BlenderArt Magazine Issue 1 Mechanical Modeling

Issue1 | Nov 2005

Blender learning made eas

y

Special: Blender Mechanical Gears

TUTORIALS Modeling a robot Plane line intersection Texturing [robot] Animating [robot]

NEWS FLASH GIMP 2.34 Blender 2.40 Blender Conferences

GALLERY

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CONTENTS ED ITO R Gaurav Naw ani e ditor_bl e nde rart@ yah oo.co.in M ANAGER Sandra Gil be rt m anage r_bl e nde rart@ yah oo.com W RITERS Sandra Gil be rt Gaurav Naw ani Ste fano Se l l e ri Al varo Luna Bautis ta

Le arning As k b l e ntuu: H ave any q ue rie s re garding Bl e nde r as k bl e ntuu.

Ne w s Fl as h : A s h ortre vie w ofupcom m ing re l e as e of Gim p2.4 is ital lw orth th e h ype ?re ad on to find out.

Al soal ook atbl e nde rs upcom m ing 2.40 re l e as e its fe ature s .

Confe re nce : Dre am s gate update s us on th e re ce ntl y com pl e te d 'Bl e nde r Confe re nce "

Le arning D ESIGN Gaurav Naw ani

W ork s h op3d: Th is m onth w e bring you a 3d m ode l ing tutorial .

Ste fano Se l l e ri uncove rs th e pow e r of h is fabl ous "Bl e nde r M e ch nicalGe ars "s cript and m ore ...

CO PYRIGH T "Bl e nde rart M agazine ", 'bl e nde rart' and bl e nde rart l ogo are copyrigh t Gaurav Naw ani. "As k Bl e ntuu' and "bl e ntuu l ogo"are copyrigh t Sandra Gil be rt.

Al lproducts and com pany nam e s fe ature d in th is publ ication are trade m ark or re gis te re d trade m ark of th e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs .

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Le is ure Th is m onth w e bring you th e re vie w of th e book "D igitalte xturing and painting" And a gal l e ry of 'M e ch anicalartw ork s ' done in bl e nde r.

Tabl e of conte nts

3

Editorial

4

As k Bl e ntuu ...............................................................................................

5

Ne w s Gim p 2.34 re vie w ..............................................................................

Bl e nde r 2.40 ....................................................................................

Confe re nce ne w s ..............................................................................

6 8 8

Le arning M ode l ing a robot ..............................................................................

Bl e nde r M e ch anicalGe ars (s cript)....................................................

Pl ane l ine inte rs e ction ......................................................................

Te xturing th e robot ..........................................................................

Le ts ge t th e robot m oving ................................................................

9 17 22 24 26

Re vie w s D igitalte xturing and painting ...........................................................

30

Gal l e ria ......................................................................................................

31

Cre dits .......................................................................................................

41

Pre vie w ......................................................................................................

42

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ED ITORIAL

4

Five ye ars ago I w e nt l ook ing for a 3D program . I

ne w fe ature s , and s e l dom us e d/obs cure fe ature s .

found bl e nde r, frie nds and a ne w w ay of l ook ing at W e w il ltak e a l ook at ne w w ays of doing th ings th e w orl d around m e . D uring th is tim e , one of m y

and cove r h ow to accom pl is h bas ic to advance d

favorite bl e nde r re l ate d activitie s h as be e n

proje cts . Tutorial s in e ach is s ue w il lcove r a

brow s ing onl ine for al lth e l ate s t bl e nde r ne w s , ne w ge ne ralth e m e , pul l ing toge th e r a com pl e te

Sandra Gil be rt

fe ature s , tutorial s and te ch niq ue s . O ve r th e l as t

proje ct, giving you th at e xtra l ittl e pus h to try

five ye ars I h ave us e d l ite ral l y cas e s of pape r,

s om e th ing ne w .

printing out e ve ryth ing avail abl e on bl e nde r. I s til l re m e m be r h ow I (and m any oth e rs ) e age rl y w aite d In th is is s ue w e are going to tack l e m ode l ing, for e ach ne w is s ue of th e "Com m unity Journal ". It

te xturing and rigging a robot for bas ic anim ation.

w as s om e th ing coolto l ook forw ard to. And

Ke e ping in l ine w ith our th e m e , Ste fano s h are s h is

s om e th ing I s til lm is s .

te ch niq ue s on m ode l ing and anim ating ge ars , w ith a s h ort tutorialon us ing th e Bl e nde r M e ch anical

W h ich brings us to th e point of th is e ditorial .

Ge ars (BM G) s cript. And Al varo Luna Bautis ta

Gaurav and I de cide d th at w e didn't h ave

s h ow s us h ow to cal cul ate a pl ane l ine inte rs e ction.

anyw h e re ne ar e nough th ings to do w ith our non-

W e al s o h ave a s m al lgal l e ry of m e ch anicalim age s

e xis te nt fre e tim e , s o w e de cide d to l aunch th e

s ubm itte d from com m unity m e m be rs .

l ate s t re -incarnation of a bl e nde r m agazine . And th is is it, Bl e nde rart. W e l com e to our m is s ion to

W e h ope you e njoy our firs t is s ue and w e l com e you

provide ne w s , tutorial s and bl e nde r re l ate d

to s ubm it articl e , tutorial s and artw ork for future

inform ation in an attractive , fun to re ad form at.

e ditions .

A pl ace to find out al lth e l ate s t ne w s conce rning bl e nde r. W e w il lbe bringing you tutorial s cove ring

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As k Bl e ntuu

5

Wel l , s ince I h ave n’t re ce ive d any q ue s tions ye t, I th ough t I w oul d k ick off our firs t is s ue w ith s om e l ittl e k now n/obs cure bl e nde r tips .

obje cts , a m e nu w il lbe dis pl aye d in th e 3D w indow al l ow ing you to pick th e obje ct you w is h to se l e ct.

1. Anim ation Pre vie w in al lw indow s at th e s am e tim e : It is w e l lk now n th at Al t-A is for pre vie w ing an anim ation on th e 3D w indow . But th at's not al lof it. D ivide your s cre e n into m ul tipl e 3D W indow s , e ach from a diffe re nt point of vie w .

4. Sh ow al ph a te xture as w ire : ctrl -d in 3dvie w can s h ow al ph a te xture as w ire . ve ry us e fulfor pre vie w w ith out re nde ring.

3. H idde n O b je cts : I don't k now h ow ol d th is is (or w h e th e r it's be e n m e ntione d be fore ) ... but I jus t dis cove re d it. Say you are in front or s ide vie w and you w ant to se l e ct an obje ct, but it is h idde n be h ind oth e r obje cts . If you pre s s Al t RM B ove r a group of

Untilne xt tim e Bl e ntuu

If you h ave an obje ct (w ork s be s t on a m e s h pl ane ) w ith an im age te xture , you can us e [Al t-V] If you h ave an Action/Ipo W indow and 3D w indow s outs ide e ditm ode . Th is w il ladjus t th e obje ct's s ize ope n, and you is s ue th e [Al t-Sh ift-A]com m and val ue s s o th at th e im age w on't be s tre tch e d w h e n from th e Action (or th e Ipo) w indow , it w il lanim ate proje cte d• both (th e action and th e 3D ) in s ync!! Gre at for vis ual ization of Ipo's e ffe ct on your m ode l .

Th e s e are jus t a fe w tips I found brow s ing bl e nde r forum s . If you h ave a coolbl e nde r tip or te ch niq ue 2. "Truck " th e cam e ra in cam e ra m ode : you w oul dl ik e to s h are or a q ue s tion you w oul d a) go into cam m ode w ith NUM PAD 0 l ik e ans w e re d, s ubm it it to: b) m ove th e cam e ra w ith pre s s ing Gk e y c) pre s s th e m iddl e m ous e button m anage r_bl e nde rart@ yah oo.com .

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NEW S FLAS H

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GIM P 2.34 "Cl os e to th e re l e as e date of Bl e nde r2.4 w e m igh t s e e th e re l e as e of Gim p2.4 too."

LL e t 's tak e a l ook and find w h ats in th e s tore . Firs t of al lth e m ajor fe ature th at w il lm ak e in to th e 2.4 re l e as e are th e ICC col our profil e s s upport in th e im age form ats th at s upport it, l ik e tiff and jpg. W h il e its nice to h ave th e porfil ce s upport at l as t but again it m is s e s out on not h aving th e CM YK col ours pace to be us e d w ith it. Th is m ak e s th e ICC profil e s upport a bit offcol our. None th e l e s s its a pre tty us e fultool for th os e w h o us e SCRIBUS for th e D TP w ork . W e found good us e of ICC s upport in producing th is m agazine in SCRIBUS.

Te xt ToolFinal l y GIM P h as e ve n m ore el e m e ntary s upport adde d in th e te xt tool , you can now m ak e th e te xt fol l ow any path , and th is al l is done in ve ctors s o th e re w il lbe no bl urring of th e te xt in th e proce s s . Infact a ne w path l aye r for th e fol l ow e d path is cre ate d s o now you can m ak e us e of th e path by th e options avail abe for path l ik e s trok ing copying se l e ction or e ve n m odifying th e path its e l f.

SIO X a prototype of ne w forground Apart for th e s e m ore vis ibl e e xtraction toolin fe ature s th e re is addition of gim p w h ich w ork s tw o m ore tool s in th e m ain tool inte ractive l y, it not box firs t is 're ctangul ar com pl e te ye t but s e l e ction' it l ook s m uch l ik e ol d w ork e d fine in th e one but th is h ave s om e be tte r Gim p2.33 (te s t fe ature s l ik e you are al l ow e d to ve rs ion) its e l f. active l y m anipul ate th e s ize of se l e ction th rough th e m ous e l ik e m oving or incre as ing th e s h ape , cl ick ing ins ide or Cl e anup of s criptfu and pyth on fu fil te rs . Th e s e fil te rs /s cripts outs ide th e box w il lm ak e it are now pl ace d nice l y ins ide th e m ain 'Fil te rs ' m e nu its e l f, into th e s e l e ction. th is re duce s a l ot of confus ion for amateur us e rs ..

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Ne w e ntrie s in th e tool box

NEW S FLAS H

7

GIM P 2.34 Th e re are s om e im prove m e nts in th e inte rface again in com pl iance for th e GIH (Gnom e H um an Inte rface guide l ine s ). But w h at is e ve n m ore inte re s ting is th at th is tim e around w e m igh t s e e a gre at de alof m e nu ove rh aul ing as th e Gim p proje ct h as jus t now as k e d for UI de s igne rs /e ngine e rs , e vide ntl y th is fe ature be com e s m ore pronounce d s ince th e re are m any ol d Ph otos h ope rs com pl aining about th e 'diffe re nt' inte rface now a days .

I ne arl y forgot to m e ntion one m ore im portant fe ature , it is introduction of ne w 'Lanczos ' s am pl ing al gorth im us e d in s cal ing of im age s . It is k now n to be of h igh e r q ual ity th an th e ol de r bicubiic s am pe l ing.

Col our m anage m e nt pre fe re nce s In th e e nd It can be s afte l y s aid th at th e upcom m ing Gim p re l e as e w il lbe re al l y e xciting in te rm s of s h e e r num be r of fe ature additions and im prove m e ts .

Ne w Se l e ction box in action.

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NEW S FLAS H Bl e nde r Ne w s Th e l as t s e ve ralm onth s , and m ore s pe cifical l y th e l as t s e ve ralw e e k s h ave s e e n a rus h of ne w fe ature s be ing adde d to bl e nde r. D ue in a l arge part to re q ue s ts by Proje ct O range , th e anim ation s ys te m h as be e n s ignificantl y im prove d w ith ne w fe ature s and tool s th e re by s h rink ing th e proje ct 'w is h l is t' (h ttp://orange .bl e nde r.org/bl og/th e -e ve r-s h rink ingorange -w is h l is t) and giving us a vas tl y im prove d w ork fl ow .

And w h il e th e anim ation s ys te m h as gotte n a m ajor ove rh aul , oth e r are as of bl e nde r w e re not ignore d.

M odifie r Stack s , M e s h Subdivide Tool s , RadialBl e nd Type , Fl uid Sim ul ation, H air s trand re nde ring and M e s h Ripping h ave al lm ade th e ir w ay into re ce nt te s t buil ds .

Additional l y th e Sum m e r of Code proje cts are in th e finals tage s of be ing adde d to th e code .

8 Confe re nce Ne w s O ctobe r s aw both th e Am s te rdam and M ontre alannual bl e nde r confe re nce s . Re ports from atte nde e s s ay al l h ad a good tim e , w ith us e fuland productive pre s e ntations fil l ing th e day, and fun fil l e d inte raction in th e e ve nings . Picture s and vide os of both confe re nce s are al re ady be ing pre pare d and pos te d onl ine for th os e of us unabl e to atte nd.

Ton h as pos te d an articl e outl ining brie fl y topics of inte re s t for th e com ing ye ar. H igh on th e l is t is e ducation and training de ve l opm e nt. A topic of gre at inte re s t to m any of us . For h is ful larticl e , go to: h ttp://w w w .bl e nde r.org/cm s /Ne w s ite m .607+ M 55216e 564b2.0 .h tm l

For vide os /s l ide s h ow s of th e Am s te rdam confe re nce , go to: h ttp://w w w .bl e nde r.org/cm s /2005_Vide os .714.0.h tm l

And th e s e w e re jus t th e m ajor ch ange s , th e re h as be e n Th e vide os from th e M ontre alconfe re nce are n't q uite no e nd of code cl e an-ups , m inor and s om e tim e s m ajor re ady ye t, but k e e p an e ye out at th e e l ys iun forum s , fixe s of e xis ting tool s . Ve rs ion 2.40 l ook s to be a m ajor w h e re ne w s w il lbe pos te d w h e n th e y are re ady. upgrade . For ful lde tail s on th e l ate s t fe ature s and Ne w Yafray? additions , go to: h ttp://w w w .bl e nde r.org/cm s /Bl e nde r_2_40_al ph a.59 8.0.h tm l Re ce nt ne w s from th e Yafray cam p s ugge s ts th at Yafray is And drop by th e te s ting forum s to pick up a curre nt buil d w ith al lth e ne w fe ature s . Th e m ore of us th at te s t th e buil ds out, th e s oone r bugs can be re porte d back to th e code rs and fixe d.

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al s o going to be com pl e te l y re vam pe d, th at m e ans it w il lbe code d from s cratch . Im portantl y it w il lbe us ing ph ys icial l y m ore accurate al gorth im for raytracing, in s im pl e te rm s it m e ans w e can e xpe ct it to be of e ve n h igh e r q ual ity l ik e M axw e l lre nde re r, h ope ful l y th e is s ue of s pe e d up in re nde ring w il lal s o be addre s s e d in th is re vis ion al ong w ith l ots of ne w fe ature s .

W ORK S H OP 3D

M ode l ing a robot in bl e nde r Le ve l : Be ginne r to inte rm e diate Introduction 3D m ode l ing is one ofth e m os t inte re s ting parts ofth e CG, but it provide s q uite a ch al l e nge for a be ginne r to th e 3D m ode l ing. In th is tutorialw e w il ltak e you th rough various te ch niq ue s invol ve d in m ode l ing an s im pl e l ook ing robot in Bl e nde r. Th is particul ar robot is cal l ed 'pape ro' and its a com panion bot produce d by 'NEC' Corporation Japan.

Pl e as e note th at th is articl e is not m ade for any com m e rcialgains and ne ith e r is al l ow e d to be dis tribute d or us e d for com m e rcialgains . It is not affil iate d to NEC in any w ay. Th e NEC robot re fe re nce d h e re is pure l y for e ducationalpurpos e onl y.

Th e be s t approach to l e arn from th is tutorialis al s o to cons ul t th e bl e nde r m anualw h e re e ve r you find it ne ce s s ary, e s pe cial l y ifyou are ve ry ne w to bl e nde r th e n l e arn about th e various nam ing conve ntions l ik e vie w -port, 'e dit m ode ', ve rte x, 'trans form e r gizm o' e tc. In th is tutorialcare h as be e n tak e n to provide th e s e fe ature s as th e h e ading ofth e s te ps , s o th at ifw e s ay add a cube you can re fe re nce on h ow to add an obje ct s te p l e arne d pre vious l y. Re ading it once is re com m e nde d for al lne w us e rs to th e 3D w orl d ofBl e nde r e ve n ifyou are not abl e to fol l ow it prope rl y.

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9

M ode l l ing a robot

Starting up Firs t ofal lm ak e a s e arch on goggl e for 'pape ro' or 'NEC robots ' for re fe re nce im age s . Try to figure out h ow th e m ode l l ook s from diffe re nt vie w s . Th e re are fe w diffe re nt ve rs ions avail abl e but w e are going to m ak e a ge ne ric body. It w oul d be h el pfulifyou can ge t im age 1 from th e ne t, ifth ats not pos s ibl e it is al s o provide d in th e s am pl e bl e nd fil e for th is tutorial .

ofve rtice s to 24 and again 24 in anoth e r popup th e n pre s s O K to add th e s ph e re .

M ode l ing th e h e ad PART-1 Ste p 1. Adding a im age to th e vie w port: Start up Bl e nde r. Firs t th ing you ne e d to do is de l e te th e de faul t cube . Righ t cl ick on it to s e l e ct it, ifits not al re ady, th e n pre s s [D e l ]and confirm de l e tion in th e popup. Now w e w il ladd an re fe re nce im age ofth e robot in th e vie w port. Pre s s [Num Pad 1]for front vie w in th e vie w -port, now go to 'Vie w |Back ground Im age ...' m e nu ofth e vie w -port. In th e popup cl ick on th e 'fol de r' icon and navigate to th e re fe re nce im age , s e l e ct it and pre s s Ente r.

Ste p 2. Adding prim itive s : Now w e w il l s tart m ode l ing, w e w il lfirs t s tart w ith m ode l ing th e face . Ke e p th e m ous e in th e vie w -port and pre s s [Space bar]In th e popup m e nu go to Add |M e s h |UVs ph e re .

Again in th e ne w popup re duce th e num be r

Ste p 3. W ork ing m ode s : Note th at th e s ph e re is adde d at th e pl ace w h e re th e ins e rtion curs or(re d w h ite s tripe d circl e ) is and th e ce nte r ofth e circl e is re pre s e nte d w ith a pink dot. Al s o you w il lnotice th at th e obje ct adde d is in 'e dit m ode '. You can toggl e th e 'e dit m ode ' to 'obje ct m ode ' by pre s s ing [Tab] k e y once . D o it now .

W ORK S H OP 3D

M ode l l ing a robot

Ste p 4. Moving O bje cts : Now to pos ition th e s ph e re in 'obje ct m ode ' to th e h e ad part as s e e n in th e re fe re nce im age in back . To do th at, m ove your m ous e ove r to bl ue arrow h e ad, cl ick and k e e p pre s s e d th e button and m ove th e m ous e upw ards .

Th e s ph e re obje ct w il lm ove upw ards , k e e p pre s s ing [Ctrl ] Ke y to m ak e big grid jum ps . Us e [Sh ift]in com bination for m inor grid jum ps . Pos ition th e s ph e re as s e e n in th e im age .

Ste p 5. Scal ing O bje cts : To s cal e any obje ct in 'e dit m ode ' or 'obje ct m ode ' you firs t h ave to s e l e ct th e obje ct or its parts . Since th e s ph e re is al re ady se l e cte d. Pre s s [S] k e y and any m ous e m ove m e nt tow ards th e obje ct ce nte r w il l re s ul t in s cal ing dow n ofobje ct and inve rs e l y any m ove m e nt aw ay from obje ct ce nte r w il lre s ul t in s cal ing up ofth e s ize . H e re s cal e up th e s ize ofs ph e re as s h ow n in im age fol l ow ing th e re fe re nce in th e back .

Note again, you can com pl im e nt th e s cal ing ope ration w ith [Ctrl ]or [Sh ift]or com bination ofboth for be tte r control .

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Ste p 6. Se l e cting ve rtice s : Up to now you w e re w ork ing in 'obje ct m ode '. Ke e p s e l e cte d th e s ph e re and pre s s [Tab]to ge t into th e 'e dit m ode '. 'Edit m ode ' is th e core of w ork ing on a 3dm ode l , so l e arn and obs e rve care ful l y. Now w e w il ll e arn to s e l e ct ve rtice s . You can do various type s of se l e ction in bl e nde r. To s e l e ct or de s e l e ct al l ve rtice s us e [A]k e y to toggl e . Pre s s [A]tilal l ve rtice s turn bl ack (de s e l e cte d). Now pre s s [B](box s e l e ct) and m ove your m ous e curs or to th e top l e ft part ofth e ve rtice s in s ph e re cl ick and drag dow n s o as to s e l e ct th e l e ft part as s h ow n in th e im age .

Ste p 7. D e l e ting ve rtice s : Now w e w il lde l e te th e s e l e cte d ve rtice s . To do th at, pre s s e ith e r [D e l ]or [X]k e y and in th e popup, s e l e ct 've rtice s '. As now you can s e e th e s e l e cte d ve rtice s are al lgone . W e did th at be caus e th e robot h e ad is s ym m e tric in appe arance , s o w e ne e d to jus t w ork on one h al fand l ate r m irror it to ge t th e com pl e te h e ad. Now as you can s e e in th e im age , w e h ave al so se l e cte d th e e ar part ofth e s am e s ph e re .

Ye s w e w il lde l e te th e m too. D o it th e s am e w ay as e xpl aine d jus t now .

CREATING TH E EYE PIECE Ste p 8. Z oom ing in th e vie w -port: To zoom in th e vie w -port you can us e 's crol lw h e e l ' or [Num Pad + ][Num Pad -]. Now pre s s [Z ]k e y to toggl e to s h ade d vie w m ode from w ire fam e m ode . Now as in th e im age , s e l e ct th e tw o ve rtice s by k e e ping pre s s e d [Sh ift]k e y and righ t cl ick ing on th e individualve rtice s , se l e ct as s h ow n in th e im age and th e n de l e te th e tw o ve rtice s to cre ate th e e ye h ol e for th e robot h e ad.

10

W ORK S H OP 3D

11

M ode l l ing a robot

Ste p 9 . Us ing Subs urface : Subs urface is th e m os t im portant toolin 3d Me s h m ode l ing. To e nabl e Subs urface on th e m e s h , pre s s [F9 ]and in th e m e s h tab in th e buttons w indow (be l ow th e vie w -port) Cl ick th e 'SubSurf' button, al s o th e optim al button and incre as e th e divis ions to 2, s e e im age .

Ste p 12. Me rging face s : Triangul ar ve rtice s face s are bad for a s m ooth s urface s o w e ne e d to conve rt th e tw o triangul ar face s to a s ingl e four ve rtice s face . To do th at s e l e ct al lfour ve rtice s ofany of th re e ve rtice s face s . W atch im age 12 for e xam pl e . Now go to 'Me s h |Face s |Conve rt triangl e s to q uads ' in th e vie w -port m e nu. And th e triangul ar face ge ts conve rte d into a four s ide d face .

Ste p 10. Cre ating a face from ve rtice s : Se l e ct th e ve rtice s as s h ow n in th e im age 10 and pre s s [F]k e y once to m ak e a face out ofs e l e cte d ve rtice s . Now re pe at it for oth e r ve rtice s on th e h ol e as s h ow n in th e im age 11.

Ste p 13. Scal ing th e ve rtice s : now s e l e ct th e ve rtice s as s h ow n in th e im age 13 and s cal e th e m up a l ittl e bit s o th e s h ape ofth e e ye h ol e l ook s l ik e a circl e . H e re try to m ove th e oute r ve rtice s ofth e e ye in a s traigh t l ine , us e various m e th ods of se l e ction th at you h ave l e arne d e arl ie r.

Ste p 11. Subdividing an e dge : Se l e ct th e tw o ve rtice s w h ich are ins ide th e h ol e for th e robot e ye . Pre s s [W ]Ke y and s e l e ct 'Subdivide ' , as s oon as you s e l e ct it th e face ge ts divide d into tw o face s . Im age 12. Re pe at th e s te ps w ith oth e r ne w l y cre ate d face s .

Ste p 14. Extruding th e face s : Ge t in to 'Side vie w ' by pre s s ing [Num Pad 3]and s e l e ct al lth e ve rtice s ofth e e ye th at form a circl e.

Pre s s [E]to e xtrude th e s e l e cte d ve rtice s and s tart m oving th e e xtrus ion in th e dire ction ofgre e n axis ofth e trans form e r gizm o as s e e n in th e im age 14 (a) and (b).

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W ORK S H OP 3D

Ste p 15. Ke e p th e l as t s e l e ction, now pre s s [Num Pad 1]to ch ange back to th e front vie w . H e re once m ore pre s s [E]to e xtrude and im m e diate l y pre s s [S]to s cal e dow n th e e xtrus ion a l ittl e . im age 15.

D upl icating th e ve rtice s : To m ak e a copy ofth e s e l e cte d ve rtice s /face s you can pre s s [Sh ift + D ]. Continue d from th e l as t se l e ction pre s s [Sh ift + D ]and im m e diate l y pre s s [P](to s e parate it from th e m e s h into anoth e r obje ct) cl ick "s e l e cte d"in th e popup.

Now you can pre s s [Tab]to ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' to 'obje ct m ode '. Righ t cl ick to s e l e ct th e ne w circul ar m e s h and pre s s [Tab]to e nte r 'e dit m ode ' for it.

Ste p 16. Now w e ne e d to cre ate th e tube l ik e s e ction for th e e ye .

Se l e ct al lth e ve rtice s [E]e xtrude th e m dow n a l ittl e (im age 16a) Now ge t in to 's ide vie w ' [Num Pad 3]and e xtrude th e s e l e cte d ve rtice s tow ards gre e n axis tw ice as s e e n in th e im age 16b.

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Ste p 17. W e l ding th e ve rtice s : W e l ding or m e rging ve rtice s give s us a cl os e d face w h ich w e w ant for th e back ofth e e ye pie ce to be l ik e . Now again pre s s [E]and im m e diate l y 'righ t cl ick ' to l e ave th e trans form s tate . Now pre s s [Al t+ M]in th e popup s e l e ct 'at curs or' and you can s e e th e dupl icate ve rtice s ge t re m ove d and th e y al lform a face as s e e n in im age 17.

Loop s e l e ction: Now w e ne e d to cre ate a e ye cove r gl as s for th e e ye pie ce . s e l e ct th e s e cond l oop ofve rtice s from th e e ye pie ce . Pre s s [Al t + B]and h ove r your m ous e ove r th e s e cond circul ar l oop in th e im age 18. Th e active s e l e ction w il ls h ow a bl ue l oop form ing on it as s oon as it doe s l e ft cl ick once to s e l e ct th e l oop. D upl icate it and s e parate from th is m e s h . Ge t out ofe dit m ode [Tab]now s e l e ct th e ne w l y cre ate d m e s h and pre s s [Tab]to ge t into e dit m ode .

Ste p 18. Fol l ow ing th e im age 20 e xtrude once and s cal e it dow n (im age 20a) Th e n e xtrude it again , im m e diate l y righ t cl ick . Th e n pre s s [Al t + M]to join th e ve rtice s and com pl e te th e face for th e e ye cove r gl as s . Ge t out of'e dit m ode '.

W ORK S H OP 3D

PART-2 CREATING TH E EAR & M IRRORING TH E H EAD You h ave notice d th at m any tim e s w e h ave dupl icate d a m e s h part to s tart w ork ing on anoth e r part ofth e m ode l . Th is is done for tw o re as ons firs tl y th e dupl icate d m e s h w e ge t fits cl os e l y to th e part of th e m ode lw h e re w e pick e d it from and s e condl y it s ave s a l ot of tim e ; ) Ste p 1. Inne r Ear: Again w e w il lus e dupl icating m e th od to m ak e th e e ar pie ce . Firs t s e l e ct th e h e ad m e s h ge t into 'e dit m ode ' do one e xtrus ion to ve ry s m al ldis tance tow ards re d axis (im age 19 b) and dupl icate it by [Sh ift + D ]. Now ge t out of'e dit m ode ' and s e l e ct th e ne w l y cre ate d m e s h . Again ge t into 'e dit m ode ' [Tab]and do th re e e xtrus ion in re d axis as s e e n in th e im age 19 c.

Final l y cre ate one m ore e xtrus ion and s cal e it dow n a l ittl e . Cre ate a dupl icate [ Sh ift + D ]from curre nt s e l e ction and s e parate [P]it from th e m e s h .

Ste p 2. O ute r e ar part: Exit th e e dit m ode and s e l e ct th e m e s h jus t cre ate d. As s e e n in th e im age 20 e xtrude it th re e tim e s and once m ore righ t cl ick and w e l d th e se l e cte d ve rtice s [Al t + M].

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Ste p 3. O nce again ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' and add a s ph e re of16x16 ([Space Bar] 'Add |Me s h |UVs ph e re ') in th e m iddl e of th e e ar as s h ow n in th e im age 21. m ak e s ure th at you pos ition ifrigh t. Ch e ck th e pos ition in 'front vie w ' and 's ide vie w ' s e e Im age 21.

Ste p 4. Mirroring a m e s h : Now th e h e ad is al m os t com pl e te . Since th e h e ad is com pl e te l y s ym m e tric, w e can go ah e ad and m irror it to ge t a com pl e te d h e ad m e s h . To do th at s e l e ct th e 'h e ad m e s h ' and m ak e s ure th at you are in th e 'front vie w ' now pre s s [Tab]to ge t into th e 'e dit m ode '. Pre s s [A]k e y tilal lth e ve rtice s are s e l e cte d. Now pre s s [Sh ift + D ]to dupl icate th e s e l e cte d m e s h . Im m e diate l y righ t cl ick to cance lany trans form ation. Now pre s s [M]to bring up th e m irror m e nu popup. h e re ch oos e 'X Gl obal '. You w il ls e e th e s e l e cte d m e s h is m irrore d.

Ste p 5. Me rging th e m irrore d s urface s :. Now us ing th e 'trans form e r gizm o' ofth e x axis (re d) bring th e tw o m e s h e s cl os e r s o th at th e ne ar e dge s are ove rl apping e ach oth e r w atch th e im age 23a for th e h igh l igh te d part.

At th is point you can zoom in and m ak e s ure th at th os e e dge s are 'corre ctl y ove rl apping e ach oth e r. Now de s e l e ct al loth e r ve rtice s and m ak e a box se l e ction [B]around th e h igh l igh te d part as s e e n in im age 32a.

W ORK S H OP 3D Now ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' and as s oon as you ge t out of th e e dit m ode you m igh t s e e a bl ack l ine in th e m iddl e ofth e h e ad m e s h as s e e n in im age 23b. Again ge t in to 'e dit m ode ' se l e ct al lve rtice s and pre s s [Ctrl+ N](cal cul ate norm al s ).

Now th e m e s h w il ll ook s m ooth and you h ave cre ate d th e h e ad ofth e robot.

Ste p 6: Cre ating th e re s t ofth e h e ad parts . Now fol l ow ing th e proce dure ofdupl icating and m irroring go ah e ad and do th e s am e for th e 'e ye pie ce ' (im age 25a) e ye gl as s ' and th e 'e ar bal l '.

Afte r you h ave done th at th e finalm ode ls h oul dl ook s om e th ing l ik e in th e im age 25b.

PART-3 UPPER & LOW ER BOD Y Ste p 1. Mak e s ure you are in 'O bje ct m ode '. Go to 'top vie w ' [Num Pad 7} and add a UVs ph e re [Space bar]'Add |Me s h |Circl e ' of24 ve rtice s (im age 26). Ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' and ch ange th e vie w m ode to 's ide vie w ' [Num Pad 3].

Firs t pos ition th e circl e jus t be l ow th e 'e ar part'.

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Ste p 2. Rotating th e obje cts : Pre s s [R]k e y to rotate th e circl e as s h ow n in th e im age 27a. Ge t into 'e dit m ode ' and e xtrude once dow nw ards on th e Z axis (bl ue ) and s cal e it as s h ow n in th e im age 27b. Fol l ow ing th e im age e xtrude once m ore .

Ste p 3. Extrude once m ore fol l ow ing th e im age 28a. Now w e ne e d to m ak e out th e body de s ign as s e e n in th e re fe re nce im age s . To do th at ge t in to th e 'front vie w ' [Num Pad 1]and box [B]s e l e ct th e ve rtice s as s h ow n in th e im age . [G]grab th e ve rtice s and im m e diate l y pre s s [Z ]and pul lth e m dow n as s h ow n in th e im age 28b and 29 a.

W ORK S H OP 3D

Ste p 4. Adding a l oop of ve rtice s : At th is point w e ne e d to e xtrude ve rtice s once and th e n s cal e th e m dow n s o th at w e ge t a s m ooth be nd e dge for th e body. But you w il l notice th at th e body l ook s a bit pul py s o w e w il ladd a ne w l oop ofve rtice s jus t ne ar th e bottom part (im age 29 b) to m ak e it l ook l ik e a s ol id s urface w ith de fine d e dge s . To add a e dge l oop pre s s [Ctrl+ R]th e curs or w il lnow ch ange in to a bl ue l op l ine and w il lfol l ow th e pos ition ofth e m ous e , bring it dow n and ne ar to th e bottom part as s e e n in im age 29 b and cl ick to add th e l oop.

Ste p 5. Low e r body: Mak e a dupl icate [Sh ift + D ]ofth e s am e s e l e ction and s e parate it from th e m e s h . W e w il lus e it to m ak e th e l ow e r body. Ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode '[Tab]and se l e ct th e ne w l y cre ate d m e s h and again ge t into 'e dit m ode ' [Tab]. Now e xtrude once and s cal e it a l ittl e . Again e xtrude and bring th e e xtrus ion dow n a l ittl e.

Extrude and bring it dow n as s e e n in im age and h e re m ove th e ve rtice s in th e s am e l ine . Now e xtrude tw ice fol l ow ing th e im age 30a and w e l d[Al t + M]th e l as t e xtrus ion.

Ste p 6. Ge t in to th e 's ide vie w ' and s cal e th e l ow e r part ofth e 'uppe r body' and uppe r part ofth e 'l ow e r body' as s h ow n in im age 31a. Ge t out of'e dit m ode ' com pl e te l y and add a pl ane [Add |Me s h |pl ane ], pos ition it ne ar th e s ide bottom ofth e robot body, w atch im age 31b for re fe re nce . pre s s [F9 ]for e diting buttons and

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e nabl e 'SubSurf' button. Th e m e s h w il lturn roundis h .

Ste p 7. Ke e p th e vie w in 's ide vie w ' [Num Pad 3]Extrude th e s ide ofpl ane (tw o ve rtice s ) tw o tim e s and m ove th e ve rtice s to l ook l ik e as in th e im age 32.

Ste p 8. Ch ange th e vie w to 'front vie w ' [Num Pad 1]. and e xtrude th e pl ane th re e tim e s outw ards (re d axis ). and m anipul ate th e ve rtice s to as th e y l ook in th e im age 33a im age 33b.Now ge t out of th e 'e dit m ode ' and as s oon as you ge t out ofth e e dit m ode you m igh t s e e a bl ack l ine in th e m iddl e ofth e h e ad m e s h as s e e n in im age 23b. Again ge t in to 'e dit m ode ' s e l e ct al lve rtice s and pre s s [Ctrl+ N](cal cul ate norm al s ). Now th e m e s h w il ll ook s m ooth and you h ave cre ate d th e h e ad ofth e robot.

W ORK S H OP 3D

Ste p 9 . Afte r th e robot 's h oe ' h as be e n done s e l e ct al lth e ve rtice s ofth e s h ow and is s ue [Sh ift + D ]m ove th e s e l e ction to oth e r s ide ofth e robot and afte r pos ition it m irror [M]it in X axis .

Se e im age 34.

PART-4 LEFT OVER D ETAILS Ste p 10. Ch anging th e s e l e ction m ode s : Th e bas ic m ode lis jus t about com pl e te , w e forgot to add th e l ittl e bum p in th e m iddl e of h e ad. Now s e l e ct th e h e ad m e s h and ge t into 'e dit m ode ' Now w e ne e d to us e th e s e l e ction m e th od as face as it w il lprovide for e as ie r se l e ction. Pre s s [Ctrl+ Tab]and in th e popup s e l e ct th e 'face se l e ction' th e vie w w il lch ange a bit as s h ow n in th e im age . Now you can s tart s e l e ction th e face s by righ t cl ick ing on th e m , h e re you w il lne e d a group offace s to be s e l e cte d s o k e e p pre s s e d th e [Sh ift] k e y.

Ste p 11.

Extruding face s : Ch ange th e vie w to s ide .

Extrude th e face s upw ards (bl ue axis ) once .

Now w e ne e d to rotate th e se l e cte d face s onl y on x axis s o w e w il lpre s s [R]and im m e diate l y pre s s [X]

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and m ove m ous e to rotate . Rotate th e s e l e cte d face s s o th at th e y l ook l ik e as in th e im age .

Ste p 12. Ch ange vie w to front. Now ch ange th e s e l e ction m ode [Ctrl+ Tab]to ve rtice s . And s e l e ct th e s ide ve rtice s (th re e e ach s ide ) as s h ow n in im age 37a. Fol l ow ing th e back ground im age in th e vie w -port m ove th e m dow n (z axis ).

Th e re are various s m al l e r de tail s l e ft for th e robot, th e y are l e ft as an e xe rcis e for th e re ade r. You can us e us e th e m e th ods provide d h e re to cre ate th e m , l ik e th e s pe ak e rs in th e front part ofbody and th e tire s ofth e robot. Mak e s ure to re ad th e oth e r tutorialon te xturing th e robot in th e l e arning s e ction.

Se e th e outcom e ofit in th e 's h ade d' [Z ]m ode .

Th is w raps up th e m ode l ing tutorialh ave fun bl e nding !

Gaurav Naw ani

W ORK S H OP 3D

Using Bl ender M ech anical Gears - Script

By Ste fano Se l l e ri Ab stract: Th is articl e de al s w ith th e m ode l ing and anim ation of ge ars , providing a s h ort tutorialfor th e util ization ofth e Bl e nde r Me ch anicalGe ars (BMG) s cript.

Introduction O ne ofth e k e y points in m ode l ing and anim ate m e ch anicalde vice s re l ie s in th e ne e d to produce ge ars . Ge ars are not m e re l y “w h e e l s w ith te e th ”. Ge ars w e re l ik e th at in ancie nt days , but m ode rn m e ch anics de e pl y s tudie d th e diffe re nt w ays in w h ich s pin can be trans fe rre d from one rotating axis to anoth e r, de fining e xactl y h ow a ge ar m us t be de s igne d for m axim um e fficie ncy.

Som e th e ory can be obtaine d from th e docs on [1](I don’t w ant to prom ote any particul ar ge ar m anufacture r, but th is is th e re fe re nce I us e d to cre ate m y ge ars ) as w e l las in th e Bl e nde r Me ch anicalGe ars (BMG) s cript docum e ntation [2]. Bas ical l ya ge ar m us t be de s igne d s o th at no friction occurs at tw o m e s h ing ge ar te e th . Th is e ns ure s e fficie ncy, l ong duration, and l ow nois e . Th e m ath e m atical de s cription ofa ge ar is bas e d on th e invol ute conce pt. Th e invol ute ofa circl e h as s e ve ral

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prope rtie s ;th e m os t im portant ofw h ich is th at te e th ofm e s h ing ge ars w h os e profil e is an invol ute do not s l ide one on th e oth e r w h il e th e ge ars rotate , and th e pre s s ure angl e w ith w h ich a ge ar pus h e s th e oth e r s tay cons tant.

I w il lnot go de e pe r on th is h e re ;you don’t ne e d to k now , s ince th e BMG w il lh andl e m ath e m atics , but ifyou are curious jus t brow s e [1,2].

Th e Script BMG is a s cript s uite you can dow nl oad from [3]. It com pre h e nds tw o s cripts , a m e s h e r (BMGm ) and a s pinne r (BMGs ) w e w il l conce ntrate on th e form e r firs t. BMGm be l ongs to th e Me s h cate gory ifyou e l e ct to ins tal lit in th e prope r pos ition w ith in th e .bl e nde r tre e . In any cas e , once l aunch e d, it pre s e nts a s cre e n as s h ow n in Fig. 1 BM Gm can cre ate Cyl indricaland Conicalge ars … th e w orm option is not w ork ing, ye t ; ). In th is articl e w e w il lconce ntrate on cyl indricalto de m ons trate s cript us age .

M ain Ge ar Param e te rs Th is group of param e te rs de fine s th e bas ic l ook of th e ge ar. W h e n tw o m e s h ing ge ars are s e t w h at de fine s th e ge om e try is th e Pitch Radius , w h ich is th e radius of th e ide alcircl e on w h ich th e m e s h ing te e th of th e tw o ge ars touch . It is th e pitch radius th e one de fining m os t of th e ge ar ge om e try. Th is , as m os t ove r e ntrie s , is de fine d in Bl e nde r Units . W e w il lk e e p th e de faul t 5 for now . Th e te e th num be r de fine s h ow m any te e th th e ge ar h as .

Th is is th e s e cond m os t im portant param e te r, and w e w il ls e t th is to 25 for th is e xam pl e . Th e Pre s s ure angl e is vital , from a m e ch anicalpoint of vie w , but is of l e s s im portance in com pute r graph ics . It de fine s th e angl e be tw e e n th e tange nt pl ane to th e ge ar tooth at th e contact point and th e pl ane containing th e tw o ge ars rotation axis . It is probabl y be tte r to l e ave th is to th e de faul t 20°val ue . H e l icalAngl e de fine s h e l icalge ars s h ape .

Com m on ge ars h ave s traigh t te e th . H e l icalge ars h ave s l ante d te e th . H e l icalge ar are l e s s nois y and m ore s w ift in ope ration, and m ore cos tl y to m anufacture , al lth ings you don’t care in 3D graph ics , s o w e w il lk e e p th is angl e to 0 now .

W ORK S H OP 3D

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Using BM G - script

Th e Adde ndum and D e de ndum de fine s h ow far be yond and be ne ath th e pitch radius th e te e th e xte nds . Th e s e param e te rs are critical .

Firs t th e Adde ndum cannot be gre ate r th an th e de de ndum , or you w il lh ave big m e s h ing probl e m s . Se cond, Th e ir val ue m us t be tune d according to th e num be r ofte e th . Th e m ore th e te e th , th e s m al l er th e s e tw o m us t be , th e fe w e r th e te e th , th e l arge r th e y can be . For our e xam pl e 25 is an ave rage te e th num be r, s o w e can k e e p th e m to th e de faul t 0.4 val ue .

Pl e as e note th at th e s cript ge ne rate d a s ingl e tooth both for th e m ain ge ar and th e pinion. Th e m ain ge ar obje ct ce nte r is in th e origin, th e pitch radius is 5 bl e nde r units , you can s e e th is s ince th e te e th w oul d touch th e re , once rotate d. Th e pinion radius h as be e n autom atical l y com pute d by th e s cript, its ce nte r is in th e righ t pos ition for corre ct m e s h ing (righ tm os t ye l l ow dot) and th e tooth h as be e n produce d s l igh tl y rotate d for th e s ak e ofcl arity.

O ur ne xt tas k w il lbe to com pl e te th e ge ar and th e pinion m e s h .

Be ve l ing: No true m e ch anicalde vice s h ave s h arp e dge s . Fil l e t de fine s th e Ge ar M e sh e s touch -ups radius ofth e rounding at th e top and bottom ofth e tooth . Be ve l Firs t ofal l , rotate th e m ain ge ar tooth 1/50 of360°(7.5°) (Fig. 3.1). de fine s th e be ve l ing ofal le dge s on uppe r and l ow e r face ofth e ge ar. Th is m ak e s l ow e r e dge ofth e tooth al igne d on th e xz pl ane . In front vie w and e dit m ode w e can e xtrude th e top ve rte x to com pl e te th e M e sh Param e te rs: profil e (Fig. 3.2). D upl icating th is and m oving it around on th e xz Th e s cript ge ne rate s a s ingl e tooth for th e ge ar, w ith a give n pl ane w il lm ak e th e profil e for th e inne r ge ar part too (Fig. 3.3). Now re fine m e nt l e ve lin th e m e s h . Th e re fine m e nt l e ve lis give n as a dupl icate al lth e s e ne w ve rtice s and m irror th e m al ong gl obalz w ith Re s ol ution al ong th e tooth pe rim e te r, w h ich s h oul d be k e pt to 2 re s pe ct to curs or. unl e s s you are pl anning to zoom in a l ot (ris e it) or zoom out a l ot (l ow e r it) on your ge ars and a LongitudinalRe s ol ution al ong th e tooth th ick ne s s . Th is is actual l y ne e de d onl y for h e l icalge ars , w h ich do e xh ibit l ongitudinaltw is t. Final l y th e Th ick ne s s de fine s h ow th ick is th e ge ar and th e W idth de fine s h ow m uch to th e ins ide , w ith re s pe ct to th e pitch circl e , th e body ofth e ge ar e xte nds be yond th e tooth . Ke e p al lth e s e to th e ir de faul ts Pinion: Th e re is no point in de fining a ge ar w ith out is m atch ing pinion. Th e pinion can be e ith e r a s tandard pinion (a ge ar) a rack (a s traigh t tooth e d ite m ) a crow n (a big ge ar w ith te e th on th e ins ide ) l e t’s k e e p th e Pinion option and m aintain th e 12 te e th .

Ifnow you pre s s th e Ge ne rate button you w il ls e e th e s ce ne in Fig. 2

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W ORK S H OP 3D

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Now go back in top vie w w ith al lth e s e ne w ve rtice s s e l e cte d. Ide al l y w e s h oul d s pin (counte rcl ock w is e ) th re e copie s in a 14.4°angl e.

Sadl y Bl e nde r doe s not acce pt de cim al s h e re ! So w e w il ls pin th e m 15 copie s al ong a 72°angl e . (Fig. 4.1). Now Se l e ct th e tooth , and SpinD up it by 5 tim e s by 72°. You w il lh ave an e xtra copy ofit (Fig. 4.2), w h ich you s h oul d de l e te . Now re m ove doubl e s.

But you w on’t h ave th e s pace to m ak e th e m e s h s o com pl e x.

Re m e m be r th at th e pinion h as 12 te e th s o a tooth is 30°(360°/12) w ide . At th e e nd you s h oul d h ave s om e th ing l ik e Fig. 6. Give to th e Ge ar O bje ct a m ne m onic nam e (Lik e ‘Ge ar’) and to th e pinion obje ct a m ne m onic nam e too (‘Pinion’ is a good ch oice !)

Pre paring for Spinning!

To h ave th e ge ars s pin prope rl y you w il lne e d to s e t up fe w th ings , but firs t, s ince tw o ge ars onl y is re al l y a s ad m ode l , se l e ct Rotate th e ge ar 36°cl ock w is e , to h ave it s ym m e trical l y pl ace d w ith both ge ars , re s pe ct to th e xz pl ane . Now e xtrude s om e ve rtice s from th e inne r dupl icate part (Fig. 5.1 and 5.2) and e xtrude it tow ards th e oute r ring, m e rge th e m and s om e ve rtice s w h e re ne e de d. It is al s o a good ide a to us e th e Be ve l m ove th e copie s s o th at th e ne w Ge ar is coaxialand be ne ath th e s cript to m ak e th is arm nice r. originalpinion (Fig. 7). Give th e dupl icate s s m art nam e s , l ik e ‘Ge arB’ and ‘PinionB’. Be ve ry care ful , th e Pinion and th e Ge arB obje cts m us t h ave s am e x and y l ocation, and an offs e t on z.

Now you onl y h ave to SpinD up on 288°4 copie s and re m ove doubl e s ! You m igh t w is h to s cal e th e inne r part a l ittl e al ong z onl y to m ak e th e ge ar l e s s fl at. D o s om e th ing s im il ar w ith th e pinion too.

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W ORK S H OP 3D

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Using BM G - script

Now add an e m pty for e ach ge ar, l ocate d in th e ge ar ce nte r, w ith th e z axis pointing in th e dire ction ofth e ge ar rotationalaxis , th e n pare nt ge ars to e m ptie s . Give th e m m atch ing nam e s (Fig. 8).

Th is is ne ce s s ary be caus e th e s pinning s cript (BMGs ) w il lh andl e rotations for th e ge ar as re l ative to th e z axis . Ifth e ge ars are to be m ove d and are not l ying on th e xy pl ane th is w il lre s ul ts in odd be h avior.

By pare nting ge ars to e m ptie s and by m oving/rotating onl y th e e m ptie s from now on – ne ve r th e ge ars – th e anim ation w il lbe h ave prope rl y.

Now l aunch th e BMGs s cript. It is an ‘Anim ation’ cl as s s cript. It w il l pre s e nt q uite an e m pty inte rface , w ith jus t an Add button. Pre s s it four tim e s and four l ine s w il lappe ar. In th e s e l ine firs t col um n

l os t!)

Now s w itch to th e ‘Link ’ Pane l . Add th re e l ine s h e re w ith th e Add button. Th e ne w l ine s appe aring contain inform ation on w h ich ge ar is conne cte d to w h ich oth e r. Th e firs t col um n in e ach l ine contains th e driving ge ar, th e s e cond col um n th e drive n ge ar. Th e th ird col um n s pe cify th e l ink type , w h ich can be a m e s h k ind ofl ink , in w h ich th e pinion rotate s in th e oppos ite dire ction w ith re s pe ct to ge ar and th e s pe e d is give n by th e ge ar s pe e d m odifie d by th e tooth num be r ratio. For coaxialge ars , th at is , for ge ars not m e s h ing but rath e r m ounte d on th e s am e axis th e l ink type is fixe d be caus e th e rotation s pe e d is th e s am e . In rare cas e s , w ith crow ns and h e l ical ge ars , th e s pe e d m igh t s til lbe in th e tooth num be r ratio but not in th e oppos ite dire ction. For th e s e cas e s th e InvMe s h option e xis ts .

In our e xam pl e in th e firs t l ine w e w il ls tate th at ‘Ge ar’ is th e drive r, ‘Pinion’ is th e drive n and th e l ink is of‘m e s h ’ type . O n th e s e cond l ine ‘Pinion’ is now th e drive r, ‘Ge arB’ is th e drive n and th e l ink type is ‘fixe d’ s ince th e y are rigidl y bound. At l as t, th ird l ine s tate s th at ‘Ge arB’ is th e drive r to ‘PinionB’ in a ‘m e s h ’ type l ink .

Th e Link s databas e de fine s a cons e q ue ntials e rie s ofactions . Ifa drive r ge ar is rotate d its rotation propagate s to its drive n pinions and from th e s e to th e ir ow n drive n ge ars and s o on. To facil itate m ainte nance th e tw o s m al lbuttons on th e righ t al l ow s ch anging l ink s orde r.

O nce th e l ink s databas e is done (Fig 9 .2) w e are done . You s h oul d now pre s s th e Ge ne rate button. Th is cre ate s a ne w s cript, pre s e nts a Ge ar O bje ct nam e . Fil l‘Ge ar’ in th e firs t and ‘Pinion’ in nam e d D rive rSL(Fig. th e s e cond, ‘Ge arB’ in th e th ird, ‘PinionB’ in th e fourth . Se cond 10). Th is ne w s cript is col um n s pe cifie s th e te e th num be r. ‘Ge ar’ and ‘Ge arB’ h ave 25, s tore d in th e .bl e nd ‘Pinion’ and ‘PinionB’ h ave 12. Th is com pl e te s our ge ars databas e fil e and w il lnot be l os t (Fig. 9 .1). Th e ge ars databas e h ol ds info on w h ich obje cts in your w h e n e xiting Bl e nde r s ce ne is re al l y a ge ar and s h oul d be s pinne d. You can Save and Load (You m us t h ave s ave d databas e to/from dis k , th e s cript ge ne rate s XMLfil e s . You are your fil e , of cours e ). advis e d to do s o be caus e th e databas e s w il lbe l os t w h e n you q uit bl e nde r (Th e autom atical l y ge ne rate d s cript for s pinning w il lnot be

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Using BM G - script

To com pl e te th e s e t-up go to Script conte xt in th e Buttons W indow and add a Sce ne Script l ink on Fram e Ch ange d e ve nt. Put D rive rSLas l ink e d s cript (Fig. 11) Le t’s Go! Now w e ’re re al l y th e re ! Firs t m ak e a q uick Fram e 1 to Fram e 2 and back s w itch . Ifs om e ge ars are not at 0 rotation th e y w il lre ve rt to it (In th is cas e our pinions ) and you m igh t h ave to rotate th e ir e m ptie s (not th e ge ars th e m s e l ve s !!) to re cove r a prope r m utual m e s h ing be tw e e n ge ars .

W e bograph y [1]h ttp://w w w .bos tonge ar.com /pdf/ge ar_th e ory.pdf [2]h ttp://proje cts .bl e nde r.org/vie w cvs /vie w cvs .cgi/bs tar/BM G/BM G0.0.2.pdf?cvs root=bs tar [3]h ttp://proje cts .bl e nde r.org/vie w cvs /vie w cvs .cgi/bs tar/BM G/?cvs roo t=bs tar

Fig. 11 –Se tting th e Script Link .

RotZ (onl y on RotZ ).

Now s e l e ct th e driving ge ar, in our e xam pl e ‘Ge ar’. And add to it a noncons tant rotation IPO on

Fig. 11 –Se tting th e IPO .

Now pre s s ALT-A. Th e drive r Ge ar w il ls tart to rotate , and th e Pinion and al loth e r ge ars w il lfol l ow w ith a corre ct m atch ing ve l ocity!

Concl us ions

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By Ste fano Se l l e ri

W ORK S H OP 3D

Pl ane- l ine Intersection

By Al varo Luna Bautis ta 1.1. Th is articl e de al s w ith th e ol d Pl ane -l ine Inte rs e ction e xe rcis e th at e ve ry s tude nt w il lfind in h is D e s criptive Ge om e try practice s .

Wel l , e ve ryone k now s th at th e Pl ane -l ine Inte rs e ction is actual l ya point (Fig. 1). Th e proce s s de s cribe d in th is articl e w il lh e l p us to find th at point: a) cal cul ate d w ith Bl e nde r m ode l l ing/e diting tool s ;b) no s cripts invol ve d;c) w ith s om e ge om e tric re as oning be h ind. Th e re s ul t th e re fore w on't be m ath e m atical l y e xact (w e w oul d ne e d to do s om e m ath s and coding to ach ie ve th at) but q uite an ace ptabl e one , a ve ry good approacch ing and back e d by ge om e tric l ogic.

Figure 1. Th e fam ous pl ane -l ine inte rs e ction.

1.2. Th e m ain purpos e ofe xe rcis e s l ik e th at is to bypas s curre nt and unpre dictabl e Bl e nde r bool e ans tool s . O nce w e are abl e to find th at pl ane -l ine inte rs e ction, w e can appl y th is proce s s to a w ide range of s ituations w e re w e ne e d to k now w h ich is th e inte rs e ction be tw e e n tw o obje cts ofth e s ce ne . In th e cas e be l ow (Fig.2) I've cal cul ate d th e inte rs e ction be tw e e n th e pris m a and th e pl ane , us ing th e principl es de s cribe d in th e paragraph s be l ow .

Figure 2. An appl ication ofth is practice .

1.3. Th e firs t e xe rcis e cons is ts on finding th e proje ction ofan obje ct (l ine ) onto anoth e r (pl ane ). W e 'l lfind th at by us ing cons e cutive l y

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Pl ane l ine inte rse ction

s ide and front vie w in orth ograph ic m ode . Be fore s tarting, l e ts tak e al ook on th e Snap m e nu (Sh ift+ S k e ys ). O n th at m e nu, w ith th e Curs or to Se l e ction option w e can pl ace th e curs or on a ve rtice pre vious l y se l e cte d. Th e n, ifyou put your pivot in curs or m ode (Pe riod Ke y), th at ve rtice w il lbe th e pivot for s cal ing and rotating ope rations . Le ts go. W e s tart from a s ingl e obje ct in e dit m ode . Th at obje ct cons is t in a pl ane and a l ine th at inte rs e ct one e ach oth e r(Fig 3).

Figure 3. A pl ane and a l ine th at inte rs e ct e ach oth e r.

1.4. In a orth o s ide vie w (3 Num Ke y) , s e l e ct an uppe r ve rtice ofth e pl ane as pivot. Th e n s e l e ct th e oppos ite ve rtice ofth at e dge , dupl icate it (Sh ift+ D Ke y) and s cal e it (S k e y) untilit coincide s w ith th e l ine . D o th e s am e proce s s w ith th e l ow e r ve rtice s . (Fig.4).

Se l e ct th e tw o ve rtice s w e 've cre ate d and join th e m by an e dge (F k e y).

Figure 4. Proje cting th e l ine onto th e pl ane .

Inte re s ting Link s h h h h h h

ttp://w w w .h indu.com /th e h indu/2001/10/18/s torie s /08180007.h tm ttp://e n.w ik ipe dia.org/w ik i/D e s criptive _ge om e try ttp://w w w .e ncycl ope dia.com /h tm l /d1/de s cript.as p ttp://dg.vidivici.cz/dg/dge .h tm l ttp://ge om e tria3d.250fre e .com /ge om tr.h tm ttp://w w w .igpm .rw th -aach e n.de /~ pue tz/pub/269 .pdf

W ORK S H OP 3D

1.5. Th e n w e ch ange to th e orth ograph ic front vie w (1 Num Ke y). W e se l e ct a ve rtice from th e re s ul ting e dge as pivot and s cal e th e oppos ite one untilit coincide s w ith th e l ine (Fig.5 i 6). Th e cl os e r your are to th e e dge s , th e m ore pre cis e th e re s ul t. And th at's it.

Th at point w il lbe th e pl ane -l ine inte rs e ction. You can ch e ck th e re s ul t ofth e e xe rcis e by rotating th e vie w (MMB).

Figure 5. Front vie w ofth e re s ul ting l ine . Figure 6. Scal ing th e l ine in th e front vie w .

1.6. W e can de ve l op furth e r th is k ind ofge om e tric re as oning to s ol ve m ore D e s criptive Ge om e try e xe rcis e s . In fact, ifBl e nde r can h el p us to s ol ve th is s im pl e principl e , th e n It coul dh el p us to s ol ve any D e s criptive Ge om e try e xe rcis e , e ve n th e m os t difficul t one s .

Th e ne xt ch al l e nge w il lbe th e inte rs e ction be tw e e n tw o pl ane s (Fig.7). Is th at pos s ibl e?

Figure 7. Tw o pl ane s th at inte rs e ct one e ach oth e r.

1.7. W e s tart from a s ingl e obje ct in e dit m ode . Th at obje ct cons is t in tw o pl ane s th at inte rs e ct one e ach oth e r (Fig. 7). Th e n, in a orth o s ide vie w (3 Num Ke y) w e proje ct th e e dge s ofa pl ane onto th e oth e r as de s cribe d in paragraph 1.4 (Fig.8).

Th e l e ft ve rtice ofth e uppe r e dge is th e 1s t. pivot for s cal ing ve rtice s

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Pl ane l ine inte rse ction

tw o tim e s , one for th e l e ft e dge and oth e r for th e righ t one . Th e s am e for th e 2nd. pivot. W e join th e ve rtice s w e 've cal cul ate d by e dge s .

Figure 8. Proje ctions of pl ane e dge s onto th e oth e r.

1.8. As w e s e e in th e s e q ue nce be l ow , w h e n w e ch ange to th e front vie w , w e w il lprobabl y ne e d to ch ange th e vie port s h ading into s ol id m ode to ge t a gras p ofth e s ituation. Th e n, s cal e your re s ul tant l ine s according w ith w h at you s e e . W h e n your l ine s h ave be e n s cal e d, join th e n and th at w il lbe th e inte rs e ction be tw e e n th os e pl ane s . You can ch e ck your re s ul t by rotating th e vie w .

1.9 . Th at's it. Th is tim e w e 've h ad a bit offun w ith Bl e nde r by appl ying ol d principl e s of D e s criptive Ge om e try, in fact a coupl e ofh undre d ye ars ol d! A buch ofinte re s ting l ink s about D e s criptive Ge om e try:

By Al varo Luna Bautis ta al varol unab@ yah oo.e s

W ORK S H OP 3D

Te xturing th e 'robot'

Texturing and rendering th e robot

24

'diffus ion s h ade r' it tak e care s ofh ow m uch th e s urface re fl e cts l igh t. Ne xt 'Cook Torr' is a 'Spe cul ar s h ade r' it de fine s h ow m uch s h ine s s a m ate rialw il lh ave . You can tak e th e im age 2 for re fe re nce Th is tutorialw il lte ach you h ow to add and as s ign m ate rial s to th e m ode l . It is bas ic to inte rm e diate l e ve ltutorial . Th is tutorialis s e q ue l ofth e 'O range ' te xture . to th e robot m ode l ing tutorialpubl is h e d in th is is s ue .

Ste p 3. As s igining m ul tipl e te xture s to th e Ste p 1. As s igining m ate rial s to a m e s h : To as s ign a m e te rialto any s am e m e s h : Ke e p th e m e s h you h ave to firs t s e l e ct it. So m ak e s ure you are in 'obje ct h e ad m e s h s e l e cte d m ode ' th e n s e l e ct th e h e ad and ge t into 'Edit m e sh . l ook ing at th e m ode ' al s o e nabl e re fe re nce im age s w e can s h ade d vie w [Z ]now s e e th at th e h e ad h as tw o e ct th e ve rtice s as col ours , w h ite cove ring onl y se l s h ow n in th e im age 1. th e front face w h il e orange Now pre s s [F9 ]and in cove ring re s t ofth e part. th e 'Link and Mate rial s Firs t w e w il las s ign a tab' (Im age 3) cl ick th e 'Ne w ' button th is w il lcre ate anoth e r m ate rial m ate rialto th e h e ad. Pre s s f or t h e s e l e ct e d v e rt ice s .

But you m us t as s ign th e s e l e cte d ve rtice s [F5]to bring up th e m ate rial buttons . In th e 'Mate rialtab' for th e m ate rialfirs t. So now pre s s th e 'As s ign' button. Now re m e m be r th e 'Mat' Num be r for th e s e l e cte d face s . cl ick 'Add Ne w ' and re nam e it to 'O range '. You now h ave adde d a m ate rialto th e Ste p 4. Now ge t out ot th e 'e dit m ode ' and pre s s [F5]again to ge t m e sh . to th e m ate rialbuttons . H e re you w il ls e e th at th e s e cond m ate rial Ste p 2: Ch anging th e m ate rialprope rtie s : Now w e w il lch ange th e as s ign is t h e s am e as w as t h e f irs t .

W e ne e d a w h ite pl as tic h e re s o prope rty ofth e 'O range ' m ate rials o th ay it l ook s l ik e a pl as tic. Firs t go ah e ad and cl ick th e 'x' in front ofth e 'O range ' Mate rial . Now ch ange th e 'Col ' sl ide rs ofR,G,B to 1.000, 0.600, 0.000. Th is w il l again add a ne w m ate rialand re nam e it to 'Pl as tic w h ite '. Ch ange m ak e th e m ate rialoforange col or. ue s from th e Now in th e 'Sh ade rs ' tab ch ange th e 'Re f' to 1.000. ch ange 'Spe c' to th e prope rtie s ofth e w h ite m ate rialby pick ing th e val im age 4.

0.700 and final l y 'H ard' to 130. Th e 'Lam be rt' s h ade r is actual ya

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W ORK S H OP 3D

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Te xturing th e 'robot'

Ste p 5. As s igining th e pre m ade m ate rial : Now you k now h ow to as s ign a ne w m ate rialbut w h at ifyou w ant to re us e th e s am e m ate rialagain. Now as you can s e e th e e ar pie ce s are ofth e s am e orange pl as tic. So to as s ign th e m th e orange m ate rialjus t s e l e ct th e m and in from th e m ate rialtab s e l e ct th e 'O range ' m ate rial . Al l th e m ate rialyou cre ate are adde d to th e dropdow n l is t.

Sim il arl y as s ign orange m ate rialto oth e r pars t w h e re it is ne e de d.

Uppe r and l ow e r body h ave th e s am e type ofpl as tic m ate rialbut onl y th e col our is re d. So cre ate a ne w m ate rialfor it cal l e d 're d pl as tic' and as s ign it to th e m

pos ition th e cam e ra. To ge t in to th e cam e ra vie w pre s s [Num pad 0]. H e re you can s e e th re e fram e s firs t one is th e 'capture fram e ' s e cond one is th e 's afe fram e ' th e th ird one is actual y th e cam e ra its e l f. Righ t cl ick th e out m os t fram e and pre s s [G] grab now ifyou m ove your m ous e you can s e e th e cam e ra m ove s . Try to pos ition th e cam e ra as s e e n in th e im age 7.

Ste p 8. Now its tim e to re nde r th e s ce ne . To re nde r th e s ce ne go to 'Re nde r' m e nu and s e l e ct 'Re nde r s e ttings ' or jus t pre s s [F10]. H e re e nabl e th e 'Sh adow s ' button and al s o e nabl e th e 'O SA' button. Now to re nde r th e s ce ne jus t pre s s 'F12'. You can s e e th e re nde r l ik e im age 8. Al s o dont forge t to add a 'pl ane ' be l ow th e robot and s tre tch it s o th at it l ook s l ik e th e fl oor in th e im age 8.

For th e 'e ye pie ce ' and th e 'e ye gl as s ' as s ign th e fol l ow ing m ate rial .

For th e s h oe s you can as s ign th e 'W h ite pl as tic' m ate rialth e s am e w ay.

Ligh te ning and re nde ring th e sce ne .

Ste p 6. Adding a l am p: Afte r as s igning m ate rial s ch ange th e 'vie w port vie w ' to top [num pad 7]. Z oom out a l ittl e and add ([Space bar] 'Add |l am p |l am p') a ne w l igh t in to th e s ce ne .

Move it to th e righ t as s h ow n in th e im age 8.

Ste p 7. Us ing a Cam e ra: Since w e h ave us e th e de faul t s ce ne w e al re ady h ave one l am p and a cam e ra as s igne d. Now w e w il l

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Th at w raps up th e 'Te xturing and re nde ring th e robot' tutorialH ave fun bl e nding!

Gaurav Naw ani

W ORK S H OP 3D

26

Anim ating th e robot

Le t's Ge t th is Robo M oving

robo. (fig 2)

Th is tutorialas s um e s you h ave al re ady m ode l e d your robo, Pape ro. I h ave done a fe w pre l im inary tas k s to m ak e th is tutorial e as ie r to fol l ow ; I as s igne d bas ic m ate rial s to th e s e parate parts s o th at th e y are e as ie r to dis tinguis h (if you h ave al re ady fol l ow e d th e te xturing tutorial , th at is fine ) I h ave al s o turne d off s ubs urf for now (m ak e s it e as ie r to s e e w h at you are doing). (fig 1)

Ne xt pl ace your curs or at th e bottom s e ction of th e robo, about e ve n w ith th e w h e e l s.

Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe th e 'W h e e lBas e bone ', and w il l be pare nte d to th e Root bone . (fig. 3) Ne xt pl ace your in th e m ain body s e ction, Space bar |Add |Bone , th is w il lbe th e 'Body bone ', and w il lbe pare nte d to th e 'Root bone '.

[Tab]out Edit m ode and RM B on th e robo h e ad, in th e Edit'buttons cl ick on th e 'Ce nte r Ne w ' button, [Sh ift + S]|Curs or |Se l e ction. (fig. 4)

W ith s im pl e ch aracte rs , s uch as our robo, you don't ne e d a l ot of com pl icate d m ove m e nts . In fact you coul d probabl y ge t aw ay w ith jus t us ing s im pl e k e yfram ing of h is h e ad m oving from s ide to s ide , and adding additionalk e yfram e s as h e ch ange s l ocation. But th e n th is w oul d be a ve ry s h ort tutorial , and rath e r unne ce s s ary as you coul d figure th at out al lby yours e l f.

Th e fact th at Gaurav m ode l e d Pape ro's h e ad as al ls e parate parts , pre s e nts us w ith an inte re s ting option for giving our robo an inte re s ting action s e t. W e are going to anim ate th e e ar rings and e ar bal ls h ooting out from th e s ide of h is h e ad as h e rol l s al ong.

W e are going to accom pl is h th is by us ing Action Cons traints .

Th e bas ic pre m is e of Action Cons traints is s im pl e . You cre ate a s e t of actions once , th e n attach th at s e t of actions to one bone w ith an Action Cons traint. W h e n you rotate th e one bone , th e s e t of actions ge ts trigge re d. Pre tty s l ick tim e s ave r, it al s o as s ure s th at th e action w il lbe cons is te nt th rough out your anim ation.

Th is tutorialw as cre ate d w ith Bl e nde r 2.40 al ph a-2. (If you h ave a pre vious and or pos s ibl y ne w e r ve rs ion, th is s h oul d not be a big probl e m as Action Cons traints h ave be e n around for q uite a aw h il e .)

So l e t's ge t s tarte d.

Ste p 1. W e ne e d a bas ic arm ature . Th e re w il lbe no IK ch ains or anyth ing fancy.

Pl ace your curs or be l ow th e robo. Pre s s s pace bar |Add |Arm ature .

Th is w il lbe th e 'Root bone ' and w il lbe us e d to m ove th e e ntire

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W ORK S H OP 3D

Pre s s [A]k e y to de s e l e ct al l , RMB on th e Arm ature and Tab back into 'Edit m ode '.

Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe th e H e ad bone , and w il lbe pare nte d to th e Body bone . (fig. 5) Z oom in on th e e ar rings , pl ace your curs or in th e firs t ring, Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe th e Ring 1.Lbone , and w il lbe pare nte d to th e H e ad bone .

Pl ace your curs or in th e s e cond ring, Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe th e Ring 2.Lbone , and w il l be pare nte d to th e H e ad bone .

Pl ace your curs or in th e e ar bal l , Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe th e Earbal lbone , and w il lbe pare nte d to th e H e ad bone . (fig. 6) [B]k e y, drag a box th rough th e e ar ring and Earbal l .Lbone s , [Sh ift+ D ]k e y to dupl icate th e m , [Ctrl + M]k e y to m irror th e m , drag th e m to th e oth e r s ide ofth e h e ad and l ine th e m up w ith th e e ar rings . (Nam e s w il lbe th e s am e , e xce pt w il le nd in 'R'.)

Th is com pl e te s your arm ature .

Ste p 2: Now w e ne e d to pare nt our robo to th e arm ature .

Tab out ofEdit m ode , pre s s [A]k e y to de s e l e ct e ve ryth ing.

Se l e ct (RMB + Sh ift k e y) al lth e robo pie ce s , th e n s e l e ct th e arm ature [Ctrl+ P]|Arm ature Ch oos e 'From Cl os e s t Bone s '.

Now com e s th e fun part, doubl e ch e ck ing to m ak e s ure al lth e parts as s igne d to th e corre ct bone , no h e l p for it, s o l e t's ge t to it. Th e s te ps w il lbe th e s am e for e ach part.

Se l e ct part, Tab into 'Edit m ode ', A k e y to de s e l e ct al lve rtice s , l ook at th e 'Ve rte x Group' pane l Scrol lto th e corre ct bone for th e part you are ch e ck ing, cl ick th e 'Se l e ct' button. Ifal lgoe s w e l l , th e righ t ve rtice s w il lturn ye l l ow .(fig.

7) To as s ign ve rtice s to 'Ve rte x Group', s e l e ct ve rtice s w ante d, s crol lto

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Anim ating th e robot

de s ire d bone in l is t, cl ick 'As s ign' k e y To de l e te ve rtice s from 'Ve rte x Group', s e l e ct ve rtice s w ante d, s crol lto de s ire d bone in l is t, cl ick 'Re m ove ' k e y Mak e s ure you te s t your robo in Pos e Mode , s e l e ct e ach bone and rotate /grab to e ns ure e ve ryth ing is m oving prope rl y. In Edit m ode , se l e ct al lbone s and pre s s [Ctrl + N]to re cal cul ate bone rol l (oth e rw is e you m igh t ge t s trange re s ul ts ).

W ORK S H OP 3D

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Anim ating th e robot

Ste p 3: Now w e can s tart s e tting up our actions .

Spl it your s cre e n into 2, w ith 3d vie w on one s ide and Action Editor W indow on th e oth e r (fig. 8) Se l e ct th e Arm ature , [Ctrl+ Tab]into Pos e Mode (Arm ature bone s s h oul d be bl ue /gre e n de pe nding on s e l e ction s tatus )

8

Se l e ct th e 3 e ar bone s (Ring 1.L, Ring 2.L& Earbal l .L), [I]k e y |LocRot, th is w il lbe th e bas e point in th e action.

Go forw ard 40 fram e s , [I]k e y |LocRot, th is w il lbe th e e nd point in th e action.

Go back 20 fram e s Se l e ct th e Earbal l .Lbone , [G]k e y, w h il e h ol ding dow n th e [Ctrl ], m ove th e Earbal l .L3 units to th e l e ft. [I]k e y > > LocRot. Se l e ct th e Ring 2.Lbone , [G k e y], w h il e h ol ding dow n th e [Ctrl ], m ove th e Ring 2.L1 unit to th e l e ft. [I]k e y > > LocRot. (fig.9 ) Go back to fram e 1 and te s t your ne w action by pre s s ing [Al t + A] k e ys .

In th e Action Editor W indow , re nam e your action s om e th ing re l e vant, l ik e 'Ear action', cl os e th e action (cl ick th e [X]ne xt to th e action nam e ) Add a bone above th e h e ad (Space bar |Add |Bone ), nam e it 'Ear Move r', pare nt it to th e Root bone , s o it doe s n't ge t l os t w h e n m oving th e robo around a s ce ne .

Se l e ct Ring 2.Lbone and add an Action Cons traint in th e Cons traint pane l . Fil lin th e fol l ow ing s e ttings to m atch th e im age . (fig. 10) Re pe at th e s am e for Earbal l .L

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W ORK S H OP 3D

Now w h e n you m ove th e Ear Move r bone , th e Ring 2.Lbone and th e Earbal l .Lbone w il lm ove th rough th e ir action. (fig. 11) At th is point you can go back to your Ear action and add in actions for th e righ t s ide ofth e robo, s o th at both s ide s pop out at th e s am e tim e . Afte r you h ave adde d in th e ne w actions for th e righ t s ide , don't forge t to add action cons traints to th e righ t s ide Ring 2.R and Earbal l .R bone s .

At th is point Pape ro is re ady to rol l . H e can be k e yfram e d to m ove acros s th e s cre e n, bum p into th ings and s h ow s urpris e (h is e ars popping out).

To practice on you ow n, h e re are s om e furth e r s ugge s tions on actions you can add to our l ittl e robo Pape ro to give h im a l ittl e m ore ch aracte r: Mak e h is h e ad pop up a l ittl e offofh is body Mak e h is body pop up a l ittl e offofth e w h e e lbas e H ave Ring 1 and Ring 2 rotate s l ow l y back and forth w h il e h e is rol l ing th rough s ce ne .

H ave th e Earbal ls l ide e ve r s o s l igh tl y in and out ofrings Move H e ad back and forth s ide w ays as ifh e is s canning h is s urroundings .

H ave fun w ith your ne w l ittl e robo.

By Sandra Gil be rt

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Anim ating th e robot

11

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REVIEW ED Book in re vie w D Igital te xturing & painting W e h ave al lh e ard it s aid, h undre ds of tim e s , te xturing can m ak e or bre ak your m ode l .

Unfortunate l y I can confirm th at from pe rs onale xpe rie nce . Th e be s t m ode lin th e w orl d w il ljus t l ay th e re if you don’t prope rl y te xture it and a l e s s e r, m e diocre one s tands a be tte r ch ance of dazzl ing vie w e rs if th e m ate rial s and te xture s are top notch .

q ue s tions , you l e arn h ow to dis s e ct te xture s and th e n re cre ate th e m as ne e de d for any give n proje ct. O nce you h ave cove re d th e bas ics , th e re is a s e rie s of e igh t com pl e te inde pth tutorial s s h ow ing h is te ch niq ue s . Each tutorialis fil l e d w ith fantas tic im age s and s te p by s te p ins tructions on h ow to ach ie ve gre at te xture s .

In your s e arch for th e ul tim ate , pe rfe ct te ch niq ue on te xturing [if you actual l y find it, be s ure to l e t m e k now . ; ) ], you s h oul d ch e ck out “D igitalTe xturing & Painting” by O w e n D e m e rs .

W h il e no l onge r th e ne w e s t book on th e m ark e t, it is s til lth e m os t com pre h e ns ive re fe re nce of te xture cre ation. Accom panying th e book is a CD fil l e d w ith e xam pl e s and e xe rcis e fil e s , m ak ing th is a m us t h ave book on e ve ry s e rious m ode l e r’s book s h e l f.

O w e n D e m e rs h as w ritte n a one of a k ind re fe re nce th at not onl y give s you a th orough D igitalTe xturing & Painting (Pape rback ) unde rs tanding of traditionalart th e ory, but

by O w e n D e m e rs actual l y s h ow s you h ow to appl y th at Pape rback : 352 page s k now l e dge to your com pute r art. Starting is h e r: Ne w Ride rs Pre s s ;Bk & CD -Rom w ith an in-de pth l ook at w h at actual l y m ak e s Publ up a te xture , h e s h ow s h ow obs e rvation and e dition (Augus t 9 , 2001) tw e ak ing of te xture de tail s can h e l p you Language : Engl is h cre ate re al is tic te xture s .

ISBN: 0735709 181

By ans w e ring a s e rie s of obs e rvational

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Product D im e ns ions : 10.0 x 7.9 x 0.7 inch e s

GALLERIA

TANK Carl os Pe na Cativo |NY, USA Ins piration: W ar I gue s s ...

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GALLERIA

AGE O F STEAM Z s ol t Ste fan |Budape s t, H ungary |Stude nt of Indus trialD e s ign Ins piration: I s aw a s im il ar m ach ine e xh ibite d in a national"h is toric park ", bas ical l y a h uge ope n air m us e um .

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GALLERIA

AGE O F STEAM Z s ol t Ste fan |Budape s t, H ungary |Stude nt of Indus trialD e s ign Ins piration: Th is w as m y e ntry to th e firs t round of th e firs t Bl e nde r W orl d Cup, it re ce ive d th e m os t vote s ! Th e topic w as "Prototype s you th ink w il lne ve r be m ade ".

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GALLERIA

ANT Al e xande r M e tz |Karl s ruh e , Ge rm any Ins piration: Ins piration is th e cl as s icalconfl ict be tw e e n nature and te ch nol ogy.

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GALLERIA

TH E D RAGO N Carl os R. Bis q ue rtt |Ch il e Ins piration: Th e Gre at Space D ragon from "GAIKING"anim e

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GALLERIA

M otorcycl e M ich ae lTh ao Ins piration: I w ante d to do s om e th ing th at I w as uncom fortabl e w ith s o I de cide d on a H onda VTX 1800. I am not a m otorcycl e or car fanatic, jus t anoth e r com pute r ge e k /graph ics artis t. I l e arne d al ot about m y m ode l l ing s tyl e and m ode l l ing in ge ne ral .I aim e d for m e ch anicalauth e nticity and fak e d noth ing. H undre ds of obje cts (incl uding individuals cre w s , nuts , and w as h e rs ) and m il l ions of pol ygons .

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GALLERIA

O PERATO R D on Kim |Potom ac, M aryl and. USA Ins piration: Th e ge ne ralins piration cam e from s e ve ralpl ace s . Th e re are touch e s of H al o, th e Unre alunive rs e , and oth e r s cie nce fiction gam e s . Th e s e w e re al loriginal l y inte nde d to be as s e ts for a s h ort fil m th at I w ante d to m ak e . I de cide d th ough th at m y s k il l s at th at point w e re n't e nough to do th e s tory and jus tice . Th e bas ic pre m is e th ough w as a futuris tic, s ort of pos t apocal yptic w orl d, and th e s e w e re obje cts in a s cie ntific m il itary re s e arch ins tal l ation of s om e s ort.

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GALLERIA

Rol and H e s s |Pitts burgh , Pe nns yl vania, US. Tim e Invol ve d: a coupl e of ye ars ago, s o, l ik e s ix h ours a pie ce ?

Ins piration: None .

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GALLERIA

M e ch Gabrie lBe l oin |QuĂŠbe c Canada Ins piration: M e ch W arrior 4

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GALLERIA

Pol icarpov I-16 Al varo

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CRED ITS

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Al varo Luna Bautis ta w as born in 19 72.

H e is an Arch ite cturalD rafts m an and curre ntl y re s ide s and w ork s in Spain. H is favorite h obbie s are re ading and bl e nding.

Gaurav Naw ani is a graph ics artis t at IronCode Softw are .

H e is an ope n s ource e nth uis as t and l ove s w riting articl e s as a fre e l ance r. Apart from h is us ual h abbits of ph otograph y and trave l ing h e dabbl e s w ith cook ing ; )

H i, m y nam e is Sandra Gil be rt, (ak a dre am s gate ). I h ave be e n us ing bl e nde r for a l ittl e ove r five ye ars . I curre ntl yl ive in Nam pa, Idah o, USA and w ork as a graph ic de s igne r for a s m al l print s h op. I’m m arrie d and h ave 2 ch il dre n, w h ich l e ave s not ne ar e nough tim e for fe e ding m y grow ing bl e nde r obs e s s ion. Ye t s om e h ow I al w ays m anage to find th e tim e to e xpl ore ne w fe ature s , k e e p up on th e l ate s t ne w s and s tart ne w bl e nde r proje cts . Som e of th e m I actual l y e ve n m anage to finis h .

Ste fano <S68> Se l l e ri, w as born in Viare ggio (LU), Ital y on 19 68. H e m e t Bl e nde r in 2000, by re ading of v. 1.72 on a com pute r m agazine but it w as onl y in 2001 and v. 2.23 th at Bl e nde r be gan to e at a l ot of h is tim e . H e us e s Bl e nde r m ainl y for artis tic s til l s (at l e as t h e be l ie ve s s o) and, to a l e s s e r e xte nt, for anim ation. H e w as aw arde d th e Suzanne Aw ard 2003 for Be s t Art. H e al s o produce s and m aintains s e ve rals cripts , m ainl y conce ive d as m ode l ing and anim ation aid. Th e s e can be found in th e bs tar re pos itory of th e ce ntralBl e nde r CVS s e rve r (cvs .bl e nde r.org).

H e is al s o invol ve d in th e adm inis tration of e l Ys iun, s ince 2002 and, s ince th e n h e is al s o de e pl y invol ve d in Bl e nde r Foundation, organizing and coordinating Bl e nde r docum e ntation board e fforts at m aintaining Bl e nde r docum e ntation, as w e l las active l y w riting.

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Pre vie w ISSUE 2

Avail abl e in Jan2006 Th e m e : 'Anim ation'

H igh l igh ts

Articl e s from th e 'Suzane aw ards w inne rs ' about th e ir prize w inning e ntrie s .

Ne w s from proje ct 'O range '.

Tutorial s Re vie w s Gal l e ry

D ISCLAM ER bl e nde rart.org doe s not tak e any re s pons ibil ity both e xpre s s e d or im pl ie d for th e m ate rialand its nature , or accuracy of th e inform ation w h ich is publ is h e d in th is PD F m agazine . Al lth e m ate rial s pre s e nt in th is PD F m agazine h ave be e n produce d w ith th e e xpre s s e d pe rm is s ion of th e re s pe ctive auth ors . bl e nde rart.org and th e contributors dis cl aim al lw arrantie s , e xpre s s e d or im pl ie d, incl uding, but not l im ite d to, im pl ie d w arrantie s of m e rch antabil ity or fitne s s for a particul ar purpos e . Al lim age s and m ate rial s pre s e nt in th is docum e nt are printe d/re printe d w ith e xpre s s e d pe rm is s ion from th e auth ors .

Th is PD F m agazine is arch ive d and avail abl e from th e bl e nde rart.org w e bs ite . Th e bl e nde rart m agazine is m ade avail abl e unde r Cre ative Com m ons 'Attribution-NoD e rivs 2.5' l ice ns e .

Th e CC l ice ns e is avail abl e at h ttp://cre ative com m ons .org/l ice ns e s /by-nd/2.5/l e gal code

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