Considering other Blender short films I've seen, I'm actually very impressed with the sync and voice work. I mean the other stuff is nice, but that especially.
If anyone has tried to use Blender and failed miserably (like me), take another look.
It is simply THE Best Deal out there. Not just because it's FREE, but because it also is extremely powerful.
Witness the Sintel video. And the new GUI, while not as intuitive as Carrara, is
not that difficult to learn. And no false modesty, if I can do it, trust me, anyone can do it!!!
The new Cycles renderer is wonderful, and blazing fast when used with an NVIDIA CUDA GPU......e.g.
my GTX460 2gb graphics card renders 10X(!!!) faster than the Phenom II 955 CPU on the same computer. =O
I also have it (2.63a) set up to render with Yafaray, Octane Render, 3Delight, and LuxRender. But really like Cycles, especially
since it is so fast (with CUDA).
I still use and love Carrara & Bryce, but highly recommend Blender. It does amazing physics animations.
*Cough* Well,don't witness the Sintel video if you're easily depressed. It suffers from Short Film Ending Syndrome. It is a fantastic piece of work, though.
Old Yeller is depressing...Sintel is a ton of bricks dropping on your kitten, the day your car dies on your way back home from a root canal kind of film.
I agree. Sintel was ... IS an amazing piece. I was under the impression that we were going to have an abrupt ending but it ended well but left you wanting more. I can't believe all that was achieved in Blender. The part where she is going through the bamboo jungle was just so vibrant and lovely. The Dragons were exceptional and the old wise man.. WOW! The main character was very likable and you wanted to see her succeed and felt her pain as she realized her fatal mistake.
If anyone has tried to use Blender and failed miserably (like me), take another look.
It is simply THE Best Deal out there. Not just because it's FREE, but because it also is extremely powerful.
Witness the Sintel video. And the new GUI, while not as intuitive as Carrara, is
not that difficult to learn. And no false modesty, if I can do it, trust me, anyone can do it!!!
The new Cycles renderer is wonderful, and blazing fast when used with an NVIDIA CUDA GPU......e.g.
my GTX460 2gb graphics card renders 10X(!!!) faster than the Phenom II 955 CPU on the same computer. =O
I also have it (2.63a) set up to render with Yafaray, Octane Render, 3Delight, and LuxRender. But really like Cycles, especially
since it is so fast (with CUDA).
I still use and love Carrara & Bryce, but highly recommend Blender. It does amazing physics animations.
To anyone who uses Blender......even if for several years, I would always recommend adding Bryce (it's FREE, too!)
and Carrara7Pro (may be free sometime soon?).
Blender can do it all, but Bryce & Carrara can do wonderful art & animations, and much quicker & easier given the
huge amount of content that come with both. And Hexagon is a decent modeler.
I doubt I'll be using Blender any time soon to create realistic skies & terrains. But I'm having a great time with it
none the less.
The best tool for the job may not always be Blender......or Carrrara or Bryce or VUE or C4D, or LW, or Maya etc
I've got Scales and I'm going to try rigging her (?)...she was a hard one to find. Most of the other models, including Sintel, herself, were pretty easy. All of them are under a CC license, so I'm surprised that they haven't already been 'Poserized'
That is once Paolo helped me grasp the entirety of the complete suite.
Custom vertical docking (now default in 2.5 series), and a custom setup room for every flavor; Modeling/Sculpting, Texturing, UV-ing, Rendering, LuxRendering, Dynamics, and 3D Painting. Similar to my different rooms in both Poser, and Carrara.
I still have that 2.49 installed, and play in it every now and then. Still love that UI...
Don't get me wrong, though, I love the 2.5 series. Especially since they have been working so hard on the modeling tools to be on par with Wings3D.
That's right, I said Wings3D...
Blender isn't quite there yet, but is getting there slowly but surely. Eventually, I can see myself completely abandoning W3D, and use Blender exclusively for my modeling tasks. For now, I'm content with my W3D/Blender/Hexagon/Metasequoia workflows.
re: Wings3D........another under-rated app. I tried it a few times, and didn't get anywhere,
but after seeing what David Brinnen has done with it, I need to spend some time with it for sure.
re: Blender.......just keeps getting better & better. Not easy, but not that difficult especially
since the makeover with 2.5. I know you and many others like the old gui, but it was
a major stumbling block for me (and many others). To each his own.
"If you like your Blender, you can keep your Blender.......period." :)
There are so many versions to choose from (if you don't need the latest & greatest).
It's just very flexible, and even runs off a flash drive, so very portable. And there seems to be an infinite number
of free tutorials for it as well.
It's especially good for physics sims, e.g. fluids & softbodies. I like Carrara best for bullet physics, and animation.
VUE for terrains & skies. Bryce for abstract art, certain terrains, and materials.
BTW, I've put together many links here if anyone is interested in getting & learning Blender. :) http://www.blenderportal.com/
re: Sintel.....
Depressing?
Old Yeller is depressing…Sintel is a ton of bricks dropping on your kitten, the day your car dies on your way back home from a root canal kind of film.
....LOL! I missed that earlier.......I was only im-pressed, not de-pressed as I still haven't seen the whole thing.
It was done in 2010 by a team that took a year (I think).....but it does show what Blender could do then, and it's evolved quite a bit since then.......the release cycle is about 3months! =O
...until they come up with a "default" camera in the editing window that can be controlled using a pointing device (like other modelling apps have) instead having to key in your movements all the time, I still find it cumbersome to work with.
Something like the Daz "Camera Cube" would be a vast improvement.
...until they come up with a “default” camera in the editing window that can be controlled using a pointing device (like other modelling apps have)
No problema......I just add an empty and a Track To constraint on the camera to point the camera, same as in Carrara with
a Point At Modifier on the camera and a Target Helper Object.
And you can always save it as your startup scene.
Piece of cake. ;)
instead having to key in your movements all the time,
.......not me.....rarely
use keyboard shortcuts......not in a hurry.
I always use keyboard shortcuts in pretty much all my apps, because of chronic CTS and the need to use a pen and tablet instead of a mouse. I can't use the Camera Cube in DS because the pen doesn't give me any control, whereas a mouse would, but would cause me a fair amount of pain after a short time of use.
I'm sure they make modeling more efficient, and help relieve
the strain on the hand and wrist. My models are pretty simple and
I don't have any clients or deadlines to meet.
I was having problems with carple tunnel, but it went away, and
I use the mouse and touch pad without pain now.
They're helpful, but they aren't necessary to use Blender, though that seems to
be a common myth.
Ohhhh Arnica Cream. When I was still studying dancing years ago, the arthritis in my left knee would really hamper me. Then one of the ladies at the studio I was studying at told me about Arnica Cream and it helped. Of course, since joining a gym in 2005, and using the Leg Extensions machine regularly, my knee is very mobile and not painful any more.
I'm sure they make modeling more efficient, and help relieve
the strain on the hand and wrist. My models are pretty simple and
I don't have any clients or deadlines to meet.
I was having problems with carple tunnel, but it went away, and
I use the mouse and touch pad without pain now.
They're helpful, but they aren't necessary to use Blender, though that seems to
be a common myth.
...hotkeys are great in word processor and spreadsheet software where your hands are always on the keyboard. In graphics apps. I find them to be cumbersome and clunky.
...until they come up with a “default” camera in the editing window that can be controlled using a pointing device (like other modelling apps have)
No problema......I just add an empty and a Track To constraint on the camera to point the camera, same as in Carrara with
a Point At Modifier on the camera and a Target Helper Object.
And you can always save it as your startup scene.
Piece of cake. ;)
instead having to key in your movements all the time,
.......not me.....rarely
use keyboard shortcuts......not in a hurry.
Ummm....this is in 2.64, but I don't know how long it has been in Blender.
I never knew about it, until the other day when I saw it in a tutorial...
I once accidentally, somehow, selected Lock Camera to View when it wasn't a view I wanted all the time. Took me a while to figure how to get it "unlocked". ~shakes head~
re: Lock to Object......I knew there probably was more than one way, there usually is.
Thanks, I'll try it. Learn something every day. :)
BTW, I wish the Blender gui was as intuitive as Carrara's, and there are a lot of
small, almost hidden controls, but once you go through the drill a few times,
it becomes much easier, and the fun factor far outweighs the pain & frustration
of learning.
And I don't mean Blender is the all-in-one app for me. It just does some things very well
that I can't do in Carrara (and vice versa). :)
A little late for replys on this thread. My apologies.
For Kyoto Kid, if you are interested:
I was working from a great tutorial yesterday from VscorpianC (Youtube Blender Tuts Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL08F12EB42C5FC51B ) on how to modify the new Toolbar Tabs in 2.70 via Python scripting, and I modified the "3D Navigation" Tab (Addon by demohero, and uriel. I believe already included in Blender 2.70, but can be found here if not: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/3D_interaction/3D_Navigation ) to include a "one-mouse-click" (left-mouse-click on button in tab to activate - no need to hold mouse button, and left-mouse-click anywhere in 3D viewport, or button again, to deactivate) action for basic 3D View camera usage. There are three buttons. One for each action respectively; Rotate, Pan, and Zoom.
I know it is not a 3D Camera Cube, or on-screen usage buttons like those in DAZ Studio, or Hexagon, but it is at least something that does not require one to use any keys on the keyboard.
You need to activate the 3D Navigation Addon in User Preferences, and it will propigate in the new Toolbar Tabs.
First, you have to replace (backup original) the addon Python script with the modified one, and don't forget to save as UI preference, so it remains upon closing/re-opening Blender.
Let me know if you would like me to send you the modified script.
megacal:
I checked out your site, and you did a terrific job on it. Very pleasing, and informative. Thank you for all your hard work, and devoting your time and resources to create it.
franontheedge:
I use Metasequoia for basic 3D painting, sculpting, quick mesh fixing, and modeling that Wings3D can not handle due to it's winged-edge data structure, like double-sided facets, facet modeling, and vertice rips/welds. Also, as a Cel render primer for renderer's such as CelsView, Vidro, and it's own default renderer.
*EDIT: Here is an image showing the view navigation buttons added. I just linked default icons from Blender internal that best illustrated them. Dedicated icons should be made, but good for now:
...I know zilch about scripting. and frankly at this stage of my life and artistic career, am not interested in learning it. Having to write code for creating graphics back in the 80s is what chased me away back then.
As I used to be involved in traditional art media for most of my life before arthritis took that away, I approach 2D/3D CG from an artist's, not a programmer's point of view.
Blender could well be the only computer program I have ever used where within 15 minutes of playing with it cold I was not able to figure out how to use it. There are things that are pretty much standard across every PC program. You right click on something, you select it. You left click on something, you bring up a menu for it. And even though there is variation in camera controls with every program I can pretty much figure them out quickly enough.
Blender. Nope. Barely get any camera control and right clicking just moved a weird target thingy around the screen. The user interface is bombarding me with dozens of windows and menus and none of them are telling me what I want to know.
That the Blender community wanted Andrew Price's head on a pike for suggesting that maybe it was time to give Blender a proper industry standard interface pretty much showed me all I need to know about Blender. It's not going to change because the community 1) refuses to acknowledge it needs change, and 2) actively want new users discouraged from using the software.
I'll stick to 3D Coat and enjoy having a clean toilet too.
Well, you can change all of the settings in Blender, including font sizes, interface colors, layout of windows. ALL of them. Or none of them. You cannot do this with all of DAZ's offerings (Carrara, Hexagon, Bryce, even DS).
The layout in Blender may not be standard, I'll grant you that. But the complete flexibility of the user interface is worth anybody's consideration, and should be an industry standard for all software.
I haven't used Blender since something like 2007. I think I managed how to make a vase and add a texture, but the whole thing left me scratching my head. I've come a long way since then, so maybe it's time to revisit Blender again. I plan to buy a 3D printer soon anyway, so it's only a matter of time before we'll need to get reacquainted.
kinda off topic but - Does blender have icons to control the camera like poser does? I'm not use to moving the mouse and middle mouse button to rotate the camera.
Thanks for posting the link to the video but I need to find a tutorial for beginners as opposed to animation.
edit: I just realized that Blender doesn't really have a toolbar or toolbox like Hexagon.
Comments
Ok. Shoot the frog.
Yeah, one more shot, and he'll be quite pickled...
I hear pickled frog is quite delectable! :P
Yuuuck. :D
Considering other Blender short films I've seen, I'm actually very impressed with the sync and voice work. I mean the other stuff is nice, but that especially.
RIBIT, RIBIT... dear me, I have a frog in my throat... RIBIT .... :P
If anyone has tried to use Blender and failed miserably (like me), take another look.
It is simply THE Best Deal out there. Not just because it's FREE, but because it also is extremely powerful.
Witness the Sintel video. And the new GUI, while not as intuitive as Carrara, is
not that difficult to learn. And no false modesty, if I can do it, trust me, anyone can do it!!!
The new Cycles renderer is wonderful, and blazing fast when used with an NVIDIA CUDA GPU......e.g.
my GTX460 2gb graphics card renders 10X(!!!) faster than the Phenom II 955 CPU on the same computer. =O
I also have it (2.63a) set up to render with Yafaray, Octane Render, 3Delight, and LuxRender. But really like Cycles, especially
since it is so fast (with CUDA).
I still use and love Carrara & Bryce, but highly recommend Blender. It does amazing physics animations.
Here's an overview of the new improvements in just released 2.64.
There are gigabytes of free video tutorials........re: my To Do List. =O
The best adjective to describe Blender is not "hard'......it's "awesome"!
Which is why I created this site. http://www.blenderportal.com/
Check it out. ;-)
*Cough* Well,don't witness the Sintel video if you're easily depressed. It suffers from Short Film Ending Syndrome. It is a fantastic piece of work, though.
Depressing?
Old Yeller is depressing...Sintel is a ton of bricks dropping on your kitten, the day your car dies on your way back home from a root canal kind of film.
I agree. Sintel was ... IS an amazing piece. I was under the impression that we were going to have an abrupt ending but it ended well but left you wanting more. I can't believe all that was achieved in Blender. The part where she is going through the bamboo jungle was just so vibrant and lovely. The Dragons were exceptional and the old wise man.. WOW! The main character was very likable and you wanted to see her succeed and felt her pain as she realized her fatal mistake.
that video only prove to me, that programs like carrara and bryce where good and fun in the past and today are a waste to learn.
i never seen a video so good like sintel created with carrara or even bryce software.
learning Blender is indeed fun and lot's of resources available from blender.org
To anyone who uses Blender......even if for several years, I would always recommend adding Bryce (it's FREE, too!)
and Carrara7Pro (may be free sometime soon?).
Blender can do it all, but Bryce & Carrara can do wonderful art & animations, and much quicker & easier given the
huge amount of content that come with both. And Hexagon is a decent modeler.
I doubt I'll be using Blender any time soon to create realistic skies & terrains. But I'm having a great time with it
none the less.
The best tool for the job may not always be Blender......or Carrrara or Bryce or VUE or C4D, or LW, or Maya etc
Whatever rings your bell. ;-)
I've got Scales and I'm going to try rigging her (?)...she was a hard one to find. Most of the other models, including Sintel, herself, were pretty easy. All of them are under a CC license, so I'm surprised that they haven't already been 'Poserized'
Oh? What do you use Metasequoia for?
re: Wings3D........another under-rated app. I tried it a few times, and didn't get anywhere,
but after seeing what David Brinnen has done with it, I need to spend some time with it for sure.
re: Blender.......just keeps getting better & better. Not easy, but not that difficult especially
since the makeover with 2.5. I know you and many others like the old gui, but it was
a major stumbling block for me (and many others). To each his own.
"If you like your Blender, you can keep your Blender.......period." :)
There are so many versions to choose from (if you don't need the latest & greatest).
It's just very flexible, and even runs off a flash drive, so very portable. And there seems to be an infinite number
of free tutorials for it as well.
It's especially good for physics sims, e.g. fluids & softbodies. I like Carrara best for bullet physics, and animation.
VUE for terrains & skies. Bryce for abstract art, certain terrains, and materials.
BTW, I've put together many links here if anyone is interested in getting & learning Blender. :)
http://www.blenderportal.com/
re: Sintel.....
....LOL! I missed that earlier.......I was only im-pressed, not de-pressed as I still haven't seen the whole thing.It was done in 2010 by a team that took a year (I think).....but it does show what Blender could do then, and it's evolved quite a bit since then.......the release cycle is about 3months! =O
...until they come up with a "default" camera in the editing window that can be controlled using a pointing device (like other modelling apps have) instead having to key in your movements all the time, I still find it cumbersome to work with.
Something like the Daz "Camera Cube" would be a vast improvement.
use keyboard shortcuts......not in a hurry.
I always use keyboard shortcuts in pretty much all my apps, because of chronic CTS and the need to use a pen and tablet instead of a mouse. I can't use the Camera Cube in DS because the pen doesn't give me any control, whereas a mouse would, but would cause me a fair amount of pain after a short time of use.
re: Keyboard shortcuts......
I'm sure they make modeling more efficient, and help relieve
the strain on the hand and wrist. My models are pretty simple and
I don't have any clients or deadlines to meet.
I was having problems with carple tunnel, but it went away, and
I use the mouse and touch pad without pain now.
They're helpful, but they aren't necessary to use Blender, though that seems to
be a common myth.
Here is a great product I use for mine and my back. It's a little pricey bit it works really good and worth the money to me. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI7U88G/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Ohhhh Arnica Cream. When I was still studying dancing years ago, the arthritis in my left knee would really hamper me. Then one of the ladies at the studio I was studying at told me about Arnica Cream and it helped. Of course, since joining a gym in 2005, and using the Leg Extensions machine regularly, my knee is very mobile and not painful any more.
For my CTS, I've been wearing these for a long time, and they help --> http://www.docortho.com/fla-pro-lite-wrist-support-knitted-pullover.html
I wear something very similar to this at the gym for my tennis elbow -->
http://www.massagewarehouse.com/products/gel-band-armband-universal-black-11-16/
As long as I leave it on for about 1-2 hours afterward, my arm feels no pain any more. My personal trainer suggested it.
...hotkeys are great in word processor and spreadsheet software where your hands are always on the keyboard. In graphics apps. I find them to be cumbersome and clunky.
use keyboard shortcuts......not in a hurry.
Ummm....this is in 2.64, but I don't know how long it has been in Blender.
I never knew about it, until the other day when I saw it in a tutorial...
And yes, it does work...
I once accidentally, somehow, selected Lock Camera to View when it wasn't a view I wanted all the time. Took me a while to figure how to get it "unlocked". ~shakes head~
re: Lock to Object......I knew there probably was more than one way, there usually is.
Thanks, I'll try it. Learn something every day. :)
BTW, I wish the Blender gui was as intuitive as Carrara's, and there are a lot of
small, almost hidden controls, but once you go through the drill a few times,
it becomes much easier, and the fun factor far outweighs the pain & frustration
of learning.
And I don't mean Blender is the all-in-one app for me. It just does some things very well
that I can't do in Carrara (and vice versa). :)
A little late for replys on this thread. My apologies.
For Kyoto Kid, if you are interested:
I was working from a great tutorial yesterday from VscorpianC (Youtube Blender Tuts Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL08F12EB42C5FC51B ) on how to modify the new Toolbar Tabs in 2.70 via Python scripting, and I modified the "3D Navigation" Tab (Addon by demohero, and uriel. I believe already included in Blender 2.70, but can be found here if not: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/3D_interaction/3D_Navigation ) to include a "one-mouse-click" (left-mouse-click on button in tab to activate - no need to hold mouse button, and left-mouse-click anywhere in 3D viewport, or button again, to deactivate) action for basic 3D View camera usage. There are three buttons. One for each action respectively; Rotate, Pan, and Zoom.
I know it is not a 3D Camera Cube, or on-screen usage buttons like those in DAZ Studio, or Hexagon, but it is at least something that does not require one to use any keys on the keyboard.
You need to activate the 3D Navigation Addon in User Preferences, and it will propigate in the new Toolbar Tabs.
First, you have to replace (backup original) the addon Python script with the modified one, and don't forget to save as UI preference, so it remains upon closing/re-opening Blender.
Let me know if you would like me to send you the modified script.
megacal:
I checked out your site, and you did a terrific job on it. Very pleasing, and informative. Thank you for all your hard work, and devoting your time and resources to create it.
franontheedge:
I use Metasequoia for basic 3D painting, sculpting, quick mesh fixing, and modeling that Wings3D can not handle due to it's winged-edge data structure, like double-sided facets, facet modeling, and vertice rips/welds. Also, as a Cel render primer for renderer's such as CelsView, Vidro, and it's own default renderer.
*EDIT: Here is an image showing the view navigation buttons added. I just linked default icons from Blender internal that best illustrated them. Dedicated icons should be made, but good for now:
...I know zilch about scripting. and frankly at this stage of my life and artistic career, am not interested in learning it. Having to write code for creating graphics back in the 80s is what chased me away back then.
As I used to be involved in traditional art media for most of my life before arthritis took that away, I approach 2D/3D CG from an artist's, not a programmer's point of view.
Blender could well be the only computer program I have ever used where within 15 minutes of playing with it cold I was not able to figure out how to use it. There are things that are pretty much standard across every PC program. You right click on something, you select it. You left click on something, you bring up a menu for it. And even though there is variation in camera controls with every program I can pretty much figure them out quickly enough.
Blender. Nope. Barely get any camera control and right clicking just moved a weird target thingy around the screen. The user interface is bombarding me with dozens of windows and menus and none of them are telling me what I want to know.
That the Blender community wanted Andrew Price's head on a pike for suggesting that maybe it was time to give Blender a proper industry standard interface pretty much showed me all I need to know about Blender. It's not going to change because the community 1) refuses to acknowledge it needs change, and 2) actively want new users discouraged from using the software.
I'll stick to 3D Coat and enjoy having a clean toilet too.
Well, you can change all of the settings in Blender, including font sizes, interface colors, layout of windows. ALL of them. Or none of them. You cannot do this with all of DAZ's offerings (Carrara, Hexagon, Bryce, even DS).
The layout in Blender may not be standard, I'll grant you that. But the complete flexibility of the user interface is worth anybody's consideration, and should be an industry standard for all software.
I haven't used Blender since something like 2007. I think I managed how to make a vase and add a texture, but the whole thing left me scratching my head. I've come a long way since then, so maybe it's time to revisit Blender again. I plan to buy a 3D printer soon anyway, so it's only a matter of time before we'll need to get reacquainted.
kinda off topic but - Does blender have icons to control the camera like poser does? I'm not use to moving the mouse and middle mouse button to rotate the camera.
Thanks for posting the link to the video but I need to find a tutorial for beginners as opposed to animation.
edit: I just realized that Blender doesn't really have a toolbar or toolbox like Hexagon.