Planet Blender

PH2PC Storyboards - Sequence 3
Prince Harming To Prince Charming - 2010-01-31 23:03:48

Sequence 3 of PH2PC short. I think this was created by Jana.

This sequence is when Turk goes to Yubiy’s school for the first time.

Blender Developers Meeting Notes
BlenderNation - 2010-01-31 19:26:33

The (almost) weekly update from the Blender Developers. Ton Roosendaal writes: Hi all, 1) Current projects Joerg (Nexyon) has Ogg Vorbis and Theora sound worknow. Wav and flac coming. Shaul reports that Lux Render project moved to 2.5 integration. Thomas reminds us to the module owner list again. Should get more priority now! 2) Next 2.5 release Brecht compliments everyone with bug tracker [...]

Bits of Blender #39 and #40
Art + Logic - 2010-01-31 18:54:00

My boy, Richard, and I have come out of a long hiatus. We just made two new episodes of Bits of Blender. We're getting back into the swing of things so pardon any rough edges. We're doing some things a little differently, the biggest change is we now publish at at higher resolution. I am also (finally) giving Vimeo a try (I've had an account forever but hadn't taken the time), they look so nice there.

For those of you not familiar with "Bits", it is a set of casual tutorials done by my 10-year old and me. We do them both for fun and to serve as a video reference of many Blender features. We're warming up so we are ready for 2.5. These cover in 2.49b. Enjoy!

Scene 01 Layout
Sintel, the Durian Open Movie Project - 2010-01-31 15:10:32

Over the past few weeks I’ve started doing “Layout” work for Sintel. Layout is the stage where we figure out the basic character blocking (in this case choreography), camera angles and movement, as well as the timing and rhythm of the edit. At this point the sets and environments are also roughed out in low-poly form. The design of the environments greatly influence blocking, as well as composition/shot design.

Much of these decisions have already been sketched out in storyboards, but layout makes the parameters of sequences much more concrete.

Here is what the opening scene currently looks like:

Much is subject to change. (Especially the first shot.) Predub sound by Jan Morgenstern. I welcome your feedback!

–Colin

Twitter: 2010-01-31
Matt Ebb - 2010-01-31 10:01:00

• no.6 seriously impressive // RT @Colvinius: There goes your afternoon. 20 best extended shots in movies. http://bit.ly/8eIUFs #

5 Worthwhile Purchases For 3d Artists
Blender Guru - 2010-01-31 06:05:49

Ready to turn your hobby into a serious art form? These products will make your life that little bit easier.

1. CrazyBump

This amazing program creates detailed bump maps from any still image you throw at it. Watch the video on their homepage to see a demonstration. It’s simple, easy to use and the results are speak for themselves. Be warned, once you’ve used this program, it’s hard to live without it.

Price: $99 Personal / $299 Commercial License

Buy: crazybump.com

2. 3d World Subscription

Photo by: Hideki Saito

It’s certainly not the cheapest magazine around, but the value you get more than makes up for it. Every issue is jam packed with articles from industry professionals, an inspirational gallery of works, making of feature films and tons of tutorials.

Price: Yearly subscription – $80 UK / $90 Rest of the World

Buy: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

3. CG Textures Membership

It’s no secret that the best place to find textures is CGTextures.com, but whilst the website lets you sign up for free, you are restricted to a tight download quota and smaller sized textures. A paid membership solves all these problems as well as giving you full access to their full sky map range, basically meaning it pays for itself on the first day.

Price: Starting at $65 a year

Buy: cgtextures.com

4. Digital Lighting and Rendering

This best selling book has become the industry standard for learning how to light your scene. From sub surf scattering to caustics, this book will teach you how to make your scene ridiculously good looking. If you’re serious about 3d, this book deserves a spot on your shelf.

Price: $37.80

Buy: amazon.com

5. Graphics Tablet

Photo by: andyp_uk

Whether it’s for 3d sculpting or just sketching out your ideas in photoshop first, a graphics tablet is definitely a good idea. A mouse can be cumbersome to work with at times, so it can help to work at the speed of your thoughts with a much more natural solution. Concept artist, David Revoy recommended the Bamboo Fun as an all round, cost effective tablet with more than enough features for what most artists will need.

Price: $299

Buy: wacom.com.au

So those are my 5 recommendations, what invaluable products do you recommend?

Interview: Joe Eagar | Bmesh Developer
BlenderNation - 2010-01-31 06:00:52

BlenderCookie have published an interview with Joe Eagar, the lead developer of the BMesh project. BMesh will change your life (the Blender-part of your life, that is). From the interview: How will BMesh change the modeling experience for Blender users? Ngon modeling is far superior to quad-limited modeling. It allows you to change topologies much more easily, often [...]