text:
how can I link selected to active nodes using the slot numbers
I would like to create a script which links selected to active nodes based on the slot numbers where slot 0 output on the selected node would link to the slot 0 input of the active node, slot 1 output on the selected node would link to the slot 1 input of the active node etc. I would like this to work on any nodes which are selected and active. underneath I've attached a image of me trying (and failing). any help would be appreciated. thanks

Is is part of an operator called from the node editor ?

First you have to locate the node tree.  Then you have to find the two nodes you want to connect.  Then for each pair consisting of an output node of the first node and an input node of the second node you have to create a new Node Link and add it to the node tree.
Here is source code that will give you a start. It's an example using a material.  You can do something similar with compositor nodes or geometry nodes; you just need different code to identify the node tree.  Other than those two lines the rest would be the same. (See below for Geometry Nodes and the compositor)
import bpy

material = bpy.data.materials["Material"]

node_tree = material.node_tree
nodes = node_tree.nodes

dst = nodes.active

srcs = [node for node in nodes if node != dst and node.select]
src = srcs[0]

node_tree.links

node_tree.links.new(src.outputs[0], dst.inputs[0])

The nodes member of the node tree maintains the active node.  You should probably check to make sure it's not None, but I didn't.
There is no list of selected nodes.  You have to walk the tree and check the select property of each node.  That's what the line starting srcs = does.  The active node is also a selected node, so the if clause of the list comprehension also checks to exclude it.
There are two other issues you might want to deal with.  The first is obvious in how I found the src: What to do if there is more than one selected node besides the active node.  You'll have to address that according to your needs.
There other has to do with the last statement.  In your example you would put that in a loop like this:
for i in range(len(src.outputs)):
    node_tree.links.new(src.outputs[i], dst.inputs[i])

but that leaves you with the question of what to do with mismatched nodes.  Node wrangler puts a lot of effort into figuring this out based on the types of the inputs and outputs; but in the end even it punts to the user a lot of the time.
For geometry nodes, you need to find an object that has a geometry nodes modifier, find the modifier, and the field is called node_group instead of node_tree (because GN encloses the tree between group input and group output nodes).  Here's an example that assumes the active object has a GN modifier with the default name:
obj = bpy.context.active_object
modifier = obj.modifiers["GeometryNodes"]
node_tree = modifier.node_group

For the compositor you should check to see if it is using nodes but the tree is easy to find:
assert(bpy.context.scene.use_nodes == True)
node_tree = bpy.context.scene.node_tree


text:
How to set operator tooltip from poll()?
I'm using Blender 3.0 and I would like to dynamically change an operator's tooltip based on conditions that happen inside the operator's poll() function but I can't get it to work.  I have tried to follow the example from the 2.81 Release Notes.
Why I want to do this:  my understanding of the poll function is that is is meant to be used to disable the operator's button if certain conditions aren't met.  If there are multiple potential conditions that could fail, I would like a way to inform the user what specifically isn't met so that they can correct the problem.  The sample code below shows only some of the sanity checks I would like to perform.  Yes, I could move this into the execute() and then skip execution if the conditions aren't met, but then what's the point of the poll() function?
class MYCOMPANY_OT_ExportSingleObject(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_label = "Export"
    bl_idname = "mycompany.exportsingleobject"
    myTooltip: bpy.props.StringProperty()

    @classmethod
    def description(cls, context, properties):
        ## myTooltip is always empty here
        return "Tooltip is [ " + properties.myTooltip + " ]"

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        cls.myTooltip = "Tooltip: Set from poll()"

        ## This prints the correct ID and the updated tooltip
        print("[ " + cls.bl_idname + " ] has tooltip [ " + cls.myTooltip +" ]")

        ## As an aside, cls.report() doesn't seem to do anything.  I left it in in case someone also knows if/how to make it work in poll()
        if context.active_object is None:
            cls.report( {"WARNING"}, "No object selected.")
            return False

        if context.active_object.type != "MESH":
            cls.report( {"WARNING"}, "Can only export objects of type MESH. [ "+context.active_object.name+" ] is of type [ "+context.active_object.type+" ]")
            return False

        is_enabled, is_loaded = addon_utils.check("io_scene_fbx")
        if not (is_enabled and is_loaded):
            cls.report(
                {"WARNING"},
                "Add-on for FBX format is not enabled." +
                "Go to 'Edit → Preferences → Add-ons' and enable 'Import-Export: FBX format'")
            return False

        return True

    def execute(self, context):
        ## Omitted

Instead of that, put cls.poll_message_set("reason") calls before you return False in your poll function. Example

Excellent! This is exactly what I was looking for.  As a bit of a tangent I'm a little annoyed that the Blender documentation isn't sorted alphabetically, or grouped more intelligently.  I admit to missing this on a first read. :(
https://docs.blender.org/api/current/bpy.types.Operator.html#bpy.types.Operator.poll_message_set
EDIT: I guess I'm also support to ask you to post this as an "answer" so that I can mark is a complete.  Thank you again.

If you wish to use the approach from 2.81:
For various obscure reasons having to do with the C magic behind Blender's Property Definitions you can't directly do what you want.  You have to follow the guideline from the release notes.
If you're willing to introduce a class with file scope and an instance of that class, you can accomplish your goal, however.  This requires cooperation between the operator class and the panel class, but here's a proof of concept you can adapt:
import bpy
from bpy.types import Operator
from bpy.types import Panel
from bpy.props import StringProperty

class _shared_message:
    def __init__(self, text):
        self.text = text

_message = _shared_message("Hi")

class TLA_OT_operator(Operator):
    bl_idname = "demo.operator"
    bl_label = "I'm a silly Operator"
    bl_options = {"REGISTER", "UNDO"}

    message : StringProperty(default = "unset")

    @classmethod
    def description(cls, context, properties):
        return properties.message

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        _message.text = "HUH"
        return context.mode == "OBJECT"

    def execute(self, context):
        self.report({'INFO'},  f"execute()")
        return {'FINISHED'}

class TLA_PT_sidebar(Panel):
    """Display test button"""
    bl_label = "DEMO"
    bl_space_type = "VIEW_3D"
    bl_region_type = "UI"
    bl_category = "TLA"

    def draw(self, context):
        col = self.layout.column(align=True)
        prop = col.operator(TLA_OT_operator.bl_idname)
        prop.message = _message.text

classes = [
    TLA_OT_operator,
    TLA_PT_sidebar,
]

def register():
    for c in classes:
        bpy.utils.register_class(c)

def unregister():
    for c in classes:
        bpy.utils.unregister_class(c)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    register()

A global text string, encased in a class, is shared between the two classes.  It's modified in the operator poll function and is used to set the argument value for the description function in the panel's draw function, as described in the release notes.
Better Way from comments:
The credit for the below goes to scurest in a comment, and they should get the 'accept' for the question. I'm recording the code that works using their technique as an alternative to my answer.  It really is the better way from the above paragraph.
class TLA_OT_operator(Operator):
    """ Tooltip for success case """
    bl_idname = "demo.operator"
    bl_label = "I'm a silly Operator"
    bl_options = {"REGISTER", "UNDO"}

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        if context.mode != "OBJECT":
            cls.poll_message_set("HUH")
        return context.mode == "OBJECT"

    def execute(self, context):
        self.report({'INFO'}, f"execute()")
        return {'FINISHED'}

class TLA_PT_sidebar(Panel):
    """Display test button"""
    bl_label = "DEMO"
    bl_space_type = "VIEW_3D"
    bl_region_type = "UI"
    bl_category = "TLA"

    def draw(self, context):
        col = self.layout.column(align=True)
        prop = col.operator(TLA_OT_operator.bl_idname)

You can remove the myToolTip string and the description class method but you do need to give your operator class a default tooltip by giving it a documentation string.

I tried this out and unfortunately it doesn't quite work as expected.  I tried this in Blender 3.0.1 and it appears that for whatever reason Blender calls the Panel's draw() before it calls the Operator's poll() meaning that the very first time the user mouses-over the button, the tooltip is incorrect (using your example it says "Hi").  The user has to mouse-over the button a second time to get the correct tooltip which is not intuitive.
I'm sure there's a way to force a call to draw(), but I think the "correct" way to go about this is the poll_message_set() function proposed by @scurest

Sure, poll_message_function will work and you should get scurest to write an answer and accept it, but note that poll_message_function only generates the tooltip for the failure case.  You still need a tooltip for the success case.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to display a custom property that's a dictionary?
I am dynamically adding a custom property to certain objects in a scene and I want to display that property in a panel.  The custom property is a dictionary with keys that point to basic types, I only want to display some of the keys.  Below is a simplified version of the workflow - the user selects an object, clicks a button and the property gets added, then I'd like the user to edit some of the data.  Unfortunately I can't figure out how to get the panel to display/edit some of the values from the dictionary.
class myDynamicPropertyDict(dict):
    def __init__(self):
        self['userEditable'] = '<user-editable text>'
        self['internalUse'] = '<non-user-editable stuff>'

class MYCOMPANY_OT_AddProperty(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_label = "Add Property"
    bl_idname = "mycompany.addproperty"

    def execute(self, context):
        if context.active_object.get("myProp") is None:
            context.active_object["myProp"] = myDynamicPropertyDict()
        return {'FINISHED'}

class MYCOMPANY_PT_TestPanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label="Test Panel"
    bl_space_type = "VIEW_3D"
    bl_region_type = "UI"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout=self.layout
        layout.operator("mycompany.addproperty", text = "Add", icon="ADD")
        if context.active_object and ("myProp" in context.active_object):

            ### Attempt #1 ###
            ### Results in this message:
            # TypeError: UILayout.prop(): error with keyword argument "data" -  Function.data expected a AnyType type, not IDPropertyGroup
            #
            # location: <unknown location>:-1
            ### layout.prop( data=context.active_object["myProp"], property='["userEditable"]')

            ### Attempt #2 ###
            ### Results in this message:
            # rna_uiItemR: property not found: Object.["myProp"]["userEditable"]
            ### layout.prop( data=context.active_object, property='["myProp"]["userEditable"]')

            ### Attempt #3 ###
            ### Renders, but get a mouseover saying "This property is for internal use only and is disabled."
            ### layout.prop( data=context.active_object, property='["myProp"]')

            layout.label(text="Dummy label to see something rendering")

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(MYCOMPANY_OT_AddProperty)
    bpy.utils.register_class(MYCOMPANY_PT_TestPanel)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(MYCOMPANY_PT_TestPanel)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(MYCOMPANY_OT_AddProperty)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()
```

It's trickier than it seems to do what you're trying to do. The builtin layout functions don't allow displaying a dictionary. It only works with proper bpy.props properties. see https://docs.blender.org/api/current/bpy.props.html for examples.  Maybe this will help https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/176499/86891. tldr : you'll have to define blender specific properties to store your dictionary and a custom layout system to display it like you want

Or if the values are simple data types like string or integer, you can store it as a string and use json.loads and json.dumps to store it in a regular string custom prop

hm ...maybe what I'm doing just isn't The Blender Way™.  I'd hoped to be able to add my blob of properties only to the objects that needed them to try and keep things simple but it seems I'll be fighting Blender the entire time.

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


text:
Viewport Artifacts when working with big scales
Has anyone encountered those lines which look like z-fighting already?
They only occur when the scale that is being worked on is relatively big.
When switching to orthographic this problem does not occur.

My island is 320x320m in size with metric as Unit and 1 as Unit Scale.
Any ideas how to fix this?

Are you referring to the orange selection outline getting weird in the valley and ocean, or are you referring to the fact that the map looks like stacked cardboard?

I am referring to the look of stacked cardboard, the orange outline is because I got a part of the island as a separate mesh to make it have a higher resolution

ahh I see, changed it to Start: 1m and End: 1km now it works ;) thanks.
If you post your comment as answer I'll accept it

@user1853 This was helpful for me as well .. I would never have thought that the clip range caused this.

Changing the clipping to:
Start: 1m and End: 1km
as suggested by @user1853 worked!


text:
Particle System - Hair: size jittering - messes up scene
I have a project where I rendered out one animation.
Now I see that the palms in my animation jitter in size.
Video here:
https://youtu.be/JowtxnaBUZg
When I examine this effect in Blender I see that it actually is happening and not just an artifact.
So somehow the height of my particle system is being "animated" and I would like to shut it off.
What have I tried:

Looking through all particle settings (I might miss something though)
Looked into Dope Sheet but nothing is in there.

I turned out that I had a Force Field and Wind in my Scene that were supposed to only affect the Smoke, somehow that also affected the Palm Particle System.
I deleted the Force Field and Wind and since I had baked the smoke animation it stayed the same and the palms now don't wiggle anymore.

Wish I would have found this two hours earlier. I recently had the same issue.  I keyframed the strength of a wind force field and added a noise modifier to it for blowing some flags (cloth). But whenever the strength got to zero (it seemed) all my particles (trees and people) would bounce and jitter (as if their scale was being affected) just as in your video.  Anyway, like you, I baked in all the flag animations, so the noise modifier was no longer needed. After trouble-shooting for a while, and removing the modifier, the unwanted jitter in the particles ceased.


text:
How to Show Original "Cube" Around Subdivision Surface Modifier
Following a tutorial and the instructor switches to the top Viewport to edit the object:

But when I try to do the same, I notice that the outline from the original cube which surrounded my subdivision surface modifier is now gone:

And I don't know how to get it back. Any way to get the original cube around the subdivision surface modifier to reappear? Like how it is when you first start a project in Blender?

Disable the modifier's On Cage option, this option displays the edges as they would be if you applied the modifier :

The On Cage option is now disabled and yet the box still does not display: https://i.imgur.com/yTUGUGk.jpg

could you please share your file? https://pasteall.org/blend/

https://pasteall.org/blend/0b8245eb8a764c7f94b76bc86be603c7

You've already subdivided it, so it's not a cube anymore, you must have already applied a Subdivision Surface?

Oh - yes I did apply a Subdivision Surface. So I guess after it's been applied, there's no showing the original cube anymore.

no, you've definitely lost the cube now


text:
Way to Cover Up Or Blur Crease / Ridge In Blender
Following this tutorial and using a mirror modifier, specifically, I was able to create this little bird in Blender

But as you can see, there's an obnoxious crease right down the middle and I'm not sure how to fix it.
I've tried to line up the vertices in the center as best as possible. And when I try to overlap them, it only makes the crease worse.

Is there a way to fix this in Blender? A way to smooth over the crease somehow? Almost like blurring in Photoshop. Thanks!

In Edit mode go into x-ray mode (Shft-Z) and see if there's an internal face down the middle of the object. If so, select and delete it. Also enable Clipping in the mirror modifier.

Incidentally the link to that tutorial requires registration and/or payment so no-one here will be able to view itl.

Sorry about that. Here's a screenshot of the model in x-ray mode. I don't see an internal face down the middle. And I did enable Clipping in the mirror modifier, but it didn't seem to have any effect (?)

Here is a link to download the file if you're interested https://pasteall.org/blend/fee578105ab54ccd92fba1b00151b824

just raise the merge value

result:

I agree that will get rid of most of the crease, but it's really masking quite a few other problems in the model, not least being the fact that the 3D cursor isn't in the centre of the world and the object's origin is offset from the cursor. Also,the 'loose parts' (beak, wing and eye) seem to have been joined to the body before the mirror modifier was added so are overlapping in places.

@JohnEason Yes there are in fact still plenty of issues with this model, which are now becoming apparent during texturing. I.e. when I try to color the beak, it's drawing on the head as well and same thing with the eyes. https://pasteall.org/blend/d34b9f0c42064934870e9f2b1603fbbe

Without being able to see the original tutorial it's not really possible to offer any suggestions I'm afraid.


text:
Why Is Wireframe Shading Only Showing Object Outline
I'm following a tutorial on Skillshare where the instructor switches to Wireframe Shading by pressing 'Z + Wireframe':

Unfortunately when I try to replicate this on my Mac, it's only giving me an outline of the shape, and doesn't show the 16 (?) lines within it:

Why is that the case? I've checked 'High Quality Normals' under Performance just as an answer to this question suggests. And I'm using Blender version 2.93.5 so I don't think it should have anything to do with outdated versions. Any other ideas? Just want to follow along as best as possible.

Which icons do you have hilighted at the top of your Subdiv Surface modifier and are the other settings on the modifier panel the same as in the tutorial image? - He's using Blender 2.81, but 2.93 should give the same result.

@JohnEason when switching over to the Subdiv Surface modifier panel it looks like all of my settings are exactly the same as his

nope, you didn't check the most left button

As @chris says, there is one crucial difference between your settings and those of the tutor. You have 'Optimal Display' checked whereas the tutor does not! Uncheck yours and all will be revealed!

@JohnEason Yeah that was it. Unchecking 'Optimal Display' did the trick. Thank you.

If you're following a tutorial always check whether the version you are using is the same as that of the tutorial and if it's different take particular care to check that all settings are the same. For instance in 2.8x the order of the row of icons in the modifier is different to 2.93. The other main difference between versions is how you actually apply the modifier. 2.8x has Apply and Copy buttons whereas those options are on a dropdown at the end of the row of icons in 2.93 and above.


text:
Object Editing View
Want to edit the Area lamp and make stadium lights but can't go to the edit view (usually on the right).

Looks like this one https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/82130/the-info-bar-on-top-disappeared-and-the-mouse-pointer-is-misaligned but for Mac


text:
Problems going back to original view?
can't go back to the original object view. Got stuck with this image and can't go back.
Thanks

You've stacked and collapsed several 3d windows. Press on the tiny "+" on the bottom right of your 3D window to get back the horizontal menu bar


text:
how to disable compositing nodes for selected frames?
In the beginning, I have used the Glare compositing nodes for frames 0 to 160. After frame 160, I wanted to animate other objects without the Glare compositing nodes, but when I rendered the whole video out, the nodes were applied to the entire animation. Is there any way to disable the compositing nodes for selected frames? (for my case, after frame 160)

The quick way is via using the time-node.


text:
How to get world back?
I started to learn blender, deleted the world icon-thing in the outliner panel and now, I don't know how to get it back -.-

Blender's concept is to work with objects. So if you don't see your world in the outliner anymore, you probably just unlinked it. The object itself still exists in the background and will be kept until you close blender.
In the gif you see how to might have unlinked the world and how you get the (still existing but not linked) world back.

If you closed blender anyway and the unlinked map is lost, just create a new world by hitting + New in the world tab.

Thanks, found it.... I had to scroll up in the tab. -.-  The reason why i didn't found or saw it.


text:
how to disable automatic UV generation?
This dyntopo popup really gets into my nerves. Everytime I create a primitive form, Blender creates automatically an UV map. Is there some way to disable the auto generation?

Sure thing ! Just after adding your primitive, type F9 or open the foldout in the bottom left of your screen.

It will remember the setting for this kind of primitive in the file so next time you add a cube for example the box will be unchecked.


text:
Unwrap faces without effecting other faces?
I s it possible to unwrap certain faces without effecting other ones? I tried to pin them but pinning does not really help here.

Have you tried to select only the faces that you want to unwrap again in the viewport (right side)?

Pinned vertices should not move. I've just tested it with the default cube. Maybe you have duplicated verts or flipped normals so that the UV islands get twisted (screenshot 2, the arrow)?

No, don't have duplicated verts and normals are not flipped. I have this issues most of the time. Pinning ist not really reliable. And yes I've tried with selecting.

Until you get a proper answer, I can at least offer a workaround in the meantime (or this might be the actual way to do it). When you hit Unwrap, I know that hidden faces are not affected. I've even tested it myself with a regular UV Sphere. Here is one that has not been touched:

Let's say I want to preserve the UVs of the left side of the sphere, and I want them to stay exactly where they are on the UV map (selected for clarity):

I'll hide the left side, leaving only the right:

When I select > all then unwrap, I get this unwrapped dome, and I'll move the unwrapped UV island off to the side for now:

When I unhide the left part of the sphere, and check its UV, the left side of the sphere's UVs has not been moved at all despite the fact that I used unwrap on the right side of the sphere:


text:
Trimming a 3D model
I have imported a 3D .obj model into Blender for the purpose of trimming off the jagged edges produced by the WebODM software.
Ideally I would like to select a circular region of interest, invert it and then delete everything outside of the circle (or a rectangle instead) but as a new user I can’t see how to do that.
When I select the circular selection tool it doesn’t seem to select anything when I click over the model. Should I be in Body view or Edit mode to trim the model?
Thanks

hello please show some screenshots of the wireframe, maybe even share your file

You need to be in Edit Mode to select- you can Invert your selection with Crtl+I

Thanks for the suggestions but I have tried to cut out the area of the model I'm interested in and it seems a lot of detail inside the circle has also been deleted. I have some screen grabs but I can't see how to add them to this reply?

I will have to start a new question to see the option of inserting an image - doesn't sound right


text:
Deleting an unwanted region of a 3D model
I have deleted the region of a 3D model around a circular region that I want to focus on, by deleting the Vertices (that was the obvious option in the context menu), but a lot of detail within the circle has also been deleted. How can I avoid this?
Grab 1 is the whole area in question, grab 2 shows the inverted selection (so the yellow is to be removed) and grab 3 shows the result after deleting Vertices. Clearly, I need to delete something else in the list or use some other method.

Thanks - As a newbe I will have to experiment to see what that all means

Sorry, see Answer ...

Before you start to select anything, ensure X-ray Alt+Z is enabled.

Selection is happening for currently visible parts.
Dense mesh like yours has probably some vertices hidden behind others ... or in some cases density and distance from point of view is using some boundary that limits selection.
X-ray option let blender to make all vertices visible and selectable in  that depth direction.

Yes that worked, although I don’t understand why yet

If this answered your question it's helpful to the site to accept the answer by clicking the answer's checkmark:  https://blender.stackexchange.com/help/someone-answers

@JulianPerry a bit of edits ...


text:
Blurring and moving an HDRI background
By following some YouTube videos I have added an HDR image to serve as a background to my 3D model of a stone circle, but not only do I need to blur and soften it but also shift the image to show more of the sky. I have tried to follow other videos to do this but some of the functions have been moved in the 3.1 version so I'm lost.
I include a grab of where I am at so far and the background image inserted. I have tried some depth of field changes but they did not show.

here is a way to blur but I don't know if it will fit your needs: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/258728/how-do-i-blur-with-shader-nodes/258734#258734 maybe you should simply rework your image in an image editor?

Related: How to blur a texture node in cycles material?

Hi :). To move/rotate the HDRI, simply use the Mapping node

i would recommend installing the free "easy HDRI" for this. Just search on google for "blender easy hdri download" -> then you move and adjust your HDRI like a boss :D [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/GqPoS.gif

you could blur the background with 2 scenes, one with HDRI, one without like this:

So one scene hast just the background, then in compositor you blur it and the other scene has the objects and "transparent" checked in the render settings.
You could rotate your HDRI with Easy HDRI add-on (free) or as Jachym said, just use the mapping node.

Not sure what all that means but I guess I’ll find out with some experimentation

I have added a panoramic image of my own (not 360) but it does not show at all. Why is that?

pls ask new/other question as new questions, not as comments. You may open as many questions as you want.


text:
Half-transparent object has dark shading on edges when using alpha blend

Eevee, Blender 3.0
I'm attempting to follow this tutorial about making fake light cones, however when doing so there's a dark outline near the outer edge of the light. It doesn't show when using other blend modes, but I want to avoid the noise generated with alpha hashed as much as possible.
Here's the nodes I'm using currently:

Example blend file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KyqWuM2JQewVCYakcBrIF8Q3bvcnbLdo/view

Perhaps clamp the math nodes.  At least the subtract.

Clamping the subtract did the trick! I also had to turn Show Backface on to get rid of a bit more.


text:
Shrink sleeve label on beer bottle
Can anyone tell me how to make, a shrink sleeve label in blender? Tried with shrink/wrap modifier but that's don't work. Tried several different methods but as far as I was able to wrap a label I still can't match it right. It's deformed and edges dont match.

you can do it in the material of the bottle itself

one way here: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/6226/whats-the-simplest-way-to-wrap-extruded-text-around-a-cylinder -> instead of text you could use any mesh object


text:
Save PNG export settings?
Is there a way to save those settings? I always forget to set them right and then have to go back and rerender a dozen images.

Are you saving the image after the Render?

yes ... I did not thought of using the output tab instead... I'm getting old.

In case anyone still looking for the solution, here is the correct way how to do this:

Open a new file
Set your desired defaults in Output Properties -> Output-Region (see attached image) and save your blender startup file via File -> Defaults -> Save Startup File. This will keep all your changes/settings of your currently opened file as defaults to load when you open a new one. Tested with Blender >= 3.6

Create a blank Blender file with this settings and save it as your template. Then each time copy the file and paste it to your project location and work on the duplicated file.

whatever you do, don't do this!


text:
How to seperate Mesh completely for material to work properly,
I have a windows mesh, it was one single mesh. I created a material and realized it does not work. So i seperated my mesh into 6 different one but the material still acts like it is one single mesh. How do I separate the mesh completely?

Nevermind, the issue was the origin point of each window, they shared the same one. It works now, once I have corrected them.


text:
Character Rig Texture Skewing/Streching
TL;DR - Rig causes texture to stretch in places ( like on the joints; hips, butt, shoulders etc).
Having a hard time finding alternative methods or tricks to fix my problem ( search for hours/days ). I all ready know to use multiple UV maps or materials. I have to use low res and low-med poly and i could re-weight but it just moves the problem to a different location.
Normally you'd just use multiple textures and UV maps but i only want to use 1 UV Map, 1 Texture and a single rig. I want to save time by only using a single of each and id compromise on it with minimizing stretching and i don't think its possible to out right stop it with that kind of restriction, especially cause its low-med poly and low res texture.
I want to use this model for a video game and it would be an interesting challenge to get it to work better ( not perfectly ) with only a single texture, rig and UV map. Though i'm starting to doubt the validity of the challenge.
Thanks!
Note - I can post screen shots but only specific parts due to "offensive" content ( nudity ).

I found an answer I'm at least half-way satisfied with but might not count towards the challenge. Additional loop cuts and smoothing out the weights helps by about 50-60% deformation of texture detail where as before it was like 80-90%.
EDIT: The loop cuts are redundant for the sake of the model's design and only exist to reduce texture skewing.
I'm also gonna use ( for specific parts only ) planes with full weight on single bones and just keep them away from the joints. I might also try half weights if it's centered perfectly in-between joints.
This does increase the poly/detail count significantly. I will still be looking out for new methods and trying different things.


text:
Сhanging the camera path
I need to change the camera path at key points. When moving the curve vertices after empty, the camera stays exactly where I want it. But when editing vertices in front of empty, the camera changes its position

Maybe try this solution: Create a cube (or a triangle), select the camera, shift select the cube, switch to Edit mode, select 3 vertices, press CtrlP > Make Vertex Parent:

Give your cube a Curve modifier with the curve as Curve Object:

Now when you increase or reduce the length of the curve the camera doesn't move:

Très bien! but... if I change the position of the first vertex of the curve, then the camera will change its position

oops yes you're right


text:
Normal map is dark blue?
My normal map turned suddenly into dark blue, does abyone know how to turn into into light blue? High Poly Model, Low poly Model and Cage -> baked got light blue, added something to my highpoly, baked again -> now dark blue....

Use Non-color Color Space, make sure you don't apply the normal map to the mesh from which you bake the normal map.

disconnect your nodes on the normal map... thats what worked for me


text:
How to get Pin to work in UV maps once you have joined a mesh?
I have created a new file for testing purpose. Create Monkey, seperate lose parts from the mesh (the eyes) copy uv maps, join everything together. Now both eyes share the same space in the uv map. But now if I pin those islands and hit U to unwrap, the vertices will end up like a wierd unusable spaghetti mess. Already tried to clear everything with Object -> Relations -> Make Single User but nope.
Is there a way to get pin to work?

https://pasteall.org/blend/969eb6ce7b6742438b221674fcb0d3ab

Isn't the problem in copying the UVs, not pinning or unwrapping? Indexes of the vertices don't match, so the UV quads are chaotic.

Open these images in two tabs and switch between them with CTRL+Page Down/Page Up to compare indices: https://i.imgur.com/401W7pZ.png https://i.imgur.com/hjN3CkW.png

@MarkusvonBroady ah thanks, that explains it. Did not know about the indices in overlay, nice feature to know about. (in case someone is wondering, you have to activate | Preference, Interface, developer extra)

Even before applying subdivision, you can see a problem by adding a texture to your Susanne:

Clearly the eye to which you copied UV is scrambled, because its vertex order is not the same as in the other eye, so the UV no longer fits.
The simplest solution to your problem is to just mirror the eye:

In cases where the objects aren't exactly the same, you can align one to the other as much as you can, then do the CltrL Transfer Mesh Data and select UV, then clear the transformations of the object you moved to return it to the place it was before.


text:
How do you fix this lighting bug when using cycles baking
I'm doing cycles baking for the backrooms and theres weird shadow seams on the walls. I cycles baked with default settings and used smart uv project for the uv

Hello, what do you call "weird shadow seams"?

the shadow seam on the wall on the left


text:
How can the Bevel Modifier be replicated in Geometry Nodes? (basic functions only)
Although a bevel modifier is in the works for some upcoming release, I still wonder if it could somehow be reconstructed in Geometry Nodes with the currently available versions (3.3 LTS, 3.4).
To reconstruct all properties of the bevel modifier would probably be an unsolvable task.
But if one would refer the function only to the pure smoothing of edges (and maybe at most the possibility to change the shape slightly), it should be feasible. ...I think.

This question has also been addressed in principle a few times, or there are a few that go in this direction, but cannot be seen as a duplicate:

Bevel effect with geo nodes
Possible to Bevel Geometry Nodes Group Output?
Bevel the top half of an object or just the top half of a selection using geometry nodes

I had also asked a similar question once before, but this one referred to a cubic shape:

How can I bevel the edges of a cube with geometry nodes?

Only that does not help me in this case.
The question posed here refers to complex geometries, which are not cubic, and therefore requires a completely different approach.
In such a case, I think the most crucial thing is that the corner points create a mesh with different number of edges, which definitely makes the task a master work.

Therefore, I again ask the clear question, because I myself am convinced that there must be a solution here:

How can I smooth the edges of a complex geometry in Geometry Nodes without using the Bevel modifier?

I am sure that some genius brain might have a brainwave that could lead to a solution?

Good timing, IMO. Nice challenge, even if the nodes are on their way, eventually...


text:
How can I scale a 2D shape with constant thickness inwards
Suppose I have a mesh or a simple curve consisting of four (or some more) points.
Now I want to scale them inward with constant distance to the edges.
This works fine (with a little effort) under some circumstances.
But when the scaling reaches a certain level, the points start to protrude into each other. This is especially noticeable with curves that consist of several points, or that do not contain straight lines, as well as points that are close together.
My goal would be the following (simplified sketched):

On the left is the starting point, in the middle a scaling with constant strength, and on the right the result I would like to have as soon as the distance is a little higher.
Clearly, the inner curve in this example would then have to consist of only three points instead of four, which is absolutely OK.
Only how do I get to this result in the first place?

The solution here helped me, but causes the points to protrude into each other from a certain curvature or thickness:
Solving Uneven Profile Curve Thickness with Mesh Extrusions?
This solution is also not uninteresting, but much too computational in this case:
How to displace a curve without introducing artifacts at tight turns?
I am looking for a simple mathematical solution for a relatively simple shape on the X/Y plane (Geometry Nodes only!)

...And no, I really don't have any idea about it this time and I don't answer my question myself this time ;-)

I could imagin mathematical solutions - but I have no clue, how you could create a mathematical solution in geometry nodes for this task without beeing less computational, than the solution, that you linked ;-)

@AndréZmuda I would be already happy if the solution does not include Geometry Proximity or similar, but works ;-)

i just wonder who wrote that answer WITH proximity node.... :D

@quellenform , I will think about it. Just realized, that it starts getting complicated, when three ore more neighbouring displacement vectors intersect each other. - Could be difficult to realize without while-loops.

Ahh, I've so far missed the point in my answer.. but will leave it in and get back to it. Pressed for time atm. BTW, there was a tool around that did this, I can't find it.

You could try breaking this one.. it Mitres a 2D Mesh-Line to a given width:

It:

Converts one branch to curve, so radius can be set
Extrudes 2D mesh vertically, to get edge angle
Wrangles indices, and tranfers edge-angle from extrusion edge to curve point
Does trig on the edge angle to get mitre-joint length (curve radius)
Converts the curve back to a mesh

Thanks @RobinBetts, this is fantastic and an extremely good solution! I would say that this currently solves the task in the best and most performant way and this is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to achieve! However, unfortunately it doesn't work in all cases (I know, I'm nitpicking). For example, if the inward scaling exceeds a certain value, the overlapping of the edges again creates rather strange shapes. Actually exactly what I wanted to avoid somehow...

@quellenform Yup .. I didn't read you up carefully enough before jumping in with something I'd been using anyway. I could delete this answer but I thought it might be a  decent start to a solution. Maybe you or I can amend it. I'll get to it when I can.

No, please leave the answer here! I find it solves a large part of the task extremely well and is certainly very helpful (for me and for others)!

@quellenform Haven't  forgotten this one... or thought of a clean method, yet..

As already mentioned in the comments, I don't consider this solution to be less computational and probably even not less compuationally intensive. But hopefully it makes you happy, as it does not include any Geometry Proximity ;-)
The general idea is, to build up the inset of quads, create the union, triangulate it and then remove all inner vertices.
Depending on the shape of the polygon, the inset may result in geometry outside of the polygon. Thus I implemented the Point-in-Polygon algorithm according to Weiler, Kevin (1994), "An Incremental Angle Point in Polygon Test", in Heckbert, Paul S. (ed.), Graphics Gems IV, San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press Professional, Inc., pp. 16–23, ISBN 0-12-336155-9. Applying this to all points leads to a complexity of O(n²) where n is the number of points of the polygon. I use this for removing the original polygon from the inset as well.
In some cases I got some artifacts inside the polygon near the outline of the polygon. This is, why I remove points with less than 2 neighbouring vertices at the end. I did not test the solution with many different shapes. So I don't know, if it will work in every case.

Kudos, This is a brilliant approach to the subject! I'm working on it myself, and would not be able to come up with something like that. I'm very excited to see how you develop this further! It does contain a Mesh Boolean (which should make things slow) but at least no Geometry Proximity ;-)

@quellenform , it's the same vice versa: I saw many of your solutions, that would never have come to my mind. Different backgrounds/experiences just lead to different ideas. This is, what makes life interesting ;-)  -- I updated the solution. Unfortunately I only found a computationally intensive solution for removing those artifacts. And it is not as robust, as I would have liked it to be.


text:
Rope created with Bezier Curve has some color issues
I created a rope with four circles, screw modifier and Bezier Curve, the color however acts strange? It's inconsistent. Any idea why? I use normal Principle BDSF shader. Second image, my modifiers since I don't really know what to show.

Topology was the issue, thanks ChatGPT. Issue was gone after changing "image A" to "image B"


text:
Delete Video Cache and apply change in video editing?
I seriously don't really know the right term for it, so sorry for the confusing question... Issue: I use Blender for video editing. I imported my video and realized, I don't like the color. I go to my other software, change it, export it as mp4 and reimport it in Blender. The change does not apply.
I clicked on refresh, still old sequence.
I clicked on my video sequence in the timeline -> source and chose manually the file from my folder, the change still does not apply. Restarting Blender does not help either.
The only working solution is renaming the file, which I would love to avoid. My files are beautiful structured and it would mess everything up.
I assume there's somewhere a stored cash? Or something else? Not in the tmp folder, I already looked. Does anyone know how to apply a changed video, without having to rename it?

Try to switch off Use Proxies, since they're not re-rendered when you switch source files. If you want the proxies rerendered change the Proxy Render Size:

Hm, I tested it over the week-end and it seemed to worked but somehow, this method doesn't work anymore and I'm back to square one.

There is also the cache, you can switch that off in the sidebar.

Seems to work for me in the Sequencer if I choose None in Proxy-> Timecode Index


text:
When I enter sculpting mode I can not find m
I import .fbx file in this scenes,the other model is all right, just "H" I can not find in sculpting mode.
I try to rotate\move\scale,but the "H" is still show in the sculpting

Hello, could you please share your file? https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/

press alt+h in sculpt mode


text:
Transfering blender to new pc
How do i transfer everything from my old laptop to my new laptop? I want all my blender projects exactly like they where on my old pc. I tried transferring one blend file, but it ended up missing some textures, and looking a bit different.

@DuarteFarrajotaRamos is there a way to merge these question with the proposed duplicate. The answers are quite different and they complement each other.

Hi. Mods can merge similar questions when they are identical, but it hasn't been used much around this site as far as I've seen. Answers here do seem to cover more or less the same procedures as the linked duplicate. You can link to them from the comments or answers themselves for more details

The least troublesome way to transition from one computer to the next is to copy the contents  of all folders used for your blender projects in the same file structure you had in the old computer.
As you learned already images used as textures are not saved as part of the blend file unless they are packed. But even if the textures are packed, any link or reference to other blend files will be broken if the file does not exist in the specified place.
That is also true for the cache files for physics and other simulations. If the files are not found you will need to bake them again.
Note as well that for video files and image sequences and audio files there is no way to pack them into the file either.
A partial solution is to use relative paths, where the file structure doesn't have to be the exact same, as long as the assets are all all within the same folder as the blend file. But again, all relevant files have to be copied over to other computer.
A different approach would be to remove the drive from the old computer and make it available to the new one as an external drive.
As a last resort, if you don't want to copy all of the files, you can use the old computer as a network drive, through which you can access your files directly without having to copy them over. But the access will be slower.

The easiest way to transfer your .blend files and any external data associated with it is to open the .blend files, go to File > External Data > Pack All Into .blend, and then transfer the files. All of your external data (images, textures, volumes, mesh data, etc.) will be packed into the .blend file to prevent it from relying on external files. This way, you don't have to transfer the files associated with the .blend file as well.
If you want to unpack the files from the .blend after they have been transferred (.blend files with all external data packed inside are quite big), open the transferred .blend files and go to File > External Data > Unpack All Into Files. This will unpack all the previously packed data into files.
Here's a little visualization:


text:
How make a texture opaque at the center of my object and transparent at extremities for lowpoly clouds?
How make a texture opaque at the center of my object and transparent at extremities for lowpoly clouds?

As you can see in the picture, clouds are completely transparent. What can I add in the node editor? Don't mind the plane.

The clouds are particles, correct? What object did you use to make them, a UV sphere?

yes exactly, i subdivided it and used sculpture mode (for the UV sphere)


text:
Gizmo doesn't align with object local axis
I can't seem to utilize the local axis after rotating an object.
I've tried applying the rotation and position but that doesn't help.

I've linked the file for you to look at, feel free to reward yourself with this 3d file of an arm, with textures included, as a token of appreciation for taking the time to help me with this issue.
Blender File

Hi Please use a title that reflects the content of the question. It should be descriptive but succinct, unique and identifying, summarizing the issue so that users can at a glance understand what your post is about. Use the [edit] link below your post and avoid anything not strictly essential to the post. Remember, your title is the first thing potential visitors will see, and makes your question findable for future users. See "What is the problem with posting an image or link and asking “How do I do this?""

When you have the Move tool activated, you have a second dropdown menu for the Transform Orientation which determines how the gizmo is shown. In your case it is set to Gimbal.
The same would happen if you enabled the Move gizmo in the Overlays without activating the Move tool. In the Overlays you can choose an orientation for the gizmo as well, but other than the tool gizmo there will not be a second orientation shown in the menu bar which makes it even more confusing.

The default orientation which is always shown is the one that will be used whenever you hit G, R or S in combination with an axis letter to move, rotate or scale something along this axis. The second orientation which the gizmo uses is the one where you can move (or rotate or scale depending on which gizmo or tool is enabled) along a gizmo axis by dragging on it.
Now I'm not gonna pretend to understand what exactly Gimbal orientation is, I'd rather quote the Blender Reference Manual on this. But it doesn't really matter, even with other gizmo orientations you can experience this apparent discrepancy between chosen orientation and shown orientation of the gizmo.
From the manual:

Gimbal
Orient the transformation axes to visualize the workings of the object’s Rotation Mode. This is specifically useful for the Euler modes, where the object is rotated one axis at a time: the rotation axes don’t stay perpendicular to each other and might even overlap, a phenomenon known as gimbal lock that complicates animation.


text:
Can't scale nurbs circle along normals
I'm trying to scale a NURBs path along it's normals with Alt +  S, but it just wont go.

https://i.sstatic.net/5K4X7.jpg

Your file seems to be behaving as expected, so this looks like a misunderstanding about what to expect?
The AltS shortcut is to an Edit Mode operation. On a curve, it adjusts the Radius of a its control-points, which, in turn, will alter the transverse scale of any profile swept along it...

It sounds as if your key-map may be covered / absent. Call up Edit > Preferences > Keymap.
This one's quite tricky to search for; it's a Mode under Curve Transform. I found the best search was 'Transform', and then a scroll down to the 'Curve' section, where you can expand this:

Select the 'Shrink / Fatten' Mode, have a look, and see whether the shortcut is set to AltS.

Hi Robin - thanks for the response and help. What you showed in the screenshot is exactly what I'm trying to do, albeit unsuccessfully. For some reason, I just can't scale it like you do. Is there some kind of setting I tripped that prevents it from scaling?   https://imgur.com/a/ftPZMEX

@Frank Maybe you've covered the keymap? Can you still 'Set Curve Radius' in the Edit > Right-Click menu, or in the N Panel > Item > Transform?

pardon my ignorance but not sure what is meant with keymap but yes, I can still change the radius in the tool options which has the same effect as alt-s. Why Alt-s is not working however still remains a mystery.....

@Frank   no need to apologize .. we're all learning, here... since it's a possible cause, when I get a chance, I'll expand this answer to show checking / editing your key-map (which assigns keyboard shortcuts to operations, under Edit > Preferences > Keymap)  But you may be ahead of me, there? I'm quite busy for a bit.

@Frank edited, maybe this will fix.


text:
Can you turn a pose into the actual geometry of the mesh?
For example, I move the finger bones so it appears like a rested hand. Is it possible after that to make that pose the actual geometry of the mesh, so when I compile it and put it in game it doesn't go back to the default open hand?
What I posed it like in blender:

What it looks like when I compile:

I'm new to blender.

Yup.
Pose your armature.  Select your mesh.  Copy the armature modifier, then apply the first (topmost) copy.  Select your armature in pose mode and ctrl-a -> apply pose as resting pose.  Done.
There can be some issues if you have some constraints built around assumptions about the base pose.  It's not possible (to my knowledge) to apply a resting pose only to a single bone, so make sure your armature is in the pose you want before doing it.

I'm very new to blender, how do I get to the armature modifier?

@VOKZEL That's very very new.  I would recommend doing some basic tuts first.  I recommend https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro .  Without a little more knowledge than that, you probably don't even have the language for me to be able to tell you.  But in case I'm wrong, the armature modifier is on the modifier tab of the properties view (with your mesh selected.)

Yeah, I know I'm new, but I'm not planning on animating or creating custom models. What I am using is just a model from some other video game.
But I found out where the armature modifier is, and when I copy it the bones get really buggy and broken.
https://pasteboard.co/HuVMgDh.png

No, it won't be correct until you do everything.

I find this confusingly-worded. I know what an armature modifier is (as opposed to an armature) and know how to access them. I know how to copy them onto the clipboard. I have no idea how to apply the "first/topmost" copy, or what that means (topmost in order on the clipboard? topmost in physical location on the outliner? another interpretation) or what to do after that. I recognize that we're basically trying to separate the rig from particular way the mesh is deformed so the latter can be imported onto the original mesh to change its shape, but I have no idea how to actually do that.

@KEY_ABRADE Copy as in create a copy of the modifier on the modifier stack-- as in, duplicate the modifier.  Topmost, as in, in the highest position on the stack, but it really doesn't matter, that's just how you should be applying modifiers in general.  What to do after applying the topmost armature?  Apply the pose of the armature as its rest pose.

Enter Object Mode.
Select the mesh attached to the armature.
Open the Object menu in the upper left of your workspace.
Scroll down to Apply so all the options under Apply are visible.
Hit Apply Visual Geometry to Mesh.

This should deform the mesh (in Edit Mode) to what it currently looks like in Object and Pose Mode. Deleting the rig after doing this appears to flip the mesh 90 degrees, so keep that in mind.


text:
Delete multiple keyframes at a time?
How do you delete multiple keyframes at a time? Pressing space and having to click buttons seems inefficient.

In the Dopesheet you can select the keyframes you want either with cmd right click, or shift cmd right click to select several keyframes.
Of course A to select all, and again A to deselect all, and X to delete.
You can also select with one of the selection tools you already use in the 3D view: ctrl for the lasso, B for the box, and C for the pen.
Also you can put the green line wherever you want, if you ctrl + right click on the right of the line you will select all the keyframes on the right of the line, if you ctrl + right click on the left of the line you will select all the keyframes on the left of the line.
Also note that the arrow button on the bottom horizontal menu of the Dopesheet window (Only Include Channels Relating To Selected Objects And Data) allows you to display only the keyframes of the object you've selected in the 3D view.

In the graph editor or dope sheet select all of the keyframes you want to delete and then you can delete all selected items at once.


text:
Everytime I weight paint it moves the model
I am fairly new to blender. Please, if you know the answer just post it down here, and get it over with.
Whenever I weight paint the model I have it moves the painted area to some weird origin position.
Examples:

See how here the bones are in the correct place...

And then when I weight paint (it's not proper, just an example) it moves to some other position.

And then here is when I weight paint the entire thing. As you can see it gets moved to some other origin position. Notice how the bones are in the same place.
What's going on here and how could I fix it?

Why did you post the exact same question again?

Your armature looks like it's set too low. If you lift it up a bit that may help with your problem. But also remember that weight painting is joining the bones to the mesh. They are meant to interact. It looks like you might have too many pieces of armature around the shoulders. I'm certainly no expert but I hope this helps.


text:
Blender 2.8 EVEE transparency in Alpha Blend mode
I know Blender 2.8 and EVEE is still in development, but I have strange transparency behavior while using Alpha Blend mode on texture. When I move view or camera textured object with Alpha blend mode just overlays whatever object is under it (first picture).  And if I change angle slightly (second picture)  it has normal transparency again. In alpha clip and alpha hashed blend modes transparency works properly no matter how i move the view. Is it some sorting issue withing blender?

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is a bug on unfinished experimental development software

You can post this as a bug (potentially) here

No, Blender isn't finished yet, developers are aware of this. Bug reports are only open for reproducible crashes at the moment.


text:
How can I copy strokes from one keyframe to another?
How can I copy selected stroke from one keyframe to another? I don't want to redraw it manually or duplicate keyframe, because it overlays current keyframe, I just need one particular stroke to be copied.

You can copy and paste ctrl-c ctrl-v or use copy paste from the grease pencil menu. Go to the frame you want to grab the stroke from.. then copy.. go to the other keyframe.. paste.. and adjust as needed from there. (blender 2.81)


text:
How can I make vertices of one object follow another object's vertices transformation?
I have 2 objects and need a vertex group of 1st object to follow all transformation of vertex group of 2nd object. I tried parenting vertex but it only parents origins so it's not what I need. And I don't want to it with bones.

You can press Ctrl+L and copy Object Data


text:
How to get rid of the two vertex?
I have established an edge route but have two extra vertex. How to get rid of them? I tried to connect them with the last one but the result is worse. I can't add new loop cut because I need a curve

Here is the next problem

Try pressing X on the 2 vertices that need to be deleted, and try Delete Vertices.
If that doesn't work, press X again, but click on Dissolve Vertices instead.


text:
Import and Link image texture to an Active Shader Node in Python
I'm working on a part of an Addon that create a New Principled BSDF shader then a ShaderNodeTexImage (make it active), import an image with File brother and link it to the ShaderNodeTexImage.
Everything works except for the last step  link it to the ShaderNodeTexImage
Texture_Node.image = ('img.name')
How can I tell blender get the name of the last image imported?
I've tried to create Lists before and after importing image and compare them to reach the new picture imported, but the command Texture_Node.image expect a string not a list or a set.
and O'm sure there is a better way to reach the name of the last picture imported.
import bpy

material_bascic = bpy.data.materials.new(name= "New Mat")
material_bascic.use_nodes = True

bpy.context.object.active_material = material_bascic

principled_node = material_bascic.node_tree.nodes.get('Principled BSDF')

Texture_Node = material_bascic.node_tree.nodes.new('ShaderNodeTexImage')
Texture_Node.location = (-300,215)

material_bascic.node_tree.links.new(Texture_Node.outputs[0],principled_node.inputs[0])

nodes = material_bascic.node_tree.nodes
for node in nodes:
    node.select = False

Texture_Node.select = True
nodes.active = Texture_Node

bpy.ops.image.open('INVOKE_DEFAULT')

#Texture_Node.image = img

The usual technique for finding the last thing created by a bpy op works here. In this case you want bpy.data.images[-1].
This works because bpy ops that create things usually add them as the last item on the bpy.data structure that's relevant, in this case, the image structure and [-1] is a Python idiom for finding the last element.
import bpy

material_bascic = bpy.data.materials.new(name= "New Mat")
material_bascic.use_nodes = True

bpy.context.object.active_material = material_bascic

principled_node = material_bascic.node_tree.nodes.get('Principled BSDF')

Texture_Node = material_bascic.node_tree.nodes.new('ShaderNodeTexImage')
Texture_Node.location = (-300,215)

material_bascic.node_tree.links.new(Texture_Node.outputs[0],principled_node.inputs[0])

nodes = material_bascic.node_tree.nodes
for node in nodes:
    node.select = False

Texture_Node.select = True
nodes.active = Texture_Node

bpy.ops.image.open('INVOKE_DEFAULT')

Texture_Node.image = bpy.data.images[-1]

Hi @Marty, thanks for your Answer. I have tried with '''bpy.data.images[-1]''', but it returns the last sorted list by name and not the last imported data. if I import B.jpg then A.jpg, '''bpy.data.images[-1]''' returns  B.jpg. Did I miss something or is there any other command to do it? Bests

Ooops.  I should have checked more carefully.  You're right, images is maintained sorted.  When I get a few minutes I'll figure out to find the most recently read image.  Sorry for misleading.


text:
Workbench cavity not appearing when rendering animation from command line
The Cavity feature of the Workbench render engine Properties / Render Properties / Options / Cavity provides the expected results when rendering an animation from the UI Render / Render Animation (Ctrl +  F12).
Using the command line (ex: blender -b myfile.blend -a) on the same file gives a result which seems to completely no cavity.
How can I render a cavity using a command line?


text:
Why there are empty spots in distribute points with geometry nodes?
Why are there are empty spots even though I maxed the amount? Is there a better way to place multiple objects on another object without overlapping?

The goal is to make something like this. Maybe there is other way than geonodes?

It is distributed randomly, that's why some places will never have your particles on them. I am not sure if you can do this as well in Geo nodes because I am still learning them, but in the Particles system, you can distribute particles on faces/vertices. Let's say that this is your object:

It has 98 vertices, now I go to particle settings and do this:

This will give you this result:

You can then change your particles rotation based on normal etc, however, it has one issue... I don't know how your mesh looks like, This way you need to have nice and evenly distributed vertices over your whole mesh in order for it to work. One way if it is not even would be to try remesh on that skull or make your skull manually because you can see that in your reference image these diamonds are making hexagonal pattern

Thanks for the input but I guess that unfortunately in my case it won't work. My model is a skull model and even after remesh modifier the distances between verticles aren't even and this causes overlapping. :/

At this point I know that geometry nodes will help me achieve my goal and there is something wrong with the model. I'm trying to fix it.
https://i.imgur.com/TltVW4S.png - remesh created holes, it got me thinking
https://i.imgur.com/T5HHWmE.png - after quick sculpt over the place where the holes were


text:
How can I align bones position with mesh when using shapekeys?
I have mesh that bends to left with shapekey and I also have an armature attached to the mesh. I need that armature to somehow follow the mesh position, it this possible to do?

is your mesh parented to the bones? If so, it will make the mesh bend even more and the bones won't be able to follow... if not, you could do it with hooks I guess

Yes, it is parented to bones.

so what you want doesn't make sens in my opinion but maybe you should tell a bit more

I need some sort of solution, maybe with drivers to move bones like they move in edit mode, so mesh wont be affected by changed bones position

please explain your project more in detail

I am trying to animate this green object with shapekeys but when I rotate "basis" shapekey it screws all other shapekeys. I thought that shapekey animation maintain movement of vertices of the mesh no matter how this mesh is rotated or scaled. But it seems I was wrong so I am trying to animate that green object with both shapekeys and bones using bones to rotate object.

why don't you use bones for what you're trying to do, what limits have you encountered with bones?

I need to move certain vertices of mesh in certain place and bone doesn't have same level of precision as shapekeys where you can directly edit mesh. I know I can make a lot of bones to transform these certain vertices but shapekey seems to be faster to me

ok but for the movement you show on your screenshot, bones animations would be logical


text:
How can lock editing to one patricular line in graph editor?
I have many lines in graph editor but I sometime cannot select a right keyframe to edit because it selects a keyframe from nearby line. How can I select exact line I want to edit and lock editing to it so it wont select anything around it?

Click on the eye near the line name to hide it.

I know it, I can hide all other curves, but i just wonder if there is a hotkey to automatically hide all curves except the selected one

Shift H to hide every curve except selected, Alt H to unhide.

Thanks! That is almost exactly what I've been looking for


text:
Pass viewport camera world space position to shader
AFAIK, the Camera Data node doesn't provide viewport camera's position, what alternatives do I have?

'View'/'View Lock'/'Lock camera to view' ?

@lemon what I actually want is to use this position to write custom lighting, so I don't need to switch to active camera to see the shading result.


text:
How to edit a split vertex normal without affecting others?
I apologize for the long post ahead, but please bear with me:
I am facing a problem which, after transferring normal, I want to edit split vertex normal to fix shading on a particular face, but avoid modifying other normals on the same vertex.
To illustrate the issue:
STEP 1: I transferred normal from this cylinder onto an arc of its piece (so that the shading is smooth when we put multiple of these arcs together.)

STEP 2: as we can see, while the top/bottom/front/back sides of the arc are now shaded smoothly, the left/right sides of the arc will shade badly, mostly because the cylinder doesn't hard edge/faces along the same sides.

STEP 3: we know splitting the edge (aka setting hard edge) will give us more vertex normals to work with, BUT, because Blender use "Auto Smooth" to display custom normals, doing so cause it to recalculate the normal, which defeats the purpose of transferring normal in the first place.

STEP 4: so I tried setting hard edges + Edge Split modifier before normal transfer, it got the hard edge sorted, BUT I still need to set the vertex normal, and importantly, 1 vertex normal from each split vertex, to be the same as face normal.

STEP 5: This is where I got stuck, I don't know how to do that without affecting the other 2 normals on the same vertex. I know they are different vertices rendering wise, BUT Blender's normal tool doesn't know that.

STEP 6: also note that, because Blender's Data Transfer modifier depends on Auto Smooth, even if I have applied Edge Split modifier beforehand, the transfer only store custom normal data for Auto Smooth mode! (these 2 objects are identical, the only difference is one has Auto Smooth enabled).

Thank you for reading this far, so my issue comes down to:

I want to transfer normal data.
I also want to edit normal after transfer.
BUT normal transfer (Data Transfer modifier) depends on Auto Smooth.
AND Auto Smooth by definition doesn't split vertices, so I can't edit normal individually.
AND I can't set hard edges or use Edge Split after transfer as they will modify other normals.

I am in this circular dependency hell, please help!

Look for "Blend4Web normal editor" add-on, it allows to tweak normals of individual verts

Pretty sure it wasn't 2.8 ready? https://www.blend4web.com/en/downloads/

I have found a thread that talks about this issue, and seems like the current workaround is to separate faces I want to fix, align vertex normal to face normal, then join them back. Not convenient but at least do-able: https://devtalk.blender.org/t/custom-normal-editing/4172/34

I have been looking for something like this myself:  would you mind putting the steps into an answer to your own question? Do your vertices wind up merged, but still with the appropriate face-vertex (loop) split normals?

In hindsight, it all comes down to order, you need to:

Set hard edges + Auto Smooth before Data Transfer modifier.
After transferring the normals, apply Edge Split modifier (to hard edges only)
Then select the faces with incorrect normals and set their vertex normal to face, since vertices are split properly, it won't affect other existing normals.

Thanks.. It would help a lot if there was distinct names for face-vertices (loops) and mesh vertices, consistently used in the interface, at the risk of making things seem too complicated.. unless I still don't understand exactly what's going on..

..and I've just managed to remove doubles, after your steps, resulting in single mesh-vertices, but correctly split face-vertex normals.. for some reason I couldn't do that before..


text:
Why did my mesh disappeared?
I'm a begginer in blender, so please forgive me if the question looks silly to you!
Almost all the objects in my scene disappeared (except 2) as if I deleted them by mistake. The thing is all the objects are still listed in the right side graph. The all have the eye button activated, but yet nothing is visible anymore! As I don't have a backup file, I simply can't find any tricks to fix this...
Thank you for you help!

Try hitting ALT+H to unhide everything. (H hides them) or hit the slash on number pad. Also make sure you have your layers visible at the bottom of 3D screen.

See https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/33966/render-issue-model-doesnt-appear-to-be-on-any-layers-and-wont-render?lq=1

You have entered into the local view by mistake pressing Numpad / key (slash). Press Numpad / again to exit Local view.


text:
How to create a Realistic Moon
So I recently saw a video of a highly realistic lunar surface made just using micropoligon displacement. Now I was curious if we could create such realistic landscapes without a height map?
Also, how can I recreate this exact same texture/material that they used in this video?
The link to the video is this: https://youtu.be/Z9bGr3HWqLg

The best way to map the moon is to use an actual height map.  You can find a free usable map here: https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/details/Moon/LRO/LOLA/Lunar_LRO_LOLA_Global_LDEM_118m_Mar2014/cub
Nothing beats the real thing.  If you want to add more detail, use a noise displacement on top of it.


text:
In edit mode, if I move a vertex the whole mesh is transformed
Not sure what I've done or pressed, but in edit mode if I select a vertex/edge/face the whole mesh is transformed when I grab, rotate, etc. Also if I add new mesh elements and scale for instance even unselected elements are scaling
What have I pressed?
Thanks
John

maybe you've enabled the Proportional Editing option (blue circle icon on the horizontal menu bar of the 3D view)

you have probably enabled proportional editing the hotkey should be 'O'

thanks that was spot on - As a relative new comer to blender I think the down side of the massive number of short cuts is its easy to accidentally enable stuff without realising - is there a general reset? like reloading the default state?

@Johnsta not that one that i know of.


text:
FBX import 2.7 vs 2.8
I've been trying to import an fbx from a friend who works in modo so I could do a flip fluids simulation, the mesh comes in fine in 2.79b but there's no sign of the textures.
I can go into edit mode select the appropriate map and texture but when I exit edit mode no texture is visible in render view or in a final render. Am I missing a step here?

In 2.8 the images again have to be selected along with appropriate UV map but it does show them in the eevee but doesnt render in cycles but does in eevee.
Any idea whats going on? am I missing a step in the process?

Possible duplicate of .fbx export why there are no materials or textures?. This gets literally asked twice every day...

Can you add an image of your material setup?

@metaphor_set I don't think this is a dupe of that, Johnsta appears to be talking about setting the materials back up after the import, the fbx part is probably a  red herring

@Sazerac  - it's just the reverse process. .fbx material settings aren't necessarily compatible with Blender, so you have to set up a working material.

Heck! this is so  simple its untrue - Im not surprised it gets asked twice a day!

all I needed to do was be in texture mode click use nodes and input the texture via a image texture node into the diffuse. However although Ive done the same for each one, the render view shows two pieces with the texture the other two render black?

heres a bit of the file if it helps - Thanks


text:
Finding neighboring mesh faces
I'm quite new to Blender and I'm trying to write my first Blender/Python script. I'm implementing an algorithm that is looking for the lowest (z-value) laying neighboring face for each mesh face.
I have been trying to find a way to efficiently find the adjacent faces of a given face, but so far without any luck.
Is there a built-in function for that in Blender? Or do I have to loop through all faces and check if they share edges with the current face?
Cheers!

The bmesh module
Suggest for working with a mesh use the bmesh module.
Test script. Assumes a face is selected and active in edit mode. For each edge in a face, look at its linked faces, and select if other face.
import bpy
import bmesh

ob = bpy.context.edit_object
me = ob.data
bm = bmesh.from_edit_mesh(me)
# have a face selected and active
face = bm.select_history.active

link_faces = [f for e in face.edges
              for f in e.link_faces if f is not face]
# select them
for f in link_faces:
    f.select = True
# update mesh
bmesh.update_edit_mesh(me)
me.update()

Growing face selection by verts, (uses a set, includes original)
# from verts instead.
link_faces = set(f for v in face.verts
             for f in v.link_faces)
# select them
for f in link_faces:
    f.select = True

To find vert with lowest global z in linked faces. Could grab the minimum. I have started to lean towards sorting, since all or any of the rest may have same min as first.
verts = set(v for f in link_faces for v in f.verts)
# order by global z
mw = ob.matrix_world
sorted_verts = sorted(verts, key=lambda v: (mw * v.co).z)


text:
Some sites of the models won't illuminate properly
I'm trying to render cars, but it seems as if they are not really affected by anything I do with the lighting. There seems to be a lightsource coming from the bottom right, but even if I put a Sun above them their roofs don't get illuminated properly. For comparision I added a cube without materials, as you can see it is already quite bright.
I tried:

Scaling the model
Different lights and lightsources (also objects with emission)
Changing the exposure and gamma in the scene colour management
Changing the background color

I attached the .blend too: Scene

Check your materials, the main car has an emission shader so it won't respond to any other light. try using the principled shader as a start.

Go into Properties > Data > Normals > and unclick Autosmooth, I guess it was creating a bug


text:
Blender hiding all object but one in everything except default edit menu
I am trying to create a character, while trying to render out the image to a png, it hides all objects besides the head, and a side issue, the object is pitch black. I have tried restarting blender and turning on and off their render-ability. but neither worked, I don't know where to go from here, it would be nice if somebody was able to help. :I

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/111995/objects-not-showing-in-other-workspace-viewports-only-default/112001#112001


text:
Procedural textures in materials mode Blender 2.79
I know. This question has been asked a lot. Most replies/responses I have found say it can't be done. And I feel I have been bamboozled.
It started with watching this tutorial on creating wormholes. At 34:30, he adds a noise texture and connects it directly to the output. On his, it displays the texture in the material viewport, in mine it doesn't. I am absolutely stumped to why his works and mine doesn't.
I am creating the wormhole on my MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015), which has a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 and an Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB. As the title states, I am using Blender 2.79. My OS is MacOS Sierra 10.12.5.
Because my computer lacks a GPU, I cannot use GPU rendering. I have no clue if it would effect material view or not.
All I know is this:

The node works on his computer in material view. On mine, it doesn't.
It works in render view
So far, everything else up to that point works a treat. No problems.

I know it is something to do with procedural textures overall.
Early thanks to the Blender community.
Cheers,
BFB

He's probably using Node Wrangler (a free add-on).  Pressing Ctrl+Shift+Click (might be slightly different on Mac) shows you just the effect of the node you click on.

I deleted my last comment. I was wrong, it still isn't working. The procedual textures just dissapeared. I am so stumped. They where working for 10 min, then it stopped. Any ideas?


text:
How to create an anime eye
So i'm learning how to sculpt using this 3d model as a reference:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3YZ9Y
I have the basic shape of the head, now i want to create the eyes for this character.
I think the shape is a cylinder , but i don't know how to create the eye itself.
So i tried using the knife project tool on a cylinder, but i don't get the same results.
For me the shape is a cylinder because it doesn't look like a sphere.
So how i can create the eye?

its just a really large sphere. Cylinder is too flat from side view.

another question i have if he is using a mirror modifier, or if it's a sphere for both eyes?
Also how does he bend the circle of the eye?

cut sphere for both eyes. Mirror modifier simply copies the split sphere(or whatever) from 1 side to the other. bend circle of the eye?

So he is using two spheres one for each eye right?
What i mean about the bending is that the circle that he use to texture the eyes (iris, pupil, etc) follow the shape of the sphere, i don't know how to create that circle.
https://imgur.com/MH2eFkK

yeah, pretty much. They are split though because if the whole sphere for the eye was visible, it would show through the head because its very large. You can split a duplicate of the sphere and scale down for the iris.

Use a sphere and a lattice modifier.

Add a sphere for the eye.
Add a lattice object.
Select the eye and then ⇧ Shift select the lattice.
Parent the eye to the lattice ⎈ CtrlP and choose Lattice Deform.
In Edit mode for the lattice, move its points on the axis you want the eye to shrink.

Now as you rotate the eye, it will stay deformed within the lattice.

In this video shows a technique very good for manga eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsk9IKLHN7Y
using an independent object for the iris and just an empty white space for the cornea. The problem i had with the lattice modifier is that is harder to keep the iris consistent specially when the character is looking at the left of the right.


text:
Getting ready to buy second GPU for my Aurora R5 to use for Blender
Okay, getting ready to drop the hammer on this.
So, if I get a second NVIDIA, I understand NOT to connect them via SLI conection.  Now, I have two monitors currently connected to my one GPU (via HDMIs). For best performance, do I keep both monitors plugged into the one GPU, or should I plug my second monitor into the second GPU?
Thanks!

Test and report back.

I think nvidia control panel handles that.


text:
Missing tools in uv editor
When i got to uv editors the  "UVS" tab is missing
does anyone know why

Select the object and go in edit mode and select all and you can find in the UV editor

You have to have an object that has some UV data and be in edit mode.

I had the same Issue and after looking for useless answers I found some light here - https://blenderartists.org/t/uv-menu-not-visible/440506/10 - the way I fixed that was by going to Edit Mode, selecting the object and then on the UV options applied Reset. It worked


text:
Access to the poses in poselib
I have an object with assigned armature .To this armature is assigned poselib, with several poses.Now my intention is to access all of the bones position in my python script from the poselib list
I will be very grateful for any hint.

The same question is already asked over here . but no one replied

I answered, but no upvote yet. What did you mean with "very grateful for any hint"?

A pose library is simply an Action datablock. Each pose is actually a marker in the pose_markers collection; you can use the marker's frame property to evaluate the action's fcurves, which gives you the pose.


text:
Making model and animation for Unity using MakeHuman and Blender
I'm learning Unity and trying to make a scene which need a model and some animations. I came up with using MakeHuman 1.1.1 and Blender 2.79b. I exported model from MakeHuman to .mhx file and import to Blender. But someone said that mhx rig wasn't compatible with Unity (i don't know if he were right). So i'm stucking. I want to know which is the best workflow to make animations of MakeHuman model in Blender for Unity.

MakeHuman ships with the "Game Engine Rig", which is compatible with the mecanim unity functionality. The appropriate work flow is:

Enable the game engine rig in makehuman (under pose -> skeleton)
Export using mhx2
In blender, either import without overrides or make sure to leave the rig as it is upon import

You only get the MHX rig if you explicitly ask for it when importing an MHX file in blender. Otherwise, the rig exported from MakeHuman will be used.
As an alternative to using MHX2, there is also a new pipeline for integrating MakeHuman and blender, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAwfR-G813g


text:
Hiding specific objects from rendering in one camera while showing on others
How can I dynamically hide an object from one camera view while allowing it to show on another camera view?

You can't, use separate scenes

Ok, I figured using a similar method using Outliner, by simply adding key frames to the render icon's switches.

This is possible using Drivers - see https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/90723/29586

Duarte Farrajota Ramos, that method is both counter-intuitive and cumbersome.

The Driver Method works great. thanks Rich Sedman.

Can this process be reversed, to instead turn on instead of off.


text:
Drag and Drop Alternative
How can I disable blender from restarting a scene when dropping a blender model onto it? I'm looking for a way to merge models into existing scenes without using the awkward append option.

What's wrong with File > Append feature? Note that you can use Ctrl+C > Ctrl+V shortcuts to copy / paste selection though you need to have both source and destination scenes opened, also it works if no addons are enabled remapping Ctrl+C shortcut (like Copy Attibutes)

Thank You. I stand corrected. Append is the way to go.

Closing as duplicate since it seems append worked after all


text:
Animation does not Scrub
I'm using mp4 video projected onto a 2d plane in the 3d viewer, but cant get them to animate or scrub through timeline in texture or material mode unless I open up an extra window with cycles render on. Is there a way to simply allow it to animate without having to open up an extra render preview window?
PS: Thanks for the support on my last questions. you Blender Gurus are the best!

If you use video as reference, best way to do this - using image empty.
Image empty always shows current frame; over methods, that i'm tried gives +-1 frame offset. To add image empty press Shift+A -> Empty -> Image

Allow me to clarify: The clip (actually a mov, not mp4) with alpha is embedded into a plane object and is to be used "not as a reference", but as an actual "active element" inside the scene, that interacts with 3D elements inside. my problem is, that the animation frames in the video clip do not refresh when the time line is scrubbed/advanced until I set the scene to render. does not work in either texture, or material mode unless I open up an additional viewport window and view it as render. upon which, all windows will refresh.

I don't know methods, that solves this problem, use yours. And vote my feature request: https://blender.community/c/rightclickselect/Z0bbbc/

SOLVED
Simply go to Add, on the bottom on 3d panel, then Mesh > Image as Plane and check box Animate Image Sequence on the Operator Presets to the left. It will then animate in Material Mode.


text:
Funnel object into another
What is the most practical way to funnel a 3d model into another by vertex count? The purpose of it, is to have a creature absorb objects by suction, mildly deforming the sucking creatures opening as the object is forcefully drawn inside?

what do you mean "by vertex count"? Is it the creature who absorbs who is deformed or also the objects (other creatures?) he absorbs? Perhaps show a screenshot of your creature... maybe the Mesh Deform modifier could work for the absorbed objects?

Whatever the object is, gets compacted down the creatures gullet with mild deformation on the creatures mouth and throat. same way a fish do. but the object actually crunching, buckling and compacting into shape as its forcefully sucked inside. visualize a catfish with huge fleshy lips, the size of a house devouring a school bus, but in a sucking manner, as the bus crumples inward into the monsters maw.

https://youtu.be/2J5Db146mJA?t=224
For Reference

yes, so Mesh Deform modifier sounds good to me, do you know how it works?

Not in the intended way, I do not. I'll look into it more. Thanks for your help.

So here is a solution with the Mesh Deform modifier:

Create your object.
Create a cube that contains your object as a cage, subdivide it. In the Properties panel > Object > Display, enable Draw All Edges and Maximum Draw Type > Wire so that your cube is in wire mode.
Give your object a Mesh Deform modifier. Put it above the Subdivision Surface modifier. Choose the cube as the Object, and click Bind.
Select the cube. In the Properties panel > Data > Shape Keys, create one Shape Key (it will be called Basis by default), then a second one.
Keep this second Shape Key selected. Go in Edit mode. Sculpt your cube (with Proportional Editing activated) so that it deforms your object the way you want.
Come back in Object mode. Now you can play with the Value of each Shape Key and insert Key Frames so your object is deformed the way you want at the moment you want on the Timeline.

This example will be a tremendous help. thank you so much for explaining it to me. works just as it does in Max.


text:
What do you call modeling complex geometry using very minimal cages?
I've seen artist using incredibly complex geometry using strategically placed cages with subdivision surfaces applied.
What do you call the technique used to modeling complex geometry using very minimal cages?

What are very minimal cages, can you clarify with picture?

Modeling from zero? Manipulating a finished work further?  You may want to see the Lattice Modifier, Mesh Deform Modifier, Sculpting.

http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Subdivision_Surface_Modeling

a technique using subdivision mod to create complex shapes using a incredibly small amounts of cuts. the created cage seems so basic, it appears deformed without the sub mod.

Its a very minimalistic way of box modeling, prior to subdivision.


text:
Using Network Render on different Blender version
I've trying to use Blender 2.79b on my Client machine, and Blender 2.79.1 on my Slave machines. I want to do that because Blender 2.79.1 could use both CPU and GPU to render at the same time so it render faster than Blender 2.79.
But when I setup Client and Slaves like that, my network doesn't recognize the Slaves. My result after many try are:

Client using 2.79b, Slaves Using 2.79b - WORK
Client using 2.79.1, Slaves Using 2.79.1 - DIDN'T WORK
Client using 2.79b, Slaves Using 2.79.1 - DIDN'T WORK

Please tell me is it possible to run render network like that, or is there a better way for my situation?   Thank you for taking your time on my question.


text:
How to add driver to Action?
I'm learning to use Blenrig 5 Add-on and i've found some feature that i really like it but I don't know how to make one.
That's about how to add driver to Action.
As you see, by scale hand_close_L bone, the zrig_hand_close is animated, but i can't find where to config the driver of how to create one.

This is the zrig_hand_close action.

Thank you for taking your time.

Because of wrong keyword so i couldn't find the answer on google before.
But i just found out that it's all about Action Constraint.
More information and simple tutorial here


text:
Copy UV Islands to another UV set?
Can you copy UV islands from one set to another on the same mesh? I have two UVs that are mixed up and I want to separate them.

Maybe UVMagic addon already in Blender. You can copy from objects to other objects, faces etc. its simple to use, hope it helps!
Features

11:40 Copy/Paste UV (Among faces in UV/Image Editor)
0:07 Copy/Paste
UV (Among objects)
0:51 Copy/Paste UV (Among faces in 3D View)
1:51 Transfer UV

Tutorial and feature list here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKZX3Xac7X4


text:
Can Blender use Virtual Memory?
I have 2GB of RAM and I just want to use this program. Can Blender use Virtual Memory?
Getting one image rendered takes like 20-30 seconds and it's not even on the full resolution.

What Blender version are you using? And 20-30 Seconds to render one image with 2GB ram ist faster than I would've expected... Also the render time can vary with render settings and the scenery you build

If you feel your pc too limited to render high resolution images or animations, you could even experiment with web based render farms, i.e. sending your file to someone else to render, with powerful servers, often using some degree of parallelism. Obviously you will need to give something in exchange, money or whatever they accept for their machine time. Just ensure they support Blender (the version and features you're using), but usually you can get at least a trial account, although easily for a limited time or limited in resources

All software uses virtual memory automatically. Operating systems usually take care of that. When you run out of RAM your storage devices are used. That is called paging. Storage drives are extremely slow compared to RAM so things slow down a lot when this happens. 20-30 seconds is extremely unimaginably fast for a render though. My renders, for example, would take 20 - 30 hours and even more per 4K still image if I rendered them on a single PC. Renders take lots of time. This cannot be solved by an answer on Stack Exchange I am afraid.

That's what I meant to say.


text:
Animating blood dripping down surface of mesh
Can anybody please point me in some kind of direction for animating blood/tears/whatever dripping down the surface of a mesh? Maybe particularly the "correct" method a studio would actually use?
I've tried a few approaches now that all fail for one reason or another. Dynamic paint in vertex mode doesn't look good/can't figure out how to do it over an existing texture/requires adding >9000 subdivisions to still look bad.
Dynamic paint as image sequence seems like it would be the would be the way to go when I use it on a plane but when I try to do it on a characters face it just makes a tiny little splotch that doesn't move with the brush at all.
Someone suggested texture paint but I have this weird problem when I try to paint on an existing texture where the color shows up black and white and doesn't appear in rendered view- a problem that can only be mitigated by painting on a solid color and plugging the image texture in afterwards. More importantly than that I don't see how I can record my brush strokes to make the thing actually animate.
This seems like such a basic thing that it's impossible to find information on?

I think it depends by the style you are looking for. In my old Tarantella animation (the very last scene), I used a mesh deformed by a shape key. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_R3QssuG9g

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/62843/ink-on-porous-paper-or-water-bleed-effect/ https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/79683/simulate-a-sticky-fluid-in-blender https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/45374/how-can-i-model-ultra-viscous-dripping-wet-objects


text:
Can you export an animated ocean modifier as a series of images/textures, and if so, how?
Pretty much as the title says.
I've found many tutorials on animating a looping ocean modifier, but is it possible to take each frame of this animation and export it as a series of textures, which can later be applied to plane and used as a 2d looping animation.
Certain games wouldn't be able to handle the ocean modifier as an actual animation, but would definitely be able to handle a flat plane with an animated texture. My question is - how do I take the 3d animation and turn it into a series of frames/2d textures?

you'd have to render/bake a texture(s) for each frame. At a minimum you'd need color and displacement maps.

are you meaning something like rendering to a "video sequence" and use that as a texture? that could work, if it fits in your setup


text:
How to apply axis conversion to quaternion keyframes
I'm trying to write an exporter for Blender, but i can't wrap my head around how to get the rotations straight. In the format I'm trying to export to, the initial orientation is always neutral relative to the pivot point (= bone position in world space). Rotations and translations are represented as relative to the parent (so basically, expressed in world space, since initial bone matrices are identity matrices). I'm using the OrientationHelper class to create a global_matrix, same as in most exporters - the resulting matrix in this case rotates 90 degrees around the Z axis. My idea was then to multiply each quaternion keyframe for each bone with this matrix in the export (global_matrix * rot), but this results in each bone contorting 90 degrees relative to its parent. My most successful attempt so far has been to do it like this:
for x, y, z, w in zip(xcurve.keyframe_points, ycurve.keyframe_points, zcurve.keyframe_points, wcurve.keyframe_points):
        rot = Quaternion((x.co[1], y.co[1], z.co[1], w.co[1]))
        rot = global_matrix.inverted().to_quaternion() * rot.inverted() * global_matrix.to_quaternion()
        rot.normalize()
        fw("\t\t%d: {%f, %f, %f, %f},\n" % (f2ms * int(x.co[0]), rnd(rot.x), rnd(rot.y), rnd(rot.z), rnd(rot.w)))

The result becomes 90% correct, but some joints still rotate the wrong way. I just came to this formula by randomly testing things and seeing what works. I have no idea why inverting the rotation makes it twist the right way. My intuition would say that the correct method would be to first multiply the keyframe quat with bone.matrix_local (bone space to armature space), then rotate it by global_matrix, and finally rotate it by bone.matrix_local.inverted() to get it back to bone space. This fails miserably though, and my character ends up as a curled ball. So, to summarize, i guess my question is:

What space are rotation (quaternion) keyframes for bones stored in?
What would be the proper way to apply an axis conversion matrix to a quaternion keyframe animation, if the (exported) rest state of each bone is always the identity matrix, and animations should be exported as being relative to their parent bone?

Note: to keep things simple, I'm not mixing in the armature's world matrix yet, since it's the identity matrix in this case. If anyone has a solution which includes this though, it would make me very happy.


text:
Is it possible to extend bpy.types.ID?
I've been working on an exporter script which contains a collection of tools for describing game-specific objects which are to be exported. Right now i've been doing a custom PropertyGroup defining a particle system, linking it to objects by doing this:
bpy.types.Object.mdl_emitter = PointerProperty(type=MDLParticleEmitter)

The problem is that first of all, this attaches the data to all objects, which is not what i want. I want there to be a button to press which creates it, and preferably, i'd want there to be a scene-wide collection of particle systems similar to how it already works with things like materials, so that multiple objects can have a reference to the same data. I know that bpy.types.ID is the base of most such classes, and i wonder if it's possible to simply extend it, whether the garbage collection/fake user features would still work for them out of the box, and what the best practice would be for storing them in the scene.