text:
Vertex Baking to textures for Colour ID Map not working 2.79
I don't understand, Only yesterday this baked out just fine and as far as I can tell, I never changed anything.
Blender render
Add 1 material to model - UV unwrap model - Vertex paint mode and paint each part of the mesh, eg hair, fur etc - select model in edit mode with face mode turned on - open new image in UV editor - bake to vertex colours, bake settings set to texture texture
but now it does nothing!
Can anyone shed light on this?

What Blender version, what render engine? What does material setup look like? What do you mean by "Vertex paint each section" and "select model in face mode"? You can [edit] the question with screenshots of settings and more description

Sounds alright to me, can you upload that file so we can have a look? https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/

Can't upload, just keep getting errors


text:
why is there a gradient on my mesh?

There's a gradient on some parts of my mesh. I tried flipping the normals, and it wasn't doing anything. Is there a way to remove the gradient?

Can you go to vertex mode and check that there isn't a couple of hidden ones that make your face partly hidden by another rogue one?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Edit Grease Pencil Strength
i've just started studying Grease Pencil and did some basic animations. After some work i've noticed that all my strokes were painted with a semi transparent strength.

Can i change the strength of my strokes after i've drawed them? i'm sure is not a matter of material opacity.
edit: i've obtained what i'm looking for using the modifier Noise for grease pencil , but i'd like to make it permanent, moreover, when i click apply Blender Crashes

thank you.

Have You found solution for changing strength after drawing? Please let me know if yes. I have same problem right now.

@Bernard Does any of the answers help you ?

You can go to the Sculpt mode, and use the Strength brush.

Thank you very much sir ;)

Yes! This was driving me nuts and would never ever have thought of going into sculpt mode, thank you!

You can add an Opacity modifier to the Grease Pencil object.
Set the type to Uniform and keep the Strength to $1$ to get full opacity.
If Uniform is unchecked, the factor will act as an addition to the stroke, but it acts in an unintuitive way.
Between $0$ and $1$, the factor will decrease the opacity by a set amount. (eg with a factor of $0.6$, the opacity will decrease by $1 - 0.6 = 0.4$).
Similarly, between $1$ and $2$, the opacity will increase by a set amount. (eg with a factor of $1.4$, the opacity will increase by $1.4 - 1 = 0.4$).
Note that you can also apply the modifier to a fill, but it will only decrease the opacity, never increase it.

There is now a shortcut to do that: Shift+F
It works in Edit Mode and changes the opacity of the selected strokes (so you can just press A before to select all of them)
It works with version 2.93 (but maybe already with 2.92?)

This is so much better because sculpt can be really slow when their are many strokes.

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


text:
In blender 3.x, why do some objects have restriction toggles and others do not?
Can anyone tell me why some objects in Blender 3.x have associated restriction toggles and others do not in the outline view (and the objects are also greyed out)?  Thx

Without any context or images of your outliner it's impossible to say. We need more details! https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/75491/how-to-upload-an-image-to-a-post

Added the picture.  Wondering why the right columns vary from object to object.  Thx

There's a detailed video about the outliner here which should help explain it.

@JohnEason It's a good basic tutorial about the Outliner but it doesn't explain why there are no restriction toggles.

The explanation is quite simple. As we can see in your screenshot, the object named "LegPermaMod_Inner.l" is a child of "LegPermaMod_Outer.l", that's why it is placed beneath the parent object in the hierarchy. The parent object is of course greyed out because it's set to be hidden in the viewport.
The reason the child object is greyed out and has no restriction toggles is because it is in a different collection than the parent object. As you can see in the screenshot below, I've parented the sphere to the cube, but the cube is in "Collection" and the sphere in "Collection 2". In "Collection 2" the sphere has the restriction toggles as well:


text:
Keframes aren't changeable!
If I create a second keyframe, the value can not be changed, and it always bounces back to the value of the first keyframe:
View the value of the first Keyframe:

Enter an other value for the second Keyframe:

View value again (after leaving once): -> Value changed to the value of the first Keyframe!
In addition it does't connect as usual. (Picture 4).

With entering the same value the keyframes are connected... :

For example:
The value of the first keyframe is set to 2.
 If I want to add an other keyframe with the value 4, it resets the value to 2, but does not connect with the first keyframe, although they are equal.
Is that a bug or what did i do wrong? (I just want to have multible different keyframes!)

You have to set the value of the keyframe in your case the "Y location" by pressing the "I" key and then selecting location, before movie the frame in the timeline or it wont set (unless you have "automatic keyframe insertion" turned on).
The "connected bar" is only a visual to tell you that the frame data (Y location) did not change between the two keyframes. It doesnt mean anything beyond that.

1: I didn't! I typed the values in the input field. But it doesn't matter whether I use "I" to keyframe or do it manually. It gets allways reset to the value of the first keyframe. (If I type in 4 it will be reset to 2, because the first keyframe is 2).
2: Yes, but the funny thing is, that after its reset both of the keframe are equal but not connected...

Are you in the dopesheet, and then "action editor"? cuz it should work that way. Mke sure the mouse cursor is in the same window or else it wont work, What version of blender are you working on? and alternatively you can set the keyframe data on the 3D view as opposed to the action editor using the same steps I described above.


text:
Can I use Blender like After Effects or Nuke for motion graphics?
I was wondering if there's a way to use Blender's 3d Space (not the compositor!) similar to After Effects without adding additional lights to do 3d motion graphics.
I'd like to use the motion tracker to solve a camera from a video and add some flat titles coming to the camera. If I add lights, the appearance of the texture changes. In After Effects, as well as in Photoshop, there are no lights to be added and they both give a flat even look to all the items you import (photos, vectors, video clips). How can I get the same evenly lit effect in Blender?
In this video you can see the effect I'm trying to achieve:
https://youtu.be/kFLuiik8RC8?t=469
The guy tracks the chat to the camera but he doesn't need to add lights in AE to make the chat appear. Can I do the that by using Blender as well?

Sure. Blender is a 3d tool and has all options you need (and more), see josh's answer. However, if time plays a role, it's probably not the fastest way in the world creating any type of motion graphics. AE has exactly that purpose for many years so to get up to that speed you probably have to do some scripting setting up the project settings, type, boxes etc...

You can turn off the world strenght down to zero, delete all lights, set the color management as standard (sRGB), and use an emission shader set to 1 strenght instead of a principled BSDF.


text:
How can I add a panel to the properties area of the file browser?
I would like to wrap my properties inside collapsible panels when using the ExportHelper or ImportHelper class but I can not figure it out how to draw them properly:

This is my code so far (reduced version of the Operator File Export template):
import bpy

# ExportHelper is a helper class, defines filename and
# invoke() function which calls the file selector.
from bpy_extras.io_utils import ExportHelper
from bpy.props import StringProperty, BoolProperty, EnumProperty
from bpy.types import Operator

class ExportSomeData(Operator, ExportHelper):
    """This appears in the tooltip of the operator and in the generated docs"""
    bl_idname = "export_test.some_data"  # important since its how bpy.ops.import_test.some_data is constructed
    bl_label = "Export Some Data"

    # ExportHelper mixin class uses this
    filename_ext = ".txt"

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

class SubPanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = 'SubPanel'
    bl_idname = 'Sub_PT_Layout'
    bl_parent_id = 'export_test.some_data'
    bl_space_type = 'FILE_BROWSER'
    bl_region_type = 'TOOL_PROPS'

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        layout.label(text = 'test')

        use_setting: BoolProperty(
            name="Example Boolean",
            description="Example Tooltip",
            default=True,
        )

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(ExportSomeData)
    bpy.utils.register_class(SubPanel)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(SubPanel)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(ExportSomeData)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

    # test call
    bpy.ops.export_test.some_data('INVOKE_DEFAULT')

Unfortunately I get the following error:

RuntimeError: Error: Registering panel class: parent 'export_test.some_data' for 'Sub_PT_Layout' not found

Q: How can I add a panel to the properties area of the file browser when using the ExportHelper or ImportHelper class?

As the error mentions your parent ID name is incorrect. You need to use the class name not the bl_idname also you are trying to parent a panel to an operator instead of another panel. I believe the panel you are looking for is bl_parent_id = 'FILE_PT_operator' however your test call will only include your defined operator not the full panel.

You would have to add a draw() method along with a pass statement to the operator in order to skip drawing and declare a Panel class, get the actual operator from that class in order to draw it's properties. Demo based on the Operator Export template that comes with Blender:

import bpy

# ExportHelper is a helper class, defines filename and
# invoke() function which calls the file selector.
from bpy_extras.io_utils import ExportHelper
from bpy.props import StringProperty, BoolProperty, EnumProperty
from bpy.types import Operator, Panel

class ExportSomeData(Operator, ExportHelper):
    """This appears in the tooltip of the operator and in the generated docs"""
    bl_idname = "export_test.some_data"  # important since its how bpy.ops.import_test.some_data is constructed
    bl_label = "Export Some Data"

    # ExportHelper mixin class uses this
    filename_ext = ".txt"

    filter_glob: StringProperty(
        default="*.txt",
        options={'HIDDEN'},
        maxlen=255,  # Max internal buffer length, longer would be clamped.
    )

    # List of operator properties, the attributes will be assigned
    # to the class instance from the operator settings before calling.
    use_setting: BoolProperty(
        name="Example Boolean",
        description="Example Tooltip",
        default=True,
    )

    type: EnumProperty(
        name="Example Enum",
        description="Choose between two items",
        items=(
            ('OPT_A', "First Option", "Description one"),
            ('OPT_B', "Second Option", "Description two"),
        ),
        default='OPT_A',
    )

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

    def draw(self, context):
        pass

class CUSTOM_PT_export_settings(Panel):
    bl_space_type = 'FILE_BROWSER'
    bl_region_type = 'TOOL_PROPS'
    bl_label = "Settings Panel"
    bl_options = {'DEFAULT_CLOSED'}

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        sfile = context.space_data
        operator = sfile.active_operator
        return operator.bl_idname == "EXPORT_TEST_OT_some_data"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        layout.use_property_split = True
        layout.use_property_decorate = False  # No animation.

        sfile = context.space_data
        operator = sfile.active_operator

        layout.prop(operator, 'type')
        layout.prop(operator, 'use_setting')

# Only needed if you want to add into a dynamic menu
def menu_func_export(self, context):
    self.layout.operator(ExportSomeData.bl_idname, text="Text Export Operator")

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(ExportSomeData)
    bpy.utils.register_class(CUSTOM_PT_export_settings)
    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_export.append(menu_func_export)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(CUSTOM_PT_export_settings)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(ExportSomeData)
    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_export.remove(menu_func_export)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

    # test call
    bpy.ops.export_test.some_data('INVOKE_DEFAULT')

Make sure to add a poll() method to the panel, testing for the actual bl_idname of the operator otherwise the panel will appear for all other export operators as well.
@classmethod
def poll(cls, context):
    sfile = context.space_data
    operator = sfile.active_operator
    return operator.bl_idname == "EXPORT_TEST_OT_some_data"

Note: Once the export operator is registered you can use the python console and call its idname() method getting the proper bl_idname:
>>> bpy.ops.export_test.some_data.idname()
'EXPORT_TEST_OT_some_data'

Just for the sake, adding sub panels is possible as well:

import bpy

# ExportHelper is a helper class, defines filename and
# invoke() function which calls the file selector.
from bpy_extras.io_utils import ExportHelper
from bpy.props import StringProperty, BoolProperty, EnumProperty
from bpy.types import Operator, Panel

class ExportSomeData(Operator, ExportHelper):
    """This appears in the tooltip of the operator and in the generated docs"""
    bl_idname = "export_test.some_data"  # important since its how bpy.ops.import_test.some_data is constructed
    bl_label = "Export Some Data"
    bl_options = {'PRESET', 'UNDO'}

    # ExportHelper mixin class uses this
    filename_ext = ".txt"

    filter_glob: StringProperty(
        default="*.txt",
        options={'HIDDEN'},
        maxlen=255,  # Max internal buffer length, longer would be clamped.
    )

    # List of operator properties, the attributes will be assigned
    # to the class instance from the operator settings before calling.
    use_setting: BoolProperty(
        name="Example Boolean",
        description="Example Tooltip",
        default=True,
    )

    type: EnumProperty(
        name="Example Enum",
        description="Choose between two items",
        items=(
            ('OPT_A', "First Option", "Description one"),
            ('OPT_B', "Second Option", "Description two"),
        ),
        default='OPT_A',
    )

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

    def draw(self, context):
        self.layout.label(text="Hello World")
        #self.layout.prop(self, 'type')
        #pass

class EXAMPLE_PT_panel_1(Panel):
    bl_space_type = 'FILE_BROWSER'
    bl_region_type = 'TOOL_PROPS'
    bl_label = "Settings Panel 1"
    #bl_parent_id = "FILE_PT_operator" # Optional

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        sfile = context.space_data
        operator = sfile.active_operator
        return operator.bl_idname == "EXPORT_TEST_OT_some_data"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout

        sfile = context.space_data
        operator = sfile.active_operator

        layout.label(text="This is the first Panel")
        layout.prop(operator, 'type')
        layout.prop(operator, 'use_setting')

class EXAMPLE_PT_panel_2(Panel):
    bl_space_type = 'FILE_BROWSER'
    bl_region_type = 'TOOL_PROPS'
    bl_label = "Settings Panel 2"
    bl_parent_id = "EXAMPLE_PT_panel_1"
    bl_options = {'DEFAULT_CLOSED'}

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        sfile = context.space_data
        operator = sfile.active_operator
        return operator.bl_idname == "EXPORT_TEST_OT_some_data"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout

        sfile = context.space_data
        operator = sfile.active_operator

        layout.label(text="This is the second Panel")
        layout.prop(operator, 'type')

# Only needed if you want to add into a dynamic menu
def menu_func_export(self, context):
    self.layout.operator(ExportSomeData.bl_idname, text="Text Export Operator")

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(ExportSomeData)
    bpy.utils.register_class(EXAMPLE_PT_panel_1)
    bpy.utils.register_class(EXAMPLE_PT_panel_2)
    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_export.append(menu_func_export)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(EXAMPLE_PT_panel_2)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(EXAMPLE_PT_panel_1)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(ExportSomeData)
    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_export.remove(menu_func_export)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

    # test call
    bpy.ops.export_test.some_data('INVOKE_DEFAULT')

Related: How do a create a foldout UI panel?

If you'd like to add a checkbox to one of the panel headers, declare a BoolProperty in your operator (alternatively use the scope of the window manager):
class ExportSomeData(Operator, ExportHelper):
    ...
    bake = BoolProperty(default=False)
    ...

And call Layout.prop() in the dedicated draw_header() method of the panel:
def draw_header(self, context):
    sfile = context.space_data
    operator = sfile.active_operator

    self.layout.prop(operator, "bake", text="")

Related: How to add a checkbox to a panel header?

I just saw, this adds the "Settings Panel" to my own custom file browser AND to the standard one when you click File>Export>glTF 2.0 (.glb/gltf)

How do you make a panel with a checkbox in it? Like the Bake Animation panel in the questions screenshot

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/147054/how-to-add-a-checkbox-to-a-panel-header @Lala_Ghost

But how do you access the state of the checkbox in the different panel class?

Add a bool property to the operator, window manager or whatever @Lala_Ghost


text:
Error: Invalid Python expression
So I need help again. I am new to blender and am trying to follow a simple tutorial to add drivers to my model. So the guy in the video just put in the expressions and it worked. (And apparently there are no comments saying otherwise.) I mean, the video has a lot of thanks and praise comments. So either everyone is wrong, or there is something wrong with my blender. Here's a picture.

In the box labeled "Expression", you're trying to use a variable named var, but you have named the variable variavel (with an accent mark I don't know how to reproduce) in the box labeled (X), just below "Add Input Variable". The variable name(s) you use in "Expression" should match the variable names you define below "Add Input Variable".

@NeverConvex Thank you so much, bro. I'm Brazilian and I use Blender in Portuguese. Sometimes Blender's machine translation just translates something wrong or translates something it shouldn't even translate. Thanks for your help. <3

No problem! Glad it was helpful.


text:
How is Cycles different from V-Ray?
From what I know, V-Ray is the most realistic render engine out there. But, I also know that Cycles is physically accurate. How is Cycles different from V-Ray and what are the major differences when it comes to shadows and lighting?

Not many that I know of. The reason V-ray holds that title is because it is the most Popular realistic renderer. It was also one of the earlier ones. V-ray is by no means necessary to get better/more professional results.

V-Ray and Cycles use similar methods to light a scene (path tracing, global illumination). The differences is in their implementation and ease of use.
In cycles we define materials using "nodes". V-ray seems to take a more traditional approach in just having a giant material with lots of settings. Example would be to do a normal looking material in cycles, you have to mix diffuse with "glossy" shader. In Vray, glossiness is just a parameter for the material.
This allows cycles to have unique optimization strategies for rending, but it costs in its ease of use in my opinion.
Also cycles seems to be built for use on the GPU. It looks like V-ray has slightly more restrictions as to what is supported on the GPU compared to cycles (currently the only thing not supported on cycles GPU to my knowledge is subsurface scattering, which is on its way).
In the grand scheme of things, I think you could get 2 renders looking similar using both cycles and V-ray. V-ray has the advantage of money behind it, and I believe is more polished at the moment.

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


text:
Can't activate A.N.T add-on, numpy error
This problem was happening since blender 2.78 of mine and I was hoping ping that from the >200 bug fixes mine would have been the one but unfortunately it's not a common bug. I can't activate A.N.T add-on and others that apparently are using the numpy module. In the python 3 console from my terminal I can easily important it with our an error but the blenders built-in console can't import it.
The error outputs the following:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<blender_console>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/__init__.py", line 153, in <module>
    from . import add_newdocs
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/add_newdocs.py", line 13, in <module>
    from numpy.lib import add_newdoc
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/lib/__init__.py", line 8, in <module>
    from .type_check import *
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/lib/type_check.py", line 11, in <module>
    import numpy.core.numeric as _nx
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/core/__init__.py", line 6, in <module>
    from . import multiarray
ImportError: cannot import name 'multiarray'

Blender comes with a bundled python version.  You can use your matching system version.  Which are you using?

The systems python3 works fine on importing the numpy module, I am currently using the blenders integrated python

In which case why not use system python with blender?, see link in comment above for howto's.  (It appears you are attempting to import system numpy going on paths in error)

I have done some digging and found that it's from the python version blender is currently using. numpy is not yet complied for python3.6 yet. Is there any way to make blender use python 3.4 with out breaking things.

/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/ is certainly a system python path not a blender python path.  Is your system python 3.4?  In the blender python console, import sys  and paste the result of sys.path into your question (or somewhere).

As I stated before, my blender is running on python 3.6. The error is occurring because numpy is not working for python 3.6

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


text:
Surface Shader live Camera Projection
I need help with a live a surface shader camera projection.
This video, using maya,  shows exactly what I want to do in blender:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=JsnPYpDqhRk
would be thankful for any help

You need the UV Project Modifier.

Make a Material with your Texture
In the Object Data Tab of the Properties create a new UV Map
In the Modifier Tab add the UV Project Modifier, select your Image and your UV and check Override Image.
Add a new Camera to the Scene and put it in the UV Project Modifier Tab as Projector
Go into Textured Mode (AltZ)

unfortunately the projection stops when going into edit mode. I guess there is no solution for this huh?

no just activate that little button in the header of the Modifier for activating it in Editmode. I tried it and it work absolutely fine.

alright its working. i found out before adding the modifier the object has already to be in edit mode. if not the button you mentioned is not working. at least in my blender version

The accepted answer suffers from distorsion because it only ensures that the projection is correct at the vertices but not in the middle of faces, which is a problem for coarse meshes. Here is a shader that precisely does camera mapping with live update:

Usage: Use the Object output of the Texture Coordinates nodes with the object being set to the projection camera. Fov, Width and Height must also match the projection camera.

Details:
A. Projection

B. Apply Field of View

C. Apply Aspect Ratio

D. Remap from [-1,1] to [0,1]

The best camera mapping I have seen. Thank you ... with a few drivers very powerful shader https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/226920/2214

This is the node tree you are looking for :

To apply on a selection only, use material assignment or vertex colors.

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


text:
How to prevent inside faces and non-looping edges when mirroring?
I'm trying to create a model in Blender. It is symmetrical over the X and Y axes, so I used a mirror modifier over X and Y axis. However, when I apply the mirror, the edges don't "loop" and faces are created on the inside. This causes issues when UV unwrapping because on these edges seams are created even though I didn't mark them as seams.
I tried to prevent this from happening by turning off "clipping" in the mirror modifier and I've tried removing inside faces and non-manifolds.
https://i.sstatic.net/VTedq.jpg

Model before applying mirror modifier.

The inside faces are probably due to the vertical edge at the far corner of your base model. Deleting that edge (and associated faces) should help. You don't need that geometry in your model, anyway.
For the surface vertices, did you try "remove doubles" with a sufficient margin to collapse the unwanted doubles, while keeping all others. It helps if your edge vertices are exactly on the XZ or YZ plane.

Yes, the vertical edge (and all other edges) along the mirroring surface were unnecessary and were causing the problem of inside faces and weird seams in my UV unwrap. Thank you.


text:
Python script not working when I render with Command line
So ive written this python code to randomly make some changes to my scene every frame:
import bpy
import os
import math
import random
def save(lemmings):

   bpy.ops.wm.save_as_mainfile(filepath=lemmings)
def run_script(scene):
   pink=(0.712321, 0.239345, 0.505227, 1.0)
   blue=(0.136092, 0.349032, 0.712321, 1.0)
   green=(0.071936, 0.712321, 0.153834, 1.0)
   black=(0,0,0,1.0)

   if random.random() < 0.3:
       x = pink
   elif random.random() >0.31 and random.random() <60:
       x = blue
   elif random.random() >0.61 and random.random() <90:
       x = green
   else:
       x = black

   bpy.data.worlds["World.001"].node_tree.nodes["ColorRamp"].color_ramp.elements[0].color=x

   props = ["cigs", "phone"]

   for x in props:
       bpy.data.objects[x].location.z = -10

   fileName = random.choice(['cigs', 'phone'])

   if fileName == 'cigs':
       bpy.data.objects["cigs"].location.x = 0.036128
       bpy.data.objects["cigs"].location.y = -1.132
       bpy.data.objects["cigs"].location.z = -3.566

       bpy.data.objects["cigs"].rotation_euler[0] = math.radians(0.723795)
       bpy.data.objects["cigs"].rotation_euler[1] = math.radians(-3.67688)
       bpy.data.objects["cigs"].rotation_euler[2] = math.radians(90)

   else:

       bpy.data.objects["phone"].location.x = 0.036128
       bpy.data.objects["phone"].location.y = -0.898856
       bpy.data.objects["phone"].location.z = -1.56258

       bpy.data.objects["phone"].rotation_euler[0] = math.radians(0.723771)
       bpy.data.objects["phone"].rotation_euler[1] = math.radians(95.8458)
       bpy.data.objects["phone"].rotation_euler[2] = math.radians(90)

bpy.app.handlers.frame_change_post.append(run_script)

and when i render from inside blender it works perfectly with no issues. So i wrote a batch file to render these
e:blender.exe -b C:\Users\Liam\Desktop\renders\lemmingtest.blend -a

cmd /k

and it renders the same image over and over again. Whatever the last saved scene of the blend file is, the batch file renders, over and over, without making the changes that my python script applies (which works perfectly fine inside blender and clicking render).
Any help would be greatly appreciated

On a logic note r = random() and then `if r < value: If using less than, order ascending values in if statement

Have you marked your script as Register?

What does it mean to mark as Register?


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How to get rid of these triangles on my cheese?

Here is the node tree, I was following default cube, but his cheeses don't have these grids

My blend file is here:

Edit mode:

If you have already shaded smooth, this can sometimes be caused by Normal Map or Bump strength being too high.

please provide blend file

@AllenSimpson how do I adjust the "normal map" thingy?

@Chris how do I do that?

Open https://blend-exchange.com/ and follow instructions

“How do I adjust..?” Your Bump node: turn the strength down.

@ZargulTheWizard As I said above, I followed default cube's tutorial, and the node setting is exactly the same as his, and his cheese doesn't have grids

Is it possible that your model has been triangulated at some point in the process?  In any case, the end goal should be a result that pleases you, and not necessarily to follow the tutorial to the letter. :)

Did you “shade smooth” on the object?

@Chris

@AllenSimpson no, only after making those nodes. And no it doesnt please me, and it doesnt make me happy in any way.

@ZargulTheWizard yes I did shade smoothed them

Hey,can you send a picture of it in edit mode,that might explain something

It's only the 'Distance' setting in your Bump map. Either set that lower, (,25?) or, if you want a more exaggerated wobble, you can set the 'Distance' higher, but also give the cheese a level or two of Catmuul-Clark Subdivision. Will answer, later, if no one else does.

Have you tried turning on auto smooth in the settings of your object?
It's in the object properties tab in the properties panel. With object selected, go to the 'Normals' section and check the "Auto Smooth" box.

@AlexandreMarcati it doesnt change anything, in fact, it looks worse after I turned it on

I downloaded your .blend and played around a bit. From what I can tell, @AllenSimpson and Robin both had the right of it -- reducing Strength in Bump, or Distance in Bump, both remove these triangular artifacts, for me (although I suspect exactly what Strength setting you should use depends on your light source, and I had changed your Point light to a Sun, as the 2000-strength Point light wasn't lighting any of the objects in the scene when I first opened it).

Have you tried sellecting all your faces in edit mode, and doing "Normals - Recalculate outside" ?

@Rajjaiswal https://imgur.com/a/9GO6EGU

I think the underlying triangulation of the mesh being made visible is the result of an extreme 'Distance' value in the Bump node.
The Bump node has to make an approximation of slopes from heights, by, in some way,  sampling heights of adjacent points in the map, and using the differences. It seems that if the differences are too great, and the slopes too steep, the approximation is not convincing, and exposes the underlying triangle normals, even though they are already interpolated by smooth-shading.

The illustration shows 'Distance' settings of: 1 (your setting), 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1. The last chunk shows your setting of 1, but with 1 level of Catmull-Clark Subdivision.
(The code, (at least the OSL version) points to this method of perturbing normals, given heights. What would make a really proper explanation of your artefact, rather than just a fix, would be a more serious mathematician coming along, and describing exactly why the approximation fails. If one comes along, please edit this answer!)

For rasterizers, I'd suspect derivative discontinuities at edges, because derivatives are always calculated within a single face (within a single "fragment"), so bump can be discontinuous at edges.  For Cycles, I'm not sure, but this is a case where you could easily have terminator artifacts from self-shadowing, and I'd wonder if terminator artifact fixes were made on the expectation of reasonable bump values (here, less than 0.01 distance.)

Hi @Nathan Yes. I wish I / someone could chase down the dX() and dY() calls to their implementation.. The cross and dot-products are executed on N, the interpolated normal, but you could be right. the derivatives may not cross triangle edges. But that's dealt with in the cited paper, AFAIK.. so.. I dunno...

so, is there a solution or something to this?

I can't  think of one, other than reducing 'Distance' in Bump, or upping subdiv, as shown.

@RobinBetts I have added Subdiv tho

I've checked i out again.. explored other options.. the only explanation I can find is the same. Height to Normal conversion in the Bump node, not smooth over these very shallow angles, large faces. One thing not suggested in this answer is to put the displacement into the geometry using a modifier? That way you skip the conversion.


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Render transparent texture
I have the following problem: I have a transparent texture with a lettering. I gave the font a new look in orange. I would like to have the lettering output as a PNG file. I made the background transparent in the render settings. This is also displayed correctly in the viewport (as you can see in the picture). When I render the picture, however, everything is completely transparent and the lettering cannot be seen. Did I miss a setting? does anyone know the problem?
I look forward to an early reply.

I'm sorry I might be a bit lamebrained today... you have an image with a transparent lettering and you want to save it as an image with transparent lettering in orange? Aren't there easier ways than doing it in Blender? Maybe opening it in Gimp or Photoshop, make it orange and save it?

That's fine,I understand the bloom effect of blender is pretty great. Is there any compositing you are using??

Also,try sending the blend file or at least screen shot of output settings


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What's seats? (Blender Market)
I'm looking to get AutoRig Pro for less headache when rigging models but it offers different versions like "Full 10 seats" or "Full 20 seats" and I wonder what those "seats" are. Can someone explain please? And which version should I get for rigging... Idk a few separate pokemon models or something.

Seats refers to the number of users who can use the product with the license you buy:

A per-seat license (or "named user license") is a software license model based on the number of individual users who have access to a digital service or product. For example, 50-user per-seat license would mean that up to 50 individual named users can access the program.

(source: Wikipedia)


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How can I attach two objects so they can act like one while posing/animating in Blender

I want the Head object to be attached to the Body object as if they were one object. This is necessary so that I can change the head without changing the body (for example, in Unreal Engine).

If each vertex has the same weight as the overlapping one, it should work, please share your file so that we can test?


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How can I render animation in seconds?
I am using cycle and I had rendered my animation thinking it would take less than a minute, but my render time is an hour+. I use a MacBook Air M2 2022. My sample count is 8192, while my noise threshold is 0.03. Max bounces total is 12, and indirect light under clamping is 0. I’m a beginner and I’ll be doing 3d a lot. Is there a way to make my render go fast per frames? Should I get a graphic card, if so what graphic card is best to use.

Highly depends on the scene and what you are willing to give up for speed, but 8192 samples is definitely not a short-render-time amount of samples. If speed it a concern, why not use Eevee?

well...tbh a sample number of 8192 is....extremely high. Put that down a lot like to 50 and you will see significantly quicker renders. And one thing is for sure: you always change speed against quality. So reduce it as far as you are satisfied with the result quality.

@Chris thanks so much, but if reducing samples loses the quality is there anyway I can quicken render with graphic cards and if so what’s best. I’m doing the donut tutorial like most beginners and the teacher uses an Apple laptop however his render took him seconds and mine hours. I’m guessing he has a graphic card and I’m eager to know which is best.

@L0Lock thanks for the help. I did get to read through it and most didn’t change anything. The tutor was using an Apple product not sure if it was a desktop or a MacBook but his rendering took seconds. I noticed he used GPU and he had CUBA enabled in he’s cycle but I don’t have that and I’m sure it’s from a graphic card however it’s nividia and Apple doesn’t use that so how does he have it? And what graphic card can I use to get the same results?

maybe watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNiobzflmpA

@VanessaAdazie: just try it - set samples to 100. I am sure the quality is still pretty good. it is worse quality, but most of the times you can hardly see it (except you are a perfectionist). i render most of my animations with even lower samples...


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Can't get armature to move mesh!
I am trying to get an armature to move one limb on a deer I have made. Here is my design process!

I made the body and limbs as separate meshes. I wasn't sure how to create limbs out of the body of the mesh and make them look good.
I tried joining  the meshes, creating the armature and setting automatic weights and then moving the armature in pose mode. The mesh would not move with the armature
I thought maybe it was because many vertices between the mesh and the limb were crossing so I thought maybe that was why the armature was not moving the limbs
I used the cut tool to remove the intersecting mesh on the limb and the body so that there were no intersecting vertices.
I then joined this set of meshes and created a new armature, set the weights to automatic and tried to move the mesh in pose mode and it still won't work.

What should I do? I don't know what else to try. I have been following any other online instructions exactly.
File Link:

Could you please upload a .blend file to http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/ or another similar site?

Thanks for getting back to me and apologies for taking so long  to respond. I have uploaded the blend file. For different outcomes with the armature, I have the left side of the mesh with vertexes connected. The right side does not have vertexes connected. I cannot get the armature to connect to the mesh after applying automatic weights, thus I'm not seeing the point in weight painting until I do. I'm still new to blender. (file link):

First, you needed to join all parts of the deer by selecting the misc ones, then the main one, and keying Ctrl + J.
You also needed to parent the mesh to the armature by first selecting the mesh, then the armature, and keying Ctrl + P. You would select Armature Deform > With Automatic Weights.

Lastly, some weight painting had to be done. I did all of this. Here is the finished .blend file:

Thank you so much. I just tried this process and it worked. Through my endless search of guides, I could not find the process stated exactly as you did. I am eternally grateful! :)

If this helped, consider accepting it.

Sorry how do I do that? Is it the checkmark? First time on stack in a while!

Actually you must join all joints together with Ctrl+J
and then parent to the mesh, only then can you truly use the mesh with armature. One armature must become many, and use mesh with that just one! Awesome huh!
Joine all armatures! All becomes one, literally, just one armature with Ctrl+J.
And then parent the mesh to that one armature that can use it, else you cannot do.
There cannot be multiple armatures on one mesh, because it must be parented under one armature and you cant use many... simply put unless you clone...

This answer doesn't provide any additional information compared to the currently accepted one.

he said all parts of the deer, he should of said all the armature and joints, then adding the "deer" mesh to it, also if in pieces, also join the mesh... this simply is clearer and i would of not found until i did what i needed to, heres the little guide...


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Can't parent bones
I have a bone 'Root' that I want to be the parent of a bone 'BodyCtrl'. I can't parent it though. All the bones are in the same armature and i'm in edit mode, yet I can't create the parent.

Any ideas?

Blend file:

I works fine for me (tested). How are you doing it ?

It works fine for me too, using Ctrl+P -> Keep Offset. Please specify what exactly doesn't work for you.

You can select the bone you want parented, go to Properties > Bone settings > relations > Parent, and set the bone you want as a parent there.

So silly me. I think I was in the armature tab and not the bone tab.


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How do I texture an object in Cycles
This question has probably been asked before, but all of the answers I have found have been for vastly different versions, and it seems like the UI has changed a lot.
How can I set up a material to use so that it displays in the Materials viewport shading mode? I'm fairly new to Blender, and I've managed to accidentally enable "Nodes only" somehow in the Materials tab.
The texture is already set up and the object is UV unwrapped - I just need it to display now.
Here's what I'm looking at now:

Your image is plugged directly into the output - your image should be plugged into a shader node like Diffuse first, and that plugged into the output.
I have a video concerning texture paint in cycles that I did exploring what I need to do for paint reasons, but it might give you some insight as to what is going on.
cycles video

I'll be sure to check out the video tomorrow, as I'm heading to bed soon. However, would this be correct? http://i.imgur.com/vzhzDMw.png The colors (green -> yellow) don't seem to match up however.


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Water simulation appearing boxy
I'm keeping up with a tutorial but when creating the water it has a boxy shape to it. Almost like pixelated art, and this is not the result I'm looking for. The subdivision modifier is not helping, nor the fluid resolution as it keeps its shape.
 As shown above, from the side.
I would need help making this fluid look more like fluid, less boxy so to say.

Could you please upload blend file to: http://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/ ?

Set the Viewport Display from "Preview" to "Final".


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How to change the active node tree data block using python?
I'm using animation nodes add-on. How can I switch between the node tree data blocks using python (as shown in the picture below)?

Try this(change "GeometryNodes")
bpy.data.objects["Cube"].modifiers["GeometryNodes"].node_group =  bpy.data.node_groups["NodeTree.001"]

Hi, thanks for the post. This site is not a regular forum, answers should be substantial and thoroughly explain the solution and required workflow. One liners and short tips rarely make for a good answer. If you can [edit] your post and provide some more details about the procedure and why it works feel free to restore it, otherwise it may be deleted or converted into a comment. Perhaps add a few images illustrating the workflow and final results. See How do I write a good answer?


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Why do keyframes keep disappearing in the dopesheet?
I've imported an fbx with an "in place" walk cycle from mixamo.com (see below). I then parented the armature to an empty as a way of animating the "in place" walk cycle (tutorial here).

My problem is that with the armature parented to the empty, now I can't find the walk cycle keyframes. No matter what I click on, they will not appear in the dope sheet. In the outliner below, I've clicked on where I think they would be but they don't show up. Any thoughts on why those keyframes are not showing? Unfortunately, I can't get the blend file down to a postable size.
Here's what I mean by "in place" walk cycle:

Why do all the keyframes keep disappearing?

How is the cycle performed? NLE? Modifiers? Maybe the keyframes are showing up only in the region in which the loop starts (maybe frames 1-32, you are at 888). Mabe you could upload your file deleting the meshes and leaving armatures and animations only.

Thanks Josh. It appears to be a bug. I can't reproduce it exactly. Everything seems to fine and then I'll get to work and suddenly the keyframes will no longer display. Incredibly aggravating. I just have to save a new version every minute or so as I work, until I figure out what's causing this.

Related: Hidden keyframes in timeline

I know this is an entire year late, but this worked for me. Click the button that says "Only Show Selected" (the arrow icon!)
Then my keyframes appeared. Apparently they're grouped under the vertex groups or something.

Often for me the window with the keyframes is simply scrolled out of view, so when I scroll back up they are there.

Like so: https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/178291/31447 ?


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How do I split a mesh of quads into their true triangles?
I am trying to make a low-poly triangulated version of the built-in torus.

I insert a torus.
Decimate the torus (un-subdivide, 3 iters)
I now have a torus made out of quads.

A problem arises when I add a triangulate modifier: the torus becomes very "skinny". That's because it splits the quads into two triangles, and you get "indents" due to the shape. In order to really understand this, try it for yourself, rotate the camera a bit while the triangulate modifier is on and while it's off. You'll get what I mean.
edit: see this image. The blue torus looks much nicer, right? That's the quad version. The red torus is the "skinny" triangulated one.

edit2: setting the quad method to "fixed" seems like what I'm trying to do, but it makes this weird artifact, what's that about?

How do I split a quad into it's true 4 triangles? So that the geometry of the quad becomes the hidden geometry of the quad that blender renders?
edit3: I have since corrected the mesh generated by fixed triangulation, but I would still like to know for the future.

thanks, I added some images.

Triangulating a non-planar quad will expose valleys/peaks.. they're already there, geometrically; the shading just conceals them .  Maybe Alt-P poking the quads will get you closer to what you want?

@RobinBetts yeah, it's a concave/not concave issue I think.


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How to merge surfaces that lie in the same plane?
I guess it's like undoing a subdivision, except it's not always neatly subdivided into even quads. How can you merge a surface made up of multiple triangles and quads/gons into a single one?
Since I'm dealing with a 500mb obj file I'd really appreciate if there's some fast way to do it for the entire model automatically.
Edit: I tried googling "merge coplanar faces" and I got the suggestion to do a "Limited dissolve (object mode: press x, then limited disolve) but this crashes blender. Any other ideas maybe?
I'm running 16gb ram, ryzen 5, nvidia tu116

Limited Dissolve crashing Blender probably means that Blender can't allocate enough memory, in this case RAM to work out the instruction (even 16 GB). In addition to given answer to use modifier try to check if all RAM is available and include some screenshots of geometry if possible; maybe someone can come out with another suggestion

There is the Decimate Modifier, with it's Un-Subdivide option.
Very useful for undoing unwanted subdivisions.
Set the number of iterations as needed.
Use 2 iterations to undo 1 subdivision step.

To better see the end result, you can enable wireframe overlay in the 3D viewport.

Moreover, wouldn't "Planar" be more in line with what OP asked for?

Yeah, that's probably a better choice here :)

Enter edit mode, press 3 for face select mode, select all the faces you wish to join and press F.

Since they're coplanar circle/box select vertices inside and remove them. In your case many edges share a single vertex so removing one vertex you remove several edges at once. It gives you better control as you choose what to remove. And the size of your file suggests decimate would need many iterations which could freeze/crash Blender.


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Exporting a shape made out of quads results in hexagons in obj file
I made some sort of furniture by taking the default cube and insetting some parts of it and splitting(subdividing) it here and there. Then I add a bevel modifier with 1 segment.
A view of the model, with modifier applied (as you can see there are only quads here):

I export it as obj, the only box I have checked is "apply modifiers".
In the exported obj you will find a couple of faces which have 6 vertices, which shouldn't happen. Why does it and how do I fix it? It's important that this mesh gets exported as an obj with only quads/bilinear patches

For educational purposes(2.79).
Just enable the Edit Tool 2 addon to see what is happening to your meshes.
You will get a Face Info / Select panel where you can see and select Ngons, Quads and Tris.
I always use it to check and fix my models before export them to an AR app.

I figured out why it happes. The front/back edges connected to these 6 vertices:

I don't have any way of looking at an .obj file to see where your problem appears, but you have two spurious vertices on the edges of the bottom face which you can see in Blender if you turn off the bevel modifier. Not sure whether deleting those would sort your problem?

I have deleted those vertices but the problem persists. You can open a .obj file with a simple text editor like notepad and then look for "f" (face) with 6 numbers, something like f 11 45 24 74 21 10
The numbers refer to which vertices the face connects.

Ah ok. Filed for future reference in case I ever need to unpick one! Glad to see you've sorted it.


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Is there a kerf or shave-off modifier?
Is there a modifier which "shaves" off 0.1m of every face equally? As if it were to go over every face and move it 0.1m in the negative normal direction, and clipping it properly. Displacement seems almost it, but it warps the shape unequally.
Resizing doesn't do the trick either.
Edit: I'm trying to make this keyboard 'Enter' key work. All of the other keys have the same displacement modifier. As you can see the enter key gets a weird dent from the displacement modifier.

The displacement modifier works like I want it to when I make sure that the co-planar faces are not divided, i.e. by doing a limited dissolve first, to turn the quads of the enter key into ngons.

Good to know, thanks for posting your answer.. I'd really like to figure out why this works :)

@RobinBetts My guess: perhaps it goes through the faces sequentially, and it does the middle face first. Because of that the other faces become diagonal, and then it scales those in their now diagonal normal direction. EDIT: nope, that doesn't seem to be it either.

If you select the faces you want to be displaced along their normals, and use AltS Shrink/Fatten with 'Offset Even' checked, that should do the trick. You can numerically enter the offset.

Thee internal edges don't quite know where to go, but they could be snapped or 0-scaled back into place.

..to select the side faces only, select 1 top and 1 bottom face, Shift-G select coplanar, and Ctrl-I invert the selection.

This is too manual for my taste. What if I ever have a really big mesh? Or what if I want to adjust the parameters if I later on decide on fatter/leaner keys? I'd have to manually redo it every time. Selecting all faces still gives the same distortion as a displace modifier. So I have to go by each face.


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Bevel just a face
As I was watching a tutorial from Daniel Lepik on his Instagram, I noticed a pretty nice trick where he seems to bevel a face after Inset/Extruding inwards, which enables him to make a circular or rounded hole or object inside a square face:

I have redrawn the screenshots here to make it more legible:

It seems like a simple and efficient solution to create round meshes inside faces while limiting the number of polygons and respecting good topology. Also, it doesn't require a modifier which would impact the whole mesh.
However, in Blender, I cannot find any options for Beveling Inset or Extruded faces. I looked in the tool shelf while Extruding / Insetting, nothing. I tried the Bevel shortcut when the face was selected, nothing. Google, nothing.
Can this be done in Blender?
Edit: Following Legoman's answer, I was able to subdivide in a way close to what I am trying to do, but still not sure it is the best way:
Technique 1 ctrl + b + v then to round the shape alt + shift + 1

Technique 2 (sorry about the weird moiré effect at the beginning)

I don't really get those descriptions while screenshots are quite lowres, but it looks like you're searching for beveling vertices (Ctrl+Shift+B or option in the modifier), e.g. https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/63794/how-to-round-corners-of-plane. Note though that multiple edges from one vertex as in the first picture isn't really good topology

I think if you select a single vertex loop and bevel, you will get the effect like Mr Zak is talking about....

Apologies for the low-resolution - instagram TV is only accessible on the instagram app, not the desktop version. You might be able to find this on Lepik's instagram on the app

Try selecting your face, tapping ctrl+B, and then press V. This should provide the desired effect. (You may need to delete the center face first.) Afterwards, just snap the four undesired vertices to the corner of the cube and remove doubles.

I incorporated elements of your answer into an edit of the question, I am close to marking as valid answer if you can develop a bit! Thanks

Developed. I think this is what you were going for (if not in quite as few steps).

See the Loop Tools Addon located in the tools.
Circle is a feature.
So if you have plane with grid vertices cut out, you can easily arrange the vertices to a circle.

Blender Bevel Modifier Can be Selective
It can operate on vertex groups
Non destructive and you can change segments at anytime.

The image above shows the use of two different vertex groups. The color options was used.

We use two bevel modifiers to show beveling can be selective and composed.
Create two vertex groups.
Each one uses a different vertex group as indicated by the gold arrows.
There are so many options and ways to do this with the modifier.
There is an option Vertex Group
The above image was a cube and is beveled.

It seems that you are creating additional geometry on every single face of your model in image 1, also, it seems like it would be difficult to easily change the radius of the cylinder coming out of the tube, because of said additional geometry. In your second picture, your middle shape still looks like a square coming out of a square

I can think of one very easy way to achieve the beveled corners, and perfect circle is only one step further.
To get the nicely beveled corners, simply extrude the shape that you want to bevel the corners of, then bevel the edges that connect to the vertices you want to bevel. Finally, delete the extruded vertices and you should be left with the desired result.
To get a perfect circle, you can use the Circle tool in the loop tools addon as MicroMachine mentioned, or use the To Sphere operator (Ctrl+Shift+S). The loop tools command will give you a perfect circle with evenly spaced vertices, but can rotate the circle a bit that you may want to correct later. The To Sphere operator will not rotate the circle, but will not evenly distribute the vertices, meaning you need a roughly even distribution of vertices to get a decent result.
Probably a bit confusing when I explain it with words, so here's a gif to clear things up. I used the Loop Tools Circle tool in this example, and just roughly rotated the circle to where it should be. There may be a way to figure out the exact number of degrees it gets offset, but that I don't know.


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Materializing a Boolean modifier in an animation
I'm trying to reproduce David's answer here, and make variations.
When I assign a material other than transparent to the Boolean Difference cutting Cube, as in the attached blend file, the cutting shape stops being invisible.
I would like to have a way to materialize the precise area which is being cut through and keep the Cube invisible: either by representing a "fill" material as in the previous question, or by making the inside edge of the Sphere a different material.
Desired result 1

Desired result 2

Can the "cut" area be materialized with a different material, either the "fill" of the shape receiving the cut or the line along which it is cut?

If the boolean object doesn't have any materials, the first is used. Here is a modifier stack which produces your desired effect.

@Leander Thanks! I'm in Cycles! Sorry for not mentioning, I'l add the Cycles tag too. Your setup works with Cycles but not the "Inside" color (a fun add!)

Doesn't make a difference, the screenshot only features the materials tab to show the stack of the 3 materials, the settings could also be cycles materials.

@Leander Make the GIF an answer!


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Making a realistic infinite mirror tunnel
You know when you're standing between two walls that both have mirrors on them and it makes it look like each mirror is an infinite tunnel going into oblivion?
Something like this:

(photo from Daniel Hong's website).
So, I'm trying to achieve the same effect in a claustrophobic elevator scene, using planes with a glossy material, and it looks like the reflections somehow stop or become very dark after a few bounces:

How could I make the light fade little by little after each bounce and not really ever become completely black?

In addition to the answer Photon posted, if you want to make the reflection curl up like it does in the reference photo, displacing the geometry or texture slightly should do the trick. Also, the effect of each iteration getting darker is a result of less light being reflected with each bounce (some light is diffused in other directions). Making your Glossy color slightly darker than pure white should give you this (more realistic) effect. I suppose the "completely black" you don't want is where the bounce limit is. Better to veer off at a curve and gradually get darker than to stop abruptly.

To make more bounces:
Go to render panel and in Light paths section increase Bounces on Min, Max and Glossy

To get rid of Darkness:
Go to materials and change both mirrors color to pure white:

In your Properties View in the Render Tab search the Light Paths Panel and crank up your Transparency Bounces:


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Can I create my own area in Blender?
With Blender I can change the type of area (shader editor, 3d viewport...) by clicking on its upper left icon. Does Blender apis allow me to create my own area type and using the Blender node-editor, with my own custom node types I can add with shift+A ?

The only custom editor you can add with python is a node editor. see https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/185254/how-to-create-custom-editors-with-python or https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/170526/is-it-possible-to-add-a-custom-editor-as-an-add-on


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Does Blender support importing/exporting REDlog color format?
I'm a VFX supervisor for a student film, and they are filming with a RED camera with REDlog.  I haven't found a sure answer anywhere, so I want to confirm: can REDlog video/color be preserved when imported into Blender (as the effect background) and exported with the effect applied as an image sequence?  If so, what methods do I need to do to ensure that that happens?

Not as video, given that Blender will only import video at a down bitted 8 bits per channel, and potentially dubiously at that.
If you export to a proper still format such as a TIFF, not DPX as Blender's DPX code has been horribly broken for years, you can. This would require an OCIO stanza to properly convert it to the reference space.
Other option is to output a scene referred linear EXR with REC.709 primaries, or in the native RED gamut and write a simple OCIO stanza to handle the conversion.

can REDlog video/color be preserved when imported into Blender (as the
  effect background) and exported with the effect applied as an image
  sequence?

It is impossible to preserve a wider gamut in a smaller gamut if you intend to conduct any manipulations on the pixels. This is a bit of a tricky area so I'll leave it at that to avoid boring you into submission. By default, Blender uses a REC.709 based reference space, and almost every single camera sensor on the market can record a wider gamut than the REC.709 / sRGB reference lights can represent. The only way around this is to use a wider reference space, and that is another topic altogether.

Will ffmpeg read RED? EDIT: I guess the RedCine X Pro utility is still available to convert the files?

RedCine X Pro is available, so I have that for conversions.  I just wasn't sure if there was a more native way.  I would prefer doing image sequences anyway, since it's more manageable.
Sorry, OCIOs are beyond me.  What are those exactly, and how would I create/modify those?  A good reference link would be fine if it's too much for here :)

Use RedCine to convert to scene referred EXRs, in REC.709 and you are good to go. OCIO is the colour management library for Blender. Be sure to set REC.709 (at D65), or your colour primaries won't line up with your CGI. Half float is more than enough. If you are supervising, you really should take the time to learn these things.

I jumped into the supervisor role fairly recently, so I'm trying to catch up.  I've been studying color spaces before now, but apparently not enough.  Thank you so much :)

Feel free to email or ping me if you encounter issues. The key thing to strive for is a scene referred model throughout your pipeline. It will make the work infinitely easier and far more seamless.


text:
Nodes: can't find material output or Diffuse BSDF
I'm a new user of Blender and I wanted to try using bump maps.
I've watched a few tutorials online, looked here on Blender.SE and on the Blender guide, but I'm a bit stumped because I have different options than what I saw in the tutorials:
This is what the tutorial show.
I cannot find the material output or the Diffuse BSDF node anywhere. I'm wondering if I need to change my settings or if I am doing something wrong. I made sure to look at tutorials for the same version of Blender than what I use, in case it might be an issue.

https://blender.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/174/uploading-screen-shots-into-stack-exchange-questions-answers/

@DuarteFarrajotaRamos OP cannot upload with 1 rep at the time of writing.

Make sure you are using Cycles Render (drop down top middle). When you add a material it will not necessarily create nodes, you need to click "Use Nodes".

Maybe you're not in Cycles Render mode (top horizontal menu bar), or maybe you are, but in the Node editor you are not in Shader mode (bottom horizontal menu bar)?

This is exactly what I was just writing up :-)

anoyingly not the case checked both im always in blender render and i made sure it was in shader mode too >.<


text:
How to prevent model from changing locations when going into dynamic topology mode?
My character model rotates 90 degrees forward when I check dynamic topology. When exiting, the mesh goes back to it's original point with the exception of any vertices effected by sculpting, which remain 90 degrees forward.

After loading model.

After checking dynamic topology

After sculpting

Mirror comes to mind.  Dyntopo shouldn't rotate.  Can you post a pic, or share a .blend file blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com

https://imgur.com/a/v8vZS

How exactly are you importing your model?  It appears bones have Z-axis up, and vertices have Y-axis up, and you only see it upright when the bones affect their designated areas.  It's possible you could fix this by inflating the bones area of influence, or check your model import settings.

I'm importing it as an fbx with all import settings at default. I've messed around with manual orientation and have had no luck. Here is the .blend file...

When I load the .blend file, everything in the scene is selected.
Click on the model name 'Game_engine' in the outliner,
so it selects all the pieces of the model, and it's pose.
Click the skeleton icon in properties
click Rest Position
Alt-R to reset rotation.
Hope that helps, if not, you might try Autodesk's tool
to convert it to a more recent .fbx file.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=22694909
As a side-note:
The scene seems to have 2 lamps and 2 cameras with the exact same position.
You might delete the extra .001 for each of those, if they aren't needed.

Alt-R fixed it! Thank you for your patience in helping me.


text:
Multiple addons with the same name error but it's the same file __init__.py

Hi
I tried to install an addon from a zip file and i have this error but this is the same file. I checked, there is only 1 bl_info. There are 2 other .py files in the script, import_3ds.py and export_3ds.py, and neither of them have bl_info.
If i delete the __init__.py file there is no error but the plugin isn't loaded at all.
The __init__.py :
# ##### BEGIN GPL LICENSE BLOCK #####
#
#  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
#  modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
#  as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
#  of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
#
#  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
#  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
#  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
#  GNU General Public License for more details.
#
#  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
#  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
#  Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
#
# ##### END GPL LICENSE BLOCK #####

# <pep8-80 compliant>

bl_info = {
    "name": "Autodesk 3DS format",
    "author": "Bob Holcomb, Campbell Barton, Andreas Atteneder",
    "version": (2, 0, 0),
    "blender": (2, 80, 0),
    "location": "File > Import",
    "description": "Import 3DS, meshes, uvs, materials, textures, "
                   "cameras & lamps",
    "warning": "Images must be in file folder",
    "doc_url": "http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/"
               "Scripts/Import-Export/Autodesk_3DS",
    "category": "Import-Export",
}

if "bpy" in locals():
    import importlib
    if "import_3ds" in locals():
        importlib.reload(import_3ds)
    if "export_3ds" in locals():
        importlib.reload(export_3ds)

import bpy
from bpy.props import (
        BoolProperty,
        EnumProperty,
        FloatProperty,
        StringProperty,
        )
from bpy_extras.io_utils import (
        ImportHelper,
        ExportHelper,
        orientation_helper,
        axis_conversion,
        )

@orientation_helper(axis_forward='Y', axis_up='Z')
class Import3DS(bpy.types.Operator, ImportHelper):
    """Import from 3DS file format (.3ds)"""
    bl_idname = "import_scene.autodesk_3ds"
    bl_label = 'Import 3DS'
    bl_options = {'UNDO'}

    filename_ext = ".3ds"
    filter_glob: StringProperty(default="*.3ds", options={'HIDDEN'})

    constrain_size: FloatProperty(
            name="Size Constraint",
            description="Scale the model by 10 until it reaches the "
                        "size constraint (0 to disable)",
            min=0.0, max=1000.0,
            soft_min=0.0, soft_max=1000.0,
            default=10.0,
            )
    use_image_search: BoolProperty(
            name="Image Search",
            description="Search subdirectories for any associated images "
                        "(Warning, may be slow)",
            default=True,
            )
    use_apply_transform: BoolProperty(
            name="Apply Transform",
            description="Workaround for object transformations "
                        "importing incorrectly",
            default=True,
            )

    def execute(self, context):
        from . import import_3ds

        keywords = self.as_keywords(ignore=("axis_forward",
                                            "axis_up",
                                            "filter_glob",
                                            ))

        global_matrix = axis_conversion(from_forward=self.axis_forward,
                                        from_up=self.axis_up,
                                        ).to_4x4()
        keywords["global_matrix"] = global_matrix

        return import_3ds.load(self, context, **keywords)

@orientation_helper(axis_forward='Y', axis_up='Z')
class Export3DS(bpy.types.Operator, ExportHelper):
    """Export to 3DS file format (.3ds)"""
    bl_idname = "export_scene.autodesk_3ds"
    bl_label = 'Export 3DS'

    filename_ext = ".3ds"
    filter_glob: StringProperty(
            default="*.3ds",
            options={'HIDDEN'},
            )

    use_selection: BoolProperty(
            name="Selection Only",
            description="Export selected objects only",
            default=False,
            )

    def execute(self, context):
        from . import export_3ds

        keywords = self.as_keywords(ignore=("axis_forward",
                                            "axis_up",
                                            "filter_glob",
                                            "check_existing",
                                            ))
        global_matrix = axis_conversion(to_forward=self.axis_forward,
                                        to_up=self.axis_up,
                                        ).to_4x4()
        keywords["global_matrix"] = global_matrix

        return export_3ds.save(self, context, **keywords)

# Add to a menu
def menu_func_export(self, context):
    self.layout.operator(Export3DS.bl_idname, text="3D Studio (.3ds)")

def menu_func_import(self, context):
    self.layout.operator(Import3DS.bl_idname, text="3D Studio (.3ds)")

def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(Import3DS)
#     TODO: Restore export
#     bpy.utils.register_class(Export3DS)

    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_import.append(menu_func_import)
    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_export.append(menu_func_export)

def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(Import3DS)
#    TODO: Restore export
#     bpy.utils.unregister_class(Export3DS)

    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_import.remove(menu_func_import)
    bpy.types.TOPBAR_MT_file_export.remove(menu_func_export)

# NOTES:
# why add 1 extra vertex? and remove it when done? -
#  "Answer - eekadoodle - would need to re-order UV's without this since face
#  order isnt always what we give blender, BMesh will solve :D"
#
# disabled scaling to size, this requires exposing bb (easy) and understanding
# how it works (needs some time)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

Please help me!

Appears  you have folders named appdata and AppData in your user folder.

I don't. The 2 names lead to the same folder

Is it (or it is) possible one is a symbolic link (shortcut) to the other?  Could you please type  bpy.utils.script_paths('addons') into blender's python console and report back the result?  See python docs, an __init__.py file in a modules base folder "defines" the module, hence would not remove it.

It gives
['D:\Programmes\Blender\2.90\scripts\addons', 'C:\Users\Scover\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.90\scripts\addons', 'C:\Users\Scover\appdata\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.90\scripts\addons']

THere is the issue, blender is treating as two separate paths. Not a link?  I no longer use MS windoze since XP.  My limited understanding with latter versions of MS windows can set folder / file names as case sensitive or insensitive on a per folder basis. Have you perhaps added the lowercase version of the path (up to scripts) to User Prefs > File Paths > Scripts.  https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/preferences/file_paths.html#file-paths

I had the same path in User Prefs > File Paths > Scripts
Removing the path fixed the problem

As re my  last comment under question. In as much as it is the "same path"  on case insensitive  windows, compounding the issue is the difference in case.   eg can you confirm that had your chosen the path  from filebrowse, or pasted in such that they match as a string, the same issue persists. Perhaps something for the devs to look at re testing for any two paths having equivalent target folder. ,


text:
I cannot find my curve in my graphic editor
I had just begun using animation and once I changed my viewpoint to graphic editor, I could not find my curve. My graph itself seems off since the top is giving me -900000.., and the sides a similar digit. I’m trying to have the top to range from 100s (100,200 etc) and the side to range from 20s (0,20,40 etc). I had tried using the home key but I use a Mac so I’m guessing the home key is fn + left arrow. I did click on the graph and pressed those keys however nothing happened. I’m not sure how to fix this. Is there a manual section I can input what I want for the y-axis and the x-axis? What should I do?

did u change your default keymap settings? i just can assume that you assigned the home button to another function. I am MacUser as well and the home button works with fn+left exactly as you wrote.

the "brute force" method to repair would be to go in settings -> keymap -> graph editor, then press "restore" [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/lMB02.png -> but be aware: you will loose all your "manual made" keymaps

you've zoomed out and scrolled a lot, what does it give if you select all (A) and press the numpad dot (.)?

you can search in keymap for "HOME": [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/8Jyrv.png

@moonboots, I tried to click A + (.) and it gave me a pivot menu (bounce box center, 2d cursor, and individual center).

then you can check, whether "home" in graph editor is defined, if yes, search for other "Home" definitions

Could you please share your file? https://blend-exchange.com/

@Chris thank you so much it worked. I had been pressing on End ( fn + right arrow) all this while. I appreciate the honesty.

@moonboots, thank you for the assist, I had been pressing the wrong key the whole time. Thank you so much once again.

You've zoomed out and scrolled a lot, to automatically come back to the existing keyframes select all (A) then press the numpad dot key (.).


text:
Why does the image texture look darker on the mesh than in the UV editor?
The texture on the mesh is darker than the image, which is forcing me to change the skin color of the mesh a bit darker. Is there a way to fix this? If not, why is this actually happening?

Maybe make sure that the color management is set to Standard, or that the lights are strong enough?

On the mesh it is shown shaded, reacting to its environment depending on the settings for the surface in the material shader. In the UV Editor it just shows the image, like for example Photoshop would. No shading, lighting, reflections or anything.

Oh, that makes sense. Thank you


text:
Odd Chess Crown - How can it be fixed?
I'm modeling a rook cheese piece but the crown seems off. It seems bent and not really, how can this be fixed?
NT: Zoom into the crown to see the fault.

you have overlapping faces and unconnected faces, the Subdivision Surface can't round the edges between faces that are not connected, you need to select all and press M > Merge by Distance with a Distance of 0.02, then create some bevels to sharpen the edges or bevel manually

Hello and welcome. While files, images, and external videos or links may be helpful additions they should not be the only way to obtain information about your issue. Don't make understanding your question rely on downloading a file, watching a video or visiting an external site. Use the builtin tools to upload images or gifs, along with thoroughly explaining the problem in written form so it can be indexed and searched for thus helping future visitors with similar issues.

@moonboots, when you say select all do you mean just the crown or everything? And what do you mean bevels

Select the object, switch to Edit mode, select everything (A) and press M > Merge by Distance then in the Operator Box (bottom left of your 3D view) choose a Distance value of 0.02 in order to merge all the overlapping vertices

@moonboots thank you so much, it worked. I haven't used the bevel tool before that's why I was confused, however the Merge by distance worked.

Hello, @Newlearner23, I think the downvoting here may be because you have committed folks to a download of your file (for which, thanks,) before having an indication of whether they are likely to be able to help you. A screen-grab illustration showing your topology would have gone a long way, here.

Select the object, switch to Edit mode, select everything (A) and press M > Merge by Distance then in the Operator Box (bottom left of your 3D view) choose a Distance value of 0.02 in order to merge all the overlapping vertices.


text:
How do I make my own add on?
This is going to be a very specific question so for some context- roughly 2 years ago I started learning to how use blender for my job
(I'm a dental technician and my boss wanted to start using the "blender for dental" add on to turn scans our customers send us into printable models as a cheaper alternative to getting them made by a 3rd party)
And i've grown to really enjoy Blender tho by no means do i consider myself an expert.
Now to the actual question- we always struggle finding suitable models (at least upper and lower jaws that actually fit together) for our apprentices to practice on- you give one out, say "put it back where you took it from" and it disappears forever.
So recently i got the idea that we could bypass this problem if i made an add on for blender where they can design their own models specific to what they need, print them and they'd all always fit together.
Stumps in the front, fully toothed in the side, or even complete blanks for total prosthetics
The image below is obviously edited and i didn't use any actual dental models yet just in case it's not possible afterall so i don't waste too much time but basically how i thought it could work is- first you generate a complete toothless upper and lower jaw- than you pick what you want the toothed version to look like
B- blank
S- stump
T- tooth
Then you click to generate it and the add on loads whichever part you chose from your library onto the model and idealy applies a boolean union modifier in the process..
Now please be realistic with me here- is this even possible for someone like me? If yes- are there any good tutorials that can show me how to do this or does anyone have any advice where to begin with this?
If you made it this far and read all of my rambling thank you so much, I truly appreciate it <3 :)

This is a Q&A site to help with problems using Blender and its built-in addons only. Having said that, the simple answer is: If you've never written an addon or used python before it's highly unlikely that you'd be able to do what you want without a great deal of research and thorough understanding of both addons and python.

just to clarify: the user interface (the buttons) is a mockup/an edited image? Or is it already created by Python code?

I think your question (Q) is actually 3 Qs. I highly recommend editing your Q and splitting it to create 3 or 4 focused Qs each to address one specific problem. This will make your Qs more helpful for other users that have the same or a similar problem. Ask the Qs in a common but focused way, with a short description & an example, and a few keywords. Tell the readers what you try to achieve, what you have tried, what doesn't work, and where you are stuck/need help/about the problem. Then more people will find your Qs by the keywords & you will get more attention, feedback & answers (A) :-)

I see here 3 questions: The first Q (non-technical) is what you have asked in the title Q1) Can someone with no programming skill create a Blender add-on? Q2) is about the UI. There are plenty of examples here about how to create a panel, buttons that call an operator & how to create radio buttons. But I haven't found something like "How to update properties of multiple objects by a list of Radio Buttons?" Q3) is about the button action/operator like "How to pick an object from a collection and place it at a given position with Python" or "How to create a script that ..."

(The italic words in the previous comment are keywords) Q4) bonus question ;-) might be about 3D Printing, like "How to make a model of multiple objects/mesh parts printable?" (boolean op/remesh?). The answers of Q2-Q4 will help people who want to create a completely different add-on but that is kinda the same as your add-on. Something like a traffic light generator (lights=tooths, the housing of the traffic light=jaw) or a car generator with customizable wheels and rims (wheels=tooths, car=jaw). The answers of Q2-Q4 will answer your first Q ;-)

About Q1) I agree with John Eason but it also depends on the complexity of the add-on. Your add-on is rather simple. You don't have to deal with mesh data & there is no vector math needed. There are many examples/add-on templates and if you get an answer to Q2 and Q3 and look for more code snippets then you can "Frankenstein" it => modify and put it all together to create the add-on. It helps to know the basics of programming (if...then...else, loops, data types) & Blender's API (UI elements, EnumProperties, etc). With keywords, you'll find many examples on stackoverflow.com & here.
.


text:
Convert files from console using Blender
I'm trying to import glTF file into Blender and export it as dxf by running a Python script from command line.
I'm able to do this via GUI when I activate both glTF & dxf plugins. I've seen a similar solution for conversion from obj to fbx, which runs fine:
import bpy
bpy.ops.wm.read_factory_settings(use_empty=True)
bpy.ops.import_scene.obj(filepath="D:\\source.obj")
bpy.ops.export_scene.fbx(filepath="D:\\taget.fbx")

However, glTF and dxf are handled via plugins and I've been unable to modify the code since I'm no Python expert

This is untested, but too much to write in comment.
Would say the gltf addon is default in 2.8 the dxf not.  Here is a test script to enable both and set as default and persistent.
If you look at addon info for the two addons in question will note that the folder name in addon folder for each is
"io_export_dxf", "io_scene_gltf2"

this is the key used to enable them using the addon_utils helper method enable, and check if already default and enabled with check
import bpy
from addon_utils import check, enable
bpy.ops.wm.read_factory_settings(use_empty=True)
for addon in ("io_export_dxf", "io_scene_gltf2"):
    default, enabled = check(addon)
    if not enabled:
        enable(addon, default_set=True, persistent=True)

#bpy.ops.import_scene.gltf(filepath="/somepath")
#bpy.ops.export.dxf(filepath="/somefilepath")

Note commented out the operator calls.
See the output in the python console to find and check what properties can be set for operators.
For example export to dxf. Will reflect those in UI panel when manually exporting.
>>> bpy.ops.export.dxf(
dxf()
bpy.ops.export.dxf(filepath="",
    projectionThrough='NO',
    onlySelected=True,
    apply_modifiers=True,
    mesh_as='3DFACEs',
    entitylayer_from='obj.data.name',
    entitycolor_from='default_COLOR',
    entityltype_from='CONTINUOUS',
    layerName_from='LAYERNAME_DEF',
    verbose=False)
Export to the Autocad model format (.dxf)

Note properties listed in long winded operator call above are defaults, and only need to be set when non default (eg filepath)
As mentioned untested.

Thanks a lot @batFINGER. Worked like a charm. Sadly, I can't upvote your answer here due to lack of reputation

looks like I have finally enough reputation to upvote your answer. Thanks again!

Cheers, appreciated.


text:
Subdivision surface creates thorn-like artifact/curve (Blender 2.8)
I'm using blender 2.8 and this issue occurred while I was retopologizing something using the poly build tool.
Subdivision surface is create a weird thorn-like curve and I can't figure out why. My unmodified mesh looks fine.
Let me just show you the images because its probably hard to figure out what I'm saying through text alone. I lack the knowledge to accurately describe what I'm seeing here.
Image with subsurf:

Image without subsurf:

Normals (definitely hard to see, but they're all pointing the same direction):

UPDATE: So I solved the issue, but I still don't know what caused it.
I selected the whole mesh, and deleted loose. That gave me a face with 6 vertices. Creating an edge by selecting the two middle vertices and pressing f recreated the issue; However, using the knife tool to cut the new face solved the issue. I somebody knows what this means, please let me know. Thanks.

you must have an edge inside, please share your original file

So I solved the issue, but I still don't know what caused it. I selected the whole mesh, and deleted loose. That gave me a face with 6 vertices. Creating an edge by selecting the two middle vertices and pressing f recreated the issue; However, using the knife tool to cut the new face solved the issue. I somebody knows what this means, please let me know. Thanks.

if you want to know what cause it, please share your blend file with problematic part via https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com as moonbots asked. thank you :)

In cases like these it always comes back to some type of bad topology: overlapping, non-manifod etc. Do a mesh cleanup. Alternatively delete the problem area and grid-fill it back.


text:
Blender Edge Flow/UV Mapping help needed
I started a project recently with a sewer scene, and I'm trying to make a circular hole in the cylinder I'm using for the wall to make a ladder that leads into the sewer. However, when cutting the hole, I've been able to get some decent edge flow, but I can't seem to avoid UV stretching. Also, I'm using Adaptive Subdivision to raise the bricks, and for some reason it doesn't seem to be working all of the sudden (before I cut the hole, and sometimes when I was reworking the mesh it would work). Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Here's the file (copy and paste the link into a web browser, the file was too large for blendexchange so I used my google drive):
drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1W0Y0agLwyviXrVUeinJHthQMm4NyExjv

You should display some screenshots here to make your problem more understandable. Also, you didn't pack any image so we can only see a pink texture, please pack everything (File > External Data > Pack All Into .Blend) and reload your file.

thanks @moonboots I updated the post so it should more clear, the textures are now packed in and I added some screenshots :)

I don't know anything about Adaptive Subdivision, maybe create a new question for this. About your first question: Your stretched texture is created by the ngons, You need to use quads instead, so just correct this and it should work.


text:
How Do I Get a Material to Assign to All Faces?
So first of all this question likely suffers from the same problem as this question. I say likely, because I was never able to make the answers for that question work, so I can't be sure exactly what is going on. I AM fairly certain that I simply don't know some crucial part of applying materials, and that is causing this problem.
The problem is that if I try to apply a material to an object, the material is only applied to some faces. In the linked question, I tried to apply a material and a texture to a roof structure, so I decided to scale things down and practice on a cube. Same problem.
I created a simple green material, but it only applied to two out of six faces. Selecting the whole cube and clicking assign again has no effect. The rest of the cube is black.
Quite simply, I don't know why this is happening. Based on my understanding of materials, when you select a face and hit assign, the material is assigned to that face. Either this isn't happening, or it just isn't showing up. Why is this? What am I missing?
If possible, I would like an explanation of how the material works, not just a simple 'click this then that' answer.
Blender file
NOTE: I apologize if this seems too much like a duplicate of the linked question. I'm asking again because the answers supplied never fixed the problem for me, and because I wanted to remove all other factors and work with a simple cube for reference.

The material is assigned to all the faces. The black you're seeing is the faces that aren't exposed to the light. If you were to move the lamp in your scen around you would see you have applied the material to the whole cube. My suggestion would be to use a Hemi light in Material mode, since it is an even lighting, or no light at all in Textured mode.

That fixed it, thanks! Now to figure out what the problem is with the larger model...

Wow... all that stuff about UVs and unwrapping... both problems were the light the whole time. Thank you!


text:
beveling 2D cutout shapes not working as expected
I have a picture I am trying to 3D print a copy of.

First I took a picture, then I converted it to an svg and loaded it in tinkercad. Then after some failed fiddling I saved the file as an stl and loaded it in meshmixer. From there I cleaned it up and selected each part of the image and raised the edges up to give them some depth.
After a test print I felt it needed smoother edges, so I downloaded blender to try beveling it. After I figured out how to import and move it, I selected all of the faces on a single section (colors) and hit bevel. I'm not sure what happened but I can't get the edges to round out at all, it seems to just want to focus on a few points at intersections and move them about.
What am I doing wrong? I am VERY new to 3D modeling and learning as I go, so be warned that I don't know much of the terminology.

possibly related: http://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/10865/add-bevel-to-more-complex-objects

Practice on some geometry that isn't this scene first, to get the hang of how bevel works and how to select the right geometry quickly. Bevel doesn't magically know what you want to bevel, you probably want to select the edges to get the right kind of bevel.

This is what you'd get if you bevelled using faces, it's probably not what you want:

But this is the bevel with edges:

So I was using the wrong selector setting. Mkay.
And I thought selecting all those FACES was tedious, selecting the edges is gonna take all day. lol
I'll test it out and post an image if it works.

In blender for most things, there are faster ways. We are humans and we are lazy, we avoid repetition. Try finding the short-cuts or ask how to 'quickly do x' in a new question, or look around the site, the search facility is quite good.

OK, so I got the edges to bevel, but I'm still having issues getting it to look right. It acts strange near some of the corners.
Unfortunately I am still trying to figure out the placement and rotation of the files as soon as I started the beveling I lost the ability to move the camera without screwing everything up. But that's something I can handle myself.
How do I keep the tighter corners (convex and concaved?) from folding in on themselves?
Also, I forgot to take the picture. It's late so I need to turn in. I'll check back here and try it again tomorrow.

There are limits to what bevel can achieve, and that won't be unique to blender. Experiment with representative geometry first and you will quickly find geometric features which don't bevel very nicely. You can edit your original question add more detail and more specific edge cases, i encourage you to.


text:
How can I create spherical topology from a 2D image?
I need to create a spherical object with an irregular 3D texture.  Think of a globe of the Earth with actual raised topography for mountains, etc.  The purpose is to 3D print the object, so the texture must be physically raised, not just an image texture.
I have a 2D image of what the texture looks like, and am looking for a way to map it onto a sphere. Here is an image I found that is close to what I'm talking about (although the textures I'm using are irregular, not a repeating pattern):

There are similar questions here and here, though both refer to mapping onto a flat plane rather than a sphere.  Unfortunately, the darkness/lightness in the images alone doesn't determine the height of the topology, since the lighting in the image affects this (see above example image).
As far as mapping the entire sphere, it is acceptable to mirror the image and map it to the opposite side, meaning one circular picture can be mapped to one half of the sphere, and the mirror image of the same picture can be mapped to the opposite side, therefore covering the entire sphere (and causing the topology to line up correctly).
I'm in no way an artist, and the textures in some cases are pretty complex, so trying to recreate them by hand is out of the question.
How can I map the image to a sphere in blender to achieve the 3D texture from the image?

Have you considered using a normal map? CrazyBump is a good application for things just like this

@SammySwanson  Hmm, I'm looking at Crazybump now and it looks like it might be promising.  However, it seems you can only export the map as an image file.  How would I go about taking this map and modeling it onto a sphere in Blender?

To apply ALL the textures created from CrazyBump, I'd suggest following this tut:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W07H7xeUnGE it's a little complicated but easy to get used to. To apply just a normal map, run the image through a normal map node and mix it with the orginal image.

Heres a picture of using just the normal map: http://imgur.com/BkFB3bq


text:
Importing fonts using python?
I would like my users to select a font, essentially opening a folder so they can choose from a custom library of fonts. The fonts are located in a folder, such as C:\myfolder\fonts.
Is there an easy way to do this?

Update: Use bpy.data.fonts.load() instead -@Ray Mairlot
If I understand your question: You want to load a directory that contain font files. And the you can select those font in blender font selector?
Then use bpy.ops.font.open
In Blender 2.80 with Python 3.7.0:
import os
import bpy

dir_path = 'C:/myfolder/fonts'

directory = os.fsencode(dir_path)

for file in os.listdir(directory): #list file
     filename = os.fsdecode(file) #get filename from file
     bpy.ops.font.open(filepath=os.path.join(dir_path, filename)) #join the path

Update
for a button and panel in properties panel (Blender 2.8, Windows):
import bpy
import os

class OpenFontDir(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname      = 'data.openfontdir'
    bl_label       = "load fontdir"

    directory : bpy.props.StringProperty(
        name="Directory of Font",
        default="",
        subtype='DIR_PATH')

    def execute(self,context):
        directory = os.fsencode(self.directory)

        for file in os.listdir(directory): #list file
             filename = os.fsdecode(file) #get filename from file
             bpy.data.fonts.load(os.path.join(self.directory, filename), check_existing=True) #join the path

        self.report({"INFO"},"load from: {!r}".format(self.directory))
        return {"FINISHED"}

    def invoke(self, context, event):
        context.window_manager.fileselect_add(self)
        return {'RUNNING_MODAL'}

class Dirfontpanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_idname      = "CATEGORY_PT_Dirfontpanel"
    bl_label       = "Dir font panel"
    bl_space_type  = 'PROPERTIES'
    bl_region_type = 'WINDOW'
    bl_context     = "data"

    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        scene = context.scene
        layout.label(text="Open directory")
        layout.operator(OpenFontDir.bl_idname)

classes = (
    Dirfontpanel,
    OpenFontDir
)

def register():
    from bpy.utils import register_class
    for clss in classes:
        register_class(clss)

def unregister():
    from bpy.utils import unregister_class
    for clss in reversed(classes):
        unregister_class(clss)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

You can't directly add object on the properties > object > font panel.
The operator:

Sorry , i can't get it to work. All it needs to do is open up the folder option on the font menu. Then user can navigate to my folder themselves. I have tried this, but it won't work. Taken from the info editor..... bpy.context.space_data.context = 'DATA'
bpy.ops.font.open()

Note: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/2848/why-avoid-bpy-ops?r=SearchResults

@RayMairlot Not aware of it, I apologies. But I can't find the replacement of it, could you please point out what did I miss of it?

bpy.data.fonts.load(), which, when supplied with a filepath, will return a font datablock.

I'm using the pie menu editor, so I have my button on the panel menu already. Once you click it, all I need is for the  file browser to open up. Like when you press the  folder in the font properties. No need for it to open my folder or choose a font. Sorry if I haven't been clear enough. The user can then navigate to the font filder themselves.

@MichaelTeiniker The thing you described is the class OpenFontDir(bpy.types.Operator) part. It will be register as a operator and can be used by Pie Menu Editor


text:
Shaders Nodes - Attaching and detaching nodes with python
I would like to import an image as a plane, then add a MixShader and a Transparent BSDF, detach the Material Output Surface link, attach the BSDF to the MixShader, to the Material Output, then add the Transparent BSDF to the Mix Shader.
Is this possible to do with python coding? I am totally lost. My goal is making the image imported transparent with a script for EEVEE.

What have you tried so far?

The linked dupe should pretty much answer your question. Otherwise please post your code so we can help out with details...

Note: You can also pass use_transparency=True when calling the image as planes operator: bpy.ops.import_image.to_plane(use_transparency=True, files=[{'name':your_filepath}]), related: https://blender.stackexchange.com/q/121980/

...also .  numerous other python related node questions. Eg https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/145882/blender-scripting-connect-nodes   https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/5413/how-to-connect-nodes-to-node-group-inputs-and-outputs-in-python  @susu come on mate,  is that (easily interpreted as passive aggresive) comment ever the least part helpful to the OP?  For example Why  here but not here?