text:
How to align the camera in a solved motion tracked scene?
I have been having an issue with my floor plane and object when using a solved camera after tracking some footage. I get a solve error of between 0.05 and 0.4 on my solves which is good and not the issue I've been having. However when I go to orient the camera I will snap it to an origin and adjust the scale. The plane and object are not aligned, but could be fixed if I could just rotate around them (much like in PF Track). I would think the pivot point for the camera, if I have it locked to view, would be the origin (where my plane and object are), but it seems to be just some arbitrary point out in space which makes manually fixing the alignment very difficult. I'm wondering if there is any way to fix this so the pivot point is in fact in the center, or if there are any other suggestions to go about this problem.

Your question is a bit vague . . .

I found in Blender 4.1 that you can select the camera constraint in the Scene Collection, and in Object Settings change the floor plane by changing the Rotation XYZ.


text:
High count particle conversion
I have a hair particle system (basically a hedge with a lot of leaves).  I can't render because there are too many leaves.  Will converting them to mesh make blender run more efficiently?  Is there a better way to make this hedge with 1000 leaves x 100 children x 40 polys per leave work better?
Thanks
JS

The usual way to improve efficiency in such case, would be to use planes with leaves texture as leaves particles (this way you already have 40 times less polys for your comp to process). You could also restrict particle emission to the part of hedge, that is actually in the camera view to avoid too big number of particles. Creating branches with leaves on them and then using this branches as particles would be some solution too. By converting praticles to objects and joining them into one mesh you will also achieve better efficiency.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Transfer settings to new version of Blender
I use Mac OSX 10.9.5. A year ago, I downloaded 2.75a, and today, I downloaded version 2.77a. I downloaded both via .zip file from blender.org and dragged each into the Applications folder of my Mac.
In 2.75a, I had done some painstaking remapping to accommodate my Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard, in addition to a pretty shiny custom theme. I didn't want to redo these settings.
How could I transfer my old settings into the new version? Apparently due to my method of download, "Copy Previous Settings" did not show on the splash screen. I searched "Copy Previous Settings" in the new version via the spacebar, and it returned an error: "Users/aubrie/Library/Application Support/Blender/2.76 does not exist". From this, I figured how to copy my old preferences.

Find Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/Blender/2.75/config/userpref.blend
Right click and select Copy userpref.blend
Navigate to Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/Blender/2.77/config/
Right click and select Paste item.

Aubrie, are you sure about that destination? Unless I'm reading it wrong, you're copying the "userpref.blend" file right back into the same location you copied it from. Also, since I think your answer applies to Windows machines, too, it might be more general just to do a search of the drive containing the operating system for the file "userpref.blend", rather than trying to navigate to the specific location. On some windows machines, the "userpref.blend" file is in a hidden folder, which cannot be navigated to by "ordinary" means.

@brasshat You're totally right. I committed a typo. Step 3 should have said 2.77, not 2.75. Fixed it now.
Good idea about conducting a normal search. That might get messy if someone has multiple previous versions of Blender installed.

Aubrie, I do have multiple previous versions of Blender installed, and when I just tested it for the answer, It did find the previous userpref.blend files for each one. But expanding the search results just a bit, it showed the folder containing each of the separate userpref.blend files, so it was easy to figure out which went with 2.75, and which went with 2.71.

@brasshat That's good to know!
I should clarify that in my original questing, I didn't know to search for "userpref.blend". Navigating to specific folders was how I learned that "userpref.blend" is the thing I needed.

I dragged both Scripts and Addons from the 2.78 to the 2.79 folder and it worked great.

Works between windows and linux aswell

You can always use the new Blender Cloud Sync addon. It requires a Blender ID (free) and the addon (free). It allows you to upload your preferences to the cloud, and download them anywhere in Blender.

(Image from cloud.blender.org)

In case this helps others: When I switched from 2.79b to 2.80, my old method didn't work, so I used this cloud sync add-on and it worked great. I had to download the add-on (directly from the .zip file, no need to unzip) to both 2.79b and 2.80, sign in within Blender (using this other add-on: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/141746/where-is-the-blender-id-add-on-preference-pane/146230), upload settings in 2.79b, then download the settings to 2.80.

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

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


text:
"One or more addons do not have UTF-8 encoding"
I tried installing an addon and I'm sure I did it wrong, because now I have a warning that I didn't notice before.

The warning icon now shows up next to addons that don't seem to be related to the addon I was trying to install (BoolTool).

How can I make the warnings go away?

Does the error disappear if you add # -*- coding: utf-8 -*- at the very top of every offending script file? You should also check whether the files start with a byte order mark (BOM). There is not supposed to be one AFAIK.

@CoDEmanX I'd really prefer not to go into each file, firstly because it takes too long and secondly because I'm afraid I'll mess more things up.

The files need to be fixed either way if their encoding is messed up. Of course the responsible add-on author should fix this if possible. Which scripts are causing this exactly?

@CoDEmanX All the messed up ones came with the Blender install and weren't broken before. Some of them are in the above screenshot and the rest are here: http://imgur.com/JcSCAjB.

But what does it say in the System console? I doubt that all of the addons in your screenshot are broken... unless some contributor messed them all up systematically (search and replace?).

@CoDEmanX Took a few attempts to get anything other than "No such file or directory", but I'm trying: http://imgur.com/UcKOQGZ
Also, this: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/japbcvpavbzau9dbuaxf.jpg

Doesn't look like it's printing anything useful... Is this a standard 2.75 installation, or did you install any extra addons?

@CoDEmanX I installed Amaranth Toolset. I also tried to install BoolTool, but it's not showing up. All the error-ful addons are from the standaRd 2.75 installation.

That warning icon next to the addon name generally indicates that the author of the addon included a "warning" message as part of the addon (perhaps to indicate alpha status or something). It doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with the addon. If you reload factory settings, do you still get the encoding message?

@gandalf3 Loaded factory settings and I still get the same warnings (even though I knew they weren't there when I originally installed).

related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/3563/archimesh-installing-problems

Even if you solve the UTF-8 Warning, the other warnings will not disappear -- but there's no reason to worry about them: here's why:
The warning icons to the right of those add-ons are benign and intentionally added by the authors of those add-ons to warn users about something -- but they have always been there.
It's been pointed out above, but it's worth a mention and a screenshot.

Addons can define if they should be displayed with warning icons, this is to indicate to the user that there's some remaining work to be done on the addons. The message about the UTF-8 isn't caused by something that also causes those warnings. I have them too and my Blender works fine, and those warnings don't affect any part of Blender other than to give that indication.
The fact that the UTF-8 warning uses the same icon doesn't mean that it's the cause of those warning icons on the other addons, though it's understandable that you might think so. This is merely a matter of 'icon reuse'
Take for instance the Render: Network Render Addon. An addon you are not likely to ever use unless you have a network. In its source code (in its __init__.py file) it has a short manifest which we call a bl_info dictionary. It looks like this:
bl_info = {
    "name": "Network Renderer",
    "author": "Martin Poirier",
    "version": (1, 8),
    "blender": (2, 60, 0),
    "location": "Render > Engine > Network Render",
    "description": "Distributed rendering for Blender",
    "warning": "Stable but still work in progress",
    "wiki_url": "http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.5/Manual/"
                "Render/Engines/Netrender",
    "category": "Render",
}

The bl_info is a way for an add-on to tell Blender 'Hey! add me to the add-on list, and display this information about me`. Without that bl_info add-ons will not appear in the add-ons list.
The inclusion of the key / value pair "Warning":  "Stable but still work in progress" is the sole reason you see the warning icon beside that addon in your preferences -> Add-ons tab. All the other addons in that list that have the warning icon, has a similar entry in their bl_info.

Ah, I see, I must have not noticed the other warnings before. How can I tell which one is causing the UTF-8 error?

if you start a terminal.. and from that terminal start Blender, and then keep the terminal and blender side by side.. then open the user-preferences and addons tab...navigate until you see that UTF8 warning... maybe hit the refresh at the bottom of the prefs window... I would expect some kind of messages being displayed in the terminal window... take a screenshot of those if you do get any interesting messages regarding the utf8... it might mention the addon..  or the it might show here : http://wiki.blender.org/uploads/thumb/2/22/1_2_ToolTipInfoShow.png/590px-1_2_ToolTipInfoShow.png

Managed to follow the steps you listed (yay! First time opening an application from the terminal) but didn't see any more messages. I'm going to try to install BoolTool properly and see if that helps anything.

Installed BoolTool, and whether by coincidence or causation, I have no more errors! Yay! Thanks for your help, @zeffii!

all credit goes to yourself for persisting!


text:
How to orbit while translating (and otherwise navigate while using modal operators)?
I'm new to Blender and am soo excited to learn.
I've noticed that I can't do any navigating of the 3D view (orbiting, zooming, moving) while I'm in a modal operator. But, these are the times that I most want to change my view around, because I want to see from many perspectives what my operation is doing.
How can I navigate while in a modal operator? E.g., I want to orbit while in Translate (G) mode.

Unfortunately you can't. You can during modal operators (e.g. knife took (K)), but translate, rotate, etc. are not modal operators afaik.

@gandalf3 Thanks for replying. According to the following wki, Translate (or Grab, as it seems to be called) and Rotate are modal operators:  http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:2.5/Py/Scripts/Cookbook/Code_snippets/Interface#A_modal_operator


text:
Bevel works on one side but not the other
I'm trying to make a curved indent. I did one side, but when I try to select and bevel the other side, it doesn't bevel.
Selected edge

Bevel applied

Here's my file if it's helpful: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3TF2HeeQRyWWkpVeVV5Vmc3T28/view?usp=sharing

Aand I found the answer by looking up a separate question I had (why were my planes different colors):
The normals weren't consistent, so I guess it was trying to bevel on the reverse side. I selected the whole model and used Make Normals Consistent, and then beveling works fine.


text:
Fastest way to remove an inset?
I created this inset on a cylindrical part of the model, then decided I didn't want the inset anymore. What's the easiest way to remove it? I tried Dissolving Faces and Dissolving Edges, to no avail.

Delete edge loops

Switch to face select mode (⎈ Ctrl↹ Tab>Faces)

Select the face loop inside the inset (⎇ Alt RMB on an edge. See How can edge rings be selected in a predictable way?)

Switch to edge select mode (⎈ Ctrl↹ Tab)

⎈ Ctrl⇧ Shift⎇ Alt RMB on an edge to deselect the edge ring.

⌦ Delete> Edge loops (the menu accelerator G can be used for extra speed)

Scale and remove doubles
This is only really practical if your inset is aligned to an axis. Setting up custom axes and such would sorta defeat the purpose. However, if your inset is aligned (as it appears in your case), then this might well be faster than the first method.

Select the inset as shown in your screenshot

Scale to 0 along the Z (or whatever axis your inset is aligned to) (SZ 0)

W> Remove Doubles, or WE if you use the menu accelerator.

⌦ Delete> Faces (⌦ DeleteF with the menu accelerator).

Apologies in advance if the gifs are too fast. I was attempting to show what it looks like at sortof-full speed, but I'm not sure if it's possible to follow at gif framerates..

Wow. I know I'm not supposed to use this comment for thanks, but you taught me so much more than I knew possible (e.g., menu accelerators). And the whole post is so clearly written—and illustrated! Thank you. If this comment should be deleted, hope you see it first.

@Aubrie Glad I helped :) While writing thanks in answers is discouraged, there's nothing really wrong with putting meaningful feedback in a comment.


text:
Scroll feature prevents unchecking Deform for many bones at once
I'm trying to uncheck Deform for many bones at once. To do this, I was told to use Alt Select. However, when I do that, the cursor becomes a scroll icon and won't affect the checkbox:

This happens in other panels, too:

How can I disable this scroll feature? Is there another way to disable Deform for all my selected bones?

You can press Alt+W to get the 'Disable Bone Options' menu and disable Deform for all the selected bones.


text:
Node wrangler not appearing even when enabled in User Preferences
Screenshot here:

Here you can see:

Node Wrangler is enabled
Node Wrangler is not appearing in the panel
I'm using v2.77

How can I fix this?

Thanks for the suggestion. Haven't tried that, but it seems that in this version, the node wrangler simply appears in a different place (just posted an answer about it). If I encounter any more issues, I'll try your suggestion!

Looks like in this version, it's simply in the left-hand panel rather than the right-hand one (not sure what their proper names are):

The left is the 'Tool shelf' and the right is generally referred to as the 'Properties' of that space (sometimes referred to as the Properties Region).

You have to have the shader editor open as a main window then it appears in the drop menu on the right of that screen. It will not show up in any other editor i dont think so the viewport no.

The person IS in the shader editor. And as the other answer says, it's different for that version.


text:
Export UV layout without applying modifiers?
I have a mesh of a fortune cookie that has some modifiers on it.
I want to edit its image texture in Photoshop, and I want to work with the smooth UV layout that I can see while in Texture Paint mode:

How can I export that smooth UV layout? If Blender can render it onscreen, surely there must be a way to access the file.
I'd rather not do these:

Taking a screenshot. This is what I'm doing now.
Applying modifiers first. I might want to change them later.
Saving the image. I just get a black square.
Export UV layout. Only the low-resolution UV map is exported:

In the "Export UV layout" window check in "modified".

In case others were confused, you can find the Modified box not in the editor panels but in the lower left of the dialog box that comes up after you do Export UV layout. Thanks so much, @FFeller!

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


text:
Export location
I did a small simulation using ridig bodies. I would like to write (possibly to a file) the location of each object for a specified frame. Objects are spheres with different radii.
Is it possible?
I found a small script to print the location on the command line, but it doesn't seem to work:
sphere=bpy.data.objects['Sphere01']
bpy.context.scene.frame_set(50)
print(sphere.location)

It always returns the location corresponding to the initial frame (start).
Any help?

Can you try two subsequent calls to frame_set() and print(sphere.matrix_world.translation)?

You have to store the animation data first. Like using the bake action function:
object->animation->bake actions...

The animation data must already be stored somewhere (i.e. the rigid body cache), otherwise blender wouldn't know where the objects are at all..


text:
Can I paint a texture within the UV viewport?
Is there a way to draw something within the UV viewport and not the 3d viewport?

Related answer: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/27552/how-can-i-use-clone-brush-in-the-uv-image-editor

In Uv Editor switch the Mode to Paint. Open a Tools panel (T) and select a brush.

Now you can paint.
Remember to save your image when you're done with painting (Image-->Save As Image). When you see a little star (*) next to the Image in header it means that the image isn't saved.

Here are some useful shortcuts that can be used in a UV Editor window:

press S to pick a color sample
hold S and press LMB to add a color sample to your palette (you may also do it pressing a + button located under the circular color palette).

press F to change the size of a brush
press Shift+F to change the strenght of a brush

After pressing the shortcuts you may also change the attributes of a brush using numerical keyboard buttons.

press E to change the stroke method

Here you can find many interesting options (like a Curve stroke- very useful for precise painting).

press X to quickly flip the color slots

You need to change the mode of the UV/Image Editor.
Switch it to Paint Mode.
You can change the color in the tools-window.


text:
Is there a way to grab both keyframes and markers in blender?
I have lots of camera animation binded to markers to switch between the cameras.
I can grab and scale keyframes, and the same goes for markers, but I cannot grab them together. Every time I need to move keyframes and markers I have to do it separately and this is annoying.
Is there a way to move them together?

Dopesheet's View / Sync markers.

Lol. It';s a necropost, brought by the bots to be active. The Skynet will definitely kill us all one day. :-/

This option has moved.  I'm using v3.4.1 and it's now in Dope Sheet > Marker > Sync Markers

Scale? After selecting the keyframes (Shift+RMB, in case thats the problem you are getting) click G and then you can move the keyframes either by using a mouse, or entering the number on your numpad.

It seems that moving markers this way works, but scaling does not.

Indeed it doesn't.


text:
Is there a way to fracture a mesh only by it's polygons?
I want the shards to be created not randomly, but by the edges of the polygons. Is there a way to do it?

As far as I know with the Cell Fracture modifier you only have the option of splitting by mesh vertex, not face which is not exactly the same, but could yield approximate results.
Check the first option on the top left

Otherwise look into the Explode modifier which uses particles to break an object by its faces


text:
How to have an index by multiple proximity effectors, to affect different affected areas as islands?
I have this simple setup that takes a collection of effectors and scales parts of a sphere by proximity.
Let's say I want to make each affected area have a different scale, it seems that when I add a random node it randomizes every single vertex and not by affected area as a whole. Is there a way to do that?


text:
Geometry Nodes circle packing - high density like beer foam
There are a couple of tutorials for circle packing in Blender's geometry nodes:

But there are never really "filling" the space in between the circles, like this:

Image by Freepik
Is there a way to do that in the current Blender (4)?

This as interesting question inits own right, but for foam, are you sure you need packing? Bad Normals ' approach here, where small bubbles are masked by big bubbles, is pretty convincing.

I want to have the real data and to be able to take those circles and switch them with whatever I want (Say - packs of logs). Shading is great, but I want the data

Duplicate of https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/253297/


text:
How to remove multiple F-Curve animation Modifiers
For some reason there is no plausible way to batch remove f-curve modifiers from multiple curves.
There is a way to do it for 'CYCLIC' modifiers, but no for others.

With the help of ChatGPT, I managed to create an Add-On that adds a button that does exactly this job:

Here is the code:
bl_info = {
    "name": "Delete multiple F-Curve modifiers",
    "author": "Serj Maiorov, ChatGPT",
    "version": (1, 0),
    "blender": (2, 90, 0),
    "location": "Graph Editor > Modifiers",
    "description": "This add-on allows you to delete F-Curve modifiers on selected or all animation curves. Also randomize the offset property on multiple Noise modifiers. Yo can find it above the Animation modifiers panel",
    "warning": "",
    "doc_url": "",
    "category": "Animation",
}

import bpy
import random

class GRAPH_PT_Modifiers(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = "F-Modifiers"
    bl_idname = "GRAPH_PT_hello"
    bl_space_type = 'GRAPH_EDITOR'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'
    bl_category = 'Modifiers'
    bl_options = {'HIDE_HEADER'}

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        col = layout.column()
        col.prop(context.scene, "chk", text="Selected Curves")
        col.operator("my_custom_operator.run_script", text="Delete Modifiers")
        col.operator("my_custom_operator.randomize_modifiers", text="Random Offset Noise Modifier")

class DeleteModifiers_Operator(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = "my_custom_operator.run_script"
    bl_label = "Delete Modifiers"

    def execute(self, context):
        selected_objects = bpy.context.selected_objects
        chk = context.scene.chk
        for obj in selected_objects:
            if obj.animation_data:
                action = obj.animation_data.action
                for fcurve in action.fcurves:
                    if chk == True:
                        if fcurve.select:
                            for modifier in fcurve.modifiers:
                                fcurve.modifiers.remove(modifier)
                    else:
                        for modifier in fcurve.modifiers:
                            fcurve.modifiers.remove(modifier)

        bpy.context.view_layer.update()
        return {'FINISHED'}

class RandomizeModifiers_Operator(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = "my_custom_operator.randomize_modifiers"
    bl_label = "Randomize Modifiers"

    def execute(self, context):
        chk = context.scene.chk
        min_value = -1000.0
        max_value = 1000
        for obj in bpy.context.selected_objects:
            for anim_data in obj.animation_data.action.fcurves:
                if chk == True:
                    if anim_data.select:
                        for modifier in anim_data.modifiers:
                            if modifier.type == 'NOISE':
                                modifier.offset = random.uniform(min_value, max_value)
                else:
                    for modifier in anim_data.modifiers:
                        if modifier.type == 'NOISE':
                            modifier.offset = random.uniform(min_value, max_value)
        return {'FINISHED'}

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(GRAPH_PT_Modifiers)
    bpy.utils.register_class(DeleteModifiers_Operator)
    bpy.utils.register_class(RandomizeModifiers_Operator)
    bpy.types.Scene.chk = bpy.props.BoolProperty(name="Checkbox", default=True)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(GRAPH_PT_Modifiers)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(DeleteModifiers_Operator)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(RandomizeModifiers_Operator)
    del bpy.types.Scene.chk

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

Also added a batch randomize for 'NOISE' modifier's offset.
Just save this text to a .py file and install it like a regular add-on.
Hope it will help somebody because it wasn't easy for me to find a solution on the web

so it began , i literally spend last 2 weeks doing this. AIpocalypse! But honestly, if it solves the problem then i gladly copypaste it


text:
Mirror Modifier Overlapping Faces
I am trying to model something and when I mirror it, the faces in the middle overlap. Should I just move the mirrored faces or am I doing something wrong? This is what it looks like after I apply the modifier.

I don't want the band down the middle. The only option I changed in the modifier section was the axis it mirrored over. I am using Blender Render as well.

Is clipping turned on?

Check clipping. This should fix your problem.
Alternately, you could use Shift+S to move the 3D cursor to your mesh's origin, then left a bit. Key Shift+Ctrl+Alt+C (yes, really) and select Origin to 3D cursor. This will reallign your line of symmetry.

I have had clipping on and it didn't help. I went into edit mode and did that, but what I really want to know now is how to merge the side into one object. When I subdivide, it treats each side like a different object.

If you want to merge both sides, try moving the origin a bit more so that there is a visible gap between the two halves of your mesh. Then apply the mirror modifier, select both edge loops bordering the gap, key "W" and select bridge edge loops. Your subserf should work fine now.

Turn on "clipping" in the mirror modifier stack. Adjust the threshold or go into edit mode and select the mesh, move it until the centre vertices snaps in place.

I have had clipping on and it didn't help. I went into edit mode and did that, but what I really want to know now is how to merge the side into one object. When I subdivide, it treats each side like a different object.


text:
Images rendered on CPU and GPU are not the same
Why is is my image different when rendered on CPU and GPU?

Could you show your material setup? Currently (2.76) Subsurface Scattering Shader type works for GPU only with experimantal Feature set. Without, you won't see its contribution. Related: Cycles Subsurface shader: GPU compute and CPU compute give totally different results

My gpu is gt635m


text:
Cycles. Image as texture will not render
I am new to cycles and I am running into some trouble.  I am trying to apply an image texture to a plane but it will not show the texture no matter what I do.  I have unwrapped and added a material, then add a wood texture and nothing. I just cannot figure out what I am doing wrong.  I have watched tutorials and they make it work just fine.
By the way, I can make blender internal work just fine.

Please add a screenshot of your node setup, that would help to see where things might be going wrong.

"It will not show"... what are you seeing instead? Solid black, white, magenta? Like others have stated, more info is needed. Best if you can pack your textures in and post a .blend.


text:
How can I improve this UV-Mapping?
I'm very noob in Blender as a result I'm struggling to unwrap a M24 grenade 3D-Mesh properly.
My first attempt to improve the UV-Mapping was making the irregular polygons as squares or rectangles using a Python plugin so that I could apply textures easily on Gimp. The result is this one:

Despite doing this I'm still not happy with the changes as the trial texture's squares are not well distributed. As you can see in the photos those parts divided by the seams have like a "cut" in the texture and I don't know if that will affect the texture added with Gimp.

Could you provide me with some tips to improve my UV-Mapping?
Thank you very much for your help.
Héctor

There are some tricks to get rid of seams provided witth UV mapping - there's no way to unwrap without seams. However the texture is stretched quite heavily along Y axis (if talking about axes from UV map) that results in the image stretching starting from the horizontal seam and all the way down. This is probably what you should pay attention at.

Whenever possible, you should place your seams in regions that are not so noticeable. Near the top of your screen shot there is an extra seam that loops around and doesn't appear to have any purpose. I would get rid of that. Usually you can get good rectangular unwraps using "Follow Active Quads", but I'm curious, what Python plugin did you use?

The plugin I am using is the following one. It automatices the process of making rectangles in the UV islands.
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/UV/Uv_Squares
I could improve quite much the UV-Mapping clearing those unnecessary seams you told me. Now the squares over the grenade have the same size and the "cuts" have also disappeared.

There's one last thing I would like to change and improve: the top of the grenade.
!link
How can I eliminate the "cuts" in the texture without clearing the seam?

Besides all that been said, consider using seamless textures, you can adjust a texture to be seamless in Gimp or Photoshop or any other photo processing software

to change the size of these squares, you should scale uv-islands. this time it is y-scale. after you are happy with squares, you can scale island on x and y simultaneously to occupy most of available texture space. the biggest island should be the island that will show lot's of texture details. and you can also rotate the islands by 90 degrees.


text:
Set exponential spline resolution (or one based on float curve) in geometry nodes?
I’d like to set a curve's spline resolution nonlinearly, ideally with a Float Curve so I can have fine control over the delineations of this Curve to Mesh.
This is because I want the profile curves along the spline to get closer and closer together at one end.

How might I achieve this? Thank you!

@Gordon Brinkmann has pointed out a subtle mistake in my answer.. so I've edited it and replaced the .blend. Not too bad, but definitely worth fixing .

If your first step is to map the indices of your curve's points to [0,1], then you can use any ease-out function you like. (It may not be a strict exponential, which could leave you under-sampled at the 0 end.). A variety of  ease functions can be found, for example, here.
Then you can sample the curve at Factor (0-1 mapped index).
Here's a 'Power' version..

Showing change of exponent...

Or you could roll-your-own with a Float curve

A few easing functions are included here:

This is amazing, thank you so much!
If you have time to comment, I’m curious how you created the "Curve Resolution" and "Exponent" parameters on the Group Input, or could tell me what those are called so I can look them up.

Those are just an interface to the tree. It either shows up in the modifier, if it is of the root GN group, or at the left side of its group node,  if the tree is called up as a subgroup to another one. To create it, you simply drag a noodle to the parameters you want to expose, from the vacant slot on a  Group Input node. You can add/remove/rename group Input/Output in 'Group' tab of the 'N' sidebar: see here

Noted, thank you!

Gordon Brinkmann correctly points out in a duplicate linking here, that you get better sampling if you sample the original curve: https://i.imgur.com/ueDZM2p.gif

@MarkusvonBroady Quite right! Thanks so much! All fixed, I hope, and .blend replaced. :)


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How to mask one image and layer it over another?
I'm trying to add parts of a blurred picture over the crisp version of the picture. I want to create a blurred corners effect.
This is the original picture:

This is the vignette I want to overlay:

I tried to combine the two using Alpha Over, but the blurred version doesn't show:

I tried using Mix with a variety of modes (Add, Overlay, Multiply), but I don't get the right results. Multiply is closest but too dark:

I tried adding a Set Alpha node in various places, but if that's the solution, I don't know where to put it.
How can I layer the vignetted image over the original image?

It's super easy. Just use the mask as the factor in a mix node.

*) Keep in mind that a masked mix will never look like a proper Depth of Field effect. If that's your intention, I'd recommend you to try cycles DoF instead.

When I do that, I get this: https://i.sstatic.net/OowYN.jpg
If I put the ellipse mask directly as the factor, it works, but I want to blur the ellipse.
(Noted about DoF; at this point, I'm just trying to do the mask.)

(Finally got around to taking a closer look at your suggestion today) Got this: https://i.sstatic.net/avF9O.jpg Had to adjust my mask settings because the black-and-white gradient preview wasn't true to the actual effect, but otherwise works great. Thank you!

@Aubrie: Glad you solved it.
btw, I'm curious about your node setup. It seems to have a couple of redundant nodes that can be optimized, unless you have a reason for them.
For instance, don't load the image twice, just plug two noodles from the same socket.
Also, why the passes render? The effect you're trying to achieve works fine if you pull the defocused and the "normal" version of the render from the combined socket.
Also, check where your composite node is placed. In your setup it means that only the combined socket will be saved to disk from the render output when you save animation

Oh, sorry. I was looking at the first one. The only issues in the final one are the placement of the composite node and the unnecessary pass compositing (maybe you reserved them for some adjustment later, idk)

Thanks for asking! I am unequivocally a Blender noob, so I was working on an exercise to learn compositing: https://cgcookie.com/exercise/compositing-a-coffee-scene/ That's what the unnecessary passes are for. I'll be sure to redirect everything to the composite node before I export. Now to try Cycles DoF as you suggested. Thanks again! :)

Use the blurred ellipse mask as alpha with the set alpha node.
I guess you wanted the white to be none blurred, hence the following Invert node with Alpha checked.

This solution is correct, although it's a bit over-complicated for this particular case. The default mix node IS an alpha over, and using the mask to control the mix factor does the same with less nodes.

Now that you added the alternative OP can choose. I tried to extend, what was tried already, but you are right nevertheless.


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Fill a corner with a curve?
I'm trying to make a curved transition between some perpendicular planes (mocked up here with Photoshop):

What's the best way to go about this? Perhaps creating some kind of curved edge? I tried using a bevel, but nothing happened.
File here if it's useful: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3TF2HeeQRyWRlRyQUcyMjhtaHM/view?usp=sharing

The file you linked to doesn't look like the one in the screenshot.

Another possible way to achieve this shape is to use actual curves.
In Object mode Shift + A and add a new Bezier Curve. Enter its Edit mode, pressShift + Tab and set snaping mode to Vertex; select one of curve vertices and grab it, hovering your mouse over vertex in the corner of your base mesh:
Do the same with another vertex of the curve and turn off vertex snapping (again Shift+Tab). Now to setup curve shape begin rotating and scaling its vertices
along X or Y axis (depends on your scene) to get desired form:

After converting it to mesh, enter Edit mode select all vertices and extrude upwards. With extruded vertices still selected scale them to 0 by Z axis. Now again turn on Shift + Tab and grab extruded vertices, they will align with top corner of the base mesh. Select all, W > Remove doubles. The result can look like this:

With everything selected, press E and this time choose axis to extrude along the base mesh.
After extruding, setting Shading to Smooth and adding Edge Split modifier the result will look similar to this:

The advantage of this approach is that you can create pretty much any shape of the corner by simply editing the curve in the beginning.

Couldn't get the extruded vertices to be in a straight line. When I had them all selected and changed Z to 0, only one of them would be at Z = 0. I extruded higher than the edge and used the knife tool to cut a straight line. Other than that, Bezier was much more effective than Bridge. Thanks!

It seems to me you haven't used scale tool (S), rather than grabbing. It's showed here in more detail what I did. I hope it can help you not to make extra step with knife tool in other similar cases.

Wow, didn't even know that was possible. Using S worked great. Thanks!

try keeping a full quad mesh if you need to use a subsurf

@Bithur You mean making its end on the left top consist of an edge rather than vertice? I know of reasons why this approach is preferable, even wrote rather basic answer about this, hoping that it could be useful.But in this case I think it's not so important (probably I should mention in the answer why) - I didn't use Subsurf and wasn't going. If I would of course I'd add another edge loop and crease those edges connecting the corner to the wall.

yup, i think this is simple and good, just mentioning a detail

You can use the bridge in the loop tools addon with a negative value in the cubic interpolation.

Didn't provide enough curvature without ghosting through the rest of the mesh, but still very useful to know. Thanks!

In some situations which appear similar to this one, you might be able to use the bevel modifier. In this case, the fact that the faces in your screen shot are distributed between two different objects is one of the issues that makes this a less than optimal solution.
I've found the easiest way to do similar things in my own projects is to add more geometry. In this case, I would add a cylinder, either in edit mode or object mode, orient it so the length of the cylinder is parallel to the x axis in your ~.blend file.  Then flatten the cylinder a bit by scaling along the z axis to the point where it has the desired appearance. Next, making sure you are in edit mode, select all of the vertices of the cylinder, then deselect the vertices of the cylinder that approximate the part of the geometry you wish to create. Delete all of the selected vertices, and you should be left with a curved surface approximating to a greater or lesser degree the surface you wish to add. You may need to flip the normals of the faces comprising the cylindrical surface you just added, and you'll need to connect them to the other objects in the scene.
Adding the cylinder to one of the two objects already in your scene by adding in edit mode may save a step later one.


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How do I get a list of all nodes, of all types, in the file?
How would I go about getting a list of all nodes in the file in Python, as efficiently as possible? I want anything that's a node-- shader nodes, geometry nodes, compositor nodes, nodes yet to be invented in the future... the whole lot.
I'm making an addon that adds properties to nodes via an N-panel in the Node Editor, but I need to scan all the nodes' properties in the file to store some aggregate data elsewhere. There doesn't seem to be one single container for nodes in bpy.data, though. There's one for Node Groups, one for Materials, the Scene with Compositor nodes, Objects with Geonodes... I could just look in all the places they would be, but I really don't want to miss anything, including future features that use nodes.
My best guess going is that I can recursively scan everything in bpy.data to find subclasses of NodeInternal, but that seems rather heavy, and I'd just like to make sure there's no lighter, more linear or straightforward option I'm missing.

Hello. This should answer your question ? https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/79784/how-to-get-all-types-of-nodes-dynamically?rq=1 Parsing bpy.types should be blazingly fast, compared to any other solution that requires iterating over data containers. If you're worried for performance though you should hardcode the values. Parsing a text file will almost always be faster than having to compute things. Less versatile, but faster. You unfortunately can't have it both ways.

That other answer looks like it'd get all the node types, but I want to get all the actual nodes in the data.


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Blender FBX Import transform/axis
I have an FBX file exported from 3DS Max. Using an FBX viewer, this is the model.

While importing into Blender, these are my settings (default)

When imported into Blender, this is the model.

There are some issue with this import.

the transform for some of the object seem to be using the wrong axis system and perhaps also a wrong origin.
The model is squished (scaled non-uniformly on 1 single axis.

Am I doing something wrong?
Blender version: 2.77a

What other settings have you tried for the importer?  Especially the manual orientation.  Blender uses -Y forward and Z up.  Other programs use -Z forward and Y up.  If that doesn't help consider posting a link to the fbx.

@batFINGER 3ds max uses Z up


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Curve won't fill
I've created a curve that forms a really complicated logo, and no matter what I do it just won't fill. I changed the Shape to 2D, and tried converting it to a mesh, selecting all the vertices and pressing ALT + F, but it just gives me an error saying "No faces filled". I've done it with all the other parts of the logo, but this part just doesn't want to fill. Can someone help me? Here's an image.

You can follow these steps here https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/44003/fill-bezier-curve-with-convert-to/44005#44005 ... if the link doesn't help, do upload your file so that we could take a look at it.

Did you composite the screenshot ? It looks not usual but it's not easy to see the settings.


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Is Blender good for 3D printing?
I saw this 3D printing plugin lately, but I have never printed anything with Blender. Do you have any experiences with this?
https://i.materialise.com/blog/blender-3d-printing-plugin
Cheers,
Lythna

From what I understand in 3d printing world, is that you will need to know the file format which you will need to print from. If any 3d packages have them, it will be up to you to make sure your model does not have non manifold objects. Blender will not affect the outcome of your 3d print ... rather the quality of the 3d file - (Usually stl format) - you supply to the 3d printer will. If I am not mistaken the link you posted is pretty much a proprietary plugin that would only work with the supplier of the 3d printing services they provide.

Hi! Welcome to Blender StackExchange! This is a bit too opinion based. Many people will have very different experiences based off of their different printers, the plastics they used, how they model, etc. These types of questions just don't work well for this format. I recommend that you either narrow down your question so that it's not going to give opinionated responses, or try going somewhere like BlenderArtists.org and getting help there. I hope you find what you're looking for!

Its a lot better than things like SketchUp (which generates lots of random points etc which really confuse printer), as you can edit each vertex if needed. However other programs designed specially for 3D printing would may be better - e.g. testing printing support material or something

Like many many others I do models for 3d print with blender. When creating models for 3d print you have to be aware of the limitations of the 3d printer and of the material you're going to print. What software you use to create your model is almost entirely a question of preference. One advantage of blender is that it offers a wide range of tools for modeling which you can all use or combine to create the perfect shape for your 3d-printed object. Shapeways has a nice guide for using blender: https://www.shapeways.com/creator/blender which you might find useful.

Although I've only had an initial play with using Blender for modelling objects for 3D printing, I found that even with simple shapes I ended up with so many geometry problems (found with the included 3D print add-in - http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Modeling/PrintToolbox) that I'd have had to spend a lot of time fixing.  There are lots of examples around of people who use Blender for 3D Printing successfully, and there are more and more tools for import/export/cleanup (for the latter look at https://makeprintable.com/ for example), so maybe it was just my methodology or certain operations that caused me problems (I was scripting everything so it wasn't shaky mouse problems...).
I'd recommend checking regularly as you build models to spot any problems before you get too far using either the built in toolbox or the imaterialise one you found (others add-ins, separate tools, an webbased alternatives are also available).


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How to assign different background images for different 3d views?
I was following this tutorial about creating a spaceship in Blender:
As advised I created 3 background images for the three views to be uploaded via the properties bar (N). I did not fail to switch to the ortho mode with the NumPad 5, so that is settled.
After importing the three pictures there is a problem: I assign for example the top view background picture to the top view, NumPad 7 and it is visible. As soon as I assign, say the front picture to the front view and I switch back to the top view, the picture cannot be seen there any more. I have been trying all around for hours and I always end up with the only the last assigned background picture visible and the others then "gone".
I run blender 2.76 in portable mode.
Anybody any idea?
Sorry for the bad link, I forgot to set the filefolder to visible to others except me... Since my status does not allow to upload more than the 15 screenshots here is the correct link
I think I managed to generate a .blend with the images stacked. The link to upload it in MrZak's post did not work though. I am posting an alternative for the download.
I have read through your advised literature. The load UI was not unchecked.
Meanwhile I have noticed that whenever I try to save the project in the .blend, only the last uploaded picture/blueprint remains, even with the image packed. This means that when I open it, only the last picture remains.
Again sorry for any inconvenience with my virtually poor formatting skills and I much appreciate your efforts.

How many background images are there now in your file ? If there're more then one, are they set up as different images and for different views ?

@Mr Zak. Thank you very much indeed for your reply. There are 3 images and they are set up each for different view. In the tutorial, the user uploads 3 pics. one after the other and then he assigns them to each respective view: top pic to top view, etc. Then he switched back and forth to the different views and the uploaded pics appeared so he could carry on with his project. Whenever I want to switch back to a previous view, the pic does not show anymore.

@Mr Zak. I actually just completed a quick and dirty screenshotcast viewable through this link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102685929754019575402/23Januar2016#
Hit slideshow and F11 for full screen and SPACE to stop the auto slideshow. You can then leaf through every pic with the right cursor key.

Could you please upload a .blend which has images packed please ? I'm afraid link is leading to error404 but anyway looking into file should resolve this faster

Heres my .blend

I have attached a file with 3 views. Try hitting Num 7 , Num 1 and Num 3 to view the different elevation views. Everytime you add an image to the background you will have to click on the "Add image" button. I believe that may be the reason why you could not get more than one image to show up on your viewport.

Alternative Methods
However there is a better way of working with image plane. Using import image
as plane. Here you get a polygon created to match the aspect ratio of your image and the image is applied as a shadeless material. This gives you more control in positioning your image planes and make them visible in all views including the
perspective views.
Note : You may also want to turn on lock transformation for the planes.

Here is the download for the alternative method.

@ hawkenfox. Thank you so much for your support. I have saved the files you have provided. Currently I am a beginner in Blender and I just want to master the first chapter (modelling) in the most simple manner to possibly evolve from there step by step. That is why I am kind of clinging to the tutorial mentioned above. My mind needs those step by step walktroughs. I will try and apply your methods if I don't come out with my problem above. They are honestly a bit confusing today.

If you are interested though:
I actually just completed a quick and dirty screenshotcast viewable through this link: picasaweb.google.com/102685929754019575402/23Januar2016# Hit slideshow and F11 for full screen and SPACE to stop the auto slideshow. You can then leaf through every pic with the right cursor key.

Sorry about that one, I forgot to change a setting in the filefolder. I added the correct link in my initial post above.

I would add one more step to the answer from @hawkenfox (which I upvoted by the way, because it was a good answer).
After you load your image as a plane zoom a camera up on it to fill the camera's viewport at the correct scale and aspect ratio.
Then set the origin point of the image plane as the camera's origin, and parent the plane to an empty that is also at the origin of the camera. Then parent the camera to the empty.
This way:

Whenever you move just the empty both the camera and the Image Plane come along for the ride.
If you ever have to scale the image outward away from the camera to put scene items in, the perspective should never change
Your background will always be ready when your camera is.
If your background is bigger than the camera, you can always rotate the camera and leave your background image un-rotated, but still linked to the camera via the empty.

This won't be ideal in every situation, but not a bad trick to keep up your sleeve.


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Controls display very small
I have a Surface Book running Windows 10. Blender opens and operate fine, but the display is very small -- so small I have to put my face an inch from the screen to see what the controls are. I've gone through the gamut w/ Windows and they concluded that it was "a third party problem."
Has anyone else encountered a similar problem or know how to fix it? See below for screens.
Blender:

I don't know about LMMS, but in blender you can open an User Preferences editor and increase the DPI setting in the system tab, and this will make all the fonts andbuttons bigger across the program. You might need to then drag on the boundaries to give enough room for the new scaled up interface, but you'll get a clearer view.

Craig, thanks so much. That solved the problem for Blender. Huge help.

Sure thing - I hope someone else has a tip on the LMMS


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Unexpected rotation when exporting .fbx for Unity
I have had no problems exporting .fbx files for Unity except recently some of my .fbx started to rotate the mesh. The asset is correctly oriented, but the mesh is rotated 90 degrees. Is there an explanation and fix for why this happens sometimes, and works properly otherwise?

Related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/q/1902/599

That is because Blender uses +Z as a up direction whiles Unity uses +Y (most other 3D packages do so). So when exporting your file make sure you have pressed:

PS: I am not sure about the forward, you might have to try both -Z and +Z as I am not sure of Unity.

I also had that problem but just figured it out.
Here is a Link to a pretty good explanation, found this on Unity3d.com.
Sarper Soher wrote:

"It's the FBX exporter and the difference of the coordinate systems between Blender and Unity, and simple to fix.
In object mode, set the X rotation of your model to -90. Press Ctrl+A and apply rotation, X rotation appears to be 0 now in Blender, set it to 90 and save/export it. You'll see that it will appear both correct and at 0 rotations now."

http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/319802/rotation-when-importing-from-blender.html
He also wrote a script, but when I use it and import to Unity I always have 0.0002 Rotation on X. I have no idea how to fix that one, but if you hit in the 90 degrees manually again after running the script it's fine. (Blender only shows three decimals on rotation, that's why you can't see the 0.0002 D:)


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Do I need to even use blueprints?
So, i was planning to model a car in blender. I checked out many tutorials and videos regarding this, and saw that everyone was using blueprints to model the car. So my question is, Do we actually need blueprints or can we do well enough with reference images to look at. And, if at all blueprints are better choices, can you lead me to a good blueprint-setting up tutorial that would work perfectly. Thanks in advance!

We don't take requests for tutorials. Also, your question is rather subjective.

Andrew Price did a tutorial on modeling a 747 where he used orthographic drawings of the plane as backgrounds in the scene and then modelled over the top of them.  The backgrounds can be associated with the view direction.  He also suggested in his tutorial a web repository of ortho drawings that you can goto for different vehicles.  I think the images were free, but I'm not sure.
Andrew goes through laying out and sizing background images, drawing over them and the other steps involved in constructing a model using this approach-which you see frequently in industrial design.
The advantage of this approach as opposed to just using reference images, is that it gives you dimensionally accurate references for laying out your meshes, eliminating a lot of the guesswork in determining sizes and proportions of elements in an object-especially if the camera angle and lens make those difficult to gauge.
As you gain experience and proficiency, you'll be able to rely on your memory more and incorporate your own ideas into the process.
Experts like Ron Cobb and Syd Meade can conjure incredible levels of detail and accuracy from their grey matter by virtue of being able to understand the interrelationships of geometry in their subjects and having exceptional control and discipline in their creative processes. So as to whether you can do well enough with reference images, I'd say that depends entirely on you and what you're trying to accomplish
But if you were a Syd Meade or Ronn Cob or John Laseter, you'd know it.  For the present, you should use the sketch layout (blueprint method) of modeling because it gives you the most opportunity to study how geometric shapes go together to create forms.
Where reference images really come in handy is in understanding the effects of light through different materials, how cameras and optical effects add impact and how composition creates drama in a scene.

thnx, just the heading i was looking for! :)


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How to "simplify" an entire project in order to import it in another?
I have a character created in Blender which consists of a complexity of rigging, material, clothing and control bones.
I have to import it into another project, but as the first project is almost an controlled accident, I am wondering if there would be a technique to do a kind of "compiling" in order to make it simple to manipulate in the other project.
In time, this project works as a kind of "statue", which doesn't need new clothing simulations, new bone poses and etc. Any help would be useful. Thanks.

Looks like you're searching for linking objects into another scenes; thus you'll have a library (.blend with your rigged object) and scene (.blend with all the assets setup for render). Proxy objects should help to rig linked object in the scene file without switching to library.

As you're a beginner (it seems) you can:
- Save your .blend fila with another name - select your model - got to the modifiers tab in the properties window and press the "apply" button on all the modifiers you don't need (armature, cloth, etc.) Start applying the modifiers from the upper (first calculated) to the lower (last).
Then delete the armature and everything you don't need, save the new file, close it and then reopen. - Import you model from this new file.


text:
Inscribing text into an object
I have a cube, and I would like it to have a text inscribed in it, so the text would be in the cube but we could see it. Is it possible to do this?

Do you mean like this?

Yes, like this.

You could also use Knife Project.

Subdivide the face you want to be engraved (knife project needs some geometry)
Place the text above the face.
Select the text
Select the cube (must be the active object)
Change to Edit Mode
Click Knife Project
Extrude the selected faces (in or out)

Place the above the face.?

Just adding note to future answer seekers. Cut will be made based on which angle you are looking at. So keep your viewport at the angle where you want cut. For example, if you want cut from top, use ortho top view while if you want cut as specific angle, put viewport at that angle.

There are plenty of ways to do this:
1.) You could apply a texture of a text, and use it as a displacement in the displacement modifier.
2.) You could create your text with blender text (add some thickness to it), then tessellate it so it becomes a mesh, and then apply a boolean operator on your cube with the text (depending on, if want it inscribed or extruded appearance).
I would recommend (2.) as it involves much cleaner operations.
Here is a quick workflow, for different results use a different boolean operator.


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How do I make particles collide with object surfaces?
Please Refer to Video
The blue cubes are using active rigid body properties. The red cubes are emitted using a particle system. The blue cubes are being affected by the surface of the yellow object, but the red particle cubes fall through. So my question is, how do I make particles collide with object surfaces?

The video is no longer available.

You need to enable 'Collisions' on the object you want the particles to collide with on the 'Physics' tab:

Thank you! Such a simple explanation. I should have been able to figure that one out by myself.


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No Option For Graphics CPU in Render Settings
Specs
Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Intel i7-4810MQ
Nvidia K3100M
--- [Nvidia Graphics Driver 354.56]
--- [Nvidia nView 146.90] comes with graphics driver above.
Intel HD Graphics 4600
--- [Intel Graphics Driver v10.18.15.4268]
500 GB Crucial SSD
32 GB Kingston 1866 SODIMML RAM
And some other miscellaneous stuff that probably doesn't matter.
Hopefully the image will explain what is happening.
I am just learning Blender and I am trying to render the monkey head. I set the resolution to 1080p HD TV and then 500%. That should strain the pc right?
Well when I run the render, all 8 CPU cores go through the roof. I am guessing my Video card is not helping with the process.
I think that I have all the settings correct. Why am I not able to select the graphics cpu under the render tab?
PC and Blender Settings

are you rendering with cycles or blender render? Because only cycles uses the GPU to render.

Now you must have Blender Render on that renderer option of yours.
Change it to cycles! Now! Now!
The option box on the render setting will magically appear!

Additional Notes
You may need to make sure the Performance numbers are setup correctly
to make rendering go faster when you are using the GPU. Also beware
that overly bright scene that renders with lots of "firefly" noise
will slow down the render too.

Turn on "Auto Tile Size" in your user preference add on tab.

Here is where you will find the tool on the performance header.

I changed it and it worked. Thank you! Sadly... I think that my CPU processes the images faster than this graphics card... :(

Hey there is a need to tune the performance setting make rendering go faster for the GPU. See my edited answer above!

Yes, that helped also. It made the graphics card about 5% faster than the processor.  Thanks a bunch! I am sure I will be back. I will have many questions.


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F12/devtools like JavaScript in browsers
I'm mostly a JavaScript developer and I enjoy to explore objects and quickly write new source code via F12/devtools in browsers like Chrome/Firefox. The browsers even allow to set breakpoints and single-step through the code etc.
I search something like that for Blender, but I only found the Python shell, which is more like a "text only" interface. Is there any powerful Blender/Python devtools like JavaScript devtools in browsers?

Yes, Blender text editor is not perfect. So, instead, you can use any IDE for that such as Visual Studio Code for example. But that requires a little bit of workaround. Do you want me to explain the setup details?

@YannMasoch Hi Yann, can you debug Blender via VSCode? That would be interesting. I just googled it, found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVDf2VSmRvk
So debugging seems to be possible, but 15minutes configuration for simple debugging, which is done via one F12 key press in the browser :S

In fact, t's not really possible like you can do in Chrome Dev Tools but you can have the python console for debugging inside VSCode. I'll show you the setup I use for add-ons dev.

Using an external IDE for Blender dev.
In this example, I am going to show you my setup using VSCode on Win 10. You can use any other IDE you want and it should also work on Mac and Linux too (I never tested).
Install Python and put Blender in your environment variables
I won't explain these steps as you can find great and easy tutorials on internet. Also, you can skip this part if you already did this.
You need to install Python in order code for Blender and you need to put Blender in your environment variables in order to launch it directly from your IDE (we'll see that later).
Create an addons directory
On your computer, wherever you want, simply create a directory called srcipts and a sub-directory inside called addons.
In my case, my directories are D:\Dev\Blender\scripts\addons

Your script or addon folder will be here as shown on the image. Using a folder to organize your addon is a good practice as you will be able to add sub-folders for libraries, icons and so on.
Specify the Scripts folder on Blender
Open the User Preferences on Blender via File menu or using Ctrl Alt U.
Under File tab, complete the Scripts path in order to point to the scripts folder we just created before (do not point to addons, just to scripts).
Save the User Preferences and close blender.

Open VSCode, start to code and launch Blender
Create your code inside VSCode. In this example, I created a simple script my_script.py called My Hello Addon that prints "Hello World!" when activated using the Operator my_script.hello.

bl_info = {
    "name": "My Hello Addon",
    "description": "",
    "author": "Yann Masoch",
    "version": (0, 0, 1),
    "blender": (2, 78, 0),
    "location": "3D View > Tools",
    "warning": "", # used for warning icon and text in addons panel
    "wiki_url": "",
    "tracker_url": "",
    "category": "Object",
}

import bpy

class MyHelloClass(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = "my_script.hello"
    bl_label = "My Hello Script"
    bl_options = {'REGISTER', 'UNDO'}

    def execute(self, context):
        print("Hello world!") # Replace this line by your own code
        return {'FINISHED'}

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(MyHelloClass)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(MyHelloClass)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

Now, simply type blender or blender.exe in the terminal to launch Blender.
Activate the addon
At the first start, you have to activate the addon. Open the User Preferences on Blender via File menu or using Ctrl Alt U.
Under Add-ons tab, search for our addon My Hello Addon and make it active by checking the box.
Save the User Preferences.
You don't need to do this step every time. Once the addon is registered/activated, this step become optional!

Launch the script
Now, you just have to launch the script we registered as an operator by pressing Space and searching for its name.

On VSCode, Hello World will appear in the terminal section.

The terminal section will show all the outputs from Blender and/or Python to help you to debug your code.
In my code, I decided to register the class as an operator (search via Space) but you can launch it from a button, a menu or more. You will find addon examples or tutorials on internet.
Reload your code with F8
Every time you change your code, save it on VSCode and press F8 on Blender. It will reload all the Blender addons such as when Blender is starting.
That's it!
It looks a bit complicated and long but not really. Most of the steps have to be done only once. If your setup is done, you just need to open Blender from VSCode, update your code and press F8.

Thanks for the answer, I think the biggest win of this answer is to see the print output, but you can have the same by winkey+r, enter cmd and drag blender.exe in there, press enter. But this still is no sane debugging environment like F12/devtools, it is not even possible to enter single python code in the terminal for quick testing and there is no GUI introspection into Python objects

Your welcome. Hope that could help you a bit. Yes, using the terminal inside VSCode or using cmd is almost the same, it's just faster to have everything at the same place. For a quick testing you can also use the Python Console inside Blender Shift+F4 https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/editors/python_console.html

I also made a video on using VS Code with the Blender Extension by Jacques Lucke: https://youtu.be/q06-hER7Y1Q


text:
UV Mapping doesn't consider Camera Background Image Rotation of 90° for vertical images
I would like to make a fairly simple projective mapping setup:

And because Blender automatically rotates vertical images, I had to apply 90° to the Camera Background Image:

And this causes the UV Mapping Project From View to fail:

Is there any way to make this work with vertical images?

What version of blender are you using? My background image properties lack a rotation factor in both 2.93 and 3.0

@ChristopherBennett I used Blender 2.92 for this. I figured out the strange behaviour, iPhone is saving vertical images horizontally and then just adds some JPG Meta Information... and this may only be half-integrated by Blender or so.

The UV mapping projection has nothing to do with the background image. It just projects the mapping coordinates. You still have to make a shader with the image texture and then you can rotate the image in the shader using the mapping node if you wish.


text:
Where to start dissecting this racing track?
I quite new to blender; i wand to make the following kind of track for a racing game i am working on. I am overwhelmed by the many things to stard; for this case is it better to start with the road or with the landscape ?
I was thinking to use spline and extrude the road to be able to adapt the road; is it the proper way of doing it ?
For the landscape i should start with a plane that i subdivide a lot but then how to get this random moving vertices ?
Thanks !

You can use a bezier curve for the track.

Create the track as a bezier curve
Create a track segment with an Array modifier > Fit Curve and target the track
Add a Curve modifier to the segment and target the track

Wow ! That is awesome ! How did you end up having super smooth curves like these with perfect turns ? Would you mind sharing the blend file or explain how to make it so perfect ? Thank you very much !

Hey, glad you like it :). I used grid snapping and as little control points as possible.  Added the blend.

You terrain is quite simple, it's even low-poly style, you could do it this way:

Create your road with the Array and Curve modifier, create a plane, subdivide it, select the parts that are supposed to be cliffs and move them up with the Proportional Editing option on:

Use the Decimate modifier/Collapse mode to create the low-poly style:

For a more highg-poly terrain, you could use the method explained here by BlenderShortTests. Basically you need to:

Create your terrain:

Create your road with the Array + Curve modifier method:

Give your terrain a Shrinkwrap modifier, Wrap Method > Project, Axis > Z, enable Negative and Positive, choose the road as Target:

Apply the Shrinwrap modifier, sculpt the terrain in order to smooth the topology:


text:
How to give the "low poly" effect to a flat surface
I'm looking for a way to achieve this kind of effect; the ground path seems to have 'relief' but in fact it's flat; the character doesn't bump on it.
For now i'm starting with a plane; subdivide; displace (cloud); and then I select a bunch of faces which i scale-z to but even; i end up with a shitty flat surface with no color.
What am I doing wrong ?

You could render out your displaced plane and save it as an image. Then use the image as a texture.

Bake your low poly geometry to the flat surface using a bump map or normal map.


text:
Symmetrize from +X to -X
I'm using Blender 2.8 and want to symmetrize my sculpted model.
I've tried Modeling -> Mesh -> Symmetrize but this only offers to symmetrize from -X to +X. How can I symmetrize from +X to -X instead? I can't simply cut my model in half and use a Mirror Modifier due to the nature of the sculpted mesh (no clean line down the middle).

Once you've symmetrized, you have all the symmetrize options in the block on the bottom left of the 3D View, and you can choose +X to -X.

@moonboots This should actually be the accepted answer

Once you've symmetrized, you have all the symmetrize options in the Operator box on the bottom left of the 3D View, and you can choose +X to -X.

Well, I can't find a +X to -X Symmetrize function either, but a trivial solution would be to simply mirror the object before invoking Symmetrize...

I thought that mirroring with the mirror modifier would cause the mirrored faces to be present alongside the original faces for that half... but it seems that the original faces were replaced.

No, I didn't mean the mirror modifier. There is a Mirror operation in the same menu as the Symmetrize function. Alternatively, just scale the mesh along X by -1 .


text:
Why are my objects 'exploding'?
I have just encountered an issue with a model I have created. When I scrub through the timeline parts of the model seem to explode away from each other. To my knowledge I have not added any modifiers to it and do not want this to happen!
Here are a couple of images which illustrate the problem:
At Frame 0

At Frame 10

Here is a link to the blend file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x3pw00lmhvw0tut/Cabin.blend
Any help would be much appreciated!

You set several of the roof pieces as rigid bodies. To delete the rigid body and all of the motion calculated from it Select the roof pices, then in the physics tab of the tool bar press remove.

You can also get to the physics settings in the physics tab of the properties window.

Thank you! That was it. Not sure how that happened!


text:
Why is the base of the object fading in and out during rendering?
When I render an animation of my object (from motion tracking data) I am seeing the base fade in and out as shown in the two images below.

Does anyone know why this is happening? Here is the .blend file if that helps.

The 'fading' is actually just blurring from the vector blur node in the compositor. It's a bit hard to know how to solve this without knowing what the final effect you're looking for is.

Ah I see...I just want to render the animation so all frames look like the first image...should I just remove the vector blur node?

Yes, you can just remove it. I'll write up a full answer in a second.

The 'fading' is actually just blurring from the vector blur node in the compositor.
If you wish to remove this effect, you can either just disable the Vector Blur node by pressing M while the node is selected in the compositor to 'Mute' the node or you could press Ctrl+X to essentially 'Cut' the node out. In future, you can use the technique of muting nodes one by one to diagnose issues with node setups.
If you remove the Vector Blur node you may be able to remove more nodes, such as the Alpha Over node the Vector Blur connects to and even the 'Foreground' render layer (as it may be the only purpose of this render layer is for the Vector Blur).


text:
Change the background clip after tracking - multiple clips loaded
I did some motion tracking on a clip and set the clip to be the background of the render. However I then loaded another clip to use instead, did the motion tracking, clicked 'Set as Background' and looking from the camera perspective in the 3D view I see this new clip as the background. However upon rendering, the background appears to be the old clip. How can I remove this old clip so I can see the new one instead?
Thanks!


text:
Some faces left behind in pose mode
I have rigged my character with automatic weights, and everything seems OK except for a few faces which are left behind when I rotate the head. They are the faces that make up the iris and pupil in the eyes.
These faces were modelled separately to the rest of the eyes but they were joined to the eye objects so I don't know why they don't follow them! I'm not able to select them as separate objects, yet rotating the bones in pose mode leaves them behind as you can see in the image below.

First of all put the armature modifier before the subsurf and check the two buttons of armature modifier so it acts in edit mode also.
As you can read in the N properties panel, the not moving vertices heve been weighted to the wrong bones (shoulder and upper arm), instead of "spine.006".

Then go to the vertex groups tab, select all wrong moving vertices, remove them from the wrong vertex groups, and assign them to the "spine.006" one.

In general, when an object has to move exactly with one bone, without any deformation, you should avoid automatic weighting, and parent the object directly to the bone (bone option, choose the bone in pose mode), or choose "with empty group" option and manually assign all vertices to the corresponding vertex group.

Thank you, it would have taken me a long time to figure that out!


text:
Adjust Background Transparency after Motion Tracking
I have done some motion tracking with some footage I imported and used the 'Set as Background' option so I can see this footage through the camera view. I now want to work on compositing a 3D model with the motion tracked footage, but my issue is that the footage is quite 'faded' and this makes it difficult to adjust the lighting on my model to match the footage. Is there a way to adjust the opacity of the background footage?
Here is a screenshot of the original clip in the Motion Tracking layout:

...and this is what I'm seeing in the Shading layout (notice the faded background):

I found out how to do this. Select the Camera object, then go to Object Data -> Background Images. Expand the background image being used (the video clip in my case) and adjust the Alpha slider as needed.


text:
Non Manifold geometry preventing loop cuts
I am modelling a simple treasure chest, shown in the screenshot below. However, I am having issues with loop cuts not cutting through the whole model.
As you can see, the yellow line is the loop cut but I would expect it to follow the red line drawn on the screenshot (excuse the rough drawing).

After a Google search, I tried selecting Non Manifold geometry and this highlighted a few of my edges. I think I understand the concept of Non Manifold geometry, but I don't understand what is wrong with my model or how to get around it.
The blend file is attached.

Downloaded the file, here one solution:

This is only one possible solution but can be applied to both sides of the geometry, you can do other ways, but that depends on what you prefer. That said, it's important to remember that "Face Orientation", picture below lower part, helps to find the problems.

Faces shown as blue represent the outside of the volume of the geometry, red though should only be seen if you literally go between the walls. Can be seen at the end of the gif, showing "one" solution.

Thanks so much for the detailed response! Really helpful


text:
bge.logic.getCurrentController not available in 2.71?
I'm trying to script some things in version 2.71.
To get the controller of a script, I have tried bge.logic.getCurrentController , but bge apparently is not present (unable to import). I've also tried bpy.ops.logic.getCurrentController , but logic does not have getCurrentController
Is there something obvious I'm missing? or what new command replaced this functionality?
This roadblock is wasting a lot of time that could have been very productive.
Any help is appreciated

My understanding is that you must run your python script from a controller brick. The import will not work from the TEXT view. For example, the following simple script prints hello in the system console (Window->Toggle System Console) when the h key is pressed.

Clicking on the 'Run Script' button in the TEXT view will not work.


text:
UV Unwrapping so that every face takes the whole UV?
Trying to make so that when I unvrap each quads takes the whole UV squard; i tried scaling down to 0 then scaling up but somehow loosing information ?
Is there a faster way to individually select all faces and make them fit ?
Thanks !

That would be U UV unwrap > Reset

Just to illustrate Robin's comment (and show off my gif skillz)

Select the whole mesh
Go UV > Reset
Done

one thumb up for your gif skillz

best in the hood

Duh. I feel so dumb bruh ... I guess some are made to be programmers, some 3d artists. Thanks !

@DiscoFever Don't feel dumb, maybe you'll help me with Drupal some day... :)

I get stage-fright.. rehearse a million times, and then blow it... :)

@JachymMichal anytime mate :)


text:
Pine tree leaves using Sapling; giving stylized look
Trying to make a stylized pine tree (like in Among Trees Game)

I can't figure out how to make leaves like these; so one falling on each side.

Using the sapling plugin; is there a way to make it so ?
Pulling out my hairs here.
Thanks !

You can easily do it without addon, you need to create some flat branches, like that (I copied but of course do your own):

Rotate, mirror:

Duplicate, rotate, etc:

Of course i can manually do it; i thought there was a way to make use of the sapling plugin to 'automate' the process, maybe ?

oops you're right I lost your initial question, I've edited, I don't know this addon


text:
Creating seamless low poly terrain tiles
I'm scratching my head trying to create a seamless tiling system for low poly terrain;
I want to align every vertices of the border to the neighbor terrain; how can I 'easily' achieve that ?
Thanks !

Shift-Alt select each edge border and use "Bridge Edge Loop". This should connect the 2 borders. Maybe add 1 other loop cut afterwards to make the squares evenly distributed.

By seamless, do you mean that they should tile only on the x-axis or should they be truly seamless in all directions? If the latter is the case, are we talking about one plane that should get repeated?

@abel that made it seamless ! but afterwards when I cut and repeat the seam is still there

@metaphor_set only in the x (or y) axis; it's for an infinite runner game

So you actually need many different tiles that are tiling seamlessly together. Ok, got it.

@metaphor_set that is correct ! do you have a solution ?

Unfortunately not... entirely. The problem is that I can make the tiles seamless on the geometry side, by using "Bridge Edge Loop" without any problem. The seams that you see, are produced by the edge normals, because they "change direction" even then, when all vertices are at the same level. If that's still ok for you and you can solve that programmatically, I'd write an answer.

@metaphor_set well, keeping in mind that i'm a n00b when it comes to programming in python .. why not, if you can explain from a beginner level :)


text:
How to achieve a similar effect (rocks)?
I'm trying to figure out how to acheve the effect of the rocks (in the back).
I've started by taking a plane, subdividing, and then moving vertices s

Yep, that's how I would approach it. You could also do it from a Displacement Modifier/Texture and control the height from an image.

I can displace using a texture ? Wow !
Height from an image ? can you please explain this ?

You could do it this way:

Create a plane, subdivide, play with the Fractal value in the Operator box, flatten it on the Z axis.

Extrude to create the cliff, extrude again to create a cliff on the cliff, create some horizontal edge loops:

Enable the Proportional Editing option and move some vertices. Don't give any Subsurf modifier or Smooth Shading to keep a low-poly look:

Perfect ! Exactly the look i was aiming for ! Also, learned about the Fractal modifier ! Thank you so much !

Hey, BTW, if you have weird shading issues, turn on smooth shading, and add a edge split modifier with the angle set to zero.  this is a good rule of thumb for low poly style renders, as it keeps the mesh from having dark lines across the faces.

actually I think he does want the triangulation effect  ;)


text:
How to model those stylized trunks (See image)
Currently trying to do some stylized trees; i am struggling to do those trunks.
Tried some subdivision surface but I can't make the corners nice at 90°
I bet there's a nicer way to do it; maybe with curves or so ? But i would like to keep the subdivision surface (and maybe make the loop smaller and smaller toward the ends of branch)
Any Drupal Guru out there to help me out ?
Thanks !

Is "Drupal" what people are calling "Blender" these days? If so, it's about time Drupal CMS lost its name to something else. I've been calling Drupal "Disaster" for years

Hahaha right; when you have sooo many windows open ... mixing things up :)
Thx for pointing it out; i'll leave it as a proof that i am waaay too much committed

When somebody asks why recruiters for Drupal jobs are looking for people with Blender experience I'm pointing @DiscoFever.

I think the best way to achieve trees with branches is to make use of the Skin Modifier.
Begin by enabling a couple of add-ons ("Extra Objects"), if they're not already enabled.

This will give you the ability to add a single vert from the mesh menu.

Add a vertex, and give it a Skin Modifier.

You can extrude points by selecting them and then Ctrl + Right Click somewhere else (where you want to extrude it to). You can then scale the individual points using Ctrl + A.

You can also reselect individual points and extrude them elsewhere to make multiple "branches"

Once you have the tree shape you like, you can add a Subdivision Surface Modifier to make it smooth and round.

The best thing about this method, I find, is that it makes proper "knuckles" where the different branches connect to each other.

There are multiple relatively easy ways to achieve this.
Manual modelling
Start by adding a circle. Shift + a -> Mesh -> Circle
Use the menu on the bottom left to set the vertex count (8 is fine, we can subdivide later) and the radius.

press tab to switch to edit mode. make sure you select all vertices, and extrude them upwards.

position the 3d cursor at the center of the desired radius. you can either shift + rmb or position it via the n-panel on the left.

press space and type in "spin".

with this, we extrude and rotate the selected vertices with the 3d cursor as center of rotation. In this step you can also adjust the segments. (you have to adjust my settings to suit your setup and angle of rotation.)

Just repeat the steps extruding and spinning in the other direction and you're done.
Use "shade smooth" and subdivision modifier to get smoother results.

Curves
Add a bezier curve. Use eto extrude new segments and r to rotate them to get a shape you like.

Use the properties panel to bevel the curves and adjust the resolution.

You can do it with curves but you can also do it with meshes.
Select your circles before and after a corner and link them with Bridge Edge Loops:

Then tweak the settings, especially Number of Cuts and Smoothness:


text:
Setting the right context in a python script?
For a project involving 3D printing of some labels with varying text, I want to use a small script. I checked all commands interactively and piled them up. However the script fails while the interactive session doing this with mouse and keyboard succeeds (repeatedly).
I tried to minimize the problem, removed everything not strictly needed, to pinpoint the place where I stumbled, but I cannot put my finger on the right spot. It fails when converting the text object into a regular mesh, complaining on the context not being right.
What am I doing wrong?
The script contains:
### (re-)start Blender, I used version 2.77a
### - open the scripting window in the top menu bar
### - load this file into the text window
### - run it with the "Run Script" button
import bpy
status = bpy.ops.object.text_add(radius = 1.0)
print("status after object creation is: ", status)
myobject = bpy.context.active_object
print("myobject is: ", myobject)
myobject.data.body = "Hello World !"
status = bpy.ops.object.select_all(action='DESELECT')
print("status after deselect all is: ", status)
status = bpy.context.scene.update()                     # forces update
print("status after update is: ", status)
bpy.context.scene.objects.active = myobject
status = bpy.context.object.type
print(" bpy.context.object.type is: ", status)
status = bpy.ops.object.convert(target='MESH')          # fatal error
print("status after converting to a mesh is: ", status) # never reached

The console shows:
Read new prefs: /Users/wim/Library/Application Support/Blender/2.77/config/userpref.blend
found bundled python: /Applications/Utilities-3rd-party/blender.app/Contents/MacOS/../Resources/2.77/python
measureit: added to phytonpath
measureit: Imported multifiles
status after object creation is:  {'FINISHED'}
myobject is:  <bpy_struct, Object("Text")>
status after deselect all is:  {'FINISHED'}
status after update is:  None
 bpy.context.object.type is:  FONT
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/test-convert-mesh.py", line 18, in <module>
  File "/Applications/Utilities-3rd-party/blender.app/Contents/MacOS/../Resources/2.77/scripts/modules/bpy/ops.py", line 189, in __call__
    ret = op_call(self.idname_py(), None, kw)
RuntimeError: Operator bpy.ops.object.convert.poll() failed, context is incorrect
Error: Python script fail, look in the console for now...

related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/40482/why-does-bpy-ops-object-converttarget-mesh-have-an-error

related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/6101/poll-failed-context-incorrect-example-bpy-ops-view3d-background-image-add

As well as making the text object the context object you need to reselect it. (You did call deselect after all). An object can be context.active_object while not context.active_object.select  Some operators that work on all objects selected may only go thru the context.selected_objects list.
bpy.context.scene.objects.active = myobject
myobject.select = True
status = bpy.context.object.type
print(" bpy.context.object.type is: ", status)
status = bpy.ops.object.convert(target='MESH')          # fatal error

print("status after converting to a mesh is: ", status)

Marvellous, I tested the select flag, but apparantly not in combination with setting it active in the scene as well. This solves it! Many thanks!


text:
Is anyone using MySQL in Blender / python
For a project I'm thinking on using a small database to store information on objects, then extract this information with a Python script. The Python script then would use this data for generating 3D (geometric) objects. The database would function for (intermediate) storing info with an easy programmable update interface (HTML, PHP).
Searching for the three components (Blender, the underlying Python, MySQL) I do run into a myriad of possibilities and especially different versions.
Before embarking I would like to know if somebody has already done something similar and could brief me on my journey. Or point me to similar ideas?
Thanks for reading and answering!
Regards,
Wim.

Hi. This site works better for specific problems, whereas what you're asking is quite broad. If you are looking for more of a discussion I recommend creating a thread on blenderartists

Unless your objects have a ton of data points, a DB as beefy as mySQL would likely be overkill. A 'sql lite' version might be more effective.
Google: mysql lite python   where you'll find many possibilities, including frontends.
RE Frontends, see also Has anyone hooked up PySide to Blender?


text:
Is there a way to fine-tune the diameter for Circle Select?
I am trying to precisely deselect some edges located at the same distance from some point. Unfortunately the edges are close enough to other edges so selecting/deselecting with standard scrolling while Circle Selecting doesn't work. I've tried different zoom level with no success.
And I couldn't find this in the docs.
Am I missing some obvious reason for not having this as Shift+Scroll or similar?
I'm using v. 2.79.

Did you try others selection ways, like Ctrl L select linked, or Alt right click for selecting an edge loop?


text:
How to create toggle buttons in blender GUI from dynamic list of items?
I would like to export selected Armature actions through blender export file gui. So the user would be allowed to select the actions from the list in the GUI (shown in the image) after the File->Export->ES3D has been selected.
I have tested PropertyGroups, but they seem to be quite read only once the script is running. What would be the correct way of adding arbitrary amount of toggle buttons in the export file draw function (sample code with PropertyGroups below) after the File->Export->ES3D has been selected ?
Thank you,
    -Mika
Example GUI

The example "pseudo" code creates a PropertyGroup when the script is loaded to the Blender (in the blender startup) and I can not change the toggle buttons after that anymore.

class PresetsCollection(bpy.types.PropertyGroup):
    actions = {}
    index = 0
    test = ES3D()
    for a in test.getActions(bpy.context):
        locals()['action_%s' % index] = BoolProperty(name=a, default=False)
        actions['action_%s' % index] = a
        index += 1

class ExportES3D(bpy.types.Operator, ExportHelper):
    bl_idname = "export_object.es3d"
    bl_label = "Export ES3D"
    bl_options = {'UNDO', 'PRESET'}

    filename_ext = ".es"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        layout.label("Actions")
        row = layout.row(align=True)
        # List
        box = row.box()
        e = context.scene.presets
        for a in inspect.getmembers(e):
            if a[0][:7] == "action_":
                box.prop(e, a[0])

    def execute(self, context):
        # Export filename must be set
        if not self.filepath:
            raise Exception("filepath not set")

        # Gather all export data
        e = context.scene.presets
        selected_actions = []
        for name,data in inspect.getmembers(e):
            if name[:7] == "action_":
                if data == True:
                    selected_actions.append(e.actions[name])

        # Export the ES3D
        test = ES3D()
        test.convert2es(context, selected_actions, self.filepath)

        # All done
        return{'FINISHED'}


text:
Cycles noise no matter what I do, and the denoiser makes it look cloudy
I realise so many people have asked this question so many times, but I just can't see what I'm doing wrong here.
I'm on Blender 2.83.2.  I have a simple scene with a room and some objects, some with glossy shaders.  There are 3 point lights on the ceiling providing plenty of direct and indirect light, so shadows are soft and mostly diffused, and in most cases there are very few shadows due to the generous slather of light being dumped into the shot from 6 point lights on the ceiling.
This is a portion of the shot rendered in Cycles without denoising for reference:

And this is the full frame with denoising creating what you expect... a shot that looks like someone smeared my camera lens with a potato.

These are my cycles settings, which are set to default except for indirect clamp being set to 10 as part of my own troubleshooting.  I've tried samples up to 512, and there was virtually no difference from the results I got with 256 samples.  So I suspect I'm doing something else to create this noise beyond just being stingy with compute power:

I used to think Cycles only struggled when lighting was low, so I was surprised when I first switched from Eevee to see how it would look.
Any help is greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Hello :). Since Blender 2.81 there's a new denoiser that should give better results. But 512 samples is rather low.

Related: Which denoiser is better?

To fix this: turn off the denoiser, up the samples to at least 300 and use intels denoiser in the compositor.

Denoising works well only at high resolutions, in my experience from 4k. Try putting more samples, or increasing the resolution and using denoising. I rendered a scene with different light sources on 512 samples.
In addition, you can see examples of different samples and noise effect here Will increasing samples reduce fireflies?

1000:1000px; 128 samples and denoising.

1500:1500px; 256 samples and desoising on compositing tab.
As far as I know, sometimes denoising in the compositing tab, for some reason, works differently than in setting the view layers :)

That's the odd thing here, the renders above were with 256 samples, but doubling to 512 samples looked identically bad... so the old addage of "add more samples" doesn't seem to apply for some reason.
I just tried changing my lighting out for a surface emission plane and noticed the noise drastically reduced at even 128 samples!  So it must be something to do with using point lights.

what resolution do you render? do you have the opportunity to send your project?

I'm rendering is 1920x1050.

Try doubling this and use denoising. Denoising works in fact like smart blur, so the higher your resolution, the better it will work. I added examples at the top.

That's a lot of unnecessary overhead. Try the intels denoiser in the compositor and you'll save a lot of time... https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/173760/how-to-properly-connect-the-denoise-node-in-compositor/173761#173761

Thanks for the great responses.  I'm going to try them out soon and will let you know how I go.  I've played around with your suggestions on my laptop (where I do my sandboxing) but my main workhorse PC is doing other heavy lifting at the moment.

Thanks, I feel a bit stupid really, seems I wasn't upping the samples high enough.  At 512+ it looks fantastic.  Thanks for all the other tips too, I'm definitely going to be using them at some point.


text:
Why isn't a button added in the panel by running this script?
This script was suppose to create a tab on tools panel and add a button in it.
But after I run just the panel is added. Any directions what I am doing wrong?
import bpy
from bpy.types import Menu, Panel, UIList

class View3DPanel():
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'TOOLS'

class MyPoseLibraryPanel(View3DPanel, Panel):
    bl_label = "Legs"
    bl_context = "posemode"
    bl_category = "My Pose Library"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        col = layout.column(align=True)
        layout.operator("bpy.ops.pose.select_all(action='TOGGLE')", text="Legs.Idle.1", icon="MOD_ARMATURE")

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_module(__name__)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_module(__name__)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

print("my stuff loaded")

Line 16 should read:
layout.operator("pose.select_all", text="Legs.Idle.1", icon="MOD_ARMATURE")

You aren't giving the full path and the parameters. You are choosing an operator so Blender already knows that it is in "bpy.ops". When the user pushes the button, he will set the values.
If you want to make sure you use your own hard-coded values, make your own operator class, that calls the bpy.ops.pose.select_all() operator inside of it with desired parameters, or catch the result of the operator layout definition in a variable, and set the parameters like this:
# catch the defined operator in a variable
myOperator = layout.operator("pose.select_all", text="Legs.Idle.1", icon="MOD_ARMATURE")

# set the options on that var. Add as many as needed
myOperator.action='TOGGLE'

added some more info to your answer, hope you don't mind

@aliasguru Thanks, I didn't even think of that!


text:
How to make one face always be on the top of another
I'm trying to modeling a male character with a skirt (don't ask) but when I move the bones the leg very often overlaps the skirt... I've done the weight paint to be influenced by the bones around but it seems I have to do something else.
see image below, any ideas?
thanks

doesn't the skirt deform at all?

You could use corrective shape keys and animate them according to the leg movement. Another less accurate way would be to add a shrink wrap modifier with an appropriate offset.

yeah, I was thinking shirkwrap...


text:
How to scale armature and mesh proportionally?
I want to keep the original mesh scale to 1.0, which means I can't scale the armature in object mode.
is there any way I can scale in both edit mode proportionally?

You can just apply the scale after the you change it. I can't remember the shortcut, but the space and search should be able to find it.

the shortcut is [ctrl]+[a]