Blender thread

[T_Rex]

Pursuant to SnakeMan's request here's a thread about Blender.

http://www.blender.org/

It also has a portable/standalone version, and there are usually portable versions available here:
http://portableapps.com/search/node/blender

Blender is probably THE most popular free 3d modeling app available. The main thing I like about Blender is that it is free.

But, there are other free 3d apps, but the thing that really sets Blender apart is the HUGE community. There are dozens of places to get support, including various forums (official and unofficial), a "newsletter," tutorial sites, and youtube vids.

It is fully featured. In addition to the 3d modeling part, it also has animation editing/rigging, a basic game engine and some basic compositing features. In fact, I only have a vague idea of all the other things it can do, since I don't get much deeper than the 3d modeling part.

Here's a link to a "box" modeling tutorial I did a long time ago for Blender, of a shotgun:
http://lowpolycoop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=73

Another tutorial on transparency:
http://lowpolycoop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=75

And another on UV mapping in Blender:
http://lowpolycoop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=74

(Note, some of these might not be quite right now, as those were ~ 3 years ago. Holy CRAP I can't believe it has been that long.....)

It shows that you can, in a relatively short amount of time, start modeling some fairly complicated designs.

I also like the plugins. It can import/export just about any format, and there are enough Blender-folks around that if there is a need for something, someone somewhere will be working on a plugin for it.

Here are some disadvantages I have seen people complain about:
- Lack of focus. As all of us here know when it comes to community development projects, management can be an issue. In some ways, Blender does try to do alot of things well, instead of one thing REALLY well.

- Lack of cross-over. The Blender interface is.... unique. It relies on keystrokes ALOT, and the whole paradigm for how it does things is different from the big retail 3d modeling suites. So, if you learn on one of those, it might be difficult to go to Blender. And, if you learn on Blender, it may be difficult to switch to anything else. Also, I have heard that it is not tablet-friendly. It will work with a tablet, but not as well as some other payware apps.

So, I hope that is the kind of thing you're looking for, SnakeMan.

[Snake Man]

Thanks for posting that overview. Its always nice to hear from real person how some software feels like, instead of visiting the mentioned software's homepage itself.

One question, can Blender read those FSX/FS2004 .mdl model files?

[T_Rex]

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8298

Looks like someone has a workflow for that.

[Snake Man]

So in other words; no. Or did I misunderstand that whole topic, I mean it takes all kinds of damned SDK's and additional cmd line util / stuff to get the mdl file into Blender?

[T_Rex]

Well, I thought the python scripts (which is the language of choice for Blender addons) will let you do it without the scripts. When I googled it, there are lots of hits on Blender FSX. There may also be an intermediate step possibility, especially if you are willing to sacrifice the animations.

Edit:
This link, at the bottom, too....

http://www.scenery.org/design_utilities_gmax.htm

[vektorboson]

Here's a link to a "box" modeling tutorial I did a long time ago for Blender, of a shotgun:
http://lowpolycoop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=73

Thanks for that link and tutorial!

Do you know of any other low-poly-modelling tutorials for Blender? I probably have used the wrong search terms, or perhaps there are just aren't many.
I'd like to know of a tank-modelling tutorial; especially how to make tank tracks easily. For games, the tracks should be a very simple model with the texture being repeated in one direction. Thus to animate the tracks, only the texture coordinates need to be moved.

[T_Rex]

hehe

There are lots of Blender tuts available. Some of the best are actually at youtube - "blender tutorial" gets all sorts of hits. For a tank, I'd suggest a beginner car tutorial (I actually started one of those a long time ago) and the animations for the wheels might carry over. :thumbs: