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How to create intermediate vertices of a humpy surface (interpolation)
I took a cube, stretched it, added a number of intermediate edges and adjusted their height to get a humpy top surface.
Now, I want to get a smooth top surface by adding interpolated vertices. The existing edges must not change their position. How do I do this?
FYI: The object will be 3D-printed.

pics or it didnt happen

I added an image.

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/16321/bevel-specific-edges

Is there any recommendation on how many intermediate steps to add? The object will be 3D-printed with a detail level of 0.1 mm.

more steps = smoother. depends on the look you are going for. here is the ruler tool https://www.blender.org/manual/interface/ruler_and_protractor.html and you can change the units http://eastmanreference.com/how-to-set-blender-to-metric-or-imperial-units/

I just tested it. Unfortunately, the existing edges don't stay where they were. They must not change their position!

If I could just get one interpolated edge between every pair of existing edges with respect to the overall hump, I could use the bevel tool thereafter on the added edges.

I think in this situation you may start by modeling with nurbs (for the top part only) then convert it into mesh and a redo the other part from it.

@eromod's hint was the solution.

I created a huge ovoid (an icosphere that I compressed on one axis for an additional hump on the other axis),
aligned it carefully manually,
extended the original top surface in top direction,
applied a boolean modifier with "Intersect" operation,
and did a bit afterwork on the mesh.

Please leave a comment if there's something I forgot to do proper preparation for rounded edges around the top surface.

Could you please clarify what is "huge ovoid" and "intersection modifier" ? Does the latter mean Ctrl+F > Intersection (Knife) ? Also please don't include new question in the answer; ask a new question instead.

To me, you may have problems with triangles on the lateral faces when printing

Hm, (1) I'm only seeing triangles at the top, (2) the object will be 3D-printed at 0.1 mm with the SLS method (powder + laser) in nylon, which is quite good. So, I can't unterstand what effect you're referring to.

I think the faces will be triangulated. This is not visible in your image here, but enter edit mode, select all the vertice then ctrl+T. I am not a specialist, but I am quite sure the 3D printer will translate it like that. To tell it in other way, lateral faces are big ngons. You may ask about that using another question.

I see what you mean. I hope it gets resolved when rounding the edges around the top surface.

hold  shift , select the opposing edges of a face, press  W  and choose  subdivide . This will split a face in two.
https://www.blender.org/manual/modeling/meshes/editing/subdividing/subdivide.html#two-opposite-quad-edges

I moved all the comments to this chat room, because it was getting quite long. Feel free to keep your discussion going in there.

authors: Андрей Голобоков


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I'm trying to export something as FBX, but the point instances from Geometry Nodes don't get imported
I recently made a model in Blender that I wish to export, but only the base shape without the Point Instances gets exported. I've tried to look for fixes but none of them have worked. I have tried obj, fbx, stl, glb, x3d and ply so far but none of them have the expected outcome with the Point Instances. I also can't apply the Geometry Nodes modifier as the Point Instances have a different colour than the parent object and when I tried applying it they inherited the parent colour.

Add a geometry nodes modifier at the end of the stack, and simply plug a "realize instances" node there. Then copy it to all the objects that use instanced geometry via geometry nodes

To get a more detail answer it might be helpful to attach your blend file or an example of it.  You can use https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/ to attach files.

I'll try the Realise Instances node and fix any part of the model that is from 2.93 which is the version I had made the model in and posted this question with, it took a while to respond as I was busy and I also had to download Blender 3.1.

After I used the Realise Instances, the colour of the instances weren't the same as the one in the Shading tab from when I made the texture for them, and the base instance is the only one with the proper colour.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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file insta crashes blender everytime I open it
My many hour project just started insta crashing blender, thought It might be because of the new version, but I went back and it's the same, I can open any other files. I think it got corrupted, is there any way to recover it?

Hi :). You can try File > Recover > AutoSave from a few hours ago ;). Or try to append the scenes/collections/objects into another file.

Try opening it from the console/terminal and see what (if any) error messages you get

It did make a crash txt altough I have no idea what it means but here it is  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GkeohjVbULv9w6C5ACHQ38dNGIVViFiBjgd6bgGUHcw/edit

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


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Shape key deforms face automatically
So I've made 2 shape keys so far, but when I tried to do my 3rd and set the value to 1 it automatically deformed for no reason, any suggestions?

Hello, do you mean that the deformation is not the one you've created in Edit mode for this shapekey?

No, right after i create the shapekey, and set it to 1, it deforms, I haven't done any changes to it yet

could you please share the part with the problem? (upload, it will generate a URL, copy it and paste it here) https://pasteall.org/blend/

the file is 31Mb even if I send only the face, it's to large :/

so use another platform   ;)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LrO5c5uwdTbWtiBXlTGrpjGeddt7yxVO/view?usp=sharing here

your link asks for an authorization   ;)

Sorry >< It's open now to public

it works as it is supposed to, if I switch to Edit mode and push the Value up to 1 it will also deform the mesh as I see it in Object mode. If you directly want to see the deformed version in Edit mode without having to push the Value, disable the Shape Key Edit Mode option (button above right of the Value bar)

While i have no idea why that happened, i think i've found a solution.

First, duplicate your mesh with the shape keys and leave it anywere. (this is to save your current shape keys which will stop working on the main mesh, but don't worry we'll bring them back).
Then, on your main mesh and with the basis shape key selected, go to edit mode with all shape keys values on zero.
Now select all vertices.
In the vertex tab, click on Propagate to Shapes.

Now exiting edit mode and trying to use your shape keys they should do nothing, but new shape keys will also have no deformation coming with them. Now lets bring old shape keys back:

First, still in your main mesh, delete every shape key, exept basis, from your main mesh.

Now for every shape key, except basis:

Select a shape key on the duplicated mesh (unaltered during the
procedures above).
Now select your main mesh while maintaining the duplicate selected.
On the menu at the side of the shape keys, click in Transfer Shape Key

Done, now new shape keys don't deform and you also have your old ones. You can delete the duplicate now. I would save this scene on a new file, just in case this brings new problems.
Remember to unlock the shape keys with the pin button if they are locked and you cant use them (I didn't remember when I was trying to solve this).
You also had a driver in a shape key, just put it again.


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apply scale while keeping the height
I'm trying to parent the bones to my mesh, but it gives me the Bone heat weighting error, I figured it out that I need to make my character's scale 10 for some reason to fix that, but I want it to keep my model the same size.
So far I've tried putting the scale to 0.1, apply the scale, then putting it to 10, thus having the same size as originally, but that didn't work (I've tried with this method having only the model's scale at 10, then only the armatures's, then both)
Got any ideas? Thanks in advance!

what about scale x10, parent, then scale back 0.1?

Can you share your .blend file and put it into the question body?

Thanks Moonboots, it worked.


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Retopology rough edges with subdivision
I'm trying to make the retopology for my character but some faces' edges don't want to curve in when i subdivide the surface, any tips?

try to recalculate the normals (Shift N), or merge by distance (M), or check for inner faces

As Moonboots says it looks like a normal direction problem. If you enable backface culling, you will instantly see these kind of problems. https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/4/4/6/4469ea6fb5678587762b6f12ec69ab7036e43d4d.png

thanks for the help <3


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Why is driven attribute not updating?
Trying to animate an object's material, by simply changing its opacity.
As there is no way to directly change the material properties in the AN node tree, I created a driver to change the value of Transparency's "Alpha".
So, the execution flow goes like:

"Object Attribute Output" creates/change a property named "alpha" within the object;
this property is used by the driver to...
set that object's material transparency.

In theory this should work, but:

it works with text objects;
it does not work with any other type of object.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is this supposed to be that way?

No sure why the driver does not update in the cube but does on the text object. This does not seem to be an Animation Nodes bug. It's more likely a dependency graph problem of Blender.
What you can do is to control the transparency of the material directly by using active_material.alpha as path in the Object Attribute Output node.

Maybe you should activate the new desgraph in order to see if this behaviour persists

Nice! active_material.alpha does the trick - and without a driver! Thanks!
But I think I'll leave the question open till solved the mystery of the driver?

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


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How to use Separate Text Object inside a "Subprogram"?
I'm trying to create a "for each character of a text" loop.
I have a list of text objects as input and need to pass each object as parameter to the "Separate Text Object" node.
Is that possible? If not, is there a workaround?
P.S.: The screenshot is not accurate. I know I would have to call a subprogram after the "Separate Text Object" node. And that would result in a subprogram calling another subprogram (nested or recursively).

The Separate Text Object node actually outputs a list of each individual letter of the input text object. If you want to loop into each letter you have to use the output of the separate node as input in you loop node.
From there you can do any modifs to the letter you want. What you where trying to do could be implemented like this, and there is no need to nest loops.

If you get confused by the Object Id Key node: Object Initial Transforms, try to think about what would happen if was a single vector. All the letters would animate to the same position (as long as they have an individual origin).
The Object Initial Transforms takes the inital position of each letter and outputs the vector, so you can properly animate the text.
If you want to animate individual letters of mutliple text objects, there is no solution yet apart from making two different loops of the separate node. You can implement the group functionnality which is very useful when you have to repeat a process like there.

Maybe an input for the seperate individual letters will be implemented in future realeses.
Note that Jacques Luke now include a very nice Animate individual Letter template, which is basically the same node setup than the first image, but animating matrices.

authors: Анель Аблаева

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


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Messed up Armature Deformation
I made an armature for my character and it moves well until it is applied. I have, again and again, applied all my mirror modifiers so the solutions in "Weird Armature Deformation" have not worked for me. The armature was applied with automatic weights but none of my other models have had this issue before. I have unparented the model and reparented it time and time again but nothing seems to work. Here's the model before:

and here is the model after:

(Note the arm's weird bend and the legs moving together) Remember, I have tried to use all the solutions given in "Weird Armature Deformation" but nothing has worked yet. Suggestions? Tell me if you need me to upload my model, I would be happy to so that I can fix this issue.

Yes, it would be better to upload your file. If this truly isn't something from your linked answer, then I'd like to know what it is. There are so many possibilities that it's hard to pinpoint the cause from a couple screenshots.

The model can be found here: (click here to instantly download the file)

Can't really help you out because there's no rig in this file. Post the file that gave you the problem. I add a rig to that model and I get deformations without any problems.

Whoops, I put up the wrong file. Here's the new file (I took down the old one)

I've added an answer based on this new file.

There are two problems with your mesh. First, your normals are inside out, which will give you some problems if you try to skin (or anything else, really). Go into edit mode, select all of your mesh, press ctrl-n. A good way to visualize the normals of a mesh is to turn off double-sided lighting. You can do this in the mesh data tab, where you find your vertex groups. Disable the option; if the mesh looks really light, the normals are facing the right way. If it looks dark, the normals are facing inward and need to be reversed. Your screenshots show inverted normals.
Now you can rig the mesh. You already have certain bones set up to deform and not deform, which is good.
First you need to delete your vertex groups on the mesh. This will remove any old weight data on the mesh so you can start clean and fresh. From here, just use automatic weighting. You will certainly need to fine-tune your weights after.
The reason your mesh was deforming so terribly was because your weights were spread out over the whole mesh, not localized to the area with the respective bone. Leg bones were affecting mesh on the opposite side, torso bones had weight up in your arms, etc.
This is a good overview of what weight painting is and how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0VS0IVylzg
For documentation on weight painting, see the manual here: https://www.blender.org/manual/rigging/skinning/obdata.html


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How to make translucent glossy soap-like material?
Hi thanks for your help!!
I spent 4 days trying to make this soap but I don't feel satisfied with the result. What can I do?
I tried to add volumetric absortion but it didn't provide good enough result either.
Reference photos:

Rendered result:

Welcome to the site. One of your images seems to be missing, so I edited your question. Also provide some info about your rendering engine and material settings you use (you can comment to your post instead of editing it with links). Thanks.

translucent is mostly definitely something you'll need, and I would use Fresnel to adjust reflective level from different angle. SSS node is something worthy of trying if translucent doesn't give you what you want. Try not to use volumic absortion, I hated it, personal opinion. Your first render looks pretty close actually. Most importantly, do not drop it.

Thanks a lot! Mr Zak and SVAFnemesis, taketh on its recommendations, and i'll post a new render with my final result. Thanks!!!

This is closest I can get. It is kind a partial answer but it could be starting point for you.
I've used fot this Subsurf Scattering shader added to Translucent shader and then mixed with Glossy shader by Fresnel to give it fake PBR look.
Here is a node setup:

And .blend file:

Wow, thank's all of you for your quickly help! and thanks LukeD to take your time and give me the blend file, I am indebted to all of you!!!

@FaustoServellon If my answer was good enough, consider accepting it or/and upvoting ;)


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How to get the menu with Add Gear options back?
I'm new to Blender and I've figured out how to make a gear but I have a question!
Shift+A > Mesh > Gears > Gear will add a new default gear to the build area and will bring up an Add Gear menu in the Toolshelf on the left where you can change all aspects of the gear.
But once the gear's object was moved / the interaction mode was changed / any other action was done, the Add Gear menu on the left disappears.
How do I get this menu back?

I can´t add an answer so I´m doing caps to bring attention: YOU CAN BRING IT BACK, at least in Blender  2.8, TRY HITTING F9 KEY.

This menu is called the operator panel and it only pops up when you first create the object. If you make any changes to the object it will disappear forever.
If you didn't perform any action, hit F9 to bring back the panel.

Thanks for your reply HowToBlend
So how do you edit he gear once you've got it in place is there a properties sheet somewhere?
Thanks

@3DMan You have to edit make your changes first then move it - I know, an awkward mechanic but you do get used to it.


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How to scale the texture used by Displace modifier
I'm trying to create a displacement texture. However the texture is appearing too small on object.
How do I fix this? I began by subdividing the plane multiple times and then added displacement texture.

You are using "repeat" mapping, with crop maximum x/y values of 10. Is it better if you set both to 1?

You'll make it easier for those who might wish to help you if you post a copy of your ~.blend file to Blend-Echange, and edit a link to the file into your question.

Displacement map made with procedural textures
Switch to Textures panel in order to open texture used by Displace modifier. You will find different options which vary depending on texture type. The Size option is accessible for many of them which is one you need if you work with procedural textures.

Image textures
If you have image texture, I'd suggest changing texture coordinates which use Displace modifier.

In modifier's panel, Texture Coordinates option, change it to Object.
Add a simple plane somewhere nearby, choose it as object in mentioned option.
Now to scale image which is used as displacement map scale that added mesh. Displacement map will be resized according to that:

Instead of a Plane, you can also use an "Empty"

Under the 'Image Mapping' tab, change the crop maximum to:
X: 1.00
Y: 1.00

I have just tied that it didnt make it bigger


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Offset in selecting frames on the timeline
My Dopesheet shows different frame to the one in timeline making such the whole project unsynced.
I noticed that when passing the frames in Dopesheet when I select frame 24 it jumps to frame 26, while timeline shows frame 25. At frame 50 it does the same thing.
It goes accumulating, so when I get to frame 500, the difference is like 12 frames. Anyone experienced the same thing? I don't know how to get back to sync it again.

WOW,Solved,thanks a lot Mr Zak,i had no idea about this option in render tab.Yes,i had the new one set to 98,had to change it by accident...that's 2 days of headache solved in 2 minutes :-) thanks again for quick reply

When number of frame which is selected in the Timeline / any of animation editors isn't the same as in the Current Frame value this means they are remapped to other values of Frames Per Second.
The unusual behaviour can be noticed even when clicking on frames in animation editors.

If this is not desired then change it back to default values for both Old mapping value and New mapping value (see manual about these options):

These values are 100 by default, but you can change it to any ones if they are the same.

Can I increase the frame rate of an animation while keeping it the same length?.
How can I modify the frame rate without changing overall animation speed?.

authors: Серик Масимов


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Copying UVs from a high to low poly model?
I am working on several projects where each mesh has 3 LOD levels.
Originally I completed the Highest poly model, applied materials, uv mapped each mesh, duplicated the object and then optimized the duplicate. This worked fine and the material and UVs were set the same on all LODs.
Now I have been told that each object should only have one material and UV map. If I was simply to remove the materials the end result would be overlapping UVs, which is not acceptable obviously.
So I now face trying to match up the UVs from all the object LODs.Is there a way to copy the UVs from one object to another that has a different number of poly?

I don't think you are understanding. I applied materials the the original object, and unwrapped the the uvs for each material effectively creating multiple uv maps per object. The object was then duplicated and edge lops were removed lowering the detail and poly. this will not damage your uv mapping so long as you do not move or add verts, you can however remove edge loops so long as they are not the seam edges.

Now the issue is that I must remove all but one material, thus causing the uvs to over lap, as each material was mapped individually and took up the full 1024 space.  this would be simple if I only had one object to consolidate the maps for. How ever now I have 3 objects, essentially the same but with each having fewer total poly. Each objects UV Islands must share the same space on the map, allowing the textures made for the high poly model to also work for the lower poly ones with out the use of additional textures. Such as would be created when baking from a high poly model to a lower one.

It's absolutely not clear then what's the problem. If you only deleted edge loops from the unwrapped duplicated mesh, the UV mapping indeed won't be changed much; only that loop will dissappear, hence no changes can occur to texture mapping. UV mapping does not depend on materials, probably you're talking about textures.

This I think would be easier to explain If I could show you. unfortunately I have know way of doing so. But I thank you for attempting to understand my dilemma.

Maybe you want to work on your object until it satisfies the lowpoly lod level, then unwrap and duplicate, and add a subdivide modifier with the option 'subdivide uv' off. This way all you object will have the same uv layer

For Architectural work subdivide dose not add detail. Having more poly over all is not the goal, rather it's specific details in the LOD0 are reduced in the LOD1 and not even present in LOD2. Take a model of a home, at LOD0 the Doors may be full detail having all the decorative work, locks, and door knob, at LOD1 about half of this detail is removed and at LOD2 it is nothing more then a rectangle. So if I started at the Low poly and subdivided I would not get any more detail just more poly. Thus we work from High to low with poly being placed vary specifically to the the need of the model.

You can try the "transfer data" tool (the modifier also works, sometimes...).
Here is a "HD" mesh with UV and texture

And here is a LD mesh without UV

Select your LD mesh first and then add your HD mesh to the selection with Shift+Right click. The last selected object is considered as active.
Open the tools bar with T. In the Tool tab, scroll to Edit and click on "Data Transfer: DATA" button

Select "UV" in the menu.

Choose the options that looks the best.

The UV has been transferred from the HD mesh to LD mesh.

Now you can create the seams from UV islands from the UV menu in image editor.

The LD mesh has Seams, UV and the texture is OK

Selections are made with shift + left click, right click as indicated in this description.

Maybe you want to work on your object until it satisfies the lowpoly lod level, then unwrap and duplicate, This way all the objects copied from this one will have the same uv layer. After you can add a subdivide modifier with the option 'subdivide uv' off or cut loops yourself.
btw about: "each object should only have one material and UV map. If I was simply to remove the materials the end result would be overlapping UVs".
You may have to use a same texture in multiple fashion on your mesh so having multiple uv layers can be necessary, in any case if you remove the material from the mesh you will have a default grey solid color but it has no influence whatsoever on your uvs. cheers

the texture department are using PBR texturing the uvs can not over lap in any way. As for my issue I'm having a great deal of difficulty explaining this. The best way I can think of is this. Consider each material a separate mesh, making up a full building. Originally the building was split into parts to aloe for better resolution when the textures were made. This how ever this is proves to use to much resources for real time rendering.So I mush join all the parts and consolidate to one UV map.

This would be simple if I only had to do this for one LOD (Level Of Detail) Model but each model had a min of 3 LODs. the same texture must be able to be applied to all 3 LODs. If this was done with cycles rendering for film, or a 2d print this would not be an issue, but this is for a multi player video game.

So you want to bake a texture that contains the info for all your objects's materials ? if you add an uv layer for each object and make it small (comparing to the size of the image you will need) and bake while having set the new uv layer to active for rendering, the texture will create according to it so each of your meshes should be unwrapped and placed at its proper place (which means it wont overlap with another object) on the uv layout. You will have to do a lot of baking to one single image

Of course you must unwrap the new uv layer, once for each object and no you can't copy uv layers.

No you miss understand, I'm sorry I can't find a way to explain with out showing you I guess. I can't seem to find a way to explain it properly. I'm not baking anything I don't do any of the texture work.   Thank you every one for your time in trying to help me it is greatly appreciated.


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Ray shadows are not correct
I created a simple scene with a plane, a mountain and some trees. I added a sun and selected "Ray shadows", but the shadows are created like if the sun is right above the scene. It's not where I positioned the sun and I even tried different positions, but the shadows never change.
What do I need to do to have working shadows?
Blender v2.79
Blender Render

What version of Blender are you using? What render engine? Could you post some screenshots?

Didn't know I could upload pictures. I'm sorry, edited the post with more infos!

Have you rotated you sun lamp? Sun lamps are always calculated as if at an infinite distance, unless you give it some rotation their poisition in the scene is irrelevant.

Thanks! That was the problem. Didn't know I had to give it a direction. So basically if I don't give it a direction it's like if it's always above everything?

Note also that no lamp in Blender Internal will give shadows except Spot unless enabling Ray tracing in Render tab > Shading rollout

@MrZak It was checked by default

In default Blender Internal Ray Tracing isn't checked.

(Others have mentioned this in comments, but the question still has no answer. I am writing this for other people that might run into the problem in the future.)
The position of the sun has no effect on the direction the light is coming from. This is because the sun light is meant to simulate a light source that is infinitely far away. This gives an effect very close to that given by our actual sun, since the real sun is very far away.
Instead, to control the direction the light is falling from, rotate your sun object. Example:
Straight down

Rotated

Note that it doesn't matter where you put the sun. It could even be positioned behind the object. It is always going to give light that appears to be coming from far away, opposite the direction you have pointed it in.


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How do you copy and paste keyframes from one Rig to another?
How do you copy and paste keyframes from one Rig to another?
I opened a walk cycle on a loop that I made.  I tried to copy and paste the walk cycle to sevral characters that I have, but I'm stuck at how to do it.  Any advise or suggestions?  Thanks in advance!
Rick

Open up the dope sheet from your armature, copy the keyframes, select your other rig and paste it in the dope sheet.

This method is good for transferring keyframes of one specific parameter to another, such as two different animated nodes inside a material. It's worth mentioning that the new parameter must be given at least one keyframe first for it to appear in the Dope Sheet and become available to paste into.

Link the Animation Data.

Select object without the keyframes first.
Select the object with the keyframes to be copied second by holding shift and left clicking.
Press ctrl+L
Select "Animation Data"

This has in effect, copied the animation data from the second object to the first. Note that you must change the current frame of the animation for the cache to update, change to take effect!
This method works for rigs as long as the names of the bones are the same! Please note that the same animation data may not affect two different rigs the same way, if they are not identical in bone rotation, location, and scaling.
(Also, please note that this may not work for complex objects or movements, like armatures or movement that effects individual vertices, unless they are identical. Blender will do it's best, but on objects or armatures with different geometries, it does not know which vertices to effect unless the movement is simple directional and rotational movement applied to the object as a whole. Your best method would be to map the data with a modifier.)

Thanks but I was really saying rigs not objects sorry

This method will work for armatures, as long as they are virtually identical. Meaning, if the armatures have the same number of bones, with the same names, it will work. I just tested this, creating two armatures by hand, and copying the data. It worked just fine even though the armatures were not the same shape. It worked as expected.

I then tested with two totally different armatures, with different bone counts, sizes, and shapes. I then named some of the bones in the second armature after bones in the first armature, and copied the data. Indeed, it seems as though the data from the first armature's bones of the same name were applied to the second armature. The result was not exactly as I expected, and the movement seemed to be mirrored along the y axis. However, this is to be expected as the armatures are totally different, and the same rotational and directional data affects bones of different scale differently.

In essence, this method seems to work for anything, as well as can be expected, as long as the names are correct and there is a reasonable way for Blender to map the data.


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How to 'batch copy and paste' VSE strips in Blender?
I am using Blender as a video editor. I have a video I am working on, an interview that fades in and out from footage to title card, in and out. I am adding the effects: color, gamma cross, etc. There are a lot of title cards. I was hoping that fade process could be automated or at the very least, group select the effects I made, and then copy and paste. I know there is duplicate, but I want to do several at a time, not just one strip. Ideally, I can copy and paste the fade in out sequence where only the title card is different. Therefore, I do not have to go through the color/gamma cross in and out many times. Is there no way to speed up my work flow? Keep in mind, this is being on done on computer, so repetitive tasks are what machines do best. Surely I do not have to keep doing repetitive tasks when I ought to be able to drag and drop an effect?


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Nodes become opaque when selected in compositor

How can I make the selected node stay transparent? (Viewer Node selected)
Sorry for the dumb question xd

Hi :). It's one of the fields in Preferences > Themes > Node Editor ;).

I don't think there is an option for that there?
Because I had to change an option in Themes to begin with to get the nodes to be transparent but I haven't seen an option for opacity when node is selected


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Shrink wrap collection of curves to selected mesh
I have tried the shrink wrap modifier successfully to shrink wrap a curve to the selected mesh. Is it possible to shrink wrap a collection of curves? It does not look like its possible using the modifier.
Can this be done with Geometrynodes, currently i have it sort of working but i guess i need it to project rather than snap to the nearest face? In the bottom image you can see the snapped splines do not follow the original shape.

You can create a separate object, use the collection info node to pull in your curves, and project them onto another mesh using the raycast node.

Ah i see what you did. That works perfectly. Thank you :)

Thanks for this answer. This help so much for me


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Where are the extrude and scale values?
To be specific, if I extrude by pressing E and I type 40 (for 40mm), where do I look up this value on Blender?
Same for when I scale; I'd press S and type 0.2 (for 20%).
In a situation where I would go back to see the size of a face, how do I know if it was scaled 25% or 20%, or how would I know if a face was extruded to 40(mm) and not 55(mm)?
I need to know because I want precision or accuracy for 3d Printing.

Related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/q/19772/2843, http://blender.stackexchange.com/a/41648/2843

You don't compare length of extruded part with base of extrusion; you should measure all the parts and calculate what's the difference is between them. To learn whether the face was extruded by 40 mm or 55 measure the edge between extrusion and its base. Related - http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/274/how-to-model-effectively-using-exact-measurements

There isn't explicit construction history in Blender per se.  If you ever want to know the dimensions of your object for 3d printing, you can always go to the display properties in the viewport, and scroll down until you see the Edge Info buttons under Mesh Display.  Note that you must have fully applied the extrusion operator to see these dimensions.

Move your cursor into the 3d viewport
Press "N" to bring up the Display Properties.
Scroll down the Display Properties until you see Mesh Display
Check off whichever buttons (Edge length, angle, or Face area) applies to what you're interested in.
Select the face/edges that you want to know the dimensions of.

Good point, the operators do need to be applied to get precise dimensions.  Edited for this. But I wouldn't call Blender's history of operations construction history, simply because it doesn't get saved in the .blend.  If someone is looking at measuring something after they've reloaded the file, the history of transforms (and all operations, really) are gone.


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How to select edge rings between two edges?
Holding Ctrl you can select the Shortest Path between two selected egdes.
This essentially allows you to select a range edgeloop.
Like so:

Ctrl+Alt+LMB will allow you to select and edge ring like so:

But how do I select the shortest path edge ring? Or rather, a range of edge rings between two selected edges.

It may be easier to use another selection tool instead of Edge Ring selection, because it won't take into account specified end of selection.
You can workaround that by selecting faces:

Select the shortest path with Path Selection in Face Select mode.
Switch to Edge Select mode, and deselect top and bottom edge loops by holding Alt+Shift and clicking with LMB on them. "Shortened" edge ring will be the only left selected.

Yes that definitely helps! I wonder if there's any add-on that allows for this.

that is already in blender but kinda a hidden option here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fd0APrTJw1lcY_9TPPozra-RLFsyghHm/view?usp=sharing
PD:i couldnt upload as gif lol...

for the one who can't see the gif, works in blender 2.9x :
in edge mode select first edge than last edge then in the options of "Pick shortest path" select "Face stepping"

Ctrl + Alt + Left Mouse Button for a Ring Selection.
Alt + Left Mouse Button for a Loop Selection.


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Crashes after rendering with Compositor Node connected

When I composite an image in blender and am planing out how I want it to look I look at it with the Viewer node and Blender kind of runs fine (lags a bit) but it works. When I connect all those nodes to the composite node and hit Render, Blender crashes.
Is there any tips to prevent this?

It shouldn't crash of course, but it may help to see the result if pressing Use Nodes button in the bottom of the Node Editor (and optionally Backdrop).

If blender is crashing, then that sounds like a bug which should be reported to the tracker. See this guide on how to write a useful bug report.

ya that was checked when i hit render. just not when i took the screenshot. i think the resolution of the video was just too much for blender to render with on my computer. i turned down the resolution percentage and it rendered. thanks for answering though.


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How to save Animation Nodes cache without baking to mesh?
It seems like all caching data from Subprogramm is purged after closing a file, but can we re-use this internal cache?
I was thinking about running few instances of Blender to write Subprogramm Loop cache on different frames simultaneously and then save it for further use. Mainly to speed up the process, as AN doesn't use all CPU power.
P.S. Right now I am saving OBJ sequences splitted between two instances of Blender and converting it to Alembic, which is quite annoying.
EDIT: Trying to implement Omar's solution...
Cube is simply rotating at (0,0,0). I am caching vertices and writing them to dynamic keys. After disconnecting Subprogram from upper Expression I can keep data for 1 full animation timeline. When I want to repeat animation - all data is lost.

There is currently no built-in way to save cache persistently. However, for simple data types, you can store your cache in ID properties in objects. For instance, if you have a vector list vecs that you wish to save, you can save it in an object obj using the expression:
obj["frame_1"] = vecs

And retrieve the data using the expression obj["frame_1"]. You can change the key frame_1 to anything to cache multiple data, per frame maybe. For example, if you wish to save the locations of vertices along frames, you could use the following node tree:

If you now reopen your blend file and use the following node tree, you will get the data you saved:

Could you please tell where should I place this part with expressions in the nodetree. I feel, like I'm doing it completely wrong.

@SergeL Added an example.

Thank you, but there is still a problem. As I said in edited question, data is stored only for one round of animation (from 1 to 250 it is OK, when it is time to repeat timeline - data is lost). And lost when you scrub timeline backwards.

@SergeL hmmm, I don't see why this would be the case. Does the data depend on anything other than the time?

Cube has driver (frame/16) on Z rotation. Nothing more and there is no other animation in the scene. Interesting thing, that if I reopen this .blend I can see data again but still only for one round.

@SergeL After you save the cache, you should remove the node tree that does the saving, this way your data don't get overwritten. Maybe used a script node with an if statement to see if data is already stored in that key and in that case, do nothing.

Yeah, that works! I thought unplugging Vector list would be enough, but I should unplug everything (instead of complete removing)


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Exclude certain hair particles from face instancing
I want to relocate faces of a mesh to the spline's points, which are extracted from hair particles. Face should be placed only at the end of spline, except some strands, where I want to have another face in the middle.
For this I made a loop to apply mask to extracted points:

Red outline - specific strands with 2 faces (defined by index)
Green outline - compare logic

Problem is that I need to specify more strands (from bigger project), and don't want to replicate outlined parts of nodetree for each strand. Like excluding of 300 strands means 300 inputs. There should be more optimized way to do it

Using "Expression node" in Omar's answer helped me a lot (haven't used it before). But ended up with this tree:

Expression node in Left-bottom corner is a list of specific particles (just a line without many inputs). Next Expression nodes compare Initial ID list with Specific and turns every ID to 0 of those particles, which are not present in Specific list.

Please accept the answer if it answers your question.

You can use a boolean list as an iterator to switch between a list with only the end point and a list with a center point appended:

Of course you can also define the condition by the index of the spline. To do so, you can generate the boolean list as follows:

You start with a boolean list of Trues and turn the elements at the input indices to Falses. The parameter boolean list should be reassigned and used as an output.


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How to turn off textures in Blender Internal render?
Actually I know that there is an appropriate option in render tab in Shading rollout. But it seems to work only with usual materials, not node-based.
I want to make fast render without shading and textures just for the preview and can't figure how to disable textures in node-based materials.
Some sort of python script which mute all textures would be usefull.
EDIT: Added screenshot of set-up I have

As in doing a clay render?

So, I found decent python script for this job.
Source: https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/13611/29200
First, run this script in Text editor:
import bpy

for mat in bpy.data.materials:
    mat.use_nodes = False

Now all materials become simple and ready to be affected by Texture option in Render settings
To turn things back you need to change False to True in the last line and run script another time.

Go to the Texture header and uncheck the desired texture slot checkboxes in material textures tab. Then render.

In the screenshot I added recently you can see that I don't have such options when nodes are in use. All I can do is mute textures, but it is way too much work for many materials

@SergeL You will see those options if you select Material node in the Node Editor. This won't make muting textures easier though. You can select all the nodes which are connected to the material node of Texture type and mute them. Unchecking Textures in Shading rollout will make all the textures become invisible.


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How to remove modifier contribution from Stress map?
I have a Displace modifier on my mesh which is placed after an Armature in the stack. Is there a way for Stress map to be affected only by second modifier?
Edit: Thinking there is no such way, if only I could automatically re-load my scene and apply Armature modifier for every frame, so Blender will treat mesh as original undeformed.

Some tests show, that exporting mesh animation (Armature only) as Alembic .abc can be a workaround. Because when it is imported via Mesh Sequence Cache modifier, Blender starts thinking that my mesh is always represents its basic form, even though it is visually transforming as by usual Armature.

Disable rendering of modifiers (camera and eye pictograms), that you do not want to contribute deformation to the exported object. Basically, .abc cache will replace your existing deformation by Armature
File->Export->Alembic (.abc) and then choose necessary options on the left
Add Mesh Sequence Cache modifier and load exported cache, then choose object path at the bottom of modifier menu
Put up Mesh Sequence Cache modifier in the stack, so it would take place right after all unwanted deformation. Disable all modifiers before Mesh Sequence Cache and enable those, which are after (see pic)

Work is done, now Blender define deformation only made by Displace.
If you want to edit your basic animation, you can enable Armature, disable Mesh Sequence Cache and simply re-export new cache. That is why I don't recommend to delete modifiers before Mesh Sequence Cache


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Smooth transition between distorted and undistorted result of Movie Distortion node
I want my render to morph between two tracking scenes. One is distorted, another not.
Distortion is quite obvious, so animating mix factor between original image and distorted doesn't make it look good. K1 and K2 parameters in tracking settings are not keyframeable.
Right now, I'm animating mix factor with lots of blur to mask transition, but is there any "tidy" option?

Could you add further detail why you want to do this? What effect are you looking for? Can you give us an example?`There may be a different/easier way than the distorsion node.

I want my render to morph between two tracking scenes.


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Boolean doesn't work?
I am trying to use the difference mode to make a hole.

But when I select Difference and the object it does this?

I removed all the doubles and recalculated normals on both objects but it still does this?
Blend file

It is hard to see what are your objects before the boolean operation. Could you share the initial file here (before the boolean applied) ? http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/

Sorry, heres the file:

It was a scale / normals problem : your objects scales were negative.
I applied rotations and scales ctrlA, then adjusted the normals (in edit mode ctrlN for both objects).
Then your model is ready for the boolean (difference) :

There is also a couple add-ons to fall back on if regular Boolean does not work. These are 'Booltool' and 'Booltron'

Please add some steps as to how these add-ons help vs a normal boolean and what features of these add-ons need to be operated.


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how to resize an image so it shows in its entirety within an object?
lets take a 3d rectangle add a image to only one side of it, after unwrapping it. Using nodes, adding an image that will show bigger then that objects face. the image appears on the selected face of the object, but it is way too big to show the entire image on the selected face. How do I go about resizing the image so it shows one image within the selected face of the object?

updated file

UV Unwrapping
The best thing to do would be to start with a blank cube, then select only the face that you want to have the car. Key Numpad 5 to enter Orthographic View, and then key either Numpad 1, Numpad 3, Numpad 7, Ctrl + Numpad 1, Ctrl + Numpad 3, or Ctrl + Numpad 7 (whichever makes you face the selected face). Key U and select Project from View (Bounds).

Node-based Mapping

The .blend file for the second result:

Like I STATED before this is an 3D object not a single plane ja. your solution does not work. check your moded file I added to my question.

@uxserx-bw sorry. 3-D rectangle instead of cube confused me. i'll fix my answer.

Just ike I wrote it, you changed it to single plane, I changed it back becuase I wrote it to state what I was talking about. 3D not 2D.

OK I figured out one way of doing it using a cube. now back to my project to try it out on that. I unwrapped it, then selected just one "face" using edge select then unwrapped it from the cube, created a new materal then added a inage texture then added the image to that, it now shows only on one face of the cube.
one can also just take the "cube" and edge only one face of it, mark edges, then U -> unwrap then in nodes add a materal then add the image texture, then add your image you want to only show on that one face of the "cube". 3D rectangle etc...
here is the solution

In the UV editor, you can adjust the UV map coordinates by size, scale, rotation, etc, just like you can with meshes in the 3D viewer. The hotkeys are the same.
The UV editor shows your whole image, and by default will allow you to position your UV map coordinates outside of the image bounds so that you can have repeating patterns. You can constrain the UV mapping coordinates to just the image bounds by going into the UV menu and selecting Constrain to Image Bounds.
Once you've done that, you can click on each corner of the UV map coordinates and pull them to their respective corners of the image. Now your whole image will cover the face(s) you mapped.

maybe it is the way I am unwrapping it. (nubie here) select cube, edit mode, U - then select the first one "Unwrap" it gives me the one side each within the UV editor, I add Image, I have all sides witht the complete image showing on all sides. I do not know how to get to constraints other then what I seen in the dropdown menu. Adding what I've done to my orginal post blend file. I've tried smart unwrap too

time to go watch some more youtube video on UV mapping I suppose. :D

OK I figured out one way of doing it using a cube. now back to my project to try it out on that. I unwrapped it, then selected just one "face" using edge select then unwrapped it from the cube, created a new materal then added a inage texture then added the image to that, it now shows only on one face of the cube.


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object is no longer moving smoothly
I do not know what I did to make it do this, if anything. After creating an eye. I went back to my other object to palce it inside of it. Resized eye. But now when I try to move it into place it moves in chuncks. Like it can only move by one of them "block sizes" in the graph that shows in the vewier. No longer able to move in minutiae movements.

Is that little magnet icon on your tool bar near the bottom (default area) selected? If yes then make sure it is not selected. It's that simple.

Glad you found your own answer. For future reference, you can override snapping if it is active by holding the Ctrl key.

someone gave me a minus 2 for figuring it out myself wow... that is at least 3 hours in therapy.. :( hehe

@uxserx-bw  Answering your own question is by no means discouraged on StackExchange, in fact it is encouraged.  But self-answers are still held to the quality standard any other answer is.  Please improve this answer explaining it in a little more detail, a screenshot would help too.


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how do I modify my topology to follow the path I want instead of what it already is?
When pressing Ctrl + Alt + RtMouseButton to see what the topology is then seeing it is not travling in the direction one wants. How to I figure out what to do to redirect it to the path I want it to take?
take this image for example. Say I want it to have topology so that it follows under the breast then upwords so it has a bra strap effect.
what are the rules of thumb to know where to cut it and re-attach the squares to get the desired effect?

I have it torn down a bit now, trying to figure this out.
I'm not totally sure how important how the topology is set up on a modle, because I have seen more then one pattern for the same area. This leads to confustion. I have not gotten past this phase yet into the adding color, texture, then boning of a modle to know how the boning effects whatever way it was topolog-ized prior to adding a bone structor to the modle.
I just do not want to run into a problem when adding bones then finding the movment is not life like. Having the modle bend in odd ways.

If you could upload your file and add a drawing of the wanted topology on the picture, that can help to answer. You can upload your file here http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/

@lemon added information requested to main post.

Normally, a retopo can rely on the original model. If you have kept the one without the holes (like in your last picture) I could rely on it, so that I don't modify its shape... here, as there is holes... I cannot guaranty it will have the exact same shape. Please tell me if you can do that or not before I do it

By the way... why do you want to change it like that ? In order to have clothes at this exact same place ?

@lemon I have no idea what I am doing. this is my first attempt at this.

if this is your very first attempt, let me say this is great ! I don't know how to write an answer about that, except to say "the job is done"... so I will give your file back here. I cannot say this is the best possible, but I have followed your instructions, I think... After that, you may google image about topology and follow the links to learn (particularly for the ears : )) ! .

Placing vertices for clothes is not generally recommended. If you want simple cartoon clothes this might barely suffice with undesirable edges.  Consider painting simple clothes, face and body textures as a next step.  Consider separate clothes meshes in the stressful future.

@lemon the body part is like the second time I created it. I'm using Manuel Bastioni Laboratory Modle for a how to guild on topology. that head I've mangled too many times to count. Noticed them ears I C .. lol .. results of frustration kicking in. that sheer mesh look in wireFrame mode makes it hard to see  though ...

You seem to be requesting tutorial information on topology.  I suggest searching here at BSE.  See the BSE resource page.  On the site with name that rhymes with NooNoob, consider searching .... Blender Topology.  A tutorial here would be lengthy and your question will be served better by long video supplements.

@ atomicbezierslinger yes I have watched a hand full of youtube blender how tos on  topology that is why I asked this question, I think I even mentioned the fact I've seen it done different ways so I was looking for a human responce from someone that has first hand experience in this. How much will it effect the movment of the model when animating it (if i ever get that far)

For proper Retopology, it is recommended to keep the original mesh as a mere foundation of the shape. And then start with a new object from scratch and apply the desired topology.
Here is a relatively easy way how to do good retoplogy without using any third party addons:

Step 1: Create your Base Model. The Toplogy is unimportant at this point. It also can be a sculpted mesh with a high polycount. But make sure it does not slow your system too much down:

Step 2: Create a new object and open the edit mode.

Step 3: Enable "snap during transform" and set it to "Face"

Step 4: Select a vertice point and hit G. Snap it to the desired position.

Step 5: Form the desired shape of your topology.

Step 5: Continue to form the topology and connect edges.

Step 6: Go on until you are done.

Also here is a list of some good topology references: https://de.pinterest.com/demons_fate/mesh-toplogy/

Rotate Selected Edge

You will have options for Clockwise or Counter Clockwise.
5 edge poles affect flow in your topology.  You already have 5 edge poles for changing flow in your model.  Sometimes extrude or inset produces 5 edge poles.  This tool will allow you to experiment with more 5 edge poles easily and quickly.  You can undo quickly as well.  Edit mode for the mesh.
Control+e .... Control+e brings up the menu..

Below two operations of rotate edge on a symmetrical plane grid.  The result is a flow change as illustrated.  Technique, not artistry, is demonstrated.  Note the production of 5 edge poles.


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Geometry nodes join vertex
Is there a way to join two vertices using geometry nodes? I have a few points which I have converted to vertices and I want to join them to create a link of sorts.

You mean weld points? Please provide more information about what you want achieve

Do you mean that you want to connect loose points, or is it something else that you are after?

If you want to connect points the Set Position method is the only way AFAIK.

You could merge two vertices like so:

As Harisreedhar commented correctly, it is not clear what you want. Maybe this helps you? you can delete vertices like this:


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How to make a shooting star in Blender?
I have been looking a way to make nice shooting star in blender.
Is it possible to achieve something like this one?

I already searched on youtube, blender stack and didn't find what I am looking for.

you could try either particles or this kind of solutions: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/34377/how-can-i-create-light-streaks-in-cycles

This is a meteor shower done with particle systems. There's more than one way to do it. With particles I was able to get something similar to your ref. The particle system is set up to emit from the vertices and only the normal velocity is influencing their trajectories. Make sure to check off the random order check box in the source parameters or else you won't get streaks of particles. In edit mode you can check what direction the vertex normals are pointing to. You will have to rotate the geometry that emits the particles so that the streaks make diagonals across the camera view. The geometries that emit the particles also have to be flat or else you will have particle streaks pointing in different directions. The loop tools add-on has a helpful command to flatten geometry. That way all the vertex normals will point to the same direction. Gravity is turned off in the scene properties. A texture is applied to the particle systems to control the size of the particles. An icosphere with a white emission material is picked to be the rendered object. More than one mesh is used to emit particles and the particle system seed as well as emission lifetime and end are different for the particle systems. This was done for getting more variation (some long streaks and some short).


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GEO NODES : rotate according to geometry normals of an object
I'm working on an Ivy geo nodes project
I draw curves onto a surface, it becomes the trunc and leaves are distributed along the curve.
I'd like to rotate the leaves according to the surface normals
Example: my curve is drawn on a cube from one face to the other and the leaves follow the cube's normals.
How should I do that?
PS : My Geo node modifier is on the Curve, not on the surface

RE: answer by Crantisz , maybe due to the fact that the leaves are spawned on a curve before.
I replaced the leaves by a cone so that you can see for yourself

please provide blend file so we can check it out

Normal it is a vector, not a rotation. So to get rotation from the normal, use align Euler to vector

You can transfer values from object to object using transfer attribute. This is a simple setup, you may add some variety to the vector:

Of course this method has some limitations, but overall it produces good results.
Note: You shouldn't use normals as rotation, it's different things. Use align Euler to vector to convert normal to rotation


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Can't edge slide towards outside
I'd like to edge slide using G + G + ⎇ Alt key but, it doesn't let me position/click it. I'm using ver3.0. I'm sure I could do this when I was using previous version but, what am I doing wrong?

it should work if you keep Alt pressed, also try GG then C but don't keep C pressed

Thank you! I realised one of the problem was that I had 3 button emulate option ticked in my preferences. C worked!!

It should work if you keep Alt pressed, also try GG then C but don't keep it pressed

outset now require pressing right alt instead of left alt on blender 4.1 and unfortunately you can't edit this on preferences...


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How to remove logo by copy/paste shape from side of the object?
I want to print a golden ball cup from sketchfab for my little bro, but I have trouble removing the logo.
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/golden-ball-award-bce02dc608e04827b11ab9aa26316cc6
So my thought to remove the logo was just to remove the mesh then copy the side without the logo on it. I wanted to simply separate the mesh, duplicate the mesh, move the duplicated mesh then join.
But I struggle at the moving part.
How can I do it? Is there a better way to do what I want?
edit:
The file

you can either extrude and try to recreate the same shape, or select another (maybe the opposite), duplicate and paste it here, hard to tell without the object. Maybe share it if it's copyright free?

"select another (maybe the opposite), duplicate and paste it here" that's what I want to do, but I struggle at moving the duplicated mesh to the right place. I added the file link.

I couldn't resist.  For me, the symmetry turned out to be: dupe of antipodean face, rotated in Global Z about  center of top face by 180, then the island rotated in its own Normal Z about its own center by 180.

Hard to do it with a symmetrize operation, what you can do is simply duplicate another face:
Cut off the face with the logo, select this other one:

Choose the top view, move the selection, rotate it (you can calculate the rotation angle as Markus von Broady explains, as you have 10 faces all around you need to rotate it 2 x (360/10)), align it with the hole as much as possible:

Keep the selection, also select the edge of the hole, merge by distance, play with the threshold in the Operator box until the vertices merge:

You're good:

Thank a lot, I will do so

To easily remove the part with the logo you could select a closed loop around it using Ctrlclicks (shortest path), then H hiding it, then hovering on the part that is not the logo, pressing L, H to hide it as well, then select everything remaining and remove it (A, X), and reveal the old geometry with AltH. The reason I hide the rest before deleting is to be sure the logo is deleted even if it's not linked geometry.

To transplant the hole with another side, select another side (I'm using CtrlNumpad + to Select More), ShiftD Duplicate, . and choose 3D Cursor pivot, S, -, 1 to mirror across the 3D cursor (you can limit to an axis but probably not necessary), A, M, B to Merge by Distance, ShiftN to Recalculate Normals.

If the shape is not symmetric - the opposite of a face is an edge or pole, you can just rotate the duplicated part by a reciprocal of the number of sides on the given row. So in my case, because there's 10 sides, I rotate by $1\over10$ of a circle, or by ${360°\over10} = 36°$ around Z. Then I realize, faces alternate and neighbors aren't the same, so I select a neighbor of the neighbor, and rotate it by $36°\times2 = 72°$:

Remember to also set the pivot to 3D cursor and remove doubles, but you don't have to recalculate normals this time.

that's nice, I learned a lot thank you


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Baking large heightmap not creating correctly colored image
If i create a small mesh and bake it out i get the a correctly baked heightmap image.
However if i have a large mesh the baked the heightmap the resulting image is almost completely white.
How can i accurately correct the output to account for the scale of the larger mesh ?
Attached is two images of the same mesh with one scaled up, where you can clearly see the issue.

I don't know how the Position output works but you could use the Generated output of the Texture Coordinate:

Thanks for the help, its much appreciated. The problem i have with using the texture coordinate is mapping it to the correct 0 - 1 range. So it goes from 0 "solid black" at the lowest point of the mesh to just under 1 "fully white" at the highest.

@SarahLee What exactly is your problem there? The Generated output of the Texture Coordinate node does exactly this, mapping 0 to 1 from the lowest to the highest point, no matter how large the object is. Or is it not giving you real black and white when you are viewing it? That's maybe because you have set the Color Management to Filmic? If you change it to View Transform > Standard and Look > None, the colors should be correct.

@GordonBrinkmann ah yes that was the issue when baking. my Colour Management settings were set to filmic. Is there a way to know how much to displace the mesh so the height is correct? Currently im adjusting it manually, the reason I ask is because when I import it into a game engine for example it asks for a height scale?


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How do i keep geometry nodes instanced meshes when exporting mesh to fbx?
In blender I create a mesh "cube" and create instances of it using Alt+D and place them randomly in the scene. If i export the collection of meshes as an fbx and import it into unreal engine I will only get one mesh imported which is correct and it is instanced in the locations where i set them up in blender. I am trying to do the same with the output from geometry-nodes but i cant figure out how do do this so far?

As far as I know, this is not possible and you would have to use the Realize Instances node to get an exportable geometry.

yes that was what i was thinking, i hoped there was something i was missing.
I have created a partially working script here to help address this.
https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/305914/create-instanced-linked-duplicate-of-mesh-respecting-selected-meshes-location


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Using curves how do i generate a grid of 1m x 1m sections with geometry nodes
I have converted a mesh to curves and with geometry nodes, how can i create a grid in 1m x 1m sections or 1m by 2m for example?

It's easier if you first make the "grid", then convert it into curves like this for example

ah i totally see where i was going wrong, it does make much more sense to do it that way thank you :)
Maybe i should ask this in a new question? But out of interest if a mesh i have is rotated on the z axis by any degree and i have applied the scale is there a way to use this method also. Im not sure if there is a way to know the rotation of the mesh off the grid?


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Geometrynodes how can i adjust the length of each to the closest length that is divisible by 2m
With geometry nodes how can i convert a mesh into a curve and adjust each edge so it can be divided easily into 2m pieces.
I do not need to keep the exact shape but what i do need is to adjust the length of each edge to the closest length that is divisible by 2m.
So if one edge is 5m it will be shortened or lengthened to either 4m or 6m
and the same for each edge in the curve.

This seems to be a not so simple algorithm at the base. Do you have any hint about how to calculate it (without geometry nodes)?

And here's an approaching approach:

Whoops! Above I was approaching the length of $2$, below I'm approaching the nearest multiple of $2$:

Nice. 'Annealing'  might be the word/searchable term  you're looking for?

@RobinBetts I'm fine with the "approach". Yes it's a repetition of the word, but it's not Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. I googled "annealing" and I don't think it fits. With slightly different simulation - no map range, and instead some damping to fight the oscillations, it could be called a "spring approach" (where each spring has length divisible by 2, but they start stretched/squeezed in the simulation; and they don't bend).

I do not need to keep the exact shape

You can go vertex by vertex and move it closer or further from the previous vertex, depending on which is closer to meeting the 2 m criterion, and maintain the same direction:

Notice the i starts at 1 - I didn't care to implement equalizing the last edge. This can't be done naively by moving the first point (index 0) in regards to last point, because the edge would be broken when moving the last point. The solution here is to e.g. spawn two spheres, with radius $2$, with centers on second (index #1) and last points, and then move the first point to the nearest intersection of the sphere's surfaces.

sorry, but ?? all edges multiple of 2, or all but one ?

@lemon here all but one, it's an incomplete answer. I imagine it will make OP realize the "unexact shape" distorts the original shape too heavily...

to tell the truth, I've no idea how to make that (for all points), I don't even know if this is possible in general case.

@lemon it is, I explained one solution (think boolean for example)


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Set Animation Nodes to work with animated baking
I am not able to bake texture sequences with AN generated mesh (like Dynamic Paint or Animated Render baker add-on). It looses vital data on frame change, thus confusing baking.
I tried to use expressions to hold proper UV map for the full timeline:
bpy.data.meshes["Mesh"].uv_textures.active_index = 1

and
bpy.data.meshes["Mesh"].uv_textures["UVMap.001"].active_render = True

But this is not enough, blank Image doesn't associate with UV layer after frame has changed (checked it after re-entering Edit mode).
So, is there any way to make it work, or exporting meshcache is the only option for this?

Do you set UV Maps manually? Can you create a minimal working example and share its node tree?

Actually I've added a working example. If there is a better way, I'll wait for your answer, otherwise I'll accept this.

I am still not sure what the problem is, so I can't really add an answer. Make sure to add an answer if it works.

Using this answer, I can make it work via Script node (UV input is a name of UV layer to bake to):

Script itself: (Assign_img.py)
import bpy

image = bpy.data.images["Untitled"]

Object.data.uv_textures[UV].active = True
Object.data.uv_textures[UV].active_render = True

for uv_face in Object.data.uv_textures[UV].data:
    uv_face.image = image


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How to make OpenGL render utilize maximum of CPU power?
I am rendering Scene strip from VSE in OpenGL mode and only 1 of 16 threads (AMD Ryzen 1700) is fully loaded, others are just around 5-10%. Overall CPU usage is about 15-20%.
Firstly I thought low perfomance could be caused by the fact that VSE is not multithreaded. But tested it with Cycles Scene strip and everything is fine - all threads are busy.
Need to speed up this OpenGL thing somehow, preferably without instancing of Blender app itself.

VSE does not support multithreading. It's completely independent from any of the render engines because its only purpose is to edit videos composed of already rendered images (or otherwise acquired images).

@metaphor_set, VSE doesn't support multithreading on image/movie sequence, NOT Scene strips. I've tested Cycles scene strip and it works as like normal render, but not OpenGL.


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How to match the camera to the current 3d view without the cropping?
I want to set a camera so what the camera sees is exactly what I see in the viewport.
I know that Ctrl+Alt+Numpad0 will move the camera to my 3D Viewport location, but it also severely crops the sides and sometimes does not show all geometry.
3D Viewport:

Camera view after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Numpad0:

Hitting Ctrl+Alt+Numpad0 crops the camera view, zooms out, and clips off the plane in the background.
How do I make it so that hitting Ctrl+Alt+Numpad0 actually sets the camera view to the 3D Viewport view, without distorting it, clipping geometry, or otherwise altering the view?

Related - http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/33191/how-to-make-camera-copy-the-current-3d-view. Also this - http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/8842/is-there-a-way-to-align-camera-to-view-and-fit-the-view. The most easiest way imo is to press MMB after aligning camera to view and grabbing it along Z normal until satisfied.

Just use Ctrl + Alt + Numpad0 and then move the camera back on the Local Z axis (double tap Z for local). You may also want to adjust your clipping on your camera. To do that go to the camera settings in the property panel and move the end distance back until everything is there, i.e. not clipped...

Why is the camera so zoomed in, though? How can I set it so that it does not zoom in/crop by default?

I don't know, its not that hard to just move the camera back though. You could try using fly mode, I think its called that anyway, just use Shift + F then use the wasd keys to move and the mouse to rotate


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Scale mask from given control point
I have a triangle shaped mask, and want to scale it from one of its points. Now, I am struggling how to do it precisely.

There is no coordinates of control point, so can't put 2D cursor there, Shift+S > Cursor to selected also doesn't exist
There is no pivot option like Active element from 3D view.

I was thinking about placing 2D cursor at given coordinates and create point here, but even this is impossible, because point is created by mouse and I can't click with such precision.

Check here: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/65238/how-to-manipulate-position-of-mask-layer-using-python @RayMairlot Could you help here on how to get only location of selected point?


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Is this normal map upside down, or is my setup wrong?

I created this normal map with njob from the diffuse texture. I can't figure out if it confused the direction, or I messed something up with the nodes.

In the node with image of normal map change Color to Non-Color Data. It should help greatly increase the amount of effect. See this question for more info

@MrZak Tried that, it gets much brighter, but it still looks like the crevices are higher

What happens if you increase the strength of normal map? Probably it could happen that normal map is baked so it emualtes extruding on another side, so on this side you see only emulated intruding.

@MrZak Yeah, maybe it was just too weak, honestly I'm not really sure which way it is anymore... :D thanks though


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Non manifold errors in model for 3d printing
Hi I am starting out with Blender for 3d printing.
I am currently trying to make a shelf with three partial holes to hold toothbrush chargers.
My blender file is https://seafile.goblinshark.co.uk/f/c494ad743d/
I designed this by making the whole shape first, replicating it three times and then did a boolean subtraction from a cube.
This has left me with a few internal geometries inside the cube. But there are quite a few non manifold errors and I can't seam to add the top face of my cube while leaving the holes.
The idea is something like this image.

Is there a list that describes the non manifold errors?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

the shape/curve is not regular at the begin of the arches curves (two very close vertices), is that wanted ?

I'd say that if there's no backup of shapes before applying Boolean, then it's easier to remodel. Boolean couldn't handle with something and left most parts of model without faces; thus it won't be manifold and of course this won't be printable.

You can enable the 3d print Toolbox addon (ships with default Blender), and click the 'Make manifold' box.  Only problem is, the entire model disappears when I use that command on your model!  LOL sorry I couldn't be of more help.

There is an operator you can execute in edit mode called "select non manifold" after calling it, in the tool shelf there's a panel with non manifold cases. You can tick one box at a time and see which faces get selected each time.

Lemon. No I hadn't seen that. I will try to remove those and see if it helps. Thanks.
Duarte I have selected non manifold but its not that useful when it selects all vertices. Similar to the make manifold problem Mike mentioned.

Try the usual, recalculate normals, remove doubles etc. Otherwise post your blender so we can look at it.


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How do I stop extruded objects from overlapping
I am creating a shopfront in blender and am running into difficulty when extruding certain faces such as the windowsills and doors.
Is there a way to stop the glitches when I extrude them? Is it best to make a wireframe by just extruding the vertices (what I'm doing) or to fill in the faces and use them?

What do you mean by glitches ? Generally a simple extrude and scale the face should do the job.

Please add some examples of what exactly is happening, as glitch can mean anything. Note that Blender is not like a game, and can't glitch per se, as everything happens for a reason or is considered a bug (error in source code of the application).

For now, it seems you get overlapping faces after extruding them which lead to Z-fighting. You should keep in mind that good model is good topology. I'd say it depends whether to extrude vertices or faces - there's no best way, but if window-sills, then extrusion faces may save you some time.

Same problem


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Does anyone know how to successfully pack linked objects (not just textures) into a single .blend file?
I have been trying to use SheepIt! render farm for a short animation. Unfortunatly, File -> External Data -> Automatically pack into .blend DOES NOT pack linked objects from other .blend files. SheepIt! gives a warning that those libary links are not in the file to process.
Does anyone know how to successfully pack linked objects (not just textures) into a single .blend file?
I know that this question has been asked by Louie:
How to pack all linked data inside the current .blend file.
Unfortunately he did not get a working soluion answer :-/

thank you very much Mr. Zak ... that did it :-) so I got a working file with the links and do a save as "Made Local" file for renderfarms

To quickly get all the linked data in one .blend file you can use Make Local command.

Select all the objects which are linked (or simply A to select all).
Press L and select All option. This will make all the objects, their data, materials etc. stored locally in this file, so create a full copy (in the same way as Append data, with only difference that you shouldn't search where to append from).

Note that you may want to save these locally stored objects as a new file so only to send it to renderfarm and not ruin linking of your original file.


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Rotating 3D view doesn't work in Sculpt mode
I have my preferences set to rotate view in 3D Viewport using the Shift+RMB.
This is what I am used to using in other programs and works great in Blender in Object or Edit Mode.
When in Sculpt Mode I can not rotate the view using the mouse+key combo. However in Sculpt Mode I can rotate using the Numpad 4, Numpad 6, Numpad 8 or Numpad 3.
I have looked for the setting to change in Preferences and answers online with no luck. Anyone know where to change the preferences for rotate view in different modes? Is that the problem?
Thanks for any help!

It works for me in all the interaction modes after changing "Rotate View" option in "3D View - Global" entry. Try restoring this shortcut back (there should be arrow to the right from top row which allows restoring key map item) and then again set it up as you'd like. Or reset user prefs just to see if something else affects there.

Thanks and I tried that with the current file and it did not work. I did some tests and it seems like it is just the file that is causing the issue. A new blender file rotates using my preferences and the default preferences in Sculpt Mode. I guess the file is the problem?

Not that I'm sure because any .blend uses those preferences in Blender's folder (there's kind of another way with setting up multiple configs but it's way too messy and I don't think you used that). This could be either bug or something with preferences indeed in that file. Did you try resetting all the prefs within it ? It's the most brutal way and it should've worked.

One more thing to try is to open that file within Blender with Ctrl+O and uncheck Load UI in the bottom left.

Tried to restore all prefs to blender defaults and that did not work. Also tried to open and uncheck the "Load UI". It is strange and I have also tried to remove everything (all objects) including cameras and lights and then adding a basic mesh, setting multi-res on it and then trying to rotate view in Sculpt but it doesnt work with this file. Also the pan or move mouse+key command does not work either. Let me know if I can send this file somewhere to be checked. Thanks Mr Zak for your help and suggestions.

It may be not good idea to send tthis very file because as I've got it you can't reproduce this problem once more. Anyway make sure final version of Blender is used and try to reproduce this behaviour in default file. Any bugs should be reported accordingly so if you can make that error once more it's a way to go.

Having the same problem! Camera rotation doesn't work in Sculpt mode. Anyone ever found a solution?


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How to export feather into Unity
I have a feather finished and I am trying to export it into Unity.
The problem is when I export I lose the hair particles but the quill remains. I recently converted the particle system in the modifier tab but it still poses the same problem.

Unity i meant to write

Do you know whether Unity handles particle systems the same way Blender does? If you open a new Blender instance, and import your feather into it, does the particle system behave the way you expect? I'm not yet convinced in this case that this is a Blender problem; it may be that both platforms (Blender and Unity) are behaving in compliance with their design specifications.

You cant export particle systems to other formats or applications, unless you apply them or convert them to actual geometry or objects.

authors: Сергей Синельщиков


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How to keep edges around the square hole sharp?
I need help on how to keep the edges of this squar hole sharp please. If I use the edge loop method, yes it keeps the edges shard but causes pinching at the same time. As for edge split method, it just causes the hole to be a sharp rounded square. Any advice?

You can try using Edge Crease by pressing Shift + E after selecting the edges around and inside the hole.
Make sure you select all of these edges for the desired result.

I added an Edge Split modifier at the end to get rid of the smooth shading artifacts.
Hope this helps!


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Use Insert as a shortcut for Insert keyframe?
The default shortcut for "Insert keyframe" is I, which is achieved by holding the mouse over for example the Location Transform, and pressing I. I want to use the Insert key instead.
Even if I overwrite all the shortcuts that are called something with Insert keyframe and/or use the I key, it doesn't work. It's still the I key that is active.
Is there something special about the Insert key that makes it unusable? I noticed "Toggle overwrite" was using the Insert, but even if I turned it off, while all shortcuts were assigned to Insert, I still couldn't insert keyframes.
Anyone has a clue on this?

I could replace (on Windows) the I with Insert without problems.

@Ibalazscs At least in the User Preferences you cant. Note that Niclas mentioned hovering over a property, then pressing "insert". In all other context's it works fine.

Indeed. Maybe this one is hardcoded and cannot be changed.

Oh that's a pity. Instictively I keep pressing the insert button.. :P

You can use autohotkey to make the insert key function as the "i" key when Blender is open.
https://autohotkey.com/

Thanks, since a long time ago I got used to the I key and forgot that Insert would be logical:) I could also use Keyboard maestro for this.


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How to make hair dynamics work with surface deform modifier and cloth simulation to make a blanket with tassles?
I'm trying to 'drop' a blanket with tassels onto a sofa using cloth simulation and am having trouble making the tassels behave realistically. I am using the surface deform modifier to deform the blanket using a simple subdivided plane, and am then applying the cloth simulation to that plane.
I have used a hair particle system to add fringes to the blanket, and have turned on hair dynamics. However, when I play the simulation, the blanket deforms fine but the fringes don't behave very dynamically. Either all the fringes stay in exactly the same orientation, or several of them end up facing upwards and in both cases they don't deform along their length at all, behaving more like solid rods than tassels.
Blend file can be found here

a blend file would help a lot...

@Chris Here's a link to the .blend file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w_bRBRI3u-4e3KkCmDm77ibjpzIh4xNR/view?usp=sharing

with the file you sent the particles/hairs aren't falling at all....

Sorry about that, I forgot to bind the surface deform modifier again after I'd made some changes. It should work now: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w_bRBRI3u-4e3KkCmDm77ibjpzIh4xNR/view?usp=sharing

Does anyone have any advice on this? I've been battling with this for days, including trying the particle instance modifier, but to no avail.

For anyone struggling with this problem, I successfully modeled the blanket with tassels by instancing the braided tassels onto the hair particle system using the particle instance modifier with the settings outlined here: Getting instanced particles to follow paths of hairs in particle system with hair dynamics
Edit: For the sake of completeness, it is worth noting that the issue here in this question is about the fact that the blanket has normals that point in the wrong direction. To flip them press Alt+N in Edit mode. After that, the tassel object needs to be rotated by 180° (X-axis: -90° → 90°) so that it sticks out and not in the blanket. To make the tassel bent along the hair particle a Particle Instance modifier is needed (see linked question above).


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How to modify edge smoothing normals
I have two meshes that come together to form what will visibly look like one model. How can I make their smoothing appear as if the two objects were actually one?
A little background: I am trying to use the absolute lowest amount of verts I can because this model is for a game and there may be numerous instantiations of this model which will be rigged and animated.

One thing I notice right off is the disjunction in the number of vertices in the circumference of the hand and the wrist bits of the mesh, by my count 11 in the hand and 6 in the wrist. This will cause a problem. One solution to this would be to extend the hand mesh towards the shoulder by one, and reduce the number of vertices in that mesh.

The edges line up at the seem between meshes on the wrist, so there is not a thin gap you can see through. I did this because the amount of times I loop cut the hand is more than I need for the body, and was trying to use less verts. Can you elaborate on your soulution? Is it possible to decrease the amount of loop cuts somewhere near the wrist so that no ngons are created? As I have heard, ngons are not wanted on models that will be animated. The model should be made up of quads and triangles.
Also, I do believe there are 10, not 11 verts. The hand has two more loop cuts than the arm.

You could remodel part of the hand so that both hand and wrist meet with 6 vertices.

And or checkout how to use Blenders Data Transfer or Normal Editor Modifiers.
I rememeber trying to get those to work when they were first added a couple of years ago but failed. Way to complicated for me.

Thank you for the picture, that method of adding loops looks better than my method! And should work perfectly in my scenario! :D


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Format IntProperty/FloatProperty in GUI layout.prop?
Is there a way to format how the value of Float/Int properties are shown in python blender GUI?

Right now it's always the same 'text' + 'value' (+ 'unit' if specified in the prop options).
But what if I want to display
f"text {value} text"

Or even better, format the value with thousands separators?
f" text {value:,} text"

Having a formatted text inside the active part of the UI component is not possible, as far as I know.
What you can do, if it suits the UI you would like to get, is to put a label before and after the component with the value, and display only the value.
row = layout.row()
row.label(text="prefix")
row.separator(factor=1.0) # Optional. just in case you need more space between components
row.prop(propertyOwner, "property", "text="") #will display the property value without the text inside
row.separator(factor=1.0) # Optional. just in case you need more space between components
row.label(text="suffix")

Or, if you don't need the value component to be interactive, you can just draw a simple label, which you will be able to format as any Python string.
str = f"Prefix {propertyOwner.property:,} Suffix"
layout.label(text=str)


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How To Replace Data From New Data Coming From Another .blend?
Here's a simple example,

I have a .Blend with 50 objects, all appended inside my .Blend, they each have their own materials. Now I created my scene with those assets and did some work etc...
My client gave me an updated version of their assets with new materials, now I need to replace every material data in my scene with this newly updated material data, both data have the same name.

Is there a smart way to replace data in blender?
I know that I should have linked the assets at the first place, but sadly this is not possible (the client asked to avoid linked data in this case)
While I could doodle around in python, I'm sure there's something already existing to do that? Isn't it?

It can be a python script with a name comparison.
https://docs.blender.org/api/current/bpy.types.ID.html#bpy.types.ID.user_remap


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Get object-space positions of joined instances' vertices?
I have several curves joined and transformed to a mesh after scale and position changes. Now I want to animate them making a smooth growth, e.g simply by Z coordinate, but when I try to do this, turns out curves instances keep their original individual locations and transformations :( How can I retrieve vertices positions in object space to animate branches growth?
Here is my bush consisting of several curves:

And this is how I try to make portion of it:

As you can see, different curves get cut relatively to their initial origin and scale, but I want to trim they by common coordinates space.
Here is a simplified version of my file:

Please provide more context. I think what you might want to do to use a set position and not delete geometry, and also to do this before curve to mesh.

Maybe a Trim .. hard to say.. please share a relevant chunk of your file on https://blend-exchange.com/

@shmuel I added more info to make it clearer. I want to trim or cut by an animated portion factor so that smaller branches start growing together with the main branch at heir junction. This is why I tried to do this after converting to a mesh, to calculate positions in a common space, but got no success.

@RobinBetts actually I think trim is opposite of what I want because it works with each curve independently, and I aim to cut them together. Strange that it doesn't work after merging into a single mesh...

I have read the docs tried out all the existing nodes and dozens of their configurations and found a solution: Realize Instances node which truly join instances into pure geometry without different scales and origins.
However, this leads to highly increased number of vertices, edges, etc. So, I'd be glad to see a more performant solution!


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AMD ProRender installed but not working
I just installed AMD's ProRender and I'm trying to experiment with it and see if I like it.  Using Blender 2.8 on Windows 10.
Here's a scene I made, previewed in Cycles:

Here's the drop down for the Render engines, seems like ProRender is there.  And I didn't have any errors or warnings while installing it or the materials library.

But when I select the ProRender and either hit "render image" or just chance the viewport mode to rendered.... nothing happens.  Like so:

In fact, the objects kinda disappeared.  When I hit "render image" the picture never shows up at all.  I never touched any of the default ProRender settings on the right there.
Any ideas?

Check for error messages on the console (Windows > Toggle System Console).

Do you have a supported gpu?

@rjg  Thanks, the most pertinent info I can see in the console (never knew about that) is errors about "unsupported blend type overlay", "unsupported blend type SCREEN", and a few similar notes.  Too long to paste.  Kinda get the feeling it may be some of the nodes I've used.
When I just started a brand new Blend File with the default cube in it, the ProRender works.  Must have been some of the nodes I used with Cycle

Unfortunately, to use the ProRender you have to change all the materials. This is because most of usual Blender shader nodes don't work or work incorrectly in ProRender. Instead, the render engine provides many own material nodes, and the most popular of them is RPR Uber shader which is used for PBR (Physically Based Rendering) and can do multiple things at once: diffuse shading, reflection, refraction, light emitting, transparency, etc.
More information about these provided nodes is available in the shading section of ProRender documentation.
To make switching from Blender’s internal render engines to ProRender easier, the developers provide the Material Library with lots of materials ready to use in Blender with ProRender. The Library can be installed and used in Blender on any OS.

For those looking at this later, per the comment section:  the nodes I had used in Cycles were causing trouble.  When I open a new default scene ProRender worked.

Can you be more specific which nodes weren't working?

@J.Bakker hi! I added an answer with explanation of this problem.


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applying mirror then resetting loc and rot does not set mirror properly
modleing a head. steps taken: get circle 8 sides. set aline to view, shape circle to eye, add mirror. reset location to 0, reset rotation to 0. this is what I end up with. the eyes are too close together. how do I get the mirrored eye to actaully be where it is suppose to be in the referecnce photo? I even reset the reference photo to center in the 3d viwer and it still does not set the mirrored eye in center of eye.
file and photo inclused in this post. sized down so I can uploaded it

The object is mirrored from its center. Place it at the middle of the eyes (object mode) then move the vertices upon the eyes (edit mode). Work with scale applied, scale = 1 (it is better)

OK did it, I am still getting the same results - just like in the image centered in 3D viewer. where the mirroed is off to the Stage right ending in middle of right eye. -- scale applied -- pls explain matbe thats it. How do I check that? @lemon

@lemon I'm lookking for better photos too, maybe that one is not square on looking forward photo. I too think her face itself is asymmetrical more then it is symmetrical

First apply rotation and scale (scale is not need here but it is better for the future) :

Ctrl+A then choose 'rotation & scale'

Now set the 3D cursor at the center of the 3D space (as the picture is centered also) : Shift+S, then cursor to center
Then place the object to the center : Shift+S, then selection to cursor
Go to edit mode and replace the eye

The left part (her right) is a bit offset... but no human face is totally symetrical...

thanks.. for the step by step, did something close to that. didn't pick the rot and scale selection, the other two I did instead.  but no human face is totally symetrical. yes, but I'm begining to think her face is totally wacked out of symetrical-isim.

how are you getting the inner upper side of the eye to be where the selection goes to get center?

The mirror mirrors from the center of the object (the big orange dot), so if it stays in place (edit mode), moving the vertices keeps this center in place... so the mirrored part move in consequence... is that what you wanted to know ?

ok got it as close as I think I will using yours and this https://www.blender.org/manual/modeling/modifiers/generate/mirror.html @lemon
thanks for all of your help...

yes ! the documentation is a good starting point !

yeah but I live by, if all else fails read the instructions.. this stimulates the brain better then reading documentation that tends to put anyone to sleep. I tweeked it a bit by repeating the proccess adding moving the 3D cursor and resetting the orgion alt+ctrl+shift+c getting it rather spot on. then leaving it like you where getting it.

authors: Дмитро Яринич


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How do I show a "model" in a movie just like it is actually in the movie?
I go this set up to show, I put A Movie in, then went to nodes, added the movie, scale set to render size, and rendered layer is connected to  Alpha over connected to composite .. the model is barely showing up .... I had to add emission to the material to the model to get it to do that, but it is not even very realistic looking.

@root  I'll check that out , I'm watching youtube masking stuff into movies right now, thanks!

@root it is enable on that -- let me check again, it might have been a different file I did that on, and that matching colors, you can see right through that modle against whatever is in the movie.

@root how does one make it look like a solid object? it is transparent ..

@root alpha over set to 1 blacks out the movie, Im working on getting that smoke and fire to run over 200 frames also (in the viwer)

I did not have your movie, so I substituted a brick image. I was able to achieve this result:

As you can see, it is not transparent at all, and nor is the brick background weird. I used this RenderLayer node setup:

Note the values in the Alpha Over node, which I changed to 0 and 1. The 0.527 for the Fac: value would have made your model transparent. The Premul: value could have led to the background distortions. Also note that I checked Transparent in the Properties panel > Render tab > Film dropdown. The modified Film dropdown should look like this:

Here is a modified .blend file. You will have to substitute your video back in to the RenderLayer node setup, though.

that is exatly how I have it set up. but that ship, the background shows through it. It too maybe a question of coloring it, the how to's behind that too in order to get it to look more realistic as well. I'll check my settings when I can get a min. right now I am doing a video edit for a different project. Thanks

sorry been doing / trying many things at once... w/blender... thanks for the help