasecondflatplanetointersectwithit

Figure5-21.ThefinalmodeledJungleTemplescene

IvyGenalsocreatesautomaticUVcoordinatesfortheleavesandvinesitgenerates,aswellasassigningmaterialslotstothem.Thisfeaturewillgreatlyspeeduptexturingandassigningmaterialstoyourivylater.(SeeChapter8and

Chapter12formoreonUVunwrappingandmaterials.)

Ground/SoilTomakethegroundabitmoreinteresting,IsubdivideditacoupleoftimesandrougheneditupabitwiththeSculpttools,whichI’lldiscussindetailinChapter6.Next,Iaddedanewplane(thistimekeepingitunsubdividedandperfectlyflat)andplaceditjustbelowtheaverageheightofthegroundsothatsomeofthedeeperareaspokeddownthroughit.Thisproducestheeffectofpuddlesontheground(seeFigure5-20).

Additionally,Icreatedpilesofdirtinthecornersofthescenesimplybycreatingaplane,subdividingitseveraltimes,andusingproportionaleditingtoaddlumps.Bycombiningthiswithabitofsculptingtobuildupdirtinthecracksandcornersbetweentheblocksandotherelements,Iwasabletogivethesurroundingsmoreofanagedlook.ThefinalsceneisshowninFigure5-21.

NOTEWhilethefollowingflowsfromthemodelingtechniquesalreadydiscussed,thepartswearecreatingfitinalongsidethesculptedandretopologizedmesheswewillbeworkingoninChapter6andChapter7.YoucanfollowalongwiththispartfirstorskipforwardtoChapter6andChapter7onsculptingandretopologyandthenreturntothislater.

ModelingtheDetailsoftheSpiderBotFortheSpiderBot,IneededtocreatetheothermechanicalpartsofthebodythatwillcompletethemodelwhencombinedwiththemainbodyandlegpiecesIwillbesculptingandretopologizinginChapter6andChapter7.Theaimwastocreatesomefeasiblemechanical-lookingparts,suchasjoints,wires,andsoforth,thatcompletethelookoftheSpiderBot.

JointsThejointswerealldesignedfromthesamebasictemplate:acylinderforthecentralpart,whichallowsthemtomovefreely,withstrutscomingoutthatattachtothelegs(seeFigure5-22).Toproducethestruts,Ibeganwithacurveobject

tomakethebasicshapea2Dcurve,usedtheExtrudesettingtogiveitsomethickness,andthenconvertedittoamesh.Blender’sdefaultcurve-fillingtopologyisfullofskinnytriangles,whichdonotsubdivideatallwell,soIdeletedthesefacesandfilledinthefrontandbackbyhandtoproducenicertopology(seeFigure5-23).

Figure5-22.Thelegjoints.Bothjointswerecreatedusingamixofcylindersforthesimplepartsandcurves(convertedintomeshes)forthelongerpieces.Addingsupportloopsaroundtheedgesofthe

cylindricalpartsallowsthemtosubdividemuchbetter.

WiresThewiresareallcreatedfrom3DBéziercurvesmodeledaroundthelegsandotherareastoaddinterestandconnecttheparts(seeFigure5-24).Toaddfurther

detail,Iconvertedsomewirestomeshestoallowmetoaddsomeloopcutsandextrusions(seeFigure5-25).

Forsomeofthemoreelaboratewires,IcombinedtheArrayandCurvemodifierstoduplicateasinglemeshalongacurve(seeFigure5-26).First,Imodeledasingleunit(thering-shapedobjectinFigure5-26),andthenIaddedanArraymodifierandaCurvemodifiertoduplicatethatunitanddeformittotheshapeofthecurve.

Figure5-23.Creatingthestrutelementsofthelegswithcurvesandthenfillingintheflatsurfacesoftheresultingmeshwithcleanertopology

Figure5-24.Creatingthewiresfortheundersideofthelegs.Theseweremadewith3DBéziercurvesandgiventhicknessusingtheBevelsettingintheObjectDatapanel.

Figure5-25.Initially,Imodeledthesetubesusingcurves.ThenIconvertedthecurvestomeshestoallowmetoaddsomeloopcutsandscalethemintocreategrooves.

Figure5-26.Amorecomplexcurvedobject,madebycombininganArraymodifiertoduplicatethebaseunit(thering-shapedobject)andaCurvemodifiertodeformtheresultingstackalongacurve.IalsousedanEdgeSplitmodifierandaMirrormodifiertomirrortheresultstotheothersideofthemodel.

CouplingForthecouplingbetweenthebodyandabdomen,Iinitiallycreatedtheshapewithcurvesandthenduplicateditandconvertedtheduplicatetoamesh(ALT-C).BecauseBlender’sdefaultcurvefillingcreatesugly,longtrianglesthatdon’tdeformwell,Ifixedthetopologybyhandbydeletingtheinsidefacesandfillingintheshapemanually(seeFigure5-27).

Figure5-27.Creatingthecoupling.Iconvertedthecurveobject(right)intoameshandthendeletedsomeoftheedgeloopsaroundtheedgestoevenoutthedistributionoffaces.Ifilledtheinnerfaceswith

nicertopologybyhand.Then,usingproportionalediting,Iaddedabendinthemiddle.

OtherPartsIplacedtheSpiderBot’seyesusingBlender’sSnappingtools:IturnedonSnappingtoFaces,addedspheresinObjectmode,andthensnappedthemtothesurfaceofthehead.Thefangsaresimplycubes,extrudedandwithloopcutsaddedtomakeconstrictionswheretheybend.IaddedsomefurtherembellishmentsusingamixofBlender’smodelingtoolsandretopologytechniques.(SeeChapter7forthesepartsandthefinishedmodel.)

ModelingtheDetailsoftheBatCreatureThefinalBatCreaturewillconsistonlyofonemeshforthebody,whichwe’lldiscussinChapter6,butitwillneedeyes,teeth,andfingernails,too.Asthesewouldn’tbesculptedorretopologizedinanyway,Iaimedstraightforthefinalmesh.

Eyes

Therearemanywaystomodeleyes,butingeneralithelpstomodelsomeoftheinternalstructureoftheeyefirsttoallowtherenderedeyetocatchlightandreflectionsrealistically.Mymodelfortheeye(seeFigure5-28)consistedofanouterlayer,whichwillhaveatransparentmaterialandwhichmakesupthecorneaandthereflectivesurfaceoftheeye,andaninnerlayer,whichwilllaterbetexturedwiththepupil,iris,andsclera(thewhiteoftheeye).

Boththeinnerandouterlayersaremadeinthesameway,beginningwithaUVsphere(inObjectmodeSHIFT-A▸Mesh▸UVSphere)andthenusingproportionaledittopushintheendofthespherefortheinnerpartortopushitoutalittlefortheouterparttoaddabulgetothecornea.Fortheinnerpart,afterpushingthesurfaceinwithproportionalediting,Iextrudedbackthemostcentralfacestocreateapitforthepupil.Forthecornea,IdeletedtheendtriangularfacesoftheUVsphereandreplacedthemwithasubdividedplanetoavoidartifactswhenaSubdivisionSurfacemodifierisadded(seetheleftofFigure5-27).UsingtheToSphereoperator(ALT-SHIFT-S)canhelpyouregainthesphericalshapeoftheeyeafteradjustingitstopology.

TeethandNailsBoththeteethandnailswerederivedfromcubes(seeFigure5-29).Tocreatetheteeth,Ibeganwithacube,scaleditdown,andextrudedfromthebottom.Byrepeatedlyscalingdownthebottomofthetoothandthenextrudingagain,Iwasabletorefinethetoothintoapoint.IthenpositionedandduplicatedtheteethandusedaMirrormodifiertofillintheothersideofthemouth.

Forthenails,Iflattenedthecubeabit,addedaloopcutdownthemiddle,andmoveditoutalittletogivethenailabitofacurve.IthenrepeatedthesameprocessIhadusedfortheteeth,refiningthemintoapointandthenplacingthembyhandandduplicatingasmanyasIneeded.

Figure5-28.Modelingtheeye.Left:Theouterlayer.Notethegridtopologyattheendofthecornea.Middle:Theinnerlayer.Right:Thetwocombinedinwireframeview,shownfromtheside.

Figure5-29.Modelingtheteethandnails

InReviewThiscompletesourdiscussionofmodelingtheJungleTemplesceneandaddingsomeextradetailstotheSpiderBotandBatCreatureprojects.You’velearnedhowtouseavarietyofBlender’smodelingtools,includingmodifyingexistingmesheswithmodifiers,applyingtheresultsofthesemodifierssoyoucanedittheresults,modelingwithcurvesandadjustingtheresults,andmodelingparts

fromscratchusingprimitivesandextrusionstobuildupcomplexforms.

Inthenextchapter,wewillmoveontosculptinginBlenderusingtheMultiresolutionmodifierandSculpttoolstocreatedetailedorganicandhard-surfaceforms.InChapter7,you’lllearnhowtoretopologizetheseformsusingBlender’smodelingtoolsinordertocreateyourmodels.

Chapter6.Sculpting

TheadditionofsculptingtoolstoBlender’sarsenalhasvastlybroadenedtherangeofcreationspossibleandthelevelofdetailwecanaddtoourcreations.Inaddition,sculptingallowsformuchmorefreedomintheroutetakentocreateamodel;priortoitsintroduction,wehadtolabortocreatetopologytosupporteachelementofamodel.Now,withsculpting,wecanstartfromamuchsimplermesh,usemultiresolutionsubdivisiontoprovidethelevelofcontrolnecessarytosupporttheformswewant,andworryaboutthetopologylater.

Inthischapter,we’llintroduceBlender’ssculptingtoolsandshowyouhowtouseSculptmode.We’lllookatcustomizingtheappearanceofSculptmodeandthetoolsyoucanusetogetthemostoutofBlenderwhensculpting.Then,we’llmoveontousingthesetoolstostartsculptingonthebasemesheswecreatedinChapter4,takingthemfromsimple,low-resbasemeshestohighlydetailed,sculptedmodels.Finally,we’lllookatsomegeneralprinciplesforsculpting.

SculptModeInordertosculptinBlender,you’llneedtoenterSculptmodeinthe3DViewport,asshowninFigure6-1.OnceinSculptmode,makesureyouhavetheToolShelfopen(T),asthisiswhereyou’llfindallofBlender’sSculptmodeoptionsandtools.

ThefamiliarToolShelfontheleftoftheViewportisnowhometoourBrushoptionsforsculpting,wherewecanchoosebetweendifferentbrushesandadjusttheirsettings.Brushoptionsincludethetypeofbrush;whetheritwillutilizepressureinputfromagraphicstablet(recommendedifyouhaveone);andthesize,falloff,andshapeofthebrush.Figure6-1alsoshowshowthe3DViewporthasbeensetuptomakesculptingeasier—youuseBlender’sGLSLshadingandenableOnlyRendertodisplayonlyobjectsthatwillberendered.Thiskeepsthegridandanysuperfluousobjectsinyourscene,suchaslampsandcameras,outofyourwaywhilesculpting.Wewillcoverthesesettingsinmoredepthin

Customizingthe3DViewport.

Figure6-1.Sculptmode,withtheViewportdisplaymodesettoTextured(withGLSLshading)andOnlyRenderenabled.TheToolShelf,ontheleft,containsmostofBlender’ssculptingtoolsandoptions.

BrushOptionsTheBrushoptionsareshownattheleftofFigure6-1.Clickaselectedmeshinthe3DViewporttobeginsculpting.

RunningdownthelistofpanelsintheToolShelfattheleftofFigure6-1inorder(somearecollapsed,buttheirtitlesareallvisible),wehavethefollowing:

Brush.Here,youcanselectwhichbrushtouse;thebrushproperties,suchasradius,strength,andautosmooth;whetherthebrushshouldaddorsubtractfromthesurface;andsomeoptionsspecifictoindividualbrushes.YoucanalsocreatenewbrushesfromtheBrushselectorbyclickingthe+icon.Doingsowillduplicatethecurrentbrush,creatingacopythatyoucanmodifyseparately.

Texture.Thispanelallowsyoutocreatestrokeswithuniqueshapesandtexturesortodragoutpatternsontothesurfaceofyourmesh.Brushtexturesusethe

brightnessofthetexturetodeterminehowstronglytoapplythebrushstroke.Whileyoucanusecolorimagesforbrushes,it’smorecommontosimplyuseblackandwhitetexturestomakeiteasiertojudgetheireffects.(Inordertodistinguishbrushtexturesfromotherkindsoftextures,I’lloftenrefertothemasalphas.)

Tool.WhilethebrushesintheBrushselectorhavenameslikeClayandSmooth,youcanchangethesenamesasyouplease.Theactualbehaviorofanybrushisdeterminedbythechoicesyoumakeinthedrop-downmenuinthispanel,whichallowsyoutochoosefromallofthebasetooltypesBlenderhastoofferbeforecustomizingthemfurther.

Stroke.Thispanelcontainsoptionsforhowyourmouseortabletstrokesareconvertedintosculptingstrokes.Thedefaultmethodformostbrushes,Space,createsauniformbrushstroke.Anchoredallowsyoutoclickanddragoutalargestrokeoveryourmesh,centeredaroundthestartingpointofthestrokeandwitharadiusdeterminedbyhowfaryoudrag.Thisoptionisextremelyusefulfordraggingouttexturesoverthesurfaceofyourmeshinordertocreatesurfacedetail.Anotheroption,SmoothStroke,causesyourstrokestolagbehindyourcursorasyoupullitaround,resultinginclean,smoothcurves.

Curve.Thispanelletsyouchoosethebrush’sfalloffcurve(seeFigure6-2)andgivesyoufinecontroloverhowthedepthofyourstrokesfadesawayfromthecenter.YoucaneitherdefinethecurvemanuallybydraggingandclickingtomoveandaddingpointstotheCurveeditor,oryoucanchooseoneofthepresetsfromtheiconsbelowtheCurveeditor.ThedefaultSmoothcurveisfineformostbrushes,butwhendraggingoutalphas,theflatMaxcurveisuseful.Forfinecreases,theSharpcurveisbest.

Figure6-2.DifferentFalloffsettings

Options.Thispanelcontainsmainlymiscellaneousoptions.Oneoptioniswhethertoconstrainsculptingtoindividualaxes.Anotherdetermineswhethertokeepyourbrushsizeandstrengthuniversalortoletyousetitforeachbrush.(Maintainingauniversalbrushsizeisoftenlessconfusing,butit’susuallypreferabletochoosestrengthforeachbrushindividually,asyoumaywantdifferentstrengthsfordifferenttools.)

Symmetry.JustasyouwoulduseaMirrormodifierforanormalmesh,youcanenableSymmetrywhensculptingtokeepyourbrushstrokessymmetrical.Thisisausefuloptionforalotofsculptingasmostorganiccreaturesarebroadlysymmetrical.

Appearance.Thispanelcontainssomeaestheticoptionsforchangingthecolorofthebrushcursororaddingacustomiconforyourbrush.

BrushTypesThedefaultbrushtypes,whicharefoundintheToolpanel(seeFigure6-3),arediscussedbelow.Somehavehotkeys(inbrackets)thatallowyoutoquicklycyclethroughanybrushesofthattypethatyouhavecreated.Almostallbrushes(Grab,Nudge,Thumb,andSnakeHookaretheonlyexceptions)alsohaveaSubtractivemode(ALT)thatusuallydoestheoppositeofwhatthebrushdoesinAdditivemode.

Blob.Thisbrushtypecreatesblob-likeinflatedlumpsinthesurfaceofyourmesh.ThisoptionisabitofamixbetweentheDrawandInflatebrushes.Additivemodebuildsout,whileSubtractivecutsin.

Figure6-3.TheToolpanelletsyouchoosebetweenthedifferentbasebrushtypes.

Clay(C).Oneofthemostimportantbrushtypes,theClaybrushbuildsupthesurfaceofyourmeshevenly,fillingvalleysfirstandthenbuildingupsmoothlyfromthesurfaceofthemesh.You’llfindthisbrushtypeusefulthroughoutthesculptingprocess,thoughbewarewhenaddingfinedetails,asitwillbuildup

overthem(usetheDrawbrushinstead).Additivemodebuildsout,andSubtractivemodecarvesintothemesh.

Crease(SHIFT-C).ThisbrushtypecombinestheDrawandPinchbrushtypes,drawingastrokeoutonthemeshandthenpinchingittomakeittighter.ItismostusefulinSubtractivemode,whereit’sgreatforcreatingwrinklesandcreasesinacharacter’sskin,butitcanalsobeusedinAdditivemodetocreatesharpedgesbytracingalongtheedgeofaform.

Draw(D).TheDrawbrushtypedrawsastrokeoutfromthesurface,movingthesurfacewithoutchangingthedetailsunderneath.IfyouuseDrawearlyonwhensculptinglarge-scaleforms,itmaymakelifedifficult,asitcanresultinaratherlumpylook(whichiswhytheClaybrushismoreuseful).Lateronthough,whenaddingfinedetails,theDrawbrushtypeisveryhandy.

Fill.Thisbrushtypefillsinvalleysinthesurfaceofthemeshwithouttouchingthepeaks.Itisusefulforsmoothingoutandfillinginconcaveareasinameshwithoutaffectingthesurroundingareas.Subtractivemodedeepensthevalleysinsteadoffillingthemin.

Flatten.TheFlattenbrushcombinestheFillandScrapebrushtypes,fillinginvalleysandscrapingawaypeakstocreateasmoothersurface.UnliketheSmoothbrushtype,thisbrushflattensthesurfaceinadditiontosmoothingit.InSubtractivemode,thisbrushtypeexaggeratesthevalleysandpeaksinsteadofflatteningthem.

Grab(G).Thisbrushtypegrabstheareaunderthebrushandletsyoupullitaround.You’llfindthistobeaveryusefulbrushtype.

Inflate(I).TheInflatebrushtypeinflatesthemeshinmuchthesamewaytheShrink/FattenoperatordoesinEditmode.InflateisusefulforestablishingvolumesandissometimesagoodalternativetotheDraworClaybrushes,butbesuretokeepthestrengthofthisbrushloworitcandosomedamage.Also,beawarethatinadditiontopushingthesurfaceoutward(orinward),thisbrushusuallymakesfacesbigger,reducingtheamountofdetailthatthemodifiedareacansupport.InSubtractivemode,thisbrushshrinksthemeshinstead,oftencausingthemeshtoself-intersect.Useitcarefully.

Layer(L).ThisbrushtypebuildsoutanevenlayerfromthesurfaceofyourmeshorsubtractsanevenlayerinSubtractivemode.

Nudge.LiketheGrabbrushtype,thisbrushtypeonlynudgesthemeshasmalldistance,andyoucankeepmovingyourcursoraroundtootherareastonudgethemaswell.

Pinch(P).Thisbrushtypepullsfacesunderthebrushclosertogether,creatingapinchingeffect.Thisbrushisusefulfortighteningcreasesandwrinklesorforsharpeningedgesbetweenformsonhard-surfacesculpts.InSubtractivemode,thisbrushpushesthefacesfartherapart.

Rotate.Thisbrushtyperotatestheareaunderthebrusharoundthemesh’sorigin.Ifindthisprettyuselessasabrushtype.

Scrape.TheScrapebrushtypescrapesawaythepeaksofameshwithouttouchingthevalleys.Thisbrushtypeisreallyusefulforestablishingplanes,eliminatinglumpsandbumps,andsmoothingtransitionsbetweenoverlappingforms.Subtractivemodebuildsthepeaksupratherthanscrapingthemdown.

SnakeHook.Thisbrushtypeallowsyoutopulloutatentacle-likesurfacefromyourmesh.Usethisbrushtypesparinglybecausethetopologyunderneathwillprobablynotsupportittoowell.Thisoptionisgoodforpullingoutpeakstolooklikestrandsofhairorhorns,especiallyifyouplanoncorrectingtheuglytopologylater.

Thumb.TheThumbbrushtypeslidesthesurfaceofthemesharoundunderthebrushbutonlyontheplaneofthedirectionthesurfaceisfacing.ThisissimilartotheGrabbrush,exceptthatitallowsyouonlytoshiftthesurfaceofthemesharoundratherthanlettingyoupushorpullthesurfaceofthemeshoutwardorinward.

AllofthebrushesinBlender’sBrushpanel(seeFigure6-4)arejustvariationsonthetypeslistedabove,withvarioustweakstogiveeachbrushslightlydifferenteffects.Forexample,thePolishbrushisavariationontheFlattenbrushwiththeAutosmoothsetting(whichaddsasmoothingeffecttoanybrushstroke)turnedup.

Figure6-4.Blender’sdefaultsculptbrushes

CreatingCustomBrushesNowthatwe’vetakenalookatsomeofBlender’sbuilt-inbrushes,let’slookathowtocreatecustomonestobettersuitourneeds.Asexplainedearlier,Blender’ssculptingbrushesareallvariationsonthesameinitialsetofbrushtypes;thedifferencescomefromchangingthesettingsthataffecthowthesebrushesfunction.You’llwanttochangesomesettingsfrequently,liketheradiusofthebrushanditsstrength.Ifyouendupusingacertainsetofbrushsettingsoften,it’sagoodideajusttogivethemtheirownbrush.

Tocreateanewsculptingbrush,selectanexistingonesimilartotheoneyouwanttocreate,andthenpressthe+iconintheBrushselectornexttoitsnametocreateanew,uniquebrush.Now,modifythenewbrushbychangingitsstrength,assigningtexturesandstrokeoptions,andsoon.

Todemonstrate,let’screateafewcustombrushesthatwillcomeinhandywhensculpting.

ClayTubesTheClayTubesbrush(seeFigure6-5)willbegreatforsculptingearlyon.Itworksthewaytraditionalclaysculptorsworkbyaddingstripsofclaytothesurfaceofasculpturetobuildupforms.TocreateabrushthatmimicsthistechniqueinBlender,takethefollowingsteps:

1. DuplicatethedefaultClaybrush.

Figure6-5.TheClayTubesbrush

2. IntheTexturepanel,addanewtexturetouseasanalphaforthebrushbyclickingthe+iconintheTextureselector.Thiscreatesanewtextureandassignsittothebrush.Nameitsomethinguseful,likeClayTubes.

3. Toeditthistexture,opentheTexturetabofthePropertieseditor(seeFigure6-6),andmakesureyouhavethebrushiconselectedtoeditbrushtextures.

4. IntheTypedrop-downmenu,chooseImageorMovieandthenselectanimagetouseasabrushtexturebyopeningoraddinganimagefromtheImagepanel.Forthisbrush,Icreatedaverysimple,slightlyblurredwhitesquareonablackbackgroundinGIMP,whichIthenloadedasthebrushtexture.

5. Withthetextureloaded,returntothe3DViewportToolShelf,andsetthebrushanglesetting(intheTexturepaneloftheToolShelf,asshowninFigure6-5)toRaketomakethealpharotatetomatchthedirectionofthestroke.Nowwe’llhavenicesquarestrokeswithaslighttexturethatwillbegreatforbuildingupformslikemusclesandwrinklesandforquickly

blockinginlargeshapes.

6. Tostoptheusualfalloffofthebrush,setthefalloffcurvetotheflatMaxpresetintheCurvepanel.

Figure6-6.AddingtheClayTubestexture

RakeLiketheClayTubesbrush,theRakebrush(seeFigure6-7)isbasedontraditionalsculpting.Claysculptorsoftenuseatoothedscrapingtool,arake,toscrapeawayattheclaysurfacetoproduceafinetextureandsmoothforms.InBlender,theRakebrushisgreatinbothAdditiveandSubtractivemodes.

LiketheClayTubesbrush,theRakebrushstartsoutbyduplicatingthedefaultClaybrushandthenaddingacustomalpha,thoughthistimeweusealineofblurreddotsorsquares,asshowninFigure6-7.TocreatetheRakebrush,takethefollowingsteps:

1. DuplicatetheClaybrushasyoudidfortheClayTubesbrushabove.

2. Addatexturetothebrush,asyoudidfortheClayTubesbrush.SeeFigure6-7forthekindoftextureneeded.

3. Settheangleto(surprise!)Rake,andenableAutosmoothintheBrushpanelofthe3DViewportToolShelf,settingitsvaluetoabout0.25.(Thisaddssomesmoothingtothebrushstrokestokeepthetexturefromgettingoutofcontrol.)

4. Setthefalloffofthebrushtoflat(Figure6-7).

Figure6-7.TheRakebrush

ScrapeFlatTheScrapeFlatbrush(seeFigure6-8)createsniceflat,facetedsurfacesinamesh.It’sgreatforsculptingjaggedrocksandhard,technicalsurfacesandforquicklyestablishingclearplanesinorganicmodelsthatyoucansmoothandrefinelater.

Tocreatethisbrush,dothefollowing:

1. DuplicatetheScrapebrush.

2. LocktheAreaPlaneofthenewbrushbyclickingthepadlockiconnexttoitsoption(asshowninFigure6-8).Now,thesurfacenormalofthesurfaceunderthebrushwhenyoufirstbeginthestrokewillbeextendedthroughoutthewholestroke,producinganiceflatsurface.

Figure6-8.TheScrapeFlatbrush

Figure6-9.TheCreaseLazybrush

3. Setthebrush’sPlaneOffsettoaround0.1(seeFigure6-8)tomakethebrushcutmoredeeplyintothesurface.Thissettingdetermineshowdeeplythebrushaffectsthesurfaceforpositivevaluesorraisesitseffectsawayfromthesurfacefornegativevalues.

TrychangingthetooltypeforthisbrushtotheFlatten,Fill,orClaytools,astheyworkwellwiththesesettings,too.

CreaseLazyThisbrushisavariationofthestandardCreasebrush.WiththeSmoothStrokesettingactivated,theCreaseLazybrushisgoodforcreatinglong,smoothcreases.TocreatetheCreaseLazybrush,asshowninFigure6-9,followthesesteps:

1. DuplicatetheCreasebrushandturnonSmoothStroke.

2. ForboththisandtheregularCreasebrush,Iliketoturnupthestrengthofthebrushtobetween0.6andfullstrengthandturnthepinchvaluedowntoaround0.1or0.2.(Ifindthedefaultpinchstrengthabitheavy.)

DragAlphaTheDragAlphabrushusestheanchoredstrokesettingtodragalphasoverthe

surfaceofamesh,butotherwiseit’sjustabasicDrawbrush.Youcancreatethisbrush,showninFigure6-10,bytakingthefollowingsteps:

1. DuplicatetheDrawbrushandaddatexture.Mostanytexturewillwork;Ichosearockyimage.

2. Becauseyoucanuseallsortsoftextureswiththisbrush,differentfalloffcurvesareuseful.Forimageswithanaturalbuilt-infallofftothem,liketheClayTubesandRaketextures(thatareblackaroundtheedges),youcansetthecurvetoFlat.Fortexturesthatyou’vecreatedfromphotosorotherimagesthatdon’thavenaturalfalloff(thepatterncoversthewholeimage),useoneofthepresetcurves.Apresetcurvecreatesanicetransitionsothatthealphawon’tproduceanobviousedgewhendrawnoutoveryourmesh.

Figure6-10.TheDragAlphabrush,usedherewitharoughconcretealphatexture

MakingBrushesAvailablebyDefaultInordertoloadyourcustombrushesbydefault,youneedtoincludethemwithyourdefault.blendfile,thefilethatloadsupeverytimeBlenderstarts.Todothis,createanew.blendfile,create(orappend)anybrushesyouwanttomakeavailablebydefault,andthensavethemodifiedfile(File▸SaveUserSettings).Toappendintoanexistingbrush,chooseFile▸Append(orSHIFT-F1);thenselectthe.blendfilewhereyoucreatedyourbrushes,selectBrushes,choosethebrushesyouwant,andclickAppend.Nowyourcustombrusheswillbeavailablewheneveryouwanttosculpt.

ImprovingYourSculptingExperienceTogetthebestfromSculptmode,youneedtotweakBlender’ssettingsabit.Thegoalsaretwofold:toensurethatyougetthebestperformancewhilesculptingandtoconfigureBlender’s3DViewportandmaterialstomakeiteasiertoseetheeffectsofyourbrushstrokesonyourmodelwhilesculpting.

OptimizingSculptingPerformanceOfcourse,thebestwaytoimprovesculptingperformanceistouseapowerfulcomputerwithalotofRAM.Atminimum,you’llneed4GBofRAMifyouplanongoingintothemillionsofpolys,butmorecertainlywon’thurt.Butbarringhardwareupgrades,here’showtomakethemostofwhatyouhave.

Closeotherprograms.Ifyou’rerenderinginanotherinstanceofBlenderorburningaDVDatthesametime,yoursculptingperformancewillsuffer!

EnableVBOs(VertexBufferObjects).OpenBlender’sUserPreferences(File▸UserPreferencesorCTRL-ALT-U),gototheSystemtab,andselecttheVBOscheckbox.Thiswillboosttheperformanceofthe3DViewportifyourgraphicscardsupportsVBOs.

TurnonFastNavigate.You’llfindFastNavigateinthe3DViewportToolShelfunderOptions.FastNavigatecausesyourmodeltoswitchbacktoalower

subdivisionlevelwhenyoumoveorrotatethe3DViewport,speedingupnavigationwhilesculpting.

SubdividebeforeaddingaMultiresmodifier.Ifyouareworkingfromareasonablydensebasemesh,liketheoneswecreatedinChapter4,youdon’tneedtoperformthisstep.However,ifyouintendtostartfromacube,addandapplyaSubsurfmodifierbeforeaddingaMultiresmodifiertospeedupsculpting.

Thisworksbecause,underthehood,Blenderlooksathowmuchofthemeshitneedstoupdatebasedonhowmanyfacesoftheunderlyingbasemeshwerecoveredbythebrushstroke.Forexample,ifyourbasemeshisonlysixfaces,moststrokeswillaffectalargepercentageoffacesinthebasemesh(atleastone-sixth),makingitslowerforBlendertoupdateitsshape.Bysubdividingfirst,eachstrokewillaffectamuchsmallerpercentageoffacesinthebasemesh,sothereislessforBlendertoupdateonscreen,speedingupyousculptingexperience.

Customizingthe3DViewportWhensculpting,wegenerallywanttoseeonlywhatwe’reworkingon,withoutdistractionslikelampsandthegridfloor.Toturnoffthesedistractions,openthePropertiesregioninthe3DViewport(N)and,intheDisplaypanel,checkOnlyRendertoshowonlymeshesandotherobjectsatrendertime.Youcanalsoturnoffthegridfloorandaxesguidelinesfromthispanelsothattheywon’tbevisibleevenwithOnlyRenderturnedoff.WithOnlyRenderturnedon,thebackgroundcolorforthe3DviewswitchestothebackgroundcolorsetintheWorldSettingstabofthePropertieseditor.Itcanbenicewhensculptingtosetthistoadarkgrayorblack,butusewhateveryoulike.

MatCapMaterialsWhilesculpting,you’llwantthelookofyourmeshinthe3DViewporttogiveyouasmuchinformationaspossibleabouttheshapeofthesurfaceyouareworkingon.WhileBlender’sopenGLshadersdoareasonablejobofthis(andcanbeimprovedforsculpting,asoutlinedbelow),usingaGLSLmaterialknownasaMatCap(shortforMaterialCapture)thatshadesyourmeshdependingonitsnormalsgivesabetterandmoreaestheticallypleasingviewofyourmodels.

MatCapimagesuseapre-rendered(orpainted/photographed)imageofaspheretoshadeyourwholeobject,matchingtheshadingofthesphereimagewiththenormalsofyourmesh.TheMatCapimageusedformanyofthefiguresinthischapterisshowninFigure6-11.I’llcovercreatingmaterialsinChapter12,butI’lloutlinehowtocreateaMatCapmaterialnow.

Figure6-11.AMatCapimage.Blenderusesyourobjects’normalstomatchtheshadingofyourmeshwiththeshadingofthesphere.

CreatingaMatCapMaterialTocreateaMatCapmaterial,dothefollowing:

1. Selecttheobjectyouwanttoapplythematerialto.

2. IntheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditor,addanewmaterialbyclickingthe+Newbutton.Thiswillcreateanewmaterialwiththedefaultsettings.

3. TheonlymodificationyouneedtomaketothisistoturnonShadelessintheShadingpanel.ThisstopsthematerialfromusinglightsinGLSLmodeandinsteadonlyusescolorinformationfromthematerial’stextures.(TherelevantsettingsareshowninFigure6-12.)

4. IntheTexturestab,addanewtexturetothisimage.SetitstypetoImage

orMovieandthenloadyourMatCapimage.Bydefault,thiswillbeusedtoinfluencethecolorofyourmaterial,soallyouneedtodoischangethemappingcoordinatesforthetexture(intheMappingtab)toNormal,whichwillthensetyourobject’snormalsastexturecoordinates.

5. Finally,settheViewportShadingMethodofthe3DViewporttoTextureand,intheDisplaypanelofthe3DViewport,settheshadingoptiontoGLSL.YourMatCapmaterialshouldnowbevisibleonyourmesh,asshowninFigure6-12.

FindingMatCapImagesAnumberofMatCapimagesareincludedonthediscaccompanyingthisbook,butyoucanfindmanymoreonline.ManyareavailablefromwebsitesdevotedtoZBrush,apowerfulcommercialsculptingappthatwasoneofthefirsttoimplementthiskindofshadingforsculpting.Whilemanyaredistributedintheproprietary.zmtformat,youcanofteneasilyfindimagesofMatCapmaterialstouseastexturesinBlender.GooglingaroundwillturnupplentyofgoodMatCaptextures,too.

It’salsoworthcreatingyourownMatCapimages.Wheneveryouhaveamaterialyoulikethelookof,tryapplyingittoasphereandrenderingitouttouseasaMatCapmaterial.(Justremembertocropyourimagetojustinsidetheoutlineofthespheretoavoidgettinganyartifactsaroundtheedgesofyourmesh.)YoucanalsomixMatCaptexturesusingamaterialwithmultipletextureslots.(SeeChapter12formoreonhowtodothis.)

Figure6-12.AMatCapmaterialsetupandtheresultsinBlender’s3DViewport.WiththeNormaltexturecoordinates,theimageofthesphereismappedtothenormalsofthemesh,mimickingthesame

shading.

TweakingOpenGLShadingWhileit’snicetosculptwithMatCapmaterials,onceyougetintothemillionsofpolygonswithyoursculpts,Blender’sperformancemaybegintosuffer.SwitchingbacktoBlender’sdefaultOpenGLshading(thatis,solidshading)ismuchfaster,butit’squiteevenlyilluminatedandnotbrilliantforsculpting.Fortunately,youcaneasilytweakthelookofthisshadingintheSystemtaboftheUserPreferences,makingitmoreappropriateforsculptingandincreasingtheamountofsubdivisionyoucansqueezeoutofyourcomputerwhilestillmaintainingreasonableperformance.

InFigure6-13,I’vetweakedBlender’sstandardOpenGLlighting.Todothisyourself,openUserPreferencesand,intheSystemtab,locatetheSolidOpenGLLightssettings,asshowninFigure6-13.Thesesettingsgiveyouthreeindependent“lights”thatdeterminehowmeshesareshadedinBlender’sdefaultsolidshadedview.Youcanturntheselightsonandoffusingthelightbulbicon,adjusttheirdiffuseandspecularcolorswiththecolorpickers,andchangethedirectionfromwhichtheylightthemeshusingthespheresontheright.

Tomakethelightingmoreamenabletosculpting,Iturnedoffthesecondandthirdlightsourcesandsetthefirstlightsourcetopointstraightatthemesh,givingitaslighttancolor.ThisresultedintheshadingontherightinFigure6-13,whichismoredirectionalandgivesabetterideaoftheshapeofyourmeshwhilesculpting.

Figure6-13.Blender’sdefaultOpenGLshadingisveryversatileandmuchfasterthanGLSLMatCapshading,especiallyforhigherpolygoncounts.Byadjustingthepositionsandcolorsofthethree

availablelights,youcancreateavarietyoflightingsetupsthataremoresuitableforsculptingthanthedefaultis.

TheMultiresModifierWhileyoucansculptonanymesh,weneedtousetheMultiresmodifierinordertotakeasculpttoahighlevelofdetailwhilemaintainingabasemeshthatisstillsimpletoedit(seeFigure6-14).TheMultiresmodifierissimilartotheSubsurfmodifierinthatitsubdividesyourmodelusingeitherCatmull-ClarkorSimplesubdivision1.However,insteadofbeingpurelyprocedural,theMultiresmodifierwillstorefurthereditingofyourmeshinSculptmode,allowingyoutofirstsubdivideyourmeshandthenusetheextrageometrythiscreatestosculptinextradetail.Thisletsussubdivideafairlybasicmodelintomillionsofpolygonsandallowsustosculptthemintowhatevershapesandwithwhateverdetailswewant.

ThethreesettingsontheleftoftheMultiresmodifierpanel(Preview,Sculpt,andRender2)determinethelevelofsubdivisionshownindifferentmodes.PreviewsetsthedisplaylevelforObjectmode,SculptthelevelforSculptmode,andRenderthesubdivisionlevelusedwhenrenderingthemesh.TheSubdivideoperator3addsanotherlevelofsubdivisioneachtimeyouclickit,whiletheDeleteHigheroperator4deletesanysubdivisionlevelsabovetheoneyouarecurrentlyworkingon.

Ifyouhappentoexportyourmeshtoanotherprogram,orduplicateandedititseparately,youcanusetheReshapeoperator5toreshapeyourMultiresmeshtobethesameasthatofanotherselectedobject.Inordertodothis,though,bothmeshesmusthaveidenticalvertexorderandtopology,andanydeletionoraddingofverticeswillbreakthisfunctionality.Ifyou’reexportingtoanotherprogram(likeZBrushorMeshLab),besuretousethe.objformatandensurethattheKeepVertexOrderoptionischeckedwhenimportingandexporting.

TheMultiresmodifierdoesnotaffecttheoriginalshapeofyourmesh;however,youcanusetheApplyBaseoperator6tofitthelowestsubdivisionlevel(youroriginalmesh)totheshapeofthesubdividedmesh.Thisisusefulifyouhavedonealotofsculptingandwantyourbasemeshtoresemblemorecloselytheshapeofthesculptedmeshagain.

VertexOrder

Blender(andanyapplicationthatusesmeshobjects)storesameshasanumberedlistofvertices,alongwiththeconnectionsbetweenthemthatmakeuptheedgesandfaces.Thisistheobject’svertexorder,anditmustremainunchangedinorderfortheReshapeoperatortofunction.Simplemanipulationsofthesevertices—likemoving,rotating,orscaling—willnotaffecttheirordering,butaddingordeletingverticeswill.Additionally,savingtootherformatswhenexportingorimportingmayreordertheverticesofamesh.

Figure6-14.TheMultiresmodifier

SubdivisionandPolycountsWhenworkingwiththeMultiresmodifier,youcantrackthepolycountofyoursceneusingtheInfoEditorheader(seeFigure6-15).Rememberthateachsubdivisionyouapplymultipliesthepolycountofthatobjectby4,sosubdividingameshfivetimesincreasesyourpolycountbyafactorof1024!DependingonhowmuchRAMyouhave,youcanprobablysafelysubdivideuptoamillionormorepolygons,butthenumberofsubdivisionlevelsthatthisrequireswillreallydependonthenumberofpolygonsinyourbasemesh.

TheInfoEditorheadercontainsseveralusefulnumbers.Theseare,fromleftto

right:theversionofBlenderyouareusing,thetotalvertexcount(Ve:)oftheactivelayers,thetotalpolygon(face)count(Fa:)oftheactivelayers,thenumberofobjects(Ob:)selectedandintotal(selected-total),theactivelayer,memoryusage,andthenameoftheactiveobject.

Figure6-15.Keepaneyeonthepolycount(Fa:)whenusingtheMultiresmodifier.

SculptingConceptsWithBlendersetupnicelyforsculpting,let’sgettoit.Ingeneral,we’llsculptfromcoarsetofine,justlikesculptureintherealworld.Bybeginningwiththebroadstructureofthefinalproductwewanttoachieveandworkingtowardthefinedetails,wereducethenumberofstepsweneedtoundoinordertocorrecterrors.

ThissectionwillintroduceyoutosomegeneralconceptsintheorderIthinkaboutthemwhensculpting.

Volumesandproportion.Whenbeginningtosculpt,firstsetouttheroughshapeofyoursubject;inotherwords,createaroughvolumeforeachcomponentofyouroverallfigure.Whensculptingacharacter,youshouldblockoutthevolumesofthelegs,arms,torso,head,hands,andfeet.Thisisaccomplishedpartlybycreatingagoodbasemesh.Forexample,wealreadycreatedthebasicshapeoftheBatCreaturecharacterinChapter4;however,thiscanstillberefinedandimprovedwhilesculptingtogiveabetterfeelforthesizeandoverallshapeofthemodel.

Gesture.Gesturedescribesthestanceofacharacterandtheflowofformsfromonebodyparttoanother.Thisstageappliesmoretoposedcharactersbutisanimportantpartofcreatingagoodneutralpose,andevenapplieswhensculptinginorganicforms.Keyatthisstageisthattheformsofthebodyareconnectedbysmooth,flowingcurves.Youshouldusuallybeabletodrawasmoothcurvethroughyourcharacter’spose,asshowninFigure6-16.

Planes.Byplanes,Imeanbreakingdownandsimplifyingtheformoftheobject

intoflatplanes—areasoftheobjectthatformbroadlyflatsurfacesratherthanpolygons.Thedirectionandplacementoftheplanesinyoursculpturedeterminehowthesurfacesofyourobjectscatchlight,creatingpatternsthatinturnplayalargepartinhowwereadandrecognizeshapes.

Eventhoughyou’llultimatelysmoothouttheseplanes,they’llstillinfluenceyourfinishedobject.Forexample,theplanesinahumanorhumanoidcharacterarelargelydefinedbytheobject’smajoranatomicallandmarks,suchasthebonypartsoftheskull,ribcage,collarbones,andpelvis.InFigure6-17,themainlargeplanesaredefinedbytheshapeoftheskull;theseplanesincludethosealongthesideofthehead,alongthejawlineandchin,anddownthebridgeofthenose.Smallersecondaryplanesformtheshapesoftheears,lips,andnostrils.(Youdon’tactuallyneedtodefinetheplanesofyourmodeltoorigorously,astheywillbesmoothedoutlater,butitisimportanttoknowandroughlymarkinwheretheyare.)

Figure6-16.Trytoestablishsmoothcurvesthatflowthroughyourcharacters

Coarsedetailsandanatomy.Onceyou’vefinishedcreatingthemainvolumesandplanesofyoursculpture,you’llfindthatmanyoftheanatomicaldetailsareactuallyalreadypresent,thoughtherearestillmanyanatomicalfeaturestobeaddedtothefinalsculpt.Achievinganatomicalrealisminyoursculptstakespracticeandisamatterofgatheringandstudyinganatomicalreferencesandthenplacingandrefiningthoseanatomicallandmarksonyoursculpt.

Onewaytobeginfillinginthedetailsistostartwiththemajormusclegroupsandskeletallandmarksandthenprogresstosmallerdetailslikethemusculatureandsmallfeatureslikefingers,ears,eyes,andsoon.SeePlanestolearnhowIaccomplishedthisfortheBatCreature.

Finedetailsandsurfacetexture.Finally,weprogresstofinedetails,likewrinklesandporesinskin,ortechnicaldetailsinahard-surfacemodel(seeFigure6-18).Thisisafunstagethatcanaddalotofcharactertoamodel.Onethingtonoteatthisstageisthat,particularlywithorganiccharactersthataren’theavilymuscled,muchoftheanatomicaldetailyoumayhaveaddedwillneedtobetoneddown.Youcaneitheromitthesedetailsearlierinthesculptingprocess(butconsiderwheretheywillbeunderthesurfacenonetheless)orsmooththemawayinareaswhereyouneedasubtlereffect.Finally,youcanstartaddingsmallerdetails,likewrinkles,pores,scars,andsoon.Wecanstartsmoothingandpolishingoutanyartifactswehavecreatedearlierwhilesculptingandthenaddmoredeliberatefinedetails.

Figure6-17.Theplanesofthehead.Youdon’tneedtodefineplanestothisextent,butkeeptheminmind.

Thesearethegeneralstagesthatonegoesthroughwhensculpting.Theytakeyoufromaroughoverallshapetosomethingwiththekeyfeaturesyouaretryingtocreateandthenallowyoutore-createthefinerdetails.Nowlet’sapplythesestagestosculptingtheBatCreatureandSpiderBot.

Figure6-18.Finedetailscanbedealtwithoncethemajorformsareinplace.

SculptingtheBatCreatureFortheBatCreature,IbeganwithacoupleofsimplebasemeshesthathadtopologytosupportmostofthefeaturesIneeded(thoughnothingfortheface).ThenIcouldbegindevelopingtheformsoftheBatCreatureintosomethingmoreinterestingandaddfurtherdetails,suchassomemusculatureandfacial

features.

Tobegin,ItookthebasemeshandaddedaMultiresmodifierandafewsubdivisions.Theinitialaimwastoaddenoughresolutiontoallowmetobeginrefiningthevolumesanddefiningbasicplanesandlandmarks—butnotsomuchthatIwouldgetsuckedintoaddingdetailstooearly.Whensculpting,trytomakethemostoutofeachlevelofsubdivisionbeforeaddingthenextlevel.

VolumesIbeganbyaddingvolumetothelegsandarmswiththeInflatetool(seeFigure6-19).TheInflatetoolisparticularlyhandyatlowsubdivisionlevelsforenlargingbasicmassesandgivingthemaniceroundedshape.TheClaytoolisalsohandyforbuildingupmassinaspecificplace.(It’seasytomakeformsthinneragainwiththeSmoothtoolorwiththeInflatetoolinSubtractivemode.)

OntheBat’storso,Ibeganseparatingthebulkoftheribcageorchestfromthepelvisandaddingsomemusclemassonthebackfortheshoulders.TheBatCreatureisacharacterwithwingscomingoutofitsback,solargemusclesonthebackareexpected.

PlanesNext,Ibegansculptingthefigure’sbasicplanes.BecauseIwasaddingmoredefinitionatthispoint,Ifirstaddedafewmoresubdivisionlevels,bringingtheoverallpolycounttoafewhundredthousandpolygons.Theaimherewasfirsttofindthebonylandmarksofthebody,suchasthetopandbottomoftheribcage,theiliaccrestsofthepelvis,thekneesandelbows,andtheskull(seeFigure6-20,Landmarks).

Asafirststep,youcanroughlymarkthesepointswithalightimpressionfromtheClaybrush.Next,youcanplacethesecondaryformsofthemajormusclegroupsusingtheselandmarksasaguide.Todothis,simplyaddandsubtractmasswiththeClaybrushes(Figure6-20,Masses).ThenyoucanbeginflatteningthesemassesoutintothemainplanesofthebodyusingtheFlatten,Scrape,andFillbrushes(Figure6-20,Planes).UsingtheCreasebrushatthisstagewillallowyoutocreatebetterdivisionsbetweenplanesinSubtractivemode(thedefaultbehaviorforthisbrush);thisbrushcanalsobeusedinAdditivemodetoadd

sharpedgestoplanesthatfaceoutward.

AgoodwaytoplanandkeeptrackofthedetailsyouwanttocreateistosketchthemusclegroupswithBlender’sgreasepencil,usingtheSurfacedrawingsetting(seeFigure6-21).InObjectmodeandwithyourmeshselected,addanewgreasepencillayer,setthedrawmodetoSurface,andthendrawstrokesonthesurfaceofyourmeshbyholdingdownDandclickingtodraw.Nowyoucansketchanyanatomicallandmarksonyoursculptbeforeactuallysculptingthemin.Forexample,inFigure6-21,Ihavesketchedoutthemajormusclegroups.

Figure6-19.BatCreaturevolumes:Subdividedbasemeshbeforesculptingvolumes(left)andthebasiclargevolumesroughlyaddedusingtheGrabandInflatebrushes(right).Atthisstage,Iwasconcernedwithrefiningtheoverallshapeofthecharacterintoonewiththerightvolumesandproportions,mainlybyinflatinganddeflatingorbysmoothingouttheformsatalowsubdivisionlevel.Icouldalsotweak

certainproportionsinthebasemesh.

Figure6-21.Left:Sketchingoutmusclegroupsandlandmarkswiththegreasepencil.Right:TheGreasePencilpanel,whichisfoundinthePropertiesregion.

Figure6-20.StagesinlayingoutthemajorplanesofthebodyCoarseAnatomyWithourplanessketchedout,wecanmoveontofurtherdefiningtheanatomy.ReferencesareparticularlyhandyatthisstageaswedefinefurtheranatomicaldetailsusingbrusheslikeClay,ClayTubes,Crease,andInflatetoaccentuateindividualmusclesandthebonesofthebodyandtheface(seeFigure6-22).

SculptingHard-to-ReachAreasUsingShapeKeysSomeareas,likeunderthearmpitsorbetweenthelegs,canbeawkwardtoreachwithyoursculptingbrushes.Tomakethetaskeasier,createanewshapekeyforyourmeshinEditmodethatwillletyoureachtheareayouwanttoworkon.

Shapekeysallowyoutostoredifferentpositionsfortheverticesofyourmesh,enablingyou,forexample,tohaveonepositionwiththearmsup,onewiththearmsdown,orwhateverpositionyouwish.ShapekeysarefullycompatiblewithSculptmode,meaningyoucanblendthemonorofftochangeyoursculpt’sposewhilesculpting.Forexample,forthissculpt,Icreatedshapekeyswiththecharacter’sarmsandlegsheldfurtherouttomakeiteasiertoreachthearmpitandinnerlegareas.

Figure6-22.Definingtheanatomyfurther.Referencesareimportantatthisstage,thoughthereisroomforinventionaswell.

Tocreatetheshapekeys,IfirstaddedanewshapekeyinObjectmodetoholdthenewpose.(Clickthe+iconontherightoftheShapeKeyspaneltwicetosettheoriginalshapeofthemeshasthedefault“basis”shape;thenclickitagaintocreateanewshapewiththevertexpositionsstoredrelativetothebasisshape.)Next,IselectedtheverticesofthearminEditmodeandrotatedthemabouttheshouldertobringthearmoutwardslightly.ThenIadjustedthesurroundingverticestorefinethenewpose(seeFigure6-23).ReturningtoSculptorObjectmode,Icouldthenturnthisshapekeyupordown(usingthevalueslidersintheShapeKeyspanel)tomovethebodyintoapositionthatwouldbeeasiertoworkon.

HidingPartsoftheMesh

AnotherwaytoreachdifficultareasinasculptistohidepartofthemeshusingtheshortcutALT-B,whichletsyoudragoutaboxonthescreentorestrictthevisiblepartofyourmeshtoonlywhatisinsidethebox(seeFigure6-24).Byhidingpartsofyourmesh,youcanconcentrateononesmallareaofyourmodelatatimeandalsoseeintomoredifficultorhiddenareas.

Figure6-23.Addingshapekeysfordifferentposes.Topleft:TheShapeKeyspanelfoundintheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor.Topright:Selectingthearmtomoveittoanewpositiontomakethepreviouslyhiddenareasofthearmandchestmoreaccessible.Bottom:ThenewposeappliedinSculpt

modeandaseparate,similarshapekeyforthelegs.

Figure6-24.Restrictingthevisibleareatoasmallselection,usingtheshortcutALT-Banddraggingarectanglearoundtheareayouwanttoremainvisible

SculptingtheWingsNextImovedontosculptingthewings(seeFigure6-25).Thewingsrequiredlesswork,asthebasicshapewasclosertothefinallookIwanted.

IbeganbyusingtheInflatebrushtoaddsomevolumetothewingbones,andthenIaddedsomebonylandmarks.Next,IrefinedtheplanesofthebonesandgavethemclearboundarieswiththeInflate,Crease,Flatten,andClaybrushes.TheCreaseLazybrushthatwemadeearliercomesinhandyforworkingontheoutlinesofthebonesandaddingridgestothewingstructure.

BasicDetailsWhileIwasn’tplanningtofinalizethefinedetailscoveringtheBat’sbodyuntilretopology,Istillneededtoaddthemainfeaturesofthehead:theeyes,nostrils,mouth,anddetailsoftheears.Returningtothebody,Ibegantoaddthesedetails.TheCreasebrushisanexcellentwaytodrawintheoutlinesofthesedetails—suchasthevalleybetweenthelipsandthecreasesofthebrowsandaroundthenose—beforeusingtheClaybrushestobuildupthebasicformsand

theFlattenandPolishbrushestorefinethem(seeFigure6-26).Later,thesewouldberetopologizedandresculpted,soIleftthemprettyroughfortimebeing,justdoingenoughtoindicatethegeneralshape.

Figure6-25.Thewingsweresculptedinthesamewayasthebody.Becausetheinitialbasemeshwasmoredefinedtobeginwith,thisprocesswassimplerthanitwasforthebody.

SculptingAroundtheEyesEyescanbetrickytosculptbecauseyouneedtofollowtheunderlyingshapeoftheeyeballwhileaddingthedetailsoftheeyelidsandsuch.Tomakethingseasier,firstaddanewsphereobjectasaplaceholderfortheeyeball(see

Figure6-26),thensculpttheeyelidsaroundthesphere.AMirrormodifiercanbeusedtocreatetheothereyebyusingthebodyobjectasthemirrorobjectinthemodifiersettings.

Figure6-26.AddinganeyetomakesculptingthesurroundingareaseasierandusingtheCreasebrushtomarkinkeyfeaturesoftheface.Rememberwhenscalingtheeyetothecorrectsizethattheskullisapproximatelyfiveeye-widthsacrossandthatthereshouldbeoneeye-widthbetweenthetwoeyes.

TimetoRetopologizeAtthispoint,Ihadreachedthestagewhereaddingfurthersubdivisionswouldbeslowandunwieldywiththecurrenttopology(thepolycountofthebodyatthispointisover5millionfaces).Byretopologizingatthisstage,youcancreateadenserandmoresuitablemeshthatgivesahigherinitialdensityofpolygonsinimportantareaslikethefaceandhands,withbettertopologytosupportthecoarserdetails.Thiswillallowyoutoresumesculptingagainafterretopologizingandaddfinerdetailstothemeshwithouthavingtokeepincreasingthepolycounttoridiculouslevels.

NOTEJumptoChapter7ifyouwishtofollowalonginstrictchronologicalorder.Fromhereon,Iwillbetransferringexistingdetailstoanewretopologizedmeshbeforemovingontoaddfinerdetails.

TransferringSculptedDetailtoaNewMeshwithaDisplacementMap

Havingretopologizedthesculpt,IwasleftwithtransferringthedetailsIhadsculptedontheoriginalmeshtothenewone.Thereareseveralwaystoapproachthis,eachwithitsadvantagesanddisadvantages.OnewayistousetheShrinkWrapmodifier:firstaddingaMultiresmodifiertoyournewmesh,thensubdividingafewtimes,addingShrinkWrapmodifier,andsettingtheoriginalmeshasthetarget.Thiscanworkreasonablywellforsimplersculpts,butformorecomplexobjects,itcancreatesomeartifactsanderrorsthatwilltaketimetostraightenout.Assuch,formorecomplexsculpts,abettermethodistouseadisplacementmap.

AboutDisplacementMapsAdisplacementmapisanimagetexturethatdefineshowtodisplacethesurfaceofameshaccordingtothevalueofthetexture:Whiteareascausethesurfacetoberaised,andblackareasarepushedin.ByUVunwrappingthemeshandapplyingadisplacementmaptothenewmesh,youcantransferthedetailsoftheoldsculpttothenewmesh.

Tocreateadisplacementmap,useBlender’stexture-bakingtoolstocalculatethedistancesbetweenthesurfacesoftheoriginalsculptandthenewlyretopologizedmeshandtobakethemintoanimage.Then,byusingtheDisplacemodifier(combinedwiththeMultiresmodifiertosubdividethemesh),youcanapplythisdisplacementtomakethenewretopologizedmeshexactlymatchtheoldone.(UVmappingiscoveredmorethoroughlyinChapter8andtexturebakinginChapter10,soIwillonlytouchonthebasicshere.)

IcreatedasimpleUVunwrapformyretopologizedmeshbytaggingsomeseams(CTRL-E)tosplititintoeasy-to-unwrappatches.ThenIunwrappeditusingtheUnwrapoperator(U▸Unwrap)andpackedtheUVislandsintotheUVgrid.(YoucandothisautomaticallywiththeshortcutCTRL-P.)

Next,Iassignedanewimagetotheobject’sUVcoordinatesbyselectingtheobject,enteringEditmode,and,intheUVImageeditor,usingImage▸NewImagetocreateablank,4096×4096imageforbakingdisplacement.(Besuretocheckthe32-bitfloatoptionforbestresultswhencreatingthisimage,asdisplacementmapswithlowerbitdepthscancausenastysteppingartifacts.)

Finally,Ibakedthedisplacementfrommyoriginalsculpttothenewretopologizedmesh(seeFigure6-27)byfollowingthesesteps:

1. Selecttheoriginalsculpt.

2. UseSHIFT▸SelecttheretopologizedmeshandapplyaSubdivisionSurfacemodifiertoitwitharenderlevelof3.Thiswillsubdividethemeshbeforecalculatingthedisplacementsothatlater,whenweuseaMultiresmodifiertosubdividethemesh,thesamedisplacementcanbeapplied.

3. IntheRendertabofthePropertieseditor,opentheBakepanel.

4. MakesurethatSelectedtoActiveisenabledandBakemodeissettoDisplacement.

Figure6-27.Bakingthedisplacementfromtheoldsculpttothenewretopologizedmesh.ThisisofteneasiertotweakandgivesbetterresultsthantheShrinkwrapmodifier,thoughittakessome

extraeffort.

5. LeavetheDistanceparametersettothedefaultof0.

6. ClickBaketobakeyourdisplacementmap.

7. Onceitisbaked,saveyourdisplacementmapasanOpenEXRfilefromthe

UVImageeditorbyselectingImage▸SaveasImagefromtheheadermenu(makingsuretosetthefiletypetoEXRwhensaving).

ApplyingDisplacementtotheSculptOncethedisplacementmapimagehasbeenbaked,youneedtocreateatexturethatusesthisimageandapplyitastheinputforaDisplacementmodifierappliedtothenewmesh.

NOTETheprocedureoutlinedbelowissomewhatinelegantbecauseinordertoeditatexture’sproperties,Blenderrequiresyoutoassignittoamaterial,world,orbrush.Togetaroundthis,youcancreatea“dummy”materialtoassignthedisplacementtexturetosothatyoucanedititandthenassignittothedisplacementmodifier.(Formoreonhowimages,textures,andmaterialsnormallywork,skiptoChapter10,Chapter11,andChapter12.)

Toapplythedisplacementmaptoyournewretopologizedmesh,dothefollowing:

1. Selectyourretopologizedmeshand,intheMaterialstabofthePropertiesEditor,createanewmaterialforitbyclickingtheNewbutton.Wewon’tbeusingthismaterialtorenderourmeshlater;it’sjustthereassomewheretoholdourtexturefornow.YoucanrenamethismaterialsomethinglikeDisplacement_Dummy.YoumayalsowanttocreateafakeuserforthismaterialbyclickingtheFiconnexttoitsnamesothatwhenyouassignadifferentmaterialtotheobject(leavingthedummymaterialunassigned),thedummymaterialwillnotbediscarded.

2. SwitchtotheTexturetabofthePropertieseditorandaddanewtexturetothematerial,againbyclickingNew.

3. SetthematerialtypetoImageorMovieandthen,fromtheImagepanelbelow,clickOpenandloadthedisplacementmapyoujustcreated.Namethissomethingmemorableaswell.

4. DeletetheSubdivisionSurfacemodifierweaddedearlierandaddaMultiresmodifiertoyourretopologizedmeshinstead.Thensubdivideita

fewtimes.Aimforroughlythesamenumberoffacesasyouroriginalmeshfornow.

5. AddaDisplacementmodifier.FromtheTextureselector,chooseyourdisplacementmaterialandleavedirectionsettoNormal,butchangetheCoordinatessettingtoUVtouseyourobject’sUVcoordinatestoapplythedisplacementtexture.Becausewekeptthetexture-bakingsettingsmostlyontheirdefaults,thedefaultstrengthof1shouldbeexactlywhatweneed.Thisshouldnowgiveyourmeshexactlythesameshapeastheoriginalsculpt.

ControllingDisplacementwithaVertexGroupSomeareas,liketheinsideofthemouth,maycauseproblemswhentheDisplacementmodifierisapplied.Sincetheinsideofthemouthiscompletelynewtopology,itwon’thaveanyusefulinformationinthedisplacementmap,anditwouldbebettertoexcludetheseareasfromtheeffectsoftheDisplacementmodifier.Tofixtheseareas,youcanassignavertexgrouptotheDisplacementmodifiertorestrictdisplacementtoonlycertainpartsofthemesh,leavingproblemareasuntouched.Figure6-28showsthevertexgroupfortheDisplacementmodifierinWeightPaintmode;theinsideofthemouthandeyesandthetipsoftheclawsonthewingsarenotincludedinthegroup.

Figure6-28.RestrictingtheactionoftheDisplacementmodifierwithavertexgroup(shownhereinWeightPaintmode)

Tocreateavertexgroup,takethefollowingsteps:

1. EnterEditmode,andintheObjectDatatabofthePropertiesEditor,andclickthe+iconintheVertexGroupspaneltocreateanewvertexgroup.

2. Selecttheverticesyouwishtobeincludedinthegroup(thatis,thepartsofthemeshyoudowanttoapplytheDisplacementmodifierto),andclickAssignintheVertexGroupspaneltoassignthemtothegroup.

3. SwitchbacktoObjectmode,andsetthisvertexgroupasthevertexgrouptousetorestricttheeffectoftheDisplacementmodifier(theVertexGroupoptionisinthemodifiersettings;seeFigure6-29).ThemodifiersyoushouldnowhaveappliedareshowninFigure6-29.

4. ApplytheDisplacementmodifierbyclickingApply.ItseffectswillbestoredbytheMultiresmodifier,allowingyoutoreturntoSculptmodeand

continuesculptingandaddingdetails.

Figure6-29.ApplyingthedisplacementmapwiththeDisplacementmodifier.PlacingtheDisplacementmodifierbelowaMultiresmodifierinthemodifierstackwillallowyoutoapplythedisplacementand

havetheresultscapturedbytheMultiresmodifiersothatyoucancontinuesculpting.

DetailingWiththeretopologizedmeshreadytobesculpted,Ibeganworkingitoverwithvariousbrushesandbuildinginthefinedetails(seeFigure6-30).TheClayandStandardbrushesaregenerallythebestfordefiningtheimportantforms,butalphatexturescanbeusedtoaddtexturemuchmorequickly.

Beginningwiththeface,IaddedsomeofthemajorwrinkleswiththeClayandDrawbrushes.Then,Imovedontousingalphatextures.UsingtheDragAlphabrushdiscussedearlierinthechapter,togetherwithsomeskintexturealphas,Ibeganbuildingupthesurfacetextureoftheskin.

Therestofthebodywascoveredinthesameway:buildinguptextureandfinedetailsusingamixofalphabrushesandsmallClayandDrawbrushes.Intheareasaroundtheshouldersandwings,Iaddedsomecreasesthatflowwiththeexpansionandcontractionofthewings,usingamixofalphas,Clay,andCreasebrushes,asshowninFigure6-31.

ProceduralDetailsWhileit’sbesttosculpttheimportantdetailsofyourmodelbyhand,itcanbehandytobeabletoaddsomegenericroughnesstothesurfaceofyoursculpt.We’veusedtheDisplacementmodifiertotransferdetailsusingabakeddisplacementmap,butwecouldalsouseothertexturesastheinputfortheDisplacementmodifiertogeneratesomesubtlevariationinthesurface.Blenderhasavarietyofproceduraltextures(texturesgeneratedbyvariousalgorithmsthatdonotrequireimagesasinput)thatareidealforthispurpose.

Figure6-30.Addingdetailtothefaceusingavarietyofbrushesandalphas

Figure6-31.Addingdetailtothewingsandback

ToaddsomesurfacedetailtoyoursculptwithaproceduralcloudtextureandtheDisplacementmodifier,dothefollowingandseeFigure6-32:

1. Createanewtextureblock(wecanusethedummymaterialcreatedearliertoholdit)andsetitstypetoCloud.

2. AddaDisplacementmodifiertoyoursculpt(aftertheMultiresmodifier)inObjectmode(DisplacementwillnotbeshowninSculptmode).Setyournewproceduraltextureasthetextureforthemodifier.

3. Setthestrengthofthemodifiertosomethingverylow.ThenswitchbacktotheTexturetabofthePropertieseditorandplaywiththesettingsoftheCloudtexture,availablefromtheCloudpanelthatappearsnowthatyouhavechosentheCloudtexturetype.Trysettingthescaleofthecloudtosomethingverysmallandplaywiththebrightness,contrast,andnoisebasistoproducedifferenteffects.

Figure6-32.AddingproceduraldetailwithacloudtextureandtheDisplacementmodifier

4. AswedidwhenweusedaDisplacementmodifiertotransferdetails,youcanuseavertexgrouptomaskoutareasthatyoudon’twanttobeaffected.

5. Whenyouhavesomethingyouarehappywith,applythemodifiertobaketheresultsintotheMultiresmodifiersothatyoucancontinuesculpting.

BreakingSymmetryAtthisstage,ifyoukeepsymmetryenabled,yoursculptmaybegintolookalittletoosymmetrical.Whilethebodiesandfacesofmostanimalsandcharactersarebroadlysymmetrical,finedetailslikepores,wrinkles,scars,andsoonarenot.

Onceyoureachthedetailingstage,itisusuallyagoodideatoturnsymmetryoffintheToolOptions.Formorefar-flungareas,liketheendsofthearmsandlegs,youcanleavesymmetryon:Becausethesepartsarefartherfromeachother,thesymmetrywillbelessapparent.However,obvioussymmetryinthedetailsrunningdownthemiddleofyourcharacterwillgenerallylookstrange,soturnsymmetryofffortheseareasinparticular.

Ofcourseyoucanbreaksymmetrymuchearlier;mostcharactersandfaceshavesomesubtleasymmetry.Thislevelofsubtletycanaddalotofbelievabilitytoyoursculpts,soconsiderdisablingsymmetryearlieron.

PosingTocreateamoreinterestingposeformycharacter,IjumpedintoEditmode(TAB)andusedproportionaleditinginConnectedmode(ALT-O)togetherwithrotatingaboutthe3Dcursortomovethelimbs(seeFigure6-33).Icreatedanewshapekeyfortheposeandthenbeganadjustingthebody.Forexample,tomovealeg,Iselectedalltheverticesintheleg,placedthe3Dcursorwherethehipjointwouldbe,andthenrotatedthelegaboutthatpointusingproportionaleditingtocreateasmoothtransition.Thisisaquickanddirtywaytoposeacharacterwithoutresortingtoriggingit,whichisacomplextask—andforastillrender,moreeffortthanit’sworth.

Iadjustedtherestofthelimbsandtheheadtoposethecharacterinamoreinterestingway.ThenIreturnedtoSculptmode,whereIusedtheGrabandClaybrushesatalowsubdivisionleveltofixanyerrorswiththeposeandadjustthelookofthemusculature.IrelaxedmusclesthatwouldbeextendedwiththeSmoothtoolanddecreasedtheirvolumeabitandconverselyinflatedandtightenedupmusclesthatwouldbecontractinginthenewpose.

ExpressionFacialexpressionisanimportantpartofanycharacter.IaddedanewshapekeytoholdthefacialexpressionandusedtheGrabandClaybrushestoaddabitofasnarltotheBat’sface(visibleinFigure6-32)bygrabbingthesidesofthenoseandshiftingthemupslightly,pullinguptheupperlipabit,andnarrowingtheeyes.Addingsomecreasesinthoseareaswherethefaceisscrunchedupandsmoothingoutstretchedareascomplementsthedetailsalreadyadded.

Figure6-33.Adjustingthecharacterintoanewpose.Ihaveselectedtheverticesoftheheadandthenplacedthe3Dcursoratthebaseofthenecktoallowmetoturntheheadslightlybyrotatingthe

selectionaboutthe3Dcursorwithproportionaleditingenabled.Keepingthisnewposeasashapekeyallowsyoutochangeyourmindlaterandreturntothestandardpose.

SculptingtheSpiderBotTheSpiderBotwassculptedliketheBatCreaturebyfirstblockingoutthemajorformswiththeClayandGrabbrushes,thenrefiningplanesandaddingdetails.However,inthecaseoftheSpider,Ihadtheaddedcomplexityoftryingtocreatehard-surfaceforms.Whileyoucouldmodelthesesortsofformsdirectly(oftenanexcellentapproach),sculptingsomeaspectsofhard-surfaceformsallowedmetobemoreexperimentalwhencreatingourmodel.

WhileBlendercan’tquitepolishhardsurfacesandsharpedgestoperfection,youcanaccomplishalotwiththeFlattenandPolishbrushesalongwiththePinchandCreasebrushes.Thenyoucanuseretopologytocreateafinalizedmodelwithclean,smoothforms.Byfocusingonformsfirstandtopologylater,

youreducethehassleoftryingtomodelformsyouarenotyetsureaboutandgetyourobjectscurvingsmoothlywithcleantopologylater.

BodyBeginningwiththeSpiderBot’sbody,IusedtheCreasetooltoroughlymarkwhereIwantedtheedgesofmyhardsurfacestofall.InextusedtheClaybrushes(thecustomClayTubesbrushisexcellentforthispurpose)tobuildupthevolumesaroundtheselines,andIusedthePolishandFlattenbrushestorefinethem(seeFigure6-34).

Figure6-34.First,drawaroughdesignwiththeCreasebrush.Next,buildupmasseswiththeClayTubesbrush.Finally,refinethemwiththePolish,Pinch,andFlattenbrushes.

Tocreateevenfineredges,combinetheCreasebrushes(thecustomCreaseLazybrushwemadeisgoodforlong,smoothcurves)inAdditivemode(holdCTRL)to

makecornersandedgessharper.Then,pinchthemtogethertogetareallysharpcrease.BysteeringclearoftheedgesandusingtheFlattenbrushesontheflatareas,youcanachieveafairlypolishedresult.(Don’tgocrazy;we’lluseretopologylatertocreateanewmeshwithsmootherforms.)

HeadTheheadwassculptedthesameway(seeFigure6-35),usingthePolishbrushtoproduceflattershapesandtheCreasebrushtomarkinedgesandvalleys.Ialsocarvedinsomedeeprecesseswherethelegsandfangswillattachtothebody.

Figure6-35.Theheadsegment,sculptedinthesamewayasthebody

LegsSculptingthelegsproceededinmuchthesamemanner.Istartedbypolishingtheoverallshapeofthepiecesintosomethingflatterandslightlymorehardedged.ThenIbuiltupsomemoreinterestingshapesontopofthatwiththeClayandCreasebrushes,firstdrawingoutadesignandthenfillingintheshapes.Next,Ireturnedtopolishingagaintogetmoretightlydefined,smoothershapes(seeFigure6-36).

Figure6-36.Sculptingthelegsusingthesametechniqueasforthebody.Ikeptthesculptsforthelegpiecesfairlyloose,asthefinallegpartswouldbemadebyretopologizingoverthesculptedlegsto

createclean,smoothgeometry.

Againthough,there’snoneedtochaseaftersomethingperfectlysmooth,aswewillbefixingthesesurfaceswithretopologyinChapter7.

NOTEThePolishandFlattenbrushescanproduceoddeffectsatsharpcorners,creatingawkwarddents.Tofixthese,eitherundoorusetheInflateandSmoothbrushestoknockoutthedentsandthenre-creaseandpolishthesurface.

Togetanideaofthelookofmysculptatthispoint,Iduplicatedthelegparts(aslinkedduplicates,ALT-D)andmovedandrotatedthemintoplaceinObjectmode(seeFigure6-37).Thisletmecheckonthefinallookofthemodel,thoughIdidn’tbothermirroringthelegpiecesovertotheothersideofthebodyatthisstage.

Figure6-37.Thesculptedbodyparts,duplicatedandmovedintoroughlytheirfinalpositions

JungleTemple:CreatingIncidentalDetailsWhiletheruinedtemplescenedidn’tusealotofsculpting,certainincidentaldetailswereeasiertosculpt,suchaspatchesofmudandroughground(seeFigure6-38).IcreatedtheseareasmainlybyusingtheClaybrusheswithoutaMultiresmodifier,optingtosimplysubdividethemeshafewtimesinEditmode

instead.Icouldhavesculptedsomedamageintothestonewallsusingalphas,butIfeltthattherelativeflatnessofthewallscontrastednicelywiththechaosofthesurroundingfoliage,soIleftthemasonrysmooth.

Figure6-38.Someroughlysculptedpatchesofmudfromthetemplescene

SculptingNatural-LookingFacesWhiletheBatCreaturehasaface,itisn’tonethatyou’dcallclassicallyhandsome.Herearesometipsforsculptingmorenatural-lookingfaces.

Focusontheproportionsandthelargevolumesfirstbeforedivingintothedetails.Lockdowntheoverallvolumesbeforeaddingwrinkles,pores,andscarssothatyouwon’thavetoredothemlaterwhenyoursculptdoesn’tlookright(seeFigure6-39).

Figure6-39.Mappingouttheproportionsofthehead.Overall,youcanviewtheheadasbeingconstructedaroundthesphereofthecranium,withthefaceextendingforwardanddownwardfromit.Here,theproportionsoftheheadarelaidoutonagridscaledtooneeye-widthperunit.Certainimportantfeaturesoftheskull,includingthecheekbones,eyesockets,andupperjaw,aremarkedin

red.

Theheadisroughlyfiveeye-widthsacrossandapproximatelysevendown(seeFigure6-39).Thisprovesausefulmeasurement.Keepthismeasurementinmindanduseittojudgetherelativedistanceandsizeoffacialfeatures.

Themouthisdifficulttosculpt.Dependingonwhetheryouhavean“open”mouth(onewithtopologythatfollowsroundinsidethemouth)ora“closed”one(onethatissimply“drawn”ontothesurfaceoftheface),youwillneedtoadoptdifferentstrategies.Foropenmouths,theInflateandSmoothbrushesareusefulforadjustingtheshapeofthelipsandthesurroundingareas.Forclosedmouths,theCreasebrushisperfectfordrawinginthecreasebetweenthetwolips,followedbyfillingoutthesurroundingareaswiththeClayandClayTubesbrushes.RememberthattheupperlipgenerallyhasmuchmoredefinitionthanthelowerlipandhasaroughMshapetoit.Thelowerlipismoreroundedandslightlytuckedundertheupperlipinmostpeople(seeFigure6-40).

Figure6-40.Thelips

Theanatomyofthefaceandthelandmarksoftheskullareimportant.Trymodelingorsculptingaskull,sculptingthefacialmuscles,andthenaddingtheskinoverthetoptoseehowtheyaffectoneanother(seeFigure6-41).

Figure6-41.Theanatomyoftheskullisveryimportantindetermininghowapersonlooks.Inparticular,thelandmarksoftheskull—suchasthecheekbones,brows,andchin—haveabigimpact

ontheoverallappearanceofaface.

Don’taddlotsofwrinklesandcreasesunlessyouwantyourcharactertolookseriouslyold.Evenafewsubtlewrinklescanaddalotofcharactertoaface.

Fewfacesareperfectlysymmetrical.Whilesculptingwithsymmetryturnedonwilltakeyoualongway,turnitoffinthelaterstagesofyoursculpttoadd

abitofuniquenesstothetwosidesoftheface.

InReviewInthischapter,wehavelookedatthevarietyofsculptingtoolsthatBlenderhastoofferandhowtocustomizethemtomakethemostoftheircapabilities.Then,wemovedontosculptingtheBatCreature’sbodyandturningthesimplebasemeshesIcreatedbothforitandfortheSpiderBotprojectintomoredetailed,developedmodelsthatarenowreadyforretopology.Finally,wediscussedsomegeneralprinciplesforsculptingfaces.

Inthenextchapter,wemoveontoretopologizingoursculpts,bringingthemodelingstagesoftheprojectstoaclose.Inlaterchapters,we’lluseourhigh-polysculptsagainforbakingmapsandtexturesforourmodelsbeforerenderingthemwithdisplacementandnormalmapstorecapturethedetailswecreatedinthischapter.

Chapter7.Retopology

Sometimesit’seasiertocreateanobject’sbasicformusingonemethod—forexample,sculptingorcombiningsimpleprimitives—beforecreatingthefinaltopologyfortexturingandthefinalrendersanotherway,usingthebasicformsasaguide.Thisiswhatretopologyallowsustodo.Retopologyistheprocessofcreatingnewgeometryoveranexistingmeshwhilemaintainingtheobject’sbasicshapeandrebuildingitstopology.Retopologyallowsustosplitthetasksofcreatingtherightshapeandcreatinghelpfultopology,makingiteasiertoproducethemodelwewant.

Inthischapter,you’lllearnhowtouseBlender’sSnappingtoolsandotherretopologytechniquestomodelnewgeometryoverthesurfaceofhighpoly,sculptedmeshes,liketheoneswesculptedinChapter6.Theresultwillbeafinalmeshthatcapturesthedetailsofthesculptswithfewerpolygonsandproducestopologythatsubdivideswellandissuitableforriggingandanimation.

TheBasicsThereareseveralwaystoretopologize,butthemostdirectistouseBlender’sprojectionSnappingtoolstocreategeometrydirectlyonthesurfaceofthemeshyouwanttoretopologize.(SeeSnappingformoreonthesetools.)

UsingSnappingtoRetopologizeTostartretopologizingamesh,takethefollowingsteps:

1. AddanewplaneobjectinObjectmode.

2. EnterEditmodeandturnonSnapping.

3. ChangethesnappingtargettoFacesandenableProjectontoSurface(seeFigure4-10)tomakeBlendersnapselectedverticesandedgesontothe

surfaceofotherobjectsbyprojectingthemfromthecurrentviewpoint.

4. Scaledowntheplaneuntilitisthesamesizeyouwantthefacestobeinyourfinalretopologizedmesh.Next,grabandplacetheplaneoveraregionofyourmeshwhereyouwishtostartretopologizing.

5. Adjustthepositionsoftheexistingvertices.Then,selectoneedgeofthefaceandstartextrudingouttocreatenewfaces,followingthecontoursofthemesh.

6. Wheneveryouextrudeanewfaceorgrabanexistingone,itwillbeprojectedontothesurfaceofanyothermeshonscreen(thoughotherobjectsyouselectedbeforeyouenteredEditmodewillbeignored).

Usingthemethoddescribedabove,inashorttimeyoushouldbeabletocoverthesurfaceofevenacomplexmeshwiththeexacttopologyyouwant,creatinganewmeshwiththesameshapeasyouroriginal.

AlternativeMethodsforRetopologyThereareotherusefulwaystoretopologizequicklythatareworthdiscussing.ThefirstistousetheShrinkwrapmodifiertoprojectsimpletopologyoverthesurfaceofamesh.Withthismethod,youfirstmodelabasiccagearoundtheoutsideofyouroriginalmodel(asshowninFigure7-1),extrudingareastocreatethetopologyyouwant.ThecageneedstomatchtheoriginalshapeonlyroughlybecausethenextstepistoaddaSubsurf(orMultires)modifierandaShrinkwrapmodifiertothemesh,settingyouroriginalmodelasthetargetfortheShrinkwrapmodifier.TheShrinkwrapmodifierthenautomaticallyconformsthenewmeshtothesurfaceoftheoldone.

Shrinkwraphasafewmethodsfordoingthis,andit’sbesttoexperimenttoseewhatworksbestforyourmodel.I’vegenerallyfoundthemostusefulmethodstobetheNearestSurfacePointandProjectmodes.NotethattherearesomeextraoptionsforProjectmodeandthatyou’llneedtoturnonbothNegativeandPositiveinthedirectioncheckboxesinorderforyourmeshtoprojectinbothdirectionstoconformtothetarget(unlessthesurfaceofthenewmeshisalwaysaboveorbelowthesurfaceofthetarget).

Figure7-1.QuickretopologywiththeShrinkwrapmodifier.First,createasimplemesharoundyourhighpolyoriginal.Next,addaShrinkwrapmodifiertoprojectthenewmeshontotheoriginal.Here,anarmisretopologizedjustbyextrudingacirclealongitslength,roughlyscalingandrotatingitinto

place,andthenaddingSubsurfandShrinkwrapmodifierstofitthenewmeshtothesculpt.

Thismethodofretopologizingworkswellwhenyouwanttoquicklyretopologizeasculptthatneedsabetterbasemesh—forexample,ifyoustartedaheadorevenawholebodyfromacubeandthenwantedabasemeshwithtopologythatdoesabetterjobofsupportingthebasicforms.

TheShrinkwrapmethodisalsousefulforcombiningmodelscomposedofmultiplepiecesintoasinglemesh.Forexample,tocreateaone-pieceversionoftheMayanglyphsdiscussedinChapter6,youcouldprojectasimplegridmeshontotheglyphs,asshowninFigure7-2.NoticethatI’verepeatedtheShrinkwrapandSubsurfmodifierstocaptureallthedetails.Thisrepeatingofmodifiersisausefultrick,especiallywhenyouareprojectingontoameshwithalotofsharpcornersordeepcreasesandfolds,becausethefirstshrinkwrapwillmissdetailsthataren’tvisiblewhenlookingstraightatthesurfaceofthetargetmesh.Theresultingmeshcanthenbeeasilysculptedorunwrappedandtexturedwithouthavingtoworkwithmultiplepartmeshes.

AnothermethodforretopologyusesBlender’sBsurfacesadd-on,whichhas

someneattoolsforretopologythatallowyoutodrawlineswiththegreasepencilandhavethemautomaticallyconvertedtoamesh,asshowninFigure7-3.

Figure7-2.ProjectingagridmeshontotheglyphsfromtheJungleTempleprojectresultsinasinglemeshthatcapturesallthedetails.ThistechniquewouldmakeUVunwrappingandtexturingverysimple,butitwouldproduceamuchhigherpolycount.Top:Theoriginalglyphs.Bottom:Thegrid,projectedontotheglyphs.Right:Themodifierstack.TheShrinkwrapmodifiersarerepeatedwitha

SubdivisionSurfacemodifierandaSmoothmodifierinbetweentohelpthesecondshrinkwrapgetintoallthetightcorners.

RetopologizingtheJungleTempleTreesIcreatedmostoftheJungleTempleprojectusingtraditionalmodelingmethods,withoutalotofretopology.However,whenblockingoutthetrees,Icameup

withniceplaceholdersbysnappingcurvesoverthesurfaceofthebackgroundobjects.Theseplaceholdercurvescaneasilybeturnedintomorefinishedmeshesusingretopology.Toapplythistechnique,takethefollowingsteps:

1. Createaduplicate(unlinked,SHIFT-D)ofthetreeplaceholder.Then,convertittoameshwithALT-C▸MeshFromCurve/Meta/Text.Thiscreatesameshwithroughlythetopologywewant,exceptthattherootsandtrunkareseparatemeshes.

Figure7-3.RetopologizingwithBsurfacesbydrawingpolygonswiththegreasepencil.First,drawyourdesiredmeshwiththegreasepencil,crossingstrokeswhereyouwantavertextobecreated.Then,usetheAddSurfacebutton(inEditmode)tocreateameshfromyourstrokes.Usingthesurfaceoptionforthegreasepencilstrokeswillallowyoutodrawdirectlyontoyour

sculpt,creatingameshthatfollowsitsshape.

2. Jointherootstothetrunkbydeletingtheverticesintheareaswherethetwoshouldjoin.Then,startcreatingnewgeometrytocoverthejoinandbridgethegap(seeFigure7-4).Selectpairsofedgesthatroughlylineuponeithersideofthejoinandcreatefacesbetweenthem(F).

3. Youcanthenaddsomeloopcuts(CTRL-R)acrossthisfacetosplititintomoreeven-sizedquads.

4. Grabthenewverticesthiscreatesandreleasethemagaintosnapthemtothesurface.Repeattheprocesstocontinuefillinginthegaps,joiningnewfacestogetherandtryingtokeepthetopologyasevenandgrid-likeasyou

can.

Figure7-4.Retopologizingthecurve-basedtreesintoasinglemeshusingBlender’sSnappingtools.AfterIduplicatedtheoriginalcurve-basedtreeandconvertedittoamesh,mostofthe

workwasdone,leavingonlythejoinsbetweenrootsandthetrunktobefilledin.

5. Repeattheabovestepsforallofthejoinsbetweentherootsandthetrunk.

6. Finally,closetheopenendsoftheroots.It’salsoworthwhileatthisstagetoadjustthedensityofedgeloopsaroundtherootsandtrunk,deletingsome(X▸EdgeLoop)inareaswheretheyaretoodenseandaddingtheminsparserareas(CTRL-R).

RetopologizingtheBatCreatureWhiletheoriginalBatCreature’sbasemeshwasagoodstart,itlackedthenecessarytopologytosupportallthefeaturesoftheheadandmoredetailedanatomy.Additionally,thewingswereinitiallyconstructedandsculptedasseparatepieces.Now,Ineededtocreateafinalmeshwithmoredetailedtopologythatcombinesthetwoparts.

DecimationBeforeusingretopology,Ineededtodealwiththefactthatthefullsculptwasinthemillionsofpolygonsandwasgettingunwieldy.Ofcourse,thiswasthereasonforretopologizingit,butstill,itwouldbegoodtohaveastand-inmeshthatcapturesthedetailswithalowerpolygoncountformetodrawmynewtopologyover.Theanswerisdecimation.

Decimationisaprocesswherebyahighpolymeshisautomaticallysimplifiedby

collapsingsmalledgesandpolygonstoreducethemodel’scomplexitywhilelosingaslittledetailaspossible.BlenderhasaDecimatemodifier,butit’salittleslowandnotalwayseffective,soIoftenuseanotheropensourceapplicationcalledMeshLab(http://www.meshlab.sourceforge.net/).TouseMeshLabonaBlendersculpt,takethefollowingsteps:

1. Exportyourobjectasawavefrontobject(.obj)file(File▸Export),makingsurethattheSelectedOnlyandApplyModifiersoptionsarecheckedsothatallmodifiersareapplied(includingMultires)andthatthedetailsofyoursculptarepreserved.Thiswillcreateafairlyhuge.objfilethatcontainsyourhighpolysculptedmesh.

2. ToimportyoursculptintoMeshLab,justruntheprogramandthenuseFile▸Importtoimportyourmeshin.objformat.

3. MeshLabhasahugearrayofoptionsforprocessingmeshes,butforourpurposes,we’llusetheQuadraticEdgeCollapseDecimationtool(Filters▸Remeshing▸QuadraticEdgeCollapseDecimation).Thisbringsupamenuallowingyoutospecifyatargetpolycountforyourmesh,amongotheroptions(seeFigure7-5).

4. Setthetargetpolycounttoaround150,000andturnonPlanarSimplificationintheoptions.Thenrunthefilter.Afterashortwait,youshouldbepresentedwithamuchlowerpolygoncountversionofyoursculptthatstillencompassesmuchofthedetail.YoucanexportthisfromMeshLabusingtheFilemenuandthenre-importitbackintoBlender.

Figure7-5.DecimatingsculptsinMeshLab.TheQuadraticEdgeCollapseDecimationtoolallowsyoutosetatargetpolycount,towhichMeshLabwillthenreduceyourmeshbymergingclose-together

vertices.

RetopologizingtheBodyWiththesculptdecimatedandre-importedbackintoBlender,Icouldstartlayingsomenewtopologyoverit.IbeganbyaddinganewplaneinObjectmodeandapplyingaMirrormodifiertoit.Then,IturnedonProjectionintheSnappingtoolsbuttons.Next,IgrabbedmyplaneinEditmodeandscaledandpositioneditwhereIwantedtostartmyretopologyfrom(thetorso,inthiscase).

NOTEAtthispoint,IthoughtcarefullyaboutwhatdensityofpolygonsIwantedinthefinalmodel.Scalingthefirstplaneupordownandworkingtothisscalemadeabigdifferenceinthefinalpolycountoftheretopologizedmesh.Igenerallytriedtoworkatasimilarscaletomostoftheimportantdetailsoftheoriginalmesh.

Withastartingpointset,Ibeganextruding(E)fromoneedgeofmyoriginalquadalongtheformsofthemodel(seeFigure7-6),followingtheoutlineoftheribcageandtorsomuscles.Thiscreatedafaceloopthatranalonganimportant

formwithinthemodel.Byfillinginthesurroundingareasandcreatingfurtherfaceloopsalongotherforms,wecanworktowardcompletelyretopologizingoursculptwithtopologythatsupportstheformswehavesculpted.Thiscreatesamoreefficientmeshforcapturingthefinedetailswhenwesubdivideitandmakesiteasytounwrapandrigifwedesiretolater.

AsIprogressedoverthemodel,manyofthesamegeneralpositionsforfaceloopsthatIusedinthebasemeshwereusefulagain.Whileoverallthetopologywasmorecomplex,creatingfaceloopsthatranaroundthearmpitandshoulderandaroundthearms,legs,andneckresultedinclean,easy-to-modifytopology(seeFigure7-7).Also,becausethemeshwasstillbroadlysymmetrical,IonlyneededtoretopologizehalfthebodyanduseaMirrormodifiertofillintheotherhalf.

Forsomeareas,liketheface,Ibegantoshrinkthepolygonsinordertopackmoreintothearea’ssmaller,moredetailedforms.Icreatedloopsthatranaroundtheeyes,nose,mouth,andoutsideoftheears(seeFigure7-8).Theseloopsbothsupportedtheformsofthefacesothattheyweren’tlostorsoftenedtoomuchwhensubdividedandaddedextradensitytotheseareastoallowfortheadditionofmoredetailswiththeMultiresmodifier.(Forspecifictipsonfacetopology,seeHeadTopology.)

Tocreateamouthcavity,Iextrudedbackfromtheedgeloopsurroundingthemouthandfilledinthehole(seeFigure7-9).Whenwereturntosculptonthisretopologizedmesh,we’llneedtoresculptthisarea,butthemouthwillnowbeabletobeopenedandposed.

Forobjectslikethewings,whereitcanbedifficulttoseeintotightareas,itcanbehandytoswitchtoperspectiveview(5),whichallowsthecameratobemovedinandaroundtightspaces.ItcanalsobeusefultorestricttheviewwithALT-B.Thisletsyouselectapartofyourmodeltoshowinthe3DViewport,allowingyoutoseeasmallareawithoutotherpartsofyourmodelgettingintheway,asshowninFigure7-10.

Figure7-6.Beginbycreatingasingleimportantfaceloopquadbyquad.Then,moveontoothersandfillintheareasinbetween.

Figure7-7.Importantfaceloops.Agoodtipwhendoingretopologyistoviewyournewmeshonitsownbypressing/(forwardslash)toviewjusttheselectedobjects.Thiswillletyouseehowyour

retopologizedmeshisprogressingbeforepressing/toreturntoglobalviewandcontinuemodeling.

Figure7-8.Retopologizingafacetocreatenewtopologythatfollowsthesculptedforms

Figure7-9.Addingacavityforthemouth

Figure7-10.RestrictingBlender’sviewtoasmallselection(ALT-B)makesiteasiertoworkontightareas.HitALT-Bagaintoreturnthedisplaytonormal.

Creatingnewtopologythatbridgesthejoinbetweenthewingsandbodyisassimpleascontinuingtoretopologizeoverthejoin(seeFigure7-10,whichshowsthemeshcoveringboththewingandshoulderoftheBatCreature).Doingsoallowsyoutocreateasinglemeshthatcombinesthewingsandbody(seeFigure7-11).

Figure7-11.Theretopologizedbodymesh,nowincorporatingboththewingsandbodyandwithenoughdetailtocapturethebroaderfeaturesofthefaceandmusculature

RetopologizingtheSpiderBotMygoalfortheSpiderBotwastoturntheroughsculptintoasmooth,hard-surfacemodel.Todothis,Ineededtoreplacetheoriginal,simpletopologyofthebasemeshwithadensermesh,tailoredtotheshapesofthebody.Additionally,retopologyallowedmetoembellishasIwentalong,turningpartsofthemodelintohollowshells,addingholes,oraddingsupplementarydetailstotheretopologizedsurface.

Figure7-12.Retopologizingthebody.Notehowthepolygonsflowaroundtheedgesofthesculpt.Later,we’lladdsupportloopstorefinetheedgetomakeitsharperandcleaner.

Beginningwiththebody,Iaddedaplane(SHIFT-A)asbefore,withSnappingturnedonandsettoprojectnewgeometryontothesurfaceofthesculpt.Next,IaddedaMirrormodifiertomyplaneandbeganfollowingthemajorlinesacrossthesurface(seeFigure7-12).Thefinalstepwastofillinquadstocompletetherestofthesurface,whiletryingtokeepthesizeanddistributionofpolygonseven.Tosmoothoutanydentsinthesurface,youshouldselectanareayou’vealreadyretopologized—avoidingedgesandcorners—andusetheSmoothtoolafewtimestoevenoutthedistributionofgeometry.

Figure7-13.Replacingsomeareasofthesculptwithnew,cleanergeometry.Here,cubesareplacedbyhandandsubdividedacoupleoftimesbeforebeingconnectedtotheretopologizedgeometry.

Forsomepartsofthesculpt,Iwantedtoreplacetheroughformssculptedfreehandwithmoreprecisegeometry.Todothis,Isimplyaddedaprimitive,

suchasacubeorcylinderwithapproximatelytherightshape,andmoveditintoplace.Forexample,inFigure7-13,Iaddedcubestoformthesocketsforthelegs,deletingtheirfrontandbottomfacesandsubdividingthemtogivetherightshapewhileadjustingthesurroundinggeometrytofitthemin.

Tofurtherrefinethemodel,Iaddedsupportloopsarounditsmainhardedges(seeFigure7-14).YoucandothisusingtoolslikeLoopCut(CTRL-R),Subdivide(W▸Subdivide),andEdgeSlide(CTRL-E▸EdgeSlide),oryoucanusetheInsetFacesoperator,whichaddsanedgelooparoundtheselectedfaceswithaconstantthickness.Combiningtheseoperatorsletsyoubuildupsupportloopsaroundthekeyhardedgesofyourmodel.

Figure7-14.Usingsupportloopstotightentheshapeoftheretopologizedsculpt

Youcanaddembellishmentstotheretopologizedmeshinseveralways.Forexample,thepieceontheleftinFigure7-15wascreatedbyduplicating(SHIFT-D)someofthefacesoftheretopologizedmeshinEditmodeandmovingthemup(withsnappingturnedoff)tocreateanewpiece.Then,byextrudingthenewparttogiveitsomethicknessandaddingsomesupportloopsaroundtheedges,Icreatedaraisedareaonthesurfaceofthemodel.ThecircularelementontheheadinFigure7-15wasmadebycreatinganewcircle,projectingthecircleonto

thesurfaceofthemodelwithBlender’sSnappingtools,andthenturningoffsnappingandextrudingouttocreatearaisedarea.Toflattenthetopofit,Iscaledthecentralpartalongitsnormalsbychangingthetransformorientationforthe3DmanipulatorwidgettoNormalsandthenusingS▸Z▸Z▸0toscaletheselectionalongthesurfacenormalstozero,makingitperfectlyflat.

Figure7-15.Addingembellishmentsbycombiningretopologywithregularmodellingtechniques

Irepeatedthesameprocessfortheabdomen(seeFigure7-16)andthelegs(seeFigure7-17).Insomeareas,mysculpthadlumpsorareasthatdidn’tquitepolishwellenoughwhilesculpting,soIhadtotweakthingsabitonceretopologywasfinishedinordertogetnicecleanedges.

BecauseIsculptedonlyacoupleofvariationsforthedifferentlegpieces,Ihadaneasytimewhenretopologizing.Eachuniquepiecewasretopologizedonlyonce(asshowninFigure7-17)andthenduplicatedaslinkedduplicatestocreatethecopiesneededforthelegs.Asinthecaseofthebody,IalsousedaMirrormodifiertomirrorthelegpiecesacrosstheiraxisofsymmetry.

DuplicatingGroupsofObjectsBecauseIdidn’treallyneedtocopythelegstotheothersideofthebodyproperlyatthisstage,Iaddedallofthelegpiecestotheleftsideofthebodyasagroup(CTRL-GinObjectmode)andthencreatedanotherinstanceofthisgroup(SHIFT-A▸Add▸GroupInstance▸Nameofgroup).Theresultwasanoneditable,duplicateinstanceofalltheobjectsinthegroup.Ithenscaledthisgroupby–1onitsx-axistoflipittotheothersideofthebody.Later,IcouldusetheMakeDuplicatesRealoperator(CTRL-SHIFT-A)toconvertthisgrouptorealgeometry(stillaslinkedduplicatesoftheoriginalobjects),butfornow,thiswasaconvenientwaytopreviewtheentiremodelwithoutcreatingunnecessaryobjects(seeFigure7-18).

TipsforRetopologizingInsummary,herearesomegeneraltipstofollowwhenretopologizingyourmodels:

Modeltheimportantedgeloopsfirstandthenfillintherest.

Usesupportloopsorcreasingtotightenedges.

UseBlender’sretopologytoolstoaddextraembellishmentstoyourmodel.

Trytokeepanevenpolygondensity,unlessyouarespecificallyaddingmoredetailinacertainarea.

Payattentiontothesilhouetteofyourmodel.Usuallyyouwillbelookingattheareayouareretopologizingfaceon,sobesuretolookatitfromotheranglestoseethatitworks.

Trytoworkwithlargerpolyswherepossible.Don’tusemorethanyouhaveto!

Figure7-16.Retopologizingtheabdomen.Thepartinthemiddlewasseparatedfromthemainbodyoftheabdomentobreakuptheshapeoftheabdomenabit,givingitamoreinterestingappearance.

Figure7-17.Retopologizingthelegs.Forsomeareas,Ihadtoeithercleanuptheretopologizedmeshmanuallyorsimplymodelnewareas,suchastheundersideofthelegs,fromscratch.Someextra

embellishments,likerivetsandsoon,Iplacedbyhand.

Figure7-18.ThecombinedelementsoftheSpiderBotthatrequiredretopology,withthelegsinplace.Thelegsaremirroredtotheothersideofthebody.

HeadTopologyTheheadissuchacomplexsubjectthatitdeservessomespecialattentionhere.Whilethereisnoonetopologyforeveryconceivablehead,therearesomeimportantprinciplestoconsider.Mainly,whenretopologizingahead,youshouldconcentrateoncreatingfaceloopsaroundthekeyfeaturesoftheface,particularlythemouthandeyes,whichwillmakeiteasytodeformthefaceintofamiliarshapes(seeFigure7-19).Theseprinciplesapplywhetheryouareretopologizingasculptedheadormodelingonefromscratch.

Byconstructingtheimportantareasofthefacewithnicetopologyfirst,it’seasiertojointherestoftheheadtogether.Ingeneral,Ibeginwiththeeyesandworkdownfromthenoseintothemouth.Then,Iworkbackwardthroughthecheeks,forehead,andears.Lastly,Icovertherestoftheheadandondowntheneck.Byfirstbuildingoutwardfromthemostimportantandcomplexpartsofthehead,you’llhavetosortoutfewerproblemswiththetopologyintheareasthatmattermost.

Figure7-19.Thehead,withthemajorfaceloopshighlighted

EyesWhencreatingorretopologizingahead,thereshouldalmostalwaysbeacleanringoffaceloopsaroundtheeyes(seeFigure7-20).Thesefaceloopsshould

extendoutfromtheoutlineoftheeyelidtoencompassthebrows,theouterareaofthebridgeofthenose,andtheuppersurfaceofthecheekbones.Thisringwillmakeiteasytoclosetheeyesorraisetheeyebrowsorcheeks,anditmirrorstheunderlyinganatomyoftheface:Theorbicularisoculimusclesurroundingtheeyecirclestheeyeinexactlythesamefashionasthisringoffaceloops.

Figure7-20.Theeyes.Addingedgeloopsaroundtheeyesmakesthemmucheasiertoedit,pose,andrig.Notethetearductintheinnercorneroftheeye,wherethegapbetweentheupperandlowereyelidshasbeenbridged.Tocreatetheeyesocket,theinnermostlooparoundtheeyelidsissimplyextruded

backandthenoptionallyfilledintocloseupthehole.

MouthAswiththeeyes,theorbicularisorismuscleencirclesthemouthandisresponsibleforwideningandnarrowingit(seeFigure7-21).Tomakeiteasytoproducecommonmotionsofthemouth,we’llcreatearingofedgeloopsaroundthemouthinthesameway.Thisringwillalsomakeitsimpletodefinetheoutlineofthelipsanddeformthemeasily.

Nose/NasolabialFoldThecomplexfeaturesofthenosearethenostrilsanditstip.Byincorporatingfaceloopsthatrunaroundtheseareas,therestofthenosebecomesrelativelyeasytodefine.

Figure7-21.Themouth.Noteatthecornersofthemouththattheedgeloopsonthesurfaceofthelipsbunchupandflowaroundinsidethemouth.Trytokeepthesameedgeorfaceloopflowingaroundtheoutlineofboththeupperandlowerlips.Theeasiestwaytodothisistostartwiththisedgeloopand

workinward.

Thenasolabialfoldisanimportantfeatureofthenoseandismostobviousinsnarlingorolderfaces.Addingafaceloopthatrunsoverthebridgeofthenoseanddownthesidesofthemouth,connectingunderoratthechin,allowsustodefinethisarea(seeFigure7-22).Thebridgeofthenoseisformedsimplybybridgingacrossbetweentheloopsencirclingthetwoeyes.

Figure7-22.Thenose.Here,thefaceloopsrunningalongthenasolabialfoldandoverthebridgeofthenosearehighlightedinblue,andafacelooprunningaroundthenostrilsandthetipofthenoseis

highlightedingreen.Itisalsousefultocreatefaceloopsaroundtheinsideofthenostrils.

EarsEarsarehighlyvariablefrompersontoperson,buttheiroverallconstructionisreasonablyconstant.Becausetheearismainlycartilagewithnomusculatureorarticulation,itisaprettystaticfeatureoftheheadandthusagoodplacetohideawkwardtrianglesifnecessary.Bydefiningthehelixandantihelix(theouterandinnercurvedpartsoftheear,showninblueandgreenrespectivelyinFigure7-23)withedgeloopsthatrundownintotheearlobe,wecanmakeiteasytodefinetheear’soverallstructure.Theothermainfeatureoftheearistheearcanal.Inaddition,itissometimeshandywhenconstructingtheeartotrytohaveasingleedgeloopencirclingtheeartomakeiteasiertoattachtheeartothehead.Onewaytodothisistoconstructtheearasaseparatemeshinitiallyandthencreatealooparoundtheoutsidebeforeplacingtheearandconnectingitwiththehead.

Figure7-23.Theear

InReviewInthischapter,you’velearnedhowtoretopologizemesheswitharbitrarytopology,betheyhighpolysculptsoracollectionofseparateprimitives,tocreatesmooth,cleantopologythatsubdivideswell.We’vediscussedwaystouseBlender’sSnappingtoolstoretopologizemeshes,aswellasalternativemethods,suchastheBsurfacesadd-onandtheShrinkwrapmodifier.Wemovedontousingthesetoolstoretopologizethemesheswecreatedinearlierchapterswithnew,bettertopology.

InChapter8,we’llunwrapthisnewtopologytoprovideitwithtexturecoordinatesbeforebakingandpaintingtexturesforourfinalmodelsinChapter10andChapter11.Theimprovementsthatwe’vemadetoourmodelsinthischapterwillmakethatprocesseasierandwillalsoimproveourrendertimeswhenwereachChapter14.

Chapter8.UVUnwrapping

Inthischapter,we’llUVunwrapthemodelscreatedsofar(wherenecessary).UVunwrappingdescribestheprocessofcreatingasetof2Dcoordinatesforthefacesofamodel,whichwecanthenusetoapplytexturestothemodel.CreatingUVcoordinatesisakintocuttingupthesurfaceofyourmodel(alonglinescalledseams)andspreadingitoutflat(seeFigure8-1).Asyouknow,ameshinBlenderismadeupofverticesjoinedtogethertoformedgesandfaces.Eachvertexinamodelhasitsownsetofspatialcoordinatesinthethreespatialdimensionsofthe3DViewport:x,y,andz.Thesecoordinatesdetermineitspositionin3Dspace.Similarly,UVcoordinatesareaseparatesetof2Dcoordinatesforthepointsofamodelthatallowyoutomapa2Dimagetothesurfaceofyourmesh.

OtherKindsofTextureCoordinatesUVcoordinatesareonlyonewayofmappinganimagetoanobjectinBlender.Blenderalsohasanumberofproceduralcoordinatesthatyoucanusetoassigntexturesbyapplyingsomekindofprojectiontoyourmesh.Thesehavetheadvantageofbeingautomaticandareusefulforawiderangeofapplications,buttheylacktheprecisionofUVunwrapping,whichallowsyoutospecifyexactlywhichpointsonthemeshcorrespondtothepartsofanimage.

Figure8-1.UVunwrappingisakintotakinga3Dobjectandspreadingitoutflatona2Dsurface.Thisresultsinyourmeshhavingasetof2Dcoordinatesthatcanthenbeusedtomapa2Dimagetoyour

object.

EditingUVCoordinatesToeditUVcoordinates,weuseBlender’sUVImageeditoralongwiththe3DViewport.Ingeneral,whenworkingwithUVcoordinates,it’susefultoswitchtoBlender’sUVeditinglayoutusingthedrop-downmenuintheInfoeditorheader(seeFigure8-2).ThisbringsuptheUVImageeditorshownontheleftandthe3DViewportontheright.

It’shelpfultoaddaPropertieseditorbetweentheUVImageeditorandthe3DViewportbyrightclickingtheborderbetweenthemandchoosingSplitArea.WhenyousetthenewareaasaPropertieseditor,youcanaccesstheObjectDatatabforswitchingbetweendifferentUVcoordinatesetsandtheRendertabforaccessingTextureBakingcontrols.

TheUVGridWe’llusetheUVGridintheImageeditortodeterminewhichportionofatextureorimageisappliedtopartofamesh.Thegridhascoordinatesthatrunfrom0to1,withtheoriginatthebottomleft.Bydefault,thesecoordinatesaremultipliedbythesizeoftheimageyouselectinordertogiveanumberinpixels.Ifyouhavenoimageselected,Blenderwillassumethegridis256pixelsacrossandgivecoordinatesonthatscale.YoucanturnthisfeatureoffbypressingNto

bringupthePropertiesregionoftheUVImageeditorandcheckingNormalizedintheDisplaypanel,whichwillthengiveUVcoordinatesbetween0and1.TheUVImageeditorfollowsthesameconventionsasthe3DViewport:Youcanmove,rotate,andscaleanyselectedverticesusingthesamekeysasinthe3DViewport,andyoucanusetheXandYkeystoconstrainoperatorstothehorizontalandverticalaxesoftheUVgrid.Bydefault,ameshwillnothaveanyUVcoordinates,sotherewillbenothingtoselectuntilyouunwrapit.

Figure8-2.AslightlymodifiedUVImageeditorlayout.Youcansavethisasthedefaultlayoutbysettingupyourwindowslikethisinanew.blendfileandchoosingSaveUserSettingsfromtheFilemenu.

WhenyoumapanimagetoameshusingitsUVcoordinates,theimageisscaledtofilltheUVgrid,andeachpointofthemeshisthenmappedtothecorrespondingpointintheimage.BeyondtheedgesoftheUVgrid,theimageisrepeatedorextendedsothatUVcoordinatesoutsidethegridaremappedtopartoftheimageaswell.Thisallowsyoutorepeatatileabletexture(onethatcanberepeatedsidebysideandtoptobottomwithoutanydiscontinuity)overthesurfaceofyourmeshbyunwrappingthemeshtobemuchbiggerthantheUVgrid.Conversely,youcanunwrapawholemesh(orevenmultiplemeshes)sothatalltheUVcoordinatesfitwithintheUVgridandthenuseasingle(nontiling)imagetouniquelytextureeachpartoftheobject’ssurface.Both

optionsareshowninFigure8-3.

Figure8-3.TwooptionsforUVunwrapping.Top:Packingallofanobject’sfacesintotheUVgridtotextureeachpartuniquely.Bottom:Tilinganimageoveranobject’ssurface.

Whencreatingobjectswithfairlyrepetitiveorhomogenoustextures,suchasbrickwallsorsoil,tileabletexturescansaveyoualotoftime.Ontheotherhand,whencreatingcharactersandotheruniqueobjects,you’llneedtopackanobject’sUVsontoasinglegridinordertotextureeachpartdifferently.

UnwrappingToolsTostartunwrappingamodel,you’llneedtobeinEditmode(pressTABtoswitchintoitifyouaren’talreadythere).You’llprobablyalsowanttoswitchtoEdgeSelectmodeinthe3DViewportheader,astaggingedgeswithUVseamsis

easiestwhenyoucanselectedgesdirectly.Tobeginunwrappingyourobject,pressUinthe3DViewport,whichwillbringupseveraloperatorsforunwrappingyourobject,asshowninFigure8-2.Theseoperatorsareasfollows:

Unwrap.ThisisprobablythemostusefulUVunwrappingmethod.Blenderwilltrytounwrapyourmeshbyflatteningitasifitweremadefromstretchyfabric,whilealsotryingtominimizethedistortionthatthisflatteninginevitablycauses.(Inorderforthisprocesstoworkforaclosedmesh,you’llneedtomarksomeUVseamsonyourmesh.)

SmartUVProject.Thiswillautomaticallyprojectyourmeshbyfirstprojectingthelargestchunkpossiblefromoneangle,excludinginvisiblefacesoronesthatpointawayfromthatviewport.Itwillthenprojectprogressivelysmaller,moredifficultparts,splittingthemintodifferentUVislandsasitgoes.Thiseffectcanworkreasonablywellforsimplemeshes,butwhenusedwithmorecomplexshapes,itoftenproducesalotoflittleislandsthatcanbedifficulttoworkwith.

LightmapPack.ThisspecialUVunwrappingoptionforbakinglightingtotexturesprojectseachindividualpolygoninameshtoaseparaterectangularUVisland.TheLightmapPackoptionusesuptheUVcoordinatespaceveryefficiently,whichmakesitusefulforbakinglightingtexturesforgameenginesbutnotveryusefulforpracticaltexturing.

FollowActiveQuads.Thisfollowstheactivequad(theonehighlightedwhenyouhavemultiplefacesselectedinFaceSelectmode—usuallythemostrecentlyselectedone)andunwrapsthefacesradiatingoutfromitinanevengrid.Thisoptionworksparticularlywellformesheswithgrid-liketopology(thatis,nopoles),suchaspipes,cylinders,flat(ish)grids,andthelike.Itworksbestwhenyouunwraponequadfirstasaperfectrectanglewith90-degreecorners:1)UnwrapwithU▸Unwrap;2)selecteachedgeoftheunwrappedquadintheUVImageeditorandscaleitsoit’sperfectlyhorizontal/vertical;3)unwraptherestofthemeshbyselectingitwithCTRL-L,whichselectsanythingconnectedtoyourcurrentselection;4)usetheFollowActiveQuadsunwrapoperatortogetaniceevenunwrap.Thisoption,though,doesn’tworkwellformesheswithmorecomplextopology.

CubeProjection.Thisoptionprojectsthefacesofyourmeshasifonthesurfaceofacube.It’susefulforroughlycube-shapedobjects.

CylinderProjection.ThisoptionworkslikeCubeProjectionbutactsasifthe

meshiscylindrical.

SphereProjection.ThisoptionalsoworkslikeCubeProjectionbutactsasifthemeshisspherical.

ProjectfromView.Thisoptionprojectsyourmeshasitappearsinthe3DViewport.It’sparticularlyusefulforprojectingasmall,flatpartofyourmeshbeforepinningitandthenprojectingtherestusingtheUnwrapoperator.

ProjectfromView(Bounds).ThisoptionworkslikeProjectfromView,butafteritprojectsthemeshes,itstretchestheUVcoordinatestofillthewholeUV-coordinatespace.

Reset.ThisoptionstretcheseachfaceacrossthewholeUV-coordinatespace.

SeamsImaginetryingtoflattenoutabeachball.Evenonceyoudeflateit,youcan’tstretchitoutsothateachpartofthesurfaceisflatonthegroundwithoutmakingatleastonecuttotheball,andthemoreyoucarveitup,thelessyouhavetostretchanddistortitinordertoflattenitout.SomethingsimilaristruewhenusingtheUnwrapoperatortounwrapamesh.Inorderfortheoperatortowork,you’llneedtomarkedgesasseamswherethemeshwillsplit.Ideally,youshouldmarkasfewseamsaspossiblesothatyouwon’thavetopaintacrosstoomanyseamswhenitcomestotexturing,butyoualsoneedtomarkenoughsothatyourmeshwillnotbedistortedbytheUVunwrapping.DistortioninthiscasearisesfromBlenderhavingtowarpandstretchthegeometryinordertolayitoutflat.WhenyouusethedistortedUVstomapanimagetothe3Dobject,thetexturewilllookstretchedoutaswell.

TomarkUVseams,selectedgesinEditmodeanduseCTRL-E▸MarkSeamtomarktheedgeasaUVseam.Toquicklyselecttheshortestpathbetweentwoedges(agoodwaytoselectalongstringofedgesformarking),selectoneedge,thenpressCTRLandrightclicktheedgeyouwanttouseastheendpoint.YoucanalsopressALTandrightclicktoselectanentireedgeloopatonce,allowingyoutomarkmultipleedgesatthesametime.Shortcutslikethesewillmaketaggingmultipleedgesatoncemuchquicker.

Ingeneral,youshouldtrytohideyourUVseamsinareaswheretheywon’tcauseproblemsandwheretheywillminimizetheamountofstretchinginyour

unwrap.Valleysandcreasesinyourmesharegoodplacestohideseams,asisanyareathatwon’tgettoomuchattention.Trytomarkseamssymmetricallytomakeiteasiertounderstandyourunwrapandtoallowyoutocopyandpasteelementsofyourtexturinglater(ifyourunwrapissymmetrical,too).Finally,splityourmeshintosensibleislands(groupsoffacesboundedbyseams).Forexample,inthecaseoftheBatCreature,Isplitthetorso,wings,head,armsandlegs,andhandsandfeetintoseparatesections,asyoucanseeinFigure8-4.

Figure8-4.TheUVseamsontheBatCreatureareshownhereinwireframeview.Whilesomeseamsare(unavoidably)invisibleareas,suchasaroundtheoutsideedgeofthewings,mostarehiddeninlessconspicuousareas,liketheinsideofthelegsanddownthebackoftheearsandneck.Hidingyour

seamslikethismakescleaningupseamsintextureseasierlateron.

PinningVerticesUnwrappingyourmeshwiththeUnwrapoperatormaynotgiveyouexactlytheunwrapyouwant;forexample,oneareamightbescruncheduporhaveaproportionthat’snottoscale.Tofixthis,youcanpinverticesintheUVImageeditorsothattheywon’tmovewhenyoure-unwrapthemesh(shortcutEintheUVeditororUinthe3DViewport)byselectingavertexorverticesandpressingPtopinthem.(Pinnedverticeswillbehighlightedinred.)Nowwhenyoure-unwrap,Blenderwillkeepthepinnedverticesinplaceandstretchtherestoftheunwraptoallowforthis.Tounpinvertices,selectthemandpressALT-P.

Oneimportantreasontousepinningistoestablishasymmetricalunwrap.Todothis,unwrapyourmeshandthenselectastringofverticesrunningdownthemiddleofthemeshandalignthemintheUVImageeditorsothattheyareinastraightline(runningintheappropriatedirection).Aneasywaytodothisistoscalethemtozeroonthex-ory-axisandthenpinthem(P).NowpressEintheUVeditortounwrapagain.Thisgivesyouamoresymmetricalunwrap,asshowninFigure8-5.

Pinningcanalsobeusedtofixareasonlargemeshesthatunwrapontopofoneanother,asoftenhappenswithlong,tube-likemeshes,wheretheUVunwrapmaycoilaroundundesirably.Tofixthisproblem,pinonevertexfromeachendofthemeshsothattheverticessitfartherapartinUVspace,thenunwrapthemeshagain.

Finally,whenunwrappingameshwithalotofdifferentpieces,itcanhelptopinentireUVislandsasyoufinishwiththemsothatyoucanmoveontounwrappingotherpieceswithoutdisturbingtheonesyou’rehappywith.Blenderwillre-unwrapanythingyouhavevisibleintheUVImageeditorbydefaultwhenyoure-unwrap,sothisisagoodwaytokeepfinishedpartsofyourunwrapsafe.

PackingWhenunwrappingcharactersandotheruniqueobjects,it’softenhelpfultopackalloftheUVislandsforyourmeshintoasinglegrid.Todothisautomatically,

youcanusethePackoperator(CTRL-P),butyoucanusuallydoamoreefficientjobofpackingUVislandsyourselfsimplybymoving,scaling,androtatingthemlikepuzzlepieces.Tospeeduptheselectionofwholeislands,switchtoIslandSelectionmodeintheUVImageeditorusingthebuttonsintheheader.

Figure8-5.TogetasymmetricalunwraponthetorsooftheBatCreature,Ididanormalunwrapandthenpinnedtheverticesdownthecenterofthechestinaverticallineandunwrappedagain.Theresult

isasymmetricalUVislandthatwillbesimplertotexturelater.

WhenpackingUVislands,besuretokeepthescaleoftheislandssimilar.ToaveragethescaleofanyUVislandsyouhaveselected,useCTRL-Aorscaletheislandsmanually.It’smucheasier,though,toseewhetherislandsarescaled

correctlyonceyouhaveaUVtestgridassigned(seeTestingYourUVCoordinates).

AssigningUVTexturesTherearemanywaystodisplaytexturesonyourmodels.Forone,youcanuseBlenderGLSLmaterialstocreateadvancedmaterialswithTextureoptionsthatrespondtolightingandtransparency.Forsimplerapplications,though,suchaspreviewinghowasingleimagewillbemappedtoanunwrappedobject,youcanassignthatimagetoyourmodelintheUVImageeditor.Todoso,takethefollowingsteps:

1. SelecttheobjectandenterEditmode.

2. Selectallofthefacesandunwrapthemifyouhaven’tdonesoalready.

3. Selecttheimageyouwanttoassigntothemeshfromtheimagedrop-downmenuintheheaderoftheUVImageeditor.Alternatively,youcanopenanimagewithImage▸OpenImage,orcreateonewithImage▸NewImage.

4. Toseeyourimageinthe3DViewport,gototheDisplaypanelofthePropertiesregionandenableTexturedSolid.

TestingYourUVCoordinatesTomakesurethatyourUVunwrapworkswellandthatareasarenotbecomingtoodistorted,applyaUVtestgridtoseetheeffectsofyourunwraponyourmesh(seeFigure8-6).Todoso,followthestepsbelow:

1. IntheUVImageeditor,withyourobjectinEditmode,clickImage▸NewImagetoapplyanewimagetoyourmeshandchecktheUVTestGridoption.ThiswillgenerateatestgridpatternandassignittotheUVcoordinatesofyourmesh.

2. TurnonTexturedSolidinthedisplayoptionsofthePropertiesregioninthe3DViewport.Youshouldseeacheckerboardpatternappliedtoyourmesh.

Youshouldnowbeabletoeasilyseeproblemareasinyourunwrap,suchas

areaswithawkwardstretchingorpartsofthemeshthataretoobigortoosmall.YoucanthenfixtheseareasintheUVImageeditorandseethechangesinrealtimeinthe3DViewport.

UnwrappingtheBatCreatureAsyou’veseenintheprecedingdiscussion,IunwrappedtheBatCreatureandpackeditintoasingleUVtilebyfirsttaggingseamsandthenunwrappingwiththeUnwrapoperator(seeFigure8-7).Forthetorso,ImadetheunwrapmoresymmetricalbyselectingthelineofverticesthatrandownthemiddleofthefrontofthetorsointheUVImageeditor,scalingthemonthex-axistozero(S▸X▸0),pinningthem,andthenunwrappingagain(E).Next,Iaveragedthescaleofalloftheislands,packedthemintotheUVgrid,andscaleduptheheadslightlytogiveitmoretexturespacerelativetootherareas(becauseit’sthepartofthebodylikelytogetmoreattention).Finally,Iunwrappedthefingernailsandteethontothesamelayout,fittingthemintotheremaininggapsbetweentheotherislands.

Figure8-6.CheckingyourUVunwrapwithaUVtestgridimage.Thisgridwillhelpyoutoidentifyareasthathavenotunwrappedwell,aswellasonesthatareoutofscalewiththerestoftheunwrap.

Fortheeyes,Iunwrappedonlytheinnermeshsimplybypositioningthe3DViewporttolookattheeyestraightonandusingtheProjectfromView(Bounds)operator.Lateron,IwilltweaktheUVsoftheeyemeshtofitthetextureIwillpaintforit.SeeChapter11formoreonunwrappingandtexturingtheeyes.

UnwrappingtheJungleTempleTheJungleTemplehadmanyseparateelements,andratherthangothroughthemall,I’lljustcoverthemostdifficultones.(TheobjectsintheJungleTemplenotdiscussedbelowaresimplyunwrappedusingvariationsonthetechniquesdiscussedearlier.)

StoneBlocksTherewereanawfullotofstoneblocksintheJungleTemple,soIdidn’twanttohavetotextureeachindividually.Instead,Iwantedtobeabletounwrapthemallrelativelyquicklyandreusethesametexturesforeach.MyquickanddirtysolutionwastousetheSelectSharpoperatorinEditmodetoselectthesharpedgesoftheblocks(Select▸SharpEdgesfromthe3DViewportheader)andthenmarkthemasseams(seeFigure8-8).Next,IusedtheUnwrapoperatortounwrapalltheblocksatonce.ImanuallyremovedsomeseamsinareaslikethedamagedstoneandattheedgesofsomeblockswhereIwantedthetexturetowraparoundratherthanhavinganobviousseam.Ionlyplacedseamsmanuallyontheblocksinthescene’sforeground,andIunwrappedthesemanuallytomakesuretheyunwrappednicely.

Figure8-7.ThefinalUVlayoutfortheBatCreature’sbody

TreesInthecaseofthetrees,Iaddedseamsdowntheirbacks(thesidesfacingawayfromthecamera)andaroundthejoinsbetweenthetrunkandtheroots.IthenunwrappedthemusingUnwrap.Next,IselectedastringofverticesintheUVImageeditorthatrandownthemiddleoftherootortrunk,aligneditwiththeverticalaxis,andpinnedit.UnwrappingagaingavemenicelyalignedUVislands.

Thetechniquedescribedaboveisusefulwhenunwrappingsomethingliketreebarkthathasatexturewithastronggrainordirectionalpatternbecauseallofthepieceswillalignwiththedirectionofthegrain.IpackedbothtreesintothesameUVspace(seeFigure8-9)toallowmetotexturethembothatthesametimelateron.

Figure8-8.PlacingseamsautomaticallyfortheblocksintheJungleTemplescene.IselectedtheedgesofthestoneblockswithSelectSharpandthenmarkedthemasseamsandunwrappedthem.

Figure8-9.TheUVsforthetreeobjects.TheactiveobjectappearsaseditableUVislands,whileotherselected(butnotactive)objectsappeargrayintheUVImageeditor.

MultipleUVMapsYoucanaddmultipleUV-coordinatesetstoanobjectandeditthemindependently.Thisisgoodformakinguseofmultipletexturesincomplexmaterialsandwhentexturepainting.Whentexturepainting,youcanuseoneUVsettoneatlypackyourUVislandsforyourfinaltextureanduseanothertoassignseamlesstexturesorphotostoclonetextureinformationfrom.Insubsequentchapters,IwillsometimesrefertocreatingextraUVsetsforpurposeslikethese.

Forthetrees,IcreatedasecondUVcoordinatesettomatchupwithatileablebarktexture,savingthefirstUVsettouseforbakingambientocclusionandthefinaltexturemaps.Tocreatethissecondset,IopenedtheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditorandclickedthe+iconintheUVMapspaneltocreateanewUVset.YoucanchoosebetweenyourexistingUVsetsfromthispanelandeditwhicheverisactive.TounwrapthesecondUVsetformytree,IusedtheFollowActiveQuadsoperatorforthepartsofthetreeswithapproximatelycylindricaltopologyandunwrappedandpackedthemsothattheyfilledthewidthoftheUVgrid(seeFigure8-10).Later,thiswouldallowmetotileatexturemultipletimes

aroundandalongthelengthofthetrunkandrootswithoutcreatingtoomanyseamswherethetexturesdidn’tmatch.

Figure8-10.InthesecondUVsetforthetrees,IunwrappedtheUVislandsusingFollowActiveQuadsandthenscaledtofillthewidthoftheUVgrid.Later,thiswillbeusedforaligningtileabletextures

alongthelengthofthetreesandtheirroots.

SharingUVSpaceBetweenObjectsJustasyou’llusuallywanttocombineallofasingleobject’sUVislandsintheUVgrid,whenitcomestounwrappingmultipleobjectsfortexturing,youmaywantthemalltosharethesameUVspacesothattheycanallusethesametexture.Doingsowillsaveyoutimewhenpaintingtexturesandmemorywhenrendering.ToseetheUVcoordinatesofmultipleobjectsintheUVImageeditoratthesametime,selecttheobjectsandthenenterEditmodefortheoneyouwanttoedit.IntheUVImageeditor,turnonView▸DrawOtherObjects.TheUVcoordinatesfortheselectedobjectswillnowbevisibleingray(thoughonlythecurrentobjectwillbeeditable),allowingyoutoalignmultipleobjectsonthesameUVgrid(seeFigure8-11).

Figure8-11.UVcoordinatesforthevariousleafobjects.MostwereunwrappedtosharethesameUVcoordinates.

LeavesandGrassFlatmesheswithopenedgesareparticularlyeasytounwrapbecauseyoudon’thavetomarkanyseams.IsimplyusedUnwraponalltheleavesinmyscene,unwrappingthemalltosharethesameUVspace(seeFigure8-11).ThisexcludestheIvyGenleaves,whichwereautomaticallyunwrappedbytheIvyGenadd-onalready.Forthecylindricalelements,suchasthestemsofthegrass,Imarkedseamsasneeded,unwrappedoneface(makingsureitunwrappedasarectangle),andthenselectedtherestofthemesh(CTRL-L)andunwrappedusingFollowActiveQuads.

StatueForthestatuemesh,ImarkedseamsbyhandaroundallthemajorpartsandunwrappedusingtheUnwrapoperator.Figure8-12showstheresults.YoucouldtryusingSmartUnwrap,andyoumightgetwhatyouneedforameshlikethis,butunwrappingbyhandwillalwaysgiveyoumorecontrol.

TheRestoftheElementsTheotherelementsintheJungleTemplescenewereallprettystraightforwardandfollowedthesamestrategiesusedsofar.Someelements,likethewater,didn’tneedUVtexturesbecausetheywilluseentirelyproceduralmaterialsinstead.(Chapter9willdealwithcreatingproceduralmaterialsthatdon’trequire

textures,suchaswaterandglass.)

Figure8-12.ThestatueUVs,unwrappedandpackedintotheUVgrid

UnwrappingtheSpiderBotFortheSpiderBot,Ididmybesttosqueezethemodel’sentireUVunwrapontoasingletexture(seeFigure8-13),excludingafewpartsthatwouldreceiveonlyproceduralmaterials.Becausemuchofthemodelusedsimilarmaterials,itwaseasytoeditthewholetextureatonce.Bystartingwiththebigelements,likethebodyandthelegs,andthensqueezingthesmallerpartsintothegapsinbetween,IcouldproduceaveryefficientlypackedsetofUVs,ensuringthatimportantelementsgotthetexturerealestatetheyneeded.YoucanalwayscheckthatthedifferentpartsunwrapwiththerightscaleandwithoutstretchingusingaUV

gridtexture(seeFigure8-13).

ApplyingModifiersandDuplicatesInpreviouschapters,IusedmodifierstomodelandretopologizetheSpiderBot’sbodyandlegssymmetrically.Bydoingso,Ireducedtheamountofworkrequiredandduplicatedsomeofthepartsforthelegs.WhileIcouldhavekeptthelegpiecesasduplicates,itwasbettertoapplysomeofthemodifiersatthisstage,especiallyMirrormodifiers,becauseotherwisethetextureswouldbemappedtobothsidesoftheobjectssymmetrically.Thiswouldresultinsomeobvioussymmetrydownthemiddleoftheobjects;worse,ifIweretouseanytextorgraphicsinmytextures,theywouldappearonthemirroredsideofthemeshbackward!Forthisreason,IappliedtheMirrormodifiersassignedtomanyoftheSpiderBot’sconstituentobjects.

Unfortunately,Blenderwon’tallowyoutoapplymodifierstoobjectsthatsharetheirmeshdatawithotherobjects.Thismakesapplyingmodifierstothemodeldifficultwhen,asfortheSpiderBot,Ihaveusedlinkedduplicatestocopypartsofthemodel,likethelegs,whichnowhavemanyobjectsthatsharethesamemeshdata.Togetaroundthis,usetheMeshfromtheCurve/Meta/Surf/Textoperator(ALT-C),whichwillapplyanymodifierstoanobjectandconvertthemtopropergeometry.BecauseyouwanttoapplyonlytheMirrormodifier,nottheSubdivisionSurfacemodifier,removeallbuttheMirrormodifierfirstandthenusetheoperator.YouwillthenneedtoremovetheMirrormodifiersfromtheotherduplicatesbecausetheywillnowbeusingthealreadymirroredmeshdata.

Figure8-13.InthecaseoftheSpiderBotUVs,mostoftheunwrappingwasdonewithUnwrap.OnceIunwrappedit,IpackedalloftheUVcoordinatesforthemodeltooccupythesamespace.(Youonlyneedtounwrapeachduplicatepartonce.So,forexample,thepartsofthelegsdon’tallneedtobe

unwrappedseparately,aslongastheduplicatesallusethesamemeshdata.)

SharingUVSpaceEfficiently

Forcertainareas,IsharedtheUVspaceforsimilarparts(seeFigure8-14).Forexample,forthemechanicalelementsbeneaththelegs,IplacedalloftheUVislandsonapatchatthetop-rightcorneroftheUVgrid.Doingsowillcauseerrorswhenbakingtextures,butbypaintingagenerictextureovertheseareas,IcantexturemultiplepartsofthemodelwithoutusingasmuchUVspace.(Sincethesepartsarerelativelyhidden,thelackofuniquetexturesontheseareaswon’tmaketoomuchofadifference.)

Figure8-14.SomemechanicalelementsoftheSpiderBotwereunwrappedtosharethesameportionoftheUVgrid.Thesmallmechanicaljointsbelowthelegs(right)wereunwrappedtoasmallcornerofthe

UVgrid(left).

MakingsurethatallobjectsareassignedroughlythesameamountofUVspace

accordingtotheirsizeismoredifficultformultipleobjectsbecausetheAverageIslandsScaleoperator(CTRL-A)worksonlyonUVislandswithinamesh.However,byusingaUVgridtextureandenablingTexturedSolidinthe3DViewport,youcanjudgethescaleofanobject’sUVcoordinatesandadjustthemaccordingly.

InReviewThisconcludesunwrappingthemodelsIcreatedinearlierchapters.We’velookedathowtotagseamstounwrapmeshesandhowtorefinetheresultsofBlender’sunwrapping.We’vealsolearnedhowtopackUVcoordinatesformeshestogethertomakeitsimpletotexturemultipleobjectswithoneimage.InChapter9,we’llmoveontoaddingparticlesystemstosomeofourprojectstocreatefurandgrassbeforebakingandpaintingtexturesinChapter10andChapter11andcreatingmaterialsinChapter12.Intheselaterchapters,we’llapplyimagestotheUVcoordinateswecreatedinthischapterinordertobakeandpaintontexturesthatwecanthenuseastheinputsformaterials.

Chapter9.HairandParticleSystems

Blender’sparticlesystemsareapowerfultoolthatyoucanusetocreatebothstaticanddynamichairandanimatedparticleeffects.Theycanalsobeusedtopopulateyourscenewithinstancedobjectsinordertocreategrassandotherfoliage.Inthischapter,we’lluseBlender’shairparticlestocreatefurfortheBatCreatureandtocreategrassfortheJungleTemplescene.

Whenyouaddaparticlesystemtoanobject,thesystemisinitiallysetupasadynamiconethatspawnspointparticlesthatarethensimulatedusingBlender’sphysicsengine.Inthischapter,though,we’llmostlyusethe“hair”typeforparticlestocreatestrandsthatareemittedfromthesurfaceofyourmeshbydefault(seeFigure9-1).Thesestrandswillrespondtophysicsandcanbecombedoverthesurfaceofyourmodelandbeprocedurallymodifiedtolooklikehair,fur,grass,oravarietyofothermaterials.You’lllearnhowtomovefromthedefaultsystemshowninFigure9-1tocreatingrealistichairandfurthatwe’lladdmaterialstoinChapter12andthenrenderinChapter14.

ParticlesforHairInordertomakeBlender’sbasicparticlesystemresemblefurorhair,weneedtogiveitsomeguidance.First,wedeterminewhereandhowwewantthefurtogrow,afterwhichwecancombtheresultinghairformorecontroloverhowitlooks.Butratherthandothisforhundredsofthousandsofhairsonabody,we’lldefineafewhairsbyhandasparentparticlesandthenhaveBlenderfillintherestwithchildparticlesautomatically.ThesestagesarerepresentedinFigure9-2:First,theparticlesystemisadded1;then,thehairisrestrictedtosomeareaswithavertexgroup2;next,it’scombed3;andfinally,childparticlesareadded4.Youthenhaveabasicrender5.

ChoosinganObjecttoAddHairToOnequestiontothinkaboutwhencreatingthehairorfurforamodeliswhatmeshyouwanttoassigntheparticlesystemto,asthiscanbeapproachedinseveralways.Thesimplestoptionistojustaddaparticlesystemtothemeshyouhavemodeledandintendtotextureandrenderlater.However,thismeansthatyoucannolongeredityourmesh(atleastbeyondmovingvertices),aschangestothevertexorderofyourmodelwillcorruptthehair.

Figure9-1.ThestandardparticlesysteminBlenderwiththeparticlesystemtypesettohair

Figure9-2.Hairparticlesystemsatdifferentstages

InthecaseoftheBatCreature,thefinalrenderwillbedoneusingameshcreatedbyapplyingsomeofthemultiressubdivisiontothemodelandleaving

theresttobere-createdusingadisplacementmap.Becausethiswillrequirecreatinganewmesh,Icouldeitherwaituntilthatstagebeforecreatingthehairorcreatethehairsystemusingadifferentmesh,whichIwouldkeepinthe.blendfileforthefinalrenderlater.Thelatteroptionallowsmetoworkona“safe”mesh,whichIcanthenusetoworkonthefur—themeshwon’tchangeifImakefurtherchanges(withinreason)tothe“skin”modellater.Iwillusethismeshonlytoholdthehairforthecharacter,anditssurfacewillnotberendered.

CreatingaScalpAsimilarstrategycanbeusefulwhencreatingahaircutforacharacter.Whilewemightwishtomakeallkindsofchangestothemodelforahead,theshapeoftheskullislikelytoremainreasonablystatic.Inordertokeepthehairseparate,then,itisoftenusefultocreatea“scalp”objecttowhichthehaircanbeaddedbyduplicatingtheheadmeshanddeletinganypartsthataren’tneeded(seeFigure9-3).Theparticlesystemforthehaircanthenbeaddedtothisobject.

Figure9-3.Creatingascalptoholdtheparticlesystemforacharacter’shair.Thisallowsyoutokeepmodifyingthemodelfortheheadwithoutdisturbingthehair.Here,thetwoareshownsidebyside,but

generallytheywouldbeontopofoneanother.

FortheBatCreature,Icreatedanewmeshtoholdtheparticlesystembyduplicatingmysculptedhigh-resolutionmeshandapplyingtheMultiresmodifieratlevel1.Todothisonameshthathasshapekeys,usetheConverttoMeshoperator(ALT-C▸MeshfromCurve/Meta/Text).Thisappliesallmodifiersandshapekeystothemesh.

VertexGroupsforHairBydefault,particlesystemsemitparticlesfromalloverthesurfaceofanobject.Inordertorestricthairtospecificareasofamodelandcontrolthelengthandbehaviorofthehair,weusevertexgroups.Avertexgroupisasubsetoftheverticesinamesh,likethelegsofacharacteroraspecificpartofawall.YoucanassignverticestothesegroupseitherinEditmodeorWeightPaintmode.

Verticescanalsobepartiallyassignedtoagroup,withtheirweightingforthegroup(thatis,howstronglytheybelongtoit)givenanyvaluebetween0and1.Thisallowsforsmoothgradientsandblendingbetweenverticesthatareandarenotassignedtogroups.

Oncecreated,vertexgroupscanbeusedtocontroltheeffectsofmodifiers,tomakeiteasytoquicklyselectverticesinEditmode,andtoinfluenceparticlesystems.Byusingvertexgroups,wecan“paint”hairplacementinWeightPaintmodeandthenassignthevertexgrouptotheparticlesettingstotellBlendertocreateparticlesonlywherewewantthem.

WeightPaintingBlenderofferstwomethodsofeditingvertexgroups.ThefirstistomanuallyassignweightstoagroupinEditmode,usingthebuttonsintheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditorandthetoolsinthePropertiesregionofthe3DViewport(pressNtobringthisup).Thismethodisusefulfordefiningmoreprecisegroups,liketheonesweusedinChapter4andChapter6torestricttheeffectoftheDisplacemodifier.

Butifyourgoalistoproducesmoother,lessprecisegroupswithmorevariationandrandomness,Blender’sWeightPaintmodetools(showninFigure9-4)areabetteroption.EnteringWeightPaintmode(CTRL-TAB,orusethemodedrop-downmenuinthe3DViewportheader)allowsyoutopaintvertexweightsusing

brushes.

ThestandardbrushtoolsinWeightPaintmodeareasfollows:Mix.Replacesthecurrentweightingwiththeweightspecifiedbythebrush.Thisisthestandardbrushforpaintingvertexgroups.

Blur.Blursvertexweightsbetweenneighboringverticesandisusefulforsmoothingtransitions.

Add.Addstothevertices’weight.

Subtract.Subtractsfromthevertices’weight.Thisbrushisusefulasaneraser.

Multiply.Multipliesthevertices’currentweightbyaparticularvalue.Settheweightto0tousethisasaneraser;usehighervaluestoreducevertexweightswithoutcompletelyremovingverticesfromthecurrentgroup.

Lighten.Replacesthevertices’currentweightwiththeweightyouspecifyforthebrushifthenewweightisgreater.

Darken.Replacesthevertices’currentweightwiththeweightyouspecifyforthebrushifthenewweightisless.

Blender’sdefaultbrushesworkprettywell,soyouprobablywon’tneedtomakeyourown,thoughyoucandosoinmuchthesamewayasdescribedinChapter6.

Figure9-4.WeightPaintmode.Redareasrepresentverticesfullyassignedtothecurrentgroup,andblueareasrepresentverticesthatarenotassignedtothecurrentgroup.

HairDensityTocontrolwheretheBatCreature’shairwillgrow,IneededtopaintavertexgroupthatdefinedwhereIwantedhairandwhereIdidn’t.IbeganbyaddinganewvertexgroupthatI’llcallhairdensity.TheninWeightPaintmode(CTRL-TAB),IbeganassigningareasIwantedtobefurrytothegroupusingaMixtypebrush.IcouldremoveareasusingtheSubtractbrushandsmooththetransitionbetweenhairyandhairlessareaswiththeBlurbrush.(BecauseIameditingonlythehairdensityfornow,theboundariesofthevertexgroupwillstillhavelonghairs.Tomakethehairyregionsfadeoutintoshorterhairs,Iwillcreateasecondvertexgroupinaminutetocontrolthehairlength.)Figure9-4showsmyhairdensitygroup:Areasontheupperbodyandupperlegsarefullyassignedtothegroup,areaslikethearmsandlowerlegsareonlypartiallyassigned,andareaslikethewingsandfacethataretoremainhairlessarenotassignedatall.

Tocompletelyremovepartofameshfromavertexgroup,youcanusetheSubtractbrushinWeightPaintmode,butit’seasiertodothispreciselyinEdit

mode.Todoso,usetheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditortoeditvertexgroupsandmanuallyaddorremoveverticesbyselectingtheminEditmodeandpressingtheAssignorRemovebuttons.Forexample,fortheBatCreature,Imanuallyselectedthewingsandremovedthemfromthedensity(andlength)vertexgrouptobesurethewingswouldn’tgrowhair.

HairLengthThehair-lengthvertexgroup(seeFigure9-5)controlsthelengthofthehairbydefininghowlongthehaircreatedbyourparticlesystemwillgrow,relativetothemaximumlengthwechooseintheParticleSystemsettings.Thisgroupissimilartothehairdensitygroup,exceptthatIassignedthechestandpelvismuchmorethanotherareas,givingthemthelongesthair,andIblurredtheweightsmoresignificantlybetweenareastoproduceasmoothtransitioninhairlength.

Whenpaintingthelengthgroup,youcanpaintoutsidetheboundsofthehairdensitygroupwithoutfearbecausehairwillnotgrowoutsidethedensitygroup.Thisallowsyou,forexample,togrowlonghairrightuptotheedgeofthedensitygroup,ifyouwish.

Figure9-5.Thehair-lengthvertexgroup

AddingaParticleSystemHavingaddedthebasichairvertexgroups,Inextcreatedaparticlesystemto“grow”thehair.Todoso,IwenttotheParticlestabofthePropertieseditorandaddedanewparticlesystemusingthe+iconontheright.(YoucanaddadditionalparticlesystemstothesameobjectandswitchbetweenthemusingtheselectoratthetopoftheParticlestab.)Addinganewparticlesystembringsupawholeslewofpanels,liketheonesshownearlierinFigure9-1.Ibeganmodifyingsomeofthese.First,IchangedtheparticlesystemtypefromanemitterofdynamicparticlestoahairsystembychangingthetypesettingtoHair.Thischangeinitiallycausedthemeshtolooklikeacrazyhairball.Toturn

thehairparticlesystemintosomethinguseful,IusedthevertexgroupsIcreatedforhairlengthanddensitytorestrictthehairgrowth.Then,IassignedthesettingsfortheparticlesandcombedandcutthehairtomakeitlookthewayIwanted.Tomakegoingthroughthesestageseasier,I’llfirstdiscussthemainpanelsforparticlesystemswhencreatinghair-typeparticlesystems.ThesearediscussedbelowintheordertheyappearintheParticlestabofthePropertieseditor.

ParticleSystemPropertiesAtthetopoftheParticlestabinthePropertieseditor,you’llfindapanelshowingtheexistingparticlesystemsassignedtotheactiveobject.Belowthisareafewbasicoptionsthatdefinewhatsortofparticlesystemyouarecreating:Type(Hair/Emitter).SetthistoHairforcreatinghairandfur.TheEmittertypeisforcreatingdynamic,point-particlestems.

Advanced.Turnthisonforgreatercontroloverparticleemission.

Segments.Thisdetermineshowmanycontrolpointsareusedperstrandofhairinordertocontroltheshapeofthehair.Morecontrolpointsmeanyoucanincorporatemoretwistsandbendsintoyourproject.Forshorthairandfur,thedefaultvalueof5isfine,butforlongerhaircuts,considerturningthevalueup.

EmissionPanelThispanelcontrolshowmanyparticlesareemittedfromyourmeshandtheirdistribution.

Number.Determinesthenumberofparticlestheparticlesystemwillgenerate.Ifyouusechildparticlesinthesettings,thetotalnumberofparticleswillbethissettingmultipliedbythenumberofchildparticles.Keepthisinmindwhensettingupahairparticlesystembecauseforthesamefinalnumberofparticles,youcouldcreatelotsofparentsandfewerchildren,orfewerparentsandmorechildren.Ingeneral,youwanttohavetoeditasfewstrandsaspossible,whilemaintainingcontroloverthelookofthehairoverthesurfaceofthemesh.Sowhenaddinghairtoasimplehead,Blender’sdefaultof1,000mightbealittlehigh,butforlargerareas(forexample,whencoveringawholecreatureinfur),youmightwanttoincreasethisvalue.FortheBatCreature,Ichoseavalueof

2,000.

EmitFrom(Verts/Faces/Volume).Determineswherehairparticlesareemittedfrom,suchasfromtheverticesofthemesh,scatteredoveritsfaces,orfrominsidethevolumeofaclosedmesh.

Random.Emitsparticlesrandomly,ignoringtheorderinwhichyoucreatedthefacesofyourmesh.LeavethissettoRandomforhair.

EvenDistribution.Scalesthenumberofparticlesemittedfromeachfaceaccordingtotheface’sarea.Leavethischecked,orlargefaceswillappearsparselypopulatedwithhairwhencomparedtosmallerfaces.

Jittered/Random,ParticlesPerFace,andJitteringAmount.Thesesettingscontrolhowtheemissionlocationsforparticlesaregenerated.Thedefaultvaluesalmostalwaysworkwell.

VelocityPanelThesettingsintheVelocitypanelbasicallydeterminehowlongyourhairswillbeandinwhatdirectionthey’llpoint.Therandomandnormalvaluesaremostimportanthere.Normalvaluescausehairtopointstraightoutfromthesurface,whilerandomvaluesmakethehairpointinrandomdirections.Combiningthetwowillallowyoutopointthehairgenerallyawayfromtheheadwiththenormalvalue,whilekeepingalittleroughnesswiththerandomvalue.Theothersettingsinthispanelcanbeusefulifyouwantthehairtopointinaspecificdirection(suchasstraightup,usingtheZvalue).

RotationTheRotationpanelisn’tparticularlyimportantwhenworkingwithstrand-particlehair,butifyousettherendertypefortheparticlesystemtoObjectorGroup,youcanusethesettingsheretoaddrandomrotationtotheobjectsastheyaregenerated.ThisfeatureisagreatwaytopreventparticlesystemsthatusetheObjectrendertypefromlookingtoorepetitivebymakingitmoredifficulttorecognizerepeatedobjects.

Render

Thispanelcontainssettingsforhowyourparticleswillberenderedinthefinalimage.Thesesettings,listedbelow,willinteractwiththematerialweapplytotheparticleslateroninChapter12.

Material.Thisdetermineswhatmaterialslot(intheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditor)thehairparticleswilluse.Forexample,ifyourfirstmaterialslotfortheobjectistheskinmaterialforyourmodel,youcouldsetthisto2andusethesecondslottodefinethehairmaterial.

Emitter.Whenthissettingischecked,boththehairanditsemittermeshwillrender;whenunchecked,onlythehairitselfwillrender.Thissettingisusefultodisableifyouareusinganobjectotherthanyour“skin”objecttogeneratehairorifyou’regeneratingobjectswithaparticlesystemandyouwanttorenderonlythoseinstancedobjects.

Parents.Ifyouareusingchildparticles,thissettingwillcausetheparentparticlestoberenderedalongwiththechildren.

None/Path/Object/Group.Thissettingdetermineswhichrenderablegeometrytheparticlesystemwilluseforparticlegeneration.ThedefaultsettingofPathisusedtocreateparticlehair,butaparticlesystemcanalsobeusedtocreateotherkindsofgeometry.SettingthistoObjectwillturneachhairparticleintoaduplicateoftheobjectchosenintheboxthatappears,andsettingittoGroupwillchooseobjectsfromagroupandduplicatetheminthesameway.Theseoptionsareusefulformakinggrassorforpopulatingasurfacewithextradetails,likerocksordebris.TheNoneoptionwillcauseparticlesnottoberendered.

Forhair,choosethePathoption,whichbringsupthefollowingadditionalsettingsthatdeterminehowparticlehairwillberendered:StrandRender.ThisusesBlender’scustomstrandprimitivetorenderhairandfurinawaythatproducesmuchfasterresults.Thedownsidetothisrenderingmethodisthatit’snotcompatiblewithray-tracedshadows,soyouwillneedtousespotlampswithbuffershadowsinstead.

AdaptiveRenderer.Thisoptionforrenderinghairiscompatiblewithraytracingandoptimizesthehairgeometry,simplifyingbendsinthehairsothatlong,straightsectionsuselessgeometrythanmorecomplex,curvedpartsofstrands.Thiskeepsthetotalamountofgeometryusedforhairtoaminimumandthuscanspeeduprenders.

Degrees.Thestrandrendererrendershairsinasequenceofstraightsections,andthisvaluedetermineshowmanydegreestheunderlyingcurvemustbendthroughinordertocreateanewsection.Smallervalueswillresultinsmoother-lookinghairbutwilltakelongertorenderastheywillgeneratemoresections.

B-Spline.ThismethodusesaBézier-likecurvetorenderhairstrands,resultinginmuchsmoothercurvesbutwithsomelossofdetailintheshapeofyoureditedhairasthecurveissmoothedout.

Steps.Thismethoddetermineshowmanysectionsintotalaregeneratedforthehaircurve,expressedasthenumberoftimesthehairissubdivided.Forexample,avalueof3willmakethehairtwiceassmooth(twiceasmanysections)as2,andavalueof4willmakethehaircurvetwiceassmoothagain.

DisplayThispanelworksliketheRenderpanelbutdefineshowyourparticlesappearinthe3DViewport.Turningthesesettingsdowncanoftenspeedupthe3DViewportwhenworkingwithcomplexparticlesystems,whileturningthemupcangiveyouabetterfeelforwhatyourrenderedparticleswillactuallylooklike.

None/Rendered/Path.Theseoptionsallowyoutodeterminehowparticlesappearinthe3DViewport.SettingthistoRenderedwillusethedisplaytypeusedfortherender.Nonepreventstheparticlesystembeingdrawnatallinthe3DViewport,andPathdrawsparticlesaspathsregardlessoftherendertype.

Display(Percentage).Thisoptionsetstheproportionofthetotalnumberofhairsvisibleinthe3DViewport.Lowersettingswillreducethestrainonyourmachinewhenworkingwithcomplexhairsystems.

Size,Velocity,Number.Theseoptionswilldrawthecorrespondingdatumforeachparticleonscreennexttothatparticledatum(thatis,theparticle’ssize,velocity,orIDnumber).

Color(Material/Velocity/Acceleration/None).Thisoptionismorerelevantforemitterparticlesystems.LeaveitsettoMaterialforhairparticles.

Steps.Thisoptiondetermineshowmanysubdivisionsareusedtodrawthehairinthe3DViewport(asintherenderoptions).Setthishigherifyouneedtoworkoncomplexhairstylesorlowerifyouneedamoreresponsive3DViewport.

ChildrenHere,wegettothemostpowerfulaspectofparticlesystems.Childparticlesworkbytreatingeachoriginalparentparticlecreatedbytheparticlesystemasaguideforcreatingfurtherparticles.Notonlydoesthisletyoudefinerelativelyfewparticlesandthencreateagreatmanymore,butitalsoallowsyoutoaddnovelfeatures,likeclumping,twisting,andevenbraiding,tothehairaroundtheparentparticleguides,makingyourhairlookmorevariedandinteresting.

None/Simple/Interpolated.Simpleparticlesareabasicoptionthatcreatesabasicbundleofchildparticlesaroundeachoriginalparent,allofwhichfollowthesamepathastheirparent.Simplechildrenaren’tattachedtothemeshsurface,andtheydon’tusevertex-groupinputstoinfluencehowtheyaregenerated.Otherthaninbasichairsystems,simplechildrendon’tusuallylookasgoodasinterpolatedchildren.Thisisbecauseinterpolatedchildrenaregeneratedfromthesurfaceofthemeshjustlikeparenthairs,andthentheyinterpolatetheirpathsfromthevariousparentparticlesaroundthem.Interpolatedchildrengenerallygivenicerresults,soassumeforthischapterthatweareusinginterpolatedchildparticles.

Display.Determineshowmanychildparticlestocreateanddisplayinthe3DViewport.

Render.Determineshowmanychildparticlestocreateatrendertime.

Seed.Letsyouchoosetherandomseedforuseingeneratingchildparticles.Ifyouhaveafewchildparticlesthatyoureallydon’tlike,trychangingthisvalue.

VirtualParents.Createsextravirtualparentparticlesbeforegeneratingchildren,whichgivesthechildrenmoretargetstoclumptoorkinkaround,makingthehairlookmorevaried.

Clump.Causeschildhairstoclumptogetheraroundtheirparents,makingthehairlookmattedorspiky.Negativevaluescausehairstopuffouttowardtheendsinstead.Theshapevaluedetermineshowfarupthehairsstarttoclump.

Length.Determineshowlongthechildparticlesgrowasaproportionoftheparentparticlelength.Thethresholdvaluebelowthissettingallowssomeparticlestoreachthefulllength,whileothersarecutdowntotheshortervaluespecifiedbytheLengthsetting.

PartingControls.TheseoptionsonlyappearifVirtualParentsissetto0.

Turninguptheparting(cap)amountforceschildparticlestopickasidewheninterpolatingbetweenparentsthatpointindifferentdirections.Asyoumightimagine,thisisusefulforpartinghair(thoughaswewillseelater,thereareotherways).Theminandmaxvaluesdeterminetherangeofanglesordistancesbetweenparenthairsthatchildparticleswillpartover.

Roughness.Youcanapplythreekindsofroughnesstothechildhairs.TheUniformRoughsettingroughensupthehairdependingonlocation,affectingallhairsinalocalareainthesameway.Thesizevaluedeterminesthescaleoftheseperturbations.TheEndpointRoughsettingrandomizestheendpointsofthehairs,pushingthemfartherapart(muchliketheoppositeoftheClumpsetting).TheRandomRoughsettingroughensthehairsindependently,withthesizevaluedeterminingthescaleofperturbationsandthethresholdvaluedeterminingwhatproportionofhairsareleftunaffectedbythisroughening.(Randomroughnessisgoodforaddingstrayhairsorformakinghairlookfrizzy.)Kink(Nothing/Curl/Radial/Wave/Braid).Theseoptions(showninFigure9-6)addsecondarypatternstothewaythechildhairsfollowtheparents.Curlcausesthehairtoformcurls,Radialmakesthehairsmoveperiodicallycloserandfartherapart,Waveaddswavestothehair,andBraidmakesthemformathreestrandedbraid.Thesettingsbelowthesechoicesdeterminetheamplitudeandfrequencyofthissecondarypattern,aswellashowitisaffectedbyclumpinganddistributedalongthehairsusingtheshapevalue.Theflatnessvaluecausesthehairstoflattentogetherwhentakingonthesesecondaryshapes.

Figure9-6.Differentkinksettingsappliedtothechildrenofasingleparentparticle.Lefttoright:NoKink(butwithClumpturnedonsothatthestrandscometoapoint),Curl,Radial,Wave,andBraid.

VertexGroupsInthispanel,youcanassignvariousvertexgroupstocontrolthesettingsoverthesurfaceofamesh.Thispaneliswhereweapplythevertexgroupswecreatedearlierinordertocontrolthedensityandlengthofourinitialparenthairsbeforecombingandcuttingthem(seeFigure9-7).

Figure9-7.Usingvertexgroupstocontrolhairlengthanddensity.Youcanaddvertexgroupsfortheotherpropertieslateron,butthisisallweneedfornow.

Usingvertexgroupstocontrolparticlesystemsaffectsboththeinitialgenerationofparentparticlesandthelaterdistributionofchildparticles.However,onceyoustarteditingtheparentparticlesinParticlemode,youcanaddorremoveparticlesandeditthemindependentlyofthepropertiesdefinedbyvertexgroupsusingtheParticlemodebrushes,asdiscussedinthenextsection.

ParticleModeHavingsetupabasichairsystem,youcanedititinParticlemode(seeFigure9-8),usingavarietyoftoolsthatletyougrow,comb,cut,andsmoothyourhairorfur,aswellasaddordeletehairs.

YoucanswitchtoParticlemodefromthemodedrop-downmenuintheheaderofthe3DViewport.OnceinParticlemode,thehairparticlesinthecurrentlyselectedparticlesystembecomeeditable.(Atthesametime,youwillnolongerbeabletoedittheParticleEmissionsettingsinthePropertieseditor,unlessyou

clickFreeEditatthetopoftheParticleSettingstabtoscrapyoureditedparticlesandstartagain.)SimilartoSculptmode,ParticlemodebringsupalistofbrushesintheToolShelfontheleftofthe3DViewport,alongwithsomeoptionsforhowthesebrushesaffectyourparticles.

ShapingYourHairInParticlemode,IbeganshapingandstylingthehairfortheBatCreatureusingBlender’sparticlebrushes.IfirstusedtheCombtooltoflattenthehairandgetittoflowalongwiththecontoursofthebody(seeFigure9-8),addingsomepeaksandscruffyareasaswell.Bydefault,whenyoucombhairinParticlemode,it’sdeflectedbytheemittermesh,makingiteasytocombitalongthemesh’ssurface.(YoucanturnthisoffusingtheDeflectEmitteroptionfromtheToolShelf,ifyouwish.)Ifthehairinanareagetsabittooflat,usethePufftooltofluffitbackup.(ThePufftoolcausesthehairstorepeloneanotherandgenerallyspreadout.)

Figure9-8.CombingfurinParticlemode

Tocontrolthelengthofthehairstrands,theLengthandCuttoolsarethemostuseful.TheLengthtoolallowsyoutogroworshrinkhairstoadjusttheirlength,whiletheCuttoolcutsthembackawayfromthebrushasyoumakestrokeswith

it.TheCuttoolwillalsocompletelyremoveahairifyoucutitrightdowntothebase,sothisisausefultechniqueforgettingridofawkwardhairsthatarecausingyourchildparticlestobehavestrangely.(Ifit’sdifficulttoseethebaseofastrand,tryswitchingtowireframeviewandzoomingin.)YoucanalsoaddextrahairsusingtheAddbrush,whichcreatesnewhairswhereveryoustroke.TurningontheInterpolateoption(usuallyadvisable)causesnewhairstofollowthedirectionofsurroundingonesthatalreadyexist,whichcomesinhandywhenaddingextrahairstoanareayouhavealreadycombed.Forexample,withtheBatCreature,Iaddedsomeextrahairstotheearsandaroundthefeetandhandstobetterdefinetheflowofthehairaroundtheseareas.

StylingTipsBesurewhenstylingtorotatethemodelfrequentlytoseeitfromdifferentangles.Asyourotateit,thinkaboutthesilhouetteyouarecarvingoutaswellasthedirectionthehairispointingandusetheCuttooltotrimstrayhairsthatdisruptthesilhouette.Ifyoucutanyhairstooshort,youcanusetheLengthbrushtogrowhairbackout.

YoucanselectandmanipulateindividualormultiplehairsasyouwouldinEditmode,usingtherightmousebuttontoselectandtheG,S,andRkeystograb,rotate,andscalestrands.YoucanalsoswitchbetweendifferentselectionmethodsinParticlemode,selectingeitherthewholehairorindividualpointsalongitorjustchoosingtocombandcuttheoverallpath.Thisisanalogoustobeingabletochoosebetweenselectingvertices,edges,orfacesinEditmode.Selectinghairstrandscanbeusefulfordealingwithtrickyareas,asthebrushtoolswillworkonlyonselectedstrands,allowingyoutoselectspecificparticlehairsthatarecausingissuesandcomborcuttheminisolation.

AnotherusefultrickistopressLtoselecthairsunderthecursor.HolddownLandwavethemouseoveranareatoselectafewhairsatrandom.Then,combthemindependently.Thisworkswellforrougheninguphairandaddingvolume.

ChildParticlesOnceyouhavethebasichairstyleroughlyinplace,turnonChildParticlesintheParticlestabtoseewhateffectithasonthelookofyourhair.SetthechildtypetoInterpolatedandsettheDisplaynumberofparticlestoabout50.(The

Rendernumbercanbealothigher,butkeepinmindhowthiswillaffectthetotalnumberofhairsandthusyourrendertimes.)FortheBatCreature,IsetVirtualParentsto0.3andClumpto0.5,andIaddedaverysmallamountofRandom,Endpoint,andUniformRoughness(around0.001to0.01foreach,asthesearesensitivesettings).Turningupthevirtualparentsgivesthechildparticlesmoreparentstrandstoclumparoundandpreventsthehairfromlookingtoopatchy.Addingsomeroughnessmakesitlooklessneatandsmooth.

IalsoaddedsomevariationtotheparticlelengthusingaLengthsettingof0.5,andIsetthethresholdvalueto0.15toproducehairofdifferentlengthsandtogiveamorenaturallooktothefur(seeFigure9-9).

NOTEReturningtoParticlemodewillhideyourchildparticlesbydefault,butyoucanturnthemoninthedrawoptionsinthe3DViewportToolShelfbycheckingtheChildrenoption.

Whenworkingonhairsystems,itcanbeusefultorenderoccasionally,astheshadingofhairsinthe3DViewportcanlookflatandambiguous.YoumaywanttoskiptoChapter12foradiscussionofmaterialsforhairandthencreateaquickrendersetupforusewhileyouareworkingonhair(seeFigure9-10).SeeChapter13forhowtolightthesceneandChapter14formoreonrendering.

Figure9-9.ParticlesettingsfortheBatCreature

Figure9-10.ThefurfortheBatCreature.Whilethe3DViewportgivesagoodestimateofwhatthehairisdoing,arenderwillreallyshowyouwhatareasneedattention.Here,Isettheskinofmycharactertoblacktoseethehaironitsownandrendereditwithasimplethree-pointlightsetup.(SeeChapter12to

learnhowtosetupmaterialsandChapter13forlighting.)

PeachFuzzIalsodecidedtoaddasecondparticlesystemtomyBatCreaturetoincorporatesomeshorthairthatcoveredmoreofthebody,likethehead,ears,andsomeof

thewings.Imadethisinexactlythesamewayasthefirstsystem.Istartedbyaddinganothernewparticlesystemtothesameobjectasthefirst,thistimewithamuchshorterlength.Then,Icreatedavertexgrouptolimitthishairtothebody,head,andthebeginningsofthewings.Ididn’tneedalengthvertexgroupthistime,asthehairwasallveryshort.Next,Icombedthehairtofollowthecontoursofthebodyandaddedchildparticlestoincreasethehairdensity.TheresultingparticlesystemcanbeseeninFigure9-11.

Figure9-11.ThePeachFuzzparticlesystemfortheBatCreatureaddsfinehairscoveringmostofthe

body.

ComplexHaircutsThehairfortheBatCreaturewasprettysimple,solet’slookatacharacterwithamorecomplexhairdo.ThecharacterinFigure9-12usesseveraldifferentparticlesystems,eachofwhichcoversdifferentareasoftheoverallhairstyle.Eachsystemisrestrictedtoitsownareabyaseparatevertexgroup,allowingittobeeditedseparately.

Creatinghairthiswaymakesiteasiertoiteratethroughdifferentstylesandcreatemorecomplexhairbecauseyoucaneditindividualaspectswithoutworryingabouttheireffectonothers.

Figure9-13showsacharacterthatmakesfulluseofthisstrategywithdifferenthairparticlesystemsthatallusedifferentsettings.Forexample,thebraidsinthebeardaresingleparentstrandsthatusetheBraidKinksettingforchildren,whileothersystemsusedifferentkinksettings.Thistechniqueisoftenusefulwhencreatingahairstylewithapartingofsomekindbecausesplittingthehairintotwoparticlesystemsmakesitmucheasiertocomboutwardfromthepartingoneitherside.

Figure9-12.UsingdifferentparticlesystemswithuniqueDensityvertexgroupsallowsmorecontroloverthelookofeach.Here,Ihavecreatedseparatevertexgroupsforthehair,goatee,eyebrows,and

stubble.

Figure9-13.Multipleparticlehairsystemscombinetocreatethefulleffect.Here,fivedifferenthairsystemsareusedtocreatethefinalhairstyleonthebottomright.Eachcanbecombedandhaveits

settingsadjustedseparately,allowingconsiderablymorecontrol.

ControllingParticleswithTexturesWhilesofarwehavefocusedonusingvertexgroupstocontrolparticlehairproperties,Blendercanalsousetextureinputtocontrolaspectsofparticlesystemsinthesamewaythatweusevertexes.Touseatexturethisway,firstassignaparticlesystemtoyourmesh,switchtotheTexturestabofthePropertieseditor,andclicktheParticleTexturesicon(seeFigure9-14).Nowyoucanaddtexturesandusethemforthesameinputsasyouwouldvertexgroups,includingthedensityandlengthofhairforhairparticles,aswellasclump,kink,androughvalues.(Valuessuchastimeandvelocityareusedfordynamicpointparticlesystems.)Bydefault,whitewillbemappedto1.0,andblackto0.0forthesevalues.

ControllingparticlesystemswithtexturesallowsyoutouseBlender’s

proceduraltexturestoaddvariationtohowahairorfursystemlooks.Forexample,byusingacloudtexturetoaffecttheroughvalueofthefurfortheBatCreature,Icouldquicklyaddsomerandomizedroughnesstothecreature’shair,withouthavingtoeditvertexgroupsmanually.

NOTETexturescanalsobeusedtoaffectthelookofparticlesthroughBlender’smaterials,asyou’lllearninChapter12.

OtherUsesforParticleSystemsInadditiontomodelinghairandfur,Blender’sparticlesystemsareusefulfornumerousothertasks.Forexample,fortheJungleTemple,Iusedaparticlesystemtocreatepatchesofgrassontheground,usingtheGrouprendertypetoduplicateafewdifferentgrassobjectsmanytimes.

GrassfortheJungleTempleWhileIplacedmostoftheplantsintheJungleTemplescenebyhand,Iusedaparticlesystemtogeneratesomegrassaroundmyscene.Whilehairstrandsontheirowncanlookalotlikegrasswiththerightmaterials,Ichosetocreatemodelsfortheindividualbladesofgrass.Then,Iusedaparticlesystemtoscatterthemaroundthescene,asshowninFigure9-15.

Figure9-14.Usingatexturetocontrolhairparticles.Here,aproceduralVoronoitexturehasbeenusedtoaffectparticlelength.Youcanusebothproceduralandimagetexturestoaffectparticleproperties.

Figure9-15.Simplegrassmodels.Thesearealljustplanesandcylindersthataresubdivided,stretched,andgrabbedwithproportionaleditingtoformthemintothestemsandleavesofthegrass.Eachisa

separateobjectwithitsoriginatthebaseoftheplant.

Figure9-16.Thedensityvertexgroupformygrassparticlesystem,shownherewithgrassgrowingontheassignedareas

CreatingaGrassParticleSystemTocreategrassthisway,Ineededsomemodelsfordifferentbladesorclumpsofgrassandthenaparticlesystem(addedtomygroundmesh)thatwouldduplicateandscatterthesemodelsaroundthescene.First,Icreatedafewdifferentgrass

models(seeFigure9-15)andaddedthemallintoasinglegroup(CTRL-G).Next,IaddedanewparticlesystemtothegroundmeshinmyJungleTempleandcreatedavertexgroupforthegrassdensityandlength(asIdidforthehair)toplacethegrassinjustafewkeyareas(seeFigure9-16).Then,IsettherendertypefortheparticlesystemtoGroupandchosemygrassgroupasthegrouptouse(theDupliGroupsetting).Finally,IenabledtheUseCountoptiontodeterminehoweachmemberofthegroupwasduplicatedsothatthesmallgrassmodelsrepeatedmoreoftenthanthelargerones(seeFigure9-17).

Togivethegrassduplicatessomerandomrotation,Iusedtherotationproperties(seeFigure9-17).BysettingtherotationaxistoNormalandtherandomvaluesto0.15fortherotationaxisand1.0fortherotationphase,eachgrasselementgetsabitofrandomrotation,makingitlookmoreunique(seeFigure9-18).SimilarvariationcanbeachievedforthescaleoftheobjectswiththeRandomSizesettingintheparticlesystemsphysicsproperties(seeFigure9-17).

ObjectRotationandParticleSystemsItshouldbenotedthatinorderforthegrassparticlesystemtoworkcorrectly,thegrassmeshesneedtoberotatedsothatthestemsofthegrasspointalongBlender’sy-axis.Thisisbecause,althoughthez-axisistreatedasthe“up”directioninBlender’sglobalcoordinates,forparticlesystems,they-axisofanobjectpointsalongthelengthofthestrand.

TheeasiestwaytorotatethegrassobjectscorrectlyistoselecttheminObjectmodeand(assumingyouinitiallymodeledthempointingupwardwithrespecttoeverythingelseinthescene)pressR▸Xtorotatetheobjectsaroundtheglobalx-axisandenter–90degreestospecifytheamountofrotation.Thisshouldleaveyourgrasspointingalongthey-axisofthescene.PressCTRL-AandselectRotationtoapplythisrotationtotheobjects’geometry.

Figure9-17.Theparticlesettingsforthegrasssystem.Togivedifferentorientationsandsizestotheduplicatedblades,IusedtherotationsettingsandtheSizeandRandomsizeoptions.IusedtheUse

Countoptiontorepeatsomeobjectsinthegroupmoreoftenthanothers.

Figure9-18.ThegrassparticlesysteminthefinalJungleTemplescene

HairandFurTipsHerearesomefinaltipsforworkingwithhairparticlesystems.

Splitupcomplextasks.Forcomplexhaircuts,splitthehairintodifferentsystemsthatyoucancombandcutseparately.Usedifferentsettingstogettheeffectyouneed.

Keepaneyeonparticlecounts.Asanexample,humanhairhasanapproximatedensityofafewhundredhairspersquarecentimeter,butyoudon’talwaysneedtoreachthisvalue.Whenrenderingyourhair,tryvariousnumbersofchildrentoseewhatlooksbest.

Experiment.Hairistoughtogetright.Sometimestheonlywayistotryanumberofdifferentsettingstoseewhatworksbest.Gettingaquickrenderofyourhairwilloftenprovideusefulinsight.

Materialsmakeadifference.Chapter12featuressomematerialsgearedspecificallyforparticlehair.Ifyou’retearingyourhairoutwonderingwhyyourfurdoesn’tlookright,itmightnotbetheparticlesystem’sfault.Makesureyouhaveagoodmaterialonyourhairsystemtohelpitlookitsbest.

InReviewInthischapter,we’velookedatwaystocreateparticlehairandfursystemsanddiscoveredotherusesforBlender’shairparticles,suchasforprocedurallyscatteringobjects,aswedidforgrass.Inlaterchapters,we’llreturntohairandfur,aswediscusswhatmaterialstoapplytocreatenicelookinghair(seeChapter12),howtolightstrandparticles(seeChapter13),andhowtogetthebestresultswhenrenderinghair(seeChapter14)byrenderingitasaseparaterenderlayer.

Chapter10.TextureBaking

Havingmodeled,sculpted,retopologized,andUVunwrappedourmodels,we’renowreadytocreatetexturesandmaterialsforthemandthenmoveontolightingandrendering.Inthischapter,we’llfocusonbakingtextures—creatingproceduraltexturesusingthegeometry,lighting,andmaterialsofobjectsinourscene.Forexample,we’llbakethenormalsofahigh-polysculptedmeshintoatexturemaporbaketheshadowsthatameshreceivesinthecracksandgroovesofitssurfaceintoatexturetomimicdirtanddust.Textureslikethesecanthenbeusedtoaidintexturingandcreatingmaterialslater.

Inthischapter,we’lldiscussthevarioustypesofproceduraltexturemapsthatBlenderisabletobake,theiruses,andhowtobakethem.InChapter11,we’llmoveontocombiningthesebakedtextureswithhandpaintingandothertechniquesinGIMPandBlender,cleaningthemupandcombiningthemwithothertexturesources,suchasphotos.Then,inChapter12,we’llcoverhowtoplugallthesekindsofmapsintoBlender’smaterialssystemtocreaterealisticmaterialsforrenderingourmodelswith.

ImagesandTexturesFirst,alittleterminology:Thetermsimageandtextureareoftenusedinterchangeably.Inmostcircumstances,thisisfine,butIshalltrytoavoidconfusionherebyexplainingmyterminology.Animage,forourpurposes,isapicture,perhapsintheformofanimagefile,likea.jpgor.tifffileorafilegeneratedwithinBlender’sUVImageeditorwithnospecificfiletypeassignedtoityet.

AtextureinBlendercanbeanykindofinputusedtoaffectthelookofamaterialappliedtoanobject.Atexturecanbeanimage,butatexturemayalsobeprocedurallygeneratedortakenfromavideo,pointclouddata,orsomethingevenmoreobscure.Butbecausewefrequentlyuseimagesastheinputfortextures,it’softenconvenienttoreferto“animageusedtoaffectamaterial’s

diffusecolor”asadiffusetextureforshort.

Ingeneral,whenIrefertobakingtextures,Imeananimageusedasatexture.Asthiswouldrapidlybecometedioustoread,I’llofteninsteadusethetermtexturemoreloosely—particularlyastheprocessofbakingimagesissofrequentlyreferredtoastexturebaking.

Thetermmapwhenusedinthecontextoftextures(suchastexturemap,diffusemap,anddisplacementmap)referstoanimageusedforaUVunwrappedobject—oneinwhicheachpointontheobjectcanbemappedtoapointontheimage.

Inthisbook,Ioftentalkaboutassigninganimageortexturetoanobject.Assigninganimagetoanobjectisdifferentfromassigningatexture.

AssigninganImageWhenIassignanimagetoanobject,Ilinkthatimagewiththeobject’sactiveUVcoordinateset.ThiscausestheimagetobedisplayedontheobjectwhenusingtheTexturedSolidshadingoptioninthe3DViewport(foundunderDisplayinthe3DViewportPropertiesregion).Italsomeansthatwhenbakingimages,thiswillbetheimagethatisbakedto.

Toassignanimagetoanobject’sUVcoordinates,selecttheobjectinthe3DViewportandpressTABtoenterEditmode.HitAtoselectall,thenintheUVImageeditor(I’massumingherethattheobjecthasalreadybeenunwrapped),usethedropdownmenuintheEditorsheadertoselectanimagetoassigntotheactiveUVset.

Tocreateanewimageandassignthatinstead,useImage▸NewImagetocreateanewimagetobaketowiththesizeandpropertiesyouspecify.

AssigningTexturesTexturesareassignedtomaterials,whicharethenassignedtoobjectsorpartsofobjects.Texturesareusedtoaffecthowanobjectwillberenderedandalsoasinputsforsomemodifiers.Toassignamaterialtoanobject,gototheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditortochooseamaterialfromthedropdownmenuatthetopofthetaborcreateanewmaterialwiththe+Newbutton.YoucanthenassigntexturestothismaterialintheTexturestabinthesameway.

Texture-BakingControlsTobakeatexture(technically,animage—fromhereonIwillusethetwotermslessrigorously)inBlender,usetheBakepanelintheRendertabofthePropertieseditor(showninFigure10-1).ThiscontainsallofBlender’ssettingsandtoolsforbakingtexturemaps,includingthefollowing:

Bake.Thisbuttonbakesimagesforthecurrentlyselectedobjects,usingthebakesettingsyou’vedefined.

Bakemode.Thesesettingsareusedtosetwhatkindofmapyouarebaking.

Clear.Thisoptionclearsthetextureandreplacesitwithblackbeforebaking.

Margin.ThisoptionextendsthebakedtexturesoutbeyondtheedgesoftheUVislandsbythenumberofpixelsyousettopreventseamsshowingonthemesh.

SelectedtoActive.Thisoptionenablesbakingfromonemeshtoanother.

DistanceandBias.ThesesettingsdeterminehowfarBlenderwilllookforthesurfaceoftheothermeshwhenbakingfromSelectedtoActive.

Inordertobakeatexture,Blenderneedstwoinputs:

AmeshwithUVcoordinatesthatyouwanttobaketexturesfor.Thismustbeselectedastheactiveobject,andtheUVcoordinatesyouwanttobaketomustbetheactiveset.

Animagetobakethetextureto,assignedtotheobject’sactiveUVcoordinateset.

Withtheseinputsinplace,clickBakeintheBakepaneltohaveBlenderrenderthetexture.BlendershouldrenderthemaptypedictatedbytheBakeModesetting(seeFigure10-1)andtakethefollowingintoaccountwhenbaking:

Selectedobjects.BlenderwillbaketexturesforanyselectedobjectsthathaveUVcoordinateswithanimageassignedtothem.Youcanbakemultipletexturesatonce,aswellasbakingmultipleobjects.

Otherobjectsoncurrentlyvisiblelayers.Unselectedobjectswillnotbebaked,butwhenbakinglightingorothermapsthatareaffectedbytheselectedobject’ssurroundings,Blenderwilltakeintoaccounttheotherobjects(meshes,lights,andsoon)thatareonthecurrentlyvisiblelayers.Tobakethelightingfor

anobjectinisolation,placeittemporarilyonitsownlayer,alongwiththelightsyouwanttoaffectit.

Figure10-1.Texture-bakingcontrolswhileworkingintheUVeditinglayoutwecreatedinChapter8.TheUVeditinglayoutisusefulbecauseitallowsustoaccessourbakingcontrolsthroughthe

Propertieseditor,thebakedimagesthroughtheUVImageeditor,andtheobjectsinourscenethroughthe3DViewport,allinonelayout.

NOTEBakingiscurrentlysupportedonlywhenyouusetheBlenderInternalrenderer.Ifyoudon’tseeanybakingoptions,makesurethatyouhaveBlenderInternalselectedasyourrenderenginefromtheInfoEditorheader(seeFigure10-1).

TextureMapTypesYoucanbakeseveraldifferentmaptypes,someofwhicharemoreimportantthanothers.Here’swhatBlenderhastooffer:

FullRender.Thisdoesafullrender,includingtexturesandlightingofyoursurface.Theresultingtextureisexactlyhowyourmodelwilllookinyourfinalrender,mappedtotheobject’sUVcoordinates.

AmbientOcclusion.Thisrendersambientocclusionfortheobject,takingintoaccountanyothervisible,renderableobjectsonthecurrentlyactivelayers.Ambientocclusionisaselfshadowingeffectthatcreatesdarkareasinthecornersandcrevicesofobjects.It’susefulbothformimickingtheeffectofmorecomplexlighting,aswellasforcreatingaroughmapofareaswheredirtanddustarelikelytoaccumulate.Thiskindofmapisoftenveryusefulwhencreatingtexturesandmaterials(seeFigure10-2).

Shadow.Thisrenderstheshadowsfromlightsinthesceneintoamap.

Normals.Thistakesthenormalvectoroftheobject’ssurfaceateachpointandrecordsitasanRGBvalue.Thisisdoneinavarietyofways,dependingonthenormalspaceoptionyouchoose.Differentnormalspacesrecordthenormalsofthemeshrelativetodifferentcoordinatesystems.Forexample,theCameraoptionrecordsthemrelativetothecamera;World,accordingtoworldspace;Object,accordingtotheobject’slocalcoordinates;andTangent,accordingtothesurfacenormalofthebakedobjectitself.

Figure10-2.Anambientocclusionmap,bakedandappliedtothemeshasatexture(theeyesherehavebeenleftblack)

Ofthese,Tangentisprobablythemostimportant;itletsyoubakethenormalsofonemeshtothesurfaceofanotherbyenablingtheSelectedtoActivesetting,selectingyoursourcemesh(ormeshes)andthetarget,andthenbaking.Thisrendersthenormalsofthesourcemeshrelativetotheselectedtargetmesh.Thismapcanthenbeusedtodistortthesurfacenormalsofthemeshwhenitisrendered,givingtheimpression(whenthemapisappliedaspartoftheobject’smaterial)ofhavingalotofdetailinthesurfacewheninfacttheunderlyinggeometrycanbemuchsimpler.(SeeFigure10-3foranexampleofthiseffect.)Tangentspacenormalmapsareparticularlyusefulbecausethenormalsarerecordedrelativetothesurfaceofthemeshitself,sotheyworkevenwhenthemeshisdistortedfromitsoriginalshapebymodifiersorfurtherediting,solongastheUVcoordinatesremainthesame.

Textures.Thisbakesthediffusecolorofanymaterialsandcolorsappliedtothemesh.ThiscanbeusefulforbakingproceduralcolorsandtexturesintoaUVmap.

Displacement.Thisconvertsthedistancebetweentwomeshesintoablack-and-whiteimage.Blackrepresentsnegativedisplacement,mid-grayrepresentszerodisplacement,andwhiterepresentspositivedisplacement.UsetheSelectedtoActiveoptiontobakefromasourcemesh(ormeshes)totheactivemesh.

TheDisplacementmapisgenerallyusedasanalternativetonormalmaps,andthismapcanthenbeusedastheinputfortheDisplacemodifierortheDisplacesettingofamaterialtodeformameshintotheshapeofthesourcemesh(seeFigure10-3).Alternatively,abakeddisplacementmapcanbeusedasabumpmapforamaterial.(Bumpmapsworklikenormalmaps,givingtheimpressionofsurfacedetailbyalteringtheshadingofthesurface,buttheyrequireonlyblackandwhiteinput.)

Normalmapsareaveryefficientwaytogivetheimpressionofdetail,buttheydon’taffectthesilhouetteofthemeshorthecastingofshadowsbecausenorealgeometryisdisplaced.Displacementmappingcreatesrealdetailbydeformingthemeshbutrequiresyoutosubdividethemeshtoprovidesufficientgeometrytodeform.InFigure10-3,agroupofsphereshasbeenbakedtoanormalmap(8bit)andadisplacementmap(32bit).Thesemapshavethenbeenappliedtoaplaneandacylinder.Thenormalmappedobjectscapturealotoftheshadingwithmuchlowerpolycounts,buttheydon’taffecttheactualshapeofthemesh

orcastshadows.Thedisplacement-mappedobjectsaremuchmorerealistic,buttheyhavetobesubdividedinordertocaptureallthedetails.

Figure10-3.Normalmappingvs.displacementmapping

Alpha.Thisbakesthealphatransparencyofthemeshtoatexture.It’susefulforbakingproceduralvaluestoanimagetexture.

Emission.Thisbakestheemissioncolorandamountofamaterialintoatexture.Aswiththetexturemap,thiscanbeusefulinbakingproceduralemissioncolorsintoanimagetexture.

MirrorColors.Thisbakesthecolorofray-tracedreflectionsforamaterialinto

atexture.It’susefulforbakingproceduralvaluestoanimagetexture.

MirrorIntensity.Thisbakestheamountofray-tracedreflectionforamaterialintoatextureandisusefulforbakingproceduralvaluestoanimagetexture.

SpecularColors.Thisbakesthecolorofspecularreflectionsofamaterialintoatextureandisusefulforbakingproceduralvaluestoanimagetexture.

SpecularIntensity.Thisbakestheamountofspecularreflectionofamaterialintoatexture.It’susefulforbakingproceduralvaluestoanimagetexture.

Eachkindoftexturemaphasapurposefromtimetotime,butinthischapter,we’llfocusonambientocclusion,texture,normal,anddisplacementmapsmostoften.Ofthetexturemaps,thesemapsarethemostusefulforusewithpaintedtexturesandforrenderingdetailedfinalmodels.

BakingTexturesfortheBatCreatureInthecaseoftheBatCreature,myaimwastocreatetexturesfortheskinandtobakeadisplacementmapforrenderingthefinalmodelwithaDisplacemodifierinordertocaptureallthedetailsIsculptedearlier.InthissectionI’lldiscusshowIbakedmapsforambientocclusionanddisplacementtohelpwiththis.I’llalsocoverbakinganormalmapasanalternativetodisplacementmaps,onethatrendersalotmorequicklythoughatthecostofsomeaccuracyinrepresentingthefinedetails.

BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMeshBecauseIcontinuedsculptingontheretopologizedmesh,Icouldjustrenderthefinalmeshdirectly.Butthisisn’talwaysdesirable,becausetheMultiresmodifiercansometimesgetcorruptedanddisplayingitseffectsinthe3DViewportcanbeslowandunwieldy.Abettersolutionwouldbetobakeadisplacementmapusingeitherthehigh-polysculpt,whichcanthenbeappliedaspartofamaterial,ortheSubdivisionSurfaceandDisplacemodifierstoreconstitutethehigh-polydetailsofthemeshonlywhenitisrendered,leavingitsimpleandquicktoworkoninthe3DViewport.

TobakethedisplacementfortheBatCreature,Ifirstselectedthebodyofthecreature(thehigh-polysculpt),duplicatedit,andthenappliedtheMultires

modifieratlevel3.ThisisthemeshI’lluseasthefinalbodymeshforrendering.(I’lladdthehairthatIcreatedinChapter9tothefinalsceneasaseparateobject.)Thiscapturesmostofthedetailalready,butI’lluseadisplacementmaptocapturethehighestresolutiondetail.

NextIneededtoaddaSubdivisionSurfacemodifiertomatchthelevelofsubdivisionbetweenthetoplevelofthemultiresmeshandthenew,soon-to-bedisplacedmesh.Iaddedthemodifierandsetthenumberofsubdivisionsto2.

Then,inEditmode,Iselectedthewholemesh,andintheUVImageeditor,Iaddedanewimageforthedisplacementmaptobebakedto.Thisimageneededtobea32-bitfloatimageinordertocaptureallofthedetailsofthedisplacementwithoutcreatingartifacts.Isetitssizeto4096×4096pixels,morethanenoughtocaptureallthedetailsofthesculpt.Iselectedtheoriginalmultiresmeshandmynewfinalmesh.AsshowninFigure10-4,ImadesurethatSelectedtoActivewasenabledandNormalizewasunchecked,andIsettheMarginsettingto4togivea4-pixelborderaroundtheUVislands,reducingthechanceofartifactsaroundUVseams.(Theothersettingswereleftattheirdefaults.)

AtthispointIwasreadytobakemytexture,soIclickedBakeintheBakepanelandsetBlendertoworkbakingmytexture.Thisbakedthedisplacementbetweenmyhigh-polysculptandmysubdividedfinalmeshintoadisplacementmapholdingallofthedetailofthehigh-polysculpt.Oncefinished,Isavedthisasa32-bitOpenEXRimagetopreservealltheinformationpresentinthedisplacementmapbypressingF3whileintheUVImageeditorandsettingtheformat(inthebottomleftofthefilebrowsereditor)toEXR(seeFigure10-5).YoucanchooseFloat(Full)touse32-bitvalues.SettingtheCodectoZIPwillkeepthefilesizeabitsmaller.

BitDepthandTexturesI’vetouchedonbitdepthbriefly,butnowI’llexplainitabitfurther.Bitdepthreferstothenumberofbits(thatis,thelengthofanumberinbinary)thatisusedtostorethered,green,blue,andalpha(RGBA)valuesforeachpixelinanimage.Themorebitsusedtostoreeachnumber,themoredistinctlevelsthereare,andthegreatertherangeandsubtletyofcolorsandbrightnessesthatcanbestoredinanimage.

Mostimageformats(suchas.jpgand.png)use8-bitcolor,whichisfinefor

simplydisplayingpicturesonscreenorevenforstoringsimplediffusetextures.Butifyouplanonperformingmorecomplexmanipulationsonyourimages,suchasusingthemfordisplacementmapsoralteringtheircolorsandexposure,you’llstarttoseeartifactsappear.

Forsuchdemandingusecases,youcanusehigherbitdepths(either16or32bit)forimages,whichgiveyouagreaterrangeofvaluestoworkwith.Usinghigherbitdepthswillpreventuglyartifactsfromappearinginyourrendersanddisplacedmeshes.TheOpenEXR(.exr)formatisagoodchoiceforsavinghigh-bit-depthimages.Forlow-bit-depthimages,IgenerallyusetheTarga(.tga)format.

Figure10-4.SettingsforbakingthedisplacementmapfortheBatCreature

Figure10-5.Savingthedisplacementmapasa32-bitOpenEXRimage

Duringthebakingoftexturemaps,mosttypesoftexturescanbesavedin8-bitformats.Thatsaid,displacementmapsshouldalmostalwaysbesavedas32-bitimagestoavoidsteppingartifactswhenapplyingthemtoyourmodels.SteppingartifactscanbeseeninFigure10-6;theinputforaDisplacementmodifierhasbeenbakedinBlenderandsavedasbothan8-bit.tgafile(appliedusingadisplacementmodifier,center)anda32-bitOpenEXRimage(right).Thecenterimageshowstheartifactsthatcanresultfromusingadisplacementtexturewithinsufficientbitdepth.

Figure10-6.Displacementmapsusuallyneedtobesavedinahigh-bit-depthimageformatbecauselowerbitdepthsdon’tstoreenoughinformationandcanresultinsteppingartifacts.(Heretheeffecthasbeenexaggeratedsignificantly.)Left:Acloudtexture,theoriginalsourceofourdisplacementmap.Center:Usingan8-bitdisplacementmap,showingstepping.Right:Usinga32-bitdisplacementmap,

nostepping.

ApplyingtheDisplacementMapTomakesurethatthedisplacementmapworkedcorrectly(andtoapplyittoourmodelforuseinourfinalrenders),wecanapplyittoourduplicatedmodelusingtheDisplacementmodifier.HavingaddedaSubdivisionSurfacemodifiertotheduplicatedbodyobject,wehavethegeometryweneed,sowecansimplyaddaDisplacementmodifiertotheobjectaswell.

Toassignthedisplacementmap,weusetheimagewebakedasinputforatexture;thistexturecanthenbeassignedastheinputforthedisplacementmodifier.(Here,I’musingthemorerigorousdefinitionsthatIdiscussedatthebeginningofthischapter.)

Theeasiestwaytocreateandmodifyatextureblockistoaddamaterialtothemodel,ifyouhaven’talready(wecreatedaMatCapmaterialinChapter6thatwenolongerrequire;wecaneitherusethisorcreateanewone),andthenaddanewtexturetothismaterialusingtheTexturestabofthePropertieseditorbyclickingthe+Newbuttonwithanemptytextureslotselected.GivethetextureausefulnamelikeBody_Displacement,thensetthetypeofthistexturetoImageorMovie.IntheImagepanelthatappears,openyourdisplacementmap.

NowreturntotheModifierstaband,intheDisplacementmodifier,usethetexturedropdownmenutoselectthetextureyoujustcreated.LeaveDirectionsettoNormalandsetTextureCoordinatestoUV.Astrengthof1.0shouldgivethecorrectamountofdisplacement.AdjustingtheViewSubdivisionLevels

settingontheSubdivisionSurfacemodifierwillletyouseemoreorlessofthedetailgeneratedbythedisplacementmap.

BakingNormalMapsWhilewewon’tuseoneforourfinalrenders,normalmapsareausefulandquick-to-renderalternativetodisplacementmaps.Theyarefrequentlyusedingameenginesbecausetheyarefastenoughtouseinreal-timeapplications.TheycanalsobeusedwiththeBlenderInternalrenderertogivetheimpressionofextradetailwithoutrequiringsuchdensegeometry.

Theprocessofbakinganormalmapisverysimilartobakingadisplacementmap.First,youassignanewblankimagetoyourduplicatedmesh(itdoesn’tneedtobe32bit).Then,selectthesculptfirstandthentheduplicate.Wedon’tneedtoapplyaSubdivisionSurfacemodifiertotheduplicatethistimebecausethesilhouetteofourcharacterisbroadlyfineandnormalmappingdoesn’trequireextrageometry(itdoesn’tphysicallydisplacethemesh).Next,fromtheRendertabofthePropertieseditor,settheBakemodetoNormalsandNormalSpacetoTangent,enableSelectedtoActive,andclickBake(seeFigure10-7).

Theresultingmapwillbeabluishtexture,withothercolorsdenotingareasofthesculptthatfaceindifferentdirectionsrelativetothenormalsoftheunsubdividedduplicatemesh.Thistexturemaylaterbeappliedaspartoftheobject’smaterialtogivetheeffectofmimickingthesurfaceformsofthesculptedmesh(seeFigure10-8).SeeAddingaNormalMaptolearnhowtoapplynormalmapsaspartofamaterial.

BakingAmbientOcclusionInadditiontothedisplacementmap,wealsowanttobakeourambientocclusionmapfromourhigh-polysculptontothefinalmesh.Thisprocessissimplerthanproducingthedisplacementmap:

1. Selectthesculptandthenthefinalmesh.SettheBakemodetoAmbientOcclusion.

2. SelectNormalizetoensurethattheambientocclusionmapusesthewholerangebetweenblackandwhitetostoretheocclusion.

3. Togetthebest-qualityambientocclusionmap,adjustBlender’sworldlightingsettingsintheWorldtabofthePropertieseditor,whichcontainsallthesettingsforambientocclusionandenvironmentlighting(seeFigure10-9).(SeeChapter13formoreonthesesettings.)EnableAmbientOcclusion(settoMultiply)fromtheAmbientOcclusionpanel.

4. IntheGatherpanel,turntheAttenuationDistancedownto0.2andenableFalloffandsetitto1.0.Thiscausesonlyclose-togethergeometrytocauseshadowingandspeedsuprendering.

5. Setthesamplesto24toreducethenoiseintheresults.

Havingsavedadisplacementmapexternally,youcansimplybakeoverthedisplacementmapimage,rememberingtosaveitassomethingdifferentoncetheambientocclusionmapisbaked.ClickBakeandlettheambientocclusionmaprender(seeFigure10-10).

Figure10-7.Bakinganormalmap.NormalSpaceissettoTangent,andthenormalsarebakedfromthesculptedmeshtoourfinalmodel—thistimewithoutsubdivision.Someartifactsarepresentinthebake,

butthesecanbecorrectedlaterinGIMP(seeChapter11).

Figure10-8.Thenormalmapappliedaspartofthematerial,previewedinthe3DViewportusingGLSLshading.Theartifactsfromthebakecanbeseenonthewingasblackareas,butthiscanbefixedlater

inGIMPsimplybypaintingoverthem.

Figure10-9.Ambientocclusionsettingsforbakingambientocclusionmaps.

Figure10-10.Thebakedambientocclusionmap.Thiscontainssomeartifactsfrombakingthatwe’llremovelaterbyhand.

Tomakesurethattheambientocclusionmapcameoutokay,turnonTexturedSolidintheDisplaypanelofthePropertiesregioninthe3DViewport.Thisdisplaysthetextureassignedtothemeshonthemodel,allowingyoutoseetheeffectoftheambientocclusionmap.Whenyou’rehappywiththebake,saveitasa.tgaimage.(Youdon’tneedtouseahigh-bit-depthformatthistime,astheambientocclusionmapwillworkfinewith8-bitcolor.)Theremaybeoneortwoartifacts,butyoucanpainttheseoutlaterinGIMPonceyoubegintexturing.

BakingTexturesfortheSpiderBotFortheSpiderBotproject,Ididn’tneedtobakedisplacementornormalmaps;thepointofretopologyinthiscasewastoeliminatetheroughnessfromthe

sculptsandendupwiththesmoothformstheretopologizedmodelnowhas.Themodelwouldstillbenefitfromanambientocclusionmap,though,whichwillbeusefulduringthetexturingprocess.Tosavetimewhenpaintingcolorsforthetextures,itwillalsohelptoassignsomebasicmaterialswithdifferentcolorstothepartsofthemodelandthenbakethesecolorsintoanimagetoserveasaguidewhenpaintingtextures.

BakingMapsforMultipleObjectsInChapter8,IpackedtheUVcoordinatesformostoftheSpiderBotmodelontoasingleUVgridsothatI’drequirefewertextureimageslateron.NextIneededtobakethemapsforalloftheobjectstogether.Todothis,firstmakesuretheyallhavethesameimageassignedtotheirUVcoordinates.Ifso,youcouldsimplyselectalloftheobjectsfortheSpiderBotthatsharethesameUVcoordinatesandclickBaketobakealloftheselectedobjectsatonce.

Butwhatifyouwanttobeselectiveaboutwhichpartsofthemodelarevisiblewhenbakingdifferentobjects?Orifyouwishtobeabletocorrectpartswithoutrebakingtheentiremodel?Bydefault,BlenderwillclearthetextureeverytimeyouclickBake,preventingyoufrombakingmultipletimeswithdifferentobjectsselected.Topreventthis,turnofftheClearsettingintheBakepanel,andBlenderwillreplaceonlythepartsoftheimageassignedtotheselectedobjects.Thiswillallowyoutobakeobjectsoneatatime,ingroups,orallatonce,addingtothetexturemapaswegoalong.

Thisselectivetechniquecomesinhandyforpieceslikethelegs.Becausesomeofthelegcomponentsoverlapslightly,iftheywerebakedtogether,theoverlappingareaswouldcomeoutblackwhenwebakeourambientocclusionmap.Andifweweretolaterre-posethelegs,theseblackregionsmightshowthrough.

Toavoidbakinginshadowsfromoverlappingobjectsthatmaynotalwaysbethere,useBlender’slayers.Blenderbakesobjectsonlyonthecurrentlyvisiblelayers,sowecanisolatethepartswewanttoincludeeachtimeonasinglelayerandthenbakethem.Todoso,takethefollowingsteps:

1. SelecttheobjectsyouwishtobakeandpressMtobringupamenuthatallowsyoutopickwhichlayerstheobjectshouldbevisibleon.

2. Selectanewemptylayer(checkthelayersiconsinthe3DViewportheadertoseewhichonesareoccupied)andpressENTERtoputtheobjectonthatlayer.

3. Jumptotheselectedlayerinthe3DViewport,eitherwiththeselectorintheheaderorusingthekeyboardshortcuts(1through0onthekeyboardforlayers1to10,ALT-1throughALT-0forlayers11through20).

Figure10-11.BakingtheambientocclusionmapfortheheadandbodysegmentsoftheSpiderBot.Onlyselectedobjectsarebaked,andonlyobjectsonlayersthatarecurrentlyvisibleare

takenintoaccountbythebakingprocess.

4. Nowselectthemeshandbaketheambientocclusionmapforthatobjectalone,asshowninFigure10-11.

Thisselectiveprocessallowsyoutoprogressthrougheachobjectinthemodel,bakingtheambientocclusionasyouseefit,whetherforasinglecomponentorforsmallgroups.Forexample,fortheheadsectionoftheSpiderBot,Ibakedtheantennaandextrapartsoftheheadalongwiththeheadmeshandkeptthewiresatthebackofthehead/bodysegmentonthesamelayerwhilebaking(thoughIbakedtheseseparately).Ibakedthelegsasindividualpieces,isolatingeachtypeoflegpartonitsownlayerbeforebaking.ThefinalbakeafterprogressingoverthewholemodelisshowninFigure10-12.

ForareaslikethejointsontheundersideoftheSpiderBot’sbody,whichsharethesameUVspace,Icouldn’tbakeaproperUVmap.Instead,IjustfilledthatareawithwhiteinGIMPafterIsavedtheimage.(SeethetoprightcorneroftheambientocclusionmapinFigure10-12.)

Figure10-12.ThefinalbakedambientocclusiontexturefortheSpiderBot

BakingDiffuseColorsandTexturesInordertogetaroughfeelforthecolorsIwantedtheSpiderBottohaveandtobaketheseintoamaptoserveasaguideforthetexturepaintingprocess,Ineededtocreatesomebasicmaterialsandassignthemtothedifferentpartsofmymodel.Thesematerialsdidn’tneedtobecomplex;infact,Ineededonlytoadjustthediffusecolorsetting.(I’lldiscussmorecomplexmaterialsinChapter12.)

Tocreateafewbasicmaterials:

1. GototheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditor(withanobjectselected)andclickthe+Newbuttontocreateanewmaterial.

2. ClickthenameMaterialtorenameitsomethingmoreuseful,likeBasic_Fill_01,andthensetthediffusecolortoamid-graycolor.

3. Createmorematerialsbyduplicatingthisfirstone(clickthe+iconnexttothematerial’sname)andsetthesetodifferentcolors.

Whenworkingwiththenewmaterials,Ibeganbychoosingthreecolors:oneprincipalcolorformostofthemodel,asecondarycolor,andahighlightcolorforsmalldetails.IthenstartedassigningthesematerialstothedifferentobjectsthatmadeuptheSpiderBotusingtheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditor,thoughit’seveneasiertoaccomplishusinganadd-oncalledMaterialUtils.

MaterialUtilsAdd-OnTheMaterialUtilsadd-onisaquickwaytomodifymaterialsassignedtoyourmodels.It’sparticularlyusefulforworkingwithscenesthatusealotofmaterialsoroneswithmultipleobjectsthatsharethesamematerials.

Toenabletheadd-on,openBlender’sUserPreferencesEditor(youcanbringthisupbygoingtoFile▸UserPreferences)andunderAdd-Ons,searchforandenableMaterialUtils.Thisaddsanewkeyboardshortcut(Q),whichbringsupamenuthatyoucanuseineitherObjectorEditmodetoassignmaterialstomeshes(seeFigure10-13).InObjectmode,theadd-onallowsyoutoassignmaterialstoanentireobject(ortomultipleobjectsifmorethanoneisselected),whileinEditmode,itwillassignamaterialonlytothepartofthemeshyouhaveselected.

Figure10-13.AssigningmaterialswiththeMaterialUtilsadd-on(Q)greatlyspeedsupaddingmaterialstoyourscene,particularlyforsceneswithalotofobjects.

FortheSpiderBot,IquicklyappliedthesamematerialtoeveryobjectinthemodelbyselectingthemallwithAandthenusingMaterialUtils(Q)toassignoneofmybasicmaterialstoallofthem.Then,Ibeganselectingindividualpieces(andalsodroppingintoEditmodewithTABtoselectpartsofmeshes,asinFigure10-13)andassigningothermaterialsfromthethreeIcreated.Myoverallgoalwastokeeponemaincolor,onesecondarycolor,andahighlightcolorforsmallorinterestingpartsofthemodel.Forcertainobjects,likethewiresandeyes,Icreateduniquematerialsbyfirstmakingtheexistingmaterialdatablockforthatobjectunique(byclickingthenumbernexttothematerialsnameatthetopoftheMaterialstab)andthenadjustingitasnecessary.Afterassigningmaterials,Ibeganchangingthediffusecolorsofmymaterialsinsearchofacombinationthatworked,asshowninFigure10-14.

BakingaTextureMapHavingestablishedmycolorscheme,Iwasabletobakethecolorstoatexturemap.Usingatexturetodefinethecoloroftheobjects,ratherthandifferentmaterials,allowedmetousefewermaterialstorendermymodelandsimplified

theprocessoftweakingmaterialslateron.

Tobakethetexturemap,IreturnedtotheBakepaneloftheRendertabinthePropertieseditor,settheBakemodetoTexture,andthenclickedBake.ThisbakedthecolorsofthevariousmaterialsIassignedintoasingletexture(seeFigure10-15).Becausethereisnointeractionbetweenthemeshestoconsiderthistime(astherewaswhenrenderingambientocclusion),Icanbakethemeshesallatoncebyselectingthemallbeforebaking.

It’sworthpointingoutherethatyoucanbakemorecomplexmaterialcolorsandtexturesaswell.Forexample,youcanbakeimagetexturesintotheUVunwrappedtextureforanobjectorbakeproceduralmaterialsintoimages.Figure10-16showstheresultofaddingaproceduralwoodtexturetooneoftheflatmaterialsfortheSpiderBotbeforebaking,whichgivesitazebra-stripedpattern.

TexturingtheJungleTempleInthecaseoftheJungleTemple,mostofmytexturesweretileabletosomedegree,ortheywererepeatedonmeshesinmultiplelocations.Thismeantthatbakingmapsforthingslikeambientocclusionwouldbelesseffectivebecauseamapbakedforameshinonelocationmaynothavequitetherighteffectwhenrepeatedinanother.Intheend,theonlymeshIbakedmapsforwasthestatue(seeFigure10-17),forwhichIcreatedanambientocclusionmapfortheobjectbyitself.Ididthisbyputtingthestatueonitsownlayerwhilebaking,justasIdidforthepartsoftheSpiderBotmodelabove.

Figure10-14.AfteriteratingthroughdifferentcolorideasfortheSpiderBot,Ieventuallysettledonawhite,gray,andgreenversion.

Figure10-15.Bakingsimplematerialsintoatexturemap

Figure10-16.Bakingazebra-stripedpatternintothetexturefortheSpiderBotusingaproceduralwoodtexture

Figure10-17.BakingtheambientocclusionmapforthestatueintheJungleTemplescene

GeneralTipsforBakingMapsBakinglargertextureswillallowyoutocapturemoredetailbutwillalsotakemoretime.Whendecidingwhatsizetexturestobake,considerhowmuchdetailyourmodelhasandhowmuchwillbepresentinthebakebeforehandinordertooptimizetheresolutionofthetextureyouuse.

Ingeneral,agoodruleofthumbtofollowfordisplacementmapsisthatthesizeofthemapinpixelsneednotbemuchbiggerthanthepolycountofthemesh.Soifyouarebakingabouta1Mpolysculpt,a1024×1024pixelmapwillprobablysuffice.Forothertexturemaps,considerthesizethatanobjectwillappearinthefinalrender.Ifanobjectwillappearonlyafewhundredpixelshighinthefinalrender,itstexturemapshouldbeaboutthesamesize.Ontheotherhand,ifanobjectappearsclose-upatahighresolution,thenbiggertextureswillbeneeded.

Inthecaseofparticularlysimpletextures,liketheflatcolorswebakedfortheSpiderBot,youcanmaketheimagemuchsmallerwhilebakingandscaleitupinanimageeditingprogramlikeGIMPlater(makingsuretoincreasethemarginsettingtopreventseams).

Whencreatingimagestobaketo,setbitdepthsappropriately.Displacement

mapsrequire32-bitimages,whileothertexturetypestypicallyonlyrequire8-bit(or16-bitifyouplantomanipulatethemheavily).Blendercanbakeeither8-or32-bitimages,butrememberthebitdepthyouendupwithisalsodeterminedbythefileformatyousaveto.UseOpenEXRforhigh-bit-depthimagesand.tgaor.pngfilesfor8-bitimages.Additionally,rememberthatGIMPcanonlyedit8-bitimages(fornow,thatis—futureversionsarelikelytoincorporatesupportforhigh-bit-depthimages),soifyouplanonpaintingtexturesinGIMP,theextradepthisoflittlehelp.

Whenbakingambientocclusionorlighting,considerisolatingthepiecesyouarebakingononelayertogetmorecontrolovertheresults.Andfinally,itcanbehelpfultochangetheworldsettings(orsettingsforlampsifyou’rebakinglighting)toachievehigher-qualitybakedtextures.(SeeChapter13formoreonworldandlightingsettings.)

InReviewInthischapter,we’vediscussedbakingtexturesintoimagesusingBlender’sbakingtoolsandthekindsofmapsBlenderwillallowyoutobake.Iusedthesetechniquestobakemapsformyvariousprojects:FortheBatCreature,Ibakeddisplacementandambientocclusionmaps,andfortheSpiderBot,Ibakedambientocclusionandsomeblockcolorstoaidwithtexturinglater.WhileIdidn’tneedtodoalotoftexturebakingfortheJungleTemplescene,Ididcreateanambientocclusionmapforthestatue.

Inthenextchapter,we’llcombinethetextureswe’vebakedwithotherwaysofcreatingtextures,frompaintingandcloningtexturesdirectlyinBlendertopaintinginGIMPandcombiningphototexturestosynthesizenewones.

Chapter11.TexturePainting

Inthepreviouschapter,weusedBlendertogeneratetexturesautomatically;inthischapter,we’llshiftourfocustocreatingtexturesbyhand.Usingamixofhandpainting,workingwithphototextures,andutilizingthetextureswecreatedinChapter10,we’llbringcolorandtexturetotheobjectsinourscenes.We’llalsocovercreatingsuchimagesasspecular,hardness,andalphamaps,whichwe’lluseinChapter12toinfluenceotheraspectsofthematerialswemake,suchastheirshininess,smoothness,andtransparency.We’lllookatcreatingbothtileabletexturesthatcanbeusedonmultipleobjectsanduniquetexturesthatareUVmappedtospecificobjectsusingamixofbothBlenderandGIMP.

Let’sbeginwithalookatthetoolsavailable.

TexturinginBlenderInBlender,wecanpaintin2D,usingtheUVImageeditor,andwecanpaintdirectlyonobjectsin3D,usingTexturePaintmodeinthe3DViewport.Thisgivesusagreatdegreeofflexibilityinhowwepaintourmodels.ThebrushesworkacrossboththeUVImageeditorandTexturePaintmode,makingtexturingwithBlenderstraightforwardandconsistent.

OnceyouselectameshthathasbeenunwrappedandassignedanimageintheUVImageeditor,youcanswitchtoTexturePaintmodeinthe3DViewport.(Usethemodedropdownmenuintheheader,asshowninFigure11-1.)Bydefault,you’llseethetextureonyourmeshandbeabletopaintonitusingBlender’stexturebrushes.

Blenderoffersseveralbrushtypesthatyoucanusetopainttexturesonyourmodel:

Draw,Brush,andTexdraw.Theseallofferthesamebasicfunctionality,allowingyoutopaintdirectlyonyourmeshwiththecolorspecifiedbythecolorpicker.

Clone.ThisbrushallowsyoutoclonetextureinformationfromonepartofyourmodeltoanotherorfromoneUVcoordinatesettoanother.WiththeCloneoptionturnedoffintheProjectPaintsettings(seeProjectPaint),thebrushwilltakethetextureinformationlyingunderthe3DViewportcursorandcopyittowhereyoupaint,allowingyoutoclonefromonepartofthemodeltoanotherwithinthesametexture.WiththeCloneoptionturnedonintheProjectPaintsettings,thebrushwillinsteadclonetextureinformationfromthesamepartofthemeshbutfromthetextureassignedtoadifferentUVcoordinateset(theonechosenintheProjectPaintsettings).

Figure11-1.TexturePaintmodeinBlender.Here,I’veusedthemodifiedUVUnwrappingLayoutcreatedinChapter8.Thislayoutallowsmetopainttexturesinthe3DViewport(right),toseeandedittheresultingimageintheUVImageeditor(left),andtoeditmaterialsandsettingsintheProperties

editor.

Smear.Thiswillsmearyourtextureinthedirectionofthebrushstroke.Itcanbeusedtoblendcolorsandtosmudgeoutmistakes.

Soften.Thisblursthetextureunderyourstroke,reducingnoiseandfinedetails.

ThesebrushtypescanbeduplicatedandmodifiedjustlikeBlender’ssculptbrushes,allowingyoutocreateavarietyofbrushestailoredtoyourneeds.Also,asinSculptmode,youcanapplytexturestoyourbrushusingtheTexturepanel

oftheToolOptionsregion.Thetextureyouapplywillthenmultiplywithyourbrushstrokeswhileyoupaint.

ProjectPaintBlenderhastwowaystopainttexturesinTexturePaintmode.Theolder,legacymethod,whileuseful,hassignificantlimitations.ThenewerProjectPaintmethodoffersamoreadvancedsetoftools,includingonesthatallowyoutomaskandclonetexturesusingotherUVcoordinatesandimagesandtopaintonlyonsurfacesvisiblefromyourviewpoint.Whenenabled,ProjectPaintgivesyoutheoptionsshowninFigure11-2.IdiscusstheseoptionsbelowintheorderinwhichtheyappearontheProjectPaintpanel.

Figure11-2.TheProjectPaintpanelhasavarietyofoptionsforcontrollinghowBlender’stexturebrusheswork.

Occlude.Thispreventspainting“through”themeshontosurfacesbehindvisibleones.

Cull.Thispreventspaintingonfacesthatfaceawayfromyou.

Normal.Thisblendsoutthestrengthofyourstrokesdependingonwhethertheyarefacingyou(aswithCull,butwithasmoothfade-out).YoucancontrolthelimitsofthisfadeoutusingtheAnglesettingtotherightofthecheckbox.

NOTETheaboveoptionsareonbydefault,butitcanbeusefultoturnthemofftoquicklypaintlargepartsofyourmodelwithasinglestroke.

Stencil.Thisallowsyoutouseanimagemappedtotheobject’sUVcoordinates(whichcanbeadifferentsetfromtheoneyouarepaintingon)tomasktheeffectofyourbrushstrokes.Thissettingcanbeusedtorestricttheareayouareworkingonortosimplifyaddingtexturetoyourmodel,asyou’llseelaterinthischapter.Totherightofthestencilcheckbox,youcanselectwhichUVcoordinateset(andthuswhichimage)touseformaskingandwhethertoinvertthemask.

Clone.ThisallowsyoutoclonetextureinformationfromoneUVmaptoanother.(YourbrushstrokeswillclonetotheimageassignedtotheactiveUVsetfromtheoneselectedinthedropdownmenunexttothecheckboxforthisoption.)Thissettingletsyou,forexample,projectyourmodelontoaphotowithoneUVcoordinatesetandthenclonethattoanother,moreneatlylaidoutUVmapforfurthertexturing.(We’llusethisoptionlaterfortheJungleTemple.)

Bleed.ThisdeterminestheamountBlenderbleedstexturesoutwardfromtheedgesoftheUVislandswhenyoupaintoveraseam.Thispreventsseamsfromappearinginyourtexture,similartotheMarginsettingfortexturebaking.

QuickEdit.Thisisveryusefulwhentexturing,particularlyforcleaningupseamsandtexturingtrickyareaswhereyoumightwanttheextratoolsavailabletoyouina2DpaintingprogramlikeGIMP.QuickEdittakesasnapshotofyourmodelfromthecurrentviewpointandopensitintheimageeditorofyourchoosing.(Tochooseyourimageeditor,opentheFiletabofBlender’suserpreferencesunderImageEditor;then,simplysetthepathtoGIMPorwhateverimageeditoryouwishtouse.)Youcanthenpaintyourtextureintheimage-editingprogramandsaveit.ClickingApplyinBlenderwillprojectthattexturefromtheviewpointitwasoriginallytakenfrom.(Youdon’tneedtoworryabout

movingthecamera;Blenderwillrememberthatsetting.)Laterinthischapter,we’llcoverusingthisfeaturetofixseams.

ApplyCameraImage.LikeQuickEdit,thisprojectsanimagefromthecamera’scurrentviewpoint.ItwillbringupadropdownmenuofanyimagesyouhavealreadyopenedinBlenderforyoutochoosefrom,andit’llthenprojectyourchosentextureontoyourmodel.

SaveAllEdited.ThissavesanytexturesthatyouhaveeditedwhileworkinginTexturePaintmode,thoughtheymusthavealreadybeensavedoncemanuallyorBlenderwillnotknowwheretosavethem.Generally,it’sbettertoremembertosavemanuallyanywaysothatyoucankeeptrackofwhichtexturesyouhaveworkedonalready.

PaintingintheUVImageEditorYoucanalsopainttexturesinBlender’sUVImageeditor.Todoso,clickthepaintbrushiconintheheaderoftheUVImageeditorregion.YoucanthenpaintonthecurrentimageintheUVImageeditorusingthesamebrushesasinthe3DViewport.Byusingthe3DViewportandUVImageeditorsidebyside(asinFigure11-1),yougainalotofcontrolwhenpaintingtextures.

NOTELaterwe’llrendersomeoftheprojectsinthisbookusingBlender’sCyclesrenderer,butwhiletexturepainting,it’seasiertoleavetherenderersettoBlenderInternal.ThisisbecauseCyclescancauseBlendertobehavealittlestrangelywhentexturingobjectswithmultipleUVcoordinatesets.

TexturinginGIMPWhilewecanpaintin2DinBlender,GIMPoffersamuchwiderarrayofpaintingtools,suchasselections,masks,layers,andfilters.ThisvarietyoftoolsmakesGIMP(oranotherimageeditor,suchasPhotoshop)indispensableforworkingontextures.Inparticular,theabilitytoworkwithlayersmakesitmucheasiertocreatetexturesasnondestructivelyaspossible,buildinguponelayerandthenaddingdetailsinanewlayeroverthetop.

Theabilitytoworkinlayersalsoallowsyoutocombinebakedtextureswithyourhand-paintedtextureseasily.Forexample,youcanaddanambientocclusiontextureoveranotherlayerofyourtexturemaptoaddshadowing.GIMPalsohasamoreadvancedbrushsystem,makingiteasiertopaintdetailedtextures.(IcoveredthebasicsofpaintinginGIMPinChapter2,sowe’llcoveronlythemoretexturing-specificaspectsofGIMPinthischapter.)

CreatingBrushesforTexturinginGIMPGIMP’sbrushesareeasytoeditandarecapableofcreatingawidevarietyoflooks.Whentexturing,itcanoftenbeusefultocreatecustombrushesthataidinquicklybuildinguptexture.Inparticular,whenusedasclonebrushesoraspaintbrushes,brusheswithaspeckledorgrungylookareoftenusefulinblendingbetweendifferentcolorsandtextures.

Forexample,let’screateagrungy-lookingbrushthatwillcomeinhandywhentexturingtheJungleTemple.ItseffectcanbeseenontherightofFigure11-5.Tocreateit,westartwithaphototexturefromCGTextures(http://cgtextures.com/)andthenrefineitintoabrushthatcanbeexportedasadefaultGIMPbrush,whichcanbeusedagainandagainfortexturingorpaintinginGIMP.

GIMPbrushesareimagefilesthatareusedtocontroltheshapeofabrush.RGB(color)imagesareusedasis(morelikeastampthanabrush)andwillnotinheritthebrushcolor.Black-and-whiteimagesinterpretblackastheshapeofthebrushandwhiteastransparent,andtheytaketheircolorfromthecoloryouhaveselectedinGIMP’scolorpicker.TocreateaGIMPbrush,allwehavetodoiscreateablack-and-whiteimageandsaveitinoneofGIMP’sbrushformats(.gbror.gih—I’lldiscussthedifferencebetweentheseinasecond).

1. StartwithaphotoofsomepaintsplatterfromCGTextures(seeFigure11-3)andchooseColors▸Desaturatetoconverttheimagetoblackandwhite,selectingtheLuminosityoptionfordesaturatingtheimageinordertogivemorevariationinbrightness.

Figure11-3.Theimagewe’llbeusingasourbrushtexture

2. Next,identifyasquareareathatmightmakeagoodbrushandselectthatareawiththeRectangularSelecttool(R;pressandholdSHIFTwhiledraggingtomakeasquareselection).Copythisarea(CTRL-C)andpasteitasanewimage(CTRL-SHIFT-V),whichyou’llsoonsaveasanewbrush.

3. Whileyou’vealreadydesaturatedtheimage,it’sstillencodedusingRGBcolors,soswitchtousingblackandwhitevalueswithImage▸Mode▸Grayscale.

4. Next,makeafewtweakstothenewimage,paintingoutsomeofthesplatterthatclipstheedgeofthecanvas.Thetextureisnowreadytosave,asshowninFigure11-4.

Figure11-4.Aportionofthephoto,copiedandpastedintoanewimageandtweakedalittlearoundtheedges

AddingVariationtoaBrushYoucouldstophereandexportthebrushasa.gbrbrushfile,butwhenusedasabrush,itwouldsimplyrepeatthisoneimageoverandover.Togivethebrushmorevariation,repeatthestepsabove,addingmorelayerstothebrushimage,andthensaveitasananimated.gihGIMPbrush.Thisbrushwilluseadifferentlayerofthebrushimageeachtimeitpaintspartofthestroke,makingthestrokelookmorevaried.Todothis,takethefollowingsteps:

1. Selectmoreregionsoftheoriginalimageandcopyandpastethemasnewlayersintothebrushimage(CTRL-V,thenclickNewLayerinGIMP’slayersdialog).Afterdoingthisafewtimes,you’llhavefivedifferentlayerswithdifferentsplattersonthem.

2. Exportthisasa.gihbrushfiletoGIMP’sbrushesfolder[1](selectFile▸Export,setthefiletypeto.gih,andthenclickSave).

3. GIMPshouldgiveyouadialogthatletsyoudefinehowyourbrushissetup.Youcanstickwiththedefaultsifyouhaveplacedeach“frame”ofyourbrushonadifferentlayer;justbesuretochangethebrush’sdescriptionto

somethinghelpfulandcheckthattheCellssettingisthesameasthenumberoflayersinyourimage.Ifyouwish,youcanadjustthedefaultoffsetofthebrushorthedistancebetweeneachbrushmarkplacedonthecanvaswhenyoumakeastroke.Forheavy,painterlybrushes,chooseasmallvalue,butforthisgrungy-lookingbrush,awiderspacingismoreappropriate—sayaround40.

4. Withthesesettingsinplace,clickExport.NowifyouclickRefreshBrushesatthebottomrightoftheBrushesdialog,youshouldbeabletoselectthenewbrushandstarttestingitout.ItseffectsatthemomentareshownontheleftinFigure11-5.

5. You’vecreatedananimatedbrushwithafewdifferentshapes,butnoticethattheyrepeatquitefrequently(leftimageofFigure11-5).Tofixthis,youcantweakGIMP’sbrushdynamicstovarythebrushsomemorealongthelengthofthestroke.

NOTEThisassumesthatyouhaveapressure-sensitivepentablet(highlyrecommended)forpainting.Ifyoudon’thaveone,youcanstillusethebrushdynamicssettings,suchasVelocity,Fade,andRandom,toaddeffectstoyourbrushstrokes.Butobviouslypenpressuredoesnotapplytomouseclicks.

6. TotweakGIMP’sbrushdynamics,opentheBrushDynamicsdialog(Windows▸DockableDialogs▸PaintDynamicsandclickNewDynamics,thesecondicononthebottomleftofthedialog).ThisopensthePaintDynamicseditor(seeFigure11-6),whereyoucanusethemappingmatrix(thelargegridofcheckboxes)tosetthebrush’sbehavior.Thetoprowofthemappingmatrixlistsallsortsofinputsthatcanbeusedtodrivethebrush’sbehavior,andtheleftsideofthematrixliststhebrushsettingstheseinputscanbeusedtoaffect.SetPressuretoaffectthebrush’sopacityandRandomtoaffectthesizeandrotationofeachbrushmark.Withthesedynamicsinplace,younowgetanicerandom,grungy-lookingbrushstrokethatyoucanuseforallsortsoftextures(seeFigure11-5,rightline).

Figure11-5.Left:OurnewbrushwithGIMP’sdefaultbrushdynamics.Right:ThesamebrushwithGIMP’sbrushdynamicssettorandomizethesizeandrotationofthebrush.

Figure11-6.ThePaintDynamicseditor,shownherewithsettingsforthedynamicsofmygrungybrush.Checkingaboxinthemappingmatrixmakesthevariableinthecorrespondingcolumnaffectthebrush

propertyinthecorrespondingrow.

TexturingtheBatCreatureIwantedtexturestomaketheBatCreaturelooklikeacreatureofthenight:patchy,purplishskinanddiscolorednails,withsomeextrawrinkles,freckles,andveinstoaddsomedetailsontopofthoseIsculpted.Tocreatethem,Ibuiltupmytexturesinstages,firstblockinginbasiccolorsandthensmoothingandrefiningthembeforeaddingthedetails.

IstartedbypaintingsomeflatcolorsinBlender’sTexturePaintmode.IthensavedmyworkandopeneditinGIMPforfinertexturing—forexample,IcombinedmypaintedtexturemapwiththeambientocclusionmapIbakedinChapter10.IthenusedGIMPtomanipulateandsupplementthediffusetexturetocreatespecularandhardnesstextures.

Tobeginblockinginmycolors,IdroppedintoEditmodeandassignedanew

blankimagetothemeshfortheBatCreature(themeshusedforbakingtexturesinChapter10,notthehigh-ressculptedmesh).TheNewTexturedialogletsuschooseacolortofillthenewimage,soIsetittoamutedpinkishpurple—asortofunhealthyskincolorthatmightbefitadenizenofthenight.

Next,IestablishedanoverallpaletteofcolorsformytextureintheUVImageeditor,selectinganunusedspacenotmappedtoanypartofthemesh(seeFigure11-7).Ichoseadarkerpurpleforuseinshadowedareas,liketheareaundertheeyes;alighteryellowishcolorforbonyareas;adark,saturatedredforveinsandareaswithalotofbloodflow;andadarkerandlighterversionoftheoriginalbasecolortoactasshadowsandhighlights.(We’renotpaintinglightingintoourtexture;I’mtalkingonlyaboutlighteranddarkerskincolorationindifferentareas.)Ialsochosealightcontrastingcolortoactasahighlightinsomeareas.IpaintedalittleofeachontomyimagesothatIcouldcolorpickfromthemforuselater,eitherintheUVImageeditororwhenpaintinginthe3DViewport.

Figure11-7.ChoosingsomeinitialcolorstopainttheBatCreature’sskinmakesiteasytoreturntothesamecolorsagainandtomaintainaconsistentcolorpalette.

MaterialsandUISetupforPaintingWheninTexturePaintmode,Blenderwillbydefaultshowthetextureyouarepaintingonappliedtoyourmeshinthe3Dview,withBlender’sdefaultsolidshading.Aswithsculpting,however,wecanuseBlender’sGLSLShadingmodetodisplaythetextureindifferentwaysbyaddingsimplelightstothescene(seeChapter13formoreonlighting)andasimplematerialtothemesh(seeChapter12formoreonmaterials).

FortheBatCreature,Iaddedasimplematerialtothebatobject,whichInamedBody_TexturePaint.IntheTexturestabofthePropertieseditor,Iaddedanewtexturetothismaterial,setitstypetoImage,selectedmypaintedimagethatIhadalreadyassignedtotheobject’sUVs,andsetthemappingtypeforthetexturetoUV.

AddingaLightTomaketheobjectvisibleinGLSLShadingmode,weneedtoaddalight,soinObjectmode,IcreatedanewHemilamptolightmyobject.SwitchingintoTexturedViewportmode(makesurethatshadingissettoGLSLintheDisplaypanelofthePropertiesregion),IcouldseethatthislittheBatCreaturefromaboveonly,soIduplicatedthelampandrotatedit180degreestolighttheobjectfrombelow.Next,Idecreasedtheintensityofthenewduplicatetoaround0.3intheLamp’sObjectDatatabinordertoleavealittledifferencebetweenthelightingfromaboveandbelowthecharacter.Ialsoturnedoffthespecularcomponentforthelamps(seeFigure11-8)sothatmymeshwouldn’tlookshiny.

Figure11-8.AddingsimplelightingandmaterialstomaketexturepaintinginGLSLmodeeasier.Here,

I’veaddedacoupleHemilampsandturnedonGLSLshading.

NOTEIfyoufindpaintinginBlenderbecomingunresponsive,createalower-resmeshtopaintonbyduplicatingthesculptedmeshandapplyingtheMultiresmodifieratalowerlevel.Becausethislower-resmeshsharesthesameUVcoordinates,youcanpaintonitandapplythetexturestothehigher-resolutionmodellater.

LayingOutBasicTexturesinBlenderIcouldnowstartlayingoutsomebasictexturesonmymodel.UsingtheStandardbrushinTexturePaintmode,IsampledfrommypaletteofcolorsintheUVImageeditorandthenpaintedonmymodelinthe3DViewport.

Ibeganbyusinganatomicalfeaturesasaguideforcolors,makingbonyareaslighterandyellower;recessedareas,liketheeyes,darkandpurple;andthebackdarker.Imadeareaswithalotofbloodfloworthinskin,likethewingsandears,redderandslightlyhighlightedsomeofthemusclesonthetorsoandlegswithlightercolors.IworkedwithOccludeturnedoninProjectPaint,butNormalandCullturnedoff,asthesesettingsallowyoutopaintsmoothlyonthemeshevenatside-onangles.Atthisstage,theaimisonlytoestablisharoughideaofthecolorsyouwant.

SwitchingtoGIMPWithmybasiccolorslaidout,Ineededmoreadvancedpaintingtoolstostartblendingcolorsandaddingdetails.Thus,itwastimetomovetoGIMP.IsavedmytextureinBlenderasa.tgaimage(pressF3intheUVImageeditortosavetheactiveimage).IthenloadedthesavedimageinGIMPandbegancleaningupandsmoothingoutthecolorsIhadpaintedinBlender,fixingartifactsandfillinginawkwardareas.ThisprocessisbestdonewiththePaintbrushtool,usingarelativelylarge,soft-edgedbrushtosimplycolorpick(useCTRL-clicktodothiswithoutswitchingawayfromthePaintbrushtool)fromexistingcolorsandblendareastogether(seeFigure11-9).(AnotherwaytoblendcolorsistousetheSmudgetoolandagrungy-lookingbrush,liketheonewecreatedearlierinthischapter,toblendbackandforthbetweentwoareas,mixingtheircolors.)

Toadddetailtomytexture,IincorporatedtheambientocclusionmapIbakedinChapter10.UsingFile▸OpenasLayers,Iopenedmybakedambientocclusionmapasanewlayerontopofmypaintedtexture.

Icleanedupthislayerabit,asIhaddonefortheroughdiffusecolor.Forcleaningpurposes,IusedGIMP’sbrushesandcolorpicking,blendingareasthatdidn’tlookrightwiththePainttoolorusingtheClonetooltofillinareaswhilepreservingtexture.

LayerModesandOpacityInitially,ourambientocclusionmapisimportedasanormallayerontopofthetexture,completelyreplacingit.Torectifythis,wecanuseGIMP’slayer-blendingmodestofindamoreappropriatewaytoblendthetwo.

GIMP’sLayersdialogshowseachlayerinyourimage(seeFigure11-10,withtheAmbientOcclusionlayerselectedanditsblendmodesettoMultiply).Atthetopofthedialog,adropdownmenuletsyouchoosetheSelectedLayersblendingmode.Differentblendingmodeshavedifferenteffects:Normallaysoneovertheother,Multiplymultipliesthevaluesofeachpixelinthetwolayerstogether,andAddaddsthemtogether.TheOverlaymodecausesthelayertobrightenordarkenthelayersbelowit,dependingonitsvalue—darkvaluesmakeareasdarker,lightvaluesmakethemlighter,andmid-grayhasnoeffect.Experimentwithavarietyoflayermodeswhencombiningimagestofindtheonethatworksbest.Tocombinetheambientocclusionmapwithmypaintedcolors,IsetthemodetoMultiply.

Figure11-9.CleaningupourtextureinGIMP:partoftheroughlypaintedtexturecreatedinBlender(left);afterblendingtogetherandpaintingareasinGIMP(right)

Figure11-10.GIMP’sLayersdialog.Atthetop,ModeandOpacitysetthelayer-blendingmodeandopacity.Beneaththeseselectionsareoptionstolockthecolorandalphaoflayers.Eachlayerhas

optionstotoggleitsvisibilityandlinklayers(sothattheystayalignedwhenmoved,scaled,orrotated).

Youcancontrolhowmuchonelayerblendswithanotherwiththelayer’sOpacitysetting(seeFigure11-10).BecausemyAmbientOcclusionlayerdarkenedtheunderlyingtexturequitealot,Ireduceditsopacitytoabout40percent.TheresultoftheambientocclusionlayeratthisopacityisshownatthetopleftofFigure11-11.

AdjustingColorsGIMPhasavarietyoftoolsformanipulatingthecolorsofanimage,bothfromitswidearrayoffiltersandfromtheColorsmenu.Forexample,youcanadjusttheexposureofanimage—itshueandsaturation—andthebrightnessofeachchannelusingcurvesorsliders,amongawealthofotheroptions.

Atthemoment,ourtexturefortheBatCreaturelooksrathergraybecausetheblack-and-whiteambientocclusiontextureismultipliedontop.Tofixthis,wecanadjustthecurvesontheAmbientOcclusionlayertointroducesomemorered,makingtheshadowsmoresaturatedandredder.Todoso,takethefollowingsteps:

1. ChooseColors▸CurveswiththeAmbientOcclusionlayerselected,whichbringsuptheCurvesdialog.

Figure11-11.Incorporatingtheambientocclusionmapintoourtexture.Topleft:Theambientocclusiontexturemultipliedovertheroughdiffusetextureat40percentopacity,beforeanyalteration.Bottom:AdjustingthecolorsoftheambientocclusionmapwiththeCurvestool,tomakeitredder.Topright:Thereddenedambientocclusionmapmultipliedoverthediffuse

textureat40percentopacity.

2. Thisletsyoumodifythevaluesofeachchannel(red,green,blue,andalpha)inanimageusingacurvefunction.

3. Toaddredtothedarkerportionsoftheimage,selecttheredchannelfromtheChanneldropdownmenu,grabthebottomleftpointofthecurve,anddragitupward(seeFigure11-11,bottom).

4. ClickOKtoapplythecurves,andtheambientocclusionmapnowgivesnicesaturatedcrevicesandshadowedareastotheskin(seeFigure11-11,topright).

SavingandExportingBacktoBlenderThetextureisn’tfinishedyet,butit’simportanttosaveoften,anddoingsocanbeausefulwaytoseehowourcurrentwork-in-progresstexturelooksinBlenderonthemodel.GIMPdistinguishesbetweensaving(CTRL-S)initsnative.xcfformat,whichpreserveslayersandotherinformation,andexportingimagestootherformats,suchas.jpgor.tga(CTRL-E).WeneedtodobothsothatwehavetheGIMPfilewithallitslayersavailableforfurthereditingaswellasanimagethatwecanuseinBlender.

First,Isavedmyimageasa.xcffile,andthenIexporteditasa.tgaimage.ToopenthisimageinBlender,IselectedmyBatCreatureobject,switchedtoEditmode,andintheUVImageeditor,usedImage▸ReplaceImagetoswaptheold,roughlypaintedtextureforthenewone.(Remembertodothisforthematerial,too—thoughifyouusedthesameimageforthetextureasyouappliedtothemesh,itshouldupdateautomatically.)Youshouldthenseeyourupdatedtextureonyourmesh.YoucouldnowstartpaintinginBlenderagain,butIoptedtostayinGIMPforthemoment.

AddingDetailsBackinGIMP,withourambientocclusionnowworkingwellalongsideourpaintedtexture,wecanstartaddingmoredetails.Iusedamixofhandpaintingandphotographictextures.

Tostart,it’shandytobuildupsometextureusingphotos,followedbyadjustingandsupplementingtheexistingtexturewithsomehandpainting.Tothatend,Igrabbedsomeelephant-skinphotosfromCGTextures,withsomewrinklesandskintexturethatcomplementedmytexturenicely.IopenedthemaslayersinmytextureimagefileandscaledthemsothatthescaleofthewrinklesinthetextureroughlymatchedthoseoftheBatCreature.

IusedtheMovetooltospreadoutthetexturesonmyimage,knowingthattheirpreciseplacementwouldn’tbeimportantforthetimebeing.Ithencreatedanewlayer(SHIFT-CTRL-NorLayer▸NewLayer)andsetitsblendingmodetoOverlay.Next,bydraggingthelayer’siconintheLayersdialogupordown,IplaceditbetweenmyoriginalcolortextureandmyAmbientOcclusionlayerinthelayersstack.

UsingtheClonetool(C),Ifirstsettheclonesource(CTRL-click)tooneoftheskintextures,makingsureitwasselectedintheLayersdialogfirst.Then,Iswitchedtomynewlayerandbegancloningtheskintextureinvariousareas(seeFigure11-12).Ifrequentlyswitchedbetweenthedifferentskintexturestofindareasthatwouldsuitthedifferentpartsofmycreature’sskin.IalsousedtheFlip(SHIFT-F)andRotate(SHIFT-R)toolstoflipandrotatetheskinimagestoseewhethertheyworkedbetterindifferentorientationsbeforecloning.Togetatareashiddenbytheskinimages,ItoggledtheirvisibilityusingtheeyeiconintheLayersdialogorsimplymovedthemtoonesidewiththeMovetool.

Withafirstlayerofdetailbuiltupfromphotoimages,Ihidthephototexturesandstartedworkingonsomehand-painteddetails(seeFigure11-13).First,IaddedsomeveinstothewingsonanewlayerusingthePaintbrushtoolandasoft-edgedbrush.Next(onanothernewlayer),Iaddedsomespotstotheskininareasliketheshoulders,temples,andbackinbothdarkerandlightercolors.TheGrungebrushIusedearlierworkswellforthiswiththespacing(foundintheBrushesdialog)turneduphigher,asdoesasimple,small,hard-edgedbrushforpaintingspecificspots.Keepingdifferentkindsofdetailsondifferentlayersmakesiteasytomixandcombinethemindifferentwaysandcomesinhandywhencreatingspecularandotherkindsofmaps.

NailsandTeethThenailsandteethoftheBatCreatureareincludedinthesameUVmapasthebody.Forthenails,Ipaintedadarkpurplishcolorwithsomebrighteryellowishhighlights.Fortheteeth,Iusedayellowcolorwithsomebrownnearwheretheteethwouldmeetthegums,asshowninFigure11-14.

Figure11-12.CloningintexturefromphotographswiththeClonetool.Iaddedthephotographasanewlayer;then,onyetanothernewlayer(settoOverlay),Iclonedfromthephototocreatesomeskin

detailformytexture.

Figure11-13.Someclose-upsofhand-painteddetails

Figure11-14.Thenailsandteeth

FixingSeamsWithmytexturefortheskinniceanddetailed,IheadedbacktoBlendertocheckthatitworkedokayandthenstartedfixinganyseamsinthetexture.Todothis,IexportedmyskintexturefromGIMPandreplacedtheoldskintextureinBlenderwiththenewexportedversion.

TherewereboundtobesomeartifactsinthetexturealongUVseams,whereIhadpaintedovertheedgesofaUVislandinGIMP.Tofixthese,useBlender’sQuickEditfeature:

1. Tofixaseamononepartofyourmodel,navigatethe3Dviewtoananglewheretheseamisclearlyvisible.

2. Tomakesurethatnoshadingisvisibleonscreen,settheviewpointdisplaymodetoGLSLandsetthematerialtoShadelessintheMaterialstabofthe

Propertieseditor.

3. InTexturePaintmode,settheQuickEditresolutionto1024andclickQuickEditfromtheToolShelf(seeFigure11-152).ThisopensascreenshotofthatviewinGIMP,whichwecanthenstartpaintingover.

4. Forbestresults,scaleupthescreenshotinGIMP,usingImage▸ImageSize,andsetthenewsizeto2048.Then,createanewtransparentlayeronwhichwewillfixtheseam(thereasonforthiswillbecomeclearshortly).

5. UsingtheClonetool,startcloningfromthelayerbelowtocovertheseam;theGrungebrushshapeworkswellforthis.(TurningonSampleMergedinthetooloptionswillletyousamplefromalllayerswhenyousetthesource,ratherthanhavingtoswitchlayersfirst.)

6. Withtheseampaintedout,disabletheoriginallayer,leavingonlythenewlypaintedlayerthatcoverstheseam.UseCTRL-EtoexporttheimageandsaveovertheoriginalexportedimagefromBlender.

7. BackinBlender,clickApplytoapplythepainted-overimagetoyourtexture(seeFigure11-154).Becauseyousavedonlytheareasoftheimagethatcoveredtheseam,onlytheseareasarereplaced.Repeatthisprocessforanyfurtherseamsonyourmodelandthensavethenewfixedtextureasanewimage.

ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImagesThisprocessfixedmyseams,butbecauseIfixedthetextureinBlender,Ihadonlyasingle-layerimageasaresult.Togetbacktoalayeredformat,IopenedthecorrectedimageinGIMPasanewlayerinmytexturefile,ontopofmyotherlayers.Iwantedtobeabletokeepmyoldlayersvisiblewherepossible,soIneededtomaskthislayertoshowthroughonlyinthoseareaswhereIfixedtheseams.Toaccomplishthis,dothefollowing:

1. Setthenewfixedlayer’sblendmodetoDifferenceintheLayersdialog.Theresultofthisblendmodeisthedifferencebetweenthecolorsonthislayerandthepixelsbelow,meaningthatdifferentareaslookbrightandunchangedareasremainblack.Overall,itmaylookverydarkatthe

momentbecausethedifferencesareslight,butyou’llfixthatshortly.Youcanusetheresultasthebasisforamaskthatshowsonlythefixedpartsofthenewlayer.

2. RightclickonthetoplayerintheLayersdialogandselectNewLayerfromVisible.Thiscreatesanewlayerthatisacompositeofallthelayersbelow,mergedintoone.Inourcase,thisisthedifferencebetweenthefixedlayerandtheoriginallayeredimage.UsingtheLevelstool(Colors▸Levels),youcanincreasethevaluesofthislayertocreatesomethingwecanuseasamask.TheLevelstooltakesthecurrentlayerastheinputandusesthesettingsyouprovidetoadjustthevaluesofthelayer.Yousimplywanttotakeanypixelsthataren’t100percentblack—areaswherethefixedimagediffersfromtheoriginal—andmakethemwhite.Todothis,settheright-handendpointoftheinputgradientsothatit’sclosetotheleft-handendbydraggingittotheleft(seeFigure11-16)andclickOK.

3. Theresultsmaylookslightlynoisyandhavesomeodd-lookingcolors,butthecolorsdon’tmatterbecausewe’llbeusingonlythebrightnessofthislayerasamask.Tosmooththingsoutabit,usetheGaussianBlurfilter(Filters▸Blur▸GaussianBlur)toblurthelayerbyabout10pixels.

4. Next,copythisnewmergedlayeranduseitasamaskforthefixedtexture.PressCTRL-AtoselectallandCTRL-Ctocopythelayertotheclipboard.

Figure11-15.ExportingascreenshottopaintoverinGIMPwithQuickEdit:theareawithaseaminBlender1;theviewexportedfromBlendertoGIMPwithQuickEditandpaintedoveronanewlayer2;thenewlayeronitsown,whichwillbesavedovertheoriginalexport3;and

theexportedimageappliedtothetexture,backinBlender,usingtheApplyoperator4

Figure11-16.AlteringthevaluesofalayerwiththeLevelstool.Notehowthehandlesfortheinputlevelshavebeenbunchedupattheleftsideofthegraphtoincreasethebrightnessofall

butthedarkestvaluestowhite.

5. Disablethemergedlayer’svisibilityintheLayersdialogandsettheBlendmodeforthefixedlayerbacktoNormal.Then,toaddalayermasktothefixedlayer,rightclickonitandchooseAddLayerMask.ChoosewhiteasthecolorofthelayermaskandthenclickAddtocreateit.

6. PressCTRL-Vtopasteinthemaskwecreatedfromthemergedlayerasa“floating”layer—oneyoucancontinueworkingonandmovingaroundbeforeanchoringitandapplyingittothelayeryoupasteditinto.Sincewedon’tneedtomakeanychangestoit,pressCTRL-Htoanchorit.

Ourfixedimageisnowmaskedsothatonlytheareasthatdifferfromtheoriginaltextureshowoverthelayersbelow.Thismoreorlesscompletesthecreationofourdiffusetexture(seeFigure11-17),sosavetheimageasan.xcffileandexportanew.tgaimageofthediffusetexture.

LayerMasksAlayermaskisablack-and-whiteimagethatdetermineshowalayerinGIMPmixeswiththelayerbelowit.Whiteareasareapplied100percentiftheoverallopacityofthelayerisalso100percent(otherwisethetwoaremultipliedtogether),blackareasarecompletelymaskedout,andvaluesinbetweenblendbetweenthetwoextremes.

Whenyouaddamasktoalayer(aswedidabove),itappearstotherightofthatlayer’sthumbnailintheLayersdialog.Toeditthenewlayermask,clickitsthumbnail,andyoucanpaintonitjustasyouwouldonanormallayer(exceptthatitallowsonlyblackandwhitevalues,sotoolsandfiltersthatworkwithRGBcolorsarenotavailable).

Clickthethumbnailforthelayertogobacktopaintingnormally(thethumbnailoftheactivelayerormaskisoutlinedinwhite).YoucanapplytheeffectofalayermaskbyrightclickingthelayerintheLayersdialogandchoosingApplyLayerMask.Thiswillapplythemasktothelayeritself,makingmaskedareastransparent.

CreatingSpecularandHardnessTexturesWithourdiffusetexturepaintedandtheseamsclearedup,it’stimetocreateourspecularandhardnesstextures.Thespeculartexturedefinesthecolorandintensityofourcreature’sspecularreflections:Darkareaswilllookmatte,andbrightareaswilllookshiny.Thehardnessmapdetermineshowsoftthehighlightsare:Lowvaluescreatesoft,spreadoutreflections,andhighvaluescreatesmaller,moreintensehighlights.

Tocreatethesetextures,wecanduplicateandmodifythelayersofthediffusemap.We’llworkinthesameGIMP.xcffiletocreatethesetextures,whichwillgiveusreadyaccesstothelayerswe’vealreadycreated.

LayerGroupsTomakeiteasiertomanagecreatingspecularandhardnesstextures,Iusedlayergroupstoorganizemylayers.LayergroupsallowyoutogrouplayersandexpandandcollapsethosegroupsintheLayersdialog,makingitsimplertokeepthingsorganized.Tocreatealayergroup,rightclickonalayerintheLayersdialog,andchooseNewLayerGrouporclickthefoldericonatthebottomofthedialog.Youcanthendragotherlayersontothegrouplayertoassignthemtothegroup.ToorganizemytexturesfortheBatCreature,Icreatedthreelayergroups:oneforthediffusetexture,oneformyspeculartexture,andoneforhardness(seeFigure11-18).

Figure11-17.Thefinisheddiffusetexture

Figure11-18.OrganizinglayerswithLayerGroups

SpecularMapForthespecularmap,Ifirstcreatedanewlayerfromthevisiblelayers(Layer▸NewLayerfromVisible)andplaceditinthelayergroupformyspecularmap.Iinvertedthecolorsofthetexture(Colors▸Invert)andthentweakedthelevels(Colors▸Levels)togivethelayersomemorecontrast.Next,IchangedthecolorofthelayerusingColors▸HueandSaturationandshiftedtheHueslidertogiveitamorebluishtint(seeFigure11-19at3).Althoughthisalreadygaveaprettygoodspeculartexture,togetmorevariation,IduplicatedthelayersIcreatedearlierforthediffusemapwithspecklesandspotsonthemandplacedtheminthelayergroupforthespecularmap,adjustingtheircolorsappropriately.

Next,Istartedtweakingsomeareastogettherightlevelofspecularity.Forexample,Iwantedthelipsandtheareaaroundtheeyetolookmoistandshiny,andIwantedthetorsoandarmstolookmorematteanddry.Icouldhavestartedpaintingoverusingabasicbrush,butdoingsowouldhavelostalotofthetextureI’dalreadyworkedtocreate.Instead,IwasabletopreservesometexturebyusingadifferentBrushmode.TheBrushmodecanbesetfromtheToolOptionsdialog.Brushmodeshavethesameoptions(normal,multiply,addition,andsoon)thatBlendmodesforlayershave.AgoodwaytotweakthevaluesinanimagewithoutlosingdetailistousethepaintbrushwiththeBrushmodesettoOverlayandtouseblacktodarkenareasandwhitetobrightenthem.

Incertainareas,Iwantedtokeepsometexturewhilegettingridofverydarkorlightvalues,andheretheLightenOnlyandDarkenOnlybrushmodescameinhandy.IusedDarkenOnlyandamidvaluecolortogetridofoverlybrightareaswithoutlosingdarkerelementsofthetexture,andviceversa.Figure11-20showsthefinishedspeculartexture.

HardnessMapTocreatethehardnesstexture,IfirstmadeaNewFromVisiblelayerfromthediffusetexture.(Youcanturnoffthevisibilityofthespeculartexturelayergrouptomakethediffusetexturevisibleagain.)Next,Iinvertedthelayer,adjustedthelevels,andbegantweakingbyhandwiththePainttool,justasIdidabove.Becausethehardnesstexturebenefitsfrommorevariation,Icreatedanewlayer

andpaintedinmorespecklesoverthebody(bothlighteranddarkerones).Figure11-20alsoshowsthefinishedhardnesstexture.

TexturingtheEyesWithmostofthetexturingdone,Imovedontotexturingtheeyes.ForthisImadeanewimage,whichIpaintedbyhandbytakingthefollowingsteps:

1. Createanewimagethatis1024×1024pixelsinsize(File▸NewImage).Then,togetaguideforthemiddleoftheeye,createtwoguidelinesthroughthemiddleoftheimage,horizontallyandvertically.Todothis,clickImage▸Guides▸NewGuidebyPercent.Tocreateguidelinesforplacingthepupil,repeatthisoncefortheverticalguideandonceforthehorizontalone,eachat50percentoftheimage’sheightorwidth.

2. Fillthefirstlayerwithayellowishcolorandthencreateanewlayerfortheiris.Togetthecorrectshape,usetheEllipseSelectiontool(E)andclickanddragfromthecenteroftheimagetodrawoutacircle.HoldingdownCTRLmakestheselectionexpandfromthecenter,andholdingSHIFTconstrainstheselectiontobecircular.

Figure11-19.Creatingthespecularmapbytweakingthediffusemap:diffusemap1;invertcolors2;adjustlevels,hue,andsaturation3;andpaintextradetails4.

Figure11-20.Thefinishedspeculartexture(left)andhardnesstexture(right)

3. Drawoutacircularoutlinefortheoutsideoftheirisandthensubtractthepupilshapefromthemiddleoftheirisselection(holddownCTRLbeforeclickinganddragging).Thistime,Icreatedanellipticalshapetogivetheeyeanevillook.

4. Feather(Select▸Feather,20Pixels)theselectiontogivetheirisamoregradualtransitionintotherestoftheeye.Then,converttheselectionintoalayermaskbyrightclickingonthelayerintheLayersdialog,selectingAddLayerMask,andunderInitializeLayerTo,choosingSelection.Thiscreatesalayermaskwithyourselectionthatallowsyoutopaintonthelayeritself(selectitintheLayersdialogfirst)withoutlosingtheshapeoftheiris(seeFigure11-21).

5. FilltheiriswithblackusingtheFilltoolandthenusethePainttoolandalarge,softbrushtoaddcolor.Ibeganwithabrightorangeandthenaddedelementsofred,green,andpurpletobuildupdifferentcolors(uselowpressureifyouhaveatablet,orsetthebrushopacitylow).Ilefttheedgesoftheirisblack.

6. Nowaddcoloraroundtheoutsideoftheeye(thesclera)onthelayerbelowtheiris.Ipaintedalighteryellowhereandmixeditwithadarker,

reddishbrown.Ialsofilledthepupilwithblackonthislayer.MyeyetexturenowlookedlikeFigure11-21.Isavedthistextureasa.tgafile.

NOTEBecauseIdecidedtochangetheshapeofthepupilslightlyinmytexture,Ialsotweakedtheshapeofthepupilonmymodelbyselectingthepupil’sverticesandscalingthemuponthez-axis.IslightlyadjustedtheUVmap,too(seeFigure11-22).

Figure11-21.Themaskfortheiris,createdusingtheEllipticalSelecttools(left)andtheeyetexture(right)

Figure11-22.Adjustingthepupiltofitthetexture.Left:TheadjustedUVcoordinates.Right:TheeyeinEditmodewiththetextureapplied.

TexturingtheJungleTempleThetexturesfortheJungleTemplescenerequiredadifferentapproach.Thisprojecthasanumberofobjectsthatrequireverysimilartextures,sotexturingeachoneindividuallywouldbetimeconsumingandunnecessary.Instead,Ichosetousetileable,seamlesstexturestocovermuchofmysceneandtosupplementthesewithdetailsinkeyplaces.Tileabletexturesallowasingletexturetobeusedacrossmultiplemodels.

Hardnessvs.RoughnessFortheBatCreature,oneofthetexturetypesIcreatedwasahardnesstexture,whichwillbeusedtodefinewhichareasofmymaterialshavesharp,smallspecularreflectionsandwhichpartshaveblurry,morespreadoutspecularreflections.Todefinetheseareas,thetextureismappedtothehardnessvalueofthematerial’sspecularshader.Darkareasofthetexturethenresultinsoft,blurryspecularreflections,andbrightareasresultinsharp,hardspecularreflections.

However,thisisonlythecasewhenrenderinginBlenderInternal.WhenrenderingwithCycles,materialsarecreateddifferently(aswewillseeinChapter12).Andinsteadofahardnessvalue,specularshadersnowhavesomethingcalledaroughnessvalue.Thisworksintheoppositewaytoahardnessvalue,butdefinesroughlythesamething.Foraroughnesstexture,brightareasdenotesoft,blurryreflections,anddarkareasdenotesharpreflections.Keepthisinmindwhencreatingyourtextures.

CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMPTocreateaseamlesstexture,theedgesoftheimagemustalignwithoneanother,andthefeaturesoftheimagemustcontinuesmoothlyacrosstheboundary.Ithelpstomakesurethatthetexturedoesn’thavefeaturesthatrepeattooobviouslywhentiled(large,distinctivefeaturesareeasilynoticedwhentheyrepeatoften).Wealsowanttomaketheimagesquaresothatwewon’thavetoscaleanobject’sUVcoordinateswhenapplyingtheseamlesstexture.

Tocreateaseamlessrocktextureforthestoneblocksofthewallsandfloors,IbeganwitharocktexturefromCGTextures.First,IincreasedthesizeoftheimagetomakeitsquarewithImage▸CanvasSize.Next,IusedLayer▸Add

AlphaChanneltogivethelayeratransparentbackground,whichwe’llfillshortly,andLayer▸LayertoImageSizetomatchthesizeofthelayertotheimage.

Nowwehavetofillintheremainderoftheimageandmakeitsedgesalignwitheachother.Todothis,IusedtheOffsettoolandtheResynthesizefilter.First,Ioffsettheimageby50percentonthex-andy-axes(Layers▸Transform▸Offset),choosingthex/2y/2optionandclickingOffset.Thisshiftedtheimageandrepeatedit,placingtheedgesagainstoneanother,asshowninFigure11-23at2.Thenewedgesnowmatchedupbecausetheywereinthemiddleoftheimagepreviously.

Tofixtheareaswheretheedgesmet,IusedGIMP’sResynthesizefeaturetofillselectedareasseamlessly.Tocreateaselection,IusedGIMP’sQuickMaskfeature(CTRL-Q)topaintmyselectiondirectlywithGIMP’spainttools.Areaspaintedwhiteareselected,whileareaspaintedblackareunselected.WhileworkinginQuickMaskmode,animagewillbehighlightedinred,butselectedareaswillappearasnormal.IpressedCTRL-Qtoenablequickmaskingandroughlypaintedawhitestripedowntheseamswheretheimageedgesmet,andfilledinthegapleftinthemiddle.Then,IpressedCTRL-Qagaintoconvertmyquickmasktoaselection.

Next,IusedFilters▸Map▸Resynthesizetofilltheselectedarea.IturnedonMakeHorizontallyTileableandMakeVerticallyTileable,andkeptthetexturesourceasthecurrentlayer.Afterrunningthefilter,Ioffsettheimageagainbyadifferentamount(athirdineachdirection)andresynthesizedanyremainingproblemareas.TheresultisthetextureshownontherightofFigure11-23at4.Thistexturewillnowtileseamlessly.

TestingtheTextureTotestthetexture,createaduplicateoftheimageinGIMP(CTRL-D)andscaleitwaydown(forexample,to512×512).Then,useFilters▸Map▸Tiletocreateatiledversionofthetexture.Ifanyareasshowobviousrepeats,removethembygoingbacktothefull-sizetextureandselectingandresynthesizinganytroublespots.Onceyou’rehappywithhowthetexturetiles,saveitasa.tgafile.

TotestyourtextureinBlender,selectanobjectandthenassigntheimagetoitintheUVTextureeditor.SwitchtoTexturedViewportshadingandsetthe

shadingtypetoMultitextureinthedisplaypanelofthePropertiesregionsothatyoucanseetheimageassignedtotheobject.YoumayneedtoscaletheUVsupordownortweakthetextureabittogetthebestresults.

CreatingAdditionalTexturesIrepeatedtheprocessforproducingaseamlesstexturetocreateasecondrocktexture,abarktextureforthetrees,andadirttexturefortheground,asyoucanseeinFigure11-24.IalsocreatedspecularmapsusingthesametechniquestomodifyandsupplementthediffusemapsthatIusedfortheBatCreature.Forthebarktexture,Ididn’tmakethetexturesquaresinceIwouldbewrappingitaroundthetrunkofthetree.Instead,Ioptedforanarrow,talltexture.Thisresultsinamoreefficientuseoftexturespace,asthetexturewillrepeatoftenalongthelengthofthetreewhileonlyoncearoundthecircumferenceofthetrunk.

Tomakedifferenttextures—likethetworocktextures—workbettertogether,youcanuseGIMP’sHue-SaturationandCurvestools.Byadjustingthehueandsaturationofanimage,youcanmaketheoverallcolorationofonetexturemoresimilartotheother,andbyusingtheCurvestool,youcanbrightenordarkentheimagetomaketherangeofvaluesofthetwotexturesmoresimilar.Forexample,thetworocktexturesinFigure11-24initiallyhadquitedifferentcolorsandlevelsofbrightness,butIadjustedthemtomakethemlookmoresimilar.Thismakesitmucheasiertoblendthesetwotextureslateronwhencreatingfurthertexturesandmaterials.

TexturingtheGroundandTreesTocreatetexturesforthegroundandthetreesinmyscene,ImadeheavyuseofBlender’sProjectPainttoolstomixtogethertheseamlesstexturesIcreatedinGIMP.ThisapproachallowedmetoquicklybuildupmoreuniquetexturesbyusingthegenerictileabletextureIhadalreadycreatedasastartingpoint.

Figure11-23.Makinganimageseamless:Increasethecanvassizetomakeitsquare1;offsettheimage2;fillintheblanksandfixtheseamswiththeResynthesizefilter3;andre-offsettocheckthetextureand

resynthesizeanyproblemareas4.

GroundTextureWhileInowhadaseamlesstexturefortheground,itwasn’tparticularlyuniqueortailoredtothescene.Tocreateamoreinterestinggroundtexture,Ichosetoprojecttheexistingseamlesstexturetoauniqueunwrappedoneandthentoembellishitwithsomeextradetails.Toaccomplishthis,takethefollowingsteps:

Figure11-24.SeamlesstexturesfortheJungleTemplescene,fromlefttoright:dirt,tworocktextures,andabarktexture.Thetoptexturesarediffusemapsandthebottomtexturesarespecularmaps.

1. CreateasecondsetofUVcoordinates,unwrappingthefloormeshtofillthenewUVspaceaswellaspossible.Then,addanewblankimagetothenewUVset.

2. UsetheClonetooltoclonetheseamlesstexture.IsettheseamlesssoiltextureastheimagefortheoldUVcoordinatesandthenselectedmynewset.

3. InTexturePaintmode,usetheClonebrushtoclonetheseamlesstextureontoyournewunwrap.(MakesurethatyoualsohaveCloneturnedonintheProjectPaintoptionsandthattheoldUVmapissetasthesourceforthecloning.)

4. Tomixinasecondtexture,replacetheoldUVcoordinatesetsimagewithadifferentsoiltextureandrepeatthecloningprocessagain,thistimeaddingonlysomesmallpatches.

5. Finally,repeattheprocessusingamossyrocktexturetoaddsomestonypatchestotheground.Thefinaltextureisalotmoredistinctiveanddiverse,asshowninFigure11-25.

TreeTexturesTomodifythetextureforthetrees,Ibeganwithaseamlessbarktextureandthenblendedinmossyandmuddyelementstomakethetexturemoreinteresting(seeFigure11-26).Thistime,however,IprojectedthefirstseamlesstextureinBlenderandthensavedtheimageandswitchedtoGIMPtoaddelementsfromotherphotographs.Thisletmeusedifferentbrushestoclonetogetherbitsofdifferentimagesandsplitmytextureintolayerswhileworking.Ithencreatedspecularandroughnessmapsforthetreefromthediffusemap.

TexturingtheStatueForthestatueintheJungleTemplescene,Iwantedthemorehiddenpartstolookmossyandovergrownandtheexposedpartstobebarerock.Toaccomplishthis,Icouldhaveclonedinthemossyareasbyhand,butinstead,IchosetousetheambientocclusionmapIbakedearlier,whichisalreadydarkerinthecrevices,asamask.

TodothisinBlender,IduplicatedtheUVcoordinatesetforthestatueandassignedtheambientocclusiontexturetoit.Then,IusedthisUVsetasamasklayerforcloningamossytextureoverarocktexture,asfollows:

Figure11-25.Projectingseamlesstexturestoauniquetexturemapinordertocombinethemandcreatesomethingunique.Here,I’musingtheClonebrushtoclonefromaseamlesstexturetomyuniqueUV

map.

Figure11-26.Texturingthetrees.IbeganwithaseamlessbarktextureandthenblendedinothertexturesinGIMP.

1. DuplicatetheoriginalUVmaptwicebyclickingthe+iconintheUVCoordinatespaneloftheObjectDatatabinthePropertieseditor.Renameeachsetsothatyou’llknowwhichiswhich.Asthenamesformysets,IchosePaintformyfinalpaintedtexture,Maskformymaskimage,andCube.IwouldusetheCubeUVsetforprojectingmyseamlesstextures,soIreunwrappedthestatueinEditmodeusingtheCubeProjectoptiontogiveanunwrapwithniceconsistencybetweenpartsofthemodel.

2. AssignyourseamlessrocktexturetotheCubeUVset,scalingittosuitthedetailsintherock.Then,switchtoyourPaintUVsetandusetheClonetool(makesureCloneisturnedonintheProjectPaintpanel)toclonetherocktexturefromtheCubeprojectUVsettothepaintedtexture.

3. Tomixinthesecondtexture,usetheProjectPaintStenciloption.SwitchtoEditmodeandassignyourambientocclusionmaptotheMaskUVsetbyselectingtheMaskUVsetintheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor.Then,assignadifferentrocktexturetotheCubeUVset,butthis

timeuseamoss-coveredrocktexture.

4. NowreturntotexturepaintingonthePaintlayer(againselectingitinthePropertieseditortomakeittheactiveUVset).SwitchonStencilintheProjectPaintpanel,choosingyourmaskUVsetfromthedropdownmenubesideit.Then,withtheClonebrush,paintthesecondrocktextureovertheoriginalone.Theeffectofthebrushisautomaticallymaskedaccordingtotheambientocclusionmap,allowingyoutoeasilypaintonlyontheexposedareas,asshowninFigure11-27.

Aftersavingtheresultingimageasa.tgafile,IusedtheambientocclusionmapinGIMPtolightentheexposedareasofthetexturebyopeningthepaintedtextureandaddingtheambientocclusionmapoverthetop(usingOpenasLayer).Settingtheambientocclusionmap’sblendmodetoOverlayandreducingitsopacitysubtlylightenedtheexposedareasofthestatueanddarkenedthecrevices,asshowninFigure11-28.

Figure11-27.UsingtheProjectPaintMasksettingtomasktheeffectoftheClonebrushallowedmetomixtexturesaccordingtoanambientocclusionmap.

Figure11-28.ThestatuetextureopenedinGIMPwithanambientocclusionmapoverlaidontop

TexturingtoCameraWhenitcametotherocksandsoilintheforegroundoftheJungleTemplescene,tileabletextureswouldn’tgivequitethelevelofcontrolIwanted.Forthispartofmyscene,Ioptedtopaintthetexturesforthegroundandrocksastheyappearedfromthecameraviewpoint.Todothis,takethefollowingsteps:

1. Puttheforegroundrocksandsoilonthesamelayer(useMtomoveobjectstoadifferentlayerandPinEditmodetoparttheselectionfromthecurrentobjectifnecessary).

2. SwitchtoTexturedview(withtheshadingsettoSingletextureinthepropertiesregion)andassignyourseamlesstexturestotheUVsofyourobjects.

3. UsetheRenderActiveViewportbutton(thecameraicon)inthe3DViewportheadertorenderthecurrentviewtoanimage(seeFigure11-29).Then,savethisasa.tgaimage.(Inordertobeabletomixmyrocktexturestogether,Iassignedmysecondrocktexturetothestonesandsavedasecondviewportrender.)

4. OpentheseinthesamedocumentinGIMP(openthefirstnormallyandthenopenthesecondusingOpenasLayers).Next,beginblendingthetwobyaddinganewlayermasktothetoplayerandpaintinginblackareastoletthelayerbelowshowthrough.

5. Then,tosoftentheboundariesbetweenthemudandrock,createanewlayerandmixthemtogetherslightlyusingtheClonetoolandyourGrungebrush(seeFigure11-30),savingtheimageasa.tgafile.

Lateron,thistexturewillbeprojectedfromthecameraandusedaspartofthematerialfortheforegroundobjects.

Figure11-29.Renderingtheviewtoanimage

TexturingtheLeavesFortheleavesintheJungleTemplescene,Iwantedtocreatethreetextures:oneforthecoloroftheleaves,oneforthespecularmap,andonefortheirtransparency.Iwouldusethetransparency(alpha)maptomakethepartsofthemeshthatarenotactuallypartofaleaftransparent,thusgivingtheleavesdetailedoutlineswithoutusinggeometry.ThisisdoublyimportantfortheleavesIgeneratedwithIvyGen,asthesearejustflatplanes.

CollectingtheLeafImagesIbeganbycollectingleafimagesthatwereroughlytheshapeIwanted.Then,IopenedtheminGIMPandselectedtheroughoutlineoftheleafwiththeScissorstool,placingpointsaroundtheedgeoftheleaftotraceitsoutlineautomatically.

IcouldthenrefinethisusingQuickMaskingandthePaintbrushtoolwithahard-edgedbrush,paintingwithblackorwhitetoremoveoraddpartsoftheleafselection.Iusedtheleafselectionasalayermask(Layers▸Mask▸AddLayerMaskandchoosingSelection)tomaskoutthebackgroundoftheleafimage.

Figure11-30.Editingthetexturesprojectedfromthecameraview.Ifilledinthebackgroundtopreventitfromcreatingartifactsneartheimageboundarywherethetexturewrapsaroundatthebottom.Then,I

blendedthetexturesontheobjectsintheforeground.

AlphaMapThenextstepwastocreatethealpha,color,andspecularimages.Tocreatethealphatexture,Iclickedthelayermask,pressedCTRL-Atoselectall,andpressedCTRL-Ctocopythemasktotheclipboard.Then,IclickedNewLayerandpastedinthemask,nowvisibleasanormallayer.Figure11-31showsthefinishedalphamap.

DiffuseMapForthediffusemap,Iaddedauniformcolorbackgroundandgotridofanyspecularhighlightsinthephototomakeitmoresuitabletouseasatexture.Forthebackground,Icreatedanewlayerandfilleditwithagreentomatchtheleafcolorsothatwhenthematerialblendedintotransparency,therewouldbenocolorchangearoundtheedges.Iduplicatedtheleafimagelayerandplaceditontopofthisbackground.

Figure11-31.Thetexturesforasingleleaf,fromlefttoright:diffuse,specular,andalpha.ThesetexturesareusedonmyIvyGenmesh.

Toremovethespecularhighlights,IusedtheDodge/Burntool(SHIFT-D)settoburn(holdCTRLorchangethesettingsintheBrushToolspalette)withalarge,softbrush.Ibrushedlightlyoverthehighlightstodimthem(usealightpressureifyou’reusingapressure-sensitivetablet,orsimplysettheExposuresettingoftheDodge/Burntooldownlowifyou’reusingamouse).Tofixanyareasthatbecomeoversaturated,IusedthePaintbrushtoolwithacolorfromagoodpartofthetexture.Then,IsettheblendmodeofthebrushtoSaturationandpainted

overanyoversaturatedareastobringtheminlinewiththerestofthetexture.(Figure11-31,left,showsthediffusetexture.)

SpecularMapForthespecularcolor,IduplicatedmymaskedleafimageandusedtheHue-Saturationtooltodesaturateitabit.Then,Ishiftedthespecularcolorslightlytowardyellow.Ialsopaintedinsomehighlightsonsmoothareasoftheleafandthenblurredthetextureslightly.YoucanseethespeculartextureinFigure11-31(center).

Thiscompletedthetexturesneededforasingleleaf,soIsavedeachasa.tgaimageandthensavedan.xcffilewithmylayers.IusedthissingleleafasmytexturefortheleavesgeneratedbyIvyGen.Fortherestoftheleavesinmyscene,IwantedtocombineasmanyaspossibleintooneimagesothatIwouldn’thavetomanagetoomanytextures.SoIrepeatedthecutting-outprocessforasmanyleafimagesasIneeded,skippingthespeculartexturesforthetimebeing.Later,Icombinedalltheseleavesontoasinglemapsoitwouldbeeasiertodothespecularmapafterward.

CombiningLeavesontoaSingleTextureFormostofthefoliageinmyscene,IpackedalloftheleavesontothesameUVmap.(InChapter10,Ibakedacolormapfromthematerialcoloroftheleavestoserveasaguide.)Tomakeiteasiertoassembleallmyleavesintoonetexture,IappliedthelayermasksthatIhadcreatedearliertothediffuselayerofeachleaftexture.IthensavedeachoftheseleavesasimagesandopenedthemaslayersontopoftheguideimageIbakedinChapter10.

Next,Istartedarrangingtheleavestofitthemap,usingtheMove,Scale,andRotatetools.Aftergettingaleafroughlyinplace,IusedtheIWarptool(Filters▸Distort▸IWarp)towarptheleavestomoreaccuratelyfittheshapesIneeded(seeFigure11-32).IWarpallowsyoutomovepixelsaroundyourselectionfluidlyinordertoreshapeareasofanimage.Fortheleaves,IusedtheMoveDeformmodeinIWarptofittheoutlineoftheleavestotheshapesIneeded.Irepeatedthis,duplicatingsomeoftheleavestocovereachspacethatneededaleaftexture.Fortheunwrappedstems,Iclonedfromthebiggerleavestofillinthewholeregionwitharoughgreentexture.ThediffusetextureforalltheleavescombinedintoasingletextureisshowninFigure11-33.Ithencreated

thespecularmapformygrouped-togetherleavesthesamewayIdidfortheindividualleaf.

Figure11-32.UsingtheIWarpfiltertowarptheshapeofaleaf

Figure11-33.Imergedthetexturesforseveralofmyleavesontoasingleimagetokeepthenumberoftexturesinmyscenedown.

Togetanalphatextureagain,IsimplymergedtheleaftexturesintoonelayerandthenrightclickedthelayerintheLayerseditorandchoseAlphatoSelection.Then,Icreatedanewblacklayerandfilledtheselectionwithwhitetogetmyalphaimage.Finally,Iexportedeachofmydiffuse,specular,andalphapassesas.tgaimagesandsavedtheGIMP.xcffile,too.ThecombinedleaftexturescanbeseeninFigure11-31.ThiscompletedalmostallofthetexturesfortheJungleTemple.Icreatedanyremainingonesinmuchthesamewayasthosedescribedalready.

TexturingtheSpiderBotTexturingtheSpiderBotwasabitsimplerthantexturingwasfortheothertwo

imagesbecausethisprojectrelieslargelyonproceduralmaterials.ImadeaUVtexturethatcoveredthebodyinordertotakesomeofthehassleoutofcreatingdifferentmaterialslaterandtoallowmetoaddsomedetailtothemodel.

CreatingThreeTexturesIbeganwithmybakedcolormapinGIMPandscaleditupto4096×4096pixels.Then,Iopenedmybakedambientocclusionmapasalayer,scaledittofit,andsetitsblendmodetoMultiplyat40percentopacityinordertoaddsomesubtleshadowingtothetexture.

Ineededtomakethreetextures:diffuse,roughness,andspecular.BecauseIwantedthebody’sgreenareastobeshiny,Imadethegreenareamuchdarkerforthediffusetextureandbrightgreenforthespeculartexture.Forthebody’swhiteareas,Ididtheopposite:darkgrayonthespecularmaptomakeitlessshinyandlightonthediffuse.

Fortheroughnessmap,Imadethegreenareas(ofthediffusemap)darktogivesharp,glossyreflections,andImadethewhiteareasbrighttogivesofterhighlights.YoucanseethethreetexturesinFigure11-34.Tokeepmytexturesorganized,Icreatedseparatelayergroupsforeachofthediffuse,specular,androughnessmaps,justasIdidfortheBatCreature.

AddingDecalsTomakethingsabitmoreinteresting,IdecidedtoaddsomedecalstotheSpiderBot.Tomakedecals,Idrewafewsimpledesignsusing2DcurvesinBlenderandrenderedtheseinblackandwhite.Then,IopenedtheseaslayersovermyexistingtexturefileinGIMP.

Figure11-34.TexturesfortheSpiderBot,fromlefttoright:diffuse,specular,androughness.Iincorporatedsomedecalsintothetexturestomakethemmoreinteresting,makingsuretoaddthemto

theroughnessandspecularmapsaswell.

Tomakethebackgroundofthedecalstransparent,IusedColors▸ColortoAlphaandselectedthebackgroundcolorasthecolortoremove.Iselectedindividualdecalsandspreadthemoutoverthebodybyselectingthemandthenscaling,moving,androtatingthemintoplace.(ItcanbeeasiertodothisifyousplitupeachdecalontoitsownlayerbyselectingitandpressingCTRL-SHIFT-LtofloattheselectionandCTRL-SHIFT-Ntoconvertittoalayer.Then,youcanscaleandrotateitindependentlyoftheotherdecals.Onceit’sinplace,youcanmergethedetailsbackontothesamelayer.)

Togetabetterfeelfortheplacementofyourdecals,youcanmarkinroughlywhereyouwanttheminBlender’sTexturePaintmode.Then,savetheimageasaguidetouseinGIMP.OnceIhadthedecalslaidout,Isettheiropacityto60percentforthediffusemap.

Tomakethedecalsstandout,Iworkedthemintothespecularandroughnessmapstoo.Iduplicatedmydecallayerfromthediffusemapandplacedcopiesinmylayergroupsforthespecularandroughnessmaps.Forthespecularmap,IusedColors▸Inverttomakethedecalswhite,whichwouldmakethemshinierontheeventualmaterial.Fortheroughnessmap,Imadethedecalsblackonceagaintogivethemsharpreflections(seeFigure11-34).

Withmytexturescomplete,IsavedaGIMP.xcffilewithallmylayergroupsandthenexported.tgafilesofmydiffuse,specular,androughnessmaps.

InReviewInthischapter,I’vecoveredusingbothBlenderandGIMPtocreatetextures,startingwithourbakedtexturesasafoundationandbuildinguplayersofdetailanddifferentimages.We’veusedBlender’sTexturePaintmode,clonedtexturesinbothBlenderandGIMP,andusedseamlesstexturesbothontheirownandasabasisforcreatingmoredistinctivetextures.

FortheBatCreature,Ibuiltupmytexturesmainlybyhand,blockinginsimplecolorsinBlenderandthenrefiningtheseinGIMP,paintinginextradetailsandsupplementingthemwithelementsfromphotographictextures,andthenjumpingbacktoBlendertoclearupseams.

FortheJungleTemple,Icreatedavarietyofseamlesstextures,whichformedafoundationforcreatingfurthertexturesforuniqueobjects.Bycreatingarangeoftileable,reusabletexturesfirst,Iachievedconsistenttexturesacrossmultipleelementsinthesceneandspedupthetexturingprocess.

FortheSpiderBot,Ifocusedoncreatingrelativelysimplediffuse,specular,androughnesstexturesthatIwilllaterusetocreatesomefairlycomplexmaterials.IusedmyambientocclusionmapandthesolidcolormapIgeneratedinChapter10asastartingpointandthencreatedandaddeddecalstoembellishthedesignoftheSpiderBotwithoutcrowdingintoomanydetails.

InChapter12,we’llcreatematerialsforusebybothBlender’sInternalrendererandthenewCyclesrenderer,usingthetexturescreatedinthischapterasinputs.We’lllookatthedifferentwaystoapplytextureswhenworkingwiththetworenderersandthesimilaritiesanddifferencesincreatingmaterialswiththetworenderenginesinmind.

[1]YoucanfindthislocationoraddanewlocationforbrushesfromGIMP’spreferences(File▸Preferences)underFolders▸Brushes.

Chapter12.Materials

InChapter10andChapter11,Icreatedtexturesthatspecifiedthediffusecolorsforthemodels,aswellasotherparameters,likereflectiveness,smoothness,andspecularcolors.Nowwe’lllookatcombiningtheseimagetextureswithproceduraltexturesandshaderstocreatematerialsforthescenesthatlookbothinterestingandconvincing.

ThischapterwillcoverhowBlender’smaterialsworkandhowtoincorporatetexturesintothesematerials.Let’slookfirst,though,atBlender’stwodefaultrenderenginesforrenderingimages,CyclesandtheBlenderInternalrenderer,astheywillsignificantlyimpacthowwesetupourmaterials.

RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCyclesTherenderengineishowBlendercreatesafinalimageusingalloftheinformationinyourscene—objects,materials,lights,andsettings.Blenderhastworenderengines.Theolderone,theBlenderInternalrenderengine,isaveryrobust(ifslightlyold-fashioned)rendererthatusesvarioustricksandtechniquestocreatethefinalrender,eschewingabsolutephysicalaccuracyforspeedandflexibility.However,thislackofphysicalaccuracydoesn’tmeanthatBlenderInternalcan’trenderrealistic-lookingimages.Itcanquicklyrendersceneswithavarietyofcomplexmaterialstocreateafinallookanywherebetweenahighlyrealisticaestheticandaverynonphoto-realisticandstylizedone.ThismakesBlenderInternalahighlyflexiblerenderer,wellsuitedtoanimation.

CyclesisBlender’snewrenderengine,whichisstillinactivedevelopment.Unliketheinternalengine,itfocusesoncreatingmorerealisticsimulationsoflightandusesmorephysicallycorrectmodelsformaterialsandlights.Asaresult,itcandeliververyrealisticimages,includingeffectsthataredifficulttoachieveinBlenderInternal,suchasthecomplexrefractionoflightinglassandothertransparentobjects,multiplereflectionsoflightbouncingaroundascene,andthephysicallycorrectemissionoflightfromobjects.Thetradeoffisthat(at

leastasofthiswriting)Cyclesrendersscenes—eventhosewithsimplelighting—moreslowlythanBlenderInternal.AndbecauseCyclesisinactivedevelopment,itlackscertainimportantfeatures,likesubsurfacescattering(seeSubsurfaceScatteringformoreinformation)andtheabilitytorenderhairandfur.

I’llusebothrenderersinthisbook.WhichrendererIchooseforeachprojecthasasignificantimpactonhowIdefinemymaterials,becausethesetworenderenginesworkindifferentwaysandrequirematerialstobesetupdifferently.FortheBatCreature,I’lluseBlenderInternaltorenderrealisticskinwithsubsurfacescattering,aswellasthefur.AndfortheSpiderBot,thougheitherrendererwoulddo,I’lluseCyclestocreatesomeniceglossy,reflectivematerials.FortheJungleTempleproject,I’lluseCyclestoallowmetoexperimentwithlightingandgetdirectfeedback,thankstoCycles’interactiverenderpreview(discussedinTheCyclesRenderPreview).

Beforeexaminingthedifferencesincreatingmaterialsforthetwodifferentrenderengines,let’stakeabrieflookatafewgeneralprinciplesthatwillcomeupaswediscussmaterials.Theseprinciplescentermainlyonthevariouswaysasurfacecaninteractwithlightbyreflecting,refracting,orabsorbingit.

ReflectionWeseeobjectsbecauseoureyesdetectthelightthatbouncesoffthem.Theappearanceofasurfaceisthusdeterminedbytheprecisewayinwhichitinteractswithlight,whichisinturndeterminedbythestructureandcompositionofthematerial.

Intherealworld,mattesurfaces,likerockandrubber,havearoughstructureonamicroscopicscale.Lightbouncesofftheminalldirections,andasaresult,thelightyouseereflectedlooksmuchthesamenomatterwhichdirectionyoulookatthesurfacefrom.Thisiscalleddiffusereflection.

Incontrast,polishedsurfacesarerelativelysmooth,evenatmicroscopicscales.Thismeansthatyou’llseeaperfectreflectionwhenyoulookatthesurface,andasyoumoveyourviewpoint,whatisreflectedwillchange.Thisiscalledspecular,ormirror,reflection.ThedifferencesbetweendiffuseandspecularreflectionareshowninFigure12-1.

IntheworldofCG,however,weoftentakeshortcutstoachievethelookofrealmaterials.Forexample,considerspecularreflections:Whileit’spossibletorendermirrorreflections,doingsoisslowerthanrenderingdiffusereflectionsbecausetherearesimplealgorithmstoapproximatetheeffectofdiffusereflections.Sorenderingdiffusereflectionscanbeextremelyfast,butrenderingmirrorreflectionsrequiresprocessor-intensiveraytracing.Togetaroundthisproblem,wesometimesconsideronlythemostobviousthingsthatasurfacecanreflect,likebrightlights.Forexample,ifyouweretolookatashinymetalsurfaceinbrightlight,youmightoverlookmirrorreflectionsofthesurroundingenvironmentduetotheverybrightreflectionofthelightsourceitself.SpecularreflectionsworkthiswayinBlender’sInternalrenderer:Therenderercreatesonlyhighlightsfromlightsourcesratherthanmakingthesurfacereflectotherobjectsaroundit(seeFigure12-2).Thisshortcutoftendoesthejob,andwhenmoreaccuratereflectionsareneeded,youcanturnthemonaswell(byenablingray-tracedmirrorreflections)atthecostofextrarenderingtime.

Figure12-1.Diffuse(left)vs.specular(right)reflection(Cyclesrenderer)

Figure12-2.BlenderInternal’sapproximatedspecularreflections(BlenderInternalrenderer).Oftenthesearereferredtoasspecularreflections,whilemorerealistic(mirror)specularreflectionsare

referredtoasglossyreflections.Left:Amaterialwithonlyspecularreflectionsandahardnessof15.Right:Ahardnessof100.

TransmissionandRefractionInadditiontoreflectinglight,surfaceslikewaterorglassalsotransmitlight(allowlighttopassthroughthem).Intherealworld,apartoftheincidentlight(lighthittingthesurface)isusuallyreflected,andtherestistransmittedandbentslightly(refracted).Thelightisbentbecauseasitentersadifferentmedium,itsspeedchanges.Thisbendingoflightresultsinadistortedimagewhenyoulookthroughatransparentmaterial.Theamountofdistortiondependsontheobject’sindexofrefraction(IOR),whichdetermineshowmuchthedirectionofarayoflightisalteredattheboundaryoftheobject(seeFigure12-8),andtheshapeandthicknessoftheobject.Forsomeobjects,thiseffectissignificant—forexample,whenyoulookthroughalensoraglassofwater,you’llnoticeconsiderabledistortion.Othertimes,theeffectisminimal—forexample,thereislittledistortionwhenyoulookthroughthethinglassofawindow.

ZTransparencyWecanuseBlendertosimulatetransmissionandrefractionoflightusingray-tracedtransparency.Butwecanalsocheatbyignoringrefractionandsimplyrenderingwhateverisbehindanobject.ThisiscalledZTransparency.Thistechniqueworkswellwithobjectslikewindows,wheretherefractionis

minimal.Figure12-3comparesraytracingwithZTransparency.

ZTransparencyisalsousefulforrenderingthinsurfaceswithholesorcomplexoutlines,wherethemeshcanbeleftsimpleandatexturecanbeusedtodefinetransparent—or,inthiscase,nonexistent—areasofthesurface.Theseareascanthenberenderedcompletelytransparent(invisible),whichwillmakethesurfaceappearmorecomplexthanitsgeometryalonewouldallow(seeFigure12-4).

Figure12-3.Raytracingvs.ZTransparency(usingtheBlenderInternalrenderer).Left:ZTransparencywithanalphaof0.25andspecularhighlights.Thespecularandslightdiffusevisibilitymakethis

materialvisible.Right:Ray-tracedtransparencywithanIORof1.5.Thisimageismorerealisticbutwilltakemuchlongertorender.

Figure12-4.UsingZTransparencytogivethiswirefencematerialamorecomplexappearancewithoutrequiringextrageometry(usingtheBlenderInternalrenderer).Thismaterialhasbeenappliedtoasingleplane.(TheTransparentShadowsoptionhasbeenturnedonforthefloormaterialtocreate

accurateshadows.)

Lightcaninteractwithasurfaceinstillmorecomplexways,suchasscatteringbeneaththesurfaceorexhibitingtranslucencyoranisotropicreflection,whichisthetypeofreflectionproducedbybrushedmetal.We’llexaminetheseothertypesofinteractionaswemovethroughthischapter.

BlenderInternalMaterialsBlenderInternalisBlender’sdefaultrenderengine,andyoucancreatematerialsforBlenderInternalusingtheMaterialsandTexturestabsofthePropertieseditor.YoucanfindthepropertiesofmaterialsintheMaterialtab(andthetexturesandaspectsofamaterialtheycanbeusedtoaffect)intheTexturestab.

BlenderInternal’smaterialsareprettymodular,allowingyoutoaddandcombinedifferentmaterialproperties—suchasspecularreflections,mirror

reflectivity,transparency,andsubsurfacescattering—simplybyturningontherelevantoptionsfromthedifferentpanelsintheMaterialtab(Figure12-5),withouthavingtostartfromscratch.Noticeinthefigurethatallofthematerialsassignedtotheactiveobjectareinthepanelatthetopofthetab.Below,inthePreviewpanel,isapreviewoftheactivematerial,followedbyotherpanelscontainingtheMaterialssettings.I’lldiscusstherelevantpanelsintheMaterialstab(whenusingBlenderInternal)here.

Figure12-5.TheMaterialstabwhenusingtheBlenderInternalrenderer

Diffuse.Thispanelcontainsthesettingsforthediffusecolorandshadingofamaterial.Thecolorpicker(seeFigure12-5)allowsyoutosetthediffusecolorofthematerial,whichisthenmultipliedbytheintensityvalue.Thedropdownmenutotherightletsyousetthediffuseshadermodel,whichaffectsthefalloffofthematerial’sdiffusecolorfromlighttodarkatdifferentangles.ThedefaultLambertshadermodelisusuallyfine,thoughtheOrenNayarshadermodelcanbeusedtomimicsurfaceswitharoughermicroscopicstructure,likeclayorstone.Theothershadermodelsherearemoreexoticandrarelyuseful.

Specular.ThesettingsintheSpecularpanelaresimilartothoseintheDiffusepanel,exceptthattheycontrolanobject’sspecularshading(alooseapproximationofspecularreflection,asdiscussedearlierinReflection).Thehardnessentrydetermineshowbroadortightthesereflectionsare(seeFigure12-6).Materialswithahighhardnessvaluehavesharp,brighthighlights,whilethosewithalowhardnessvaluehavesofter,morespreadouthighlights.

Shading.Thefollowingoptionsaffectamaterial’soverallshading:

Emit.ThiscausesanobjecttoappearbrightevenwhenitisnotlitandcanevencauseanobjecttocastlightonotherobjectswhenitisusedwithcertainWorldsettings.

Ambient.Thisdetermineswhetheranobjectreceivesambientillumination(usingtheAmbientColorsettingintheWorldSettingstab).

Translucency.Thiscausesanobjecttoappearlitonbothitsfrontandback,makingitlooktranslucent,likethinpaperoraleaf.

Shadeless.Thiscompletelyeliminatestheeffectoflightonanobject;theobjectwillgetitscolorandbrightnessentirelyfromitsdiffusecolorandtextures.

TangentShading.Thisalterstheshadingofasurfacetomorecloselyresemblethatofbrushedmetalorothermaterialswitha“grain”ordirectionalitytotheirmicroscopicstructure.Thedirectionofthegrainistakenfromtheobject’sUVcoordinates,sothegrainwillbealignedwiththe

v-axisinUVspace.Inotherwords,itwillbealignedverticallyintheUVImageeditor,soensureyouhaveunwrappedtheobjectappropriatelywhenenablingthisoption.

CubicInterpolation.Thisaltershowthesurfaceblendsbetweenlightandshadow,usuallywithsmoother-lookingresultsthoughoftenslightlydarker.

Transparency.TurnontheTransparencycheckboxtorenderamaterialwithtransparency.Thispaneloffersthreewaystorendertransparentobjects,usingthesurface’salphavalue.Thesimplest,Mask,simplyblendsthematerialintothebackgroundwherethecoloristransparent.ZTransparencyisslightlymoresophisticated,renderingwhateverisbehindthetransparentobject.Ray-tracedTransparencycalculatesproperrefraction.ChoosingRay-tracedTransparencybringsupavarietyofoptionsthatallowyoutosettheindexofrefractionofthematerialandtheglossinessandamountoffilteringdonebythematerial.

Mirror.EnableMirrortoturnonrenderingray-tracedreflections.Thesettingsinthispanelletyoudefinetheamount(Reflectivity)andsharpness(GlossyAmount)ofray-tracedreflections.

SubsurfaceScattering(SSS).Thisoptioncontrolstheeffectoflightscatteringunderthesurfaceofamaterialcommonlyfoundinskinorwax.I’lldiscussthisinmoredetailinSubsurfaceScattering.

Options.Thispanelcontainssomemiscellaneousoptions.Forexample,theTraceablesettingcontrolswhetheranobjectistakenintoaccountwhenrenderingray-tracedshadowsandreflections.I’llcoverthesewhentheycomeup,andyoucanlookupanyIdon’tmentionontheBlenderwiki(athttp://wiki.blender.org/).

Shadow.Thispanelcontrolshowanobjectreceivesandcastsshadows.Forexample,theCastOnlyoptionmakesanobjectappearinvisibleexceptforanyshadowsitcasts.ShadowsOnlyrendersamaterial’sshadowsastheonlynontransparentparts.(Thisisparticularlygoodforcreatingshadowsthatyoucanthencompositeintoanotherimage.)

Figure12-6.Differentlevelsofhardnessaffectthelookofspecularreflections.Thischeckerboardtextureisusedtocontrolthehardness.(Youcouldalsovaryhardnessusingatexturemap.)

CyclesMaterialsUnliketheBlenderInternalrenderer,whichispackedwithdirtytricksandapproximationstomakerenderingquicker,theCyclesrendererusesmorephysicallyrealisticmodelsformaterials.Itcombinesrealismwithanode-basedapproachthatfocusesonbuildingupcomplexmaterialsfromsimpleparts.YoucanstillusetheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditortoeditCyclesmaterials,whichgivesanoverviewofthecurrentmaterial,butit’smuchsimplerandclearertouseBlender’sNodeeditor,asshowninFigure12-7.

TocreateamaterialwithCycles,allyouneedisaShadernodeandMaterialOutputnode.Youcanbuildoutfromthereandcombineothershaders,inputs,andtexturestocreateawidevarietyofmaterials.Toaddanode,useSHIFT-Aandchoosethenodeyouwantfromthemenuthatappears,justlikeaddingobjectsinthe3Dviewport.

TheBSDF(BidirectionalScatteringDistributionFunction)Shadernodescontrol

howmaterialswork.Thesefunctionsdefinehowlightinteractswithasurface—forexample,whetherthematerialreflectslightinadiffuseway,actsasamirror,ortransmitslightlikeglass.You’llfindtheBSDFshadersunderShadersintheAddmenuintheheader,alongwithafewotheroptions.

Figure12-7.EditingaCyclesmaterialinBlender’sNodeeditor.OntherightistheMaterialOutputnode;itsSurfacenodeisconnectedtotheBSDFoutputsocketofaDiffuseShadernode.Theresultis

thediffusematerialshowninFigure12-1.

Cyclescurrentlysupportsthefollowingshaders:

Background.Thisaffectstheworldbackgroundratherthanmaterials.(SeeChapter13formoreonworldlightingsettings.)

DiffuseBSDF.Thisscatterslightinalldirections,creatingadiffuselook.

GlossyBSDF.Thisreflectslightlikeamirror.Increasingtheroughnessvaluemakesreflectionsincreasinglyblurry.

GlassBSDF.TheGlassBSDFfunctiontransmitslightasglassoranyothertransparentmediumdoes.Theindexofrefraction(IOR)determineshowmuchthelightisbentwhenitpenetratesasurface.Thehigherthevalue,themoreitisbent.DensermaterialshavehigherIORs.Forexample,theIORofglassisaround1.5,andtheIORofwaterisabout1.3.Diamond,amuchdensermaterial,hasanIORofaround2.4.ThedifferencescanbeseeninFigure12-8.

TranslucentBSDF.Thisscatterslightinalldirectionsfromthebackoftheobject,resultinginatranslucentappearance,likethatofathinpaperorleaf,withlighttransmittedthroughthematerial.

TransparentBSDF.Thisallowslighttopenetrateamaterialwithoutbeingrefracted,asiftherewerenothingthere.It’susefulwhencombinedwithalphamaps.(SeeLeavesformoreoncreatingleafmaterials.)

VelvetBSDF.Thisreflectslightsomewhatlikethediffuseshader,butitreflectslightmorewhenviewedfromobliqueangles.Theresultisavelvetyappearance.

Emission.Thisturnsanobjectintoalampthatemitsitsownlight.

Holdout.Thiscreatesa“hole”inanimagethatgoesthroughtothebackgroundcolorwithzeroalphatransparency.It’susefulforcompositing.

MixShader.Thisallowsyoutomixtwoshaderswiththeproportionofmixingdeterminedbythefactorinput.TheMixnodesallowyoutocombineshadersinnumerouscombinationstocreateallsortsofmaterials.Forexample,youcouldcreateaplastic-likematerialbycombiningaGlossyBSDFandDiffuseBSDFshader,asshowninFigure12-9.

AddShader.Thisaddstwoshaderstogether.It’slessflexiblethantheMixnodebecauseyoucan’tcontroltheamountofmixing,butitworksmuchthesameway.

FormoreontheseshadersandotherCyclesdocumentation,visithttp://wiki.Blender.org/.

OtherInputsinCyclesCyclesallowsyoutouseawidevarietyofnodesthatsupplydifferentdataforuseinyourmaterials.You’llfindnodestoinputimagetexturesandproceduraltexturesaswellasnodestosupplygeometricinformation,suchassurfacenormalsandthepositionofthesurfacein3DorUVspace(allowingyoutomaptexturestoasurface).Combiningthesenodescanproveapowerfultool,aswe’llseethroughoutthechapter.

Figure12-8.Differentindicesofrefraction.Lefttoright:1.05,1.5,and2.5.AstheIORincreases,therefractedlightbecomesmorecomplex.

Figure12-9.CombiningshaderswiththeMixnode.HereIcreateaplastic-lookingshaderbycombininganorangeDiffuseBSDFshaderwithawhiteGlossyBSDFshader.

TextureNodesTheTexturenodesareparticularlyusefulforcreatingmaterials,andtheycansupplyavarietyofproceduralandimage-basedtexturesforuseonyourmaterials.I’llusetheimageTexturenodestoapplythetexturesIcreatedinChapter10andChapter11.

Theothernodescreateproceduraltextures.Forexample,thenoisetexturecreatesmulticoloredcloudsthatareusefulforaddingrandom-lookingdetailtosurfaces,andthewavestexturecreatesrepeatingbandsthatcanbedistortedto

looklikewoodgrain.Thecheckerboardisagreattexturefortestingoutmaterialsettings;forexample,byconnectingacheckerboardnodetotheFacinputofaMixShadernode,youcanuseittocomparetwoshaders(seeFigure12-10).We’llcoverusingtextureswithCyclesinmoredetaillaterinthischapter.

NodesinBlenderInternalWhileIwon’tcoverthemindetail,BlenderInternalalsosupportsnodematerials.Althoughtheprinciplesarethesame,theseworkslightlydifferentlyfromCyclesnodes.Insteadofshaders,youcanuseothermaterialsasinputsandcombinethemtomakenewmaterials.Figure12-11showstwomaterialscombinedtocreateathird.

Figure12-10.Controllingthemixingofshaderswithatexture.Here,acheckerboardtextureisusedtocontrolthemixingofaglossyandadiffuseshader.

Figure12-11.BlenderInternalalsosupportsnodematerials,thoughtheyworkslightlydifferently.Here,two(non-node-based)materialshavebeenblended(againusingacheckerboardtexturetocontrolthe

mixing)tocreateathird.

MaterialsfortheBatCreatureLet’slookathowtocreatematerials,beginningwiththeBatCreatureandBlenderInternal.Forthisproject,Ineededmaterialsfortheskin,fur,eyes,andteeth.

SkinIbeganwiththecreature’sskin.IaddedanewmaterialtotheBatCreatureobject—thatis,ourfinalonewithdisplacement,whichI’lluseforrendering.(RemembertherearetwocopiesoftheBatCreatureinthescene:onecopythatI’llusetorenderthebodyandanotherthatIcreatedinChapter9toholdthe

hair.)ToaddanewmaterialtotheBatCreature,IwenttotheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditoranddeletedanyexistingmaterialslots(byclickingthe–buttonatthetopofthetab).Then,Iclicked+Newfromthematerialselectordropdownmenu.Icouldthenstartcreatingthematerial.ThebeginningsofthematerialareshowninFigure12-12.

Sofar,thiswasjustasimplematerial;Imerelytweakedthediffusecolorandthespecularintensityandhardness.IalsoswitchedthespecularshadingtoBlinn,whichgavesofterhighlights.Next,Ineededtostartincorporatingmytexturesandrefiningthematerial.

Toincorporatethediffusetexture,IswitchedtotheTexturestabofthePropertieseditor,selectedthefirsttextureslot,andclicked+Newtoaddanewtexture.ThenIsettheTextureTypetoImage.ThisaddedanImagepaneltotheTexturetabwhereIcouldopenmydiffusetexture.

Figure12-12.TheBatCreaturematerial,shownwithoutanytexturesorsubsurfacescattering.Therenderedmaterialisshownattheright.(SeeChapter13andChapter14forhowtosetupthelighting

andrendersettings.)

MappingCoordinatesToapplythetexturetothemeshproperly,IneededtotellthematerialtousetheUVcoordinatesthatIcreatedinChapter8.

Todoso,IcouldsettheCoordinatesoptionintheMappingpaneltoUV.Thereareseveralotherchoiceshere,though,thatareworthdiscussing.Forexample,theGeneratedoptionwillcreateaproceduralprojectionusingtheProjectionsettingbelow,whichcanbeusefulforapplyingseamlesstextureswithouthaving

tounwrapanobject.Generatedcoordinatesprojectthesurfaceoftheobjectontoanimaginaryshape—aplane,acube,asphere,oracylinder—andusethisprojectiontoapplythetexture.TheresultisshowninFigure12-13.

We’llusesomeoftheotheroptions,suchasstrandcoordinates,laterinthischapter.We’vealreadyseennormalcoordinatesinaction,whenapplyingMatCapimagesforusewithGLSLshading.

InfluenceTheInfluencepaneloftheMaterialstabiswherewesetwhichpropertiesofthematerialourtexturewillaffect.Thepanellistsallthematerialpropertiesthattexturescanbeusedtocontrol,suchasnormals;hardness;alphatransparency;anddiffuse,specular,andmirrorcolorsandintensities.Forourdiffusetexture,we’llstickwiththedefaultofColor,underthediffuseproperties,whichsetsthediffusecolorofthesurfaceusingthetexture’sRGBvalues(seeFigure12-14).IsettheBlendmodeforthistexturetoMix,meaningitwillreplacethedefaultdiffusecolorspecifiedintheMaterialsettings.

Youcanalsouseonlytheblack-and-whitevalueofatextureandignoreitscolorinformationbycheckingtheRGBtoIntensityoption.Thisletsyouchooseaspecificcolortomultiplythisvaluewithinthecolorpickerbelowit,forusewithpropertiesthatstillneedcolors.TheNegativeoptioninvertsthetexturebeforeapplyingittothemodel.TheStenciloptioncanbeparticularlyusefulforcombiningproceduraltexturesbecauseitmakesthetextureactasamaskforthetextureslotsbelow:Whiteareasofthetexturewillallowsubsequenttexturestobeapplied,whileblackareaswillshowonlytextureshigherupinthetextureslotstack.

FurtherTexturesNow,I’llcontinuetoapplytexturestomymaterial.First,we’lllookatthespecularandhardnesstexturesthatIcreatedinChapter11.Toaddthespeculartexturetothematerial,IselectedthenextemptytextureslotfromthetopoftheTexturestabandclicked+Newfromthetextureselectordropdownmenutocreateanewtextureblock.IsetitstypetoImage.Then,IsetthemappingtoUV

Figure12-13.Blender’sgeneratedcoordinatesprojectanarbitraryshapeontoyourobjecttocreateamappingfortextures.Toptobottom:flat,cube,tube,andsphereprojections.Here,cubeandspheredo

agoodjobbecausetheshapeoftheskullislargelysimilartotheseshapes.

asbefore,butthistime,undertheInfluenceoption,Isetthetexturetoaffectthespecularcolorofthematerial.IsettheBlendmodetoMultiplysothatthevaluesfromthetextureweremultipliedwiththeoverallspecularcolorofthematerial.

Forthehardnesstexture,Isetthetexturetoaffectthematerial’shardness,andIenabledtheRGBtoIntensityoptiontomakesureBlenderwouldtreatthetextureasasimplebrightnessvalueratherthanasthreecolorvalues.(RGBtexturescanfailwhenusedwithinputsthatdon’trequirecolorinformation.)IsettheBlendmodetoMultiply.

Figure12-14.AddingmydiffusetexturetotheskinmaterialfortheBatCreature

Figure12-15.ThematerialfortheBatCreaturewithtexturesadded

Notethathavingahardnessvalueof0givesstrangeresults,soeithermakesurethehardnesstexturecontainsnofullyblackareas,orsettheinfluenceofthetexturetolessthan1toeliminatethisissue.

Thiscompletedaddingtexturestomymaterial.ThecurrentresultisshowninFigure12-15.

AddingaNormalMapThoughIhadfinishedaddingtexturestothematerial,youmayrememberthatin

Chapter11,IalsobakedanormalmapfortheBatCreatureasapotentialalternativetousingdisplacement.Atthisstage,IcouldaddthenormalmapinanotherimagetextureslotandsetittoaffecttheNormalsofthematerialintheInfluenceoptions.IalsohadtotellBlenderthatthisisatangentspacenormalmap(notabumpmaporanobjectspacenormalmap),sointheImageSamplingpaneloftheTexturestab,IenabledtheNormalMapoptionandmadesuretheNormalMapSpaceoptionjustbelowwassettoTangent.Theresultingmaterialwillusethetexturestodistortitsnormalswhenrendered,makingitlookmoredetailedevenwithsubdivisionanddisplacementmappingturnedoff.

AsIwasusingdisplacementmapping,Ididn’tneedtousemynormalmapatall,butit’safairalternativeifyouwanttokeeprendertimesloworifyourcomputerisstrugglingwiththepolycountofthescene.

SubsurfaceScatteringSubsurfacescattering(SSS)istheeffectoflightbouncingaroundbelowthesurfaceofamaterial,andit’scommoninmaterialslikeskin,wax,andmarble.Itresultsintheedgesofshadowslookingsomewhatblurred,aslightdiffusesoutfromfullylitareastoareasinshadow.Asthelightscatters,someofitisabsorbed,withtheremaininglightusuallytakingonthecoloroftheunderlyingsubstance.Inthecaseofskin,thefleshandbloodbelowtheskincausethescatteredlighttoappearanorange-redcolor.

Figure12-16.Theeffectofdifferentscalevaluesonsubsurfacescattering.Lefttoright:Scalevaluesof0.01,0.1,and0.5.

ToreplicatethiseffectinBlenderInternal,wecanenablesubsurfacescattering

foramaterial.Thiseffectapproximatesthescatteringoflightwithinanobjectbyprecomputingthelightingoveritssurfaceandthenblurringtheshadows.Italsocauseslighttoscatterthroughthinpartsofthemodel.Thisproducesaniceeffectwhencombinedwithlightingthesubjectfromtheback(asIwilllighttheBatCreatureinChapter13).

EnablingsubsurfacescatteringintheMaterialstabofthePropertieseditorgivesyoualotofoptionstoplaywith.Thesettingsforsubsurfacescatteringareasfollows:

IOR.Thisistheindexofrefractionofthematerial.HighIORsresultinslightlysofterboundariesbetweenlightanddark.

Scale.Thisisthemostimportantsetting,becauseitdeterminesthescaleofthescatteringeffectasaratiobetweenBlender’sunitsinthe3DViewportandreal-worldscales.Ifyou’vebuiltyourscenetoascaleof1Blenderunit=1m,thenavalueof0.001is“correct,”thoughyoucansetthistowhatevervalueachievesthedesiredresults(seeFigure12-16).

ScatteringColor.Thisdeterminesthecoloroflightscattering.Itseffectdependslargelyuponhowyousetthecolorblend(asdiscussedbelow).Whenthecolorblendissethigh,itcolorsallofthescatteredlightwiththecoloryouchoose,generallyturningyourwholemeshthatcolor.Whenthecolorblendissetto0,ithastheoppositeeffect,causingthescatteredlighttotakeontheinversecolor—thatis,thecolorontheoppositesideofthecircleinthecolorpicker(seeFigure12-17).

Figure12-17.Theeffectofdifferentcolorblendsettingsonsubsurfacescattering.Here,thesamebluishcolorisusedasthescatteringcolorforallthreematerials,butdifferentcolorblendvaluesareused.

Lefttoright:Colorblendvaluesof0.0,0.5,and1.0.

RGBRadius.Inmanymaterials,somecolorsoflightscatterfartherthanothers.Forexample,inpaleskin,redlightscattersfarthest,greenscattersabouthalfasfarasredlight,andbluescattersaboutaquarterasfarasredlight.Thesesettingsletyoudefinetherelativescatteringdistancesforred,blue,andgreenlight.

Blend(Color/Texture).Thesesettingsdeterminehowmuchthescatteringcoloranddiffusetexturespreadout.Igenerallysetbothoftheseverylow,ifnotto0,becausetheresultsaremorepleasing.Highcolorblendvaluestendtocausethescatteringcolortowashoutanyothercolorsinthematerial(seeFigure12-17),andhightextureblendvaluescausethetexturetolookblurry.

ScatteringWeight(Front/Back).Thisadjuststherelativeamountofscatteringfromthefrontandbackofthemodel.Increasingthebackscatteringweightcauseslighttoscatterthroughthinpartsofthemodelmorenoticeably,whichisoftendesirable.Settingthefrontvalueto0causesthematerialtoscatternolightfromthefrontofthesurface,makingitblackforallbutbackscatteredlight,asshowninFigure12-18.(Thisissometimesusefulinnodematerialsetups.)

Error.ThisvaluedeterminesthequalityoftheSSSeffect.Lowervaluesgivemoreaccurateresultsbutatthecostoflongerrendertimes.Thedefaultvalueisusuallyfine.

Figure12-18.Frontandbackscattering.Lefttoright:Frontscatteringonly,frontandbackscattering,andbackscatteringonly.

FortheBatCreature,IsettheSSSsettingsasshowninFigure12-19.Isetthescalerelativetothesizeofthecreature,whichIcreatedata1m=1Blenderunit

scale,andchosetealforthescatteringcolor,whichtogetherwithacolorblendsetto0gaveaniceorangescattering.Isetthebackscatteringweighthightoallowlighttoscatterthroughthewings.ThiscompletedtheskinmaterialfortheBatCreature.

Figure12-19.TheSSSsettingsfortheBatCreature’sskin.Combinedwiththelightingfrombehind,subsurfacescatteringcausesthewingstoglowwithlightscatteringthroughthem.

Teeth,Nails,andEyesTocreatethematerialsfortheteethandnails,IstartedbyduplicatingthematerialIcreatedfortheskin,toningdowntheSSSeffect,andincreasingtheoverallspecularitytomaketheseareasshinier.

Toduplicateamaterial,assignittoanobject.Then,inthematerialselectordropdownmenu,clickthe+icontomakeanewmaterialbyduplicatingtheonecurrentlyassigned.Youcanthenmodifytheduplicateleavingtheoriginalunchanged.Thisisusefulwhencreatingamaterialsimilartooneyouhavealreadymade.

Fortheeyes,Icreatedtwonewmaterials.RecallthatwhenImodeledtheeyesinChapter5,Icreatedthemastwoseparateparts:acorneaobjectthatformstheoutersurfaceoftheeyeandaninnerpartthatwouldbecometheeyeballitself.Havingunwrappedandtexturedtheinnerpart,Isetupamaterialsimilartotheskinmaterial,withslightlylessredsubsurfacescattering.Ialsoturnedspecularreflectionsforthismaterialoff(bysettingthespecularintensityto0),asthespecularreflectionsfortheeyewillcomefromthecorneaobject.IappliedtheeyetextureIpaintedinChapter11asthediffusetextureforthematerial.

Forthecornea,Ineededashiny,transparentmaterialthatwouldn’tcastashadowontheinnereyeobject.Toproducethis,Icreatedanewmaterialassignedtothisobject.Then,IturnedontransparencyintheMaterialsettingsandsetittoZTransparency,withthealphaforthematerialsetto0.Thesesettingsmakeamaterialtransparent,withtheexceptionofanyspecularandmirrorreflections,iftheyarepresent.Iturnedthespecularandhardnessofthematerialupquitehigh,andtopreventthematerialfromcastingshadows,IdisabledTraceableintheOptionspanelandCastBuffershadowsintheShadowspanel.ThetwomaterialsfortheeyescanbeseeninFigure12-20.

FurMaterialsforfurarealittlemorecomplexthanregularmaterialsandrequireabitofknowledgeaboutlightingandrendering.I’llcoverthematerialaspectshereandsomeofthelightingaspectsinChapter13.

InBlenderInternal,strandparticlescanberenderedeitherlikeanyothermaterialorusingBlender’sStrandrenderingoption.Blender’sStrandrendering

optionoffersamuchfasterwaytorenderhairandfur,butitisn’tcompatiblewithray-tracedshadows.Instead,itallowsonlyfortherenderingofshadowsusingspotlampswithbufferedshadows.

Toenablestrandrendering,usetheRenderpanelintheParticlestabofthePropertieseditor(seeFigure12-21).FortheBatCreature,Ioptedtousestrandrendering.InChapter13,we’lldiscusscreatinganappropriatelightingsetupforusewiththissetup.

Figure12-20.Thetwomaterialsfortheeyes.Thespecularhighlightscomefromthematerialappliedtothecorneamesh.Therestarefromtheinnereyemesh.

Figure12-21.EnablingstrandrenderingfromtheParticlestabofthePropertieseditor

Next,IspecifiedtheStrandoptionsforthematerial.IntheStrandpaneloftheMaterialstab,youcanspecifyhowthickthestrandswillbeandtheirshape,amongotheroptions:

Size(Root/Tip/Minimum).Thisdeterminesthethicknessoftheparticlesattherootandtipofthehair.TheMinimumsettingspecifiestheminimumwidthofastrandinpixelsthatBlenderwillrender.

BlenderUnits.Bydefault,thethicknessesyouspecifyusingtheSizesettingarespecifiedinpixels.Thiscanbeproblematicifyouhavealotofparticlesatdifferentdistancesawayfromthecamera,astheywillberenderedwiththesamewidthinpixels,makingthefarawayoneslooktoothick.TurningonBlenderUnitsletsyouspecifyparticlewidthinBlenderunitsinstead.

TangentShading.Thisoptionusesthestrand’stangentdirectionratherthanitsnormalforshading,whichgenerallygivesbetterresults.

Shape.Thismodifiesthetransitionbetweenthewidthoftherootandthetipofthestrand.Thedefaultvalueof0givesalineartransition.Negativevaluesresultinaspikyshape,whilepositivevaluesmakethestrandlookmoreroundedattheend.

WidthFade.Thissettingcausesthestrandtofadeacrossitswidth,butonlywhenstrandrenderingisenabled.

UVMap.ThisallowsyoutooverwriteoneofyourUVcoordinatesetstoprovideaUVmapforthestrands.Inturn,thisletsyouUVmapanimagetoallyourstrandsfortexturing,butitworksonlywithstrandrenderingdisabled.

SurfaceDiffuse.Thissettingcausesthediffuseshadingofthesurfacetoblendwiththestrandshadingoverthespecifieddistance.

StrandCoordinatesAsmentionedabove,wecantexturestrandmaterialsbyusingtheUVmapoverride.Asimpleroption,however,istousethestrandcoordinatesformappingwhenapplyingtextures.Whilethisonlygivesaone-dimensionalcoordinatealongthelengthofthestrand,thisisusuallyenoughforthinstrandsanyway.

FortheBatCreature’sfur,IfirstsetupasimplematerialusingthesettingsshowninFigure12-22.NoticethatIenabledZTransparencyandsettheAlphatoabout0.7.FortheStrandsettings,IenabledBlenderUnitsandthensettheRootandTipsizesto0.00125and0.0001,respectively.(Thesevaluesaresmallbecausethehairsneedtobeverythin,andtheirwidthsarenowgiveninBlenderunits.)IalsoturnedonTangentShadingandsetWidthFadeto1.0.

Next,intheTexturesettings,IusedBlender’sproceduralblendtexturetoaddafadetothehair’salphaalongitslength,makingitbecometransparenttowardthetip.Iaddedanewtexturetothematerial’sfirsttextureslotandsetitstypetoBlend.Then,IbeganadjustingthecolorsoftheblendtexturebyfirstenablingtheRampoptionintheColorstabandthenadjustingthecolorsthattheproceduraltextureused.IclickedAddtocreateacouplemorestopsalongthegradientandthensetthecolorstofadefromtransparentblacktoopaquewhiteandback(seeFigure12-23).Finally,underMapping,Isetthetexture’scoordinatestoalpha,andunderInfluence,Isetthetexturetomultiplywiththematerial’salphaanditsspecularintensity.

Ididsomethingsimilarforthehaircolor.IcreatedanewblendtextureinthenextTextureslot,butthistimeIsetupablendfromblacktowhite(bothalpha1.0).Again,Imappedthetexturetothestrandcoordinatesandsetittomultiplybyafactorof0.8withthestrand’sdiffusecolor,whichmadethebaseofthestrandsalittledarker,thusfakingabitofshadowing.

Next,Iaddedacloudtexture,whichIsettomodifythematerial’scolor—thistimeinfluencingthediffusecolorwithafactorof0.8,withtheBlendmodesettoMultiplyanditsmappingsettoUV.Iturnedthescaleofthecloudtexturedowntotheabsoluteminimum,essentiallyturningthetextureintoblack-and-whitenoiseandgivingeachhairaslightlydifferentbrightness.Thiscompletedthehairmaterial,withtheresultinghairseeninFigure12-24.

Figure12-23.Modifyingthecolorsofaproceduralblendtexture

Figure12-22.Thebasicsettingsformyfurmaterial

Figure12-24.Thehairmaterial

PeachFuzzIsetupaverysimilarmaterialforthepeachfuzzparticlesystem.Forthismaterial,Idecreasedthesizesettingsforthestrandstomakethemthinnerandreducedtheoverallalphaofthematerialtomakethehairlookwispier.TheresultingmaterialcanbeseeninFigure12-25.Itmainlyshowsuparoundtheedgesofthebody,whichisjustwhatIwanted.

ThiscompletedmymaterialsfortheBatCreature.

Figure12-25.Mypeachfuzzhairprovidesamoresubtleeffect;itaddsabitofahalooffluffaroundbrightlylitpartsofthemodel.

MaterialsfortheSpiderBotFortheSpiderBot,IchosetouseBlender’sCyclesrendererbecauseitallowedmetocreatesomeniceshinymaterialstocomplementthemodel.Ibeganbycreatingasinglematerialtoapplytoallthe(textured)partsoftheSpiderBotmesh.YoucanusetheMaterialUtilsScripttodothisquickly:SimplyenableitinBlender’sAdd-Onsmenu(UserPreferences▸AddOns)andusetheshortcutQtoassignmaterialstoallyourselectedobjectsatonce.Bydefault,whenyoucreateanewCyclesmaterialforanobject,BlenderwillassignadiffuseBSDFshader,liketheoneshowninFigure12-26.Thedefaultmaterialwillbeaplainmattewhite.

EditingNodeMaterialsToeditCyclesmaterials,useBlender’sNodeeditor,keepingitvisiblealongsidethe3DViewpointwitharenderpreviewofthescene(amajoradvantageover

BlenderInternalthatI’lldiscussshortly).ToallowspacefortheNodeeditoraswellasthepreview,Isplitthedefaultlayoutoncebyright-clickingonthebottomedgeofthe3DViewportandchoosingSplitArea.Then,Isplittheleft-handareaintwo,horizontally.

OnceIsplituptheworkarea,ImadeoneofthenewareasintoaNodeeditorandtheotherintoa3DViewport,withitsDisplayMethodsettoRendered.IntheNodeeditorheader,Iselectedthematerialsiconintheleft-handgroupoficonsandthecubeiconintheright-handgroup(seeFigure12-27)sothattheNodeeditorwoulddisplaythenodetreeforthecurrentmaterial.ThisgavemeaworkablelayoutforeditingCyclesmaterials.

TheCyclesRenderPreviewWhentheDisplaymethodfora3DViewportissettoRendered,BlenderwillcontinuouslyrenderandupdateaCyclesrenderofthecurrentviewinthatviewport(asinFigure12-26).Thistechniqueisagreatwaytogetinstantfeedbackonhowthematerialsandlightinginyourscenewilllook.

NOTEWhilewehaven’tcoveredlightingyet,it’shelpfulatthisstagetoaddsomebasiclightstothescenesothattherenderedpreviewwillreflectthefinallook.JumptoChapter13formoreonlighting,orsimplyaddacoupleoflightstothescenebypressingSHIFT-Ainthe3DViewport,choosingLamps▸Point,andaddingapointlight.AdjustthebrightnessofthelightusingtheStrengthsettingintheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor.Addacoupleofbasiclightstothescenejusttohelpworkonmaterials,orcreateamorefinishedlightingsetup.

AddingTexturesNext,Istartedcombiningfurthershadersintomymaterial.IbeganbyaddingaGlossyBSDFshader(SHIFT-A▸Shaders▸GlossyBSDF)andusinganAddShaderNodetoblendtheglossyanddiffuseshadersbyconnectingbothoftheshaderoutputsocketsfromtheShadernodestotheAddnodeandbyconnectingtheAddnodeoutputsockettotheMaterialOutputnode(seeFigure12-27).

Next,Istartedincorporatingmytextures,beginningwithmydiffusemap.IaddedanImageTexturenode(SHIFT-A▸Textures▸ImageTexture)andopenedmydiffusemapbyclickingthefoldericoninthenode.Iconnectedthecoloroutput

ofthisnodetothecolorinputofmyDiffuseShadernode.

Figure12-26.MyscreenlayoutforeditingCyclesmaterials

Ididthesameformyspecularcolormap,connectingittothecolorinputoftheSpecularColornode.Bydefault,themappingforthesetexturesistheactiveUVcoordinateset,soyoudon’tstrictlyneedtodefinethismanually.Butbecauseitcanhelptoknowwhatcoordinatesatextureuses,IaddedaTextureCoordinatesnodetothesceneandconnecteditsUVoutputtothevector(blue)inputofmyImageTexturenodes.DoingsotellsthesenodestousetheactiveUVmapasthesourceoftheirtexturecoordinates.ThenodesetupsofarisshowninFigure12-27.

Figure12-27.TheevolvingnodesetupfortheSpiderBotmaterial

SocketTypesNowthatIhaveareasonablycomplexnodesetupforthematerial,let’stalkaboutnodesockets.Nodesocketsarethelittlecoloredcirclesthatdenotetheinputsandoutputsofanodeandthatallownodestobeconnectedbyclickinganddraggingaconnectionfromtheoutputsocketofonenodetotheinputsocketofanother.NoticeinFigure12-27thatthesocketsweusedtoconnectnodesallhavematchingcolors—greenwithgreen,yellowwithyellow.Thecolorsneedtomatchbecausedifferentoutputsocketspassdifferenttypesofdataanddifferentinputsocketsexpectdifferentkindsofdata.Somemayrequirecolorinformation,someonlyasinglevalue.Othersmayrequirevectorinformation,liketexturecoordinatesornormals.

Nodesocketsarecolorcodedtoclarifywhatanodeexpectsasinputandwhatitcreatesasoutput:

Bluesocketsareforvectordata.Theycancarrymultiplevalues,suchasUVcoordinates(twodimensional)orpositiondata(threedimensional).

Greensocketsareforshaders.Theycarryalltheinformationthatdetermineshowamaterialinteractswithlight.

Graysocketsareforvaluedata.Theycarryasinglenumericalvalue.

Yellowsocketsareforcolordata.TheycarryRGBAvalues(red,green,blue,andalpha).

Certaintypesofsocketscanbemixedandmatched.Forexample,valuesocketscanbeusedastheinputforcolorsockets,andBlenderwillsimplytreatthevaluedataasablack-and-whiteimage.Colorsocketscanalsobeattachedtovalueinputs,andBlenderwillusetheoverallbrightnessofthecolorasavalueinput.However,shadersocketsaremorecomplexandcanonlybeconnectedtoothershadersockets.

RoughnessMapInChapter11,IcreatedaroughnessmapfortheSpiderBot.InCycles,IcanconnectthismaptotheroughnessinputfortheGlossyBSDFnodetocontrolhowblurryorsharpthereflectionsfromthematerialshouldbe.Darkareaswillhavesharpreflections,whilelightareaswillhaveblurryones(remember,thisistheoppositeofahardnessmap).

Toaccomplishthis,IaddedanewImageTexturenode,loadedintheroughnessmap,andconnecteditsoutputtotheGlossynodesroughnessinput.Asaresult,brightareasofthetexturehadblurrierhighlights,anddarkareashadsharp,glossyhighlights.

IalsosetthecolorspaceoftheImageTexturetoNon-ColorDatafromthedropdownmenuintheImagenodetoindicatethatthisnodewasnotbeingusedasacolorimage,ensuringthatBlenderwouldn’tperformanygammacorrectiononthisnode.

AdjustingInputsTogetthemostoutofmytextureswithouthavingtoedittheminGIMP,ItweakedthemusingBlender’snodes.Forinstance,todarkenthediffusecolorsalittleandmakethereflectionsfromtheglossyshaderalittlesharper,IaddedaColorMixnode,settingitstypetoMultiply,itsfactorto0.5,anditssecondcolorinputtoblack.

WhenthisColorMixnodeisdraggedovertheconnectionbetweenanImageTexturenodeandaShadernode,Blenderaddsittothechainautomatically.(Theconnectionwillbehighlighted,andthenewnodewillbeinsertedwhenyoudropit.)IdidthisfortheconnectionbetweenthediffusemapandtheDiffuseBSDFshadertodarkenthetextureslightly.

FortheGlossyBSDFshader,inordertosharpenupthereflections,Ineededto

reducethevaluesoftheinputtotheroughnessshader.IaccomplishedthisbyaddingaMathnodebetweenmyroughnessimageTexturenodeandtheroughnessinputoftheglossyshader.IsettheoperationofthenodetoMultiplyandsetthesecondvalueofthenodeto0.5.ThishalvedthevaluesfromtheroughnessimagebeforepassingthemtotheGlossyShadernodesothattheoverallroughnessoftheinputtotheshaderwashalved,givingsharper,moreglossyreflections.

Fortheshinygreenareasofthemesh,Iaddedsomevarianceincolorbasedontheangleofthesurfacetothecamera.Thisgavethematerialaniceiridescentlook.IaccomplishedthisbyaddingaGeometryInputnode(SHIFT-A▸Input▸Geometry)toprovidethesurfacenormalasaninputandaNormalnodetotakethedotproductofthisinputwiththeviewdirection.IthenusedthisdotproductoutputtomodifythehueofmyspecularcolormapwithaHueSaturationValuenode.ByusingthedotproductoutputoftheNormalnode,Igotavalue(ratherthanavector)thatvariedwiththesurfacenormalofthematerial.WhenthisvaluewasusedtoaffectthehueinputoftheHueSaturationValuenode,thecolorofthematerialwassubtlyshiftedasthesurfaceofthematerialtiltedawayfromthecamera.YoucanseethenodechainIusedinFigure12-28.It’sasomewhatcomplexsetup,butseeingitlaidoutandtestingitforyourselfshouldhelpyoumakesenseofit.

Figure12-28.ThematerialfortheSpiderBot,withsomenodesaddedtoadjusttheeffectsofthetextures

OtherMaterialsIstillneededtomakeacoupleofmaterialsfortheSpiderBot:ashinymaterialfortheeyes(Iusedasimpleglossyshadersettodarkgray,withaslightroughnessof0.05)andamaterialforthewires(IcombinedaglossyshaderandadiffuseshaderwithaShaderMixnode).YoucanseethesematerialsinFigure12-29andthefinishedSpiderBotmaterialinFigure12-30.

MaterialsfortheJungleTempleIusedtheCyclesrendererfortheJungleTemplesceneaswell.Thissceneneededavarietyofmaterials:leafmaterialsforthefoliage,genericmaterialsfortherocksandsoil,andacoupleofuniquematerialsfortheobjectsItexturedindividually,suchastheforegroundstonesandthestatues.

Figure12-29.TheextraSpiderBotmaterials.Top:Theeyes,asimpleglossymaterial.Bottom:Thewires,aDiffuseBSDFshaderwitharoughGlossyBSDFshadermixedin.

Figure12-30.ThelookofthefinishedSpiderBotmaterial.SeeChapter13andChapter14forinformationonlightingandrendering.

GroundThegroundmaterialwasprobablythesimplesttocreate.It’ssimplyamixofaDiffuseandaGlossyBSDFshader,usingmypaintedtexturesasinputsforthecolors.BecauseIfeltmyoriginaltexturesmadethemateriallookalittlelight,IusedaGammanodetodarkenthemslightlywithoutlosingtoomuchcontrast(seeFigure12-31).

StoneMaterialFormystonematerial,IwantedtocombinethetwodifferentstonetexturesImadeinChapter11,allowingeachtoshowthroughindifferentareas,togiveabitofvariationinthelookofthematerial.Todoso,IstartedbycreatingabasicshaderthatmixedadiffuseandglossyshadertogetherusingaShaderMixnode.

IcontrolledtheamountofmixingwithaLayerWeightnode,usingitsblendoutput.TheLayerWeightnodeblendsfrom0to1dependingonthenormalsofamesh:Surfacesfacingthecameragetlowvalues,andonesfacingawaygethighvalues(theexactvaluesdependontheoutputused—facingorfresnel).UsingtheFacingoutputofthisnodetocontroltheblendingbetweentheglossyanddiffuseshadersproducedsomeshinyhighlightsaroundtheedgesofobjectswithamorediffuselookwhenviewedstraighton,asshowninsection1ofFigure12-32.

Tocreateapatchydistributionforthedifferentstonetextures,IcombinedacoupleofVoronoiTexturenodeswithdifferentscalesandthenusedthesetocontrolthemixingbetweenthedifferenttexturesfortherocksforboththespecularanddiffusemaps,asshowninFigure12-322.IalsousedsomeMapnodestoscaleupthetexturemappingsformyrocktexturestomakethemmatchoneanotherandfitthescaleofthescene,whichyoucanseeinFigure12-323.

Figure12-31.ThesoilfortheJungleTemplescene

Figure12-32.Myrockmaterialsetupissomewhatcomplex.ALayerWeightnode1isusedtoblendbetweenthespecularanddiffuseshaders.TwoVoronoitexturesaddedtogether2controlthemixingofmyrocktextures(twofordiffusecolors,twoforspecular).Thetexturesthemselvesarescaledusing

someMapnodes3,andthespecularcolorsarealsousedfordisplacement4.

DisplacementCyclescurrentlysupportstheuseofablack-and-whiteinput(orconvertinganRGBinputtojustasinglevalue)tomimictheeffectofsmallbumpsinthesurfaceofamaterial.Thisisoftenreferredtoasbumpmappinginotherrenderengines.Cyclesdoesnotyetsupportnormalmaps.

Toaddabitmoreofatexturedlooktothesurfaceofmyrocks,Iusedthespecularcolors(thetwomixedtogether)asthedisplacementinputfortheMaterialOutputnode,thoughIusedaMultiplynodetoscaledowntheirvaluestoreducetheeffect,asshowninFigure12-324.ThefinishedrockmaterialisshowninFigure12-33.

StatueThestatuematerialisbasicallyjustacopyofthegenericstonematerial,exceptthatitusesthetexturesIpaintedforthestatue.Tocreateit,Iappliedthestonematerialtothestatueandthenclickedthe+iconinthematerialselectordropdownmenutomakeanewmaterialusingthecurrentone.Next,Ideleted

(X)theextraneousnodesfromthematerialintheNodeeditorandreplacedthemwithmytexturesforthestatue(seeFigure12-34).

Figure12-33.Therockmaterial

Figure12-34.Thestatuematerialisverysimilartotherockmaterial,exceptthatitusesitsowntextures.

LeavesFortheleaves,Iwantedatranslucentmaterialsothatleavesilluminatedononesidewouldappearbrightwhenviewedfromtheunlitsideaswell.Toachievethis,ImixedaTranslucentBSDFshaderwithaDiffuseBSDFshaderandmixedinspecularhighlightsontoptomaketheleavesshiny.Theleafmesheshadtobetransparentinordertomaketheareasofthemeshthatweren’tpartoftheleavesinvisible.IaccomplishedthisbymixingtheresultofallthenodessofarwithaTransparentBSDFshader,usingthealphamapfromChapter11tocontrolthemixing(seeFigure12-35).

ForegroundRocksandSoilInChapter11,Icreatedahand-paintedtexturefortheforegroundobjectsfromthecamera’sperspective.Tousethis,Ineededtocreateauniquematerialfortheseobjects.IbeganbyduplicatingthematerialIcreatedforthestatueandthenreplacingitstextureinputswiththeonesIcreatedfortheforegroundobjects.

Figure12-35.ThematerialfortheIvyGenleaves.Theotherleaves,whichsharetexturesandthesamematerial,werecreatedinthesameway.

Tomapthetexturestothemodelscorrectly,Isnappedthe3DViewporttothecameraview(NUMPAD0)andUVunwrappedtheforegroundobjectsusingtheUnwrap▸ProjectfromViewoperatorforeachobjecttowhichthematerialwasapplied.Thisprojectedtheobjects’UVcoordinatestomatchthecamera’sperspectiveandsoallowedmetousetheUVcoordinatesasthetexturecoordinates.ThematerialnodesforthismaterialcanbeseeninFigure12-36.

PuddlesForthepuddles,Ineededawatermaterialthatwouldletsomelightpenetratethesurfaceandshowsomereflections.Theglassmaterialalonewoulddothejob(usinganIORvalueof1.33,equaltothatofwater),buttogetabitmorecontroloverhowmuchlightwouldpenetratethesurfaceandthestrengthofthereflections,IblendedTransparent,Glass,andGlossyBSDFshaders.ImixedintheglossyshaderusingaLayerWeightnodeconnectedtotheMixnodetogetabitofextrareflectionatlowviewingangles.

Figure12-36.Thematerialfortheforegroundrocksandsoil

Toproduceripplesinthesurfaceofthewater,IcreatedaWavesTexturenode(SHIFT-A▸Texture▸WaveTexture)andconnectedittothedisplacementsocketontheMaterialOutputnodetocreatesomedistortioninthewater’ssurface.Bydefault,theWavesnodegivesstraight,repeatingwaves,butbysettingthewavetypetoRingsandincreasingthedistortionvalue,youcangetsomeniceripples(seeFigure12-37).

Figure12-37.Thewatermaterial,createdbymixingTransparent,Glass,andGlossyBSDFshadersandusingawavetexturetoprovidesomedisplacement

GeneralTipsforCreatingMaterialsHerearesomegeneralprinciplestokeepinmindwhencreatingmaterialsinyourprojects.Chiefly,theyinvolvepayingattentiontothereal-worldequivalentsofthematerialsyouaretryingtoreplicateandconstructingyourmaterialaccordingly:

Keepreflectionamountssane.Makesurethatthetotalamountoflightyourobjectisreflectingissensible.WhenusingtheAddnodetocombineshadersinCycles,it’spossibletocreateamaterialthatreflectsmorelightthanitwouldrealisticallyreceiveinthefirstplacebyaddingtoomanyshaderstogether.Similarly,inBlenderInternal,keepinmindthatthediffuseandspecularreflectionamounts(plusthelightabsorbedbytheobject)shouldroughlyaddupto1—forexample,adiffuseintensityof0.6andaspecularintensityof0.3,leavingsomeabsorbedlighttospare.Otherwise,yourmaterialwilllookunrealisticallybrightnexttoothermaterials.

Therearenoperfectmaterials.Nomaterialreflects100percentofalllight,andnomaterialabsorbs100percenteither.Trynottomakeanymaterialsthatarecompletelydarkorcompletelywhite(unlessyouaredoingsoforagoodreason).

Usesaturationinmoderation.Thecolorofamaterialisrarely100percentsaturated,evenforbrightlycoloredmaterialslikeplastics.Mosteverydaycolorsarelessthan85percentsaturated,sokeepthecolorsofyourmaterialsinasensiblerangetomakethembelievable.

Keepitsimple.Trytoavoidmakingcomplexmaterialstoensureshorterrendertimes.Forexample,inBlenderInternal,trytouseray-tracedreflectionsonlywhenreallyneeded.

Supplementmaterialswithproceduraltextures.Blender’sbuilt-inproceduraltexturesareagreatwaytosupplementmaterialsbyusingthemasbumpmapsortoblendothertextures.Doingsocanaddalotofvariationtoyourmaterialswhilepreventingyoufromhavingtolaboriouslyhand-painttextures.

InReviewInthischapter,westartedwithalookatBlender’soptionsforcreatingmaterials,bothfortheBlenderInternalrendererandCycles.Becausethesetworenderenginesrequiredifferentapproacheswhencreatingmaterials,weexploredtheirdifferentoptionsandrequirements.Thenwemovedontocreatingmaterialsforthethreeprojects.FortheBatCreature,IcreatedBlenderInternal–compatiblematerialsforthebody,fur,eyes,nails,andteeth.Forthebody,Icreatedamaterialwithsubsurfacescatteringtomimicrealisticskin,andforthefur,Icoveredthedifferentoptionsforfurmaterialsandrendering.IusedBlender’sstrandshadertorenderthefurandexaminedwaystoapplytexturestofur.

FortheSpiderBotandtheJungleTemplescene,IcreatedmaterialsforrenderingwithCycles,usingBlender’sNodeeditortocreatearangeofdifferentmaterialsbycombiningShadernodesandusingtexturestosupplytheirinputs.

Theprojectsarenowreadytobelitandrendered.InChapter13,you’lllearnaboutdifferentlightingsetupsandhowtouselightinginbothBlenderInternalandCycles.

Chapter13.Lighting

Lightingisperhapstheaspectofanimagethatmostimpactshowweperceiveit.Lightingcanchangethetoneofanimageandmakecharactersandscenerylookeitherdarkandsinisterorwarmandinviting.Inthischapter,I’llworkonlightingtheprojectsI’vebuiltsofarusingavarietyoftechniques,includingbothBlenderInternal’sarrayoflightingoptionsandCycles’morephysicallyaccuratemethodsforcreatingdifferentkindsoflights.

BlenderInternalvs.CyclesLightingBothBlenderInternalandCycleshaveawidevarietyofpowerfultoolsforlighting.BlenderInternalsupportsarangeoflightsthatbehaveindifferentways,aswellastwomethodsforrenderingshadows—usingeithershadowbuffersorraytracing—bothofwhichwillbediscussedshortly.

Cyclesusesonlyraytracingforlighting,anditsresultsaremorerealisticthanthoseofBlenderInternal.Italsosupportstheemissionoflightfrommeshes,allowingyoutocreatelightsofanyshape.ButwhileCyclesisthemorerealisticlightingrenderer,neitherCyclesnorBlenderInternalistherightchoiceforeverything,andbothhaveadvantages.Forexample,BlenderInternal’slightsarequicktorenderandofferawidevarietyofusesandstyles,whileCyclesoffersareliableandrealisticwayofworkingwithlightsthatdoesn’trequiremuchtweakingtoproducegoodresults.We’llusebothrenderersinthischapteraswelighttheBatCreatureforrenderinginBlenderInternalandtheSpiderBotandJungleTempleforrenderinginCycles.

LightinginBlenderInternalBlenderInternalusesBlender’slampobjectstolightascene.Tocreatealamp,pressSHIFT-AinObjectmodeandchooseoneofthefollowingunderLamp:

Area.Thiscreatesasquare-orrectangular-shapedlampthatemitslightfromalloveritsarea.Arealampssupportray-tracedshadowsandarewellsuitedforcreatingsoftshadowsandstudiostylelighting,buttheycanslowrendertimesignificantlybecausetheyrequiremoresamplesthanotherlamptypestoproducenoise-freeresults.

Hemi.Thislamplightstheentiresceneinadiffuseway,similartooutdoorlightfromthesky.Becauseitdoesn’tsupportshadows,it’sveryquicktorenderbutoflimiteduse.

Point.Thiscreatesapointlight,whichemitslightinalldirectionsfromthelamp’scenter.Itsupportsray-tracedshadowsandisagoodgeneralpurposelamp.

Spot.Spotlampsarelikeaspotlightatatheateroraflashlight.Theyemitlightinaconefromtheirorigin,makingthemagoodtoolforlightingspecificareas.Theysupportbothray-tracedshadowsandshadowbuffers.Shadowbuffersproduceshadowswithoutraytracingandaregenerallysignificantlyfastertorender.Thismakesthemveryversatileandusefulforscenesthatneedahighdegreeofcontroloverlighting.

Sun.Thislamplightsanentirescenefromonedirection,justasthesunmight.Itsupportsray-tracedshadows.

ThesettingsforeachlampcanbealteredfromtheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor,whichhasalampiconwhenalampisselectedastheactiveobject.Youcanadjustalamp’sbrightnessandfalloff—thedistanceoverwhichthestrengthofitslightfades—aswellasthesettingsforshadows,colors,andsoforth.Whiledifferentlamps—particularlyspotlamps—havecertainuniquefeatures,theygenerallysharethesamesettings.ThesettingsforapointlampareshowninFigure13-1anddiscussedbelow.

LightColor.Thiscolorpickerletsyouchoosethecolorofyourlight.

Energy.Thisdeterminestheoverallintensityofyourlight.

Falloff.Availableonlyforpointandspotlamps,thiscontrolsthedistanceandcurveoverwhichthestrengthofthelightfades.Thedrop-downmenuletsyouspecifythefalloffcurveforthefade(chooseInverseSquareforrealisticfalloffandexperimentwiththeothers).Distanceletsyouspecifytheoveralldistanceforthefade—thehigherthesetting,thefartherthelightwillspread.TheSphere

settingcausestheintensityofthelighttofadetozerooverthedetermineddistanceratherthantaperingoffindefinitely.

Figure13-1.Thesettingsforapointlamp

Negative.Thisturnsthelightintoan“anti”lampthatremoveslightfromthesceneinsteadofaddingit.Thissettingcanbeusefulforcreatingdarkcornersorhidingareasofasceneinshadow.

ThisLayerOnly.Thiscauseslightstoilluminateonlyobjectsontheirsame

layer.Thissettingcanbeusefulforlightingindividualobjects.

Specular/Diffuse.Thesesettingsletyoucontrolwhetheralightwillcontributetospecularanddiffusereflections.Itcanbehandytoturnoffalamp’sspecularreflectionsinordertoaddsoftilluminationtoanareawithoutcreatinghighlights.Byturningoffdiffusereflections,youcanpositionalighttoplacehighlightspreciselywithoutchangingtheoveralldiffuselighting.

ShadowsinBlenderInternalBlenderofferstwowaystorendershadows:raytracingandshadowbuffers.

RayTracingThefirstmethodusesraytracingtodeterminethepartsofameshinshadow.Raytracing“fires”raysoutfromthecameraforeachpixelinanimageanddrawsthemtothesurfacethepixelisfacing.Furtherraysaredrawntothelightsinthescenetodeterminewhetherthatpointisinlightorshadow:Ifaraycanbedrawntothelightwithoutintersectinganotherobject,thepointislit;otherwise,itisinshadow.

Whentherearemultiplelightsorsoftshadows,multipleraysmustbecastperpixel,increasingrendertimes.Thesamegoesforray-tracedreflectionsandtransparency,whereraysmaybereflectedorrefractedmultipletimes.Raytracingcanproducecrisp,pixel-perfectshadowsaswellassoftshadows,andit’smoreaccuratebutgenerallyslowerthanshadowbuffers.

ShadowBuffersTheothermethodusesshadowbuffersandisonlyavailableforspotlamps.Shadowbufferstakeadvantageofthespotlamp’srestrictedconeofilluminationtocreateamapofwhichareasareinshadowovertherangeofanglesthatthelampcovers.Essentially,Blendercreatesabasicrenderofthescenefromthelamp’spointofview:Areasthatcanbeseenfromthelamp’sviewpointarelit,whileareasthatcannotareinshadow.

Shadow-buffershadowsaregenerallyfastertorenderthanray-tracedonesandarealsocompatiblewiththestrandrendererforhair.Infact,thedeepshadow-

bufferoptionforspotlampsisideallysuitedtorenderingshadowscastbyhair.Butgettingaccuratebufferedshadows,whichyoudobyincreasingtheresolutionoftheshadow-buffermap,canusealotofmemory,andthebordersoflow-resolutionbufferedshadowscanlookjagged(seeFigure13-2),sobesuretosetthemupcorrectly.

CommonShadowOptionsIntheShadowpanelofthelampsettings,thefollowingoptionsarecommontobothray-tracedandbuffershadows.

ShadowColor.Thisoptionletsyousetacolorfortheshadow.Ofcourse,inreality,shadowshavenocolor,sothisisactuallyatrickdesignedtohelpchangetheaestheticofyourlighting.LeaveitsettoBlackfornormal(uncolored)shadows.

ThisLayerOnly.Thiscausesonlyobjectsonthesamelayerasthelamptocastshadows,thoughobjectsonanylayermaybelitbythelampaslongasthecorrespondingoptionisn’tturnedonintheLamppanel.

OnlyShadow.Thiscausesthelamptocastonlyshadows,meaningthatyouwillneedotherlightsinyourscenetolightyourobjects.Thisoptioncanbeusedtocreateashadowinaspecificplacewithoutaffectingtheoveralllookofyourlighting.

Ray-TracedShadowOptionsEnablingRayShadowforalampgivesthefollowingoptions:

Samples.Thisdeterminesthenumberofsamplestakenperpixelforsoftshadowsinordertodeterminetheamountofshadowing.Highersamplenumbersgivelessnoisyresults.SettingSamplesto1giveshard-edgedshadowsregardlessoftheSoftSizesetting.

SoftSize.Thissettingisdesignedtoproducesoftshadowsbyspreadingouttheareathelightcomesfrom.Thelargerthesoftsize,thesofterandlessdefinedshadowsbecome.Largersizesrequirehighernumbersofsamplestoproducenoise-freeresults.

Adaptive/ConstantQMC.Thissetsthesamplingmethodusedtodeterminewhetherapointonasurfaceisinshadow.ForConstantQMC,thenumberofsamplestakenisalwaysthatspecifiedbytheSamplessetting.ForAdaptive

QMC,fewersamplesmaybetakenforareasthatareobviouslyeitherinoroutofshadow.Thethresholdvaluedictatesthelevelofcertaintyrequiredtodeterminehowmanysamplesareneeded:Higherthresholdvaluesaremoretolerantandfaster,buttheycanproducenoisierresults.

Shadow-BufferOptionsOptingforshadow-buffershadowsforspotlampsgivesthefollowingoptions:

BufferType(Classical/Classic-Halfway/Irregular/Deep).Thespecificsofthesetypesarequitetechnical(youcanfindthedetailswithabitofgoogling),butthedifferencesarereallyprettystraightforward.

Classical.Thesebuffersarethesimplestandcansufferfrombiasingartifacts(seeFigure13-2).

Classical-Halfway.ThesebuffersimproveonClassicalandsufferlessfrombiasingartifacts.

Irregular.Theseshadowbuffersalwaysproducecrisp,cleanshadowswithnoaliasing,buttheycan’tbeusedtoproducesoftshadows,andtheshadowstheycreatedon’tshowupinray-tracedreflections.

Deep.Theseshadowbuffersarethemostadvancedandcanstoretransparencyinformation,allowingforpartialshadowingfromtransparentobjects.Theyareidealforrenderingshadowsfrommaterialslikehairandfur,aswellasvolumetricmaterials.

FilterType.Thefiltertypeusedtoblendshadowborders.Gaussgivesthesmoothestresults.

Soft.Thissetsthesoftnessofyourshadowsintermsofthesizeofthelampusedtocastshadows.Largervaluesgivesoftershadowsbutrequiremoresamples.

Bias.Thisadjustshowtheshadowbufferiscalculated.It’susedtopreventartifactsthatarecausedbyfacesatalowangletothelampcastingshadowsonthemselves(seeFigure13-2).Highervaluesreducebiasartifactsbutcancausesomepartsofameshnottocastshadowswheretheyshould,sosetthisaslowasyoucanwithoutintroducingartifacts.

SampleBuffers.Thisdeterminesthenumberofshadowbuffersthatare

rendered.Highervaluesgivebetteranti-aliasingofhard-edgedshadows,butmorebuffersusemorememory,sotreadcarefully.

Size.Thissetstheresolutionoftheshadow-buffermap(seeFigure13-3).Thehigherthevalue,thegreaterthedetailthatcanbecapturedinthemapandthemorememoryrequiredforrendering.Ifyouwantsoftshadows,youwon’tbeabletoseethatmuchdetailinthemanyway,sousehighresolutionsonlyforhardershadows.

ClipStart/End.Thesesettingsdefinetherangeofdistancesoverwhichobjectswillcastshadowsintheshadowbuffer.Objectsoutsidethisrangewillstillbelitbythespotlampbutwillnotcastshadows.Theextentofthisrangeisdisplayedinthe3DViewportasasolidlineextendingoutwardfromthelamp’scenterbetweentheclip-startandclip-enddistances(seeFigure13-4).

Figure13-2.Shadow-bufferbiasingartifactsareshownherewithalowshadow-buffersizetoexaggeratetheeffect.IncreasingtheBiasvalueavoidstheseartifacts,buthighsettingscancauseyouto

loseshadowsthatshouldbethere.

AutoclipStart/End.TurningontheseoptionsleavesittoBlendertosettheclip-startandclip-enddistancesautomaticallybasedontheverticesvisiblefromthepointofviewofthelamp.

LightinginCycles

InCycles,lightingisbroadlysimilartothatofBlenderInternalbutwithfeweroptions.SettinguplightinginCyclesiseasierbecauseyougetinstantfeedbackfromtherenderpreview.LightsinCyclesarenodebasedandconsistofshaders,justaswithmaterials.Infact,Cyclesallowsyoutoincorporatetheemissionoflightintomaterialsandlampobjects.We’lldiscussbothhere.

Figure13-3.Theshadow-bufferSizesettingaffectsthedefinitionofshadowsandreducesaliasingofshadowborders.Here,someveryoverstretchedshadowbuffersareshowninincreasingresolutions.

Figure13-4.Aspotlampinthe3DViewportshowingtheclippingrange

LampObjectsinCyclesCyclessupportsmostofthesamelamptypesasBlenderInternal,exceptforHemilamps.AddinganewlampobjectinCyclesaddsastandardemissionshaderconnectedtothelamp’soutputnode,asshowninFigure13-5.Thisshadercanbeusedtoadjusttheintensityandcolorofthelight.Toadjustthesoftnessoftheshadowsthelampgenerates,usethelamp’sSizesettingintheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor.

NOTE

Avoidsettingthesizeofalampto0,asthiscancause“fireflies”—akindofnoiseconsistingofsinglebrightpixels.Ifyouwantsharpshadows,justsetthesizetosomethingverysmallbutnot0.

Figure13-5.Theemissionshaderisusedforbothlampobjectsandmesh-emitterobjectsinCycles.

Mesh-EmitterObjectsinCyclesCyclessupportstheemissionoflightfrommaterials,meaningthatyoucanturnanymeshintoalightbyapplyingamaterialthatcontainsanemissionshader.Thisfeatureisgreatforcreatinguniquelightingsetupsandforlightsthatappearinglossyreflections.(We’lllookdeeperintothiswhenlightingtheSpiderBot.)Inthecaseofmeshemitters,youcancombineemissionshaderswithothershadersusingtheAddandMixnodes(asdiscussedinChapter12).

WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusionInChapter10,webakedambientocclusionmapsforourprojects.Ambientocclusionmapsaretexturesthatmimictheeffectoflightcomingfromallaroundanobjectthatisoccluded,orblocked,bypartsoftheobjectitself.Thiseffectissimilartowhatweseeintheskyonasunnyday.Themainsourceoflightisthesun,butlightalsoscattersthroughouttheatmospheresothatitcomesfromalldirectionsandevenilluminatestheshadows.(Thiseffectisevenmoreapparent

onanovercastdaywhenthelackofdirectsunlightmeansthingsarelitmoreevenlyfromalldirections.)

Toachievetheeffectoflightcomingfromascene’ssurroundings,wecanuseBlender’sWorldsettings,accessiblefromtheWorldtabofthePropertieseditor.Thesesettingsdeterminethelookofyourscene’sbackgroundandhowthebackgroundcontributestothescene’slighting.BothBlenderInternalandCyclessupportworldlighting,thoughinslightlydifferentways.

WorldSettingsinBlenderInternalBlenderInternal’sWorldsettingsareshowninFigure13-6.Themostimportantonesareasfollows:

HorizonColor/ZenithColor/AmbientColor.Bydefault,theskyinascenewillsimplybetheHorizonColor.TheZenithColorisusedwhenBlendSkyisturnedon,renderingthebackgroundasagradientfromthehorizoncolortothezenithcolor.TheAmbientColorisafixedcolorthatisaddedtothelightingofeverysurfaceinthescene,brighteningtheshadows,buttheeffectisveryunrealistic,soit’sbesttoleavethissettoblack.

PaperSky/RealSky.PaperSkyappliesanytextureorblendappliedtothebackgroundtothecameracoordinates.Thiscanbeusefulwhenyouhaveabackgroundphotoorimagethatyouwanttouseasis,withoutdistortion.RealSkycreatesabackgroundwitharealhorizonintheplaneofthescene’sglobalcoordinatessothatanytexturesremainstaticasthecameraisrotatedandanyblendintheskyoccursfromthe“real”horizonupward(anddownward).RealSkyisusefulwhenpanoramicormirror-balltexturesareusedasbackgrounds.

AmbientOcclusion.WeencounteredambientocclusioninChapter10.Ambientocclusionlightsoraddsshadowstoasurfacebasedonthesurroundinggeometry.Areaswithgeometryaroundthemthatblockslightwillbedarkened,whiletheexposedpartsofameshwillremainwelllit.TheAmbientOcclusionoptioncanbesettoAddorMultiplywiththeotherlightinginthescene.Additiveambientocclusionbrightenstheexistinglighting,whileMultiplyaddsshadows.

Figure13-6.BlenderInternal’sWorldsettingsMultiplyisthemore“realistic”optionandismoresuitabletomostscenes.(Theenvironmentlightingsettingsofferbettertoolsforaddingfurtherlighttothesceneanyway.)

EnvironmentLighting.Thisaddslighttoascene,comingfromalldirections(thoughblockedbynearbygeometry,aswithambientocclusion).TheEnvironmentLightingsettingcanbeusedtomimicscatteredlightfromtheskyinanoutdoorsceneortoapproximatetheeffectoflightbouncingaroundandilluminatingascene.Thecoloroftheenvironmentlightingcanbesettowhite,totheskycolor(whereitwillusethehorizoncolororboththehorizonandzenithcolorsifyouhaveablendsky),ortheskytextureifyouareusingabackgroundtexture.

IndirectLighting.ThissettingallowsBlenderInternaltosimulatetheeffectoflightbouncingrepeatedly,andthusilluminatingmoreofascene,beforeenteringthecameraoreye.Theresultcanbecolorbleeding,wherethecolorofabrightlycoloreddiffusematerialisreflectedontonearbyobjects(asshowninFigure13-7).ThemethodisonlycompatiblewiththeApproximateGathermethod(discussedbelow).TheFactorsettingaffectsthestrengthofthiseffect,andtheBouncessettingdetermineshowmanytimeslightmaybounceoffasurfaceandstillberendered.

Gather(RayTraceandApproximate).ThesesettingsletyouchoosebetweenBlenderInternal’stwooptionsforrenderingworldlighting.Aswithlamps,RayTracetakesmultipleray-tracedsamplesperpixeltodeterminetheamountofworldlighting.Thisprocessgivesmoreaccurateresults,typicallyatthecostofextrarendertimeandnoise(ifthenumberofsamplesissettoolow).TheApproximatesettingdoesnotrequireraytracingandisnoisefree,butitcanproduceotherartifacts,suchasoverocclusioninsomeareas.Turningupthenumberofpassesandsettingtheerrorvaluelowergivesbetterresultsbuttakesmoretimetopreprocesswhenrendering.Alternatively,usingtheCorrectionparameterreducesthestrengthoftheocclusiontocompensatefortheartifacts.WhenusingtheApproximateGathermethod,turningonPixelCachegenerallygivesmuchfasterresults.

Attenuation.TheFalloffsettingunderAttenuationcausesambientocclusion,environmentlighting,andindirectlightingtofadeoutoveracertaindistance,reducingtheeffectoffarawaygeometryonasurfaceandlighteningthesurface.

Falloffalsospeedsuprenderingbecausecalculatingthelightingforasurfacepointonlyrequirestakingnearbygeometryintoaccount.TheStrengthsettingdetermineshowstrongtheattenuationis,whiletheDistancesetting(onlywiththeRay-TraceGathermethod)determinestherangeofthefalloff.

Figure13-7.Colorbleedingfromindirectlighting.Here,theredspherereflectsredlightontoitssurroundings.Thisismostvisibleonthegrayinnersphere.Thisisasubtleeffect,soindirectlightaloneisshownontheright.Thesurroundingsalsocontributeindirectlight,shownasgrayishcolorsinthe

imageontheright.

WorldSettingsinCyclesInCycles,Worldsettingsarenodebasedandusethesameshadersystemasdomaterialsandlights.TheWorldsettingsusetheBackgroundShadernodeexclusively,whichlightsthesceneandsetsthebackgroundcolorortexture(dependingontheinputsyousupplyitwith)andthestrengthofthelightingthatthebackgroundcontributes.ThestandardbackgroundnodetreeisshowninFigure13-8.

Youcaninfluencethecolorofthebackgroundaswithothermaterialsbyusingtextures,images,andcolors.ParticularlyusefulforthisaretheSkyTextureandEnvironmentTexturenodes.TheSkyTexturenodecreatesaproceduralsky,usingthedirectionyousetbydraggingthesphereinputofthenode,withthelevelofatmosphericscatteringdeterminedbytheTurbiditysetting.Thiseffect

worksparticularlywellwhencombinedwithasunlampwithayellow-orange(sunlight)colortogetsomebasicoutdoorlighting(seeFigure13-9).

Figure13-8.ThestandardnodetreeforWorldsettingsinCycles

Figure13-9.Combiningtheskyshaderforthebackgroundwithasunlampgivesadecentapproximationofoutdoorlighting.Left:Theskyshader.Right:Illuminationfromtheskycombinedwith

asunlamp.

Cyclesalsosupportsambientocclusion,whichcanbeusedtoaddwhiteambientlighttoascene,withocclusionbasedonthedistancebetweenfaces.YoucanturnthiseffectonintheWorldtabofthePropertieseditorbyusingtheAmbientOcclusiontab.

AlsointheWorldtabunderSettingsistheoptiontosamplethebackgroundasalamp.Enablethiswhenusingatexturedbackground,particularlywhenusingHDRI(high-dynamic-rangeimage)mapsforbackgroundlightingto

dramaticallyspeeduprendering(seeFigure13-10).

LightingtheBatCreatureFortheBatCreature,Iwanteddramaticlightingtomakethecharacterlookdangerousandforeboding.Ineededsomedarkshadowsandstarklightingthatwouldn’tgivetoomuchaway.Tocreatethiseffect,Iusedathree-pointlightingsetup,whichiscommonlyusedtolightcharactersandportraits.Additionally,Ineededtosetupmylightstocreategoodshadowswiththecreature’shairandtolightthecreaturefrombehindsothatlightwouldbeseenscatteringthroughtheskinofthewings(usingthesubsurfacescatteringmaterialwecreatedinChapter12).

Figure13-10.TurningonSampleasLampforbackgroundswithtextureinformationspeedsupreductionofnoisewhilerendering.Here,anHDRImaphasbeenusedtolightthescene.Left:SampleasLampturnedoff(30passes).Right:SampleasLampturnedonwithmapresolutionsetto256(again,

after30passes).

Three-PointLightingThree-pointlightingisconsideredthe“standard”lightingsetupforalotofportraitureandcinematographybecausetheuseofthreelightsachievesapleasant,naturallookthatcanbeadaptedtomanycircumstanceswithgood

results.

TheKeyLightThefirstofthethreelights—thekeylight—isthemainsourceoflightinasceneandisgenerallyplacedsothatitlightsthesubjectfromthesideandslightlyabovetoprovidesomeinterestingillumination.

FortheBatCreature,Iaddedaspotlampaboveandslightlytotheleft(fromthecamera’sperspective)ofthecharacter,asshowninFigure13-11.Thekeylightwouldprovidemostoftheillumination,soIsetitsintensityquitehigh(toabout12)andthedistancelow(around3)sothattheintensityofthelightwouldfaderelativelyquickly.Igavethelightabluishtint,asshowninthefigure.

Figure13-11.Theeffectofthekeylight

TheFillLightThenextlight—thefilllight—isplacedoppositethekeylight,usuallyilluminatingthesubjectfromtheothersideandgenerallyaddingsomesubtlelighttotheshadowscastbythekeylight.BecauseIwantedtheBatCreaturetohavereallydarkshadows,Isettheintensityofthefilllightto0.5anditsdistanceto6.Isetitscolortoareddishhuetocontrastwiththebluekeylight.TheeffectofthefilllightisshowninFigure13-12.

NOTEWhilethefilllightusuallycomesfromtheoppositesideofasubject,Iplacedthefilllighttothecharacter’sright(cameraleft)becausetheBatCreature’sleftwing(cameraright)shieldsthebody.

TheBackLightThebacklight(sometimescalledarimlight)lightsasubjectfrombehind,usuallyaddingasubtlehighlightaroundtheedgesofasubjectononeside.ThislightwasespeciallyimportantfortheBatCreaturebecauseitprovidedscatteredbacklightingthroughthewingsandears.Isetitsintensityhigh(to10)anditsdistanceto10togivethelightenoughbrightnesstoshinethroughthewings(seeFigure13-13).Together,thekey,fill,andbacklightsproducethefinallighting,asshowninFigure13-14.

PositioningtheLightsPositioningthethreelightsinvolvesthinkingaboutwhataspectsofyourmodelyouwanttolightandwhereyouwantthelighttocomefromandthenexercisingabitoftrialanderror.Tohelpwiththeprocessandtogetquickerfeedbackonhowyourlightslook(withouthavingtorendereachtime),useBlender’sGLSLshadingmodetoseehowyourlightswilllookinrealtimeinthe3DViewport(seeFigure13-15).ThisworksparticularlywellforspotlampsasGLSLalsosupportsbufferedshadows,meaningtheGLSLpreviewwilllookprettyclosetoyourfinalrenders.Turnonthisshadingmodebygoingtothe3DViewportheaderandsettingtheshadingtoTextured.Then,lookinthePropertiesregionunderDisplayandsettheshadingtypetoGLSL(pressNtobringupthepropertiesregioninthe3DViewport).Youcanthenmoveyourlightsaroundasyoupleaseandgetinstantfeedbackonhowtheylook.

Figure13-12.Thefilllightaddssubtleilluminationtotheshadows.

Figure13-13.Thebacklightprovideshighlightsaroundtheoutlineofthecharacter(thatis,ontheshouldersandthebackofthehead).Inthiscase,italsoscatterslightthroughthewingsandears.

Figure13-14.Allthreelightscontributetothefinallighting.

Figure13-15.PositioninglightsusingGLSLshadingforfeedback

GLSLshadingsupportsallbutarealights,thoughitonlyrendersshadowsforspotlampswithbufferedshadows.

ClayRendersandMaterialOverrideAnotherwaytogetafeelforhowyourlightingisworkingisbyrenderingyoursceneandapplyingthesamematerial(usuallyaflat,diffuseone)toeveryobject.Oftencalledaclayrender,thisletsyouseehowthelightingisworkinginisolationandcanbeusefulforcheckingwhetheranissuewithyourrendersisduetolightingormaterials.

Toquicklysetupaclayrender,usetheMaterialOverrideoptionintheRendertabofthePropertieseditor.Createanew,flat,graymaterial(justusethedefaultmaterialandturndownthespecularity)andassignittotheMaterialOverrideoptionintheLayerspaneltorenderthescenewithouttexturesandmaterials,as

showninFigure13-16.PressF12torender.(SeeChapter14formoreonrendering.)

Figure13-16.AclayrenderoftheBatCreatureusingtheMaterialOverridesetting.Here,I’vecreatedamaterialcalledFlatandassignedittothematerialoverrideintheRenderLayerspanel.This

techniqueletsyouseethelightingofyourmodelinisolation.

ShadowsandFurWhileray-tracedorbufferedshadowswouldbothbeappropriateformostoftheBatCreature,ourfurhasmorespecificlightingrequirements.Forbestresults,usedeepshadowbuffersoneachofthekey,fill,andbacklightsandadjusttheothersettingsasshowninTable13-1.

Table13-1.SettingsfortheShadowBufferSpotLampsintheBatCreatureScene

Key Fill Back

Filtertype Gauss Gauss Gauss

Soft 12 30 10

Bias 0.2 0.2 0.2

Samplebuffers 1 1 1

Size 2048 2048 2048

Samples 16 16 16

LightingtheEyesEyesareacriticalpartofmostcharacters,andit’simportanttomakesurethey’relitasyouwantthem.Sometimesthiscanmeancheatingbyaddingsomeseparatelightingtotheeyestogetthelookyouwant.FortheBatCreature,Iplacedthetwoeyeobjectsontheirownlayer(pressMtomoveobjectstootherlayers)andpointedaHemilampatthem.Isetthelamp’sintensitylow(toabout0.05)sothatthelightingwouldcomepredominantlyfromtheexistingspotlamps.Then,Iturnedoffthelight’sSpecularoptiontopreventitfromcontributingtospecularreflections.Next,IturnedonThisLayerOnlyinthelamp’ssettingssothatthelampwouldlightonlytheeyeobjects,addingabitofextrailluminationtotheeyestohelpthemstandoutmore.

FloorShadows

WhileIdidn’tcreateabackdropfortheBatCreature,Iknewsomeshadowaroundhisfeetwouldimprovemyfinalrender.Toproducetheshadowsontheirown,IusedtheOnlyShadowsoptionformaterials.Iaddedaplanetothesceneandassignedanewmaterialtoit.Then,inthematerialssettings,IturnedonTransparency(settoMask),andintheShadowspanel,IturnedonOnlyShadows.Thisnewmaterial(showninFigure13-17)thenrendersasjusttheshadowscastbyotherobjects,withtherestofthemeshrenderingcompletelytransparent.Lateron,thiswillallowmetoeasilycompositetheseshadowsontothebackgroundofthefinalrender.IscaledtheplaneuptopickupalltheshadowsfromtheBatCreature,usingtheGLSLshadingmodeasaguide.

Figure13-17.UsinganOnlyShadowsmaterialtocastshadowsonthefloor,shownhereonawhitebackground

WorldSettingsfortheBatCreatureIdidn’tneedtodomuchinthewayofWorldsettingsfortheBatCreaturesinceIwouldbecompositinginasimplebackgroundlater;IjustneededtoturnonAmbientOcclusion.Todoso,IenabledAmbientOcclusionintheWorldtabofthePropertiespanelandsetittoMultiplywithafactorof1.0.FortheGathermethod,IchoseApproximate.Isetthenumberofpassesto1andturnedonFalloffwithastrengthof1.Thesesettingsworkwellwithhair,andusingthemmeantthatIwouldn’thavetodoanyraytracingwhenrenderingsinceIwasusingbuffershadowsfortherestofmylighting.

ThiscompleteslightingtheBatCreature.We’llreturntorenderingitinChapter14.

LightingtheSpiderBotWe’llberenderingtheSpiderBotwithCycles.Forthisproject,Iwantedbright,dynamiclightingtoshowoffthecharacter’sshinysurface.Iaccomplishedthiswithamixofmeshlightsandlampobjects.SinceIwouldn’tbeusingworldlighting,IsetthecoloroftheworldbackgroundtoblackintheWorldtabofthePropertieseditor,andIsetitsintensityto0beforecontinuing.

TheprincipallightingfortheSpiderBotcomesfromtherightfromapoint-lampobjectwithanorangecolorandhighstrength,asshowninFigure13-18.Thislampissupplementedbyameshlightoverheadthatiscomposedofmultipleplaneswithalight-emittingmaterial.Tocreatethislight,Iaddedanewplaneobjectandmoveditabovethescene.Then,IduplicatedthefaceseveraltimesinEditmode,usingBlender’ssnappingtools(settoIncrement)tokeeptheplanesalignedinagrid.Ithenscaledthewholearrayofplanesalongthex-axistomakethemrectangular.

Tomaketheseplanesemitlight,Iassignedanewmaterialtothem,andintheNodeeditor,IaddedanEmissionShadernodeandattacheditsoutputtotheMaterialOutputnode(seeFigure13-18).IgavetheEmissionshaderabluish

colorandsetitsstrengthto10.Becausetheselightsaremeshes,notonlydotheylightthescene,buttheyalsoshowupinthereflectionsontheSpiderBot’sshinygreensurfaces,particularlyontheback,asseeninthefigure.

It’ssimpletotweakthestrengthandcoloroflightsinCycles,thankstotherenderpreviewshadingmodeofthe3DViewport,whichcangiveinstantfeedbackonhowyourlightinglooksasyouadjustlights.(Formoreonthe3DViewportrenderpreview,seeChapter14.)

Figure13-18.AddinglightstotheSpiderBotscene.TotherightoftheSpiderBotistheorangepointlamp,andaboveitisthegridofmeshlightswiththeirmaterialvisibleintheNodeeditorontheleft.

TheCyclesrenderpreviewisagreatwaytogetinstantfeedbackonyourlighting.

LightingtheJungleTempleTheJungleTemplerequiredamorecomplexlightingsetup,butagain,wehavetheCyclesrenderpreviewtogiveinstantfeedbackonhowourlightinglooks.Forthisscene,Iwantedtocreateanighttimeatmospherewithabright,fieryorangelightcomingfromtheentrancetothetemple.

WorldBackgroundBecauseIwouldbelightingtheJungleTemplescenewithoutworldlighting,I

settheworldbackgroundcolortoblackwith0intensity.

TempleEntranceLightingLet’sstartwiththelightcomingfromthetempleentrance,asthisisthelightsourcewiththemostimpactonthescene.Iusedacoupleoflightsourcestocreatethislighting.Thefirstisameshemitterattheendofthetunnel(outofsightofthecamera);Iassignedredandorangeemissionmaterialstoittoprovideorangishlightthroughoutthetunnelandabitbeyond.Isettheintensityoftheseemissionmaterialstoabout40.

Tohelpspreadthislightfurtherintothesurroundings,Icreatedapoint-lampobjectwithayellow-orangecolornearerthemouthofthetunnel.Igaveitahighintensitytolightmoreofthesurroundingareasandsetthepoint-lightsizeto1.5togivesoftshadows.TheselightscanbeseeninFigure13-19.

FillLightingToaddfurtherlight,Icreatedasoft(largesize)pointlamphoveringoverthemiddleofthescenetoprovidesomegenerallighting.Ialsoaddedaharder(smallsize)lightbehindthecameraandofftoonesidetoilluminatetheforegroundobjectsabit.Igavebothlampsabluishcolor,whichlentthesceneablue,moonlitlookwhereitwasnotilluminatedbytheorangelightfromthetunnel.(Blueandorangealsoopposeoneanothernicely.)TheselightscanbeseeninFigure13-20.

BackLightIalsoaddedsomeilluminationfromtheright,comingfrombehindthetemple,tohighlighttheleavesandgiveaslightrimlighttotherocksofthetemplewalls.Thislightcomesfromtwolights:along,shallowmeshlightthatilluminatesmainlythebacksoftheleavesandapointlightthatprovidessomeextrailluminationfromthisdirection(seeFigure13-21).TheoveralleffectisshowninFigure13-22.

Figure13-19.Thelightingofthetempleentrance

ANoteonSoftShadowsWhilesoftshadowslooknice,theycanreallybumpupyourrendertimes.Iendedupusingquiteafewlampswithsoftshadowsforthisscene,andasaresult,ittookquiteawhiletorender.Thisisn’treallyaproblemforstills,butbearitinmindifyouwanttorenderananimationorifyouwantquickresults,andconsiderusinglightswithhardershadowsorhavingsomelightsthatdon’tcastray-tracedshadowsatall.

Figure13-20.Thetempleentrancelightingcombinedwithsomebluefilllighting

Figure13-21.Thebacklightingfromonemeshlightandapointlamp

GeneralLightingTipsLightingmakesabigdifferencetothefeelofanimage,andyoucandoalotwithlightingtochangehowyoursubjectisperceived.Herearesometipstomakeyourlightingrendermoreefficientlyandworkbetterartistically.

Experiment.Itriedalotofdifferentlightingsetupsforallofmyprojects.FortheJungleTemplescene,Itriedbothdaylightandnighttimelighting,andfortheBatCreatureandSpiderBot,Iexperimentedwithmanydirectionsandcolors.Comingupwithsomethinggoodrequiresexperimentation.

Usetestrendersandpreviews.UseBlenderInternal’sGLSLshadingandCycles’srenderpreviewforreal-timepreviewsofyourlighting.Dotestrenderstomakesureyourlightingworks.

Lessismore.Trytousefewerlightswherepossibletosimplifytheprocessoftweakingyourlightingandtomakeiteasiertoseewhichlightsmostinfluence

yourimage.

Figure13-22.ThelightingfortheJungleTemplescene.ThiswilllaterbetweakedwithsomecompositinginChapter14.

Shadowsettings.Whileitcanbetemptingtoturnupallthesettingsforyourlampstotrytogetthenicestshadows,it’softennotnecessarytodoso.Experimentandtrytominimizetheuseofsettingsthatincreaserendertimesignificantly,suchasshadowsamplesandshadow-buffersizes.Forexample,softshadowsdon’tneedhigh-resolutionshadowbuffers,andcrisp,hard-edgedshadowsdon’tneedlotsofsamples.Onceyouhavelightingyoulike,trytodeterminewhichsettingsyoucanturndownwithoutaffectingthelookofyourlightinginordertospeeduprenders.

Makethemostofshadowbuffers.Theresolutionofashadow-bufferlampisspreadoutoverthelamp’scone.Tomakethemostofit,restrictthelampbyreducingitsangletocoveronlythemodel(gotoSizeunderSpotShapeintheObjectDatatab)andtomakesurethatyou’renotwastinganyoftheshadowbuffer’sresolutiononareasthataren’tcastingshadows.

Useopposingcolors.Usecolortheorytoyouradvantagewhenlighting.Often,opposingcolors(pairsofcolorsonoppositesidesofthecolorwheel,suchasorangeandblueorgreenandpurple)workwellwhenusedasopposingkeyandfilllights(seeFigure13-23).Naturallightoftenfollowsthisexample:Sunlightisorange,whilescatteredlightfromtheatmosphereisblue.

Directionallightingandcharacters.Thedirectionyouchoosetolightacharacterfromcanchangethewayit’sperceived.Lightingfromaboveoftenlooksregalanddignified,whilelightingfrombelowlooksscaryandmenacing.AfewexamplesareshowninFigure13-24.

Figure13-23.Opposingcolorsoftenmakeforpleasantlightingschemes.Lefttoright:Orangekeylightandabluefill,bluekeylightandanorangefill,greenkeylightandapurplefill.

Figure13-24.Lightingdirectionchangeshowweperceivecharacters.Lefttoright:Lightingfromabovelooksdignified,lightingfrombelowlooksspooky,andarimlightfrombehindgivesanominous

silhouette.

InReview

Inthischapter,welookedatlightingforbothBlenderInternalandCycles,beginningwithadiscussionofthedifferenttypesoflampsthatBlenderoffersandtheirfunctionaldifferencesinBlenderInternalandCycles.Weexamineddifferentmethodsfordealingwithshadows,bothraytracedandbuffered,andexploredtheiradvantagesanddisadvantages.WealsolookedatBlender’sWorldsettingsandhowtheyimpactlighting.

FortheBatCreature,wecoveredcreatingathree-pointlightsetuptogivedramaticflairtothemodelandlookedathowbesttosetupshadowsforcharacterswithhair.FortheSpiderBotandJungleTempleprojects,Ilitthescenesusingamixoflightsandmesh-emitterobjectstocreatedynamicallylitscenes.WhenIworkedwithlightinginCycles,theCyclesrenderpreviewcameinhandyforgettingreal-timefeedbackontheeffectofourlights.AndeveninBlenderInternal,IusedGLSLshadingtogetsomerudimentaryfeedbackonthelightingandshadowsinthescene.

Inthenextchapter,we’llrenderthescenesanddosomefinalcolorcorrectionandcompositingforourprojects.IwillcoverrenderoptionsforbothCyclesandBlenderInternalandhowbesttooptimizerendertimeswhilegettingthebestpossiblerenders.We’lllookatnode-basedcompositingusingBlender’scompositor,aswellascreatingbackgroundsanddoingfinaltweaksinGIMP.

Chapter14.RenderingandCompositing

Inthischapter,wemoveintothefinalstagesoftheprojectsasweturneachofthescenesintorenderedimagesandtweakthemtolooktheirbest.WebeginbylookingatBlender’srendersettings,bothforBlenderInternalandCycles,todeterminehowtogetthebestrenderintheshortesttimepossible.Followingthatdiscussion,I’llcoverusingBlender’snode-basedcompositortofurtherrefine,adjust,andgradetheserendersintofinalimages.Finally,we’llmakeafewtweakstotherendersinGIMP.

TheRenderTabWetouchedontheRendertabofthePropertieseditorwhenweusedittobaketexturesinChapter10.Inthischapter,we’llexaminetheothersettingsavailableinthistab.Manyofthesedependonwhichrendererisbeingused—BlenderInternalorCycles—sowewilllookateachinturn.

RenderingwithBlenderInternalTheRendertabinBlenderInternalisshowninFigure14-1.Let’slookatthesettingsavailableineachpanel.

RenderPanelThiscontainsbuttonsforrenderingyouranimationandplayingbacktheresults.

Image/Animation.Thesebuttonsrenderthecurrentframe(F12)oreveryframeintherangesetbytheFrameRangesettingsintheDimensionspanelasananimation(CTRL-F12).Youcanplaybacktherenderedanimationwiththeplaybutton.

Display.Displayletsyousetwheretherenderedimagewillappear.TheImage

editoroptionwillrendertheimageinanavailableUVImageeditorifpossible,oritwilltemporarilyswitchoneoftheothereditorsintoaUVImageeditorduringrenderingifnecessary.Theotheroptionsallowyoutorenderfullscreen,inanewwindow,orinthebackground(KeepUI).

LayersPanelTheLayerspanelcontainstoolsandoptionsforcreatingdifferentrenderlayersandforchoosingwhichscenelayerscontributetoyourfinalrenders.Atthetopofthepanel,theLayerselectorletsyouselecttherenderlayertoworkon.Usethecheckboxesontherighttoenableordisablerenderingparticularlayers;usethe+and–buttonsontherighttoaddordeleterenderlayers.

Name.Thisallowsyoutonametheselectedlayer.

Scene/Layer/MaskLayer.Thesethreesetsofcheckboxesletyouchoosewhichscenelayersareusedinyourfinalrendersandhow.EnablingalayerunderSceneturnsthelayeroninthe3DViewport(justasthelayerscheckboxesinthe3Dviewportheaderdo).LayersmustbecheckedunderScenetoberenderable.EnablelayersunderLayertomakethemrenderforthecurrentlyselectedrenderlayer;youcanhavemultiplelayersturnedonunderScene,butonlythosecheckedunderLayerwillberendered.LayerscheckedunderMask(butnotunderLayer)willmaskoutgeometryonotherlayers,asshowninFigure14-2.

Light.TheLightoptionletsyouspecifyagroupoflightstobetreatedastheonlylightsinthescenewhenrendered.

Material.AsdiscussedinClayRendersandMaterialOverride,theMaterialsoptionletsyouoverridethematerialsforascenewithasinglematerialwhenrendering.WeusedthisoptioninChapter13toproduceaclayrenderoftheBatCreatureprojectinordertotestthelighting.

Include.Thisoffersanumberofcheckboxesthatdetailthetypesofsurfacesandeffectstoberenderedwiththislayer.Forexample,youcanturnonorofftherenderingofz-transparentmaterials,fur,orsolidmaterials.

Passes.Withinalayer,Blendercanrenderotherkindsofinformationandsplitupaspectsofanimageintodifferentpasses,suchasshadows,environment

Figure14-1.TheRendertabofthePropertieseditor,shownhereinBlenderInternallighting,andz-depth(thedistancefromthecamera).Thispassthencontainsonlythatdatathatcanbeusedincompositingthefinalimage.Forexample,youcouldusethez-depthpassastheinputforaDefocusnodetocreatedepthoffield,oryoucoulduseanambientocclusionpasstoaddextrashadowstoanimage.UsethecheckboxesunderPassestoenableordisablevariouspasses.Somepassescanbeexcludedfromthemainrenderpassbytogglingthecameraicontotherightofthepass’sname.

DimensionsThispanelletsyousetthedimensionsintime(frames)andspace(resolution)ofyourrenderoranimation.TheResolutionsettingsletyouchoosethesizeofyourfinalrender,whiletheFrameRangesettingsareusedtospecifythenumberofframesinyouranimation.AspectRatiosetstheaspectratioforthepixelsintheimage(somevideoformatsusenonsquarepixels,butforstills,alwaysusesquare1:1ratiopixels).

Figure14-2.Usinglayersasmasklayers.Herethemonkeyobjectisplacedonlayer2,witheverythingelseonlayer1.Ontheleft,bothlayersarecheckedunderLayer,andeverythingrendersasexpected.Ontheright,layer2isusedasamasklayerinstead,soyouseeatransparentholewherethemonkey

headobscurestheotherobjects.

YoucanusetheBorderandCropsettingstorenderasmallpatchofyourimageratherthanthewholething.Todoso,switchtothecameraviewinthe3DViewport(NUMPAD0).ThenpressSHIFT-Banddragoutarectangleovertheareayouwishtorestricttherenderto.ThiswillautomaticallyenabletheBorder

setting.UsetheCropsettingtoreduceanimage’sdimensionstothesizeofyourborderregion;otherwise,theremainingareawillbefilledwithblack.

Anti-AliasingandMotionBlurAliasingisanartifactinapixel-basedimagewheresharpboundariesmaylookjaggedduetothefiniteresolutionoftheimage(seeFigure14-3).Aliasingisoftenmostobviousontheoutlinesofobjectsorshadows,butitcanalsocropupintexturesorspecularhighlights.Anti-aliasingaddressesthisproblembytakingmultiplesubsamplesofeachpixelwithslightlydifferentoffsetsandblendingthem,resultinginasmoother-lookingboundary,asyoucanseeinthefigure.

Figure14-3.Anti-aliasingreducestheappearanceofjaggededgesinrenders.Left:Noanti-aliasing.Right:Anti-aliasingturnedonwiththenumberofsubsamplessetto8.

UsethenumbersontheleftoftheAnti-Aliasingpaneltodeterminehowmanysampleswillbetaken(moresampleswillresultinsmootherrendersbutlongerrendertimes).Thedrop-downmenuontherightsetsthetypeoffilterusedtoblendthesamples:ThedefaultofMitchell-Netravaligivesgoodresultswithouttakingtoomuchsharpnessoutoftherender,butwhenworkingwithhigher-resolutionimages,tryGaussian.UsetheFullSampleoptiontomakeBlendermaintaineachsampleseparately,evenduringcompositing,whichcanhelpwithaliasingissuesatthecompositingstage.

Sampledmotionblurissimilartoanti-aliasinginthatmultiplesamplesaretakenperpixelbutatdifferenttimesratherthandifferentlocations.Thisresultsin

motionblurforfast-movingobjectsoncethesamplesareblendedtogether.(Essentially,theimageisrenderedmultipletimes,andtheresultsareblended.)ThenumberofsamplesisdeterminedbytheMotionSamplessetting,andtheamountoftimeinframesoverwhichthesamplesaretakenisdeterminedbytheShuttersetting.

ShadingTheShadingpanelletsyouturnonandoffdifferentrenderingoptions,includingTextures,Shadows,SubsurfaceScattering,EnvironmentMapping,andRay-Tracingoptions.Tospeeduprenders,turnoffunneededshadingoptions.

TheAlphadrop-downmenuletsyouchoosehowtorenderthebackgroundofyourimage.Skyrenderstheskycolorsandtexturessetinyourglobalsettings.TheStraightAlphaandPremultipliedoptionsrenderthebackgroundofyourimageastransparent.InthecaseofPremultiplied,theRGBvaluesoftransparentorpartiallytransparentpixelsaremultipliedbythealphavalueonoutput.Thismethodofencodingalphavaluesisalsoreferredtoasassociatedalphaandisrequiredforsomeimageformats,likeTIFFandPNG.It’salsousefulforcompositingbecausecombiningimagesthiswaygivesbetterresults,thoughBlender’scompositorhastoolsforworkingwithbothpremultipliedandunpremultipliedalpha.StraightAlphaskipsthisstepandrendersunassociatedalphaimagesinstead.

NOTEIftheabovediscussionondifferentmethodsofencodingalphavaluesseemscomplex,it’sbecauseitis.I’vecovereditonlyverybrieflyhere,butit’sactuallyaprettydeeptopic.Formoreinformation,trysearchinghttp://www.blender.org/andtheBlenderwikiforColorManagement.

PerformanceThePerformancepanelcontainsanumberofoptionsthatcanaffecthowfastBlenderwillrenderandhowmuchimpactrenderingwillhaveonyourcomputer’sresources.Blendersplitsupimagestoberenderedintomultipletiles,whicharethenrenderedindividually.ThemostimportantsettingsareThreadsandTiles.WhensettoFixed,thesesettingsletyouspecifyhowmanytileswill

berenderedatonce(uptotwicethenumberofprocessorcoresyouhave).

TheTilessettingsdeterminehowtheimagetoberenderedisbrokenupintotilesalongthex-andy-axes.Tilesarerenderedoneatatimeperthread,meaningthatifyouhaveeightthreads,youwillbeabletorendereighttilessimultaneously.

TweakingtheTilessettingscanmakeabigdifferenceinyourrendertimes.Usingtoofewtilescanmeanthatprocessorthreadsareleftidleonceallavailabletilesarebeingrendered,evenifthereisplentyofyourimagelefttoberendered.Usingtoomanytilesusesmorememorywithoutspeedinguptherender.Theoptimumnumberoftilesisgenerallybetween16(4×4)and64(8×8),withmorecomplexscenesbenefitingfrommoretiles.

Theothersettingsinthispanelareevenmoretechnicalandcanusuallybeleftattheirdefaults.Formoreonthesesettings,tryhttp://wiki.blender.org/.

PostProcessingThePostProcessingsettingsdeterminethepostprocessingeffectsappliedtoyourimage.TherelevantonesarethecheckboxesthatturnonCompositingandtheSequencer(Compositingshouldbeturnedon).Ditheraddssubtlevariationtothecolorsofpixels,preventingcolorbandinginimageswithsmoothgradients.TheEdgesettingdrawscartoonlinesaroundanimage’sgeometry,withthestrengthofthelineeffectdeterminedbytheThresholdsettingandthecolorofthelinesdeterminedbythecolorselectordirectlybelowtheThresholdsetting.

StampTheStampsettingsletyoustampyourimagewithdataabouttherender,suchasthetimeitwasrendered,thefilename,theframenumber,andsoon.Stampisoftenusefulwhenrenderinganimations,butit’snotofmuchusetousforourprojects.

OutputTheOutputsettingsdeterminewheretheoutputofyourrendersissavedandinwhatformat.Animationframesaresavedautomatically,butsingle-frameimagesmustbesavedmanually.Thedefaultoutputdirectory(/tmp/onMacandLinuxsystemsortheTempfolderonWindows)determineswhereanimationframesaresaved,butyoucanchangethistoadirectoryofyourchoosing.Theoutput

formatisdeterminedbythedrop-downmenu,whichincludesoptionsforwhatcolorinformationtosave(blackandwhite,RGB,orRGBandalpha).

BakeThesesettingsarediscussedindetailinChapter11.

RenderingwithCyclesManyoftheRendertaboptionsremainthesameinCycles,soIwilljustcovertheimportantdifferenceshere.

SamplingTheSamplingpaneldetermineshowmanysamplestocalculateforeachpixelintheimage,whichisthemainwayCyclesdeterminesthequalityandnoisinessofyourfinalimage.TheRenderandPreviewoptionsdeterminehowmanysamplestorenderforeachpixelinanimagebeforeterminatingtherender.(UseRenderforproperrendersandPreviewfortheCyclespreviewinthe3DViewport.)Morepasseswillresultinlessnoise,butthenumberofpassesrequiredtogetanoise-freeimagewillvarywidelyaccordingtothecontentsofyourscene.SeedsetsarandomvalueforCyclestouseforsampling,anddifferentseedswillproducedifferentnoisepatterns.

YoucanusetheClampoptiontopreventfireflies,whichareoverlybrightpixelscausedbynoisefrombrightlightsorspecularhighlights.Todoso,setthemaximumbrightness(theclampvalue)forasampletoanonzeronumber(avalueofaround3workswell).Thiskeepsoverlybrightsamplesfromthrowingofftheaveragevalueofapixeltoomuch,thoughitcomesatthecostofsomeaccuracyinrendering.(Ifyouleavethisatthedefaultof0,thisfeaturewillnotbeused.)

LightPathsTheLightPathspanelsupplementstheoptionsintheSamplespanel,allowingyoutogodeeperintohowCyclesrendersyourscene.SpecificallytheLightPathspanelletsyoudeterminewhattypesofraystorenderandhowmanybouncestocalculatebeforeterminatingaray.Morebouncesgivemoreaccurate(andslightlybrighter)renders,atthecostofextrarendertime.

TheTransparency,LightPaths,andBouncesettingsdefinethemaximumnumberoflightbouncesthatCycleswillcalculateforeachtypeofinteractionwithlight.TheMaxsettingsetstheoverallmaximumnumberofbounces,whiletheothersettingsrestrictspecifictypesofraystofewerbounces.TheMinsettingforTransparencyandOverallBouncesenablesearlyterminationofrefractedrays,resultinginfasterrenderingwiththelossofsomeaccuracy.

TheNoCausticsandShadowsoptionsletyouturnonandoffcausticsandray-tracedshadowstospeeduprendering.Causticsareraysthathavebeenreflectedorrefractedbyglossysurfacesthatthencontributetodiffuseillumination.Examplesincludethebrightpatternsofsunlightinaswimmingpoolandlightfocusedbyamagnifyingglassontoasurface.

FilmYoucanusetheFilmpanel’sExposuresettingtochangetheexposureofyourrendertoeitherbrightenordarkenscenesoverall.(However,it’sbesttochangethesettingsonyourlampsinsteadforfinercontrol.)TheTransparencycheckboxdetermineswhetheryourbackgroundrendersastransparentorusesyourglobalsettings.Thedrop-downmenuontherightsetsthepixelfiltertype(withthewidthofthefilterbelowit).Smallerwidthsproducesharper-lookingedgesbutcancausealiasing.Largerwidthsgivesmootherrendersattheexpenseofasmallamountofblurring.

LayersCyclesworksmuchthesameasBlenderInternalwhenitcomestolayers,butitsuppliesadifferentrangeofpasses.Cycleswillsplitupeachkindoflightray(diffuse,glossy,andtransmission)intoseparatepassesandcansplitupthosepassesfurtherintodirectandindirectpasses.Thesefeaturescanbeusefulwhencompositing.

BalancingRenderTimeandQualityWhenrenderinganyCGscene,theaimistogetthenicestrenderpossibleintheshortestamountoftime.Thiscanbetrickygiventhenumberofvariablesyoucanchange,allofwhichaffecthowlonganimagewilltaketorender.Still,therearesomegeneralprinciples.

Startsimpleandbeorganized.Organizeyourobjectsontolayerstomakeiteasiertorenderdifferentaspectsofthescene.Also,makesureyoudon’thaveanyunneededobjectsinyoursceneonvisiblelayerswhenrendering.

Experiment.Ifyourrendersareslow,trychangingonesettingatatimetoseewhatmostaffectsyourrendertimes.Forexample,changearendersettingorthenumberofsamplesonalamp.Orenableordisablesomeaspectofamaterial,suchassubsurfacescatteringorray-tracedreflections.Changingonethingatatimewillletyouseeexactlywhatmakesthemostdifference,whereaschangingmultiplesettingsforcesyoutoguesswhichonealteredyourrendertime.Ifyoufindthatsomethinginparticularisslowingdownyourrenderswithoutcontributingmuchtothefinalimage,getridofit.

Minimizesurplusgeometry.Onceyouhavethecameraanglethatyouwant,startgettingridofobjectsthatwon’tbeseeninyourrenderbydeletingthemortemporarilyshiftingthemtootherlayers.ThiswillreducetheamountofgeometryBlenderhastokeeptrackofwhenrenderingandwillspeedupyourrenders!Thistrickisoftenhelpfulwhenworkingwithenvironments.

Simplifylighting.Trytosimplifythesettingsonyourlampsandseewhetheryoucaneliminatesome.Inparticular,lookattheshadowsettings:Willasmallershadow-bufferresolutionreallymakemuchdifference,ordoesaray-tracedlampneedquitesomanysamples?

AsyoubecomemorefamiliarwithBlender,you’llsoonlearnwhichsettingsimpactrendertimefordifferentaspectsofscenes.Inthemeantime,thetimeyouspendexperimentingandsimplifyingyourscenewillalmostalwaysspeeduprendertimes.

TheCompositorYou’vepressedF12torender,andyourimageisfinished,right?Notquite.Nowit’stimetopostprocessthefinalrendersusingBlender’scompositorandGIMP.Blender’scompositorisnodebasedandusestheNodeeditor(whichweexploredinEditingNodeMaterials).Inthissection,I’llshowyouhowtousethecompositortoapplyeffectssuchasdepthoffield,bloom,andcolorgradingandtocombineseparaterenderlayersintoonefinalimage(seeFigure14-5).I’llalsoshowyouhowtouseGIMPforpaintingandtouch-up.

RenderingandCompositingtheBatCreatureIwantedtoshowthefinalBatCreatureonadarkbackgroundwithalittlecolorgrading.Tofacilitatethis,Isplittherenderingintotwolayers:oneforthefurandonefortherestofthebody.Iplannedtocreateasimple,dark-coloredbackgroundinthecompositorwithaslightvignettetodarkenthecornersandkeepthefocusonthebat.

RenderLayersAsthefirststeptowardsplittingtheBatCreatureintotworenderlayers,Isplitmysceneintofourscenelayers.On(scene)layer1,Iplacedthebody(withSubdivisionSurfaceandDisplacemodifiers)andtheteethandnails.Onlayer2,Iplacedtheeyeobjects,alongwiththeHemilightIcreatedtolightjusttheeyes(usingtheThisLayerOnlyoptionforthelamp).Onlayer3,IplacedtheduplicatedbodythatIhadusedtocreatethehair(withEmitterturnedoffintheRenderpaneloftheParticlestabsothatonlythehairrendered).Finally,onlayer4,Iplacedmylamps,thecamera,andmyfloorplane.

Next,Isetuptworenderlayers.Onthefirst,IdisabledStrandundertheIncludesettingsoftheLayerspanel.Fortheother,IdisabledSolidsothatnormalmesheswouldn’tberenderedwhilemystrandhairwould.Inamedthefirstlayerbodyandthesecondstrand.

Forthebodylayer,IenabledanambientocclusionpassunderPassesintheLayerspanel.Theresultwhenrenderedwastwoseparatelayers,asshowninFigure14-4.Whenlookingattherender(chooseRenderResultfromtheimageselectordrop-downmenu),youcanswitchbetweentheselayersusingthedrop-downmenuintheheaderoftheUVImageeditor.

IntheLayerspanel,theoptionsandsettingsyouchooseapplyonlytothecurrentlyselectedrenderlayer.InotherpanelsoftheRendertab,optionsapplyacrossallrenderlayers.IsettheAlphaoptionintheShadingpaneltoStraightAlphaandturnedoffRayTracingtospeeduprenders.(Ididn’tneedtouseraytracingsinceIwasusingbufferedshadowsformyspotlampsandapproximateambientocclusion.)Isettherendersizeto2200×3000pixelsintheDimensionspanel,andpressedRender(F12)tostartrendering.

CompositingthePassesAfterrendering,IusedBlender’scompositortocombinethelayers.Iwantedtoachievecertaineffectswiththecompositor,inthefollowingorder:

1. Addsomeextraambientocclusiontothebodyrenderlayer.

2. Combinethebodyandfurlayersintooneimagewithaplainbackground.

3. Softenthelightingintheimageusingabloomeffect.

4. Applysomebasiccolorgradingtotheimage.

5. Addavignettetotheimage.

Figure14-4.ThetworenderpassesfortheBatCreature

Theseeffects(aswithallthingsinthecompositor)needtobeappliedinaparticularorder.Becauseeachnodeisprocessedintheorderitisconnected,changingtheorderinwhichyouapplynodestoyourimagecanmakeabig

difference.Tobegincompositing,makesurethatUseNodesisenabledandthatyouareeditingthecompositingnodes(notamaterialortexture).ThedefaultcompositingnodetreeshouldlooklikeFigure14-5.

TheinitialRendernodewillusethefirstrenderlayeryoucreatedintheLayerspanel,whichinmycasewasthebodylayer.IaddedasecondRenderLayernode(SHIFT-A▸Input▸RenderLayer)toholdmystrandrenderlayer,selectingitfromthedrop-downmenuatthebottomoftheRenderLayernode.

Figure14-5.ThedefaultnodetreeforBlender’scompositorisprettybasic.WhateveryouconnecttothesocketsoftheCompositenodewillbecomethefinaloutputofyourrender.

ExtraAmbientOcclusionNext,IusedaMixnode(SHIFT-A▸Color▸Mix)toincreasethestrengthoftheambientocclusioneffectonthebodyrenderlayer.IsettheBlendmodeoftheMixnodetoMultiplyandusedtheImageoutputofthebodyrenderlayerasthefirstinput.Iusedtheambientocclusionpass(fromthesocketlabeledAO)asthesecondinput.

Toincreasetheeffect,IdarkenedtheambientocclusionpasswithaCurvesnode

beforemultiplyingitwiththeimage.Todoso,IaddedanRGBCurvesnodeandinserteditbetweentheambientocclusionoutputoftheRenderLayernodeandtheMultiplynode.Todothisquickly,dragthenodeovertheconnectionbetweentwoothernodes(youshouldseetheconnectionhighlight)andreleaseittoinsertitinachainbetweentheothertwonodes.

Finally,ImadethecurveontheRGBCurvesnodeabitsteeper(seeFigure14-6).

CombiningtheBodyandFurNext,IaddedanAlphaOvernode(SHIFT-A▸Color▸AlphaOver),connectingthebodyasthefirstinputandthefurasthesecond.Togetthecorrectresultswhencompositinglayerswithstraightalpha,whichIselectedwhenchoosingtheRendersettingsearlier(seeRenderLayers),IenabledConvertPremultiplyforthisnode.Thisshouldproducetheexpectedresultwithoutanydarkfringing.

ToplacetheBatCreatureonadarkgraybackground,IusedasecondAlphanodewithanRGBnodeasthefirstinput(settogray)andmynewlymergedbodyandhairlayersasthesecondinput,asshowninFigure14-6.

Figure14-6.AddingextraambientocclusiontothebodyrenderlayerwithaMultiplynode.Thehairisthenmergedoverthetop,andthecompositeisplacedoveragraybackgroundusinganAlphaOver

node.

BloomNext,Iaddedsomebloom.BloomisacommoneffectinbothrealandCGimagery,wherelightbleedsoutfrombrightareasintodarkerones,effectivelylighteningtheimagearounddarkerareas.Thereal-worldeffectarisesfromimperfectionsinlenses,butIcouldmimicthisbyblurringmyimageandoverlayingitontheoriginalinput.

Togeneratebloom,IcreatedaBlurnode(SHIFT-A▸Filter▸Blur)andsetitstypetoFastGaussian.IalsoenabledtheRelativeoption,whichwouldallowmetospecifytheblurradiusrelativetothewidthoftheimage.Thisoptionisusefulifyoudon’tknowwhatfinalresolutionyouwanttouseforyourrender,becausetheamountofblurringwon’tappeartochangeifyoumaketherendersmallerorlarger.(Itwouldifyoudefinedtheradiusinpixels.)

Isetthexandyradiito2percentandselectedYunderAspectCorrectiontomakesuretheblurhadthecorrectaspectratio.(Thisappliesonlywhenusingrelativeblur.)Then,IusedanAddnodewithafactorof0.2tosubtlyaddtheresultoftheblurredimageontopoftheoriginal.

Theinitialeffectwastoobright,soIusedanotherRGBCurvesnodetodarkenthedarkerregionsoftheimagebeforeitwasblurredsothatonlythebrightestregionswouldcontributetothebloom.TheresultingnodetreeisshowninFigure14-7.

ColorCorrectionNext,IappliedsomebasiccolorcorrectionusingtheColorBalancenode.Thisnodeisreallyusefulforapplyingarangeofcolor-gradingeffectstoyourrenders.First,IaddedtheColorBalancenode.Then,Iconnectedmycomposite-in-progresstoitsimageinputandturnedthefactordownto0.6.(TheColorBalancenodecanproduceastrongeffect,soturningthefactordownisaneasywaytomakeitmoresubtlewithouthavingtomakeverysmalladjustmentstotheothercontrols.)

Figure14-7.Mybloomeffectandthenodetreeresponsible.ThecompositedhairandbodyarefirstputthroughanRGBcurvesnodetoaddsomecontrast,thenblurredandaddedbackontopoftheoriginal

composite.

TheColorBalancenodehasthreesetsofcontrols,eachofwhichsetsanRGBcolor.Youcanseteachinputbyusingthecolorwheeltocontrolthehueandsaturationandusingtheverticalslidertocontrolthecolor.Thecoloryouselectisshownbelowinthecolorpicker.YoucanalsoclickthecolorpickertouseBlender’sdefaultcolorpickerortosetRGBorHSVvaluesmanually.

TheColorBalancenodeinputsarenamedlift,gamma,andgain,andtheycanbethoughtofasaffectingtheshadows,midtones,andhighlightsofanimage.Thus,togiveanimagelessprominenthighlights,youcouldturndownthebrightnessoftheliftinput.Togiveitsaturatedredhighlights,youcouldsetthegaincolortowardred.Ingeneral,settingopposingcolorsfortheliftandgaininputsoftenresultsinanimagewithnicecolorharmoniesbetweenthelightsanddarks.

InmanyHollywoodmovies,theshadowsaretealorblue,whilethemidtonesandhighlightsarepushedtowardorange—acolorschemethatworkswellwiththepinkish-orangeofmostlighterskintones.FortheBatCreature,Ioptedforaslightlyblueliftcolorandaslightlyyellowgaincolor.TheeffectisshowninFigure14-8.

AddingaVignetteNext,Iaddedavignettetomyimagetoslightlydarkenitscornersanddrawtheviewer’sattentiontothecenteroftheframe.Tocreatethiseffect,Itookthealphachannelofmybodylayerandranitthoughtalensdistortionfilterwithadistortvalueof1.Thisdistortedtheimageintoacircularshapewithblackcorners,whichwasalmostwhatIneeded.

Then,IusedaBlurnodesettoFastGaussianBlurwitharelativeradiusof50percenttoblurtheoutputoftheLensDistortionnode.Thisgavetheimageasoftgradientoutfromthemiddle,whichIthenoverlaidontothecolor-correctedrender.

Finally,IaddedaSharpennodewithaverylowFactorsetting(around0.05)totheendofthenodetreeandconnectedtheoutputtotheCompositenode.ThefinalnodetreeisshowninFigure14-9,andtheresultisshowninFigure14-10.

CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodesCreatingafinalcompositefromyourrenderscanbealongprocessthatrequiressomeexperimentation.Toaidintheprocess,Blenderautomaticallyrecompositesyourfinalrenderwhenyouchangethenodetree.AnalternativewaytogetafeelforhowyournodesetupisworkingistousetheViewernode,asecondaryoutputnodethatletsyouviewanystageinyournodetree.

Figure14-8.AddingcolorgradingtotherenderoftheBatCreature.Left:Beforegrading.Middle:TheColorBalancenode.Right:Aftergrading.

Figure14-9.ThecompositingnodetreefortheBatCreature

Figure14-10.ThecompositedoutputfortheBatCreature

TocreateaViewernode,pressSHIFT-A▸Output▸ViewerintheNodeeditor.WhateverisconnectedastheinputforthisnodewillthenshowupintheUVImageeditorifyouselectViewerNodefromthedrop-downmenuorcheckBackdropinthebackgroundoftheNodeeditorheader.

ToquicklychangewhichnodetheViewernodeisconnectedto,SHIFT-clickanynodeinyoursetup.Thisallowsyoutoeasilygothroughyournodetree,SHIFT-

clickingeachnodeinturntoseehowitaffectsthecomposite.(YoucouldcreatemultipleViewernodes,butthismethodkeepsyournodetreeclean.)

OrganizingNodeTreeswithFramesandNodeGroupsNodesetupsforcompositingcanbecomequitecomplexasyouaddmoreandmorenodes.Ifyoudon’tkeepthemorganized,itcanbedifficulttocomebacklatertodeterminewhat’sgoingoninyournodetree.Tohelpwiththis,BlenderletsyouorganizenodesasFramenodesandnodegroups.

FrameNodesFramesarelarge,rectangularnodeswithnoinputsoroutputsoftheirown;youplaceothernodesontopofthem,whichthen“stick”totheframenode,allowingyoutomovecollectionsofnodestogetherasone.YoucanlabelFramenodestomarkthepartsofyournodesetup(seeFigure14-11)byeditingthenode’snameinthePropertiesregion(N).Tounstickanodefromaframe,youcanusetheshortcutALT-P,oryoucanuseALT-Ftounstickthenodeandautomaticallygrabittomoveitaround.

NodeGroupsNodegroupsaredifferentfromframes.Tocreateanodegroup,selectoneormorenodesandpressCTRL-Gtogroupthemintoasinglenode.ThenewGroupnodeshouldcontainalloftheselectednodeswiththeinputsandoutputsrequiredbythegroupassockets.YoucanexpandthegroupandlookinsidewithTABtomodifyitsnodesandaddextrainputsandoutputs.

Figure14-11.Usingframestoorganizenodes.Onceassignedtoaframe,multiplenodescanbedraggedaroundtogether,makingiteasiertokeepthemorganized.

Whenyouexpandanodegroup,itsinputsandoutputswillbeshownontheleftandrightsidesofthegrouprespectively(seeFigure14-12).Toaddaninputoroutput,dragaconnectionfromoneofthenodesinthegrouptothisborder;toremoveaconnection,clicktheXnexttoit.Usethearrowsnexttoeachinputoroutputtoreorderthemandtidyupthegroup.

Likeallnodes,nodegroupscanbeduplicatedandreused.Onceduplicated,theybehavelikelinkedduplicateobjects:Achangewithinoneinstanceofthegroupaffectsallinstancesthesameway,whichmeansthatyoucangroupcommonlyrepeatedchainsofnodesandeditthemallatonce.Nodegroupscanalsobelinkedorappendedfromother.blendfiles,allowingyoutoreusepartsofyour

existingcompositingsetups.

RetouchinginGIMPOnceyou’rehappywithyourcomposite,youcancallitfinalandsaveitasanimage.FormatslikePNG,TIFF,andTargaaregoodforthis,beinglosslessformats(forsavingimageswithoutlosingquality).ForpostingtotheWeb,youmaywanttousetheJPEGformat,whichcompressesimagesmuchmore,givingyouasmallfileattheexpenseofasmalllossinimagequality.FortheBatCreature,though,IoptedtofixsomethingsinGIMPbeforecallingitfinal.Iwantedtosoftensomeofthespecularhighlightsonthenailsandlightentheeyesabit.IsaveditasaTarga(.tga)file(F3intheUVImageeditor)andopeneditinGIMP.

Figure14-12.Workingwithnodegroups

Tolightentheeyes,IcreatedanewlayerandsetitsBlendmodetoOverlay.Then,Ipaintedwhiteovertheeyes.Ialsoaddedsubtlehighlights,paintingsomedistortedreflectionsbyhandonaseparatelayer(thistimewiththeBlendmodesettoNormal).

Onthesamelayerasthereflections,Ialsodarkenedthehighlightsonsomeofthenails,pickingcolorsfromnearbyareaswiththecolorpickerandpaintingoverthebrighthighlights.(MakesuretoturnonSampleMergedinthetooloptionstoallowyoutosamplelayersbelowthecurrentonewithoutswitchingtothem.)Finally,ontheoriginalrenderlayer,IusedtheBlurtooltoslightlyblursomeofthehaironthefeetinordertodrawattentionawayfromwhereitlookedabittoocoarse.

InFigure14-13,youcanseetheretouchedeyes.Figure14-14showsthecompletedBatCreatureproject.

RenderingandCompositingtheSpiderBotTofinalizetheSpiderBot,Iwantedtoaddcolorgradingtothelighting(fromChapter13),showsomedepthoffieldtocommunicatetherobot’ssmallscale,andaddsomebloom.

Depthoffieldisareal-worldphenomenonthathappenswithimagesseenthroughalens,whetherthat’sacameraorthehumaneye.Lensescanonlyfocusperfectlyonobjectsthatareacertaindistanceawayfromthem,adistanceknownasthefocallength.Objectsoutsidethisdistancebecomeprogressivelymoreoutoffocus.Theeffectcanbesubtle(evennotworthbotheringwith)orsignificant.Ingeneral,depth-of-fieldeffectsaremostapparentwhenviewingobjectsatsmallscales.

Figure14-13.RetouchingsomeareasofthecompositeinGIMP.Iaddedsomehighlightstotheeyeswithonelayerandbrightenedthemoverallwithasecond(withtheBlendmodesettoOverlay).

Figure14-14.TheretouchedBatCreature

DepthofFieldinCyclesTherearetwowaystocreatedepthoffieldwhenrenderingwithCycles.OneistousetheDefocusnodeinBlender’scompositor.ThisworkswithbothBlenderInternalandCyclesandwillbeusedfortheJungleTemplescenelaterinthischapter.TheotherwayistouseCycles’s“real”depthoffieldasaCamerasettingwhenrendering.

Touserealdepthoffield,dothefollowing:

1. Selecttheactivecamera.

2. IntheDepthofFieldpanelontheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor,setadistancefromthecameratothefocalplane(thedistancewhereobjectsappearinfocus).

3. Setanaperturesizetodeterminetheamountofblurring.ThiscanbespecifiedintermsofeitheraradiusoranumberofF/Stops.HighernumbersgivemoreblurwithradiusorlesswithF/Stops.FortheSpiderBot,Iusedradiustosetthedepthoffieldtoabout0.3.

NOTECyclescanalsomimictheshapeofanapertureliketheoneyoumightfindonarealfilmordigitalcamera.Todothis,setBladestothenumberofsidesoftheapertureshapeandsetRotationtorotatetheshape.

Whensettingthedistanceforthedepthoffield,youcaneithersetanumbermanuallywiththeDepthsettingorspecifyanobjectusingtheselectorunderFocus.ThiscausesthecameratoignoretheManualDepthsettingandfocusontheobject’scenterinstead.It’susuallyeasiesttocreateanemptyobject,placeitwhereyouwantthescenetobeinfocus,andthensetthisemptyobjectasthedepth-of-fieldtargetintheCamerasettings.

Tobettervisualizethedepth-of-fielddistance,enabletheLimitsoptionintheDisplaypaneloftheCamerasettings.Blenderthendisplaysalinepointingoutfromthecamera(describingtheclippingdistances)withayellowcrossatthedepth-of-fielddistance.

RenderSettingsfortheSpiderBotWithdepthoffieldsetup,Iwasreadytorender.Isettheresolutionoftherenderto2600×3600,andintheIntegratorpaneloftheRendertab,IsetRenderSamplesto1000andClampto2toreducethenumberoffirefliesinthescene.

Iwantedlighttobouncearoundmysceneandilluminatetheshadows,butalmostallofthesceneisindirectlight,soIdidn’tneedtorelyonbouncedlighttooheavily.IsetMaxBouncesto32(withaminimumof4toallowearly

termination)andthethreeLightPathssettingsto32aswell.Ididn’tneedanyrenderlayersorextrapasses,soIlefttheLayerspanelaloneandpressedRender(F12).

CompositingtheSpiderBotNext,Iaddedsomecolorgradingandbloomtomyfinalrender.WhileCyclesprovidessomedifferentrenderpasses,theprocessofcompositingisessentiallythesameaswhenusingBlenderInternal.IaddedbloomasIdidwiththeBatCreature,usingaBlurnodetoblurtheimageandanAddnodetoaddtheresultbackontotheimage.Again,IaddedanRGBCurvesnodebeforetheBlurnodetoincreasethecontrastandslightlydarkentheimagetobeblurred.

Forcolorgrading,IaddedaColorBalancenode:IchoseapurplishcolorfortheLiftColorandagreenishtintfortheGain.IsettheGammatoslightlybluishandbrightenedupthehighlightsoftheimageabitbysettingthevalueofthegainslightlyhigherthan1.0.(YoucansetnumericalvaluesfortheRGBorHSVcolorsforLift,Gamma,andGainbyclickingthecolorpicker.)IthenconnectedtheoutputoftheColorBalancenodetotheimagesocketCompositeoutputnode.ThefinishednodetreeisshowninFigure14-15andtheresultingcompositeinFigure14-16.

RenderingandCompositingtheJungleTempleTheJungleTemplewasacomplexscene,andmyRendersettingshadamuchgreaterimpactonrendertimesforthisproject.Isettherendersizeoftheimageto2880×3840;thenumberofRenderSamplesintheSamplingsettingsto5000;andClampto3.0totrytoreducenoiseabitmorequickly.

NOTEAlthough5000samplesisalot,Iwasn’tparticularlyconcernedabouthowlongmyrendertook.Primarily,thishighnumberwasnecessarybecausetherewerealotofsoftshadowsinthescene.Forgoodresultswithfewersamples,youcantryturningdowntheSizesettingonsomeofthelampsinyoursceneatthecostofharder-edgedshadows.

Forbounces,IsettheMaxto128andMinto8toallowforprobabilisticray

termination.BecauseIwantedtocompositethefinalrenderonabackgroundimageofcloudsandsky,IturnedonTransparentunderFilmoptions.

IlefttheotherRenderoptionsattheirdefaultandpressedF12torender.

BackgroundRequiredWhencompositingtheJungleTemple,Iwantedtoaddbloom,depthoffield,andsomecolorgrading.ButfirstIneededtocompositemyrenderoverabackground,whichmeantcreatingabackgroundinGIMPandthenimportingitintoBlenderwithanImageTexturenodeforfurthercompositing.

Figure14-15.ThenodetreeforcompositingtheSpiderBot

Figure14-16.ThecompositedSpiderBot

PaintingtheSkyinGIMPTocreateaskybackground,IfirstsavedmyuncompositedrenderfromBlender’sImageeditorasa.pngimagewithtransparency(whensaving,remembertochooseRGBAnexttothefiletypetosavethetransparencyaswell).Then,IopenedtheimageinGIMP.Tocreateabackgroundforthetopright-handcorner,IopenedaskytexturefromCGTexturesasalayer(seeFigure14-17)andputitbelowtherenderinmylayerstack.Ithenscaledandpositionedthebackgroundtoputanicebitofcloudinthetopcorner(asyoucanseeinthefirstimageinFigure14-17).Tocreateanighttimebackground,IusedtheCurvestooltoreallydarkenthecloudslayer,whileusingtheHue-Saturation

andBrightnesstools(Colors▸Hue-Saturation)toreducethesaturationofthelayerabitsothatthecolorsdidn’tlooktoosaturated.

Next,IaddedsomeembellishmentstothecloudimageusingtheDodge/Burntool(settoDodge)andaddedhighlightstotheedgesofsomecloudsusingasoft-edgedbrush.IalsocreatedanewtransparentlayerandsetitsBlendmodetoOverlay.Ithenusedthisnewlayertoincorporatesomeextracolorsaroundtheclouds:alightbluearoundtheedgesoftheleavesonthetempleandsomegreensandyellowstowardthecorner.Throughout,mygoalwastoendupwithabackgroundthathadacolorpalettesimilartothatofmyrenderedimage.

Finally,Ihidtherenderlayer,savedthebackgroundonitsownasan.xcffile(CTRL-S)sothatIcouldedititlater,andexporteditasa.tgaimage(CTRL-E).ThebackgroundimageanditsvariousstagesareshowninFigure14-17.

CompositingtheTempleWithmybackgroundcreated,IreturnedtoBlender’scompositor.First,Ihadtoaddmybackgroundbehindmyrender.Todoso,IusedtheAlphaOvernodewiththebackgroundasthefirstinputandmyrenderasthesecond(seeFigure14-18).

Figure14-17.CreatingabackgroundfortheJungleTempleinGIMP,usinganearly,noisyrenderasaguide.Thebackgroundwasmadewiththesamedimensionsasthefinalimage,butonlythecorner

showingtheskyisshownhere.(Therestofthebackgroundimagewasblack.)Therender(onaseparatelayer)washiddenbeforesavingthebackground.

Figure14-18.CompositingthebackgroundinGIMPwithanAlphaOvernode.IalsoaddedaCurvesnodetodarkenitslightly.

DepthofFieldNextcamesomedepthoffield.WhenaddingdepthoffieldtotheSpiderBot,Iusedphysicallycorrect,rendereddepthoffield.However,fortheJungleScene,I

usedthecompositor’sDefocusnode.Thismethodgivesslightlylessaccurateresultsthanrendereddepthoffield,butitallowsformorecontroloverwhichareasareblurredandwhicharenotandletsuschangethefocusafterwefinishrendering,whichgivesusmoreflexibility.

TheDefocusnoderequirestwoinputs:theimagetobeblurredandablack-and-whitemaskthatdetermineshowmuchtoblurdifferentpartsoftheimage.Forthemask,youcanuseeitherthez-bufferdirectly(checktheUsez-bufferinputcheckbox),oryoucanuseanyblack-and-whiteimageasasimplemaskbyleavingitunchecked.Ifyouchoosetousethez-bufferdirectly,Blenderwillusethecamera’sdepth-of-fieldsettingsfoundintheObjectDatatabofthePropertieseditor.Regionscloserorfartherthanthedepth-of-fielddistancewillbeblurred.Ifyouturnthisoptionoff,Blenderwillusethevalueoftheinputtodeterminetheamountofblurringsothatwhiteregionswillbethemostblurredandblacktheleast.

FortheJungleTemplescene,Ioptedtousethez-bufferdirectly,butIaddedaBlurnode(witharadiusof6pixels)betweenthez-bufferoutputandthez-inputoftheDefocusnodetoblurthesevaluesslightly.Thismethodreducesthecreationofartifactsonforegroundobjects,whereobjectsthatshouldbeblurredappeartohavesharpedges.

Figure14-19.Addingdepthoffieldandbloomtothecomposite

AddingBloomandVignettingNext,Iaddedsomebloom.Aswiththeotherprojects,IblurredtheimageandcombineditbackovertheimagewithanAddMixnode.Iappliedsomevignettingbytakingthealphachanneloftherender,distortingitwiththeLensDistortionnode,blurringitwiththeBlurnode,andthenoverlayingthisontopoftheimage.ThenodesforthesestagesareshowninFigure14-19.

ColorGradingToaddcolorgrading,Iusedtwodifferentnodes.First,IputtheimagethroughaHueCorrectnode,whichletmeadjustthesaturation(orhueorvalue)ofspecificcolorswithintheimage.BecauseIwantedtoplayuptheorangesandgreensbeforeapplyingsomeextragrading,IadjustedthecurveoftheHueCorrectnode

byclickingthecurveanddraggingtoaddanewpoint,raisingtheprofileofthecurveintheorangeandgreenareas,andloweringitslightlyintheblues.Thisincreasedthesaturationoftheorangelightfromthetempleentranceandthegreenoftheleaves,makingthemmoreprominent.IrantheresultthroughaColorBalancenode,addingsomebluestotheshadowswithabluishliftcolorandsomeyellowandorangetothemidtonesandhighlightswithveryslightlyorangegammaandgaincolors.

Finally,IaddedaFilternodeattheendofthenodetree,justbeforetheCompositeoutputnode.IsetthistoSharpenwithafactorof0.05toaddsomeveryslightsharpeningtotheimage.

ThiscompletesthecompositingfortheJungleTemplescene.ThecompletenodesetupisshowninFigure14-20.

Figure14-20.ThenodetreeforcompositingtheJungleTemple,organizedwithframenodes

Asafinaladjustment,IopenedthecompositeimageinGIMPandcleaneduponeortworemainingdepth-of-fieldartifactsbyhandwiththeBlurtool.Ialsocroppedtheimageslightlytoimprovethecomposition.TheresultisshowninFigure14-21.

InReview

ThismoreorlesscompleteseachoftheprojectsIsetouttocreateforthebook.Inthischapter,ItookthefinalscenesandrenderedthemusingeitherCyclesorBlenderInternalasrenderengines.ThenItooktherenderoutputandusedGIMPandBlender’scompositortotweakandrefinetheseresultsintomyfinalimages.TheresultisrendersoftheprojectsthatIcannowcallfinished.

Ofcourse,there’salwaysanothertweakthatcanbemade,andinChapter15,we’lllookatafewmorethingsthatcouldbedonewiththeseprojectstotakethemfurther.

Figure14-21.ThefinalresultfortheJungleTemple

Chapter15.GoingFurther

Inthischapter,welookatsomepossibleadditionstothefinalprojects,potentialwaystodevelopthem,andwheretofindtheinformationonhowtodoso.BothBlenderandGIMPhavemanyusesbeyondthosediscussedinthisbook.Butasafull3Danimationsuite,Blenderhasanumberoffeaturesthatwehaven’thadtimetoexamine,soI’llconcentrateonhowwecanuseBlendertotakeourprojectsfurther.

Forexample,oneBlenderfeaturewecanusetoexpandtheprojectsistheArmatureobject,whichgivesmodelsakindofskeletonthatallowsthemtobemovedorposed.Theprocessofcreatinganarmatureforamodelandsettinguptheconnectionsthatmakethearmaturecontrolthemeshisknownasrigging,andtheresultingarmatureisknownasarig.Riggingcanbecomplex.Coveringitinfulliswellbeyondthescopeofthisbook,butIwillbrieflyreviewtheprinciplesofriggingtheSpiderBot.Onceyouhaveriggedyourcreations,youcananimatethemusingBlender’sanimationtools.Likerigging,animationisatopicthatwouldtakeabookofitsowntocover,soI’lljustsuggestsomeideas,aswellasresourcesforfurtherreading.

Butfirst,let’slookatsomesimplewaystoaddextradetailstotheprojects.

EmbellishmentsIt’softendifficulttofindthepointwhereyou’refinallyreadytocallaprojectfinished.Sometimesaprojectisjustmissingsomething—certaindetailsoradditionalobjectsthatwouldallowyoutogetextramileageoutofyourcreation.Tothatend,herearesomeideasforextraswecouldaddtotheprojects.

AddingtotheJungleTempleTheJungleTemplescenealreadyhasalotgoingon,butthecolorschemeisprettysimple.Onewaytodressitupwouldbetocreateafewfloweringplants

toaddasplashofcolorhereandthere.Iusedfaceduplication(awaytoduplicateoneobjectoverthefacesofanother)toaddsomeflowerstotheIvyGenmesh,andIincreasedthenumberofleavestomaketheplantlifemoreinteresting.Icreatedanew“branch”objectconsistingofafewleavesandflowersandthenreplacedthefacesintheoriginalleafmeshwithaninstanceofthisobject.Conveniently,thisbranchobjectalsorendersquickly:Cyclesrecognizesthateachinstanceoftheduplicatedbranchsharesthesamemeshdata,soitstorestheobjectonlyonce,keepingthememoryrequirementsforrenderingreasonablylow.

CreatingtheBranchObjectTocreateabranch,Ibeganbysubdividingaplaneandgivingitaslightlycurvedshape.Thisformedthebasisofmyleaf,whichIduplicatedafewtimesandarrangedinanarchinggroupoffiveleaves.Icreatedaflowerusingafive-vertexcircle,whichIthenfilledinandextrudedouttocreatethepetals.Next,Iunwrappedtheflowerandtheleaf.Iusedthesametextureandmaterialfortheleavesofthebranchasbefore.Fortheflower,IusedaflowerphotofromCGTextures.IcreatedatextureandmaterialfromitasIhaddonefortheleaves.Ialsomodeledsomebasictwigsforthenewleavestoattachtobycreatingacubeandextrudingfromittoroughlylineupwiththeleaves.Intheend,Icreatedtwobranchobjects:onewithflowersandonewithout,asshowninFigure15-1.

Figure15-1.ThebranchobjectsIusedtoincreasethecomplexityofthefoliageintheJungleTemple.Above:Thebranchobjectsinthe3DViewport.Below:Thebranchobjectsrendered.

DuplicatingwithFaceDuplicationTousethebranchobjecttocreatesomeextrafoliage,IturnedonFaceDuplicationintheDuplicationpanel,whichyoucanfindintheObjecttabofthePropertieseditor.Toduplicateabranch,Iparentedit(selectingthebranch,thentheIvyGenmesh,andhittingCTRL-P)totheIvyGenleafmesh.Then,IsettheduplicationtypetoFacesintheDuplicationpanel.ThiscreatedaduplicateofthebranchobjectforeachfaceoftheIvyGenmesh.

Theobjectsmusthavethesameoriginortheduplicateswillbeoffsetfromtheparentmesh,soIselectedmybranchobjectandsnappedmycursortoit(SHIFT-S▸CursortoSelection).Next,IselectedtheIvyGenleafmesh,clickedOriginoperatorinthe3DViewportToolShelf,andselectedOriginto3DCursor,givingthetwoobjectsthesameorigin.

Faceduplicationallowseachduplicatetoinheritthescaleofthefaceitisduplicatedfrom.ItookadvantageofthisbyenablingScaleintheDuplicationpanelandthenaddingsomerandomvariationtothescaleoftheIvyGenfaces.Todoso,IusedSelect▸RandominEditmodetoselectarandomsampleofthefacesinthemesh.Next,IscaledthemdownslightlywiththePivotPointsettoIndividualFacesinthe3DViewportheader(sothefaceswouldscaledowntowardtheircenters).Thisscaleddownarandomselectionofthefaces.Then,Irepeatedtheprocess—thistimeselectingdifferentfaces—andscaledthemupabit.

Tocreateamixbetweenthetwobranchobjects,IsplittheIvyGenmeshbyselectingit,switchingtoEditmode,andsettingtheselectionmethodtoFacesfromthe3DViewportheader.Then,IusedSelect▸Random—againchoosing20percentofthefacesinthemesh(youcanadjustthepercentageintheToolOptionspaneloftheToolShelf)—andpressedPtopartthemfromthemeshandturnthemintotheirownobject.Next,IparentedthebranchwithoutflowerstotheoriginalIvyGenobjectandthebranchwithflowerstothenewone,creatingsomebrancheswithflowersandsomewithout.TheresultisshowninFigure15-2.

CreatingPebblesTogivethegroundinthescenealittlemorevariation,Iusedanotherparticlesystemtoscatterpebblesontheground.Icreatedagroupofpebbleobjects,asIdidforthegrass.Then,Iaddedanewparticlesystemtotheground,settingitupsimilarlytothegrasssystem.Thistime,though,IusedSimpleChildparticlestoscatterthepebblesinsmallclustersaroundthescene.Figure15-3showsarenderofthescenewiththeadditionoftheextrafoliageandthepebbles.

Figure15-2.IncreasingthenumberofleavesbyduplicatingmultiplebranchobjectsforeachoriginalfaceintheIvyGenleafmesh

AddingtotheBatCreatureIdecidedthattheBatCreaturemightbenefitfromhavingsomethingtostandon,soIcreatedarockyplinthtogivehimaplatform.Ialsoexperimentedwith

addingawispycloudaroundhisfeet.

Figure15-3.ArenderoftheJungleTemplescenewithsomeextrafeaturesadded

CreatingtheRockTocreatetheplatform(arock),Ifirstmodeledaroughshapebyscalingandextrudingoutfromacube.Next,IusedBlender’ssculpttoolsandaMultiresolutionmodifiertosculptthisroughshapeintoarockyone.TheClay

TubesandScrapeFlatbrushfromChapter6wereparticularlyusefulforthispurpose(seeFigure15-4).IusedtheseamlessrocktexturefromChapter11(thatIcreatedfortheJungleTempleproject)ontopofthesculpteddetailsasadisplacementmap.

ImadeamaterialfortherockusingthesamerocktexturesIcreatedinChapter11,andIaddedanotherlightbehindtherocktolightupitstoprimfromthecamera’sperspective.IsetthislighttoThisLayerOnlyintheLampssettingssothatitwouldlightonlytherock,whichwasonitsownlayeralongwiththelamp.IthenshiftedthecameradownslightlyandangledituptogiveadifferentperspectiveontheBatCreature,andIadjustedthepositionsofhisfeettomakehimstandontherockcorrectly.

Figure15-4.CreatingtherockfortheBatCreaturetostandon

AddingCloudsTocomplementthemoodoftheimage,Iaddedsomecloudsaroundtherock.Blenderhassomefantastictoolsforrenderingvolumetricmaterialslikeclouds.Afulldiscussionwouldrequireitsownchapter,butthankfullyforourpurposes,it’ssimpleenoughtosaythataterrificadd-oncalledCloudGeneratorwilldomostofthework.EnabletheaddonfromtheUserPreferenceseditor.

TousetheCloudGeneratorscript,Ifirstsketchedtheroughvolumeofmycloudusingcubes.Then,IusedtheGenerateCloudbutton,whichcanbefoundintheToolShelf,toautomaticallygeneratecloudobjectswiththeroughshapeofthecubeobjectsselectedandtosetupappropriatematerials(seeFigure15-5).

Ileftthegeneratedmaterialalmostasitwasmadebytheadd-on,exceptthatIturnedonExternalShadowsintheLightingpaneloftheMaterialstabandsetthescaleofthecloudstexturebelongingtothematerialabitlowertogivethecloudsomemoredetail.Irenderedthecloudonitsownrenderlayerandcompositeditintomyimageafteraddingthebackgroundinmycompsetup(beforethebloomandcolorgradingwereapplied).TheresultsareshowninFigure15-6.

Figure15-5.CreatingcloudswiththeCloudGeneratorscript

Figure15-6.Thefinishedcloudscompositedintomyscene

DifferentLooksAnotherwaytogetmoreoutofaprojectistoconsidersomedifferentlooksforyourfinalrenders.Thismightinvolvefindingnewcameraanglesortryingdifferentlightingschemes.IexperimentedwithsomedifferentlooksforlightingtheSpiderBot,aswellasdifferentcameraangles,asshowninFigure15-7.

RiggingandAnimationOfcourse,themostdramaticwaytotakeyourprojectsfurtheristoanimatethem.Onesimplewaytoanimateasceneistorenderaturntablebyrotatingthecameraaroundthesubjectandkeyingitspositionandrotationasitmovesinacircle.Anotherwayistorenderafly-through,withyourcameramovingaroundthescenetoshowdifferentpointsofinterest.Morecomplexanimation—forexample,animatingyourcharacter’smovements—involvescreatingrigsforanymovingelementsandthenkeying,orstoring,thedifferentpropertiesandpositionsoftheseelementsthroughtime.

Figure15-7.AlternaterendersoftheSpiderBot,withdifferentlightingandcameraangles

Riggingrequiresaddinganarmatureobjecttoyoursceneandeditingittocreatea“skeleton”foryourmodel.Next,youmustbindyourmodeltothearmature,eitherbyparentingthemodel’sobjectstospecificbonesor,preferably,byusingtheArmaturemodifiertoassigndifferentvertexgroupswithinobjectstothedifferentbonesofthearmature.Onceyou’vecompletedthesesteps,youcanswitchtoPosemodewiththearmatureselectedtobeginmovingandposingyourmodel(seeFigure15-8).

Inadditiontocreatingbonestodirectlycontrolpartsofyourmodel,youcanalsocreateconstraintsandhelperbonestoformakindofuserinterfaceforyourrig.Thesecouldincludecontrolstomakesurethatlimbsreachforaspecificpointautomaticallyorcontrolstomakethemodelperformcertainactions.Forexample,inFigure15-8,thebonesshownhighlightedinyellowandgreenarethosethathavehadconstraintsappliedtomakeposingthelegseasier.Thisisacomplexprocess,though.Tolearnmoreaboutrigging,lookattheresourcesavailablefromtheBlenderFoundationShopandontheBlenderwiki.

Figure15-8.Workingwitharmatures.Top:ThearmaturefortheSpiderBotseenonitsownfromabove,inB-Boneview(oneofthedisplayoptionsforarmatures).Middle:PosingtheSpiderBotusingtherig.

Bottom:TheposedSpiderBotshownonitsown.Onceyourmodelisrigged,youcanbeginanimatingyourcreation.Bykeyingthetransformationsofthebonesinyourrigs,orstoringtheirposes,andthenmovingthroughBlender’stimeline,changingtherig’spose,andkeyingitagain,youcanbuildupasequenceofpositionsandposesforyourrigtomovethrough.Whenplayedback,yourmodelwillthenperformthesequenceofmovementsdefinedbytheposesyoucreated.

InReviewOverthecourseofthisbook,wehaveprogressedfromtheinitialinspirationforourprojectstofinalimagesandbeyond.AfterintroducingBlenderandGIMPinChapter1andChapter2,welookedathowtogather,create,andusereferenceandconceptartinChapter3,andmovedontoblockinginthefundamentalsofourscenesintheformofroughgeometryandbasemeshesinChapter4.InChapter5,Chapter6,andChapter7,weexpandedupontheseroughformswithfurthergeometryandwithBlender’ssculptingandretopologytools.InChapter8,weunwrappedthemodelsfortexturing.

Withthemodelslaidout,weaddedfurtherdetailswithparticlesystemsinChapter9andtexturesinChapter10andChapter11.InChapter12andChapter13,webeganturningourcollectionofmodelsandtexturesintoarenderablescenewithmaterialsandlighting,andinChapter14,weturnedour.blendfilesintofinishedrenders.

Ihopethatthischapterhasgivenyouafewideasforwaysyoucanenhancethefinishedprojectsinthisbookoryourownprojects.I’vecoveredaddingextradetailstoscenesandproducingextrarenderswithdifferentsceneryormoods.I’vealsotouchedontheideaofanimatingandriggingprojects,movingfromtherealmofstillimagesintomovingpictures.

Throughoutthisbook,I’veusedmythreeprojectstoillustratewhatpowerfultoolsBlenderandGIMPareandhowtheirdiverserangeoffunctionscanbeused.Eachtoolhastremendousdepthandcanbedauntingatfirst,butonceyougettoknowthetools,they’refantasticforbringingyourideastolife.Ihopeyou’llenjoyusingtheskillsyou’velearnedinthisbooktodojustthat.

AppendixA.

BlenderMasterClassissetinNewBaskerville,Futura,andDogma.ThebookwasprintedandboundatSheridanBooks,Inc.inChelsea,Michigan.

AppendixB.AbouttheProjectFiles

Forinstructionsondownloadingthefilesfortheprojectsinthisbook,visithttp://www.nostarch.com/blendermasterclass.htm.Thefilesincludeseparate.blendfilesforeachproject(correspondingtoeachchapterinthebook)andeachprojectinitsfinalstateattheendofeachchapter(whererelevant).Theseresourcesshouldallowyoutolookin-depthattheworkingsofeachprojectandtoexaminehoweachonetakesshape.Alsoincludedarethetexturesusedforeachproject,.blendfileswithsomeusefulbrushesforsculptingandMatCapmaterials,andaGIMPbrushthatyoucanuseinyourownprojects.LinkstothetexturesfromCGTextures(http://www.cgtextures.com/)arelistedinatextfile.

ThefilesarelicensedundertheCreativeCommonsnoncommercialattribution(CC-BY-NC)license.

Index

ANOTEONTHEDIGITALINDEXAlinkinanindexentryisdisplayedasthesectiontitleinwhichthatentryappears.Becausesomesectionshavemultipleindexmarkers,itisnotunusualforanentrytohaveseverallinkstothesamesection.Clickingonanylinkwilltakeyoudirectlytotheplaceinthetextinwhichthemarkerappears.

Symbols

2Dcurve,EditMode

2Dimageediting,IntroductiontoGIMP

3Dcursor,Scenes

3Dcurve,EditMode

3DViewport,AboutBlender,MultipleLayouts

backgroundimagesin,UVImageEditor

coordinatesin,The3DViewport

customizing,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

displaymodesin,The3DViewport

Editmode,EditMode

navigating,The3DViewport

regionsin,LayoutandUITerminology

Sculptmode,Sculpting

TexturePaintmode,TexturePainting

TexturedSolidshadingoptionin,ImagesandTextures

3d.sk,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

A

activeobject,Scenes

AdaptiveRendereroption,forhairparticlesrendering,EmissionPanel

Adaptive/ConstantQMCsetting,forray-tracedshadow,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

Addblendingmode,AddingaLight

AddbrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp,ParticleMode

AddShaderNode,forCyclesrenderer,CyclesMaterials,PeachFuzz

add-ons,enabling,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

Airbrushtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

aliasing,Dimensions

Aligntool(GIMP),TheToolbox

aligningorthographicreferences,TestingCompositionsinBlender

AlphaOvernode,ExtraAmbientOcclusion

alphas

astextures,TextureMapTypes,CombiningLeavesontoaSingleTexture

forsculpting,BrushOptions,Detailing

AmbientColor,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

ambientocclusion

adjustingcurvestoaddcolor,GeneralTipsforBakingMaps,LayerModesandOpacity

baking,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

asmask,GroundTexture

forBatCreature,AdjustingColors

forJungleTemplescene,GeneralTipsforBakingMaps

forSpiderBot,BakingMapsforMultipleObjects

inWorldsettings,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

texturetype,Texture-BakingControls

Ambientoption,formaterialshading,BlenderInternalMaterials

anatomy

insculpting,SculptingConcepts,CoarseAnatomy

ofskull,SculptingNatural-LookingFaces

Anchoredstrokeforsculpting,BrushOptions

angles,snappingviewporttospecific,The3DViewport

animated.gihGIMPbrush,AddingVariationtoaBrush

animation,GoingFurther,DifferentLooks

Animationlayout,LayoutandUITerminology

anti-aliasing,Dimensions

Appearancepanel,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

appending,Datablocks

ApplyBaseoperator,TheMultiresModifier

ApplyCameraImage,inTexturePaintmode,ProjectPaint

ApproximateGathermethod,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettings

inBlenderInternal

arealamp,Lighting

AreaPlane,ofbrush,ScrapeFlat

armatureobject,GoingFurther,DifferentLooks

Arraymodifier,Modifiers,Plants,IvyGen

AspectRatiosetting,forBlenderInternalrenderer,Dimensions

associatedalpha,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Attenuationsetting,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

AutoclipStart/Endsetting,forshadowbuffers,LampObjectsinCycles

AverageIslandsScaleoperator,SharingUVSpaceEfficiently

axes

constrainingsculptingto,BrushOptions

displayoptionforobjects,ApplyingTransforms,ApplyingTransforms

forMirrormodifier,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh

guidelinesin3Dviewport,switchingoff,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

in3Dspace,The3DViewport

inUVspace,EditingUVCoordinates

of3Dmanipulatorwidget,ManipulatingObjects

restrictingoperatorsto,Modifiers

B

B-Splinemethod,forhairstrandrendering,Render

backlight,TheFillLight

forJungleTemple,TempleEntranceLighting

backgroundcolor

inGIMP,TheToolbox

OnlyRenderoptionand,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

backgroundimages

conceptartas,Snapping

in3DViewport,UVImageEditor

backgroundofscene,The3DViewport

forJungleTemple,DepthofFieldinCycles

renderoptionsfor,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Backgroundshader,forCyclesrenderer,CyclesMaterials

baking,TextureBaking

(seealsotexturebaking)

Bakemode,ImagesandTextures

Bakepanel,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

displacementtoretopologizedmesh,AboutDisplacementMaps

basemeshes,Snapping

(seealsoBatCreature:basemesh)

BatCreature

ambientocclusiontexturemapfor,AdjustingColors

basemesh

applyingtransforms,ApplyingTransforms

finishedbody,ApplyingTransforms

handsandfeet,PosesforModelingCharacters

head,ModelingtheHandsandFeet

loopcutsandfaceandedgeloops,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh

posesformodeling,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

proportionalediting,ModelingtheHead

BlenderInternalrenderer,torender,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

clouds,CreatingtheRock,DifferentLooks

compositedoutput,CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodes

compositingnodetreefor,CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodes

compositingpasses,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

diffusetexture,SpecularMap

addedtoskinmaterial,FurtherTextures

lighting,WorldSettingsinCycles

eyes,ShadowsandFur

floorshadows,ShadowsandFur

materials,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

fur,SubsurfaceScattering,Fur

peachfuzz,PeachFuzz

skin,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

teeth,nails,andeyes,SubsurfaceScattering

modelingdetails,Coupling

nailsandteeth,AdjustingColors

peachfuzzfor,PeachFuzz

platform,CreatingPebbles

renderlayers,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

renderingandcompositing,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

retopologyfor,RetopologizingtheJungleTempleTrees

body,RetopologizingtheBody

decimation,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

shadowbufferspotlamps,ShadowsandFur

shapingandstylinghair,ParticleMode

texturebakingfor,TextureMapTypes

ambientocclusionbaking,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

bitdepthandtextures,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

displacementfromsculpttofinalmesh,TextureMapTypes

displacementmapapplied,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

normalmapbaking,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

texturepainting,TexturingtheBatCreature,InReview

eyes,SpecularMap,TexturingtheEyes

layergroups,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

layermasks,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

layermodes,AddingaLight

materialsandUIsetup,TexturingtheBatCreature

seams,FixingSeams

specularandhardnesstextures,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

unwrapping,AssigningUVTextures

UVseams,UnwrappingTools

Worldsettingsfor,WorldSettingsfortheBatCreature

Bevelmodifier,Walls

bevelededge,addingtowallblocks,Walls

Béziercurves,TheToolbox,EditMode,BlockingintheJungleTemple

wiresmodeledfrom,IvyGen

Biassetting

forshadowborders,Shadow-BufferOptions

inRendertab,Bakepanel,ImagesandTextures

BidirectionalScatteringDistributionFunction(BSDF)Shadernodes,BlenderInternalMaterials

BigBuckBunny,AboutBlender

bitdepth,andtextures,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

BleedoptionforProjectPaintmethod,ProjectPaint

Blend(Color/Texture)setting,forsubsurfacescattering,SubsurfaceScattering

.blendfiles,Datablocks

default,MultipleLayouts,Scenes,Snapping,DragAlpha

hierarchicalstructure,TheNodeEditor

layoutssavedwith,LayoutandUITerminology

packing,Datablocks

Blendtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Blender

basics,IntroductiontoBlender

userinterface,defaultlayout,AboutBlender

using,TheNodeEditor

Blenderbuilds,availability,AboutBlender

BlenderFoundation,IntroductiontoBlender

openmovieprojectsof,IntroductiontoBlender

BlenderInternalrenderer,Materials

lighting,Lighting

shadows,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

vs.Cycles,Lighting

materialsfor,TransmissionandRefraction

nodesin,TextureNodes,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

vs.Cyclesrenderer,ProjectPaint

BlenderUnitsoption,forstrandrendering,Fur

Blenderwiki,BlenderInternalMaterials

forColorManagement,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Blobbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

blockingin,BlockingIn

basemeshes,Snapping

JungleTemple,Modifiers

modifiers,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

bloom,Bloom

addingtoBatCreature,Bloom

addingtoJungleTemple,DepthofField

addingtoSpiderBot,DepthofFieldinCycles

BlurbrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp

Blurnode,ColorCorrection

Blurtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Bordersetting,forBlenderInternalrenderer,Dimensions

Bouncesetting,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

Braidoption,forhairparticles,Children

breakingsymmetry,BatCreaturesculpting,ProceduralDetails

brightness,oflamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

brushanglesetting,CreatingCustomBrushes

Brushbrushtype,TexturePainting

BrushDynamicsdialog,AddingVariationtoaBrush

Brushmode,SpecularMap

Brushpanel,BrushOptions

brushes

inBlender

creatingcustom,CreatingCustomBrushes

makingavailablebydefault,DragAlpha

sculptingoptions,Sculpting,BrushOptions

inGIMP,Dialogs

creatingcustom,TexturinginGIMP

BSDF(BidirectionalScatteringDistributionFunction)Shadernodes,BlenderInternalMaterials

Bsurfacesadd-on,UsingSnappingtoRetopologize,Retopologizingthe

JungleTempleTrees

Buckettool(GIMP),TheToolbox

bumpmap,TextureMapTypes,Displacement

C

CageDeformtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

camera

indefaultscene,Scenes

snappingtocurrentview,Modifiers

texturingtocamera,TexturingtoCamera

Cameraoption,forNormalstexturemap,Texture-BakingControls

cancelingselectioninGIMP,Filters

canvas,inGIMP,TheToolbox

Catmull-Clarksubdivision,Topology,TheMultiresModifier

caustics,RenderingwithCycles

CGTextures,AdjustingColors,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP,AddingtotheJungleTemple

Channelsdialog,Dialogs

childparticles,HairLength,Render

forBatCreaturefur,ShapingYourHair

Clampoption,inCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

Classicalshadowbuffers,Shadow-BufferOptions

Classical-Halfwayshadowbuffers,Shadow-BufferOptions

Claybrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushOptions,Volumes

clayrenders,PositioningtheLights,Dimensions

ClayTubesbrush,Body

creating,CreatingCustomBrushes

Clearoption,inRendertab,Bakepanel,ImagesandTextures

ClipStart/Endsetting,forshadowbuffers,LampObjectsinCycles

clipping,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh

Clonebrushtype,TexturePainting

CloneoptionforProjectPaintmethod,ProjectPaint

Clonetool(GIMP),TheToolbox,AdjustingColors,FixingSeams,GroundTexture

closedcurves,EditMode

cloth,simulating,ThePropertiesEditor

cloudtexture,ProceduralDetails,Fur

clumpoption,forchildparticles,Render

coarseanatomysculpting,SculptingConcepts

BatCreature,CoarseAnatomy

color

adjustinginGIMP,LayerModesandOpacity,AdjustingColors

andbackgroundinBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

forshadow,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

lightingand,GeneralLightingTips

swatchesinGIMPToolbox,TheToolbox

ColorBalancenode,Bloom

colorblendsettings,forsubsurfacescattering,SubsurfaceScattering

colorgrading

BatCreature,ColorCorrection

JungleTemple,DepthofField

SpiderBot,DepthofFieldinCycles

ColorMixnode,SocketTypes

colorpicker

inBlender

forlamps,LightinginBlenderInternal

inMaterialstab,BlenderInternalMaterials

inGIMP,TheToolbox,TexturinginGIMP

Combtool,forhairshaping,ParticleMode

compositing

BatCreature,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

feedbackandviewernodes,ColorCorrection

JungleTemple,DepthofFieldinCycles

layoutfor,LayoutandUITerminology

SpiderBot,RetouchinginGIMP

turningon,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

composition,WhattoLookforinReferenceMaterial

ruleofthirds,Composition

silhouetteandnegativespace,Composition

simplicityandfocus,SimplicityandFocus

testinginBlender,TestingCompositionsinBlender

visualpath,SimplicityandFocus

compositionguides,inBlender,TestingCompositionsinBlender

Compositor,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

Connectoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

ConstantQMCsetting,forray-tracedshadow,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

ConverttoMeshoperator(ALT-C),IvyGen,Coupling,CreatingaScalp

▸MeshFromCurve/Meta/Text,RetopologizingtheJungleTempleTrees

coordinates,ManipulatingObjects

in3D,The3DViewport

copyingobjects,Datablocks

copyrightforreferencematerial,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

coupling,forSpiderBot,Coupling

Creasebrushtype,Body

inSculptmode,BrushOptions,Volumes

CreaseLazybrush,ScrapeFlat,SculptingtheWings

creasing,StoneCarvings

Cropsetting,forBlenderInternalrenderer,Dimensions

Croptool(GIMP),TheToolbox

CubeProjectionoperator,TheUVGrid

cube,indefaultscene,Scenes

CubicInterpolationoption,formaterialshading,BlenderInternalMaterials

CulloptionforProjectPaintmethod,ProjectPaint

Curloption,forhairparticles,Children

curvehandles,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

Curvemodifier,Modifiers

formeshalongcurve,IvyGen

Curveobject,EditMode

asinputformodifiers,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

convertingtomeshes,IvyGen

typesof,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

Curvepanel,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

curves,EditMode

Curvestool(GIMP),CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

custombrushes

addingvariation,AddingVariationtoaBrush

creatinginGIMP,TexturinginGIMP

customizingBlenderuserinterface,LayoutandUITerminology

Cutoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

forfixingtopology,DealingwithDifficultTopology

Cyclesrenderer,AboutBlender,Materials,BlenderInternalMaterials

lighting,Shadow-BufferOptions

vs.BlenderInternalrenderer,Lighting

mesh-emitterobjectsin,LampObjectsinCycles

preview,PeachFuzz,LightingtheSpiderBot

RenderTaboptionsfor,RenderingwithCycles

screenlayoutforeditingmaterials,AddingTextures

Texturenodes,TextureNodes

vs.BlenderInternalrenderer,ProjectPaint

Worldsettingsin,WorldSettingsinCycles

CylinderProjectionoperator,TheUVGrid

D

DarkenbrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp

DarkenOnlybrushmode,SpecularMap

datablocks,OtherCoordinateSystems

definingobjectsas,OtherCoordinateSystems

linkingandappendingfromother.blendfiles,Datablocks

namesfor,Datablocks

decals,forSpiderBot,CreatingThreeTextures

decimation,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

Deepshadowbuffers,Shadow-BufferOptions

default.blendfile,Scenes

custombrushesin,DragAlpha

savinglayoutin,MultipleLayouts

defaultlayouts,LayoutandUITerminology

defaultnodetree,CompositingthePasses

Defocusnode,RetouchinginGIMP,DepthofField

DeleteEdgeLoopoperator,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

Deleteoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

deleting

curvesegments,EditMode

faces,Modifiers

loops,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh

objects,OtherCoordinateSystems

unuseddatablockswhenquittingBlender,Datablocks

depthoffield

andfocus,SimplicityandFocus

forJungleTemplescene,DepthofField

forSpiderBot,RetouchinginGIMP

inCyclesrenderer,RetouchinginGIMP

Descartes,René,The3DViewport

details,addingextra,GoingFurther

(seealsomodelingdetails)

developmentbuilds,AboutBlender

dialogs,inGIMP,Dialogs

Differenceblendmode,FixingSeams

DiffuseBSDFshader,Leaves

forCyclesrenderer,CyclesMaterials

diffusecolors,baking,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

Diffusepanel,inMaterialstabofBlenderInternalrenderer,BlenderInternalMaterials

diffusereflection,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

Diffusesetting,forpointlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

directionallighting,oncharacters,GeneralLightingTips

displacementmaps,SculptingAroundtheEyes

applyingtomodel,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

applyingtosculpt,AboutDisplacementMaps

bakingfromsculpttofinalmesh,TextureMapTypes

sizeguidelines,GeneralTipsforBakingMaps

Displacementmodifier,ProceduralDetails,TextureMapTypes

controllingwithvertexgroup,ApplyingDisplacementtotheSculpt

Displacementtexturemap,TextureMapTypes

Display(Percentage)option,forparticlesystem,Render

displaymodes,in3DViewport,The3DViewport

Displaypanel

forparticlesystem,Render

of3DViewportPropertiesregion,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

Dissolveoperator

fortopology,DealingwithDifficultTopology

inEditmode,EditMode

Distancesetting

forAttenuationsetting,worldlighting,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

forlamps,LightinginBlenderInternal

inRendertab,Bakepanel,ImagesandTextures

Dithersetting,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Dodge/Burntool(GIMP),TheToolbox,DiffuseMap,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP

DragAlphabrush,DragAlpha,Detailing

Drawbrush

inSculptmode,BrushTypes

inTexturepaintmode,TexturePainting

Duplicateoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

duplicating

groupsofobjects,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

linkedduplicates,OtherCoordinateSystems,Plants

objects,OtherCoordinateSystems

simpleduplicates,Plants

SpiderBotlegs,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

withfaceduplication,AddingtotheJungleTemple

E

ears,topologyof,Nose/NasolabialFold

edgeloops,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh

adding,DealingwithDifficultTopology

operators,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

Edgeoperators,TaggingEdges

EdgeRendering,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

EdgeSlideoperator,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

EdgeSplitmodifier,Walls,StoneCarvings

edges,EditMode

aligningwithform,DealingwithDifficultTopology

extruding,EditMode

rotatingtomovetriangles,DealingwithDifficultTopology

subdividing,PosesforModelingCharacters

tagging,StoneCarvings

Editmode,Datablocks,BlockingIn

3DViewportin,EditMode

switchingto,Modifiers

editabletextinGIMP,TheToolbox

editingUVcoordinates,EditingUVCoordinates

editors,AboutBlender,MultipleLayouts

(seealsonamesofspecificeditors)

switching,LayoutandUITerminology

ElephantsDream,IntroductiontoBlender

EllipseSelectiontool,TexturingtheEyes

Emissionpanel,forparticlesystem,HairLength

Emissionshader,forCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes,LampObjectsinCycles

Emissiontexturemap,TextureMapTypes

Emitoption,formaterialshading,BlenderInternalMaterials

Emittersetting,forhairparticles,EmissionPanel

Emittertype,forparticlesystem,HairLength

empties,image,UVImageEditor

Energysetting,forpointlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

EnvironmentLightingsetting,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

EnvironmentTexturenode,WorldSettingsinCycles

Erasertool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Errorsetting,forsubsurfacescattering,SubsurfaceScattering

exporting

inGIMP,Filters,AdjustingColors

objectaswavefrontobject,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

Exposuresetting,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

expression,sculptingforBatCreature,ProceduralDetails

.exr(OpenEXR)fileformat,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

savingdisplacementmapas,BitDepthandTextures

Extrudeoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

extrudingfaces,edges,andvertices,EditMode

eyes

ofBatCreature,Coupling,SubsurfaceScattering

sculpting,SculptingtheWings

texturing,SpecularMap,TexturingtheEyes

topologyaround,DealingwithDifficultTopology,HeadTopology

F

facecount,ThePropertiesEditor

faceduplication,AddingtotheJungleTemple

faceloops,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh

forBatCreaturebody,RetopologizingtheBody

Faceoption,forsnapping,Snapping

faces(geometry),EditMode

deleting,Modifiers

extruding,EditMode

faces(ofcharacters)

expression,ProceduralDetails

sculptingnatural-looking,Legs

topologyfor,HeadTopology

“fake”user,Datablocks

Falloffsettings

forAttenuationsetting,worldlighting,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

forlamps,LightinginBlenderInternal

forproportionalediting,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

FastNavigate,DragAlpha

Fattenoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

feet,modeling,ModelingtheHandsandFeet

Filemenu,ThePropertiesEditor

▸LoadFactorySettings,MultipleLayouts

▸NewImage,TexturingtheEyes

▸OpenAsLayers,AligningOrthographicReferences

▸UserPreferences,DragAlpha

Fillbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

filllight,TheFillLight

forJungleTemple,TempleEntranceLighting

Filloperator,inEditmode,EditMode

Fillsetting,EditMode

Filltool,TexturingtheEyes

Filmpanel,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

Filternode,DepthofField

Filtertype,forblendingshadowborders,Shadow-BufferOptions

Filtersmenu(GIMP)

▸Distort▸IWarp,DiffuseMap

▸Distort▸LensDistortion,AligningOrthographicReferences

filters,inGIMP,Dialogs

finedetailsinsculpting,SculptingConcepts

fingers,modeling,PosesforModelingCharacters

fireflies

aslightingartifacts,LampObjectsinCycles

inCyclesrenders,RenderingwithCycles

Flatshadingmode,CreatingtheSpiderBot

Flattenbrushtype,Legs

inSculptmode,BrushTypes

Fliptool(GIMP),TheToolbox,AdjustingColors

FloatLengthparameter,IvyGen

floatinglayers(GIMP),ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

fluids,simulating,ThePropertiesEditor

fly-through,DifferentLooks

focallength,RetouchinginGIMP

focalplane,RetouchinginGIMP

FollowActiveQuadsUnwrapoperator,TheUVGrid,MultipleUVMaps

foregroundcolor,inGIMP,TheToolbox

ForegroundSelecttool(GIMP),TheToolbox

framenodes,CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodes

frame,renderingcurrent,RenderingandCompositing

frontview,snappingto,The3DViewport

FullRendertexturemap,Texture-BakingControls

fur,ThePropertiesEditor

(seealsohairparticles)

forBatCreature,PeachFuzz

materials,SubsurfaceScattering,Fur

tipsfor,HairandFurTips

G

GameLogiclayout,LayoutandUITerminology

Gather(RayTraceandApproximate)settings,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

GaussianBlurfilter(GIMP),Filters,FixingSeams

.gbrfileformat,TexturinginGIMP

GeometryInputnode,SocketTypes

gestureinsculpting,SculptingConcepts

.gihfileformat,TexturinginGIMP

GIMP,IntroductiontoGIMP

.xcffileformat,Filters,AdjustingColors,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

basics,IntroductiontoGIMP

creatingimage,Dialogs

fixingtextureseamsin,FixingSeams

layers,Filters,AddingaLight

reasonsforusing,IntroductiontoGIMP

referencepreparationin,TestingCompositionsinBlender

retouchingin,NodeGroups

seamlesstexturecreationin,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

texturepaintingin,ProjectPaint

creatingbrushes,TexturinginGIMP

userinterface,WhyGIMP?

GlassBSDFshader,forCyclesrenderer,CyclesMaterials

globalcoordinates,The3DViewport,ManipulatingObjects

GlossyBSDFshader,CyclesMaterials,PeachFuzz,SocketTypes

GLSLShadingmode,TexturingtheBatCreature,TheFillLight

GNUGeneralPublicLicense,IntroductiontoBlender

GNUProject,IntroductiontoGIMP

goldenmean,Composition

Grabbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

Grapheditor,TheNodeEditor

grass,forJungleTemple,ComplexHaircuts

GreasePencilpanel,Volumes

gridfloor,The3DViewport

coordinatesin,The3DViewport

turningoff,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

ground/soil,IvyGen

texturefor,TexturingtheGroundandTrees

groups,duplicating,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

Grungebrush,AdjustingColors

H

hairparticles,ThePropertiesEditor,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

childparticles,Render

choosingobjectforaddinghair,HairandParticleSystems

density,HairDensity

tipsfor,HairandFurTips

vertexgroupsfor,CreatingaScalp,Children

hair-lengthvertexgroup,HairDensity

haircuts,complex,PeachFuzz

handles,typesof,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

hands,modeling,PosesforModelingCharacters

hardnessmap,SpecularMap

hardnesstextures,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages,FurtherTextures

forBatCreature,TexturingtheEyes

hardnessvalueformaterials,BlenderInternalMaterials

andspecularreflections,BlenderInternalMaterials

head

modeling,ModelingtheHandsandFeet

proportionsfor,Legs

topologyof,HeadTopology

Headerregion,LayoutandUITerminology

in3DViewport,LayoutandUITerminology

inPropertieseditor,The3DViewport

Healtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Helpmenu,ThePropertiesEditor

Hemilamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

hiding

objects,OtherCoordinateSystems

partsofmeshes,SculptingHard-to-ReachAreasUsingShapeKeys

Holdoutshader,forCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes

HorizonColorssetting,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

horizontalguides(GIMP),TheToolbox

HueSaturationValuenode,SocketTypes

Hue-Saturationtool(GIMP),CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

I

imageediting(seeGIMP)

imageempties,UVImageEditor

Imagemenu(GIMP)

▸CanvasSize,AligningOrthographicReferences,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

▸Guides▸NewGuidebyPercent,TexturingtheEyes

▸Mode▸Grayscale,TexturinginGIMP

▸OpenImage,AligningOrthographicReferences

ImageTexturenode,PeachFuzz

images

assculptbrushtextures,CreatingCustomBrushes

assigningtoUVcoordinates,ImagesandTextures

bitdepth,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

creatinginGIMP,Dialogs

findingMatCap,CreatingaMatCapMaterial

forGIMPbrushes,TexturinginGIMP

importingsculptsintoMeshLab,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

incidentlight,TransmissionandRefraction

indexofrefraction(IOR),TransmissionandRefraction,CyclesMaterials

setting,forsubsurfacescattering,AddingaNormalMap

IndirectLightingsetting,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

Inflatebrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes,Volumes

InfluencepanelofMaterialstab,MappingCoordinates

Infoeditor,AboutBlender,ThePropertiesEditor

header,TheNodeEditor,TheMultiresModifier

Inktool(GIMP),TheToolbox

InsetFacesoperator,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

Integratorpanel,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

Interpolateoption,forhairstrands,ParticleMode

invertingselectioninGIMP,Filters

IOR(indexofrefraction),TransmissionandRefraction,CyclesMaterials

setting,forsubsurfacescattering,AddingaNormalMap

Irregularshadowbuffers,Shadow-BufferOptions

IslandSelectionmode,inUVImageeditor,PinningVertices

iStockPhoto,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

IvyGenadd-on,Plants

textureforleavesgeneratedby,DiffuseMap

IWarptool,DiffuseMap

J

Jittered/Randomsettingforhairparticles,EmissionPanel

JPEG(.jpg)fileformat,AdjustingColors,NodeGroups

inGIMP,Filters

JungleTemple

blockingin,Modifiers

Cyclesrendererfor,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

details,Legs,GoingFurther

grassfor,ComplexHaircuts

lighting,LightingtheSpiderBot

materials,OtherMaterials

foregroundrocksandsoil,Leaves

ground/soil,Ground

leaves,Leaves

puddles,Leaves

statues,Displacement

stone,Ground

modelingdetails,DealingwithDifficultTopology

ground/soil,IvyGen

IvyGenadd-on,Plants

plants,Plants

statues,Walls

stonecarvings,StoneCarvings

walls,Walls

renderingandcompositing,DepthofFieldinCycles

sky,paintinginGIMP,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP

texturebakingfor,MaterialUtilsAdd-On,GeneralTipsforBakingMaps

texturepainting,TexturingtheEyes,InReview

hardnessvs.roughness,TexturingtheEyes

leaves,TexturingtheLeaves

seamlesstextures,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

statues,GroundTexture

texturingtocamera,TexturingtoCamera

trees,retopologyfor,RetopologizingtheJungleTempleTrees

UVunwrapping,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

leavesandgrass,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

multipleUVmaps,MultipleUVMaps

sharingUVspacebetweenobjects,MultipleUVMaps

statues,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

stoneblocks,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

trees,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

K

keylight,Three-PointLighting

keyboardshortcuts,Scenes

Kimball,Spencer,IntroductiontoGIMP

Kinksetting,forhairparticles,Children,PeachFuzz

L

Lambertshadermodel,BlenderInternalMaterials

lamps

indefaultscene,Scenes

numberinscene,ThePropertiesEditor

samplingbackgroundas,WorldSettingsinCycles

LassoSelecttool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Latticemodifier,Modifiers

Layerbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

layermasks,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

convertingselectionto,TexturingtheEyes

Layermenu(GIMP),▸AddAlphaChannel,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

layermodesinGIMP,AddingaLight

LayerWeightnode,Ground

layers

inBlender,MultipleLayouts,The3DViewport

organizingobjectsforbaking,BakingMapsforMultipleObjects

scene/render/mask,Dimensions

inGIMP,Filters

layergroups,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

moving,TheToolbox

Layersdialog(GIMP),Dialogs,AddingaLight

layouts,AboutBlender

multiple,LayoutandUITerminology

savingasdefault,MultipleLayouts

switching,MultipleLayouts

leaves

combiningonsingletexture,DiffuseMap

texturing,TexturingtheLeaves

UVunwrapping,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

Lengthoption,forchildparticles,Children

Lengthtool,forhairstrands,ParticleMode

lensdistortionfilter(GIMP),AligningOrthographicReferences

lensesforphotographingreference,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

Levelstool(GIMP),FixingSeams

licensing,forreferencematerial,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

LightColorsetting,forpointlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

LightPathspanel,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

LightenbrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp

LightenOnlybrushmode,SpecularMap

lighting,Lighting

andcomposition,SimplicityandFocus

basicforCyclesrenderpreview,PeachFuzz

basicfortexturepainting,TexturingtheBatCreature

BatCreature,WorldSettingsinCycles

eyes,ShadowsandFur

floorshadows,ShadowsandFur

BlenderInternalrenderer,Lighting

shadows,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

vs.Cycles,Lighting

impactonperformance,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

inCyclesrenderer,Shadow-BufferOptions

JungleTemple,LightingtheSpiderBot

ofreferencematerial,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

outdoor,WorldSettingsinCycles

SpiderBot,WorldSettingsfortheBatCreature

three-point,Three-PointLighting

tipsfor,GeneralLightingTips

LightmapPackoperator,TheUVGrid

Linkfeature,Datablocks

lips,SculptingNatural-LookingFaces

loadingfiles,Datablocks

localcoordinates,ManipulatingObjects

ofobjects,ApplyingTransforms

origin,andmanipulatorwidget,Scenes

log,ofactions,ThePropertiesEditor

Logiceditor,TheNodeEditor

LoopCuttool,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

loopcuts,addingmultiple,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

losslessfileformats,NodeGroups

M

MagicSelecttool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Mainregion,inPropertieseditor,The3DViewport

MakeDuplicatesRealoperator,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

MakeLocaloperator,Datablocks

manipulatorwidget

functionsof,ManipulatingObjects

localcoordinateoriginofobjectand,Scenes

Mapnodes,Ground

maps,texture,ImagesandTextures

Marginoption,inRendertab,Bakepanel,ImagesandTextures

MarkSeamfeature,UnwrappingTools

mask,FixingSeams

masklayers,LayersPanel

Maskoption,formaterialtransparency,BlenderInternalMaterials

MatCapmaterials,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

findingimages,CreatingaMatCapMaterial

MaterialOutputnode,forCyclesmaterial,BlenderInternalMaterials

MaterialOverrideoption,PositioningtheLights

Materialsettings,inRenderpanel,EmissionPanel

MaterialUtilsadd-on,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

materials,Materials

assigning,Datablocks,ImagesandTextures

creating,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

forBatCreature,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

fur,SubsurfaceScattering,Fur

peachfuzz,PeachFuzz

skin,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

teeth,nails,andeyes,SubsurfaceScattering

forBlenderInternalrenderer,TransmissionandRefraction

forJungleTemple,OtherMaterials

foregroundrocksandsoil,Leaves

ground/soil,Ground

leaves,Leaves

puddles,Leaves

statues,Displacement

stone,Ground

forparticlehair,HairandFurTips

forSpiderBot,PeachFuzz

fortexturepainting,TexturingtheBatCreature

MatCap,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

overrideforrendering,LayersPanel

tipsfor,GeneralTipsforCreatingMaterials

MaterialstabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor,OptimizingSculptingPerformance,ImagesandTextures

deletingmaterialslots,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

forBlenderInternalrenderer,BlenderInternalMaterials

Strandpanel,Fur

Mathnode,SocketTypes

mattesurfaces,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

Matthis,Peter,IntroductiontoGIMP

Maxcurve,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

MaxIvyLengthparameter,IvyGen

Maxsetting,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

measurementunits,forrulers,TheToolbox

memoryrequirementswhensculpting,DragAlpha

menus,ThePropertiesEditor

foreditors,LayoutandUITerminology

mesh,EditMode

assigningparticlesystemto,HairandParticleSystems

decimating,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

deformingwithcurves,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

hidingparts,SculptingHard-to-ReachAreasUsingShapeKeys

retopologizing,SculptingAroundtheEyes

sharingdataacrossmultipleduplicates,Plants

topology,ModelingtheDetails

vertexorderin,TheMultiresModifier

MeshLab,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

metaballs,EditMode

MirrorColorstexturemap,TextureMapTypes

MirrorIntensitytexturemap,TextureMapTypes

Mirrormodifier,OtherWaystoModel:Curves,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

forwings,ApplyingTransforms

mirrorreflection,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

Mitchell-Netravalifilter,Dimensions

MixbrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp,HairDensity

MixShader,forCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes

modeling,BlockingIn

(seealsoblockingin)

basicterms,BlockingIn

handsandfeet,PosesforModelingCharacters

head,ModelingtheHandsandFeet

posesforcharacters,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

proportionalediting,ModelingtheHead

wings,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

modelingdetails,ModelingtheDetails

BatCreature,Coupling

JungleTemple,DealingwithDifficultTopology

ground/soil,IvyGen

IvyGenadd-on,Plants

plants,Plants

statues,Walls

stonecarvings,StoneCarvings

walls,Walls

SpiderBot,IvyGen

modes,switching,Datablocks

modifiers,ThePropertiesEditor,OtherWaystoModel:Curves

applyingtoSpiderBot,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

Array,Modifiers,Plants,IvyGen

Bevel,Walls

Curve,Modifiers

formeshalongcurve,IvyGen

Displacement,ProceduralDetails,TextureMapTypes

controllingwithvertexgroup,ApplyingDisplacementtotheSculpt

EdgeSplit,Walls,StoneCarvings

Lattice,Modifiers

Mirror,OtherWaystoModel:Curves,BuildingtheBatCreatureBaseMesh,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

Multires,Snapping,TheMultiresModifier,TextureMapTypes

subdividingbeforeadding,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

Shrinkwrap,Modifiers,SculptingAroundtheEyes,UsingSnappingtoRetopologize

Solidify,Modifiers

SubdivisionSurface(Subsurf),OtherWaystoModel:Curves,CreatingtheSpiderBot,Topology,StoneCarvings,TextureMapTypes

motionblur,Dimensions

MotionTrackinglayout,LayoutandUITerminology

mouse,fornavigating3DViewport,The3DViewport

mouth

creatingcavity,RetopologizingtheBody

sculpting,SculptingNatural-LookingFaces

topology,HeadTopology

MoveDeformmode,inIWarp,DiffuseMap

Moveoperator,ManipulatingObjects

Movetool(GIMP),TheToolbox

multipleobjects,selecting,Scenes

Multiplyblendingmode,AddingaLight

MultiplybrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp

Multiresmodifier,Snapping,TheMultiresModifier,TextureMapTypes

subdividingbeforeadding,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

N

n-gons,EditMode

avoiding,Topology

inbasemesh,problemsfrom,PosesforModelingCharacters

nails,ofBatCreature,Coupling,SubsurfaceScattering

names

fordatablocks,Datablocks

ofbrushes,BrushOptions

oflayersforrendering,LayersPanel

navigating3DViewport,The3DViewport

Negativesetting

forpointlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

inMaterialstab,Influencepanel,MappingCoordinates

negativespace,Composition

NeoGeo,IntroductiontoBlender

NewLayerfromVisibleoption(GIMP),FixingSeams

NewTexturedialog,TexturingtheBatCreature

NoCausticsoption,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

Nodeeditor,TheNodeEditor

forCyclesmaterials,CyclesMaterials,PeachFuzz

nodegroups,CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodes

nodesockets,AddingTextures

nodetrees

default,CompositingthePasses

forBatCreature,CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodes

forJungleTemple,ColorGrading

forSpiderBot,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP

organizingwithframesandnodegroups,CompositingFeedbackandViewerNodes

nodes,inBlenderInternalrenderer,TextureNodes

None/Path/Object/Groupsetting,forhairparticlesrendering,EmissionPanel

Normalblendingmode,AddingaLight

NormaloptionforProjectPaintmethod,ProjectPaint

Normalvalues,forhairparticlesvelocity,EmissionPanel

normals,EditMode

Blendercalculationof,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

Normalstexturemap,Texture-BakingControls

adding,AddingaNormalMap

baking,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

nose/nasolabialfold,topology,HeadTopology

NotANumber,IntroductiontoBlender

Nudgebrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

numberpadkeys,The3DViewport

NURBSsurfaces,EditMode

O

.objfileformat,TheMultiresModifier,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

ObjectConstraintstabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor

ObjectDatatabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor,OtherCoordinateSystems

forcurveobject,EditMode

lampicon,LightinginBlenderInternal

UVCoordinatespanel,TexturingtheStatue

VertexGroupspanel,ApplyingDisplacementtotheSculpt

Objectmode,Scenes,Datablocks

addingplanein,Modifiers

displaylevelfor,TheMultiresModifier

duplicatingmeshin,Plants

ObjectModifierstabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor

Objectoption,forNormalstexturemap,Texture-BakingControls

ObjecttabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor,Testing

CompositionsinBlender

Axessetting,ApplyingTransforms

Duplicationpanel,AddingtotheJungleTemple

objects,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

(seealsogroupsofobjects)

addingtoscene,Scenes

asdatablocks,OtherCoordinateSystems

assigningimagesto,ImagesandTextures

assigningmaterialsto,ImagesandTextures

bakingmapsformultiple,BakingAmbientOcclusion

centeringviewonselected,The3DViewport

copying,Datablocks

deleting,OtherCoordinateSystems

hiding,OtherCoordinateSystems

manipulating,Scenes

selecting,Scenes

visibilityofUVcoordinatesof,MultipleUVMaps

OccludeoptionforProjectPaintmethod,ProjectPaint

Offsettool(GIMP),CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

OnlyRenderoption,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

OnlyShadowsetting,forlamps,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

OpacitysettingofGIMPlayer,LayerModesandOpacity

openmovieprojects,ofBlenderFoundation,IntroductiontoBlender

OpenEXR(.exr)fileformat,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

savingdisplacementmapas,BitDepthandTextures

OpenGLshading,tweaking,TweakingOpenGLShading

opening

filesinBlender,Datablocks

imagesinGIMP,Dialogs

operators,OtherCoordinateSystems,EditMode

frequentlyusedmeshoperators,EditMode

OrenNayarshadermodel,BlenderInternalMaterials

origin,The3DViewport,ManipulatingObjects

andapplyingtransforms,ApplyingTransforms

localcoordinateorigin,ManipulatingObjects

orthographicreferences,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

aligning,TestingCompositionsinBlender

orthographicview,snappingto,The3DViewport

outdoorlighting,WorldSettingsinCycles

Outliner,AboutBlender

Outputsettings,forrenderer,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Overlayblendingmode,AddingaLight,TexturingtheStatue

P

packing

externalfilesinto.blendfile,Datablocks

UVislandsintosinglegrid,PinningVertices

PaintDynamics(GIMP),Dialogs

PaintDynamicseditor(GIMP),AddingVariationtoaBrush

Painttool(GIMP),TexturingtheEyes

Paintbrushtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

painting,TexturePainting

(seealsotexturepainting)

inGIMP,Dialogs

panels,LayoutandUITerminology

PaperSkysetting,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

Parentparticles,EmissionPanel

Particlemode,ParticleMode

particlesystems,ThePropertiesEditor

(seealsofur;hairparticles)

adding,HairLength

controllingwithtextures,ComplexHaircuts

forhair,HairandParticleSystems

forpebbles,AddingtotheJungleTemple

objectrotationand,CreatingaGrassParticleSystem

tipsfor,HairandFurTips

usesfor,ComplexHaircuts

ParticlesPerFacesettingforhairparticles,EmissionPanel

ParticlestabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor,HairLength

Partingcontrols,forchildparticles,Children

passes

asrenderoutputs,LayersPanel

forApproximatesetting,worldlighting,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal,WorldSettingsfortheBatCreature

inCyclesrendering(samples),RenderingwithCycles

Pathsdialog(GIMP),Dialogs

Pathstool(GIMP),TheToolbox

peachfuzz,forBatCreature,PeachFuzz,PeachFuzz

pentablet,pressure-sensitive,AddingVariationtoaBrush

Penciltool(GIMP),TheToolbox

performance

balancingtimeandquality,RenderingwithCycles

BlenderInternalrenderervs.Cyclesrenderer,Materials

impactofmirrorreflections,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

OpenGLshadingand,TweakingOpenGLShading

optimizinginsculpting,DragAlpha

Rendertabsettingsfor,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

softshadowsand,TempleEntranceLighting

Perspective

andbackgroundimages,UVImageEditor

andcomposition,SimplicityandFocus

switchingbetweenorthographicandcamera,The3DViewport

PerspectiveClonetool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Perspectivetool(GIMP),TheToolbox

photos,fortexturing,AdjustingColors

PhysicstabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor

Pinchbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

pinningvertices,forUVunwrapping,PinningVertices

PivotCenteroption,Scenes

pivotpoints,for3Dmanipulatorwidget,ManipulatingObjects

placeholders,BlockingIn

PlaneOffset,ofcustomsculptbrush,ScrapeFlat

plane,adding,inObjectmode,Modifiers

planesinsculpting,SculptingConcepts

BatCreature,Volumes

plants,Plants

.pngfileformat,NodeGroups

Pointlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

pointofview,ofreferencematerial,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

pole,Topology

splittingoreliminating,DealingwithDifficultTopology

Polishbrush,inSculptMode,Legs

polycountofscene,TheMultiresModifier

polygon,EditMode

Posemode,DifferentLooks

posing,BatCreature,ProceduralDetails

Post-Processingsettings,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Premultipliedalphaoption,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

preparation,Preparation

composition,WhattoLookforinReferenceMaterial

ruleofthirds,Composition

silhouetteandnegativespace,Composition

simplicityandfocus,SimplicityandFocus

testinginBlender,TestingCompositionsinBlender

visualpath,SimplicityandFocus

conceptartandreferences,Preparation

referencesinGIMP,TestingCompositionsinBlender

pressure-sensitivepentablet,AddingVariationtoaBrush

Previewoption,inCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

proceduraldetails,Detailing

proceduraltextures,Fur,GeneralTipsforCreatingMaterials

ProjectfromView(Bounds)operator,UnwrappingTools

ProjectfromViewoperator,UnwrappingTools

Projectmode,forShrinkwrapmodifier,UsingSnappingtoRetopologize

ProjectPaintmode,TexturinginBlender

Propertieseditor,AboutBlender,The3DViewport

(seealsonamesofspecifictabs)

panels,LayoutandUITerminology

Propertiesregionof3DViewport

3DCursorpanel,Scenes

Transformpanel,Modifiers

proportionalediting,ModelingtheHead

proportions

forhead,Legs

insculpting,SculptingConcepts

puddles,Leaves

Pufftool,inParticleMode,ParticleMode

PythonAPI,ThePropertiesEditor

Q

quad(quadrangle),EditMode

quad-basedmeshes,PosesforModelingCharacters

QuadraticEdgeCollapseDecimationtool(MeshLab),RetopologizingtheBatCreature

QuickEditoptionforProjectPaintmode,ProjectPaint,FixingSeams

QuickMask(GIMP),CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

R

Radialkinkoption,forhairparticles,Children

Rakebrush,forSculptmode,creating,Rake

RAM(randomaccessmemory),requirements,DragAlpha

randomemissionofparticles,EmissionPanel

RandomFalloffoption,forproportionalediting,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

randomrotation,forgrass,CreatingaGrassParticleSystem

randomroughness,forhairparticles,Children

randomseed,forgeneratingchildparticles,Render

randomvalues,forhairparticlevelocity,EmissionPanel

raytracing

forlighting,Lighting

forshadows,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

fortransparency,TransmissionandRefraction,BlenderInternalMaterials

mirrorreflections,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

RealSkysetting,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

RecalculateNormalsoperator,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

referenceimages

creating,finding,andusing,Preparation

factorstoconsider,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences

inBlender,AligningOrthographicReferences

preparationinGIMP,TestingCompositionsinBlender

referencesheet,creating,TestingCompositionsinBlender

referencingdatablocksfromotherfiles,Datablocks

reflection,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

tipsfor,GeneralTipsforCreatingMaterials

refraction,TransmissionandRefraction

regionsineditors,LayoutandUITerminology

in3DViewport,MultipleLayouts

RemoveDoublesoperator,Walls

RenderActiveViewport,TexturingtoCamera

renderengines,Materials

(seealsoBlenderInternalrenderer;Cyclesrenderer)

selecting,ThePropertiesEditor

Renderpanel,forhairparticles,EmissionPanel

RendertabinPropertieseditor,The3DViewport,RenderingandCompositing

Bakepanel,ImagesandTextures

Dimensionspanel,LayersPanel

Layerspanel,LayersPanel

MaterialOverrideoption,PositioningtheLights

Performancepanel,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Renderpanel,RenderingandCompositing

Shadingpanel,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

rendering

balancingtimeandquality,RenderingwithCycles

BatCreature,BalancingRenderTimeandQuality

JungleTemple,DepthofFieldinCycles

SpiderBot,RetouchinginGIMP

subdivisionlevelfor,TheMultiresModifier

repeating

modifiers,UsingSnappingtoRetopologize

objects,Plants

research,Preparation

ResetoptionforUVunwrapping,UnwrappingTools

Reshapeoperator,TheMultiresModifier

Resolutionsettings,forBlenderInternalrenderer,Dimensions

restareas,inreferenceimage,SimplicityandFocus

restoring,originaldefault.blendfile,MultipleLayouts

Resynthesizefilter,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

retopology,Retopology

alternativemethods,UsingSnappingtoRetopologize

forBatCreature,SculptingAroundtheEyes,RetopologizingtheJungleTempleTrees

body,RetopologizingtheBody

decimation,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

forJungleTempletrees,RetopologizingtheJungleTempleTrees

forSpiderBot,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

snappingtosurfaces,Retopology

tipsfor,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

retouching,inGIMP,NodeGroups

RGBRadiussetting,forsubsurfacescattering,SubsurfaceScattering

RGBtextures,FurtherTextures

riggingcharacters,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops,GoingFurther,DifferentLooks

alternativesto,ProceduralDetails

rigidbodyphysics,ThePropertiesEditor

rimlight,TheFillLight

ripplesinwater,Puddles

Roosendaal,Ton,IntroductiontoBlender

Rotatebrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

Rotateoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

Rotatetool(GIMP),TheToolbox,AdjustingColors

rotating

camera,Modifiers

objects,Scenes

Rotationpanel,forhairparticles,EmissionPanel

rotationproperties,forgrass,CreatingaGrassParticleSystem

roughnessmapforSpiderBot,CreatingThreeTextures

ImageTexturenodefor,SocketTypes

Roughnesssetting

forchildparticles,Children

forspecularshadersinCycles,TexturingtheEyes

ruleofthirds,Composition

rulers,forGIMPcanvas,TheToolbox

S

Samples

forray-tracedshadows,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

forshadowbuffers,Shadow-BufferOptions

inCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

forJungleTemple,DepthofFieldinCycles

forSpiderBot,DepthofFieldinCycles

saturation,tipsfor,GeneralTipsforCreatingMaterials

SaveAllEditedoptionforProjectPaintmethod,ProjectPaint

saving

displacementmapasOpenEXRimage,BitDepthandTextures

inBlender,Datablocks

inGIMP,Filters,AdjustingColors

Scaleoperator,Modifiers

inEditmode,EditMode

Scalesetting,forsubsurfacescattering,AddingaNormalMap

Scaletool(GIMP),TheToolbox

scalingoperator,Scenes

scalp,creating,ChoosinganObjecttoAddHairTo

ScatteringColorsetting,forsubsurfacescattering,AddingaNormalMap

ScatteringWeight(Front/Back)setting,forsubsurfacescattering,SubsurfaceScattering

ScenetabinPropertieseditor,The3DViewport

scenes,TheNodeEditor

addingobjectsto,Scenes

creating,TheNodeEditor

informationaboutcurrent,ThePropertiesEditor

polycountof,TheMultiresModifier

scenelayersforfinalrender,LayersPanel

ScissorsSelecttool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Scrapebrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

ScrapeFlatbrush,inSculptmode,creating,ScrapeFlat

Scriptinglayout,LayoutandUITerminology

Sculptmode,Sculpting

creatingcustombrushes,CreatingCustomBrushes

defaultbrushes,BrushTypes

displaylevelofMultiresmodifierfor,TheMultiresModifier

sculpting,Sculpting

advantagesof,Sculpting

applyingdisplacementmap,AboutDisplacementMaps

basics,SculptingConcepts

BatCreature,SculptingConcepts

breakingsymmetry,ProceduralDetails

coarseanatomy,CoarseAnatomy

details,SculptingtheWings,Detailing

expression,ProceduralDetails

eyes,SculptingtheWings

hidingmeshparts,SculptingHard-to-ReachAreasUsingShapeKeys

planes,Volumes

posing,ProceduralDetails

retopologizing,SculptingAroundtheEyes

shapekeysforhard-to-reachareas,CoarseAnatomy

transferringdetailstonewmesh,SculptingAroundtheEyes

volumes,Volumes

wings,SculptingtheWings

faces,natural-looking,Legs

optimizingperformance,DragAlpha

SpiderBot,Expression

seamlesstextures,TheUVGrid

(seealsotileabletextures)

asabasisforfurthertexturepainting,GroundTexture

creating,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

seams,UVUnwrapping,UnwrappingTools

fixing,FixingSeams

searchdialog,withspacebar,AboutBlender

see-throughmesh,in3DViewportEditmode,EditMode

SelectbyColortool(GIMP),TheToolbox

SelectEdge/FaceLoopoperator,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

Selectmenu

▸Feather,Creating,Finding,andUsingReferences,TexturingtheEyes

▸Random,AddingtotheJungleTemple

SelectSharpoperator,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

SelectedLayersblendingmode,AddingaLight

selectedobjects

centeringviewon,The3DViewport

layerforbaking,BakingMapsforMultipleObjects

SelectedtoActiveoption,inRendertab,Bakepanel,ImagesandTextures

selecting

inEditmode,EditMode

objects,Scenes

Selectiontools(GIMP),WhyGIMP?,Filters

Sequencercheckbox,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Shadelessoption,formaterialshading,BlenderInternalMaterials

Shadernode,forCyclesmaterial,BlenderInternalMaterials

shadingmodes,EditMode,ApplyingTransforms

Shadingpanel,inMaterialstabofBlenderInternalrenderer,BlenderInternalMaterials

shadowbuffers,ShadowsinBlenderInternal,GeneralLightingTips

options,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

Shadowpanel,inMaterialstabofBlenderInternalrenderer,BlenderInternalMaterials

Shadowtexturemap,Texture-BakingControls

shadows

andfur,ShadowsandFur

forBatCreature,ShadowsandFur

inBlenderInternalrenderer,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

tipsfor,GeneralLightingTips

Shadowsoption,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

shapekeysforhard-to-reachareas,CoarseAnatomy

Shapeoption,forstrandrendering,Fur

shapesofGIMPbrushes,Dialogs

Sharpcurve,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

SharpFalloffoption,forproportionalediting,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

Sharpennode,ColorCorrection

Sheartool(GIMP),TheToolbox

Shrinkoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

Shrink/Fattentool,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

Shrinkwrapmodifier,Modifiers,SculptingAroundtheEyes,UsingSnappingtoRetopologize

sideview,snappingto,The3DViewport

silhouette,Composition

simplechildparticles,Render

Simplesubdivisionoption,TheMultiresModifier

Sintel,AboutBlender

Sizeoption

forparticles,Render

forstrandrendering,Fur

ofshadow-buffermap,Shadow-BufferOptions

skeletonformodels,GoingFurther

sketchingtopology,DealingwithDifficultTopology

skincreases,brushtypefor,BrushOptions

skin,forBatCreature,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

skybackground,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

forJungleTemple,paintinginGIMP,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP

SkyTexturenode,WorldSettingsinCycles

SmartUVProjectoperator,TheUVGrid

Smearbrushtype,TexturinginBlender

smoke,simulating,ThePropertiesEditor

Smoothcurve,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

Smoothoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

Smoothshadingmode,ApplyingTransforms,Walls

SmoothStroke,BrushOptions,ScrapeFlat

Smudgetool(GIMP),TheToolbox

SnakeHookbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

snapping,TheToolbox

forretopology,Retopology

options,Snapping

in3DViewportEditmode,EditMode

viewporttospecificangles,The3DViewport

Snappingtools,forextrudingcurves,BlockingintheJungleTemple

snappingviewport,tospecificangles,The3DViewport

sockettypes,innodeeditor,AddingTextures

softbodyphysics,ThePropertiesEditor

Softsetting,forshadowborders,Shadow-BufferOptions

softshadows,performanceand,TempleEntranceLighting

SoftSizesetting,forray-tracedshadow,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

Softenbrushtype,TexturinginBlender

Solidifymodifier,Modifiers

Spacestrokeforsculpting,BrushOptions

spacebar,forsearchdialog,AboutBlender

SpecularColorstexturemap,TextureMapTypes

SpecularIntensitytexturemap,TextureMapTypes

specularmap

forBatCreature,SpecularMap

forleafimage,DiffuseMap

Specularpanel,inMaterialstabofBlenderInternalrenderer,Blender

InternalMaterials

specularreflection,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

hardnessvalueand,BlenderInternalMaterials

hardnessvs.roughnessand,TexturingtheEyes

Specularsetting,forlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

speculartextures,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

forBatCreature,TexturingtheEyes

forSpiderBot,CreatingThreeTextures

SphereFalloffoption,forproportionalediting,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

SphereProjectionoperator,TheUVGrid

Spheresetting,forlampfade,LightinginBlenderInternal

SpiderBot

alternaterenders,DifferentLooks

armatures,RiggingandAnimation

compositedoutput,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP

creating,CreatingtheSpiderBot

Cyclesrendererfor,RenderEngines:BlenderInternalandCycles

eyes,Coupling

lighting,WorldSettingsfortheBatCreature

materials,PeachFuzz

finished,GeneralTipsforCreatingMaterials

nodesetup,AddingTextures,OtherMaterials

modelingdetails,IvyGen

nodetreeforcompositing,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP

renderingandcompositing,RetouchinginGIMP

retopologyfor,RetopologizingtheSpiderBot

sculpting,Expression

texturebakingfor,BakingAmbientOcclusion

diffusecolorsandtextures,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

mapsformultipleobjects,BakingAmbientOcclusion

texturepainting,CombiningLeavesontoaSingleTexture,InReview

decals,CreatingThreeTextures

UVunwrapping,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

spotlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

clippingrange,LampObjectsinCycles

shadowbuffersfor,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

SSS(subsurfacescattering),BlenderInternalMaterials,AddingaNormalMap

Stampsettings,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

statues,Walls

nodesetup,Displacement

texturing,GroundTexture

UVunwrapping,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

Stenciloption

forProjectPaintmode,ProjectPaint,TexturingtheStatue

inMaterialstab,Influencepanel,MappingCoordinates

steppingartifacts,avoiding,BitDepthandTextures

stoneblocks

materialsetup,Displacement

modeling,Modifiers,Walls

unwrapping,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

stonecarvings,StoneCarvings

StraightAlphaoption,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

strandcoordinates,MappingCoordinates,Fur

StrandpanelofMaterialstab,Fur

strandrender,SubsurfaceScattering,Fur

forhairparticles,EmissionPanel

Strengthsetting,forAttenuationsetting,worldlighting,WorldSettingsinBlenderInternal

Strokepanel,inSculptmode,BrushOptions

Subdivideoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

SubdivisionSurface(Subsurf)modifier,OtherWaystoModel:Curves,CreatingtheSpiderBot,Topology,StoneCarvings,TextureMapTypes

subsurfacescattering(SSS),BlenderInternalMaterials,AddingaNormalMap

SubtractbrushinWeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp

Subtractivemode,forsculptbrush,BrushOptions

sunlamp,LightinginBlenderInternal

supportloops,TaggingEdges

SurfaceDiffusesetting,forstrandrendering,Fur

surfacetexture,insculpting,SculptingConcepts

switching

editors,LayoutandUITerminology

layouts,LayoutandUITerminology

modes,Datablocks

symmetrywhensculpting,BrushOptions

breakinginBatCreature,ProceduralDetails

SystemtabofUserPreferences,TweakingOpenGLShading

T

Tpose,LoopCutsandFaceandEdgeLoops

Tangentoption,forNormalmap,Texture-BakingControls

TangentShadingoption

formaterialshading,BlenderInternalMaterials

forstrandrendering,Fur

tangentspacenormalmap,AddingaNormalMap

Targa(.tga)fileformat,Filters,BitDepthandTextures,AdjustingColors,NodeGroups

TearsofSteel,AboutBlender

teeth,ofBatCreature,Coupling,SubsurfaceScattering

testing

compositioninBlender,TestingCompositionsinBlender

lightingwithclayrender,PositioningtheLights

seamlesstextures,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

UVcoordinateswithgridtexture,AssigningUVTextures

Texdrawbrushtype,TexturePainting

textobjects,EditMode

Texttool(GIMP),TheToolbox

texturebaking,TextureBaking

controls,ImagesandTextures

forBatCreature,TextureMapTypes

ambientocclusionbaking,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

bitdepthandtextures,BakingDisplacementfromSculpttoFinalMesh

displacementfromsculpttofinalmesh,TextureMapTypes

displacementmapapplied,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap

normalmapbaking,ApplyingtheDisplacementMap,BakingAmbientOcclusion

forJungleTemple,MaterialUtilsAdd-On,GeneralTipsforBakingMaps

forSpiderBot,BakingAmbientOcclusion

diffusecolorsandtextures,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

mapsformultipleobjects,BakingAmbientOcclusion

generaltips,GeneralTipsforBakingMaps

imagesvs.textures,TextureBaking

maptypes,Texture-BakingControls

texturecoordinates,UVUnwrapping

UVcoordinatesas,Leaves

TextureCoordinatesnode,AddingTextures

texturemaps,Texture-BakingControls

Texturenodes,inCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes

TexturePaintmode,TexturePainting,TexturingtheBatCreature

materialsandUIsetup,TexturingtheBatCreature

texturepainting,TexturePainting

BatCreature,TexturingtheBatCreature,InReview

eyes,SpecularMap,TexturingtheEyes

layergroups,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

layermasks,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

layermodes,AddingaLight

materialsandUIsetup,TexturingtheBatCreature

seams,FixingSeams

specularandhardnesstextures,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

inGIMP,ProjectPaint

addingbrushvariation,AddingVariationtoaBrush

creatingbrushes,TexturinginGIMP

inUVImageeditor,ProjectPaint

JungleTemple,TexturingtheEyes,InReview

hardnessvs.roughness,TexturingtheEyes

leaves,TexturingtheLeaves

seamlesstextures,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

statues,GroundTexture

texturingtocamera,TexturingtoCamera

ProjectPaintmethod,TexturinginBlender

SpiderBot,CombiningLeavesontoaSingleTexture,InReview

decals,CreatingThreeTextures

TexturepanelinSculptmode,BrushOptions,TexturinginBlender

forcustombrush,CreatingCustomBrushes

TexturedSolidshadingoption,AssigningUVTextures,ImagesandTextures,BakingAmbientOcclusion

TexturedViewportshading,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

textures

asdatablocks,Datablocks

assigning

toImageTexturenode,withCycles,PeachFuzz

tomaterial,withBlenderInternalrenderer,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

tomodel’sUVcoordinates,PinningVertices,ImagesandTextures

controllingparticleswith,ComplexHaircuts

seamless,creating,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP

tileable,EditingUVCoordinates,TexturingtheEyes

TexturestabinPropertieseditor,ThePropertiesEditor,MaterialsfortheBatCreature

ImageorMoviesetting,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

Texturestexturemap,TextureMapTypes

.tga(Targa)fileformat,Filters,BitDepthandTextures,AdjustingColors,NodeGroups

thinfaces,problemsfrom,PosesforModelingCharacters

ThisLayerOnlysetting

forlamps,LightinginBlenderInternal

forshadow,ShadowsinBlenderInternal

Threadssetting,andrenderingperformance,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

three-dimensional(see3Dentries)

three-pointlighting,Three-PointLighting

Thumbbrushtype,inSculptmode,BrushTypes

.tifffileformat,NodeGroups

tileabletexture110,MaterialUtilsAdd-On,TexturingtheEyes

(seealsoseamlesstexture)

Tilessetting,andrenderingperformance,Anti-AliasingandMotionBlur

Timeline,AboutBlender

ToolOptionsdialog,Dialogs,SpecularMap

ToolOptionspanel,EditMode

ToolShelfin3DViewport,LayoutandUITerminology

Sculptmodeoptionsin,Sculpting

Toolbox,inGIMP,WhyGIMP?

top-downview,snappingto,The3DViewport

topology,EditMode,ModelingtheDetails

(seealsoretopology)

characteristicsofgood,Topology

creating,Snapping

dealingwithdifficult,Topology

ofhead,HeadTopology

sketching,DealingwithDifficultTopology

transferringdetailsbetweenmeshes,SculptingAroundtheEyes

Transformpanel,ofPropertiesregion,Modifiers

Transformationtools(GIMP),TheToolbox

Translateoperator,inEditmode,EditMode

Translucencyoption,formaterialshading,BlenderInternalMaterials

TranslucentBSDFshader,Leaves

forCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes

transmissionoflight,TransmissionandRefraction

Transparencypanel,inMaterialstabofBlenderInternalrenderer,BlenderInternalMaterials

Transparencysetting,forCyclesrenderer,RenderingwithCycles

TransparentBSDFshader,forCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes

trees

proxiesfor,Modifiers

textures,GroundTexture

UVunwrapping,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

tri(triangle),EditMode

avoiding,Topology

hiding,DealingwithDifficultTopology

inbasemesh,problemscausedby,PosesforModelingCharacters

joiningtomakequad,Topology,DealingwithDifficultTopology

TrianglestoQuadsoperator,Walls

turntable,DifferentLooks

U

Undodialog,Dialogs

unitsofmeasurement,forrulers,TheToolbox

universalbrushsize,BrushOptions

Unwrapoperator,SculptingAroundtheEyes

userinterface

forBlender

customizing,LayoutandUITerminology

defaultlayout,AboutBlender

setupforpainting,TexturingtheBatCreature

storingmultiplelayouts,LayoutandUITerminology

forGIMP,WhyGIMP?

canvas,TheToolbox

UserPreferenceseditor,Plants

Systemtab,DragAlpha,TweakingOpenGLShading

toenableadd-on,BakingDiffuseColorsandTextures

UVcoordinates,UVUnwrapping

astexturecoordinates,Leaves

editing,EditingUVCoordinates

mappingtextureto,MappingCoordinates

testing,AssigningUVTextures

UVCoordinatespanel,ofObjectDatatab,TexturingtheStatue

UVEditinglayout,LayoutandUITerminology

UVGrid,EditingUVCoordinates

UVImageeditor,TheNodeEditor,AligningOrthographicReferences,EditingUVCoordinates

for2Dpainting,TexturePainting

forUVcoordinateediting,EditingUVCoordinates

texturepaintingin,ProjectPaint

UVTestGridoptionfornewimage,AssigningUVTextures

UVislands,packingonsinglegrid,PinningVertices

UVMapoption,forstrandrendering,Fur

UVmap,duplicating,TexturingtheStatue

UVunwrapping,UVUnwrapping

assigningUVtextures,PinningVertices

BatCreature,AssigningUVTextures

editingcoordinates,TheUVGrid

JungleTemple,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

leavesandgrass,LeavesandGrass

multipleUVmaps,MultipleUVMaps

sharingUVspacebetweenobjects,MultipleUVMaps

statue,LeavesandGrass

stoneblocks,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

trees,UnwrappingtheBatCreature

packing,PinningVertices

pinningvertices,PinningVertices

seams,UnwrappingTools

SpiderBot,UnwrappingtheSpiderBot

toolsfor,TheUVGrid

V

VBOs(vertexbufferobjects),DragAlpha

Velocitypanel,forhairparticles,EmissionPanel

VelvetBSDFshader,forCyclesrenderer,TextureNodes

vertex,EditMode

count,ThePropertiesEditor

extruding,EditMode

hairparticlesemittedfrom,EmissionPanel

order,TheMultiresModifier

pinningforUVunwrapping,PinningVertices

positionsinLocalcoordinatespace,ManipulatingObjects

proportionaleditingand,ModelingtheHead

vertexbufferobjects(VBOs),DragAlpha

vertexgroup

controllingmodifierswith,ProceduralDetails

fordisplacementcontrol,ApplyingDisplacementtotheSculpt

forhairparticles,CreatingaScalp,Children

forhairdensity,HairDensity

forhairlength,HairLength

Vertexoption,forsnapping,Snapping

verticalguides,inGIMP,TheToolbox

vertices(seevertex)

VideoEditinglayout,LayoutandUITerminology

viewernodes,compositing,ColorCorrection

viewport,snappingtospecificangles,The3DViewport

vignette

forBatCreature,ColorCorrection

forJungleTemple,DepthofField

vines,IvyGenadd-onforcreating,Plants

virtualparentparticles,Render

visibility,ofGIMPlayers,LayerModesandOpacity

visualpath,SimplicityandFocus

Volumeoption,forsnapping,Snapping

volumesinsculpting,SculptingConcepts

BatCreature,Volumes

Voronoitexture,CreatingaGrassParticleSystem

VoronoiTexturenode,Ground

W

walls,Walls

Warpoperator,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

watermaterial,Leaves

Waveoption,forhairparticles,Children

wavefrontobjects,exportingobjectas,RetopologizingtheBatCreature

WavesTexturenode,Puddles

websites

CGTextures,AdjustingColors,CreatingSeamlessTextureswithGIMP,PaintingtheSkyinGIMP,AddingtotheJungleTemple

forBlenderbuilds,AboutBlender

forGIMP,IntroductiontoGIMP

WeightPaintmode,CreatingaScalp

WidthFadeoption,forstrandrendering,Fur

wings

BatCreaturesculpting,SculptingtheWings

modeling,TweakingtheModelwithProportionalEditing

wireframeviewmode,The3DViewport

wiresofSpiderBot,modelingdetails,IvyGen

Worldsettings

forBatCreature,WorldSettingsfortheBatCreature

forBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

forJungleTemple,LightingtheSpiderBot

inCyclesrenderer,WorldSettingsinCycles

WorldSettingstabinPropertieseditor,The3DViewport,OptimizingSculptingPerformance

X

x-axis,The3DViewport

x-coordinate,The3DViewport,UVUnwrapping

.xcf(GIMP)fileformat,Filters,AdjustingColors,ReconcilingFixedSeamsandLayeredImages

Y

y-axis,The3DViewport

y-coordinate,The3DViewport,UVUnwrapping

Z

Ztransparency,TransmissionandRefraction,BlenderInternalMaterials

z-axis,The3DViewport

z-coordinate,The3DViewport,UVUnwrapping

ZenithColor,inBlenderInternalrenderer,WorldSettingsandAmbientLightandOcclusion

.zmtformat,CreatingaMatCapMaterial

Zoomtool(GIMP),TheToolbox

AbouttheAuthorBenSimondsisa3Dartistandco-directorofGeckoAnimationLtd.,ananimationandpost-productioncompanybasedinLondon,England(http://geckoanimation.com/).HefirststartedmessingaroundwithBlenderbackin2005,whenhehadnoideaitwouldeventuallybecomeamajorpartofhisdayjob.Sincethenhe'sauthoredawidevarietyoftutorialsandarticlesforhisownwebsite(http://bensimonds.com/)andotherBlendercommunitywebsites,includingBlenderCookieandBlenderNation.AtGeckoAnimation,heproducesvisualeffects,models,animation,andgraphicsforTVandadvertising.HisworkhasappearedonmajorUKTVchannelsliketheBBC,Channel4,andDave.GeckoAnimation'sinhouseshortanimationAssembly:LifeinMacrospacewonthe2011SuzanneAwardforBestDesignedShortFilmattheBlenderConferenceinAmsterdam.

BlenderMasterClass:ahands-onguidetomodeling,sculpting,materials,andrenderingBenSimondsCopyright©2013BlenderMasterClass.

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisworkmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,orbyanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightownerandthepublisher.

Firstprinting

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ISBN-10:1-59327-477-7

ISBN-13:978-1-59327-477-1

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2013-02-21T08:48:35-08:00