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Consolidating Armatures in Blender 2.9x
I have a stack of FBX files: one has a mesh, the others have animations, but all of them have an armature. I'd like to combine them into one blender file.
In addition, I just have so many questions as I'm still adjusting to 2.9. In the picture below, a few things arise:

I have two animations (actions) imported, 'GuardIdle' and 'GuardWalk', however in the outliner I only see 'GuardIdle'. Why is this and can I see all of my animations at once in the outliner without moving into Blender File mode?
I have two armatures, 'ArmatureOld' and 'Armature'. I'd like to only have one armature, and I'd like all of my animations to move from 'ArmatureOld' to 'Armature'. Is this possible? I see I can drag my animation in the Outliner but it appears to do absolutely nothing
'Armature' is in T-Pose, but 'ArmatureOld' is on the first frame of the animation 'GuardIdle'. If I just delete 'ArmatureOld' then it seems like only part of the animation moves to 'Armature' - that is, for example, the arms stay pointed out and only the legs move on 'Armature' after I delete 'ArmatureOld'. It is as if the animations are only relative rather than absolute. Is this possible? If so, and my suspicions on this are correct, is there a way to make the key frames absolute in that they move the bones to a designated position rather than move them by an amount relative amount to their last position?
What is NLA and can I avoid using it? Any time I add an animation my outliner adds a NLA Track and [Action Stash]. I have no idea what these things are but I have a feeling like learning how to navigate around them is going to be more trouble than it is worth

Thank you in advance to the kind soul that digs me out of this hot mess. Getting over this one issue has been a mental block for me for many months and I appreciate your time helping me through it


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What changed in Mirror Shape Key (Topology) after 2.83? Trying to achieve symmetry in externally provided topology
I work with avatars that are created in external software and they have a consistent topology and vertex order but often are not perfectly symmetrical.  In 2.83 I was able to add two Shape Keys, mirror the second one by topology, and then do a 50% blend to achieve a nearly perfect model, often in an A-pose.
In Blender 2.8x this worked fine, except for 4 verts at the knee, which are easy enough to edge slide one way and then edge slide 50% back to the middle.  Not perfect, but pretty damn close.  After 2.8x I get 60 verts that fail and they are random throughout the mesh.  It doesn't seem to be related to the import process as the OBJ import script appears to be unchanged.  I get similar failures when trying a sculpt or mesh edit with X topology mirror turned on.  I can keep a copy of 2.8x around just for this purpose, but it would be great if I can figure out what changed and figure out if it can be edited/fixed.
Changing the mesh in terms of vertex or face order is not an option as there is an established pipeline already using these exported meshes.  So, no edits or deleting and adding back verts like you might do to use a mirror modifier.  I've tried the addon referenced in this thread, but it didn't work on these meshes (maybe too complex).  Using the Symmetrize function also inverts the normals, and if you flip the normal back before joining as a shape key the resulting mix is a bunch of verts squished to the 0 X position.

Not the answer you're looking for, but, failing all else, delete half the model and throw a mirror modifier on the other half. Takes a few steps, but It works.

It does work to make a symmetric avatar, but it doesn't help in this case as it resets the vertex order.  I might try it again using the mentioned script and see if that resets the order after applying the mirror modifier.  But so far I haven't been able to get a good result using the script.  Also, the centerline of vertices in the avatar is not aligned to the 0 X position, so it would take some manual adjusting first of those verts.  It also mirrors one side over, instead of averaging the two sides.  But one could mirror two versions, a left biased and right biased, and then average those.

Maybe use Snap to Symmetry instead, under the Mesh menu in Edit Mode. It gives you some sliding scale options that allows you to achieve an averaging of the vertex positions between each side.

Not a bad option, and one I had not tried for some reason, but alas it doesn't produce great results.  Many vertices on both sides are out of whack.  I will try that tool on some other hard surface models in the future to see how it works.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

sort: votes


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Is there a way to make a texture (not an object) always face the camera?
I know how to make an object always face a camera, but is there a way to make a texture on an object always face the camera, regardless of the orientation of the object? (specifically wanting one of two textures applied to an object to do this, as can use it to create a cool kind of portal effect).
Googling has come up with nothing, alas. Does anyone know how I might go about it?

have you tried the Texture Coordinate output called Camera?

You could look into the "Camera" Output of the Texture Coordinate Node. Alternatively use the "Object" Output and select an Empty in the TC Node. If you make that empty face the camera with a Track To Constraint (e.g.), it should have a similar effect, but with more control.

Nevermind, cracked it about 5 mins after posting the question - attach a texture coordinate to a vector transform, set the latter to go from object to camera, then plug into mapping node and then the texture itself. Probably obvious in hindsight! thx to those who answered

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Modeling a Product in blender
I got a problem while making a model of a product. I have tried a lot even seen lots of tutorial but did not get the thing that i want. I am using Blender 9.92 and I am just a beginner I got my hands on Blender 7-8 days ago. I've just basic knowledge about I am trying to model a product "Mattress Topper"

This is the exact look of the product, Help me how i can model this product and render realistic images.

If your question is closed, please do not ask same again.  Modeling a Product

it is totally unrealistic to believe that you can model this realistic after 7 days experience with Blender! Learn (!) the basics. Give yourself time! Set REALISTIC goals. Watch and learn from tutorials and build it and try to understand what happens. Start working! STOP dreaming. Nobody can do realistic products after 7 days of Blender. And you HAVEN'T tried a lot since you tried maximum for 7 days, right!?

If I would have the same realism as you have, my question would be: how can I do Iron Man III with Blender?

It may be possible with Cloth simulation (and Pressure), if you don't succeed you could model this kind of mesh:

Then keep a low-poly version, duplicate, subdivide (with Smoothness at 1) and use the Crease brush in Sculpt mode to get this kind of folds (also use Shift in order to smooth the folds):

You can even use Cloth and Pressure to round it a bit if necessary at this step...
To finish, you can bake the high-poly to the low-poly, create 2 or 3 versions, duplicate to create the whole mattress...
Another solution would be to simply project the image on the volume, with an Unwrap > Project from View. Ideally it would be better to use the b&w folds picture as a Bump image but for some reasons it doesn't work fine in Blender, even in OpenEXR format.

You are totally right. But with 7 days experience I bet he cannot follow your explanation…because he would need a step by step with every click and input explanation.

You may be right but I wanted to give it a try, now at least he has a direction  ;)

Please consider i) going via the channel of editing and or voting to re-open dupe  question (currently one re-open vote  from @David) if you believe it has been unfairly closed.    ii) Adding link from comment

Ok, done, thanks

*in future, in lieu of answering .  to discourage new users from re-asking the exact same question if their original is closed. (Irregardless of whether we agree or not)

sure, my bad  ;)


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How to create perfect overlapping scales on awkwardly shaped meshes
I have several projects that require a seamless overlay of sculpted scales, like a snake or a shark, the end goal of having them 3D printed, where the scales stay in line across the entire body.  What would be the best way to approach this, ive tried sculpting with a texture using tiled and space, but that doesnt allow for seamless transitions across the entire mesh.  Also geomentry nodes and displace modifier, but got undesirable results.

You can try doing image box mapping inside geometry nodes, there still gonna be seam but it will be blended.

question, it seems I dont have some of the nodes you use, like box mapping and scale, how did you set this up?

I attached Box mapping node group blend file to the to my answer, it's custom node group, for scale it's Vector Math node set to Scale

This looks great. Just a sketch of the strategy you adopted inside the Box-Mapping group would really improve your answer, though. As it stands, it's not really self-contained.. it amounts to a link to your group. I know it's a pain to illustrate huge GN trees :( .. but a summary of your approach would do.

Yes, @Higgsas could you add a short description of how the node group works, maybe a screenshot of the contents and logic behind it.

@TomHoefken Hello and welcome. This site is not a regular forum, please don't reply "Thanks" as an answer or comment, instead upvote the post that helped you. If you feel it completely solved your issue consider marking it as accepted.


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How to rotate and spin a cone in a cylinder
Im trying to get my animation of this cone rotating around a cylinder to also spin along is local Z axis while is rotating around the cylinder, how could i do this, ive tried setting new keyframes with each key being rotated -90 degrees but then i get some funky results

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ktQ0dBY6P-Hp7XBbTyE927wioxVHUd9h/view?usp=drive_link
^^^video of how i have it right now, but I want it to spin with the rotation.

parent it to an empty that will rotate 360°?

How would i do that, im also jumping back into animation so ive forgotten a lot.

Do you want it to look like it’s rolling along the inside, or scraping against it?

I want it to roll without slipping, keeping it in line with the rotation its going in

Create an empty at the center of the cylinder, parent the cone to the empty:

Open the Dope Sheet, at frame 1 create a first keyframe for the cone, at frame X create a second that is a 180° rotation for example, press T in order to choose a linerar interpolation, and also press ShiftE to create a linear extrapolation. Do the same for the empty, result:

ah ok, i do want it spinning around the tip of the cone tho, does anything change if I make the axis of ratation the tip?

You can put the empty at the tip of the cone if this is what you ask, then parent the cone to the empty, but it won't change anything in terms of result but maybe i misunderstand?

Yea now its just rotating in place, If you look back at the video you see the cone is on its point, I placed an empty at the tip, parented the cone to the empty, then remade the smooth path, then I selected the empty and rotated it 90 degrees in the Z also the rotation the cone was moving and it is now stuck in place.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iTy-z0gvN9Qh0k4jrpjobrtyJRhysGBo/view?usp=sharing

Chris has given an answer, is it what you want? Or please show a storyboard

i would do it like this:
rotate the cone that it "leans" already to one side of the cylinder

Then just animate the z rotation like this:

it's linear extrapolation

How would you animate the z like that, all ive seen is adding keyframes


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Odd item movement - very blocky?
Some yesterday I accidentally clicked/used a keyboard shortut that screwed up my item movement. Previously, when I used the arrows to move an object, the object would follow along in real time, now, the object seems to move on a tiled grid. It jumps around following my cursor instead of moving fluently.
I'm relatively new to blender, and I can't find an answer to my question anywhere :)
Thanks!

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Any way to customize the color of the text input cursor?

That one, can't find it anywhere.

I do not think that is possible. I checked the general 'User Interface' theme section, the 'Text Editor' cursor colour and I even went so far as to check any items which are blue in the other theme settings just in case they might affect it. Unfortunately none of them did. I also checked other areas of the user preferences as there are a few theme-like settings in other sections but to no avail. While the majority of Blender's interface is customisable, there are a few things which aren't and I think this is one of them.

Could this be added to blender some time, what do you think?

@Monkok It's doubtful, but you never know, it might get included when the UI and themes are looked at in 2.8. Best thing to do is raise it on the BF-Inerface mailing list

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Proper context attribute for a hotkey to toggle mesh display overlays?
I'm lost here, F.I.:
object_data.show_edge_crease

or
active_object.show_edge_crease

doesn't work...
Also, I wonder why isn't there an "add shortcut" option in the RMB menu for this kind of toggable elements?...

Try active_object.data.show_edge_crease  or edit_object.data.show_edge_crease

Thanks! that was it! So, there is no way to set a comment as the answer, right?

Made it an answer.  I Must remember to "avoid answering questions in comments"

The mesh is the data part of the active object hence,
active_object.data.show_edge_crease

or perhaps since it is the edit object:
edit_object.data.show_edge_crease

Sliding down the info area header at the top to reveal the messages gives you the context paths.
As for part ii) of your question adding an "add shortcut" menu, sounds like a good idea.  This can be "hacked" by overriding say the edit translations operator in the menu.


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All falling objects freeze - why?
Hi there I have spent about an hour making some edits to my project only to find that for some reason all the cubes, that I had set to fall and bounce on the plane, now simply hover in mid air.
I have uploaded the project in question below. (or will try to)
I would be very grateful of any help.
Google Drive Blend File
This question was removed as of apparently being solved by an answer given to another question which referenced to reseting the rigid body world cache. This would make sense as I have been editing the FPS. However I have never enabled rigid body world. And it has worked perfectly fine before. I actually originally downloaded this project as a template put have since heavily modified it. I have re downloaded that template and found that it too of course does not have a rigid body world enabled. I can not find out what is wrong because I have realised that I don't know how the cubes ever managed to fall to the ground.
Here is a link to the original template that I used.
Google Drive Original template blend file
Thanks for the quick response that I previously received.

As I said the project is based on a template. I assumed that indeed rigid body world had been enabled for the physics of the cubes. So I really don't know how they were working before and how they should be now. That is why it is so difficult for me to work this out. So no I did not add keyframes. None of the cubes appear on the dope sheet as far as I can see.

@SixthOfFour thank you so much it all works fine now. You have saved me hours of trial and error.


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How can I import an obj sequence into blender?
I have an obj sequence of a fluid simulation from Realflow. I've found a few tools that can import an obj sequence into blender, but most are outdated and don't work. Are there any scripts or plug-ins that can do that?

A better idea is to export it as pc2 or mdd, use a mesh cache modifier and load the sequence.

PC2 and MDD require the same number of vertices and faces per frame, fluid topology changes per frame, so neither of these formats are good.

There is a patch for Blender allowing you to use RealFlow .bin files inside blender.
https://developer.blender.org/T41935
However it looks like the patch is no longer in development, due to alembic support coming very soon.
see: http://lists.blender.org/pipermail/bf-committers/2015-March/045025.html

This answer is a bit late, but I recently developed a Blender add-on for importing OBJ sequences (it also supports STL and PLY). It's called Stop Motion OBJ. It supports objects with changing topology (for example, your fluid simulation). Here's a link to the blenderartists thread where I announced it. Make sure to read through the README on the Github page for some important notes on how to use it.

Wow, how unfortunate we didn't have this back then. My question was for a project were we had to import all fluid-sim OBJs by hand and animate their visibility. It was tiresome. But I can see myself using this for future projects.
The project:
http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/877/share-a-coke-with-arma

Alembic support has been in an uncertain state in Blender. See here for more details. Once it is supported then this will be solved.
Until then this script is able to import OBJ sequences by using Shape keys


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Why is my object appearing as a series of incomplete lines in the 3D view?
So I was just modeling a Pokeball to upload to Deviant Art for fun. And as soon as I left the live preview in object mode as seen here(Picture 1),
I went to start adjusting the camera only to be greeted with this(Picture 2).
The mesh is still fine in edit mode. I am just wondering what it is and why Blender is replacing the spheres with what would belong to a science fiction game.
Thanks in advance :)

Check your Viewport Shading

Change viewport shading from Wireframe to Rendered, Material, Texture or Solid.

To display all the edges in Wireframe Shading enable Draw All Edges in Object Data tab.

I think this happens when a 'Subsurf' modifier is applied with high 'subdivision' values. And when you enter 'Edit mode' and exit it to 'Object mode', then the mesh is almost invisible in 'wireframe shading'. Switching from 'wireframe' to any other shading and back to 'wireframe' is not a solution, unless you want to view it in 'solid mode'. In 'solid shading' the mesh is visible, but I think you want to know how to make the mesh visible in 'wireframe shading' :)
A solution could be to again apply a 'Subsurf' modifier, but set the 'render' value to 0, and 'view' value to 1. So the 'extra' 'subsurf' will not be rendered, but it will make the mesh visible in the 3D view.

For 2.8X Series viewport shading can be adjusted from the popovers on the 3DView header, above the viewport to the right.

Object Display properties and overrides are still in the Properties Window > Object > Viewport  Display as before.


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Why would a displacement with a periodic image not tile smoothly?
I am using a periodic image of noise (1/f noise) to displace a plane, with the displace modifier, into a random lumpy shape. When I connect 2 surfaces the seam is clearly visible and I don't know why. The image is definitely periodic, and if I don't use UV space the texture tiles seamlessly in the middle of the surface, but always shows at the seam of 2 pieces

Any way to get rid of this so I can tile several planes seamlessly?

In the image mapping try to change the extension to one of the available options.

Are you sure you don't have duplicate vertexes? Edit Mode > A (Select All) > Remove doubles

could you share the texture jpg?

The problem is in the smoothing function. As one surface get's near one edge, it doesn't know how the curvature will continue on the other side and the smoothing function sets it as if the object ends there, using no interpolation between the disconnected edges. This happens from both sides of the common edge, and therefore it's quite noticeable.
To correct this, one must edit the vertex normals from each side, to include the derivation from one surface's normal to the other.
However this might be very tedious to do by hand, so I advise a good normal editor addon. For example, Y.A.V.N.E. has one function for this (the merge normals), and all one need is to join the meshes (if in different objects), select the edge vertices, merge the normals and separate the meshes again (if needed).

Your texture could have a tiny little border of 1 pixel on its edges. Edit it in Gimp or Photoshop - Zoom to see if there's a border and crop if necessary.


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how to use dynamic paint weight for texturing object?
I have a dynamic paint with surface type set to weight, which I use to displace my object. What I want to do is to apply the texture (in cycles) to my object based on the dynamic paint weight. Just using attribute node with dp_weight going into colorRamp doesn't work.
Any answers highly appreciated.
-laurin

I've tried to accomplish this as well.
In the point density texture there's an option to source the values from vertex weights. Unfortunately this only seems to work with volumes, as any output that comes from it when used as a surface texture doesn't seem to correspond with the mesh weights.
There's a workaround though, but you have to set your dynamic paint to texture and bake it out, that way you can load it in to Cycles as an image sequence. If you edit the weights you have to re-bake it, so not the most elegant of solutions.
Maybe someone else has a technique that's more efficient?
edit: workaround tutorial

but how cane i avoid losing my weight stuff that i use for the displacement, which is the main part of my project? and the point density thig doesnt seem to work for me. could you share your node setup maybe?

i did it! just add a second canvas with vertex format and paint surface type, disable dry and add dissolve if to the same time fade has on weight paint (if needed) then you have to use the attribute node with dp_wetmap and use the output as fac for anything you want. with that you could recreate the colors weight paint has in obj mode.
works like a charm
ill edit some pics in later

Please do! I'm trying what I think you're saying to do, but still seeing nothing in the 3D view resembling paint happening.I'm just about to install the proper release rather than RC3 of 2.8, so I'll post if I get any results with that...

@MarkS sorry, i haven't used blender in more than a year, and i can't remember asking this question...


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Head mesh displaced
I have made a conversion of a mesh for the Dragon Age 2 video-game, and though the model animates properly in-game, and the weights are fine, I can't get rid of a weird problem with the neck.

As you can see in the picture, there's some sort of gap, as if the head was floating in a misplaced position. The armature of the model is a completely different file which I didn't touch at all. There's not currently any Blender plugin to export edited armatures for Dragon Age 2, so I have to do with the original one (which otherwise works perfectly).
I tried setting the armature as parent for all the mesh chunks (as was the case with the original mesh) but still nothing. I also set the body as parent for the head without results.
What am I doing wrong?
Here's the .blend file, in case it helps (it was made with Blender 2.49, because the import/export plugins don't work in newer versions):
http://www.filedropper.com/scenefixed5

If you join the head and the torso meshes, and check the weights of Vertex Group Chest2 you can see thats the weighs are different between the separate parts. That is the reason why during the animation the meshes are separating.
The solution is to equalize the weights between the meshes, I would suggest using blur brush in weight paint mode.

I tried that but it didn't work. It's as if the mesh ignored any weight paint. It looks the same no matter the color of the neck vertex.


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Moving around the object wiith Alt key + Left Mouse Button
I am new to Blender using it in Linux OS. I have tried to move the button with ALT+LMB. I have selected Emulate 3D Mouse Button from the user preference. The select with option is set to Right. But it is not working.

Keep this settings and do not forget to save user settings and close


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Dark conical shape appeared in solid view clipping display of objects
I was setting up a render border, but instead must have pressed something wrong (I'm not sure what) and this is what I ended up with:

Basically, there is a darker, conical or pyramid shape in the solid view and it restricts (clips) what parts of items are visible.
I want to disable it, but because I don't know how it is called or what I did to enable it in the first place, I can't find the option.
What is this feature called and how to disable it?

By accident you set View Clipping Border with Alt+B shortcut, to disable it hit Alt+B again.


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How to add a bone to an already animated armature, to deform a curve?
I know it has something to do with hooks but I can't control the curve with it.

Hello, maybe give a bit more details, in Edit mode you can add bones, and to hook you need to select the bone in Edit or Pose mode, switch back to Object mode, shift select the curve, switch to Edit mode, select the curve vertex you want, press Ctrl H > Hook to Selected Bone

thanks a lot , i wanted to add a bone to an existing animated armature and it worked.

Im not sure if you want to add bones to an exisitng armature, or "stick" separate armature to another one.
In first case, in edit mode you can:

subdivide existing bones - click rmb on the bone and choose subdivide
grow new one from exisitng - select on of the bones in armature and press "E"
duplicate one of the exisitng ones - select one and press shift+D

If you want to connect armature to another one, so it will follow it animation then:

select armature you want to attach to
change to edit mode, select bone wihch movement you want your additional armature to follow
change to object mode
select aramture you want to attach
with shift select armature you want to attach to
press ctrl+P and from pop up menu choose "bone" - it will then use the bone you selected in edit mode as the one which transfomrations new armature will follow


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How can I make a dynamic plastic bag?
I want to make a plastic bag with crumples and appropriate mesh folding, to look something like this:
...and interact realistically with other forces such as force fields, having objects put into it:
...or in my case, folding it around a trash bin:

So does anyone know how to achieve such result in Blender? Never really seen this be done before :P. Thanks.

Maybe a texture for the folds and bumps in rest position, and maybe a cloth sim to get the physics right for the stretching and key frame the effect of the texture, so that it dissipates at full stretch.

That doesn't really clarify much, the texture needs to displace, stretch, crumple and generally behave in a very specific way. The cloth simulation needs to be perfectly well set for it to work right. That's the thing I was asking an answer for in the first place.

I've sculpted hires before of the bag I have made and used it to bake a displacement map and normal map to affect the lowpoly model of the bag. I then used physics and cloth sims to get the low poly to stretch and then I keyframed the value of the displacement texture down at the point of full stretch.

That makes more sense now that I think about it, but if the bag stretched in only one point then turning the whole displacement down wouldn't really work, unless there is a way to tell the value where the stretched points are and where they are not.

Maybe check this option: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/32043/how-does-the-cloth-stiffness-scaling-option-work you could paint randomly to have some stiff parts as folds.

And you can also use more than one mapped texture and key frame multiple values. Using maybe three textures, you could create more variation altogether.

Check this one out: Free addon! https://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?345542-Addon-Tension-Map

That could actually be really useful for what I want to achieve, thanks for sharing!


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Why does the texture appear like this after adding a planet map texture to a UV Sphere?
How do I get the proper earth texture wrapping around the solid? I am listing how I executed it. Please show me where I am going wrong.
Here is a link to how I did it: https://vid.me/WpjH
Created a UV Sphere
Adding Material

Adding Texture

After Render
How do I fix this. How do I get the earth texture like it should be?

It appears by your map you have a mercator projection: Related    http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/10741/what-is-the-best-way-to-unwrap-a-sphere/13928#13928  http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/3315/how-to-get-perfect-uv-sphere-mercator-projection   Personally I like the grid warp warp method.

When creating the UV Sphere, tick Generate UVs in the left toolbar so the sphere is correctly unwrapped for applying that Earth texture.

just wanted to ask if i add Under Teturetab/ Mapping/Projection-->Sphere, then why does the image gets jumbled up?

I think you need also change the Coordinates to Generated. I personally never use this tab, sorry. I always use UV unwrapping.

authors: Лиза Михайленко


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How to apply texture on an object?
I am following some tutorials to cast a texture on a cylender so it is expected to be like a blood vessel. However, selecting any of these texture such as noise or clouds, etc... there will be no change on the surface. Please help have a look. Thanks in advance.

Blender file:

Reading "following some tutorials" I am wondering, are they doing it there? And if so, what are you doing differently so it does not work on your model?

@GordonBrinkmann sometimes can't be replicated.

But I'm very confident that they didn't choose a texture there to use it in the material shader. If so, I would really be interested in those tutorials and how they did it, because they are usually either used for brushes or displacement. So maybe they painted a texture and brought it in with an Image Texture node, but you cannot simply select a texture there from the dropdown and see it appear on the surface of the model.

For some technical reasons that someone will explain, you can't use the textures that are available in the Texture panel for your material, they are for Displace modifier for example. If you want to use a procedural texture for your material, press ShiftA in the Shader Editor and create a Texture > Noise Texture for example, and plug it into a Converter > ColorRamp that you plug into the Base Color of your Principled BSDF:

The 'Legacy' texture system has been legacy for quite a while, now. I imagine, eventually, it will be wired into the nodes framework. But at the moment it lives on in the Displacement modifier, Sculpting and Painting.
If you create an Image Texture for your material, you can Texture-Paint into the chosen image, using a legacy texture as a brush. Here, the luminance of the image is being used to select color from a Color Ramp:

You can view the effect in Material Preview, as you paint:


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Update String Property Every Time a Key is Pressed
I need to get what's been typed as it's happening.
The update function in a string property is only called when the typing is finished. Unfortunately I wasn't able to circumvent that.
So, is there a way to force an update to the property every time something is typed? Or retrieve the value directly from UILayout.prop?

The TEXTEDIT_UPDATE option is what you are looking for.
See this answer for more information.

Ops, I swear I did a search beforehand :P. Thank you!


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Duplicate objects not showing up in render
My duplicated objects are not showing up in the render. Visibility is on and Show In Renders is checked. I feel like I've tried everything. What am I missing?
I'm using cycles.

In the file you share you have keyframed your object, it has a location that is not the one you show, if you want to make sure that this object stays at the good position you need to keyframe it again, is it your problem here?

That was it, thank you!

In the file you share you have keyframed your object, it has a location that is not the one you show, if you want to make sure that this object stays at the good position you need to keyframe it again?


text:
How to render a large number of stacked glass sheets
I am trying to render a large number of glass sheets stacked on top of each other (42 to be precise)
I bumped up the transmission bounces amount to 50 just to be sure. set up a simple 'office' environment with some area lights and 3 white walls to have some interesting refractions. I am also using HDRI as a light source.
Is there some general shader that would work well with this kind of setup (stacked glass)? Do i need to worry about different interfaces (Glass to glass, glass to air)?
See below images for the materials and sample render.
Light paths settings

Material on top side of the glass sheet (as you can see the difference is that i use 'Is transmission ray' instead of 'Is reflection ray', also i add an image with it's alpha as a factor, the image is a mostly transparent png image with some text on it)

Material on sides and bottom of the glass sheet

test render with above settings

I am aiming at maximum realism yet the glass still looks unrealistic and it is "dark" inside no matter how many transmission bounces i use, How can i improve it?
I attached slightly simplified scene so you can see roughly how i proceeded.

Is your office scene a closed space? Unless i misunderstood using an HDR image may be overkill or unneeded here if the rendered scene is totally indoors. Maybe it can save you some resources and processing power that can be better employed elsewhere.

For added realism you glass itself looks pretty good to me already, try working on the scene around it instead. Improve lighting, add some materials perhaps a bit of dolor here and there. Those things help increase the immersion, and help with the reflection and refraction.

FIRSTLY, do you have photo reference? ;-) This render might actually BE really realistic, but your eye is fooled because your brain knows that it's fake. Also, photo reference will help you be specific about what changes to make.
The basic glass and transparent shaders aren't terribly realistic by default. You'll want to look into Physically Based glass shaders. It's a complicated subject, especially for Blender, but essentially you'll build your own shader with a transparent shader, a refraction shader (it doesn't do any reflection), and a glossy shader. You'll put these individual components together with mix shaders, modulating the factor on them with Fresnel or Layer Weight input.
The full details are a bit beyond the scope of this site, but searching for "physically based glass" should get you closer. Also looking at how people have built "fresnel glossy" shaders for Blender will be helpful because the principle is similar.
Here's a helpful link, for as long as it's available: http://www.chocofur.com/6-shadersamptextures.html
It would also be helpful to add a colored checker pattern and/or noise pattern behind and under the glass just for production, so you can see what's going on a little more easily. Then remove it once you get everything right. These stark white, grayscale environments can be very tricky.
Hope that helps!

Thanks Matt! It was a very helpful answer! My glass shader is near perfect recreation of Chocofur's glass shader, however I am worried that some settings would have to be different where the glass sheets "touch" (in my scene i left some space between the glass sheets for correct refraction calculations). I understand that the environment and lighting is what makes glass look real, hence that's why i put time into building something simple around it, the back of the room is open so some coloured light from the environment map gets in.

You're right that where the sheets touch will be an odd case, but I don't know that there's anything you can do about it in the shader. Maybe, but I don't think so. I'd also recommend that in Light Paths, you crank everything up to the max 128 (aka Full GI). Turn on "Progressive" in the performance section and just let it render for as long as you can (overnight). Sometimes "problems" are merely the result of not doing enough calculations.

...and it'd be nice to see an update, if you have new images ;-)


text:
BGE: Why the physics simulation plays different with different time scales?
Actually, many questions in one.
I've downloaded the .blend from this answer, and after playing around with it, it's very easy to notice that the physics simulations results are different with different time scales.
Is this a bug or just the way the simulation works?
If it's how the simulation works, then, the TimeScale is not exactly a precise time scale for the physics simulation, it's just an indication of how many physic steps are calculated for each frame?
Does Bullet Physics uses the semi-fixed time step described in this article? Where floating point precision inlfuences the simulation results each time the simulation is ran.
The documentation says that

a too large value may lead to some physics instabilities

So, is there a way to correct it?
I'm no game engine expert, so, if I sad something wrong, please correct me.
Thanks in advance.


text:
How do I navigate the Outliner using the keyboard?
When I click on any item in the Outliner, and press Up or Down on the keyboard, I expect the selection to move, but nothing happens. Is there any way to enable keyboard navigation of the Outliner? Also, is there a shortcut to rename the currently selected object (like F2 in Windows Explorer)?
What I want to do is rename many objects from Object.001, etc. to informative names quickly.

Double clicking on a name in the outliner will allow you to edit it. Every name needs to be unique.

Would like to know this too - and just to state this: apparently you cannot navigate nodes in Outliner with arrow up or down keyboard keys; when I press those keys in Outliner in Blender 2.79, it tells me "No more keyframes to jump to in this direction", meaning those keys there are reserved for navigating animation keyframes. I would have hoped there are other keys for navigating Outliner nodes, though...

This functionality has been added as of Blender 2.8
You can now rename with F2 from anywhere in the application, and navigate the Outliner with the keyboard (arrow keys).
Also in the Outliner, F2 works to rename the object under the mouse cursor. Ctrl + F2 will batch rename multiple selected objects.
However be advised: when in Outliner, although you can now navigate and select objects with the keyboard, F2 will always rename the object under the mouse cursor, not the object selected. (This is infuriating behaviour, and if anyone knows how to change it please let me know!)

The behavior of F2 (renaming the object under the mouse cursor instead of selected object) is fixed now (it seems).


text:
Parenting a mesh to a particle
I have made a character with particle hair. The hair is dynamic and it works fine. I want to attach beads to a strand, so that it moves along with the strand of hair. However, I can not find the right button to do this.
If this is possible, how can it be done?

if no button is available, try using python read particle position and assign  it to the bead

I tried to use AnimationNodes to get this effect, but the AN "particles from object" doesn't seem to have the correct information for hair particle systems.


text:
Converting from quads to triangulated mesh
I have a mesh that has been created in MakeHuman. I have imported it into blender to apply some python scripts on it. But, they require that the mesh must be triangular. So, my question is, is there any way to convert from quad to triangular mesh in blender or even MakeHuman?

Ctrl-T in edit mode

@RayMairlot This question has a lot more answers, that are missing on the proposed duplicate. Should we reverse the duplicate direction?

@NoviceInDisguise This does have more answers, but then in my answer I show 2 methods. It's a similar amount of information just in a different number of answers, so I'm not really sure. Can always flag this question and ask a mod.

And to complete the answers: You don't have to triangulate the mesh for python at all if you don't care about vertex order..you can use something like mesh.tessfaces which will represent your polygons triangulated.


text:
How can I copy soft-body settings to other objects?
I am trying have 400 flower petals to float and fall delicately to the ground. After getting unsatisfactory results with particles and so I am trying with soft bodies. I cannot find a way to copy all the settings from a master pestle to the other pestles. I also want to add a force field to each pestle which I also cannot not copy to the other pestles.
I have tried the copy addon but it only copies  certain modifier settings and not force fields settings etc. I have no idea how to write a python script and to be honest, it strikes me that a simple thing like copying settings should be a basic tool. On the other hand, maybe my method is all wrong and i can do it another way.
When I look at the tools in the physics panel, they work very seperately and I presume that under hood they are very seperate. This is a real shame as it limits dramatically what can be done beyond quite simple effects. I wonder if anyone has looked into moving the physics panel to a nodal based system (only a neophyte like me can suggest such an idea). Also the outliner is really limited in managing elements. it would great to be able to delete modifiers from multiple objects in one go. For the moment I cannot find a way to do that either.
Any thoughts are most welcome.

Despite the settings being presented as a unified collection, there is some inconsistency within the physics settings. The force field, collision and rigid body settings adjust object properties, while the others are modifier properties. While the distinction may seem small it alters the location of settings when trying to access them from python.
If we set obj = bpy.context.active_object then
# force field settings -
obj.field.strength = 1.4
# collision settings
obj.collision.stickiness = 0.4

While modifier properties belong inside the modifier settings data -
# cloth
obj.modifiers["Cloth"].settings.mass = 0.4
# soft body
obj.modifiers["Softbody"].settings.friction = 0.6

We can create a short script to copy the soft body settings from the active object to selected objects.
import bpy

"""
Copy soft body settings from active object to selected objects
"""

srcSoftBody = bpy.context.active_object.modifiers['Softbody']

def mod_copy(source, target):
    for attr in dir(source):
        if attr == 'effector_weights':
            mod_copy(source.effector_weights,target.effector_weights)
        elif not attr.startswith('__'):
            try:
                setattr(target, attr, getattr(source, attr))
            except:
                pass

for obj in bpy.context.selected_objects:
    if obj is not srcobj:
        mod_copy(srcSoftBody.settings,obj.modifiers['Softbody'].settings)

With some small adjustment this could be adapted to be used for other physics settings. While fluid and cloth should work with adjusting the modifier name, smoke and dynamic paint have settings in multiple groups, eg instead of settings smoke uses domain_settings, flow_settings, and coll_settings


text:
How to color vertices of a cube?
I do some tests of 3D projection, I am using some references mesh like a cube. However, I need to colorize the vertices of a cube. Is it possible to do that?

Do you mean "Vertex paint" or something else?

@parameciostudio, I need to colorize the 4 top vertex by 4 differents colors  in order to get 4 different colored points where I render. I tried with vertex paint but when I render i have not the colors.

You can use Vertex Paint

Select the cube and toggle Vertex Paint

Set a color from the Tools Panel on the left, then click a vertex to apply. Repeat for every vertex

INTERNAL RENDER
Check Vertex Color Paint in the Material Panel to render Vertex Colors

CYCLES RENDER
In Node Editor: Add > Input > Vertex Colors > select Vertex Color Layer...

I am doing that in cycle render.  I can not reach the 3 step. How Can reach it?

@startingBlender I've edited my anwser


text:
View3D operations problem
Currently i am trying to change the viewport of the 3D View window using a python script. I am using this function
bpy.ops.view3d.viewnumpad(type='TOP');

But it always get this error

RuntimeError: Operator bpy.ops.view3d.viewnumpad.poll() failed,
  context is incorrect

The same error is gotten when I use this function
bpy.ops.view3d.view_persportho();

Waht is the problem?

@Chebhou, I have already read this answer but it does not solved my question

can you edit your post with the new code to see the new problem

ok here is the exact answer http://blender.stackexchange.com/a/30645/5113

@Chebhou, I have already used this code to achieve the ORTHO view but how can I achieve the TOP view?

@Chebhou, I need the code that do the same operation when click on 7

did you write type='TOP' and it didn't work, what error you're getting ?

@Chebhou, yes because the enum contains just CAMERA, ORTHO, PERSP. TypeError: bpy_struct: item.attr = val: enum "TOP" not found in ('PERSP', 'ORTHO', 'CAMERA')

don't use the second part use only the first (from the answer )

@Chebhou, What do you mean by the first part?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

import bpy

for area in bpy.context.screen.areas:
    if area.type == "VIEW_3D":
        break

for region in area.regions:
    if region.type == "WINDOW":
        break

space = area.spaces[0]

context = bpy.context.copy()
context['area'] = area
context['region'] = region
context['space_data'] = space

bpy.ops.view3d.viewnumpad(context, 'EXEC_DEFAULT', type='TOP')
bpy.ops.view3d.view_persportho(context, 'EXEC_DEFAULT')

or without operators:
from mathutils import Quaternion

r3d = space.region_3d
r3d.view_perspective = "ORTHO"
#default - look down z-axis
r3d.view_rotation = Quaternion((1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0))

This is helpful since this works in 2.80 beta now compared to missing the viewnumpad completely now.


text:
Want to talk about some strange effects of "mean crease"
Mean crease is one of the best things I love about blender, and I totally think it should be the standard for all subdivision modifier solutions. But here is a strange effect I noticed about mean crease:
  I was trying to model a handle on a drawer, at first it was fine, but when I decided to change the shape of the handle and it became:

To demonstrate this effect better, here is a example:

Mean crease of 0 and 1 work as expected, any number in between became buggy.
Can someone tell me whats cause this problem or if I'm using mean crease wrong.
Also the shading with the mean crease in the gif is strange, I know blender view-port shading is not accurate but this also shown in the rendering.

For what you are trying to do in the animated gif. My personal step is to use bevel edge for the adjacent edge between the 2 Creases. That is to say apply a bevel to the vertical edge and use the 2 edges to control the corner's curve if you need it to be absolutely straight.

Yes,some cases with mean crease problems i just add geometry instead of adds mean crease to inbetwwen edges,but I do hope to use mean crease to its best.


text:
Smoothing Problem
I am pretty new to blender and 3D modelling.
I have this 'low poly wolf' head and I want to smooth it. But I think the geometry is very bad?

The geometry gets very strange when I do a subsurf:

I know that I can make the small details sharp with crease options. But some faces (for example the ones with the red arrow) have very strange shapes. Is there anyone who can help me with smoothing this object? Thank you so much in advance!

@cegaton Thanks for informing me with this site! :) The file can be found here: https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/b/3633/

Unfortunately, subsurf will give unexpected results when applying it to tris... which is what your entire mesh consists of.  See (among many others): https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/2931/why-should-triangle-meshes-be-avoided-for-character-animation/2939#2939
and https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/84455/smooth-shading-sub-surface-distorted-render/84539#84539

This is a topology issue.
The mesh is not at all optimized or even anywhere near qualified to be SubSurf'd
Looks like a result of non-traditional polymodeling techniques like Booleans or maybe exported from a freeform modeling application like Fusion360.
Ideally, you'd want your mesh to be of all quads with good flow to get a decent result with SubSurf. I won't go too into it right here, there's a hundred resources online if you want to read into this more.
This mesh is a mess in that regard. A lot of nasty spiders!
So, what's the solution?
Selecting everything and pressing ALT+J to convert Tris to Quads?
 No, because that will probably still not fix the fundamental issue with the mesh.
Only thing that would be a proper "answer" would be Manual Retopology, unfortunately. Try looking into BSurfaces or RetopoMT, read up on topology for SubD modeling and play around with it, then post your model and we can work it out together.
Have fun modeling :D

Try removing Subdivision Surface modifier, select everything with A while in Edit Mode, press W and select Smooth.

Have you tried this method on this particular model or is it just a blind guess?


text:
Rig does not move the mesh
I'm new to Blender so not sure what I'm doing wrong.  I've tried at least a 100 times to rig a human like character using Rigify but in vain.  Can someone please help me and let me know what I've missed...  You're help will be really appreciated.
I've uploaded the rigged and non-rigged model and uploaded here -

Non-Rigged model NON Rigged Cyclops model
Rigged model Rigged Cyclops model

Thanks.

Possible duplicate of Rig not moving mesh correctly

Try Joining the Meshes Before Parenting to Rigify
The reason why parenting may not have worked is because your mesh is in multiple parts.
Joining the meshes together before parenting to the rig should fix your problem.
For your cyclops file, here's what I did:
Select one mesh, press 'SHIFT+G' choose 'type'
Join your meshes. 'CTRL+J'
Press 'Tab' to go to edit mode
Remove doubles. press 'A' until everything is selected > 'W' > 'remove doubles'
Delete all vertex groups from the vertex groups panel
Delete all armature modifiers from the modifier in modifier panel
Select your armature and set it to pose mode. CTRL + tab
Select the mesh, then the armature, press CTRL+P, choose 'automatic weights'
Now your mesh should deform when you pose the armature in pose mode.
If and when you edit the weight values for each bone/vertex group, the deformation bones are on layer 29 of the bone layers ( not the regular layers )
Good Luck
Btw, cool model, where is it from?
Here's a link to your working file:

Here's a general video about setting up rigify in general :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYiAd_08-0k&t=140s


text:
how to make realistic water texture in blender 2.82
I am trying to get something vibrant but realistic for some gentle flowing water like if you were pouring it out of a glass on a table.
this is what I got so far but it looks more like paint.

Can you show us what you tried or what you've got already?

think blue kool-aid or maybe Windex color and look.

Might helpful as well: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/154467/physically-accurate-water-shader

It will look live paint if you are using Eevee. You need to use Cycles. Here is the material that should work(Glass BSDF). Adjust the color to your needs. Also, try adjusting roughness(Lower roughness makes it clearer).

thanks this helped and lost protonbender answer help as well thanks.

You can make your own transmissive water material and tweak settings,
But i prefer to install an free addon which is included in blender, it's called cycles material library or something like that.
There are many water materials available in it.
You can find whatever that suits your needs.
You would not need to change anything if you are using cycles but IF YOU ARE USING EEVEE,

You will have to turn on screen space refraction
You will have to change blend mode to alpha blend from opaque in your water material settings


text:
Copyright for model in blender
I've seen tutorials in sculpting/modelling famous actors (Hugh Laurie, etc). But, I suppose, those ones were created for non-commercial use. I wonder if I have rights to sell (commercial use) my blend file with famous actor model in it? Lets also say he/she says a famous movie "quote"?
I'm familiar with the question and its answer by David. But it did not include details about having right over models of real things that may already have copyright on it (famous actors, quotes [for animation], iPhones, iPad models...).
And could you please refer to scource (article or law quote), if any, to support your answer.

Welcome to the site. Unfortunately, I've voted to close this question as off-topic because it is a question about law and therefore outside the scope of Blender Stack Exchange. Furthermore, there may not be a single answer to the question because the answer may depend upon who the depicted persons are, where they are domiciled (for legal purposes), and where the models are made. For example the answer for a model of a scene including an actor domiciled in the UK made by an American and marketed in the US may be different than the same model made by someone in the UK.

This question does not belong on Blender.SE as it is about Copyright Law and not about the software package.

You might want to try law.stackexchange.com

authors: الصقر اليماني اليماني


text:
displacement map overlap at sharp edges
My displacement map seems of overlap and project upside down at sharp edges, I am modelling a creature and the teeth are heavily distorted.
Any idea how to solve this?

Here is the error of the displacement map of the low poly mesh

Low poly mesh

high poly
It happens at the finger tips as well, turning down strength doesn't solve it, and all normals are in the right position.

Try adjusting the strength to a lower value so that it doesn't intersect.

I have and it doesn't disappear until its at 0, thanks anyway tho, any other ideas what might be causing it?

Then try tweaking the midlevel. I think I higher value should work better.

Hey guys, thanks for the responses, much appreciated, I think i figured it out tho, my problem was that my mesh was way to small, I sized it up and it seems to work fine, thanks again


text:
Can not close windows in interface

I have about 80 windows splits currently open, but I can't figure out why they wont close.
I tried Googling. I read the documentation, but the little corner grabbers don't seem to work.

@gandalf3 I read this article, the windows simply will not all join, surely there is a better way?

Make sure you drag them out of the window they are in to close. Another way to close view areas is by right clicking on the border between areas, and selecting Join area.

Note that you can't join areas that have areas in them, so you'll have to start on the smaller areas and work your way up. Though at this point you might  be better of reloading the .blend with Load UI disabled, just to get back to a clean starting point.

How to close view panels is well covered elsewhere. However in your particular case I would recommend clearing out the UI layout completely and starting from a clean setup.
To do this, save and re-open your .blend with Load UI disabled. You can disable Load UI persistently, by deselecting the option in ⎈ Ctrl⎇ AltU> User Preferences > File, or temporarily, by deselecting the option available while opening a .blend:

Also note that opening a .blend with Load UI disabled will keep the current layout, so to get back to the default you will have to load your startup .blend (⎈ CtrlN) first. Or if you want the default default, press File > Load factory settings before opening your .blend with Load UI disabled.

You can join windows very simply by right clicking on the edge between them

Click on join windows

Move the mouse to the side that you want merged
then click and it will have merged.


text:
How to discretize a 3D model represented by as .STL
I am using make human and blender to play with 3D model as .STL file. I want just to take a 3D model (.stl) and discretize it into a 3D matrix.
My idea is to check whether each matrix cell contains some vertices or no? If the cells contains some vertices, it will be marked as occupied. However, here the problem is about the inside voxel because the .STL file is not solid?
Any idea?

It probably makes more sense to check for volume intersections than the presence of vertices within your matrix, since your entire matrix can be within the ("empty") volume of the mesh you want to discretize, as you pointed out.
If your 3D matrix is cube-like, you can use an actual mesh cube object to represent it, which simplifies this test.

This code tells you whether your cube intersects with the mesh and if its center lies within the mesh or not [EDITED TO ADD COMMENTS AND EXPLANATIONS]. It's based on the ray_cast method, which is nicely explained by @zeffii here.
import bpy, bmesh
from mathutils import Vector

def check_raycast(ray_origin, ray_destination, obj):
    ''' This function casts a virtual ray from "ray_origin" to
        "ray_destination", and finds any intersections along
        the ray's path with the mesh object referenced in the "obj" param.
        If there are any intersections, it will return True, else False.
    '''
    mat = obj.matrix_local.inverted()
    loc, normal, face_idx = obj.ray_cast(mat * ray_origin, mat * ray_destination)

    return face_idx != -1

c = bpy.data.objects['Cube']
o = bpy.data.objects['Suzanne']

# Generate bmesh object from cube mesh data
bm = bmesh.new()
bm.from_mesh( c.data )

bm.edges.ensure_lookup_table() # Generates edge   index table
bm.verts.ensure_lookup_table() # Generates vertex index table

# Check if cube intersects with mesh
''' The intersection algorithm iterates over the cube's edges and uses
    each edge's two vertices as ray casting origin and destination points.
    In other words, a ray is cast from the first --> 2nd vert of each edge.
    If the cube intersects with the object, one of the edges of this cube
    must also intersect with the object, thus the cast ray will bump into
    one of the object's faces.
'''

# Iterate over the cube's edges
for e in bm.edges:
    # Find the global coordinates of each edge's two vertices
    coos = [ c.matrix_world * v.co for v in e.verts ]

    # Set these verts as ray casting origin and destination
    ray_origin, ray_destination = coos

    # Check whether this edge intersects with the object's mesh
    intersectsMesh = check_raycast(ray_origin, ray_destination, o)
    if intersectsMesh: break

# Check if cube center is inside the mesh volume
''' This test sends a ray from the cube's center (location) straight up,
    towards an arbitrary point at XYZ 0,0,1000.
    If the cube's center is within the mesh of the object, the ray will hit
    the engulfing mesh somewhere along its way up, and the function will
    return True.
'''
insideMesh = check_raycast( c.location, Vector( (0,0,1000) ),  o )

print( "Intersects: ", intersectsMesh )
print( "Inside Mesh: ", insideMesh )

If you want to discretize your entire mesh with this code, you can simply move the cube's location (for which bmesh.transform will prove useful) in each iteration until you fill the entire bounding box volume, or fill the volume with cubes then iterate over them (probably less efficient).
You can download the file I tested this script with here.

thanks for your answer. Could give me link that describe in details the lagorithm used in this case? Also, I tried to execute your script and I have got an error AttributeError: 'BMEdgeSeq' object has no attribute 'ensure_lookup_table'
Error: Python script fail

@startingBlender, what version of blender are you using? This function wasn't available or required in older API versions. I edited the code above to add comments which explain the algorithm.

I am using the version 2.72b

Can you check my solution please?

Hope to get to this tomorrow, sorry

here is my question http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/43059/how-to-discretize-a-3d-model-represented-by-as-stl/43075?noredirect=1#comment72632_43075


text:
Camera setting does not give the expected fisheye result
I am modeling a real camera with a wide angle (fisheye). My room is 4*4*2.5 meters and the camera is attached in the ceiling with {0,0,0} degrees rotations. For camera setting, I added a camera named prosilica having a sensor type 2/3" (8.8mm*6.6mm). as mentioned in the image 1 and 2.
When I render the scene, i remark:
1) It does not a distortion effect! Normally, we get a distortion caused by the wide lens of camera (large filed of view)?
How can I simulate a fisheye on blender using the same sensor size mentioned above? Any suggestions?

The blender internal renderer doesn't seem to support fisheye lenses. The Cycles rendering engine does, however. You can change to Cycles rendering in the header of the 3D view:

With Cycles selected you can change your camera type to 'Panoramic' to reveal several fish eye options:

I always wondered why the Panoramic option was visible in BI.. Do you happen to know?

Thanks, I changed the configuration as you proposed but when I render, i get a black image. I did not change the light position. So what is the problem?

@startingBlender I'm afraid I couldn't say, other than Blender Internal materials are incompatible with Cycles and will have to be rebuilt.

@gandalf3 I only know what the docs say: "Panoramic renders the scene with a cylindrical projection".


text:
How to keep driver control objects in view of camera
I have a scene in which a character's mouth is controlled by shape keys. There are three shape keys -- jaw, tongue and teeth -- and I have a simple driver for each which targets the Z world location of my control object -- an icosphere placed at world origin on the same layer as my scene.

The control icosphere is the first item in my outline above, and controls the mosasaur mouth shown.
From seeing tutorials, I know there is a way/ways to make control objects like this stay in view as a camera moves and panels, either on screen or at the bottom of the N panel.... in the locations I have indicated above.
I have no idea what this process is called, or how to do it... and I think my lack of vocabulary makes my Stack Exchange searchers useless....
So how can I keep a control object's settings (just Z location, in this case) somewhere so I can see and keyframe it as my muncher swims around?
Yes, he looks like an Orca.
UPDATE with screen grabs: Answer from Haunt_House was what I needed.

I created a custom property called Z_Height for my icosphere control object. I left the min and max values as theyy were, since that matched what my keyframes wanted.
I then updated my drivers to take the ["Z_Height"] value from the custom property.... and the keyframeable Z_Height property appears in the N panel. Thanks.

You can add a custom property to an object and have them drive your animation:

The trick is to enable the little pin in the upper left corner. That way the editor keeps displaying that panel.
If you want controls moving with the camera, you can parent them to the camera, disable rendering for them in the Outliner and use local space instead of world space in the driver variables. That way only relative movement towards the camera affects your animation and the camera can still move around.
I recommend empties between the camera and the controls. The empties swallow the offset between control and the camera and the controls start with zero regarding their parent empty. That means you don't have to use awkward offset values in the driver.


text:
How many reference images are needed for head modeling?
I'm a newbie, I noticed when you do head modeling, you need two picture, one for the face, and another for the side of the face.
What if I want to create a 3d model of someone and I don't have a picture of the side of his face, or maybe not a symmetrical picture, I mean what if he's smiling but the side picture he's not smiling.
Can you create a head model of someone using only one picture? How?
For instance, this tutorial and many other, use two images.
And finally, say you want to practice by modeling the faces of celebrities or whatever, is there a website that would provide you with two pictures, one for the face and another for the side of the face?

You could use a movie trailer(or the full length movie) with the actor you'd like to build a model of and take screen captures at some point when the actor is turning his or her head.

@MarcClintDion true good solution, so you always need 2 pictures? never 1?

You could do a google image search for 'mugshot' this will find many reference images.

Fisher, how are you supposed to know what's there if you don't have a picture to show what's there.  If you want to model the side of a house then you require a picture that shows you what's there or you have to guess.

@MarcClintDion what if all i care about is the face? no rotation

You can use only 1 image; You can also use no images. It won't be as accurate, but nothing prevents you. Also, I think you're taking the wrong approach here - it's better and easier to sculpt rather than model a face.


text:
Prevent arm from twisting when moving it foward
What type of constraint would I use to fix this?
I've tried limiting rotation but it didn't seem to do anything

In Properties editor ‣ Bone there is a special section named Inverse Kinematics. You could adjust this on the bone you want to fix instead of adding a constraint.
https://docs.blender.org/manual/ja/dev/rigging/armatures/posing/bone_constraints/inverse_kinematics/introduction.html

http://i.imgur.com/X6dW0g1.png I currently have inverse kinematics in the wrist area and a pole joint to prevent his elbow from bending the wrong way. If it needs another, what joint would I put it in to fix this problem?

Scratch that, the pole joint was actually what caused the problem in the first place.


text:
Making an animation with a transparent background blender cycles render
I am currently trying to export a animation with a transparent background to lay over the beginning of my YouTube videos. I got this idea from the famous YouTuber captainSparklez. I have tried changing the output to RGBA but that does not work and I have also tried selecting transparent in the film section but that doesn't work either. keep in mind I am using Cycles to do this and I don't know if u can render a QuickTime animation in cycles. I will be using this in my editor Adobe Primer Pro if you need to know that. My version of blender I am using is Blender 2.78a If you could help that would be amazing thank you for your time.

In the render settings under "Film" make sure "Transparent" is checked off.

Blender supports no video format with alpha. Use an image Sequence.

Just render it out as a PNG sequence (with alpha) then take those files into Premiere as a sequence.

In your render settings tab, make sure your dimensions/frame rate are correct.
in the output dropdown make sure you set a destination place, and make sure PNG is selected with alpha
Make sure you hit animation and NOT render when you are ready to render out all your frames.

In Premiere make sure you click "image sequence" when bringing in your files.

I have tried this but I have 360 images and can not find a video that clearly states how to do what you said. How do I export them out of blender as a PNG sequence.

and as Dontwalk stated, In the render settings under "Film" make sure "Transparent" is checked off.

Alright I figured it out thank you very much and hopefully this will help someone else.

if it was helpful please mark it as answered.


text:
Rendering a minecraft character has very weird lighting to it
Whenever I try and render a minecraft character image using Black Plasma Studios Rig, it has a very odd blue-ish lighting to it. Earlier today I rendered using the same rig and essentially the same image and it didn't have it. I didn't do anything to make shadows, etc. it just happened. I'm new to blender and I use cycles.

To be able to help you please provide information like render settings or, better, consider uploading your blend file to blend-exchange.

I changed a setting under Light Paths from Integrator Presets to Direct Light and it has fixed most of it. However, some blue-ish spots remain. link

I don't know what you try to achieve in the end, but your lighting setup seems pretty freaky, or just extends my understanding.   ;)
For a beautiful and simple lighting in cycles just connect a plain white background node to the world surface output, like in the screenshot below.


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Rotating Camera moves the skeleton out of the armature (2.49b)
I decided to reinstall my Windows 7 because the install was showing it's age (2015). I reinstalled Blender 2.49b (for Fallout New Vegas meshes) and now have the problem that whenever I turn my camera by clicking the middle mouse button, the skeleton moves "out of the armature" like this:

It "snaps back" after I release the middle button and e.g. scroll around to zoom in and out. It is highly irritating and I have no idea whether it will also affect exports. I tried reinstalling video drivers but everything is up to date as far as I know. I even reinstalled Windows 7 again to no avail.
Did anyone else encounter this issue and possibly knows a fix?
EDIT: Sorry, I'm apparently too dumb to have the images show here and it also removes my greetings.

Alright, consider this answered. I had "Driver Booster 4" check all my drivers and apparently the ones I downloaded directly from HP were too old. For anyone else having this issue I recommend either using that program or searching for updated drivers manually.


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How can I make these inner surfaces smooth?
I'm trying to get rid of those lines while still keeping that solid feel to the object. I want the object to be sharp, so smoothing would make it look like plastic.

Any help for removing those lines while still keeping the solid feel?
Thanks.

You mean smooth shading does not result in the desired effect?

@Dimali using smooth shading makes everything smooth. I don't want that. I want this object to look sharp, but those lines kinda ruin the close up shots.

Check the Auto Smooth box in Properties>>Object Data>>Normals panel.  Then enable Smooth-Shading.

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/89570/simple-question-how-to-smoothout-faces

The only way to get rid of these lines inbetween the cutout is to select the affected faces and set them to smooth shading.
You then can select the edges, press CTRL+E and mark them as sharp.
Add an Edge Split modifier and make sure that the Sharp Edges checkbox is active.
Alternatively you can also select all the faces of the model, set the shading to smooth and then add the Edge Split modifier and control the Split Angle.
This should give you the desired effect.

Thanks, just what I needed. I appreciate the visual explanation.


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Getting grooves of equal width
How can I get a groove of uniform width, both horizontally and vertically, on a door (a plane)?
I've used edge loops, subdividing the surface and the knife tool but I can't get the groove to be a consistent thickness (6mm).

One value is about 736 and other is 730, which is close but not exact.

I would use the bevel tool.
In edit mode, place one loop cut where you want each groove.  Then select the edge loops and hit Ctrl+B and drag to what ever width you want the groove.  The bevel tool splits each selected edge into two edges connected with a face.

oh yes...the bevel command. Also it would handle accuracy issue as well. but the problem is

but the problem is that corners are tapered. Can i have sharp corners?


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Baked normal map showing seams at uv island boundaries
I'm trying to bake sculpt info into a normal map so that I can use it on my retopologised model.  I baked the normal map from the sculpt to the model using model's tangent space.  I then added the normal map to the normal input of the model's shader.  However, I'm getting some pretty sharp seams that corespond to the boundaries of my uv islands.
If I apply the normal map as a texture, there are visible seams at uv island boundaries, so maybe the normal map is being baked incorrectly?
My node set up and shader settings are visible in the attached image.  How do I fix this?

Looks like I needed to set my texture node's color-space field to non-color data. After that, it worked.

This should be a comment, not an answer.


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Is there a hot key for switching between 3D Object and Sculpt modes?
In the past, I've found the Tab key useful for switching between edit and object modes.  But now that I'm getting into sculpting, I'm finding that I need to frequently switch between sculpt and object modes and the tab key simply toggles the current mode with edit mode.  The best hotkey combination I've found so far is Ctrl+Tab, 4 and Ctrl+Tab, 2 which is kind of cumbersome since it involves an awkward Ctrl+Tab in the left hand followed by a separate keystroke.
Is there an easier way to do this? I'd like to be able to do something simple like just press 2 or 4 to switch modes.

You can drag the mouse in the direction of the option of the pie menu while holding Ctrl+Tab and once you release it with the mouse moved in the direction of the option you want it will get chosen. That might be more convenient.

The number buttons on the top of the keyboard are used to toggle  collections on and off, this can be a pain, and is throwback to Blenders old layer system. I have reassigned these to select the different modes.
If you go into preferences, select 'keymap' and search for collection, you will find the visibility settings for the first 10 collections. Disable all these associations by clicking on the cross next to the entry, be careful,  however, you can undo these changes by clicking the restore button at any time. Now you have freed up the row of number buttons ,so you can now set whatever you want to them. Click on 'Object Mode'(if that is the mode you are currently in), hover over the mode you want, Rt click and press the key you want to associate with that mode. Do this for all modes. Now you can quickly enter the mode you want with a single button push. Just remember in edit mode buttons 1,2 & 3 are used for different selection types, so from edit you will have the return to object mode using TAB. But the rest work fine and it is a lot easier than searching around the pie menu. If you are happy with the settings, you can save them in preferences, by clicking 'Save Preferences *'. The star symbol means that changes have not been saved. If you do not save the changes you made the old settings will be restored when you restart Blender.

If you have a drawing tablet you can assign key stroke modifiers to express keys, allowing you to make CtrlTab, 2 or 4 a simple button press. Pretty sure you can do this with a gaming mouse with an assortment of buttons too.


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How to create a face when only one vertex is selected?
I was watching a video on retopology and saw the uploader extrude a mesh face in a way that I've not seen before.  He's in edit-vertex mode and has a partly completed mesh with an L-shaped bend along its edge.  He then selects the vertex on the inside corner of the L and then appears to click somewhere further out - and this causes an entire face to be created:

YouTube clip:
https://youtu.be/KNjCaizeal0?t=8m29s
I've been reading through the docs, but can't figure out what key I need to press to do this.  Does anyone know how to do this?

Looks like blender has an addon called 'f2' mode.  Enable it, and then you can create this sort of quad just by pressing F.
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Modeling/F2

As he is saying in the video, it's the effect of an add-on called Mesh F2, coming with the standard Blender bundle.
To use it you must go to "user preferences" - "Add-Ons", search for mesh F2, activate the add-on and save the user preferences.
Then in edit mode select an angle vertex and press the F key.


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Why NLA editor run only the top action strip
I get an error when I try to create a walk cycle using two action strip. The first is walk cycle in place and the second moving cycle from point A to point b. I could not understand why the NLA run only the top action ?
When I put the walk cycle as the top, the person walks in place and when I put the moving cycle at the top the person moves from A to B without any motion walking!!!

This should work: http://pasteall.org/blend/34671 could you upload your .blend have you changed other properties then repeat for the walkcycle? Or accidentally keyframed same bones in both actions?

@stacker, I uploaded my file

@stacker, What is the error?

where is the link?

@stacker http://www.pasteall.org/blend/34672

You keyframed all bones in the movement action:

When you delete everything but the first (master) then it would work as expected.
The reason why couldn't see this is the checked show_only_errors option:

.blend

So, Why i should keyframe only the master when I move a person or it is principle of blender?

@startingBlender because this is how it works, otherwise the instruction are contradictory and the last one wins. Like go left, no go right.

@startingBlender uploaded the fixed .blend.

I have had an amazing problem about IK and FK mode. Snap is used to copy the animation from IK to FK or from FK to IK. So, normally, When i do an animation using IK and FK mode, I can finally run it in each mode without loss for any motion. but in http://www.pasteall.org/blend/34672, I remark that when i run it in IK mode for all bones, the hands did not move. What is the problem?

@startingBlender You should post this as another question.

I have posted it here http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/25911/snap-fk-ik-does-not-copy-the-motion


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Objects transformations wrong when importing from 3ds
When I import my tank file from 3ds format it appears in blender a little bit messed up like this:

I selected all messed up tanktracks and did Origin to geometry.
Then they became almost correct, but not quite:

The tank tracks in front of the tank remained incorrectly rotated.
They should look like this (this is how the tank appears in autocad)

Why does this happen? Can anyone help me?
My tank is here (35MB)
I have blender 2.67.

Select them all (they are selected by default after importing), press AltS, AltR and AltG to clear all the transformations.(Or go to the header menu > Object > Clear to find these operators.)

P.S.: If the result still problematic, try toggling off the Apply Transform in the left-hand panel in the Import window.

By doing so, The origins of all objects will go to one point. If you want move each origin to their individual geometry, just keep them selected, then press ShiftCtrlAltC, choose Origin to Geometry or Origin to Center of Mass to move them back to each individual objects.

thanks, but this isn't working for me. i imported a .3ds and the object look like the right scale and location but just exploded out, so i tried alt-g and i tried the import toggle but nothing puts humpty dumpty back together again. any ideas? this is the model http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/signal-lamp-3ds-free/138519

I tried that model, and it works for me here. are you sure you have tried alt g / r / s?

yes, i tried every combination, interesting, thanks, i'll try again


text:
How can I get the location of an object at each keyframe?
I'm trying to track the (x,y,z) location of an animated object. For a small test, I translated the default cube ('Cube') along the x axis and baked keyframes. The animation plays fine.
I adapted the suggestion for this question to try and print the location at each keyframe.
import bpy
cube=bpy.data.objects['Cube']
for f in cube.animation_data.action.fcurves:
    for k in f.keyframe_points:
        pos=cube.location
        print(pos)

Run from the shell, the output is
<Vector (0.0000, 0.0000, 0.0000)>
<Vector (0.0000, 0.0000, 0.0000)>
<Vector (0.0000, 0.0000, 0.0000)>
...
<Vector (0.0000, 0.0000, 0.0000)>

If I go to the last keyframe and execute cube.location, it correctly returns
Vector((6.924227714538574, 0.0, 0.0))

How can I get the location at each keyframe?

Would using bpy.context.scene.frame_set(frame) and reading cube.location be a bad idea?

And then iterating through the frames? It doesn't seem like a bad idea. My sum total Blender experience is currently measured in hours, so anything that seems like it might work sounds good to me.

Yes, exactly. cube.location reads the location from current context frame, thats why you are getting the results from the frame you run the script from. So to get the right results with cube.location you need to change the context with the bpy.context.scene.frame_set(frame).

The reason your script was returning 0, 0, 0 is because you were printing the location of the object on the current frame.
Basically your code says:

Print the location of the cube object the same number of times as there are number of keyframes.

So as mentioned by kilbee you need to set the scene frame to the frame that the keyframe is on in order to read the location of the object on that frame.
By combining your code with kilbee's:
import bpy

ob = bpy.context.object

for f in ob.animation_data.action.fcurves:
    for k in f.keyframe_points:
        fr = k.co[0]
        bpy.context.scene.frame_set(fr)
        pos=ob.location
        print(pos)

This way you only check frames with keyframes, as opposed to checking every frame.

Is there a way to extract the location of vertices in each frame?
I used multiple methods, but they all provide the same location of vertices and do not account for displacement.

Anyway to get the data you want (for frames for example 1-40):
for frame in range(1,40):
    bpy.context.scene.frame_set(frame)
    print(cube.location)

Upside is you dont have to bake the animation to get the data for each frame, downside is that with complex scenes it might be very time consuming to execute the script.


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How do I turn this shape into a cylinder?
I am working on making an intake manifold out of sheet metal but I have been struggling to draw up the shape unwrapped as if it was a uv just from pictures, I turned to using blender however I am painfully new and not particularly good at it.
I want this

To look more like these with a radius like these

How would I do this?? or if anyone has a suggestion on how to get the same shape to cut out of metal without going through all of this and then uv unwrapping that would be much appreciated.
Cheers -- Joe

Hello, this is a very interesting shape to model, but if you're new to hard surface modelling, I suggest you try simpler shapes first, or break it down into very simple shapes. Once you know how to model a cube, model a cylinder, then a faucet, or a door handle, and so on. also, you'll need to use reference from at least 3 directions if you want to make sure width, depth and length are up to par with reality. + you may be intersted in subdivision modelling https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/modeling/modifiers/generate/subdivision_surface.html?highlight=subdivision%20surface

You should have started with a cylinder, although I'm not sure how it  would worked out.
As for now I would try beveling those edges to get that shape.

select the edges that you want to round and press Ctrl B to bevel, then open the Operator box (bottom left of your 3D view) and tweak the factors, maybe you'll get something close to what you want?

Thanks for the responses guys, I dont have a reference from 3 sides which I was I was going to play around with different radii of the plenum and find one that suits the application

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/1503/how-to-make-uv-loft-like-3ds-max-in-blender-using-curves

I would keep it as simple as possible, making the front profile from a 12-sided cylinder, no cap,  duplicated, and rotated to match the reference..

Cut them in half, and work under a mirror modifier, back-to-front.
With the Header option 'Automerge' checked, and Snap set to 'Vertex' and 'Active'
K Knife, with C to constrain to horizontal and Z to cut through, cut across the top of the upright cylinder. Cut away the excess of the tilted cylinder, and go round, snapping vertices. Which verts you snap to, and which from, should be clear, bearing in mind you want to preserve the curvature at the front of the object.
Once done, cut through vertically, to get something like the right image. From a top view, maybe correct the width.
Now count the vertices in the back edge, and make a sphere that will match, when quartered. My sphere had 16 segments, for 1/4 of its equator to match 5 vertices.
Discard the 3/4 you don't want, scale and locate for the other end of your object:

ShiftD duplicate its front edge along the length of the object, scaling vertically to reference:

Then, with all open loops selected, CtrlE Edge menu, Bridge Edge Loops:

After a couple of levels of Catmull-Clark subdivision, you're nearly there.

The rest is tweaks, maybe a bit of relaxation in the front curve.. extrusions, a Bevel modifier above the subdivision..

The general rules:

Keep the polycount to a bare minimum.
Make the tricky bits first, (exactly circular radii, etc)
Count vertices, match for transitions

Thanks for the well-made explanation!

@Monk Thank you. I should just add.. if you want to extend your model to other continuous parts, forget all that bevelling and extrusion of detail. That comes later. Again, consider transitions.  For example, there should be one face-ring along the length for each vertical exhaust-pipe, unlike my illustration. My bad.

From what you have, you can use bevel to come close to what you want. Select all the edges that you want to round and then CtrlB (tweak the factors in the Operator box on the bottom left of your 3D view):


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What is the purpose of shift-f
I was messing around with blender and hit Shift+F and a little cross hair thingy popped and then I hit G and it was like I was playing some first person game what is the purpose.

It is called "FLY Mode"
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/3dview/navigate/walk_fly.html#fly-mode
It is just another way to animate your camera. Like if you wanted to "fly" through a city.

Fly Mode -> Reference
Mode: All modes
Menu: View ‣ View Navigation ‣ Fly Navigation
Hotkey: Shift-F
On activation the mouse pointer will move at the center of the view, and a squared marker will appear – a sort of HUD...
Some of the options of Fly mode are influenced by the position of the mouse pointer relative to the center of the view itself, and the squared marker around this center provides a sort of “safe region” where you can place the mouse for it to have no effect on the view. The more you take the mouse pointer away from the marker, the more you pan, or track, etc.
Shortcuts

Move the mouse left/right to pan the view left/right or move it up/down to tilt the view up/down.

Move the view forward/backward: - WheelUp or NumpadPlus to accelerate the movement forward. - WheelDown or to NumpadMinus to accelerate the movement backward.
So if the view is already moving forward, WheelDown, NumpadMinus will eventually stop it and then move it backward, etc.

Drag the MMB to dolly. In this case the view can move laterally on its local axis at the moment you drag the mouse – quite obviously, dragging left/right/up/down makes the view dolly on the left/right/up/down respectively.

When you are happy with the new view, click LMB to confirm. In case you want to go back from where you started, press Esc or RMB, as usual.

@batFINGER You're absolutely correct. Updated my answer.

I suggest including quoted text from the current blender manual instead of an image of the old wiki. It will be readable without having to click on the image and it will be more accessible to those using screen readers.

@RayMairlot Good point. Updated.

While a link to the blender docs is good, and quoting from them is fine; you should not copy the docs without giving proper credit. Also answers should rarely only consist of a quot from the docs. There is much you could write about fly mode.

When in camera view (Numpad 0), hit Shift + F to position the camera in first person view, use W, A, S, D (and others) to fly around, then press Left Mouse button to confirm the current view of the camera.

They are not asking for the shorcuts, they are asking for an explanation of why you would want to use it.


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How to remove unwanted mark seams

Can you anybody tell me how can I delete these mark seams please? In edit mode I can't find any mark seams but when I unwrap the model there they are! why? Ctrl+E - not working.

Those are pinned UV coordinates, they are not affected by future unwraps.
Select them and hit Alt+P to unpin. Unwrap afterwards.
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/uv_image/uv_editing/layout_editing.html


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How can I create a model like this? (see image)

How can I create the models like in the image quickly?
When I rigged a figure I made and tried to animate it, the arms and hands were not bending correctly. I used separate objects for the head, hands, abdomen and so on, and then combined them using Ctrl + J.

you need to know and consider topology very well, when you wish to animate arms and legs, then also use weights wisely. Please show what you did and/or share your test file on http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/ then edit your question and paste the provided link.

The fastesr way may be using metaballs, convert them to mesh and parent to armature with automatic weights.

@PaulGonet Thanks! I never really tried metaballs before but I just found out they do pretty nice job!

There may be multiple ways of achieving this but I will be using metaballs for now as they offer a quick solution. Add metaballs on the fly, adjust, when you get an acceptable mesh, convert it to mesh ( alt + c), sculpt, add armature and pose it to achieve the final look.


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UV Map not being applied to object
Been going through old questions and tutorials for several hours and still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
My object unwraps fine in the UV Editor and I can add the file I want mapped, but it is not being applied in the 3D Viewer or when rendered.

The blue material was added to the object as some references said a material needed to be set before applying the UV Map.

The texture have to be applied in the material, what you have now is a texture that set to a brush

I have no idea how the brush got there or how replace it with material.

To set up textures properly follow these steps:
Cycles Render
1. Select the material and open Node Editor window
2. Add an Image Texture node, then load the texture and connect Color to Diffuse BSDF node.
3. Add a UV Map node and select proper UV Map if you have more than one on the mesh and connect the node to the Vector of Image Texture node

Blender Render
1. Open materials tab.
2. Create a material or if there is one already existing, make sure the material you want to add the texture to is selected.

3. While the material is selected open texture tab.
4. In texture tab scroll down to Image section and open the texture you want to apply to the material.
5. In mapping section make sure the Coordinates are set to UV and choose the correct UV map in case you have more than one on the mesh.

Having the material selected before going to Texture controls is not adding a Material Icon or one for the object.. My Texture Editor looks different. No Mapping tab as in your step 5.

@Rivercoon I'm not sure what material icon you are talking about.

At the top of the last picture. Second row.
*Sphere *Material *Texture
I get *TexDraw and *Texture
Not sure how to add another picture in a comment.

@Rivercoon I think you are looking in the wrong place, I am talking about texture tab next to the material tab, not the UV/Image editor

See my first picture. It shows the Texture editor on the right. Midway up.

Oh, I just saw you are using Cycles. You have to use node editor to add a texture node and connect it to the diffuse node

Ah ha! That did it.  Never found mention of doing this elsewhere.  Thank you very much Denis!

@Rivercoon You are welcome, please accept it as an answer if you found it useful


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Rotate mask in video editing blender
Hi I have created a mask like this in my blender 3.3

So we can see the mask is surrounding the horse and its head is on the left side. And later, the horse head is on the right:

So how do I rotate the mask ?? I have read this question here about rotating How to rotate a mask in blender (Vfx not sculpting)
so I tried that and changed the origin point to mediant point, but that doesnt solve my problem. I still can't rotate my mask head horse to the right.
Thank you
Note:
This is the whole blender screenshot:

Please add an image of the whole Blender screen (via Window > Save Screenshot in Blender). At the moment we have no idea what we're looking at or where that mask has come from!

I edited the question and add the whole blender screen shot :-)

Thanks. I'm not familiar with Blender's VFX editor so someone else will have to answer that one!

You are working in a 2D plane, rotation happens in the Z axis only, not X and Y.

What you can do instead is scale the mask on the X axis to -1, which will effectively mirror it on the X axis.
To do this, select your mask with A, then hit SX-1⏎ Enter


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Compositing glare, without affecting other emmision materials
As you can see in the image, I am adding glare effects to the emissions off the engines. But its also affecting the white emission material as well on the upper sensor node above the engines. How can i separate the glare to only affect the engines and not all other glow on the ship?

(source: gyazo.com)
=================================================================================
So after re aranging and piping the material though the mask with passes setup. it works kinda.... but as u can see the effect is rather gone now from what it was.

(source: gyazo.com)
===============================
Thank you all for your help. but i managed to fix it by putting the Eng's into a separate layer. so the hull layer 1 and eng's layer 2 and rendering it that way.

(source: gyazo.com)
thank you.

Is it possible to seprate the blue glowing emission layer from the white glow emission layer with Render passes? idk XD

Look also here: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/88613/problem-with-id-mask-and-glow-effect/88662#88662 and maybe here: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/88584/creating-a-planet-atmosphere-blurry-edge/88602#88602


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UV Sync Selection button doesn't appear (Stl file)
So I've imported an stl file into Blender, everything works fine. However, when I select my object and go to UV Editing mode, the UV Sync Selection button doesn't appear!
I've tried the same steps with a regular .blend file and in that scenario I can see the UV Sync Selection button.
Is it a problem with stl files? What should I do? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hello :). Does you mesh have a UV map? Right dropdown, just below "shape keys"...

@JachymMichal I guess that's it. My screenshot took too long  ;)

@JachymMichal No indeed I don't! Do you have a good tutorial to recommend on how to create one? This tutorial from Blender only shows how to do it with a blender object (cube) so there is already a map... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7M-B6xnaEM

Hey :). Simply going UV > Smart UV Project will give you an automatic one. As beginner friendly tutorials go, BlenderGuru's anvil is a good one

Thank you do much for your help @JachymMichal! I'll check the material you recommend :-)

When the object has no UV map (see in the Object Data Properties) then there are no UVs to sync.
To get a UV map, hit U to unwrap the object or at least the Plus-button next to the UV slots to add one.