text:
Can't identify where this lip is in hiding in this model
This is somewhat related to my previous question here, however this question is related to the partial invisibility of one of the sides when exported and loaded into ThreeJS.
In there it looks like this:
Notice the pink lip at the top of this side. In Blender I've extended the red side to the top of the bag so it should cover whatever this pink lip is - the problem is I don't know where it's coming from.
Based on the "Edit Mode" view there are only two sides here, both are the same height and width & both are facing the same direction (outside). I've also recalculated the normals after I flipped the directions but I still see this pink lip. Why?
Here's the Blender view with the two sides hidden:

Any advice on this would be good.
P.S. It has also been suggested that this can be caused by not using a THREE.DoubleSide but I am using that as the material so this shouldn't be the issue:
EDIT
Link to the uploaded bag:

so this happens only in threejs? if so, maybe ask on their support, as it could be something unsupported, or an error... or, upload the model here (http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/) so we could check the mesh for hidden issues?

I've uploaded the blender to the site you mentioned above. See my edit for the link.

Probably not (yet) an answer, but at least I can show something that seems weird in your model:

You have some different faces for interior and exterior sides of your bag, but their normals are all directed outwards, instead of being as usual, ie: I expected the exterior face normal pointing outside, and the interior face normal pointing inside the bag.
It seems there are many face normals set like this, it seems a bit weird imho.
I will try to learn Threejs basic concepts to experiment (never used before, but interesting) but I would try before making this mesh look better in Blender before...
edit: imho, this mesh has many problems (many of them clearly found by the 3d print addon mesh checker, or the mesh analysis tool, btw) which can confuse an external engine: face distortion (non planar) face overlaps, and others...

Interesting. I've played around with the face direction of the faces both inside and outside the model and have had different results in ThreeJS. E.g. when flipped in sometimes the face becomes invisible, though sometimes this is caused by ThreeJS itself. Thanks for examining this.

Your on the right track. Those extra faces are duplicates all the way around the bag. move them out and find a second extrusion matching the red sides. The two small sides also have duplicates but they are closer together so don't stand out as much.

@Katana24 how do you load the model in Threejs? obj format exported from blender? We could try to load the exact model you load in the online editor perhaps (I mean https://threejs.org/editor/)? Or, describe how to reproduce exactly so it could be easier to sort it out, as the effect is perhaps not so strictly blender related...

Ok so you have already loaded it in. Is that the same bag that I supplied or did you modify it slightly?

No, sorry, please describe how exactly you export that -blend file as .obj (export options, parameters), so I can replicate exactly.

Hi m.ardito - I awarded you the bounty as your images above helped me to solve the problem. Thanks!

Awesome, thanks! But if you feel like explaining a bit on how you solved, it will help future readers too. Even better if you wish to answer your own question putting all details, in particular if it was solved in blender modeling: that would be very useful, and I won't mind about losing those rep points...


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How do unparent my model from plain axis(object) while keeping rotation
There is a empty plain axis that is like parent of my model(s), id like to unparent the model(s) from the empty plain axis but if i delete the plain axis my model gets rotated 180, which is something i cant allow. I need to get the model inside the empty plain axes out whitout it changing model(s) rotation(esentially keeping the same rotation and xyz placement it has inside the plain axis object, aka unparent cant not move the model(s) or worse to rotate the model(s)...

ALT + P > Clear and Keep Transformation.

See https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/56214/children-of-parent-maintain-current-position-after-parent-removed

Ok thx, how do i claim it as answered?

I added my answer to the "Answer" section. You can check that off if you'd like to.

Press ALT+P and choose " and Keep Transformation" from the drop down menu.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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subsurf "fills" holes. what did i do wrong?
I'm currently modelling a skull thingie. Until now I made it flat but when I want to make it kinda rounded the subsurf isn't yielding the results I want. I'm probably doing something wrong.
without subsurf:

with subsurf:

so what cane i do to prevent that?
EDIT: wireframe view

most probably, terrible topology and ngons... can you show the mesh in  edit mode?

Try using the Remesh Modifier (https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.62/Remesh_Modifier) and then subsurf.

i already tried remesh. whe the detail is hihg enough i have like 700 000 polys. its baad

@Laurin Schmidt - as m.ardito said it is your mesh. In a perfect world all of your faces should have four sides. Here is one possible example of part of your model http://imgur.com/ppXdIU3

You could probably have used a bezier curve object for this instead, making it a lot easier.

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


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Achieving split and sunk effect on a face without splitting the face
I created an object that looks like this:

As you can see the side of the bag is sunken in slightly and there are  two triangular faces at the bottom.
I'm exporting this model out of Blender as an .obj and importing it into 3js. I've found that I've needed to modify the vertex textures manually in the .obj for each of the sides in order to map any images onto the sides correctly. Something like this:

The left is a representation of the outside sides of the bag and the right is the inside sides of the bag. But I'm having problems mapping the image onto the sides of the bag.
Because the sides of the bags are each made up of 4 faces the material maps the image 4 times, 1 onto each side, which isn't desirable as I just want the one image across the whole side.
Rather than splitting the side into 4 faces is there a way to achieve the same affect?
Here's the model.

EDIT
Adding unwrapped model.
Does anyone have any advice on this one - I'm still looking for an answer.

IMHO This is not a geometry issue,this is a UV mapping issue. Why not unwrap your model properly in Blender before exporting?

I did - see the second model

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


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Straightening the sides of this mesh
I'm having difficulty straightening up this mesh in Blender - see here for the object:

I'm trying to follow the accepted answer here but I can't quite get all the vertices I need in order to straighten up the side. When I scale the object along the z index, in 3JS, the arc of the sides is exacerbated which is undesirable.
Any ideas on this?
EDIT
An example of what happens when it gets scaled in 3JS

How exactly are you trying to straighten the object? All of the sides look flat when I opened the file. Are you trying to make the sides vertical?

@Brenticus  I'm scaling the object in 3JS which causes it to distort which is why I need them to be absolutely vertical - see my edit for a what it looks like when scaled

Go into Edit mode.  Click the vertex-select icon.
Press C for circle select.
Color in a couple vertices you want to align, then right-click.
Tap S to scale, then X, Y, or Z to limit along one axis.
You have to decide which axis is best.
Then press 0 to zero out that axis.
If you notice movement along the wrong axis, no worries,
just click X, Y, or Z at this point to affect another axis instead.
Tap Enter to finalize command.
Repeat with each pair of vertices 'till complete.


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Can't get background image to show in cycles render
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjWoglMYXBE
I've followed this tutorial to the T and my end result is not showing properly for some reason. Any idea why this could be?
I have looked at the numerous times this has been asked on here and google but I'm at a loss now.
My end result is image 1, what I'm aiming for is number 2 and my compositor node setup is 3.
If I hook the last node up to viewer instead of composite it just displays a solid colour..

so, if number 2 is your desired result it's basically the car object, lit but without the ground shadow, overimposed to the background image?

I don't know if I got what you wish, but for a simple object-over-background you could use something simpler like this:

[edit: I added another node setup, as suggested by cegaton, you can see both give same result in the two UV/image panels above/right]
note: without linking to the compositor node, imho you get no compositing in the final render...

@cegaton added "alpha over" way too...  but I'm not sure he meant this simple result, he has so many nodes... ?!?

OK, I'm getting there now, thank you for the above.. I just have 1 slight problem now, how do I get rid of the plane from the image but keep the shadow?: http://imgur.com/xLDet1R
I just basically need the bed to look like its sitting in that room but with the ability to add more objects to the scene later on.

@Callam Warner-Billington the best way would need a "shadow catcher", which is planned for the soon-to-be-released 2.79 (see https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/Cycles) otherwise a more complex node setup is needed, see https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/19765/cycles-shadeless-shadow-catcher-material-for-rendering-onto-footage

@m.ardito thank you, so would that method work with yours? if so, ill mark it as correct answer.

@Callam Warner-Billington I guess that solution would work, buf if I was in you I would download the current pre-release (candidate) version of 2.79 and use the real "shadow catcher", since it's simpler. About marking a "correct answer", you should judge if it really answers your question, which was:  "Can't get background image to show in cycles render" and you didn't particularly ask about overimposing the shadow to the image...? Anyway, is not that important :)

It looks correct to me? I've tried re downloading the image and re-saving it as a jpg too so I don't think its corrupt.
Do you think I need world settings in place for it to show properly? It just shows a black backdrop where the background image is supposed to be in the render.

At this point in the guys video [4:03], mine looks like this:

Try checking if you have enabled all the objects you want to see in the render in the outliner (top right box) and see if all the 'camera buttons' are highlighted.

I've added some more information as an answer by mistake if you want to see. Thank you!


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How would I Rotoscope a clip in Blender VSE? Can i?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMBBUmgGxnU&vl=en
i know it was made in Adobe Premiere, but how can i achieve that wipe effect in blender VSE?
Edit: How can I rotoscope a clip of a person walking across the screen to reveal another clip under it in Blender VSE?

Don't make users watch a video to understand what you want. Please explain the effect you are after soo it is searchable and post some reference images of what you want to achieve.

alright, not very easy to explain, but ill try

If you choose edit something like this into your question and title - How can I rotoscope a clip of a person walking across the screen to reveal another clip under it in Blender VSE?

Similar to https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/50771/rotoscoping-to-a-transparent-background


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How do I add text comments to a blender file?
If I select "Text Editor" in the top left corner dropdown, I get some buttons and other control elements that allow add texts, highlight syntax, run scripts.. but where is the text edit area itself? I'd like to actually add some text, not only create a text file/node/whatever it is called. Even the manual leaves me with no idea of how to actually write text notes.. Am I using a wrong tool? How to add some text abstract to my file?

related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/45933/is-there-an-addon-for-todo-management/45947#45947 ?

It looks like you're choosing the TextEditor window to open instead of Info window which is in top of the default Blender screen. Hence you see the bottom line of TextEditor window (its header) while you should grab the splitting line between windows to bring the rest part of area to be visible (or better add this window somewhere else).

In order to access the text editor you would have to drag the window down. Try to change to the text editor from the 3d-view.
As the Info Area is basically just the header, when you switch to text editor you will just see the editor header. Try pulling the header down from the interface to the 3d-view and you will see the text input space appear. (note recommended).
Instead maybe switch the timeline area (usually bottom left (clock item)) to text editor and put something in there.
I recommend reading that.
https://www.blender.org/manual/interface/introduction.html

Thanks! Actually, I've figured it out when found that the console is also among present those available tools and that rang a bell for me that the console can be "folded", but this is not an intuitive thing, I have to admit.


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Can I export to .stl without selecting items (export everything)?
I've made some relatively simple models for 3D-printing which consist of many primitives (boxes etc). When I export to .stl only selected ones are put into it. Of'course I use B keyboard shortcut to select them all, but is there an option which will cause exporting everything without need to select them each time?

You cannot export .stl files without selecting at least one object.
My suggestion to you is dot not use box select objects by pressing 'B'

To select all object just hit 'A' , to deselect all hit 'A' again

As a side note: this seems to work with .stl files but does not have any effect when exporting to .ply


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How to move or resize to fit to certain plane?
I've took a model from web (Plottergram from tinkercad.com) and wanted to modify it namely enlarge the table in one dimension. I did't need it to have rounded corners so it's enough to add a cube that fits table's width and height. In this very case I could do this in TinkerCAD itselft, but for some reason I was working offline, so I've got just .stl and Blender.
Now, to fit the width and height I just manually "carefully changed" dimensions of the created cube and then rounded the decimal number assuming the model has some reasonable dimensions. But I wonder if I can do this (resizing/moving) so that a plane of the box fits the corresponding plane of the existent detail in a simple way. Some editors use so-called "work plane" which can be attached to a plane of an object and then resizing/moving may behave in a "sticky" way in regard to it (such thing is in TinkerCAD, too); but it seems that there's no such tool in Blender (at least that is named work plane; this is according to a thread in some non-english forum). So, is there some convenient tool to do this?
PS the following image is added to comment the first answer:

I think you should be able to do it with Snap to Mesh functionality in both Object and Edit mode (shift+tab), no need for any "work planes".
Here is the wiki page with a more precise description of the function:
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.4/Manual/3D_interaction/Transform_Control/Snap_to_Mesh

Thanks, this is helpful indeed, but I've got 2 issues regarding usage of transform snapping.
First, if I want to make a cube that has its top and bottom plane coinsiding with planes of another object, how do I do that? Either scaling or grabbing with snap to face allows me to get one plane correspondence, but when I try to make the other one coinside with that of the reference object, I get the first one changed (and vise versa).

Second, I've encountered a case where Blender thinks I want to snap the opposite face (right instead of left,
top instead of bottom). I've added a screenshot showing this case to the question: I want the brick to have a
"shared plane" with another object, but Blender fits them so that the the two objects are on the opposite sides
of the shared plane, while I want them to be on the same one.
How do I handle these two cases?

Is there an option to resize with one of the faces fixed (instead of fixed center)? That would solve both issues..

Yes, just move the 3D cursor to the vertex you desire and change the bounding box option to "center at cursor"


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Smooth a curve in mesh while maintaining its current angle?
I've got a panel here which needs smoothing off but I'm not sure how to do it? The second image is rendered and you can clearly see the edges. It is supposed to look somewhat like the panel in the 3rd picture which is the real bed.
I've supplied the panel pre-bevel and pre-inset as well as the one in the pictures below in the .blend.

You can add a subsurf modifier on your object. You will need first to triangulate your mesh (manually of with modifier as you want) since ngon will give strange results around the holes.
Before

With subsurf

Ngon problem with subsurf

Triangulate

Sorry, just seen the modifiers on the right. Did you select the faces around the hole in the last pic to apply the triangulate modifier?

No, modifier are applied to the complete mesh. If you add the same modifier stack there is nothing else to do (exept maybe to change the crease of some edges if you want to sharpen them, but it is not your case for this object.


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Follow the shape of the mesh
Is it possible to get the studs on the plate and that they follow the shape of the plate?
OK, the studs are on the plate like Markus von Broady said, so done with a curve, now it has to remain so ...
How do I get rid of the curve line without destroying the result and how can I join the studs with the slab, if I do that now the studs disappear?

In this case you could define a curve from the side perspective and apply an array modifier to a plane in the curve mode, and another array in normal mode and set the plane to be an instancer of the studs (without using a plane and an instancer, the studs will be deformed)

...and if he wants to twist it? ;)

@Chris I'd start with a flat plane (perhaps with what he has now, but add a shape key which I flatten), there subdivide the plane to equal parts, and use vertices to spawn the studs. Though I'm not sure how I'd aquire orientation in this case, so I guess those would have to be faces.

OK, the studs are on the plate like Markus von Broady said, so done with a curve, now it has to remain so ...
How do I get rid of the curve line without destroying the result and how can I join the studs with the slab, if I do that now the studs disappear?

Do you mean how to make instances real? https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/scene_layout/object/editing/apply.html#bpy-ops-object-duplicates-make-real

If you didn't use an instancer and just array modifiers, then you just have to apply these modifiers, e.g. by selecting them *from top to bottom and pressing CTRL+A. Or you can non-destructively add a boolean cube and use it to remove the studs you don't want.

OK, I converted the studs to "mesh" and then I could remove the 2 studs and join the studs (CTRL J) with the plate :)

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


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how to hide particle emitter but not particles
Whenever I render out my particle sim, the particle emitter renders out as well. I've tried to disable it during renders using the camera icon in the Outliner view, but that disables the particles as well. How do I hide the particle emitter but not the particles?

In the Particle systems > Render tab, uncheck Emitter.


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Edit Mode buttons for selecting vertices and edges vanished
When I am in Edit Mode for my project, the Mesh Select Mode buttons have disappeared!
I loaded the default project and the buttons are where they are supposed to be; the issue is only in my project.

This is because you are in Edit Mode for a Lattice Object. Lattice Objects have one very specific type of Edit Mode and a user can only select vertices.

A lattice consists of a three-dimensional non-renderable grid of vertices.

Read more on the Manual.


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The render result is just the transparent texture?
I rendered a 1200x800 image, but it's just the transparent texture thing:

I used Cycles for this image. In a test in Blender Render, it worked perfectly, although the materials were made in Cycles so you obviously couldn't see them as you were supposed to.

you need to create a cycles material for visible your render because cycles engine needs nodes tree for render  you can't render blender internal  material into cycles render

I have cycle made materials w/ nodes

yes you need to change


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camera image not rendering
In Blender 2.8, I have applied a Background image of a sky-scape to the camera view and have hit render. However, the rendered image shows the cube and gray world background, not the cube and the sky background image. I have fiddled about with the settings but to no avail.
Any thoughts?

Edit 1
I believe this question to be different than the question, "Why won't my 'background' render" (of which this question was closed as a duplicate) because the image I have is a Background image. The question mentioned by Ketchup boy 2002 relates to an image applied to an empty, which apparently is not renderable.

Problem
This behavior is because Object Data > Background Images only shows the image in the viewport -- there is no physical image. An easy workaround uses compositing.
Workaround
First, go to the Render tab > Film dropdown and check Transparent. This will tell Blender to only render the cube as opposed to the cube and the gray background.
Next, switch from the Layout layout to the Compositing layout. Add an Input > Image node and use the bottom left button to select your image (it has already been added to your .blend file, so it should be there).
Add a Distort > Scale node and connect the Image node > Image output to the Scale node > Image input. Set the Scale node > dropdown to Render Size. Add a Color > Alpha Over node and connect the Scale node > Image output to the top Alpha Over node > Image input. Connect the Render Layers node > Image output to the bottom Alpha Over node > Image input. Connect the Alpha Over node > Image output to the Composite node > Image input. Your nodes should now look like this:

Render.

Fantastic Shady Puck! Followed your node editor configuration (adding my image) and got the result! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

@Dean Glad to help! If you liked my answer, please consider accepting it by clicking the check mark to my answer’s top left. I would really appreciate it!

I believe background and reference images do not contribute to the final render. To get an image in the render you have two options.
1) Render from the view port. In the 3D view you can go to View > Render Viewport Image or Render Viewport Animation. This may not be ideal if you have more complicated materials and lighting, so I would recommend the following....
2) Use Import Images as Planes Addon. This comes included in Blender, you just have to enable the add-on in user preferences. Then in the 3D view, you can Shift+A or Add Mesh and in the Images sub-menu, you should now see "Images as Planes". In the File Explorer window where you select the image, there are several options in the lower left hand menu, including align to camera.
Both have the advantages and disadvantages. The first method allows you to see your images in Wireframe or Solid* mode, which is great for reference, while the second method is better if you want to actually use an Image in your final render.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
*Update: I mentioned earlier you can not view an Image Plane in Solid mode, but if you select "Texture" as Color in the Solid Shade drop-down menu (see attached), you can view the Image in Solid Mode.

Hi cgi-joe, thanks for your answers to my question but I couldn't find 'render viewport image' in the 'view' menu. Is it there in Blender 2.8? Shady puck gave me the answer I was after, but the 'import images as planes' addon is a good alternative.

Are you in the 3D View? The menu is in the header. Make sure that the header isn't hidden by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H. Then it should be View > Viewport Render Image or Viewport Render Animation.


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How to connect these 2 pipes?
how can I connect this round pipe to the oval pipe?
Or how can I make a tube that is round on one side and oval on the other and then bend 90 degrees?

hello, probably with Ctrl E > Bridge Edge Loops but please link an image so that we can see a screenshot

ok but use an image host website  ;)  or even share your file (upload and copy paste the URL): https://pasteall.org/blend/ weird that you can't post an image though

See How to upload an image to a post? or GIFs

I have often asked questions here with photos, put my text (question) then click on the place photo icon and then drag my photo to the box and place my question.
If I do that now, it says that the body is not there.

The CTRL E works, but if you now make 1 tube rectangular it won't work anymore

give your rectangular pipe as many vertices as your cylinder

How do I do that ?

manually, if for example box has 4 vertices and cylinder has 16 vertices then you need manually with Ctrl+R add 12 more vertices to the box... for future you, if you plan to connect multiple pieces together, try to always set same number of vertices... if you plan to connect two cylinders, make sure you make them with same amount of vertices

I still can't make the tube, wall thickness 2 mm.
On one side it is round 60 mm and on the other side rectangular 40 x 20 mm (outside dimensions).
It should also be bent at a 90 degree angle.
See drawing.
I've tried almost "everything", but I can't seem to find the one right way.
It is for a fan that must extract the air and can be 3D printed (STL).
Your help is much appreciated!

I did it, it was because I made the rectangle using "solidify". Now I made the rectangle with 1 rectangle in the correct outer dimensions and 1 rectangle that is 4 mm smaller, I "slid" the small rectangle into the large rectangle and "join" these 2 rectangles.


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Make a piece of a mesh the same width
How do I get all the spokes at the ends as wide as at the beginning (0.04635 m).
All lines marked with green must remain in place, so only the outermost lines marked with orange must be moved
to the position of the orange lines for all spokes.

Make sure that the Transform Pivot Point is set to Individual Origins and press AltE Extrude Faces, or simply E:

It should work as expected:

Okay, I've deleted my answer - you were 5 seconds quicker than me ;)

hey sorry for that  ;)

That works moonboots, but... see second photo.

do you mean that the inner lines need to scale contrary to the outermost? I'm not sure there's any automatic way to do it, could you please show a drawing of before and after (what it is supposed to be at the end)? it will be more clear

Working at World 0, in the XY plane, X across...

Starting with 1/10th of your cog, deleting unwanted faces:

Give the segment a Mirror modifier, in X:

Add an Empty to the origin, and rotate in Z by 72 degrees
Give the Mirrored segment an Array modifier.. 'Object Offset', with the Empty as its Axis/Orientation:

K Knife with C to constrain to vertical, cut the new edge, and ...

Delete unwanted face.

with this result. Apply the modifiers,if you have no further work per-segment,  and maybe M merge all vertices by distance, to be sure.

Can you be a little more clear, I'm a relative beginner with blender ?

Hi, @Mick.  Sure. Sorry. See Edit.


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Solidify gives strange results
I created this mesh and checked it for Scale, Doubles, Merge by distance and Face Orientation.
The mesh is 1 whole.
In my opinion it is, first make the mesh and only then Solidify, but when I solidify this mesh I get the strangest results.
What am I doing wrong" ?

I want to solidify the entire mesh to the outside and 2mm thick.

What do you think is strange about the areas you've got the arrows pointing at?

You can add "check for ngons" to your list of things to check for. Also you can enable the vertex normals to see how solidify will extend.

I did what you said but it still doesn't work.

Can you post a screenshot of your vertex normals? If the shape is extended along those normals, everything works. Of course I imagine you want the shape to be extended differently, but then aim for a quad based topology.

To elaborate a little bit more on Crantisz' answer...
Here's a reproduction of a part of your geometry, using solidify without fixed thickness:

Light blue area represents what you want and what fixed thickness will achieve. Notice how the solidify reaches exactly the tips of the blue lines - this is because, well, I adjusted the thickness for that to be the case, but I could achieve this with just one value of thickness for whole geometry. This is because the simple solidify modifier simply extends the vertices in a direction of vertex normals. The blue line coming from the bottom-left vertex doesn't reach the opposing corner of the red square - this is because in order to do so, it would need a length of specified thickness (which is the length of each side of the red square) multiplied by $\sqrt{2}$ (because a diagonal of a square has length $a\sqrt{2}$, where $a$ is the length of a side).
It seems even thickness simply calculates how much to increase thickness locally to deal with that. It does not, however, deal with "wrong" angles of vertex normals. An "incorrect" geometry (non-manifold, ngons) may produce such angles; here's an example from your geometry, marked red:

How can a vertex have a normal?
Keep in mind, the documentation says this about the Solidify Modifier:

Known Limitations
Even Thickness
Solidify thickness is an approximation. While Even Thickness and High
Quality Normals should yield good results, the final wall thickness is
not guaranteed and may vary depending on the mesh topology. Especially
for vertices with more than three adjacent faces.
In order to maintain a precise wall thickness in every case, we would
need to add/remove faces on the offset shell, something this modifier
does not do since this would add a lot of complexity. The best option
to preserve wall thickness is complex mode with constraints thickness
mode, but it is also not guaranteed to work perfect in every case.

And finally a comparison between simple mode with even thickness vs complex mode for something similar to your topology:

Thanks for your detailed answer, that makes a lot more clear.
I've had serious problems with this before, and every time my design gets stuck on this (Solidify).
Can you send the file of the example (the last picture/animation)?

@MIck I still had the project open so I added the file to my answer.

Thank you very much, I will study it !

Solidify is not a perfect algorithm, which can handle every model.
For example, the things that you have pointed. If you solidify a plane, it goes like this (let's name it "plane"):

If you solidify an edge, it increases the thickness at the corner to save distance to face at same level (let's name it "edge"):

problem started then you try to merge "plane" with "edge"

Small extrude to keep "edge" solves problems like this:

What do you mean, "Small extrude to keep "edge" solves problems like this"

Look at the screenshot, extruded edge is highlighted.

OK, I see, going to try it, thanks so far


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Make the outer circumference of the tire smaller
Is it possible to make the outer circumference of the tire smaller.
So that the height of the tire becomes lower, but the inner size (rim size) remains the same.

Basically, yes. The job here is entirely getting the tire aligned with an axis (probably already is), and then selecting the outer geometry. After that, you can use the scale tool along just two axes instead of three. Can you add a screenshot of the tire in edit mode?

Ok. That is wcs topology for this, but if you turn on wireframe mode…

This is easy using proportional editing and the scale tool.

Go into an orthographic view that shows the tire from the front (it would roll towards the camera).
Set viewing mode to wireframe, with ghost mode on.
Use Border Select, Ctrl+B, to select the entire tread area of the tire.
Switch to the scale tool.
Scale along the desired plane (the two axes that are not the axle axes). The sides of the tire WILL NOT FOLLOW yet.
Go to the Adjust Last Operation area in the bottom right of the 3D View, and turn on Proportional Editing. Set the size to something just under the former distance between the tire treads and the part that contacts the wheel.
The walls of the tire should gradually tighten towards the treads, but stay mostly the same towards the wheel.

Thanks ! It was quite a job, but it works.

@MIck Yay ! Glad it worked, TYJ.

You could use Geometry Nodes for this:

Obviously you could similarly scale on the z axis:


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Bevel - how can I get this done nicely
How do I apply a bevel to this so that it becomes nicely (half) round?

Hi :). What's the original shape of the geometry? And what exactly is your goal? (simply mark it in the image)

I can make a cylinder and cut it in half, but then I don't get it connected to the rest of the mesh.

Probably not necessary here, but for a more CAD-like approach, with arc-of circle fillets..
To make a semicircular arc between two parallel faces

If the faces are cut off orthogonally, then you can select the two end-edges and ShiftS Cursor to Selection.. and then in a top view use the Spin tool from theT toolbar to connect them. You can use Ctrl to get an exact semicircle.
For a smooth fillet, not necessarily circular
You can just use 'Bridge Edge Loops', with 'Blend Surfaces' set, and adjust the smoothness....

To make an arc-of-circle tangential to two skew faces
A bit more involved. Using the shipped 'TinyCAD' add-on:

Use its 'BIX' Bisector of 2 Planar Edges operator to construct the bisector of the angle between the faces
Drop a perpendicular from one of the points where the arc is going to meet the faces. You could do this by creating  Custom Orientation from the face, and EZ extruding a vertex normal to the face.
Use TinyCAD again, 'V2X', Vertex at Intersection between the two new edges  you have made.

That will be the center for using the Spin tool..

This time, you will have to eyeball the connection,(or rotate the last edge about the cursor a tiny bit, with snap,and use Loop Tools > Space for an arc that is at least as good as its polygonal approximation,) but you can zoom in while the tool is in use.
In both cases, M > Merge > By Distance will weld your new vertices to the old ones.

Now someone is going to find the add-on which does it in one :D

I already had the adon "TinyCAD", but not yet studied well enough, but with this explanation it will now work fine.
Thank you very much all, I used Robin Betts answer to solve it.

I was able to do this by creating a single edge in the middle (if you don't need to create a loop like I do here with Ctrl + R then you can just select top and bottom edge and subdivide), dissolve neighboring edges to have an angle and do Ctrl + B to bevel.

First you have to clean the area that you want to fillet/bevel. On the top view  you should have a clean extruded triangle (the area you want to bevel), dissolve or merge the extra/unnecessary vertices in between each one of the apex/vertex angles, and then just normally bevel the single edge (with ctrl. B) That's the way I would do it.


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Different textures
I can't figure it out, I have 2 rims, with as far as I know the same assigned texture and yet they are not equal.
How is that possible, what am I overlooking?
On the right you can clearly see the scratches and on the left you don't, the left one is smooth, but I also want to see the "scratches" in the left.

maybe each one has a different UV map? you can share your file here (share the link it will give you): https://pasteall.org/blend/  don't forget to pack the images

I took a look and you are right, it depends on how the UV map is made, the difference in rotation of the mesh determines the UV map.
Thank you very much, great!

Each object has a different UV map, so it gives a different result for each one. Make sure they have the same UV map.


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Help with Texture fade out
I know how to add a material to a plane and then apply an Image Texture to that plane. I know how to make it appear in the 3D Viewport, Edit Mode, and the final render.
I want a way to make one Image Texture fade into another one using purely material nodes. This should be able to be achieved via two keyframes that are visible in the Timeline or Dope Sheet. I have tried applying two textures to one material and two separate textures onto two separate materials, though I have found that I can't particularly assign two materials at once without scripting or the compositor. These are my questions, basically. They're fairly related, so I figured I'd ask them both at once.

How can I set up an Image Texture to "fade off" (dissolve into a Diffuse BSDF or other blank material) in an animation render on a plane object?
Second, how can I make an image fade transition, via two frame keys in an animation render without the compositor or scripting? Is this possible on precisely one plane or surface, or must I use two coinciding surfaces?

I am trying to get blender to do a colour or alpha "fade out" from one texture to another texture on the same object behind it.  However I can't insert prior and later key frames and get anything to animate.  I could I animate a fade out like this on only one object's material with two textures?

You can use the node setup at the bottom of the following images and keyframe the Mix Shader's Fac: value from 0-1. Obviously load one image into one node and another into the other node.
Fac: at 0, notepad showing:

Fac: at 1, bricks showing:

If you wish, the pictured .blend file with the nodes can be downloaded right here:

If you want to fade into a Diffuse BSDF, just don't include one of the Image Textures and still keyframe the same value.
Fac: at 0, notepad showing:

Fac: at 1, Diffuse BSDF showing:


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Blender Guru Tutorial - Part 5 - Coffee Cup
I'm following BlenderGuru's tutorial Blender Beginner Tutorial - Part 5: Modeling
I'm trying to model a coffee cup. I started with a reference picture of the cup, added a cylinder, resized the base of the cylinder to match the cup, and resized the bottom of the cylinder to make the shape tapered.
However, when I add a loop cut to the middle of the cylinder mesh and scale that loop, the bottom edge loop becomes distorted and jagged for reasons I do not understand; it is no longer the nice ring that I want it to be.

What's going on?

when does the ring deform? when you release the new loop? or when you first click?

You don't by any chance have proportional editing turned on do you?  I can replicate that by enabling prop. editing and using Random as the setting.

The ring deforms when I scale the new loop.

I can replicate that by enabling prop. editing and using Random as the setting.

That's got to be it. Of course!  Its obvious now...  It was set like that from the last demo - the frosting on the donut.

You have Proportional Editing on with Random Falloff selected. You can turn this off by pressing O once or twice or by changing the menu manually at the bottom of the 3D Viewport.
A Gif to explain:

Proportional Editing can be extremely useful for deforming a mesh in a mathematically precise way. For example, with your coffee cup, I might loop cut the main cylinder several times and then use proportional editing with Smooth Falloff while scaling the bottom loop to create a loose conic shape. I then might use Sphere Falloff to widen the middle and shrink the top.

That's absolutely brilliant!  Thanks for the help and the animated gifs!  That was totally the culprit.


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Blender cycles adding normal map
I baked a Normal Map and a Diffuse Map.

I tried to duplicate the object in new file and new scene by adding these maps to a plane, but I did not see the desired effect.

How can I use nodes to correctly add a Normal Map to an object?

A few things. Firstly a normal map is color data. Secondly why not use the UV map for both textures? See this: https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/13591/26720.

I'm pretty sure that normal maps are non color data. When choosing color data, some changes or conversions are applied, but you want the original rgb values of the normal map as information.

@Aoradon if the mesh is unwrapped that UV map will be used in any way (aka by default) so there isn't required any input for Image Texture node.

@MrZak Well TIL. Guess I've always assumed that normal is color data and that UVs don't auto apply.

You've set the strength of the normal map node to 0 accidently.

Thanks. I have question. I will bake normal map - that i know but i need second bake diffuse map or combined?


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Shading Issues with the Array Modifier
I'm working on a model of a car wheel. However, before I continue, I want to fix some shading issues I am having.
My model has Subdivision surface, Mirror, and Array modifiers, which make up the 10 spokes/"slices" of the wheel. The wheel itself is all one, contiguous object. However, there are multiple areas where the shading looks a bit odd.
Problem #1: Seams at the End of Array
While my Array modifier has Merge Vertices checked and all angle values were precisely calculated/typed in to ensure that all of the vertices in the circle line up, the very last seam where the last segment connects with the first does not merge.

I think that this is because the Array modifier merges vertices only with each next part. Even turning on Automerge editing to merge vertices that are close enough globally does not work, because of the Array being a modifier and not applied. I have tested applying this modifier, and the problems did go away. However, I wish to keep it in an array and was wondering if anyone has any other solutions.
Problem #2: Hard Edges on Circle
At the center of the wheel, where all of the spokes converge, there is a circular edge which appears to not be affected by the Subdivision surface modifier.

No, it is not marked a hard edge -- it is completely parallel with the two lines in front and behind it too, but those are completely curved as normal.
Problem #3: Artifacts at all Array Seams
In the indicated center part of the model, there is a shading artifact. It happens where each part of the array has a seam.

Does anyone have any advice? It would be best if you could download the .blend file to mess with it:

But either way, I'm happy to have any feedback on the best way to fix these various artifacts from those more experienced than me. Thank you so much!

1 - You need to enable the First Last option in the Array modifier. 2 - I don't know a lot about Crease but depending on your topology it won't always create a 100% sharp edge. 3 - It's not really a shading artefact, your topology creates this pinching, you need to correct it

For the first issue, you just need to 'merge first last' in the array modifier. This option tells Blender that the extremities of the array have to be merged.

For the second one, it is because the flat face normal is inverted. Select your mesh and use ShiftN to recalculate the normals.

An easy way to check if normals are inverted is to turn on x-ray:

The third one is because the wheel border is not 'regular'. To make it more regular, use the knife tool K to make a loop along the wheel border.
That will make a ngon (on the face above) but luckily that doesn't matter here. Eventually, turn it to quad+tri (not shown in the gif below).


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Planes do not Appear in the 3D View
Plane object selected but not visible:

For some reason, when I try to add a Plane mesh, it doesn't appear in the 3D Viewport no matter how much I scale it. It's as if it's invisible. I even tried changing the dimensions but they reset to 0. What have I done? How do I fix this? Note that it's only the plane mesh that's acting up.

Problem
You cannot scale it because of the Zero-product Property. This is a mathematical theorem that Hotmath defines by saying:

The Zero Product Property simply states that if a*b=0, then either a=0 or  b=0 (or both). A product of factors is zero if and only if one or more of the factors is zero.

This relates to your issue because you are trying to multiply the dimensions (let the Object Dimensions be represented by a) -- set at 0 -- by a non-zero value (let that random, non-zero value be b). As Blender follows the various laws of mathematics, the dimensions will always return to zero.
Solution
When first you add a Plane object and before you click on anything else, you should be presented with a number of settings in the Toolshelf on the left side of the 3D Viewport. Make sure the Radius: value is set to a non-zero value. If it is set to zero, it will likely spawn at zero each time you try.
Bad:

Good:


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Ground Transparent but keeping Shadows
Say I have a cube on a plane:

How do I make the ground transparent but also keeping the shadow that the cube passes? I want a solid shadow, not a transparent shadow as other answers detail. Like this:

I need the answer in blender cycles.

Does this help - http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/47569/render-shadows-over-a-transparent-background-in-cycles?


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How to make Shadows-Only Render
How can I achieve the following effect? Here, we see all shadows, and nothing else.

Image:

Stylized shadow only pass:

Preparations

Go to the Properties panel > Render tab > Film dropdown and check Transparent.
Go to the Properties panel > Render Layers tab > Passes dropdown and enable the Shadow pass.

Compositing
You should be able to achieve it with the following compositing nodes setup. What it does is takes the Alpha pass (where there is stuff (white) versus where there is transparency (black)) and subtracts all the white areas (unshadowed parts) of the shadow pass. This does, however, need to be inverted to look correct.

It seems the OP is using the Cycles render engine, not BI.

@PGmath That is cycles.

Oh sorry, I guess I can't distinguish it too well on my phone. :D

@PGmath I feel you. Plus, the shading does look a lot like BI. That was actually one of the things I tried to change, but it just didn't work out and I didn't want to put a lot of time into it.

Hey, thanks for the answer!  Can you please add the .blend file to marked as the answer?

@AlexSafayan Included! If my answer helped, please consider marking it as accepted.

While Shady Puck's answer covers making a true shadow-only render, here is my approach to creating this type of render using the Cycles Toon shader in combination with a shadow pass and some manual contrast adjustment.
My final result:

Thanks to MrChimp2313 for the awesome CC-0 house model!

First just give everything a white Toon shader material, this will help with that contrasty, cartoony look.  The Toon shader also has two other properties (besides color), you should set the Size to something fairly high (close to 1.0) and leave the Smooth at 0.0.
Light the scene with a single sun lamp, with a fairly small shadow size.  Tweak the direction and strength to suit your tastes for your scene.
Set the environment color to Black, this way the shadows and highlights will all come from the sun lamp.
Make sure to turn on the Shadow render pass and render your image.  Keep in mind that for this effect to work you need to eliminate as much noise as possible, so use a lot of samples.
In the compositor, run the shadow pass image itself through a Color Ramp node.  You can tweak the swatches' positions to get the effect you are looking for, but the basic idea is to have them fairly close together to get that super high-contrast shadowy look.  I also found it looks a little more pleasing if you adjust the minimum color to be not pure black.

Oops, in the compositing setup the Shadow pass should be plugged into the Color Ramp, not the Image.  I'll fix that soon.


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Calling Multiple Actions at Once
I have six objects. Each has an action that occurs at the same time as the others. Is there a way to turn these separate actions into one mega-action that I can call instead of having to call all six of them individually? I'm not very familiar with the Dope Sheet and NLA editor, so I would like to be walked through it, if you have the time.
Thanks a bunch!

To let each object start at the exact same frame, I suggest to send a message. Each of the objects can start whatever it should do when that message arrives. As they all get the same message at the same time you get a well synchronized animated scene.
This even works with non-actions, sequential operations and operations that do not start at the same time (but delayed).
The benefit is that you do not need to touch each single object when you want to change the activating event (e.g. changing from keyboard to mouse key). You simply change/add a single object that sends the message.


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UV/Image Editor grid snapping
What is the way of emulating the Snap to Grid feature from the 3D Viewport in the UV Image Editor? In my case, vertices of my mesh are never aligned with gridlines, which in turn results in some artifacts on whole scene.
Also there is not consistency in mesh shape if perform "Lightmap Pack" as can be seen from image. Some of the actual mesh faces are more kite shaped, but map as squares or rectangles when it's "Lightmap Pack" unwrapped.

You can use the texture image as a grid. In case you have no image loaded, create one. Then activate Snap to Pixel in the UV's menu. And when you move the UV vertices around in the UV Editor, then they will snap to the pixels of the image now.
For the other questions i would suggest to open other topics.

I'm not a pro or anything, so maybe there's a better way than this, but I haven't come across it yet....
In my own experience, the UV mapper can only figure out so much. The rest is up to you. Instead of relying on the built-in mapping functions that are supposed to do it all for you, you will need to use a little selective face-choosing and placement within the UV editor. This can be tedious, but it seems to be the only way to do it and get acceptable results.
You can move the selected faces around in the UV editor, as well as scale and rotate, just as you do in the 3D viewer. That will help you to adjust textures on faces so they match up.
If you start with mapping the most squared faces but exclude the others, you can then minimize the work you need to do. With the remaining faces, you will now have enough room in the UV editor to organize them into the appropriate arrangement while aligning them to the other face's textures.
With the form that you're wrapping, there will be some mismatching where they converge together. That can't be helped.


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How to select vertices on different meshes in edit mode
I have two meshes. I'm trying to combine them by keying W and selecting Bridge Edge Loops. However, I can't select the vertices on both meshes for some reason. Any thoughts? Heres a pic:

You can't edit two objects at the same time and you can't join geometry from two separate objects. Join them into a single mesh with Ctrl+J in object mode.

There is an addon that does that, I forgot it's name, I was watching a youtube about addons and it was mentioned in it

Yeah, Ctrl + J is the only way to edit them both in Edit Mode. (Object mode to Ctrl + J)

I found it, i can duplicate it and change up the second one and combine it there. Thanks for the help everyone thou.

Joining
Tab out of Edit Mode, select one mesh, Shift select the other, and key Ctrl + J to join them. Tab back into Edit Mode.

Shading
If the shading does not look weird (darker) on one or both of the meshes, ignore the following paragraph.
Select one vertex of the weird one(s) and key Ctrl + L to select the rest of it(them). Key T to toggle open/close the Toolshelf, go to the Shading/UVs tab, and click on the Recalculate button. Key A once or twice to deselect the mesh(es).

Bridging
Do read this paragraph.
Key Alt  and RMB while hovering over one of the edge loops. Do this for the other edge loop as well. This should select the whole loop. Key W to open the Specials pop up menu and select Bridge Edge Loops.

I tried joining them and screwed it up but found out i can duplicate it, and just change up the other one. I solved it but thanks for the help. I may try this out next time i mess up like before

@Catz_ Glad to here that you solved it! If my answer helped, please consider accepting it. It would help me greatly and make me very happy.

sure, im sure it'll help me later on :3

Shady you work so hard! :-)

@AnthonyForwood Thanks much. I have a lot of fun doing it.


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Why is FBX playback/import sooo slow
Still looking for some answers, reposting a question from blenderartists.
A while back we had our animations created in fbx. Playing these back now in blender is extremely slow. This doesn't seem normal at all. What's the workaround here, what does everyone do? We've tried opencollada importer/export. It was the artist who converted his source file in max to opencollada. Importing it for him worked fine, except in blender, it was all spaghetti monster once imported. Same thing with .x format. Everything default blender-wise seems broken. File is around 10MB, 1K polys, 700 verts, around 6000 frames of animation, 17 bones. Much obliged any info on this.
The files came from 3dsmax 2016, rig and animations were combined in one file. Other source viewers like open3mod and our custom engine using Assimp are able to load the model just fine (fast import and playback).
computer specs i5 4460, 16GB ram, gtx1060
Slow import and playback process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1tXsoPBfBI

It's hard to tell about the slow import - there are a lot of keyframes which might be imported slowly. How are they imported into other programs? As to playback there isn't shown in the video what the time remapping for the frames you use. If they are default then probably that's how Blender treats these keyframes, maybe because of import/export.

I'm assuming imported models have no modifiers or other "automations" or optimizations, so everything is applied and all geometry is real which makes real time calculations slower


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Inset uneven after Ctrl-A S
Is there a way to manually enter the parameters for inset distance and depth?  I have normalized my scale but the inset is still uneven.
For example, any way to specify a distance from a plane border.
Also, how do I get to the Operators options for inset. If I go into Inset no operator options appear.

Thanks for the recommendations - but no response F6.  The Tool panel and Transform panels are visible (by pressing N).  If I go into Inset Faces, there is panel that opens with the option to Toggle Edit Mode.  If I move the mouse, a very uneven inset is drawn that is nothing like the shape that I am trying to apply the Inset to.


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Workstation becomes unstable during Cycles render with Cuda NVidia GTX 970 enabled or disabled
I have a workstation with two GTX 970 boards. Using Blender 2.78c, regardless of the settings under File | User Preferences:
No Cuda
Use one GTX 970
Use two GTX 970s
the workstation immediately becomes unstable as soon as I try a Cycles render. This either makes the workstation unusably slow or blue screens altogether.
Are there alternatives to Cycles that work with CUDA?
System Info:
Windows 10 Pro
Version 1607
OS Build 14393.1358

Processor:   Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4GHz
System Type: 64-bit OS, x64 based processor
Installed RAM: 32 GB

Two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Driver NVIDIA 2017-Feb-23 21.21.13.7878
Updates

The NVIDIA Drive has been updated to 2017-Jun-27 version 22.21.13.8476
The resource monitor shows CPUs at 100% as soon as a render in Cycles is initiated. (Even with both GTX 970s selected). Should the use of GTX 970s reduce the burden on the CPUs?
I was able to close Blender 2.78c during one test and saw CPU usage immediately drop when Blender was closed.
A complete hard shutdown is required after trying a Cycles render.

Same setup, works flawless. What OS? Latest drivers? Related: https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/7486/31447

Added system info to question.

Try to update your drivers. February is outdated, obviously. Also windows 10 has some serious issues: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/68311/blender-2-78-with-windows-10-lags-when-interacting-with-the-ui/68583

February 2017 is the latest version recommended by Windows 10.

@DougKimzey If you are serious about your computer performance and overall health don't trust "Windows 10 recommendations". I'm pretty sure there are more up to date drivers from the source they should be downloaded from: NVidias official site And avoid installing drivers (especially critical ones like graphics) from Windows update.

Also make sure your scene is not too big or complex for your hardware and available memory. Slowness and unresponsiveness is highly probable and totally expected while rendering, especially with bigger tile sizes and the closer you get to your memory limits

Probably worth mentioning that issues like this are usually due to drivers or hardware (ex, cooling) rather than Cycles. It is highly likely that any other CUDA-based renderer would exhibit the same issues.

Some additional notes - the scene is a very simple tutorial file from a PluralSight course. If you let Windows tell you what the proper drivers are, it will install the Feb 2017 driver. If you go to NVidias site (as recommended by Duarte) you can install a driver from June 2017.  I will be taking the course today (I hope) and will post notes on if it works on not.

An update - installed the 27-Jun-2017 drivers for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970.  Still encounter instability as soon as a render is initiated with Blender Cycles. This occurs regardless of the Cycles Compute Device setting in User Preferences (even if "None" is selected).  Tried a run involving CUDA on the same machine in Wolfram Mathematica.  No problems at all.

One additional note - the scene is fairly simple.  It is the Blender Tutorial file from the PluralSight course: "Introduction to Materials in Blender".

Unfortunately I don't have access to digital tutors as well as my OS is Win7. However, might be a scene-file issue so I'd probably test with official benchmark scenes: https://code.blender.org/2016/02/new-cycles-benchmark/ instead. If you are able to reproduce the issue, consider to report a bug: https://developer.blender.org/ @DougKimzey

I will check the benchmark scenes as well as BIOS settings and post findings.


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how to use addObject
I have the object I am spawning on a separate layer from what I read that is correct, but I am having errors that the key is not in the list...double checked names and everything. Can anyone maybe see something I do not?
here is the error
KeyError: "CList[key]: ''breadcrumb'' key not in list"
I assume it thinks there is no object with that name
and the code I used below
import bge

def main():
cont = bge.logic.getCurrentController()
own = cont.owner
scene = bge.logic.getCurrentScene()

node = scene.objects['breadcrumb']
life_time = 5
#scene.addObject(object,loc,duration) *duration is in frames
if own['nodeSpawnTimer'] >= 5 and own['nodeCount'] <= 20:
    scene.addObject(node,own.worldPosition, life_time)
    own['nodeCount'] += 1
    own['nodeSpawnTimer'] = 0

main()

To addObject() the object has to be in an inactive layer.

you need to use:
import bge
def main():

cont = bge.logic.getCurrentController()
own = cont.owner
scene = bge.logic.getCurrentScene()

node = scene.objectsInactive['breadcrumb']
life_time = 15
#scene.addObject(object,loc,duration) *duration is in frames
if own['nodeSpawnTimer'] >= 5 and own['nodeCount'] <= 20:
    obj =scene.addObject(node,own, life_time)
    own['nodeCount'] += 1
    own['nodeSpawnTimer'] = 0

Related Documentation

thanks, I should have returned sooner I received an answer on blender artists that pointed me to 'objectsInactive'.


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In blender 2.8 how do you make a local instance of an object in use by multiple scenes?
I have created a new scene using linked copies.

Now I need to make a few of the object single-user so there is a separate object in the original and in the new scene.
Back in 2.79 there was a button for that:

Blender 2.8 seems to lack that button.  How do I make a single-user copy of the object?
Do not confuse the object with the object data (like mesh or curve).  The mesh panel does have the button, but I need to make the object single user and that panel is missing the necessary button.
Based on some of the comments I have concluded I am going to have to get horribly detailed, because what other people are experiencing does not match how my stock blender 2.80 behaves:
Start with the default scene:

Add a cone:

duplicate the scene

and let's change the outliner to let us see both scenes

Notice that my Object panel lacks the button that would allow me to make the object single-user.
Let's rotate the cone by 180.

Oh no!  It affected the original scene

And if we delete the object from one scene, it disappears from both scenes.  WHAT!

Undo that deletion.
Let's use the Object>Relations>Make Single User>Selected Objects .

Oh no.  Now both scenes have Cone.001 and Cone has disappeared.

How do I change my workflow to accomplish the mission of having two scenes with some objects in common , and other objects have single-user versions of objects from the original scene?

Are you sure that you have the object linked? I get the same button in 2.8 and if I press it I get a single user.

I am confident the object is linked.  I can change the location and it is moved in the other scene.  I wish I could see a screenshot of your button (www.pasteall.org?).

http://pasteall.org/pic/63c463106c8f07ca9c6d62f559736713

Jackdaw, that button just does not show up in my version of blender 2.8-linux-glibc217-x86_64 .  Also, when I add a sphere to one scene, it appears in both scenes.  Something fishy is going on.

I am beginning to wonder if Collections are some kind of datablock that is being shared between scenes, and there is no panel to manage the Collection that would allow me to make a single-user instance of the Collection.

Hi @MutantBob. I have basically the same issue. Did you ever report that? I can't find the bug report. Thanks

I eventually reported it as https://developer.blender.org/T40906 and as of 2019-Dec they are treating it as a feature request (which is reasonable, if inconvenient for me).

Make New Scene with Copy Settings. Go to your first scene and link all necessary object to newly created scene. Go to your new scene and now Make Single User under Object->Relations works as expected.

This is the best workaround, but I'm still in search of an explanation of what's going on with a Linked Copy of the scene.

I have the same issue in 2.9x version too. Using linked copy will cause the collections linked to both scenes, make single user works with the objects that ONLY in scene collection.
I found out that using "Instance to scene" option to instance a collection from the original scene to a new scene allows you to change the Loc, rot and scale without affecting the original objects.
Make sure you're in the scene you want the instance be when clicking the "Instance to scene" button.
It will create a empty for the instance and you can center it by using set origin.
Still figuring out the workflow with a complex scene, also the "linked copy" feature still makes me confuse.

at the top of the screen, click object - relations and there are two options there that should do what you want:  make local or make single user.
hope this helps

make local does not work.  make single user does work.  Edit your answer to explain the difference between the two and it will be suitable as an answer.

originally I didn't know whether they would work, I just assumed one of them would because it seemed to make sense.  Now I tested it and make local - all worked great.  Did you try that?

Make Local / All seems to have no effect in version 2.80 that I have installed.  I'm also anticipating if they ever fix it, it would make local copies of the mesh and materials too (which is very much not what I want).

That's to bad.  I don't know too much about linking, so I guess I can't help you.  Just so you know, I'm using Blender 2.80 stable.

after some more testing, it appears that even Make Single User does NOT work.   I edited the question to include a lot of screenshots to illustrate.

blender 2.82. The only way to do this is make a full copy new scene. Both make local and single user doesn't work.


text:
how do I import functions from a file in the same directory as the file that is the source of the current text buffer?
I have a text buffer that is loaded from an external file.  In that same text buffer I need to write code that imports some functions from another file in the same directory as the one in the text buffer.

Hardcoding that path in the source is unsuitable because the file may live in different directories on different users' machines.
Command-line arguments seem like a a horrid Rube Goldberg kludge and a horrible user experience.
a file selection dialog is also poor user experience.

Java has a mechanism similar to what I want using class.getResource(relPath) (imagine if tomcat gave you a file selection dialog box when it needed to load the Spanish translations for localized string resources)
What is the best python technique to accomplish this?

When I broadened the search to python in general (instead of blender specifically) I came across How do I get the path and name of the file that is currently executing? .  It turns out blender does provide mildly useful results when inspecting from inside a text buffer and I was able to derive the following solution:
def dir_of_this():
    raw_path = inspect.getfile(inspect.currentframe())
    l = len(bpy.data.filepath)
    if raw_path[:l] == bpy.data.filepath:
        # Blender gives us a path consisting of the .blend file name plus the name of the text buffer inside the .blend.
        # Mildly awkward, but still usable.
        buf_name = raw_path[l+1:]
        #print("buffer is %s"%buf_name)
        raw_path = bpy.data.texts[buf_name].filepath
    return os.path.dirname(raw_path)

p1 = dir_of_this()
if not p1 in sys.path:
    sys.path.append(p1)

import boilerplate

import importlib               # optional
importlib.reload(boilerplate)  # optional

from boilerplate import *

This works if you remember to:
import inspect, os

You can add the text file's folder to the system path, which will enable you to import from that path.
I'd also suggest to extract the folder path via os.path.dirname.
Short example to clarify:
import sys
from os.path import dirname
textFilePath = "/home/me/somewhere/textfiles/text1"
textFileFolder = dirname( textFilePath ) # = "/home/me/somewhere/textfiles"

sys.path.append(textFileFolder)

import someFileThatExistsInTextFolder

The piece that is missing from your solution is the method for determining the text file's folder.

If you have the full path for the file (which you need if you want to open that file), then you can get the folder via os.path.dirname( textFilePath )

hardcoding textFilePath inside the source will be wrong when someone else checks out the git repository into a different directory.

OK, so there are many other dynamic ways to accept a path into your script. You can use command line arguments when running from the terminal (read about sys.argv and running blender from the command line), you can create an addon and use the file browser to select a path before executing your script as an operator (read about blender addons here http://www.blender.org/api/blender_python_api_2_74_release/info_tutorial_addon.html), and there are many other ways, depends on limitations and needs.


text:
How To Add The Same Shader/Material To Multiple Objects?
I want to apply or use the same material for multiple objects. How can I do this without doing it per object ? The target objects already have their own materials and I don't want to override them. I just want to add new material slot  and same material across multiple objects.
I can't use Ctrl+L to link material because it will replace existing material.
Any solution ?

The real case is, I'm building a house (3 floors) with basic furnitures. So I got many walls, floors, windows, doors, kitchen set , fence etc.
All these objects has their own basic material setup :

wall : concrete, white paint
door : wood panel, inox, black frame
window : glass, inox ,black frame, alluminium
etc.

There is a unique wall (wall A) has a material i want to copy.

wall A : concrete, white paint, SECTION

So I want to use this section material into all other objects on the scene (those other walls, doors, windows, kitchen set etc). There are many objects so I'm looking a way to apply this section material without manually applying per object. And I want to keep the existing material :

wall : concrete, white paint, SECTION
door : wood panel, inox, black frame, SECTION
window : glass, inox ,black frame, aluminum, SECTION

I can't find a way to apply selected material to multiple objects without replacing the existing material.
Thanks

To clarify:  You have many objects with many materials and you want to add a second material slot to these objects so that they all still have their own first materials and share a second material in their second slot?

@Allen : yes, the target objecs already have 1 or more material. So i want to add second/third slot with this new material. (not replacing the existing slots).

Can you add more details? I mean if some function can add these materials, how about link them to the object faces? So why just add?

@lemon i've edited my post , adding some more details on it. Pls have a look. Thanks.

Python is needed again here.

import bpy

# Input material's name to append
matname = "SECTION"

if matname in bpy.data.materials :
    mat = bpy.data.materials[matname]
    objs= bpy.context.selected_objects
    for obj in objs :
        if obj.type == "MESH" :
            if matname not in obj.data.materials :
                obj.data.materials.append(mat)
else :
    print("Material '" + matname+ "' does not exist")

matvalid = matname in bpy.data.materials, matexist = matname in obj.data.materials

@scurest , thanks a lot !


text:
How To Work On Specific 2d Plane While In Perspective Mode?
To work on either XY , YZ or XZ plane, I have to go to ortho view left/top/front. But if I'm in perspective mode, how can I activate selected plane to work on while still in perspective?
To clarify maybe something like modo's construction plane or work plane:
https://youtu.be/1Ms0v0VsJhY?t=95
Where we can see and predict the location in 3d space (while drawing in perspective). The construction plane will adapt or orient itself when we rotate the view to choose the closest 'correct' plane.

Is there something like this in blender? Currently, while in perspective, I have to constantly press Shift + X , Y ,Z to constrain the direction of the movement.

these could be find usually in cad programs like freecad... though I once reproduce that with making a plane and turn on snap to surface and I would enable disable it using outliner
Edit, maybe a cad plugin would have that? I would love to know if you find the answer.


text:
Carving runes in a Mesh
I want to carve runes in a golem that I created using blender but I can't get what I want. I'm trying to use some brushes like "crease" but it has a round aspect...
I would like to get some perfect angles instead of carving something that look like a river. I would like to carve just like I was using a cube to draw those runes.
This is the actual state of the golem.

The tool is Knife Project and is not the same as Knife as subdividing is recommended. Read about it as people often confuse it with Knife.

Sorry, I can't comment yet, because I only have 31 reputation. That's why I'm answering.
Concerning knife project: maybe you can subdivide once or twice before applying knife project.
After you applied knife project, you can use the bevel tool (not the modifier) by hitting Ctrl + b. After you set the bevel correctly you can just use Ctrl + Numpad- to shrink the selection after which you can just move the runes into the golem.

Here's an option - Try using the boolean modifier on your main mesh. Make a rune as another mesh and place it where you want it to go, then use the difference option to remove all pieces of the mesh that are touching the rune. This should leave an indentation/carving.

One of many ways is to just model your runes, knife project them on the golem and extrude inside as much as you need. And Sculpt mode is meant for characters, with special regard to human face and head. Hence the curves.

oh yes i forgot to say that because all the rocks are subdivided a lot i can't use the knife tool :/


text:
Why did my tracks disappear?
I shift-clicked the X, next to the F for saving a data block; did I just erase all the info from the solve?  I thought the tracking info was linked to the Camera, not the video clip?
Also, I moved file locations of both the .blend file and the movie clip file.  Moving the movie clip file seemed to "unlink" the tracks from the movie clip, I re-opened the movie clip file and it was now Movie-Clip.001, but at that point the tracks were still there, linked to the camera.
Now, after shift-clicking the X for the movie clip data block thing (and saving, closing blender, and re-opening blender), it's all gone, no tracks, no markers, the camera doesn't move or anything....  I'm going to re-track the movie clips; I just want to know what NOT to do next time.  I hope this makes sense.

I wanted to send a clean file to someone.. lol.  TY

To fix the file location issue I did: Outliner > change the "display mode" to "Data API" instead of "View Layer or "Scene" > scroll down to Movie Clips and in there I found the file paths from Movie Clip and Movie Clip.001 and just copy/pasted Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V the correct file path.
Still not sure how to fix the deleted solve data/track data.
Best I can tell is shift-clicking the X for the Movie Clip data block (deleting the false user) and then saving the blend file permanently deletes the solve/track data and the clip must be re-tracked and re-solved.  "Ten four rubber ducky. Over and out."


text:
Custom trackpad pan/zoom/rotate behavior add-on
I'm trying to write an addon to customize the trackpad panning, zoomimg, and rotating gestures, but can't find a way to read the actual trackpad parameters for position and so on. The properties in the event structure (mouse_prev_x/y, mouse_x/y, mouse_region_x/y) shows the current pointer position which happens to be standing still on the screen.
This is the addon that I'm talking about:
space_view3d_pan_naturally.py
There are no examples on the web for handling the TRACKPADPAN event.
The class bpy.types.Event is the one that is supposed to have the relevant parameters to retrieve from the TRACKPADPAN event, that is what I'm guessing from the documentation.
This snippet of code in particular, from my add-on, printf to the info view that the trackpad event has nothing to do with the mouse coordinates that are available in bpy.types.Event
#....
def modal(self, context, event):
    #....
    if event.type == 'TRACKPADPAN':
        self.report({'INFO'}, str(event.mouse_x))
#...

Could be a bug or missing feature, you should contact a dev in IRC.

There is a patch for this on the developers page if you want to build your own blender from it ir take over the patch so it can go into official blender https://developer.blender.org/T30746

Have you tried reading through the C code to see how those events are generated?

@dr.Sybren If I remember correctly I needed to patch the sources in order to get the plugin to work correctly, but that kind of defeats the propose of scripting a plugin in the first place. I haven't tried with the latest release though.

Well, if you add something nice, you can always send in a patch and get it into Blender itself.

@dr.Sybren I'm mostly using maya for 3d modeling these days , but if I get the chance I'll give it a try with the latest release.

I'm not sure what you actually need, but try this https://www.reddit.com/r/blender/comments/840439/navigating_with_a_trackpad/

pan - shift + click scroll button zoom in/out - Move scroll wheel up or down Rotate - click mouse button and move around.

trackpadpan, i can't find docs on an underlying library. my reasoning currently thinks this would be effectively trackpad "scroll" events, or atleast, by the time we're in desktop-land, a trackpad pan-up pan-down is often considered a mosuewheel up/down event.
so i wonder if part of the disconnect is coming from the hardware/driver/desktop before blender handles the event data at all. for comparison, SDL doesn't have a primitive for trackpad pan, only down up and motion from which we could build our own pan event accumulator glue DIY

Go to menu Edit > Preferences > Input and tick the Emulate 3 Button Mouse checkbox.


text:
Center cursor in python script?
I am getting an error when trying to center the cursor in a python script
import bpy

bpy.ops.import_scene.obj(filepath=objFilePath, axis_up='Y')

bpy.ops.object.select_by_type(type='MESH')

bpy.ops.object.origin_set(type='ORIGIN_GEOMETRY')
view3d = bpy.context.screen.areas['VIEW_3D'].spaces[0];
view3d.pivot_point = 'CURSOR'
view3d.cursor_location = (0.0,0.0,0.0)
USER = os.environ['USER'];

bpy.ops.export_scene.fbx(filepath="/Users/"+USER+"/house.fbx", path_mode='RELATIVE', object_types={'MESH'})

Error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<blender_console>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/private/var/folders/48/ptx7wqz138x4_shgs5nk6szm0000gn/T/AppTranslocation/DEB386B3-C3FC-4FAB-B7A2-0954C07B91CF/d/blender.app/Contents/MacOS/../Resources/2.78/scripts/modules/bpy/ops.py", line 189, in __call__
ret = op_call(self.idname_py(), None, kw)
RuntimeError: Operator bpy.ops.view3d.snap_cursor_to_center.poll() failed, context is incorrect

I am trying to center the origin of my model in batch mode of blender.

What is the error?

I added it above

If you are running the script from the script editor or Python console, then this error makes sense. The bpy.ops.view3d.snap operators must be run with view3d being active.

Does that mean I should just add this line bpy.ops.view3d.snap_cursor_to_active()?

I have added an answer.

Every operator requires a proper context to run in. Since you mentioned that you are running the script in batch mode and accessing a view3d operator, you must provide the exact context to the operator
import bpy
# in this case the area at index 4 happens to be view3d
view3d = bpy.context.screen.areas[4]
context_override = {'window': bpy.context.window,
                    'screen': bpy.context.screen,
                    'area' : view3d}
bpy.ops.view3d.snap_cursor_to_center(context_override)

By doing this, I am able to snap the cursor by running the script from the Python console. Also, you do not need the call to poll() since you are providing the explicit context.
Relevant Links

Overriding Context
Execution Context

I updated above

You can assign a Vector((0.0, 0.0, 0.0)) or just a float array to Cursor.location:
bpy.context.scene.cursor.location = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0) # Blender 2.8x
bpy.context.scene.cursor_location = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0) # Blender 2.7x

Please refrain from posting extremely short answers including nothing but code. Also, embed your code with the code tags so it looks like a python code snippet, you can do all this by editing your existing answer and look for the  { } button. This makes the code easier to see and follow, and shows a different color for the type of value. Lastly, please add a explanation for why and how your answer would answer a question.


text:
Excluding camera tracked video from Final render (while keeping tracking Data)
GOAL - To track a source video to get the tracking data while excluding the actual video in the final Render.
INFO
I've tracked the video, but it is just the base video and I have an edited video in After Effects that I want to apply the effects from Blender onto. I tracked this source video expecting to be able to create my effect (ember particles) with the video as a reference not a final product. I can't seem to find a way to disable the video in my motion tracked scene during my final render. I'm not sure if I should try getting rid of the video or extracting the camera data and putting it into a new scene.

That sounds like that would work if I was planning to have the finished shot in blender, but I want the finished shot to be done in After Effects. If I remove the video can I just leave it blank to get a transparent background?


text:
How to do i disable a row.operator in my custom panel by detecting if there is a specific modifier type and name is present or not?
How do I detect a modifier specific modifier name and type and use this to create and if/else statement to disable a row.operator(Button) in my custom panel ?

It is not the panel's job to decide if a button is enabled/disabled, the operator is responsible for deciding if it is able to be run with the current selection. The poll method of the operator class is used to determine if the operator can be run, if the poll method returns False then it's button will be disabled in your panel.
class myOperator(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = 'object.testing'
    bl_label = 'Simple test setup'

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        mod_types = set()
        for o in context.selected_objects:
            for m in o.modifiers:
                mod_types.add(m.type)
        return 'ARRAY' in mod_types

    def execute(self, context):
        # do stuff
        return {'FINISHED'}

A panel can look through the context and adjust it's content based on the current selection, note that it is altering it's content and not disabling an item.
class samplePanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_idname = "OBJECT_PT_example"
    bl_label = "Dynamic content"
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'

    def draw(self, context):
        mod_types = set()
        for o in context.selected_objects:
            for m in o.modifiers:
                mod_types.add(m.type)
        row = self.layout.row()
        if 'ARRAY' in mod_types:
            row.label(text='there is an array modifier')
        else:
            row.label(text='No object using an array')

Thank you but how do I detect the modifier based on the name and type ?

The example uses m.type you can add m.name to consider both. Note that the name is editable and can get a numeric extension like .001 added to it so may not be a simple match.

If you are used to other UIs, each "control" can be enabled or disabled - without the need to poll.
As operators don't have an enabled property and rely on the poll() function, the alternative I discovered is to place the operator inside a container, and use the container's enabled property instead to manage the state of the operator (grayed out).
This is what you usually find in UIs such as .NET, QT or others.
The poll function works well in most cases, but there are edge cases.
def draw(layout, context):
    row = layout.row()
    c1 = row.column()
    c2 = row.column()
    c1.operator(MY_OT_Operator.bl_idname,text='This operator is disabled by its container')
    c1.enabled = False
    c2.operator(MY_OT_Operator.bl_idname,text='This operator is enabled by its container')

Suggest a clarification. The edge case would be re disabling an operator that does poll, not vice versa, ie enabling an op that doesn't poll.


text:
can i render seperate layers at seperate times?
I am currently trying to render a scene that I will turn into a poster. The final render is spread across three separate layers. I am rendering at a resolution of 6000 x 9000 with 1080 samples. My computer has an i7 7800k with 32g of ram and 2 GTX 970s (4g each). Each layer is taking around 5 to 8 hours to render, but by time it gets to the 2nd or possibly 3rd scene my computer just takes a dump and freezes. Is it possible to render a single layer save it, restart the computer, and render the second and so on? Thanks in advance!

Check out 'Render+' on blendermarket.com

Yes, You can use "File Output" node in compositor. You can export all what you need from compositor as image file. Edit: you can also use multilayered exr for save render passes. Later,  you can import .exr files to compositor using "Input - Image".

You can control which layer(s) render(s) with the checkboxes next to the layer's names in the Properties panel > Render Layers tab. Only the layers that are checked will render. You can therefore check one layer, render it, save it, restart your computer, do the next two, and combine them all with the compositing that you probably have.


text:
Camera following a rig question
I am making a scene in Blender that involves a character walking into a diner. He simply opens the door, enters, and walks a few steps. However, the issue that I am facing is that I want the camera to start tracking the guy the moment he walks in. It may sound pretty simple, but I couldn't figure out how to have the camera follow the guy so that he's always in the center of the camera view. I don't want the camera to be static and rotate to the guy's direction, rather, I want it to move along as if it was on a track. The problem is that if I parent the camera to the rig, it will start following it and moving before the character reaches the middle of the screen (the camera is pointing at the door already).
As another possible solution, I created an empty which copies the rig movement and then added the Child Of constraint to the camera. I followed up by parenting the camera to the empty using this constraint and keyframing the influence so it kicks in when the guy is in the view center. It worked, but the camera snaps when the influence turns to 100%, so tweaked it a bit and Set Inverse many times until I had a shot where the camera follows the guy with no snapping, BUT it initiated the movement in a very linear way, I want the camera movement to start off smoothly, the interpolation modes did not solve the issue as the influence key frames are next to each other to eliminate the snapping issue.
Any thoughts on how to fix this?

I think you are thinking that the wrong way, why trouble with parenting and such ? You could simply keyframe the camera yourself which will give you much better results. All you need is a nice camera rig so you don't fall into the gimbal lock troubles but then you'll have all the proper control to ease however you want. If the purpose is an other one, please provide more info so we could help.

Thank you, well, mate I tried that already, the problem with my rig is that its speed is not at a constant pace, the camera went ahead of the rig and couldn't keep the guy in the center, so this may involve plenty of counter-animation and wont eventually deliver a quality animation i believe.

Yes thats what I meant by "thinking the wrong way", if your aiming at believable camera movement you have to think of it as a real camera on a real set. How would the operator make the shot? With what kind of gear. That's the way I prepare all my cam animations.

I see your point, makes sense, gonna animate the camera again and try to make it look believable, but will also keep an eye on the post, perhaps there is a solution for such issues that might come in handy for making similar scenes

Perfectly centerpoint tracking camera looks artificial and naive you don't want it. Tracking has its use but for best results just make the keyframes for camera manually for this case.

IF what you want is a rigid, mechanical way for the camera to follow the guy, you should put an empty where you want the camera to look, parent that empty to the guy (so that it follows him when he moves), and then add a "Track to..." constraint, with that empty as a target.
This will produce what you're asking for, but as Abedd pointed out, I don't think that's what you want.
This problem has been solved before, in two different ways. One way is to just make the camera do what you want it to do. It might mean you have a keyframe on every frame (probably not), but it'll look at what you want, when you want it to look there.
The REAL solution is a genuine camera rig. You build an armature for your camera that makes it move more like a real camera does. you build different rigs for handhelds, locked shots, crane shots, and Steadicam shots. There are also existing rigs that you could get from elsewhere. I'll bet there's one on BlendSwap, but I haven't looked.
The best solution for you, right now, is probably a really simple rig. Don't spend too much time trying to learn a new skill and new rig, just make an empty that's easy to move around and make your camera look at it. Then you can animate it and the camera at the same time. Don't parent the empty to anything, just use it to control where the camera is looking.


text:
Rotation of face loop
Here is a selected face loop. I want to rotate all of the faces to be more flat or less flat; along something like a Y-Normal.
Edge Loop in normal position:

What a more flat rotation might look like (achieved with Z-Scaling):

Please edit your question and provide reference images of what you want to achieve, it's not clear what you are trying to do or what the problem is.

I don't know how to describe "rotation toward/along the z axis" in words.

Could this be it? http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/70153/rotating-edge-loops-individually-on-their-own-axis?rq=1

What if you scale Z instead of rotating?

try selecting rotating the faces along their local axis while transforming in "individual elements" mode.

Thank you all. Scaling with z does the thing but does not keep the height of faces.

@Yvain I did try this but it's the same as global mode.

I mean the pivot point http://pasteboard.co/yL5k5XlOa.png
precisely called "individual origins"


text:
How can I select bones with the Face mask activated in the weight paint mode
I just updated my old blender to the new version 2.93 and I am trying to figure it out how to select bones on the weight paint mode while having the face mask activated.
In the previous blender version (2.83 and before) I could select the bones with the face mask activated by pressing ⌃ Ctrl + RMB  but now with the new keymap configuration the ⌃ Ctrl + LMB  combination only allows me to select the faces as I have the face mask activated.
It is pretty boring and annoying to keep activating and deactivating the facing mask to change the bones that I want to assign the paint.
Is there any solution to that? I couldn't find it anywhere.
PD: While I am without the face mask on, I can select the bones without any problem, but I really need to use the face mask because I have to paint some models with a lot of details.

Video reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os9lZUhpshI


text:
Blender Texture/Model Seam Problems
I am creating an old Greek pillar for practice but during the creation process there appears to be a seam that's being rendered in the texture and model. I have gone in to texture paint mode and tried using the clone, and smear tool to blend the textures, and while it will blend the actual texture together it does absolutely nothing to the seam.
I have also tried baking uvmap. Does anyone know what could be causing this problem? Did I incorrectly unwrap the model? I have surfed the threads trying to find something to help me fix my issue but it seems everything I try does nothing to make this seam disappear.

I have turned the bias down to zero, it yields a slightly better result but the seam is still visible. Should I be using an image editor to make the texture tile properly?

I had a similar issue, and my solution was turning the bias to 0 before you bake the normal map.

@Akados
I am still learning, is the bias option in the node editor, uv editor, mesh tab, render tab? I have not been able to find that option.

It's in the Render Properties, under the Bake settings. (Blender Render, then after the bake, switch back to Cycles if you're using Cycles)

-Make sure the left and right side of your texture map match.
-Run "Remove Doubles" on you mesh.
-Post your texture map here

I am using a uv map to tell the material nodes how to wrap, I thought the uv map was the texture map? Or are you referring to editing the uv map with the texture in like photoshop? I thought thats what a texture map was. If you can't tell I'm still trying to learn the texturing part of the modeling process, as far as the physical mesh goes thats pretty simple to me

Make sure to leave some space (a few pixels at least) between your UV pieces. Then turn on bleed in texture paint mode and when you bake things, so your texture extends beyond the boundaries of your model's UV coordinates. Doing both these things will avoid interpolation issues at the seams. There may be more issues in your case, but this is the first thing I would do to get rid of the seams.
*Bleed for texture painting is located in the Tool shelf > Options > Project Paint > Bleed. Increase the value to say 8.
For baking, the same thing is called Margin. But again, for either of these to be effective, you must first add some space between your UV pieces.

Thank you for helping, I have been unable to find the "bleed" option in texture paint mode, can you be a bit more specific as to where it is located? A simple google search is not turning up the specific information I am looking for.

I've extended my answer a bit ;)

I'd say, have you tried to blend all the textures or just the color (diffuse) texture? if so, try to blend the displacement instead, that might not be it, but that is something that you should check anyways because i would do that by accident myself.


text:
If I press Shift + D to duplicate an object will it always be just one copy?
If I press Shift + D many times and then click the Right Mouse Button, will I have many duplicated objects in the same place, or will it be only one duplicated object?
I ask because if there are many duplicated objects in the same place, how can I then select each one of them?  In object mode I can select each object by right clicking on it.

Yes they will all be copied in the same exact place. The best way to select them all would be through the outliner.

You can right click on the place with multiple objects while holding Alt which will bring a pop up menu with objects available under cursor position, e.g. https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/36676/how-to-select-overlapping-objects

A duplicate will be created every time you press Shift + D and right or left click the mouse button.
If you only press Shift+D multiple times, but only click the mouse once, only one duplicate will be made.
If you're in Object Mode, then you can just right click each one as you said.
If you're in Edit Mode then right click to select one of the vertices and press Ctrl + L.  This will select all the geometry connected to that vertex.  Since none of the duplicates are connected, it will select each duplicated instance: