text:
Making a texture partially see-through
I am trying to make a kitchen table/island which looks like the one in the reference image.
I already put light inside the table, but I only want the yellow light to shine through the white parts of the marble texture. The black veines are supposed to block the light.
Is this somehow possible? If yes, can someone help?
Thanks in advance. If you need more screenshots let me know.
Greetings
Kara

One way you could do this is to dynamically create a mask from your marble texture that is used as a mix factor between high translucence and low/zero translucence areas of the material.  So the veins would be low translucence, the whitish parts higher translucence.

This node setup shows the concept in action.  At the bottom on the left is the marble texture I was working with; on the right is a preview of the mask, created using a color ramp.

They say you should always "add" translucence to your other shaders, but honestly I didn't like the way that turned out . . . too bright, hard to see the specularity.  So I used a mix shader instead.  Maybe less physically correct, but I think it looks better.

You are not supposed to add translucence, that is bs, not everything online is correct. You add volumetric absorption, maybe someone confused the two in Blender.

@Jerryno Thanks, I was just repeating something I heard from a couple of different sources, possibly the blender guru or cg geek was one of them.  I'm definitely willing to believe they got it wrong.

As usual, people on BSE have tried to answer this question in some detail.  For example: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/15458/when-to-use-add-shader.  The answer seems to be . . . people don't entirely agree, some think it should be used with translucence, because additional photons are indeed hitting the camera.  Basically I just chose what looked good, and that seems to be the reigning consideration.

That answer is from 2014 and not much was known then about building shaders inside of Blender community. When adding nodes, they don't "talk" to each other, so when light hits the surface it would reflect the full amount with diffuse shader and also pass through the same amount with translucent shader - the energy conservation is not kept. When mixing them, the translucent shader gets only what is let through the surface. You did it right and your common sense won over things on internet:)


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Limit vertex weights on subdivided mesh - problem
I need to limit vertex weights to 4 for game engines, but I also need this with subdivided meshes - of which doesn't work.
Apparently Blender subdivides the mesh with a modifier, good, but it also multiplies the vertex weights even after you have limited vertex weights to 4 (I have troubleshooted and found the Subdivide modifier is causing the issue). Though the control hull has it's limits applied, the exported FBX will contain double the vertex weights due to the SDS modifier, rendering the Game Engine FBX useless for what I need.
How do I apply SDS to an FBX without destroying/overreaching the Vertex weight limit and still preserve morphs (applying SDS needs no morphs to do so)?

I'm sure it's me but I don't get what you mean by " limit vertex weights to 4 "... afaik, weights are set between 0 and 1...

4 weight influences to single vertice. For example, 4 bones pulling on one vertice. Typical of facial rigs with armatures. There is a tool in blender that limits these influences to the highest influence pone weights and normalizes the rest to 0 on said vertice.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Import Numpy = attributeError: module 'numpy' has no attribute 'core'
I have been trying to load Animation Nodes, but can't seem to get Numpy to work, and have no idea how to install. I have done a clean install on latest version (and other tower works fine) but this particular machine won't work. I have not had to install Numpy on the working machine. The Numpy folder has been installed, I even copied it to the Modules folder, and it still won't work.
I really need to use these nodes.
When I try import I get:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<blender_console>", line 1, in <module>
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.78\scripts\modules\numpy\__init__.py", line 180, in <module>
    from . import add_newdocs
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.78\scripts\modules\numpy\add_newdocs.py", line 13, in <module>
    from numpy.lib import add_newdoc
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.78\scripts\modules\numpy\lib\__init__.py", line 8, in <module>
    from .type_check import *
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.78\scripts\modules\numpy\lib\type_check.py", line 11, in <module>
     import numpy.core.numeric as _nx
  AttributeError: module 'numpy' has no attribute 'core'

I think this relates to library loading on your system. See if this answer provides enough info to resolve the issue. I'm not sure of the equivalent in windows.

Possible duplicate of Numpy in Blender 2.77a

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because appears to be an AN bug and should be reported to the AN bug tracker.

Blender installation issue
Blender comes with numpy installed. Maybe something got wrong in your blender installation, if so you should not be able to import numpy directly from the python console:  (deactivate AN first)

If these simple commands do work, this means AN is the problem and you should create an issue thread on the github repo or contact Jacques Luke directly.
If they don't work, it means Blender wasn't installed correctly, and you should try:

to copy directly the site-packages folder at %version%\python\lib\site-packages directory. (Download the blender zip and copy the directory).
As I have not tried it myself, maybe the last method will create conflicts, so if it doesn't work, make a new installation of blender.

"pip install --user --upgrade numpy"
run this in cmd

Blender uses a bundled python install not on the system path, and should already include numpy. I don't think this will work as it stands.

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

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


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How to search for object in group list? - Animation Nodes
When I have a Group Object list created from Group, sometimes this list randomly resorts itself, making the indice Get List Element useless and destroys the tree flow.
I need to isolate an object by name from the Group Object List, regardless of indice, or return the indice with the name of a certain object, and I'm not sure how to do this.
Any tips?

In the outliner there is a search box in the top right corner. Did you mean that feature? What did you mean by Get List Element?

The Group Object List node in the Animation nodes addon, creates a list of objects from a group. This list often changes the order arbitrarily, which is not great.

The Search Node solved this issue.

You can use the Object By Name node to get the required object. If you want to check if it is in the group, you can use an expression node like this:

This is handy. Would a similar system be used to bring out the object the in the group list indice number?

@Draise Can you elaborate? Not sure I understand what you are saying.

Say you have object X, Z, and Y. They are part of the Group A
So with AN you get Group Object List. It will list it the objects with an indice of 0=X, 1=Z and 2=Y. Great, let's program with those indices. But then, suddenly, Blender will switch the group order, and it may turn out as 0=Z, 1=Y, 3=X, making my indice based system useless.

So.. I would need to search the list for object "X"  and then result the indice output, then use that indice output as the selecting factor in the tree to process other data to the object I want to apply the data to.
I don't need it to test if true or not, I need the actual indice number of object "X" in what seems to be a dynamic group object list that changes order randomly.

@Draise Why don't you just use the search node?

Had no idea they existed till recently.


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Objects From Group, list order issues - Animation Nodes
I run Animation Nodes to drive shapes on a rig with bones - such a better solution to Drivers.
But currently the shape Group list I use to select that particular object (needed for updating the rig and keeping the group relatively dynamic)gets the object list order mixed up sometimes.
Why does this happen? Is there a way to sort the group object list order with Animation nodes?

How do you want to order them? based on what I mean?

I guess I'm looking for a fixed indice. For example Object A is Indice 1, Object B is Indice 2, and so forth. Currently getting the AN group list the Object A and Object B order changes randomly before I can get the correct indice.

If you have a list of object [Object B, Object A, Object E, Object C, Object D] and you wish to order them as [Object A, Object B, Object C, Object D, Object E], simply construct a list such that its elements are that of the list at the indices [1, 0, 3, 4, 2].


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Default Shape key ID in Keying Set export files broken
I've found that the default Keying set that Blender exports from the Keying Set Panel, when you have shape keys added to the keyset - then it will pull the following error:
TypeError: 'builtin_function_or_method' object is not subscriptable
Error: Python script fail, look in the console for now...

The solution is changing the shape key ID to the correct one:
# Keying Set: KeyingSet
import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene

# Keying Set Level declarations
ks = scene.keying_sets.new(idname="KeyingSet", name="Keyset_Name")
ks.bl_description = ""

ks.use_insertkey_needed = False
ks.use_insertkey_visual = False
ks.use_insertkey_xyz_to_rgb = True

# ID's that are commonly used

## This is the default in blender, and it is broken.
#id_0 = bpy.types.key["Key"]

### Use this instead:
id_0 = bpy.context.object.data.shape_keys

# Path Definitions
ksp = ks.paths.add(id_0, 'key_blocks["Shape_Name"].value', index=-1)

Bug reported: https://developer.blender.org/T52401

Fixed : https://developer.blender.org/rB743bacaa6f4e7dd4b621b8b908513ea6ce7b18e4


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Blender_icons_update.py - SVG icon generation to DAT file issue
I have been trying to run the python blender_icons_update.py blender_icons.svg command from command prompt in the \release\datafiles folder, but without any luck. I get these errors:
FileNotFoundError: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified
Line 10 (in the blender_icons_update.py)  when it does the run(cmd) in line 33.
subprocess.check_call(cmd)
Something is wrong with the subprocess. What is the fix?
I have correct Python versions installed (2.7 and 3.5.0), Blender 2.79b installed, and... what is missing?

Development questions about Blender are considered off topic here, you better ask over at https://devtalk.blender.org or on development chat

Not sure why this is off topic. Edit in a print(cmd) statement before line 33.  Going by the error one of the two paths in this command (cmd) does not exist.

The issue was that the paths were not defined for Inkscape and Blender. Both software do not add the PATH environment variables to Windows, so adding them manually made the script file find the correct software to process the *.dat files.

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


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Video Editor shows SVGs as transparent image - can this be fixed?
Summary: If I add an SVG as a track to the video sequence editor, it is recognized as Type: image. But the content is not visible, it is just transparent.  This is shown on this screenshot:

Details: I am trying to create a training video that alternates footage and slides. Initially I used PNGs for slides, which worked flawlessly. I want to switch to SVG, so that I can edit the slides directly (rather than having to export PNGs. So I know that what I am trying works with PNGs
Blender lets me drag the SVGs into the Video Sequence Editor. They are recognized, as the border and transparency is shown. But the actual content is missing!
I am using Inkscape to create the SVGs. I tried both, Inkscape SVG and "Plain SVG". I created a super-simple test slide with nothing fancy on it. No luck.
Also, I set the document size to 1920x1080. As I read about size issue I filled the slide with a huge object. Nothing.
Is Blender not capable of this, or am I making a simple (stupid) mistake?
Thanks for helping!

SVGs are not directly supported in the Video Sequence Editor (or anywhere else inside Blender for that matter), as far as I know. Only possible exception is the SVG importer for curves as actual geometry for the 3D View


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How to show hidden groups in 2.80?
I have just updated to 2.80 from 2.79.
When I open a model in which I had some hidden groups they now in 2.80 have the eye icon to show they are not hidden, but they are also semitransparent in the menu. In the scene I don't see any object in the group.
How can I show previously hidden groups etc..?

It might be because they are not displayed in the viewport, click on the key icon on the top and activate the Disable in Viewport icon (monitor icon) to make this option visible in the Outliner, then activate it for the object or collection you want to make visible in the viewport. You'll also need to make sure your objects or collections are visible for render (camera icon this time).

Thank you. I didn't know about the Monitor icon but do now.

There is an new feature in 2.8, where you can hide objects globally in the viewport. (So you can't unhide them with ctr+h but they show up in the rendered image)

You have to open the filters and toggle the restriction icon

Make it globally visible by clicking on the screen icon


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How to do beveled curves with changing cross sectional shape along the curve?
CG artist Mike Campau creates what looks like beveled curves (below), but the cross sectional shape changes along the curve. Is there a trick to this or does he take the time and effort to manually manipulate a mesh to get these inspiring effects?

I think the easiest way is to use a Curve Modifier on an object. The object could be a deformed cylinder segment with an Array Modifier and a Displacement Modifier on it. I created using this technique the following image:

There where a couple things that I would like to mention here on this model. Firstly I used an 8 segment cylinder as base mesh and deformed it to make it a little more flat. Before the Displacement Modifier there is a Subdivision Modifier in the Modifier list. For the Displacement Modifier there is also one very important thing to mention: Texture Mapping. You couldn't use UV because it would repeat each segment so I used the Local Coordinates. The reason why this whole texture mapping thing is so imported is because the Clouds Texture I wanted to use has to be stretched along the curve. I achieved that by scaling the object factor 10 on the (in my case X axis) and then in edit mode scale everything factor 0.1 so it looks the same as before but now the textures are stretched. This scaling sadly renders the array modifiers fit curve function unusable. For the Array Modifier which comes first in the Modifier list enable the Merge function. There is also one very important thing for the curve (maybe it's just for me) you have to set the U resolution higher else you will have steps.
My render doesn't looks like the work of Mike Campau but I am sure you can make something similar using this technique.

You can simplify this by manipulating a straight object by hand and use a curve modifier. It is much easier to change this not bended object using your favourite technique like sculpting, lattice, skin or completely by hand in edit mode.
Let's start with a curve.

I will then create a linear extrude and give some variation in the cross section. In this case I will do it by hand  and provide a good enough resolution along the axis using loop cut.

Applying the curve modifier will deform the object along the curve. If the longitudinal resolution is not good enough, the deformed shape will not look continuous. Some tweaking or smoothing may be required.

you actually had that problem I mentioned in my post. Your curve looks edgy (if thats actually a word) because you didn't turn up the U Resolution in the curve settings

I would like to add another option on how to achieve this, a more "clean" way to do this. Also I think this exactly how the artist did it.

You have your 3D curve what has whatever crazy design you can
make
Then one 2D curve that will act as the shape of the brush. Think of it as the shape the bristles would leave on a surface. This will be your 3D curve bevel object
And then another 2D curve that will be the tapper object of the 3D curve. Subdivide this curve and move/manipulate the handlers and its vertices relative to the beginning and end of the path to bulge the 3D curve as desired.

Also make sure the 3d curve type is bezier to take advantage of the possibility to tilt vertices and add a "twist" effect.


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Import methods/classes from another python file
I'm trying to use specific helper methods from another python file in my Blender addon. Although both my files "__init__.py" and "helpers.py" are located in the same directory, I keep getting a ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'helpers'.
# __init__.py
import bpy
from helpers import my_register, my_unregister

def register():
    my_register()

def unregister():
    my_unregister()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

I could work around this error by replacing from helpers import ... with from . import helpers, but then I'd have to use a prefix like helpers.my_register(). This gets especially ugly when using decorators:
from bpy.app import handlers
from . import helpers

@helpers.eventhandler(handlers.frame_change_pre)
def on_frame_change_pre(dummy):
    ...

@helpers.eventhandler(handlers.frame_change_post)
def on_frame_change_post(dummy):
    ...

Is it possible to make from {local file} import * work in a Blender addon?

You can use from . helpers import FOO to import from a file at the same folder.


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My materials seem to be locked on one colour?
I've created an object that has a specific (in thie case Glossy) colour, then i have two other objects that are diffuse. I can change the colours using the materials tab or the node trees. However when i render the image the original colors return and the new ones are not there and i have no idea why?
any help?

Please [edit] your question with node setup for objects (you can add comments to your question with links to images) as it's hard to guess what could cause "returning" you experience; maybe objects use the same material or you edited viewport colors in the Properties editor for the material but not in the node tree. etc.

I think I have an idea what you are referring to. You are duplicating an object and changing the materials of the properties, correct?
When you go to the material of the duplicated it might look like this "Material.002 and then a box that says "2" next to it before the "F""+""x". Click on the number (which is 2) and do so on texture as well if necessary. I hope that helps, as that was my solution.


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Car / Vehicle automatic wheel rotation
I am making a vehicle with working wheels and I've search so many times and found solutions that all work until I turn the wheel (along the Z axis).
Is there a way of making wheels that automaticly rotate when moved in the local Y axis?
I need it to work when moved along a path.
Thanks,
The Blender Kid

Welcome to BSE, what have you tried so far? Do you have a blend?  An image?  In it's current form this question is pretty broad.

@batFINGER
Basically I have a fire truck I need to move along a path with automatically rotating wheels. Ideally I would like to be able to turn the wheels.
The truck will follow the path out of a building/fire station and turn to the right and then follow a straight path from there before coming to a stop - so just a few seconds of animation.
I've tried these two tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oozxxdVp4f4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IKJzyFF-Ro
And an Animation Nodes setup that I created myself.
Thank you
The Blender Kid


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Invert weight paint values with modifier
Is there a way to invert the weight values of a vertex group in the modifier stack?

Yes. (Besides being able to invert the influence of the vertex group in many of the modifiers, by hitting the small double-arrow icon next to the Vertex Group field....)
If you want to invert the group itself, you can use the Vertex Weight Mix modifier targeted on the group (here, 'Group'), and mix with an anonymous Group B, with B's default weight set to 1, and the Mix Mode set to 'Difference'.

(Excuse the grotty color quantization)


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Export blender rendered image as numpy array
I want to know the easiest way to export rendered images from blender to be exported as numpy array.
PS: I don't want to save the images first in *.jpg or *.png and then access them. I want to directly export the rendered images as numpy array.

...a numpy array made of what values?

Each element of the array would correspond to a pixel value of rendered image.

is is possible to render to any kind of array?

Numpy array isn't a native output option.
Notice up at the top of the screen, when you click Render,
it specifies Render Image

If you want it to directly output to a non-standard container,
you'll have to modify the source code to accomplish that.
http://download.blender.org/source/
...
You can convert standard arrays into a numpy array like this:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/4562455/3342050
So if you don't mind running render, then using a script to export:
# path2numpy = '/home/me/.local/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/'   ##  linux
# path2numpy = 'C:\\Users\\me\\AppData\\Local\\Python\\Lib\\site-packages\\numpy\\'   ##  win

import sys
sys.path.append(path2numpy)

import numpy as np
array = []

# render = bpy.ops.render.render(layer="RenderLayer", scene="Scene")
# render = bpy.data.node_groups['Compositing Nodetree'].nodes['Render Layers'].layer

array.append(render)

np_array = np.array(array)

The render output data is most likely going to be found in one of those commented render lines.
You'll have to decide which one suits your needs.
You may have to iterate through the data to get it into the necessary format.
Something along the lines of:
for h in range(height):
  for w in range(width):
    R = render[h][w * bpp]
    G = render[h][w * bpp + 1]
    B = render[h][w * bpp + 2]
    data.append((R,G,B))
  ''.join(data)
  array.append(data)

Then convert regular array to numpy array, as above.
That's all dependent upon how you want that array set up though...

You wouldn't have to alter the source code, a blender add-on could do this.

Add-ons don't bypass image generation.

Why would they want to? 'Image generation' would be part of the process of generating the values that the add-on could then export, otherwise there's nothing to export.


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cutting face at texture wrap
i've been looking everywhere for this but i can't find anything at all... basically what i'm trying to do is something like
normal:

what i'm trying to do:

is there any way i can achieve this?

You could:

Make a flat plane, and create UVs.
It should automatically adjust to the texture you have.
Duplicate it, and then move it to each side, so that you create that checker board pattern you want.
Then, you could simply create a cylinder and use it in a boolean operation to cut the flat planes into the circular shape you want.
You'll need to do some extra cleanup, but it should work.

that's not what i'm trying to do, im trying to cut the face itself into quads or whatever for every time the uv wrap hits the edge on each repeat, i used the circle texture just as an example but ye

I reproduced your starting case this way:

And applied this script:
import bpy, bmesh
from math import ceil

tolerance = 0.001  # increase to use more existing vertices close to the cuts

def main():
    me = bpy.context.active_object.data
    bm = bmesh.from_edit_mesh(me)
    uv_layer = bm.loops.layers.uv.verify()
    face = bm.faces[0]  # assuming there's just 1 face at the beginning
    # I'm also assuming the UV mapping respects aspect ratio and there's no stretching
    loop1, loop2 = face.loops[0], face.loops[1]
    x1, x2 = loop1.vert.co.x, loop2.vert.co.x
    uvx1, uvx2 = loop1[uv_layer].uv[0], loop2[uv_layer].uv[0]
    lenx, lenuvx = x2-x1, uvx2-uvx1
    ratio = lenx / lenuvx
    x_coords = sorted(v.co.x for v in face.verts)
    y_coords = sorted(v.co.y for v in face.verts)
    uvx_min, uvx_max = x_coords[0]/ratio -.5, x_coords[-1]/ratio -.5
    uvy_min, uvy_max = y_coords[0]/ratio -.5, y_coords[-1]/ratio -.5

    for uvx in range(ceil(uvx_min), ceil(uvx_max)):
        bmesh.ops.bisect_plane(bm, geom=[*bm.faces, *bm.edges], dist=tolerance,
            plane_co=((uvx+.5)*ratio, 0, 0), plane_no=(1, 0, 0))

    for uvy in range(ceil(uvy_min), ceil(uvy_max)):
        bmesh.ops.bisect_plane(bm, geom=[*bm.faces, *bm.edges], dist=tolerance,
            plane_co=(0, (uvy+.5)*ratio, 0), plane_no=(0, 1, 0))

    bmesh.update_edit_mesh(me)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Result:

a few improvements could be made, optimizations, as well as you could iterate over added vertices, and if they connect to 2 old vertices (so they are on the circumference) you could move them along the non-circumference edge to be the same distance away from the center as other vertices.


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Problem with proportional editing on a curve
I have a curve (which is a loop) that I am trying to manipulate in edit mode. When I use proportional editing with connected mode, a certain part of the curve is not affected. It only seems to happen between two vertices. On one side they act as expected and on the other side they stay where they are.
I tried converting the curve to a mesh, deleting and the re-adding the vertices that caused the problem, and then converting back to a curve. The same problem occured, but between two different vertices.
If I switch the proportional editing to enabled mode, everything works properly, but I want to know why curves behave this way with connected mode. I assume it's because the curve "ends" somewhere, so even though the loop is closed blender doesn't consider the vertices on the other side connected. I'm unsure though so if anyone knows why this happens or where I could read about it, it would be appreciated.
The verticies that seem to cause the problem:

What happens when I drag the selected vertex up. The left of the curve from point 1 moves, but to the right of point 2 is uneffected:

How it looks when I use enabled mode for the proportional editing:

could you please share your file?

If it's a Bezier curve, your proportional edit circle has to encompass the handles of the point as well as the point to move it. GL  Ten four rubber ducky.  Over and out.
It looks like Blender calculates "connected" from the point and traces it back down the original curve, and if you connect 2 ends of the curve with F key (make segment), Blender doesn't read that as a new path, so to speak.  I'm not sure how to fix that though.  Hope this makes sense.

Thanks, that's what I kind of thought was going on, like I said I can just use Enabled mode and I get the desired effect. Thanks for the tip on beziers though, I probably would've run into that at some point.


text:
can you delete keyframes at regular intervals in a given range?
the BVH I imported has keyframes on almost every frame.. i want to edit like 300 frames and i want 1 keyframe for every 30 frames for those 300.. Im currently doing it by placing 2 markers between 29frames and selecting everything between them adn deleting it... but i have to do this 10 times.. is there a better way?

It's not exactly what you're asking for, but maybe it can help : there is an (integrated) addon, Simplify Curves. It reduces the number of keyframes, preserving the general shape of the curve.

Activate the addon (search "simplify" and click the checkbox next to "Add Curve: Simplify Curves")
Select your F-curves
type Spacebar then "simplify", select "simplify F-curve"
adjust the "distance error" setting. Warning, it's located in the Operator panel in the 3d view, not in the F-Curve editor

I was looking the same solution too but no luck. I created a script myself just to do that. Here you are https://github.com/kuoliangkwong/blender-remove-interval-keyframes
It's not very user friendly at the moment, and require some technical steps, but it does the work. Will add in UI if have time

Hello and thanks for your answer. Since the source code is only 23 lines long (at least at this stage), would you please insert the current version of your script directly in the answer? To avoid the risk of links "rotting", we tend to keep all the relevant information on the site (more on this). You can of course, in addition to that, link to your repository, saying that the maintained version can be found there. Don't worry: the license of StackExchange is CC-BY-SA


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How to re-render an image sequence with different image texture for 1 object?
I did a Image sequence render of about 1500 frames only to notice that a small object in scene had a different texture file linked to it.. instead of re rendering the whole 1500 frames.. is it possible to use compositor to mask the rest of objects and only render small object that i need correction for and then combine teh original sequence with this new one?
Im new to compositing would appreciate if anyone can point me at an keywords i can use to google about this or solution.

Just put that single object in a different scene layer, then setup a render layer to include only that object and exclude all others.

Thanks i was new to composting spent some time learning and i was able to get this by rendering the object with transparent background and excluding rest of objects camera ray visibility but still keeping shadows on. then i composted the this onto my old renders.


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How to change restpose of armature while still preserving animation data?
I purchased BVH files containing Horse locomotion data. I want to retarget them to my custom Rigify Horse Rig.
the only thing thats stopping me is that the armature from BVH has restpose with all bones laying flat on the ground. instead of usual T pose. so the rotation translations for them are driven via this pose. is there way to convert animations for this restpose to that from a T pose?
I also got a seperate Tpose BVH file for the same armature above.. but that also has a restpose with bones laying flat on the ground.
Is there a way to use Tpose as restpose and convert/translate teh animations based on this pose?

was able to achieve the required result with Blender MoCap tools. I used the T-Pose BVH file and applied rotation scale and location to the TPOSE and set it as restpose.. then i imported gallop BVH file and using mocap tools i mapped the rotations to the first armature.. I was then able to retarget to my Custom RIgify rig with usual workflow.

Might also find this script useful


text:
How disable/enable an Output File Node from python?
I have the next composition that I render from Python. How can I disable/enable the rendering of a specific node?

Thank you.

You can set the mute flag of the Node to True.
import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene
compositing_node_tree = scene.node_tree
compositing_node_tree.nodes['File Output'].mute = True

Alternatively you can just call the bpy.ops.node.mute_toggle() operator within the compositor.


text:
Silhouette chroma key effect - how to finish off?
I'm so close to finishing this off but I can't get my foreground to be single matte color. I'm not sure where I need to place a node to do so. My foreground right now has some aberrations coming through due to bad lighting but how can I make the white area a solid color? Thanks]1

If you change the matte density by altering the luma values with a ramp or curve (change contrast) then you will alter the edge of your shape, loosing fine detail. I suggest that you add one to the other.

After your Mix node you will want to add either a Luminance Key node, or a ColorRamp node. Then just move the values around until you get what you are looking for.
Before:

After:

or

I hope this helps
-Tom

I hope I got your question right: You basically want a solid color mask, so instead of white, there should be a different color, right? If so, there's a simple way to go. As an example, let's have a look at a black & white mask:

If now we want to give the white area a different color, we can use the MixRGB node to do so. You can find that in Shift + A  ->  Color  ->  Mix. Give the top color slot a black color, and the bottom slot the desired target matte color. Then, to mix the two together, you plug your black & white mask into the Fac slot of the node:

This setup gives you freedom to choose foreground and background color as you wish. Also textures are possible, if you need that.


text:
Rigid body Cell Fracture Explosion
When i use cell fracture or subdivision in blender with ridgid body physics. It explodes. How can this be solved?

Could you please add a little more details as to what is actually going wrong?  Some screenshots or a GIF would be really helpful.

Now, I know from experience that the cell fracture addon explodes if you fracture it too much and there are left over single vertices or edges. Try searching for single edges or vertices.

I would first make sure all your RB objects and passive objects have their scale applied ....  ctrl A ....scale.
I would also make sure each objects origin is set to geometry
ctrl..alt...shift C .... origin to geometry.
Posting a blend file would help to troubleshoot other issues that may be occuring.


text:
How can I can make a 2D Png image (a portrait) into a 3d rotating model?
i've been trying to find a way to actually take a portrait of a friend to make it into a 3D turning object (a bit like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNbGjMlmzhc) and I've been trying to do it on blender and then export it to after effetcs but nothing works.
I would love some help if that's clear to anyone,
Cheers!

There are programs that do this, but not blender. The leading program on the market for this is Agisoft-PhotoScan. It costs a fortune, but your free options like 123D Catch are not nearly as good.

You could use https://inkscape.org/en/ to export an .svg file and import this into Blender.

The closest thing I can think of to do this is to use the image as plane add-on. First go to File>User preferences (or Ctrl +Alt + U) >Addons, then search for Import-export: images as planes under the community supported level.
In object mode press Shift + A>Mesh>Add image plane, then when your file browser opens, select the image you want to use. Tab into edit mode, and model the plane to your liking, then Tab back to object mode to apply a solidify modifier. From there on, just add any finishing touches you want, keyframe, and you're all set.

I've actually tried that since it was a recurrent answer while googling but it just doesn't export anything, like i said i'm like a first day user of blender haha here's what it looks like http://i.imgur.com/REGy0vg.png

You would need to actually "Model" it. Simple example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cKFR2P5yIo
In AE maybe Bevel/Emboss an image but not what you want.


text:
imported .stl model is tiny. How can I set the scale correctly?
I am importing .stl to blender. Once it was imported, the object appeared in blender as a tiny dot at the center of the grid(0,0,0)
For example, when I created an object with the dimension of 1.18cm X 2.99cm X 3.19cm, then export it to .stl. Later on, I import it to blender, the dimension became
1.18m X 2.99m X 3.19m. Why does blender change cm to m? is there something I am not setting correctly in Blender?

I'm not sure, but I think this would be in the export settings.

What software package did you used to export the model into .stl from , was it blender you used?

Thank you all for the Replies. Basically, it happens to any .stls, those I downloaded (created with Maya, SolidWorks...) and the ones I created on Blender. Oh I forgot to mention, I use Blender 2.7.6 for OS X

STL file does not have information about units and their scale, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STL_(file_format)
So you need to set the units and scale in Blender before importing your stl. This is done on "Scene" tab under "Units" group.

Ah, I see. that explains why I need to set the unit in Blender. Now how do I know in advance whether the unit is in mm, cm or perhaps in inches if I just downloaded it? I guess by trial and error then? ( I have looked at serval .stls in Hex Fiend, some of them does say what unit in the header bytes, but not all of them, I suppose it depends on what software was used to create the .stl.

Yes, you are correct and you will have to guess the units. I assume you are working with 3d printers. By convention, 3d printing software expects 1 unit = 1 millimeter. "Cura" will do the guessing for you, it will accept any units and adjust them to millimeters automatically.


text:
Is it possible to turn off cap fill on an existing cylinder?
I made a beer bottle with inner walls and everything by modifying a cylinder, but I didn't realize that Blender automatically fills them. Is there a way of turning this off or a better way to model a bottle?

They are only two faces which you have to delete, which takes about 4 seconds. Am I missing something?

No, you will have to delete the faces manually. You can change it directly after adding, though.


text:
Import CityGML with Blender 2.79
I would like to import CityGML 1.0 or 2.0 into Blender. I got the CityGML of Berlin from https://www.citygml.org/3dcities/ and id should be with textures.
I found this script in a other question from 2015 (Import 3D XML in Blender or convert it with another tool). But the Script don't work for Blender 2.79 and i tried multiple Versions of .GML files.
Script:
import bpy
from mathutils import Vector

##### Refactor to own file citygml.py
class Texture:
    def __init__(self, id=None, path="", map=""):
        def unflatten(coords):
            return [Vector(float(x) for x in coords[i:i+2]) for i in range(0, len(coords), 2)]
        self.id = id
        self.path = path
        self.map = unflatten(map.split())

class PolyGon:
    def __init__(self, id=None, pts=""):
        def unflatten(coords):
            return [Vector(float(x) for x in coords[i:i+3]) for i in range(0, len(coords), 3)]
        self.id = id
        self.verts = unflatten(pts.split())

class Building:
    def __init__(self, id="", name="", surfaces={}, textures={}):
        self.id = id
        self.name = name
        self.surfaces = {s.id: s for s in surfaces}
        self.textures = {t.id: t for t in textures}

class CityModel:

    def __init__(self, name="", upper_corner="", lower_corner=""):
        self.lower_corner = Vector(float(x) for x in lower_corner.split())
        self.upper_corner = Vector(float(x) for x in upper_corner.split())
        self.name = name
        self.buildings = {}
        self.images = {}

    def add_building(self, building):
        self.buildings[building.id] = building

    def build(self, scene, filepath, scale):
        import bmesh
        import os

        for k, b in self.buildings.items():
            keep_verts = []
            bm = bmesh.new()
            bm.verts.ensure_lookup_table()
            mesh = bpy.data.meshes.new(b.id)

            for sid, s in b.surfaces.items():
                verts = [bm.verts.new(scale * (v - self.lower_corner)) for v in s.verts]
                face = bm.faces.new(verts)
                texture = b.textures.get("#%s" % s.id)

                if texture:
                    uv_layer = bm.loops.layers.uv.verify()
                    tex = bm.faces.layers.tex.verify()
                    bm.faces.ensure_lookup_table()
                    for i,l in enumerate(bm.faces[-1].loops):
                        uv = l[uv_layer].uv
                        (uv.x, uv.y) = texture.map[i]

                    path = os.path.join(filepath, texture.path).replace("\\", "/")
                    image = bpy.data.images.get(os.path.basename(path))
                    if not image:
                        image = bpy.data.images.load(path)
                        image.use_fake_user = True

                    bm.faces[-1][tex].image = image
                    dubs = bmesh.ops.find_doubles(bm,
                              verts=verts,
                              dist=0.001)['targetmap']
                    if len(dubs.keys()) > 2:
                        keep_verts.extend(dubs.values())
            verts = list(set(bm.verts) - set(keep_verts))
            bmesh.ops.remove_doubles(bm, verts=verts, dist=0.001)
            #bmesh.ops.automerge(bm, verts=bm.verts, dist=0.000001)
            bm.to_mesh(mesh)
            building = bpy.data.objects.new("building", mesh)
            scene.objects.link(building)
            bm.free()

def read_some_data2(context, filepath, directory, use_some_setting, scale):
    scene = context.scene
    from xml.etree import ElementTree as ET
    cityxml = ET.parse(filepath)
    citymodelnode = cityxml.getroot()
    print("Importing citygml city")
    namespaces = {
           "citygml":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/1.0",
           "core":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/base/1.0" ,
           "tex":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/textures/1.0",
           "gml":"http://www.opengis.net/gml",
           "bldg":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/building/1.0",
           "app":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/appearance/1.0",
           "dem":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/relief/1.0",
           "tran":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/transportation/1.0",
           "gen":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/generics/1.0",
           "frn":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/cityfurniture/1.0",
           "wtr":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/waterbody/1.0",
           "luse":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/landuse/1.0",
           "veg":"http://www.opengis.net/citygml/vegetation/1.0",
           "xAL":"urn:oasis:names:tc:ciq:xsdschema:xAL:2.0",
           }
    '''
    for prefix, uri in namespaces.items():
        ET.register_namespace(prefix, uri)
    '''
    bbox = cityxml.find("gml:boundedBy", namespaces=namespaces)

    name = bbox.find(".//gml:Envelope", namespaces=namespaces).attrib["srsName"]
    print("name: %s" % name)
    uc = bbox.find(".//gml:upperCorner", namespaces=namespaces).text
    lc = bbox.find(".//gml:lowerCorner", namespaces=namespaces).text

    city = CityModel(name=name, upper_corner=uc, lower_corner=lc)

    cityobjects = cityxml.findall("citygml:cityObjectMember",
                                namespaces=namespaces)

    print("importing %d city objects (#:buildings, X:non-building)" % len(cityobjects))

    for cityobject in cityobjects:

        building = cityobject.find("bldg:Building", namespaces=namespaces)
        if building is None:
            # ugly hack do for now.
            groundsurface = cityobject.find("bldg:GroundSurface", namespaces=namespaces)
            print("X", end="")
            if groundsurface is None:
                continue
            building = groundsurface
        else:

            print("#", end="")
        building_id = building.attrib["{%s}id" % namespaces["gml"]]

        rings = cityobject.findall(".//gml:Polygon//gml:LinearRing", namespaces=namespaces)
        surfaces = []
        for ring in rings:
            ring_id = ring.attrib["{%s}id" % namespaces["gml"]]
            poslist = ring.find("gml:posList", namespaces=namespaces).text
            surfaces.append(PolyGon(id=ring_id, pts=poslist))

        textures = []
        sdms = cityobject.findall(".//app:surfaceDataMember", namespaces=namespaces)
        for sdm in sdms:
            coords = sdm.find(".//app:textureCoordinates", namespaces=namespaces)
            if coords is None:
                continue
            sdm_ring = coords.attrib["ring"]
            path = r"%s" % sdm.find(".//app:imageURI", namespaces=namespaces).text
            textures.append(Texture(id=sdm_ring, map=coords.text, path=path))

        building = Building(id=building_id, surfaces=surfaces, textures=textures)
        city.add_building(building)
    print()
    print("finished importing, building...")
    city.build(scene, directory, scale)
    print("done")
    return {'FINISHED'}

from bpy_extras.io_utils import ImportHelper
from bpy.props import StringProperty, BoolProperty, FloatProperty
from bpy.types import Operator

class ImportCityGML(Operator, ImportHelper):
    """Import CityGML"""
    bl_idname = "import_dem.city_gml"  # important since its how bpy.ops.import_test.some_data is constructed
    bl_label = "Load City"

    # ImportHelper mixin class uses this
    filename_ext = ".xml"

    filter_glob = StringProperty(
            default="*.xml",
            options={'HIDDEN'},
            )
    directory = StringProperty()
    filepath = StringProperty(name="File Path", description="Filepath used for importing txt files", maxlen= 1024, default= "")

    use_setting = BoolProperty(
            name="Save to Text Editor",
            description="Make a copy of generated script in text editor",
            default=False,
            )
    scale = FloatProperty(
            name="Scale",
            description="Scale the model",
            default=0.05,
            min=0.01,
            max=10.0
            )

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        layout.prop(self, "scale")

    def execute(self, context):
        return read_some_data2(context, self.filepath, self.directory, self.use_setting, self.scale)

# Only needed if you want to add into a dynamic menu
def menu_func_import(self, context):
    self.layout.operator(ImportCityGML.bl_idname, text="Import CityGML")

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(ImportCityGML)
    bpy.types.INFO_MT_file_import.append(menu_func_import)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(ImportCityGML)
    bpy.types.INFO_MT_file_import.remove(menu_func_import)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

    # test call
    bpy.ops.import_dem.city_gml('INVOKE_DEFAULT')

I get this error when trying to import a GML-File:
#Importing citygml city
name: urn:ogc:def:crs,crs:EPSG:31467
importing 30 city objects (#:buildings, X:non-building)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Text", line 199, in execute
  File "/Text", line 141, in read_some_data2
AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'text'

Has anyone an idea how i can make this script work for Blender 2.79?

You can get any old version of Blender from http://download.blender.org/release/ . If you get the import through right, you can just save the .blend and open the file on current Blender version.

Not sure this is a blender version problem, rather an oversight.
The import script was written specifically for Rotterdam dataset in question to test against.
The code was expecting a gml:posList tag in every ring, which was the case in the Rotterdam dataset.
Also note: only a small subset of all possible CityGML tags are covered by the importer.
Try replacing code circa line 139, from surfaces = [] to textures = [] with.
    surfaces = []
    for ring in rings:
        ring_id = ring.attrib["{%s}id" % namespaces["gml"]]

        poslist = ring.find("gml:posList", namespaces=namespaces)
        if poslist:
            surfaces.append(PolyGon(id=ring_id, pts=poslist.text))

    textures = []

Was hoping the small sample size example file from Berlin repo linked in question, would have arrived by now to test against.


text:
How to create gathered stitches in clothes
I am struggling to mimick the gathered stitches shown in photo here. I have tried stitching two cloth pieces of different lengths. After baking them, it is a failure.
I had sought Blender tutorials in Youtube, those on gathered stitches. I found none.
Any suggestion on how to create gathered stitches?

Check here: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/98315/how-to-create-a-cloth-stage-valance/98330#98330 making Shape Key more random should give you desired result.

@cgslav, you are brilliant. Thank you very much.


text:
How to place an overlay video with a transparent background upon another video/image?
First off, I'm a novice to node compositing, so I might not understand some jargons.
Below is the original video.
Next photo: the white background is removed (my first time with invert node). The background is turned transparent. Now how do I lay this overlay upon another video or image with any different colour?
I'd like to try medium brown ground or yellow for the lower ground.

Alpha Over node usually does the trick

@Duarte, I had tried Alpha Over before and failed. I think I have used it wrong, but I will try it again tomorrow (my computer at work). I will try your suggestion, when I follow instructions at this thread from the past: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/7782/how-do-i-use-nodes-to-combine-two-images-when-both-have-transparent-areas. Thank you for suggesting Alpha Over node.

You may find this link useful .... https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/50771/rotoscoping-to-a-transparent-background/50776#50776

I have tried your suggestions and worked out the solutions. I got the desired result. Thanks, Duarte and Atomicbezierslinger

The next day...
I have tried Alpha Over as was suggested. Initially, it was tricky and difficult to work with nodes, while making mistakes. Now, I have finally achieved the desired result and here I enclose the screenshot.

If your problem was solved by your solution, you should mark this answer as accepted.

Leander, are you sure? Originally, I thought that might be cheating, if I ticked my own answer as accepted and gave myself 15 points. That was what I thought previously.

Read the 2nd bullet point from accepting an answer. There will be no change in reputation points. You can also change the accepted answer anytime if another answer is written.


text:
How to create cotton wool?
How do you make cotton balls fluffy with perhaps some loose bits hanging.

It's a good question. Could you tell a bit more about the context? What is it for? How is it going to be rendered? What distance is it going to be viewed from?

Firstly, it is not for myself, but for someone in Facebook. When others give answers, I will show this page to a guy. Besides, I thought cotton balls are challenging to create and thereby interesting. So, I have got screenshots of nodes for cotton balls and paste them into my scrapbook as in link here. Credits on screenshots are given. Links to sources are included. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ggss5H_XdWtIZ825iRuUjk7svvzdoPWM-cP1yv4kCCc/

Besides, I am really interested in cotton wool, especially for future usages.

I've tried this, I think it needs more hair work though, to get the fluffy thing. For the material, I've used a Noise Texture that I've scaled on one axis to get the stria effect. Emission is here to give a bit of luminosity and softness to the object, too much shadow would make it look solid like a stone, it somehow simulates a transparent effect. And at the end a bit of Transparency, with a Fresnel as factor, to make the contour a bit evanescent. The hairs are actually long extruded rectangles with a material that also use a mix of Diffuse, Emission and Transparency.

I forgot to thank you long time ago. Sorry about my lateness.   I am back to this thread. I must remember to put this node tree in my scrapbook. Thank you very much.

You're welcome, I hoped someone would find a better solution but it doesn't look too bad  ;)

Me ayudo muchísimo tu diseño. Gracias


text:
How to draw a circle on a plane with OSL (Open Shading Language)?
This is my very first day of learning Open Shading Language. I have watched few videos in Youtube and learned a little.
Right now, for learning purpose only, I want to know what OSL codes can draw one black circle against the white ground of plane, but I can't find any tutorial to teach me that.
Next, I want to know how to do a circle grid like this below.

And this too.

These scripts will create two nodes. The first one is for the grid and the second one for the circle. By changing the size of the grid, you will have more or less circles. By changing the radius, you will have bigger or smaller circles.

shader Tiles2D(
    point Vector = P,
    float Size = 1,
    float Offset = 0,
    output vector Tiles = vector(0,0,0)
)
{
   Tiles = Vector * Size;
   Tiles[2] = 0;
   Tiles[0] += step(1,mod(Tiles[1],2)) * Offset;
   Tiles -= floor(Tiles);

}

shader Circle(
            point Vector = P,
            float Radius = 0.5,
            output float Fac = 0)
{
    vector st = Vector;
    vector dist = st - vector(0.5,0.5,0);
    Fac = smoothstep(Radius*0.99, Radius * 1.01,dot(dist,dist)*4);
}

Hi. Would be useful if you could include the actual code in the question body to save people typing out the code from the images. Thanks.

@RPSebb, thank you very much. You are a star.

Consider to accept the answer @RitaGeraghtystandsbyMonica

@brockmann done, and thank you for reminding me.


text:
How to add a material to a single face?
Whenever I assign a material to the selected faces of a cube, it paints the entire cube. I've seen questions like this, and I've done everything they say to do in the comments, yet nothing seems to work.

You only have one material for your object, therefore the whole object gets the material.  Add at least one more material.

Add two materials, then assign both materials to different parts of the mesh.

First Enter editmode then choose the face you want ,and in the material
section press plus and under it press assign and the new material will be the applied only in the face selected.

I appreciate the answer, but that's what iv'e been doing. Any other ideas, possibly?

what i can see in your image that when you press assign you assign your face to the red color

be sure that you have two materials not just one

Well, did you assign the other faces to a different material?

No,when making material for first time blender apply it to the whole mesh so it doesn't need to apply other faces to the other material, but you can make it it isn't wrong

you must select the other faces and the other material and then assign them .


text:
How do you animate someone holding something with both hands and placing it on the ground?
I'm trying to make a Minecraft animation where Steve, is holding a full size crafting bench in his arms and places it on the ground. How do I parent and unparent his arms from the crafting bench?

... Why not just animate them without parenting?

You can use Constraints for this.

I don't think you can.  Rather, I would animate them separately. When I've had to open a drawer, I found it best to animate the drawer sliding open first, and then match the character motion.  Drawer's are a little easier, because they follow a straight path.
For this, I would move the box to the ground in a shallow arc, in a reasonable number of frames.  (If it takes 1/2 second, then @ 24fps, you use 14 frames to animate the box.)
Next I would place one or two key frames for Steve.  At least start of move, end of move, and something near the midpoint.  Adjust Steve by tweaking curves or adding keyframes as necessary.


text:
Problem with making vertices into mesh
A Blender novice here.  I'm trying to make a design of a logo for a project that I'm working on for class.  I have the logo designed that is made up of simple vertices. I wanted to make the vertices into solid meshes but I couldn't find the way to do it. I've tried solidifying and skin modifiers but they both deform the design.  Are there any other ways to do this?
Attached is the logo I made in vertices.

Those look like edges to me, not vertices. Can't you just enter edit mode, select a pair of edges and press F to add a facet between them?

One way is to use Alt-c in object mode to convert it into curve type, then set curve Fill to 'Full' and adjust Bevel Depth.

I figured it out through the bevel depth, thank you so much kheetor.


text:
Blender NET_RENDER using command line
I want to net render my project without GUI.
I know
blender command line.
I also know blender -E help
and tried the command
blender -b file.blend -E NET_RENDER -s 10 -e 50 -t 2 –a
but before running this command we need to set parameters like a master server, port etc. by GUI
Can you guide me on how to set Address(master) while net rendering through command-line?

You can do it like this:
blender -b -y -P master.py -noaudio --addons netrender file.blend

Contents of master.py:
import bpy
bpy.ops.wm.addon_enable(module="netrender")
bpy.context.scene.render.engine="NET_RENDER"
bpy.context.scene.network_render.mode = 'RENDER_MASTER'
bpy.context.scene.network_render.path = "/tmp/"
bpy.context.scene.network_render.server_address = "[default]"
bpy.context.scene.network_render.server_port = 8200
bpy.ops.render.netclientstart()

For the slave you can use the same blender command with a second python script. Create a copy of master.py, name it slave.py or something and change the according line for the mode to:
[...]

bpy.context.scene.network_render.mode = 'RENDER_SLAVE'

[...]

Tested in blender 2.79a.
Note: this is currently broken in the latest daily builds of blender 2.80 (refer here) I'm currently searching for a workarround, to get the new gpu / host memory feature working with automated network rendering, but they'll probably fix it anyways when blender 2.80 comes out.

If you're interested in the blender 2.80 thing: Just found this seems to be working (no promises) https://www.wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Render/Net_render


text:
How can i send my motion tracking project with the background video to a render farm?
Is there any way to pack a video file with a blender file in motion tracking, and send it to a render farm?

That's gonna be specific to the render farm as they have to unpack/save your project somewhere in a file structure before rendering. Did you ask them? They probably have a way to add files in the same "folder" or somewhere around your blender file location.


text:
Why the motion tracking results are jumpy after rendering it by sheep it?
I did a very smooth camera movement and the solving error was too low and the tracking was so stable but after rendering it by sheep it render farm i received a very jumpy camera movement. Is it because of the difference between the graphics cards or processors? And after that I tried to render it only by processes and I received the same results !! Any suggestions ??

No, GPU or CPU speed should not affect tracking accuracy. Is the motion tracking data baked into an fcurve? If you are asking the farm to solve the tracking, it's likely that it's unable to deal with loading the frames out of order.

No i'm not asking the render farm to solve the tracking  and i'm not using the fcurve. what should i do in this case ? :(


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Action editor / dope sheet showing extra frame without any keyframes
As shown in the attached image, my 60 frame animation has a empty frame 61, as shown by the darker shade on the header and all other lines.
How do I find what it causing this so I can remove it? When I export via fbx 61 frames are shown for the action.
I've tried ensuring nothing is hidden, and bones are displayed. I also have the 'ghost' option on to show hidden.

Found the cause, I had keyframed scale on one bone, should all be loc/rot only. Removing the scale from the bone fixed the issue.


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How to link separate parts of a single bone to different objects?
I am trying to create an animation of a table folding up. As you can see in the picture
It is splitting the meshes when I try to pivot the table. Can I link the second part of the bone just to the legs and the first part of the bone to just the table top? So that they can fold like in the picture? I thought if I do that maybe the meshes would stop exploding and rotating at different angles? Or is this another problem? If so, please do tell me. Thank you very much!!!!

In fact, you do not link the bone to an object.
You link the object (or vertices of that object) to the bone(s).
The title of your question should not be "How to link separate parts of a single bone to different objects?" but "How to link separate parts of my object to different bones ?"
Because a bone does not really have several parts. An armature has several bones (there are in fact bendy bones, with several parts, but you don't need them for your table).
For your need (folding a table), you could use different approaches.
Solution 1 : Animate separate objects directly
You could directly have your different parts of the table modelled in several objects, and animate those objects directly.
It would be sufficient for some simple animation.

Soltution 2 : Use an armature and parent each object to a bone
You would model each moving part of your table in a different object. Then you parent each object to a bone. For doing it for an object, you would do as follows :

Select the object (Right-Click)
Select the armature object (Shift+Right-Click in order to keep the object of step 1 selected)
If not already, switch to pose mode.
Select the bone you want to parent to
Hit Ctrl+P for parenting
Select option "Bone"

Your object is now parented to the bone. Repeat for other Objects/Bones couples. For a mechanical system like your table, I would go for this solution.

Solution 3 : Use an armature and a single object for the table
In this technique, you only have one mesh for your entire table. For joining different objects together, use Ctr+J after having selected all those objects.

You would have several vertex groups defined for your mesh, whose name corresponds to the bone's names in your armature. The weights in this groups will determine how vertices follow bones.
For instance, if for a given vertex, you have a weight of 1 for vertex group 'A' and 0 for vertex group 'B' : this vertex will follow bone 'A' and not bone 'B'.
If 1 for 'A' and 1 for 'B': this vertex will follow bones 'A' and 'B' with the same influence.
For doing it :

Select your table (one single mesh object)
Select your armature
Hit Ctrl+P for parenting
Select 'With empty groups'

Now your mesh object is ready to follow the armature. But since you don't have weights in your vertex groups (that were created t step 4), you will see nothing.
Enter in edit mode for your object. Select the vertices that will follow your first bone (you can use Ctrl+L shortcut for selecting all 'linked' vertices and work faster). Assign these vertices in the vertex group that has the same name as the bone it should follow, with a weight > 0 (1 for instance).

Repeat for all the moving parts!
That's it, you have the same result as solution 2, but with one single object !

This method is very good for organic objects, but I think it's easier to go with the second method for your table.

Thank you for your response. I realized that it had to do with weight paint. The bones of the legs need to only affect the legs so the weight paint of the top should be blue and not affected. Thank you very much for your help.

In fact neither of my solutions involve weight painting. You could use weight painting in the third solution, but that would be a loss of time in my opinion. The other solutions do not involve weights, so weight painting is useless here.

Maxx, yes I did just the empty group for the other ones just like you said, because it is faster. Thank you!!!


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Using Python to add driver to cycles material node properly
I've been working with an audio-driven animation and discovered that you cannot apply a driver directly to an input field on a material node.  Rather you need to navigate through the Datablock to the object and drill down until you find the node tree with the target value.  Right-Click on the row (not the input field) and hit D to add a driver.  The input field does not turn purple but the driver will show up in the Graphs window under drivers.
That method works but is so tedious so why not write a python script right?
My script works, it can find the active material, the node, the value and create a driver and the driver shows up but turns purple so that method is creating the driver on the material.
In the Graph window the proper driver shows up under the Object.  The incorrect one shows up under the Material.
Hovering over the input field shows the correct path:
bpy.data.node_groups["Shader Nodetree"].nodes["Value"].outputs[0].default_value

If you drill into the Data-blocks and find the target node, change the value the console outputs:
bpy.data.node_groups["Shader Nodetree"].nodes["Value"].outputs[0].default_value = 1

If you add the Driver by selecting the row and hitting D it outputs:
bpy.ops.outliner.drivers_add_selected()

Which isn't very helpful as that is based on the selected row in the active context.  For my tool, I just want to click on the node making it active and obviously this method is parsing the node for the material outputs and binds the driver to the material not the object.
for n in context.active_node.outputs:
            if( n.name == "Value" ):
                newdriver = n.driver_add("default_value")
                var = newdriver.driver.variables.new()
                var.name='audDrv'
                var.type='SINGLE_PROP'
                var.targets[0].id_type = 'WORLD'
                var.targets[0].id = bpy.data.worlds["World"]
                var.targets[0].data_path = '["TestCurve"]'
                newdriver.driver.expression = var.name

Rather, when I click on the node and apply the driver it needs to reference the object the material is active on.  Find the animation data, the driver and bind the node path.
So back the drawing board.  I was able to reproduce the Path that Blender shows when you hover over the input field of the targeted node value in the Data-Block tree.
# active_mat_name = bpy.context.object.active_material.name
        active_node_tree = bpy.context.object.active_material.node_tree.name
        active_node_name = context.active_node.name
        print( "Active Material: %s" % bpy.context.object.active_material.name )
        print( "Active Node Tree: %s" % active_node_tree )
        print( "Active Node: %s" % context.active_node.name )

        # This may work using format to produce the datapath string required.
        # Ref: https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#format-string-syntaxt
        dpath = "bpy.context.scene.node_groups[\"{0}\"].nodes[\"{1}\"].outputs[0].default_value".format(active_node_tree,active_node_name)
        bpy.context.object.active_material.node_tree.nodes[active_node_name].outputs[0].default_value

        print( "Path: %s" % dpath)

        # Now for the Active Object
        object = bpy.context.active_object
        print( "Active Object: %s" % object )

        newdriver = object.driver_add('location',1)
        #newdriver = bpy.context.object.active_material.node_tree.nodes[active_node_name].outputs[0].default_value
        newdriver.data_path = bpy.context.object.active_material.node_tree.nodes[active_node_name].outputs[0].default_value
        # create a variable
        var = newdriver.driver.variables.new()
        var.name='audDrv'
        # set the type first (default is 'SINGLE_PROP')
        var.type='SINGLE_PROP' # you can use 'SINGLE_PROP', 'LOC_DIFF' or 'ROTATION_DIFF'
        var.targets[0].id_type = 'WORLD'
        var.targets[0].id = bpy.data.worlds["World"]
        var.targets[0].data_path = '["TargetProp"]'
        # now set the expression on the driver
        newdriver.driver.expression = var.name

Now the drive appears under the cube but still doesn't work changing the material value.  I've tried many methods but the end result are all end up either putting the driver on the material turning the field purple or simply not working at all.
It's very ambiguous as to what specifically the difference is between adding a driver directly to the material node or adding it to the node in the data-block tree again on the row selected specifically and not the value field.
Thought I had it figured out but now I need to turn to hopefully someone here who might have already gone through this process.

I don't understand. You can add a driver to a material input field.

You can, but it doesn't update from the F-Curve that is being used to drive the animation in 2.79.  It has to be bound in the data-block tree and not on the input rather the row the input is on.  Do that, it works great.  Now how to program for that because navigating the tree to find the node is very tedious.


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how can i calculate mass of broken glass
when I do calculate mass of broken glass it only sets for one cell not for all so please how can i calculate mass for all the cells of object?

are you talking about rigid body objects? what is a "cell"?

Select all the pieces, then go to the left side panel(t)>Physics>Calculate Mass>Glass (Broken), then select Copy from Active.


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Shrinkwrapped eyelid showing glare like outer eye glass material
I'm still working on my first character and followed a tut that showed me how to shrinkwrap the eyelids over the eyes which I would be very happy with except as you can see, now the eyelids have changed color which I can live with but also they show the glare that is a material property I gave the outer eyeballs. Skin obviously shouldnt be showing this glare. I really want to keep it shrinkwrapped but how can I get rid of the glare on the eyelids but keep it on the outer eye??

Here's what it looks like now. Big improvement indeed but still not right.                                  https://ibb.co/fkuNex

The Shrinkwrap modifier includes a Distance property that allows you to control how far off the surface the mesh is wrapped - higher values give a larger separation. Increase the distance until your ‘outer eyeball’ no longer shows through.

Ah yes I see. The offset. Thank you Rich. I tweeked the offset a bit and there are still problems but it does look much better. Going any further with the offset was really starting to distort the eyelids. In the tutorial the guy said turn off subsurf mod before shrinkwrapping which I forgot to do. I hide the subsurf mod after now and it does not fix this. Maybe I'm stuck with this and can hide with some glasses but that kinda sucks as I plan to use this as my main character.

Fixed completely now. Besides Rich's answer to adjust offsets I just needed to push the eyeballs a little further back into the head. Looks good now.


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How to track object in shot with static camera
After putting trackers on an object, I am unable to "Setup Tracking Scene" without trackers on the Camera as well.   How can I solve for the object only, in situations where there is no camera movement?


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change the fluid amount in inflow
I want to make the fluid go to the end of u. These are my inflow and domain settings. But the fluid is stooping here. How can I solve it? please help.Thanks in advance.

Expand scene frame range, and time settings for simulation. Or increase simulation speed, if you want to keep current length of it.

Another issue that you will likely encounter, is that your tube obstacle impinges itself in at least 2 places where there is a sharp bend.
The fluid simulator requires a well defined inside versus outside surface to function properly.
Also, you may need to increase the resolution to get a proper result.
In addition to Serge L's recommendations, you could try reducing the gravity setting under the Scene tab. Also, you don't show your obstacle settings. If the ends of the tube are open, the Volume Initialization should be set to 'Shell' and you may also want to adjust the amount of slip.

Your fluid is stopping because the simulation reached the end of the frames Blender automatically sets when creating a new file.
To change the amount of frames in your scene go to the Render Settings tab with the camera icon and under "Dimensions" and change the "End Frame" value to fit your simulation.

A different approach would be to change the time or speed of your fluid sim.
To do that go to the settings of your fluid domain and under "Fluid" change the time "End" value to the amount of seconds that fit your scene's amount of frames. Blender's default frame rate is 24fps which means ~10.4 seconds at 250 total frames.
Otherwise, if you're going for a still, you should just change the speed of your fluid sim. This will result in less time and memory needed when baking.


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Scripting: How to change objects mode and then revert back to previous mode
In my script I'm trying to set mode to a certain type, but when I'm done with whatever I'm doing I would like to set back the previous mode it was in.
Example: Scene is in EDIT mode, but I need OBJECT mode, but then when I'm done I want to go in to EDIT mode back since it was initial mode.
My code goes:
originalMode = bpy.ops.object.mode
bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode='OBJECT')

...

bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode=originalMode)

And I get this error:
  ... File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.79\scripts\modules\bpy\ops.py", line 189, in __call__
    ret = op_call(self.idname_py(), None, kw)
TypeError: Converting py args to operator properties:  expected a string enum, not BPyOpsSubModOp

I don't know how to convert this back to 'EDIT' string to set the mode...
Hlp please :)

I don't know that is this: bpy.ops.object.mode current mode is here: bpy.context.mode
Save current mode:
returnto=False
if(context.mode!='OBJECT'):
    returnto=context.mode

Return to edit mode:
if(returnto):
    bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode=returnto)

bpy.context.mode


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Getting UV values per vertex for export
I'm writing a small exporter for my OpenGL project and I want to get UV values for every vertex from a Mesh object. I can get all the other needed values like the vertex position and normal, but not the UV coords.
Can you help me how to find that?
Thanks!

this ?

If you're doing scripting with python checkout the documentation
Mesh attributes can be found in the Bmesh api


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Always sensor/ python controller
I do have a question
i have a python code that has some variables declarations and sensors identifying. also it has a function inside called RUN
my problem is that when i use an always sensor with a python controller, it only reads RUN function and it ignores the variables i declared before. even though it doesn't ignore the identified serialport.
how can i make the sensor reads the whole code once and loop the run function?

I assum that your python controller execution method  is set  to module pointing to the run function script.run, change it to execution method script and leave it as script.py. Without more
knowledge about what you are trying to accomplish that's all i can help you.

Script mode
Python controllers in Script mode execute the code starting with the first line of the script.
Module Mode
Python controllers in Module mode behave differently. At the first call the module initializes by running the module level code starting with the first line of the module. Be aware this runs once only!.
The code the Python controller is supposed to run is placed inside a function definition (def). This code gets executed at each trigger of the controller. The execution starts with the first line of the called function and ends when leaving the function (on return or latest at the end of the function definition).
You can declare module variables within module level code (code outside of the functions). This variables will persist as long as the module exist. Be aware things like current scene, current controller, or controller's owner should not be stored in a module variable. This can easily lead to confusing and hard to investigate behavior. Better read these data from context (bge.logic) inside the called function.
Example: imaging you have two objects that both call the module. When you store the reference to the current controller at module level, the variable will refer to the controller which executed the code first (e.g. controllerA). This will be plain incorrect when running the code from the other controller (controllerB) as the variable refers to controllerA.


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'requested item "......" does not exist'
I'm a new python/Blender user
I'm trying to move an object using an Arduino. I've watched many videos and tutorials, and somehow i could write a code using others codes.
here is my code
import bge
import math
import serial

controller = bge.logic.getCurrentController()
own = controller.owner

serialport = serial.Serial('COM4', 9600)
sens = controller.sensors['run']

val1=0.0
val2=0.0
val3=0.0
p = pi/255

def run():
    if sens.positive:
            serialport.write('s'.encode('ascii')) #blender sends the ascii code of "s" to the Arduino
            n = serialport.readline() #receive data from the arduino
            val1 = (float) (n)
            val2 = (val1-val3)* p
            val3 = val1
            print ('The value is: ')
            print (val2)
            own.applyRotation((0 , val2 , 0),0)

#    own.position.y = val2

my problem is with the sens = controller.sensors['run'] when i run the game engine the following message appears:
Python module can't be imported - object 'Cube', controller 'Python':
KeyError: 'requested item "run" does not exist'
as usual i looked for a solution by checking questions of people have the same problem here and elsewhere. so i followed some of the best answers. such as, setting the actor flag in physics tab, some people suggested that reinstalling blender would help. nothing worked for me.
thanks anyway

Maybe you are trying to access a sensor from other controller or the sensor simply does not exist, i can't be sure since you are not showing images from the logic editor, so take a look to bse answer : sensors and controllers

Here is the correct link i post the wrong link lol.

The line controller = bge.logic.getCurrentController() gets the controller logic brick that has the python script, then controller.sensors is a list of sensors that are connected to the python controller. The 'key' that you use with the sensor list must match one of the sensor names connected to the controller.

So (1) is the connection required for the sensor to be in the controller.sensors list. Then (2) and (3) must be an exact match which is case sensitive.
So your error indicates that the name of run does not match any sensors you have connected to the python controller.
Having said that, you don't need to get the sensor for the script you have. I expect you are using an always sensor to run the script repeatedly, you should only need to read from your arduino and perform any changes you want.
The main flaw you will find is that the script is run cleanly from the start each time, that means the variables you are adjusting will be reset to zero every time. You want to use your script as a module rather than a script, this answer should explain the difference.

this worked for me thanks bro
apparently i needed to name the sensor and the controller

Analysis

Python module can't be imported - object 'Cube', controller 'Python': KeyError: 'requested item "run" does not exist'

This means you misconfigured the Python controller.
Either you use script mode and you refer to an not existing text block called "run" (the field should have red background).
Or you use module mode and you did not mention what file contains your code.
E.g. your code is called arduino.py. You can set up this line: arduino.applyRotation.
The BGE will look for arduino.py and check if it finds a function applyRotation.
arduino.py
import bge

def applyRotation(controller):
    sensor = controller.sensors["run"]
    if sensor.positive:
        ...

Solution
Ensure the file and the function inside of it can be found.
Hint:
If you want to use the module mode ensure to retrieve the controller inside of the called function. Otherwise you get unwanted side effects.

I already added an Always sensor and match it to a Python controller called "Python". and i changed it's mode to module and i refer it to "run" as follows test11.run however it keeps showing the error.
can you please explain what do u mean by retrieving the controller inside of the called function?
Thanks anyway


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why only one tooth of the gear is selected when control R is pressed
when I am selecting gear teeth for loop cut only one gear tooth is getting selected

Could you include any details? Screenshots, file, more details? For the file use http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/. Is tooth of the gear made with circular Array? If yes, is it applied? If no what was used? etc

I have uploaded the blender file in  http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/.

From what I am understanding of the question, trying to loop cut all the teeth won't work because loop cuts only cut along the edge loop, which each tooth has a separate edge loop.
Because of this, you'll have to do them all individually and use a numerical value if you do a loop slide after the loop cut and make them all the same. If you are then going to scale these, you need to:

set the pivot to Individual origins
loop select all of the loops on each gear using SHIFT + ALT + Right Click and selecting each loop - one after another
once all loops are selected you can scale them.


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Merging 2 face loops into 1 - Topology
So I'm trying to merge two face loops into one like so:

would it be detrimental to do this using tris? If so is there any way of doing this with quads only? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Tris may or may not be problematic depending on your model :).
These are some ways to reduce two loops into one.
Including 2-level Subdivision, so you can see the resulting geometry.

Further Reading:
Topologyguides.com

Dangg I'm gonna use that site from now on it's useful af thanks!

Couldn't say that better myself :).


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Smoothing Uneven Concave Surface
After applying the boolean modifier for the cut, I need to clean up the scruffy looking concave section of this object.  There was a method on youtube using the knife tool plus some additional shortkeys to get a really nice smooth surface, but that video no longer exists. How can I achieve that smooth look on this surface?

Depending on what your topology looks like, it could be as simple as going into the Object Data properties panel, and checking Auto Smooth under Normals.

@John You can get a certain level of acceptance playing around the Auto Smooth parameters, but it seems that it doesn't work with the sub surf modifier. Thanks.

I think you need to spend time creating the shape in your mesh. Now that I look at it again, it really isn’t the right place to bring in a Bool.

If I were you I would apply the Bool at this point and then go in for cleanup. If it’s ludicrous than I’d just start over.


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Skinify Rig Options Not Visible in Pose Mode Blender 2.8
After enabling the rigify and skinify add-ons, the skinify options are not visible on the right side panel.Obviously, unable to add mesh to the armature.

I found the Skinify options under the Create tab on the 3D View Sidebar (N key).

@Duarte Farrajota Ramos  Thanks for the correct answer. How could I have missed that tab? It was there all along staring at me, bigger than life.


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Imported PNG shows black instead of transparency in the background
Importing a 'smoke' image as a plane shows no transparency.
Still have black background.

What other settings should I tweak?

Did you try premultiplied alpha? Not sure if it would fix, just a thought. I can import images with alpha just fine in Blender Internal right out of the box, I think it works for Cycles for me too.

Make sure that your image is in png format and not in jpg because jpg does not support alpha channel.  Make sure that the graphic application you used to create the image can generate the alpha channel because many graphical apps cannot do it correctly like in windows 10 or others..

@VRM I will try it again with premulti alpha. Have no idea how to use it though.

@cegaton I read and experimented with the answer from /27633/. The image is in png. Problem is can't find where is the alpha channel.

@Yves Bodson  It's a youtube tutorial download pic that uses a jpg but using png instead. At least I know  that alpha channel not detected or  not there.


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Checkerboard Texture Object

After UV unwrapping and creating a UV Grid, I should be able to see the object  wrapped up in a checkerboard in texture view, as shown in the pic without nodes . However, I see no change. What am I missing here? According to this tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiQOHSzyooc) (12:08), I should be able to see it  after the steps aforementioned.

There is no magicaly appearing checker board ;)
The UV/Image Editor has the feature to load images from disk but also to create new ones. And one of the new image templates is a checkerboard, called UV Test-Grid. Your tutorial guy just had one already created.
Click on Image -> New Image and choose UV Test Grid and it should appear!
To also see it in the viewport choose texture as your view options and assign the newly created uv testgrid texture to your object (in the materials tab of your object)
Since thise is a UV Grid, you should have your object UV unwrapped in order to see it. So if the object stays gray you have to unwrap it first. If the texture then looks screwed up you have to properly uv unwrap your object ;) There are many tutorials out there that show you how this is done.
Create new image:

Choose Generated Type "UV Grid":

Assign the new image as texture of your object:

Make sure youe selected Texture in your 3D View:

@Gerald Degeneve Don't see the UV Test Grid option "Click on Image -> New Image and choose UV Test Grid " Not there. Using Blender 2.79.2

Of course it is there. I updated the answer ... but really ... not there ? Have you even looked ? ;)

I would very much apprechiate it if you could mark it as answer ;)

That was the correct answer! It worked. You absolutely nailed it 100%! Thank you so much!!!@Gerald Degeneve

Please mark it as answer then ;) There is a checkmark right beside the Up Vote Counter. Click on that. Thank you :)


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Extrude Region (Vertex Normals) Extruding faces individually
I have an issue with extruding along Vertex Normals. The faces extrude independently.
When I select the extrusion type with the proper faces selected:

The faces extrude individually and don't stay with each other:

I have my pivot center set on Median Point which has been mentioned in some of the other posts. I am following a tutorial and can see it work correctly in the video. I also saw in another post that it could be because one of the faces isn't linked correctly. All of these faces were created with other extrusions and as far as I can tell everything is linked correctly.
I am running Blender Version 2.79b. I also loaded my file in version 2.78c with the same results.
I don't see a way to upload the blender file here so I tossed it out on Dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xrt263hwd2n6ibj/SpaceShip.blend?dl=0
Any help would be very much appreciated.
J.R.

You have duplicate geometry everywhere

I have been working off of a video series that teaches various techniques. It is focused more on showing how things work than making it efficient.

He is referring to the "failed extrusions". DO NOT just right click and assume the extrude ended. It actually duplicated everything and "extruded", but didn't move anything, and kept it all where it was. So now there are two vertices where there was one. Instead press esc.

Sorry, I was wrong, it's not esc. That gives the same problem. I haven't used Blender much in so long. Just undo after you have one you don't like. That's easiest. And, yes, that is most likely what is causing your problem.

Most likely you have the pivot center set to "individual origins." This causes each face to extrude along its own normal axis.

However, this wouldn't normally cause the problem you are having. The only reason it is causing it in this case is because you have duplicate geometry. This is most likely because of failed attempts at extrusion. DO NOT just right click and assume the extrude ended. It actually duplicated everything and "extruded", but didn't move anything, and kept it all where it was. So now there are two vertices where there was one. Just undo after you have one you don't like. That's the easiest safe way to get rid of an extrude. You can see this in my example scene, extruding to identical meshes, except one I "canceled" one extrude between each face. This means there is duplicate geometry on the upper object.

By simply dragging the face out you can see what I mean by extra geometry. You could see by the little dot in the middle of the edge that there was another face taking up "zero space", right on top of itself. When I pull away the main face it stretches the extra face out so you can see it. This unselected extra face is what's causing your problem.

Thank you So Much. I am new to this and have been absolutely losing my mind. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. I will be more careful in the future with the extrude function.


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Blurry noisy render tiles, how to fix?
I have tried to search for some answers about this, but havent been lucky. It seems like, it is random when it happens, and sometimes it is only happening to some part of the 3D model aswell.. I have ajusted render settings a thousand times, but now I wanna know what settings may cause this to happen.
The background is, by the way, Emission shader on imported image plane. (If this could have something to do with the render.
As soon as I render without the background, the problem seems to be gone..

is your compositor empty?

does you camera have Depth of Field or do you have Motion Blur turned on?

is denoising turned on?

Share your blend file, otherwise we can only guess.

Thank you for the response! :) I have not turned Motion blur on.
How can I share the blender project? can't remember :)

The file is too big for blend exchange :/


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What is a good way to get rid of fireflies in renders? (cycles render)
I was rendering some scenes and the little white dots just don't go away. I find they are primarily there when i have some light shining on glass or even just a normal diffuse. Lots of people say different things. BlenderGuru says put the 'Indirect Clamp' up, but that doesn't seem to work.
Thanks!

This question is too broad, and fireflies can be caused by many things. Try sharing your blend file so that people can give answers that'll actually help you (rather than resorting to guessing).

Use the lastest version of Bleder 2.79.
You can find a denoising panel.
See the image:
See the link in Blender manual.


text:
In BGE, how to get mouse wheel delta?
I am making mouse wheel interaction in BGE.
I found some mouse wheel events are skipped when I scroll wheel very fast.
I think this is because Mouse Sensor Logic Brick is activated only once a frame.
I need a value how many times mouse wheel is scrolled in a frame, it is maybe called "mouse wheel delta" in some of other environments.
Is it possible to get "mouse wheel delta"?
If yes, how can I get it in python?

bge.logic.mouse     >   SCA_PythonMouse maybe.

Solution
Turn on [True Level Triggering] at the mouse wheel sensor.
How it works
The mouse wheel measures the "clicks" of the wheel (as estimation of the distance).
Frame f+0:
The sensor evaluates positive when the wheel clicked (at least once). The sensor will trigger the connected controllers, which activate the connected actuators. I guess your controller is counting. The property actuator will deactivate itself after adding +1
Frame f+1
Case: not clicked
When the wheel is not clicked within the next frame, the sensor will evaluate not positive, triggering the connected controller which deactivates the connected actuator. In case of a property actuator, it is deactivated already. So nothing happens (which is correct).
Case: clicked
When the wheel is clicked again, the sensor evaluates positive. As the sensor is already positive the sensor will not trigger the connected controllers which means the actuators remain as they are (deactivated). This is what happens right now.
When you enable [True Level Triggering] the sensor will trigger the connected controllers. Due to the positive evaluation result of the sensor the controller will activate the connected actuators. The property actuator will add +1 and deactivate itself. This is what you want.
Remarks:
I can't tell what happens if you are able to spin the mouse wheel that fast that you get two or more clicks with a frame. This should be a rare case.
I hope this helps

True Level Triggering worked fine.

Thank you. I am using these kind of mouse. M500 So I can spin very fast. And it works correctly even on 5fps. They must live in a different thread than the rendering thread.


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New blender update doesn't let me render in MP4
After Blender 2.79 dropped, I can't seem to render in MP4. I have attempted to use the FFmpeg video option they added, but no matter what I choose in the encoding tab, even presets, the render always ends with a useless unreadable file.
Does anyone know what I have to do to fix this?

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/82962/blender-2-79-i-only-get-four-video-output-options

The details tab is probably of more interest, as in what codecs are used.  Not an apple user, but  does an extension help, eg "apples.mp4".  It thinks the file is a generic "File".

Windows won't know what type of file it is unless it has a file extension, rename the file to apples.mp4 and try playing it.

@sambler lol, really gotta get my eyes checked, that window looked so old school mac to me.


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Bubble like fur with displacement modifer
What kind of texture would I need to use to get what you see on the left, with a displacement modifer?

The left hand side model is made with sculpt mode and dynotopo, but that of course ruins the topology.
I tried using black circle texture to no avail, and kind of stuck on what kind of texture I would need to create to achieve what I'm after.

Any help would be appreciated, blend attached!

you could blur this texture to use it in the Displace modifier, but the UV unwrap needs to be seamless which seems difficult, or use just use one of these blurred sphere as a pattern that you paint all over the surface and use the result as a Displace texture, but anyway Duarte's procedural solution seems much easier

Looks like the job for a Voronoi type of texture.
You may have to invert the Strength parameter of the modifier to a negative value get the displayed result.
Adjust the size value and play around with intensity and distance metrics to get the perfect feel.
Distance Squared gave me the closest feel to what you show. Make sure your mesh subdivided enough, high density is required for sharp corners.

Hmm. I don't get the same results as your gif on my actual model I want it to be applied too. it's becomes very sharp and like jagged.

I just did, so you are missing something. Make sure your mesh subdivided enough

Thanks again for this, I figured out the strength of the weights in the vertex group play a big part as well. getting some cool effects with other textures now!

It's not a tumor!


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UV Wrap seen through object [EEVEE]
Apologies, I'm not entierly sure how to the title this post without it being super long.
But to summerize, I use blender for my day job, doing artwork mockups on products, and eevee has sped up this process 10fold compare to waiting for cycles renders, but one crucial thing i'm missing at the moment is to see the back side of my UV Wrap on a transparent/glass object in eevee, I've searched high and low but can't seem to find any answers, is it currently possibly with how eevee is right now?
If so please help me correct my setup to show this.
Node setup is not mine, I found it elsewhere, but currently gives the most accurate real world result to what i'm mocking up.
Images below:

The problem is not in the shader nodes. EEVEE doesn't support hollow transparent objects because it's a game render engine. So this would be probably works with a flat window glass, but not with a cup. Every hollow glass object will appear like a solid object.

I think this answer may be relevant for you. The eevee sorting problem in the manual may also help explain a bit more. Basically you want backface turned off for transparencies but that hides what you expect to see. Maybe unwrap so that the back of the glass gets the mirror of the front image.

sambler's reponse spured me on the mess around with things something, and i've managed to 'fake' the transparency I guess.
Firstly I changed the blend mode to Multiply with Show Backface ticked.

With this though, the artwork shown on the backside of the cup was at max brightness (for lack of better words) which isn't what I want, nor realistic.

So I duplicated my material, and applied to the back half of the back, and shoved a colorramp node inbetween the image texture and diffuse node with a mid-ish grey which muted the colour to be how it would look on a final product.

Here is my complete node setup in the hopes it helps anyone, it's a bit fiddly but it's doing the job.