Planet Blender

Modeling for architecture: Scripts to automatically create 3d buildings
Blender 3D Architect - 2010-02-08 19:23:59

One of the primary tasks of an architectural visualization artist is to create a 3d model of an architectural project, in order to add lights and textures to create a realistic visualization of the building. Besides the main architectural project, we sometimes have to work on secondary 3d models or builds to compose the environment [...] Related posts:

1. Basic tutorial on how to model buildings with box modeling From all the techniques available to create 3d models for...
2. Modeling stairs for architectural visualization with scripts in Blender 3D There are a few parts of an architectural visualization project...
3. How to create grass with Blender 3D and LuxRender for architecture Last week I have posted an article here in the...

Creating an Eyeball
Blender Tutorials Downloads Videos & Education - Blender Cookie - 2010-02-08 16:45:34

In this tutorial, I show you how to create a fairly realistic-looking eyeball. The iris is made using a technique (using a circle with fractal subdivisions) I learned from a user named “Handlebar” over on the Blenderartist forums. Support the site – Download includes: High resolution .mov Video .blend file at the state of the tutorial Supporting Textures

http://blendercookie.com

Crossfading audio
Blender Audio Development Blog - 2010-02-08 15:11:42

Got another one: Crossfading python script. Just select two overlapping sound strips in the sequencer and call the crossfade sounds operator. This will create keyframes in the volume animation that do the cross fading.

Landscape
BlenderNation - 2010-02-08 07:00:04

by Michael W This week’s artwork features one landscape, from a set of three, that Michael has produced for a commercial project; Michael writes: Due to a non disclosure agreement there’s not much I can say about the project itself, but I can say that this was an unusual brief: I had two weeks, I had to have a [...]

The perfect laptop!
mike's digital anthology - 2010-02-08 06:37:46

I was window-shopping for laptops today and discovered the amazing Asus UL30 series.  It’s truly an amazing piece of engineering: it’s thin, it’s light, it’s fast, has an insane battery life, and pretty cheap.  Let me break down the specs for you non-geeks:

Core 2 Duo SU7300 Processor:
It has a 1.3Ghz (up to 1.7Ghz with TurboBoost technology), ultra-low-voltage processor manufactured on 45nm technology.  Which really just means the processor can do a LOT of work while barely sipping on your precious battery.  Honestly, it’s unbelievable how fast this processor is while using less than 10W of power.  [Compare with a 13 MacBook Pro: slightly slower, but uses 1/3rd the power)

Nvidia G210M 512MB and Intel 4500 Graphics:
This .93 inch thin laptop has TWO graphics cards.  The Nvidia G210 is probably the fastest graphics card available on a 13 inch laptop.  It's build on 40nm technology, and uses a max of 14W of power, which is still impressive for a graphics card of this caliber.  The Intel is slower, but uses even less power.  You can toggle between the 2 to trade off performance for battery life. [Compare with a 13" MacBook Pro:  The Asus is twice as fast, while using the same amount of juice]

4GB DDR3 RAM:
Also, the laptop can support a max of 8GB of memory, you know… in case you need that much. [Same as Macbooks.]

13inch LED-lit Screen:
LED also means it’s uses less power than regular backlights. [same as Macbooks]

12 hour battery life:
…or so Asus claims, you can probably expect 10 hours of real world usage, and maybe 4-5 hours of gaming/heavy 3D work. [much longer than the MacBook Pros]

Design:
Not quite on par with Apple’s drool inducing one-piece aluminum finish, but it’s one of the nicer laptops I’ve seen (once you get rid of all the stickers).  The design is obviously Macbook inspired.  And it’s really light and thin.

Price:
$800 USD.  I know you can get an even faster 15″ laptop for $900, but the battery life and portability also suffers as you up the screen size.  13″ with this amount of computing power is perfect.  It also comes with all the standard bells and whistles: webcam, bluetooth, 802.11n, and a half terabyte harddrive.

The bottom line:
if you are looking for a portable powerhouse, take a closer look at this laptop.  If you want raw power and don’t care about battery life, skip this.

* I do not own this laptop, nor did I got paid to write this, I was just excited that I finally found a laptop that seems to be everything I am looking for.

Sequencer Audio Update
Blender Audio Development Blog - 2010-02-08 00:26:30

Hi there! I’ve just committed the next bigger audio update to blender 2.5. The sequencer audio should work very good now, except the audio-video sync that’s still missing, but will be tackled soon. Moreover I’ve also done some other changes and I’m now able to remove the following points from the TODO list: Make it [...]