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Nurbs Curve length?

I know with the Bezier curve you are able to get the length of total length.
Is it possible to get the length of a Nurbs curve?

Measure the length  of a curve/path. (straighten out) -

A simple, albeit crude method would be to -
Set the viewport's view mode to Ortho and from the top. (Numpad 7)
Duplicate the (curve/path) and move it into a spare layer/collection.
Go to that layer/collection and select the duplicate.  APPLY it's scale. (CTL-A)
If it's got any animation or constraint working on it, get rid of them.
Set the cursor to location 0,0,0 with SH-C then set the curve to the 3D cursor. (SH-S)
Add a cube.  It will also appear at 0,0,0.
Scale it down so it's small enough to travel along the curve.  Apply the scale.
-=============-
For increased accuracy you can also do this - (but do it later.  Jump to below the animation)
Select the cube and in Edit mode add an edge that spans two diagonally opposite corner vertices.  Sudivide that edge.
An extra vertice will appear in the center of the cube.  Select that and set the 3D cursor there. (SH-S)
In Object mode add a mesh -> circle and scale it down so it's a small circle at the center of the cube.
Apply the scale. (CTL-A)
Parent it to that center vertice with CTL-P.
The circle won't have any surface which is what we want.
The cube is going to get deformed whereas the circle won't.  In theory that should enable you to more accurately position the cube dead center over the curve's far end.

.
...To Continue - with or without the circle
Select the Cube and give it a curve Modifier.  Use the Nurb copy.
The cube (and circle/dot) should appear at the exact start of the curve.  Zoom up to maximum to see this in wireframe view.  Make sure you're still in Ortho -> Top view.
With the cube still selected, pull it's Gismo along the X axis (or whichever axis works).
Take it to the other end of the curve. Zoom up as far as you can to make sure it's right on the end.  Observe the circle to more accurately establish this.
Read the cube's X axis location in the Viewport's Properties --> Transform.
That will give you the length of the curve because the cube's OP started from location 0,0,0 .
-===============-
The accuracy can be tested by adding a straight curve - a path, and comparing it's physical length in Ortho view to the distance the cube travels.


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How do you model the folding edge of the backrest?
How do you create the edges to fold around like that? I wanna create this exact same backrest piece as a modelling challenge for myself, but this might have been too advanced.
Here's a link to the page where the images are from where you can see more of the model

I might try some variation of bridge edge loops.

How though? I've tried using that, Hard Ops, subd modelling, etc., I still can't figure it out.

You could extrude a circle, spin it:

Cut a hole:

Extrude some edges:

Create new faces:

Fill the gaps between the faces:

You'll need to add edge loops to sharp the edges...
File here:

Omg you absolute wizard! That's such a brilliant idea! Do you mind sharing the file so I can have a better look at how you went about it? I hadn't thought about flipping the top curved bit like that XD

I've put the link in my answer, I'm not sure it's the good proportions but you'll find the right ones

Alright, now I'm caught in another mess :( Your idea to model the fold in that way was brilliant, but now I can't figure out how to make those holes in the middle so that they are all symmetrically aligned. How do I make a symmetrical grid on the front and back so that I can convert the vertices into circles and connect them use bridge edge loops?

this is a completely different problem, you should create a face with a hole and array it, then you'll connect with the mesh you've done

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Casting lines on terrain
I have a DXF file which is a 2D file (all lines are on one layer), and I have a 3D terrain model.
I'd like to cast these lines on terrain (to keep X,Y axis, and stretch with Z axis automatically).
I can't find any fast way to do it. I know I can adjust every vertex manually, but It is almost impossible with few thousands hektares.
I attach 2 images to show my problem
View from the top
View from the side

Can you please help?

Try the Shrinkwrap modifier with projection mode.

Thanks! Works almost like I want it ! :) There are few things to adjust, but it is the function I was looking for!

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


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Where is GIS panel in Blender 2.82?
Hej, what happened with GIS panel in Blender 2.82 ? It was so useful and in good place up to 2.81 - why is it gone? Even in Manual for 2.81 there is no word on GIS features. Can someone help me find it?

There is no built-in feature for GIS in Blender. Most likely you installed one of these Add-ons :
Blender GIS :
https://github.com/domlysz/BlenderGIS
or
Blender OSM :
https://github.com/vvoovv/blender-osm

I used it :) but I thought that from 2.8 it was there permanently because I didn't remember reinstalling plugin after changing to 2.81. I have reinstalled add-on and it works now. Thanks

There is an option to migrate all your add-ons when you install a new version, but it is only prompted once when you first launch the new version.


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Scripting Scaling based on custom properties
I am having an issue, and according to suggestion in my previous question PREVIOUS POST I am writing it as another question.
I have a small project where I have a cylinders with custom properties data about Z - Height value, and R - radius Value. I am also having a low poly tree.
I am aiming in CTRL+L copy object properties from tree to the cylinder and then accessing scaling with values Z & R from customs.

I guess that I have to create a simple script for that but I have no idea how to access data in Custom Propoerties of an object.
I feel that it will be something like that after selecting objects:
bpy.ops.object.make_links_data(type='OBDATA')
bpy.ops.transform.resize(value=(R, R, Z), orient_type='GLOBAL', orient_matrix=((1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1)), orient_matrix_type='GLOBAL', mirror=True, use_proportional_edit=False, proportional_edit_falloff='SMOOTH', proportional_size=1, use_proportional_connected=False, use_proportional_projected=False)
I attach my blend file to show the project (part of it) BLEND FILE
The point is I want to easily update vegetation data for city landscape based on true GIS data for shadows and things like that.
If you can please help me write that script properly - will be very glad for help and effort!


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How to replace object with keeping it dimmensions / how to change dimension of an object to scale value
I found that post intressting:
Is there any way to replace an object?
But I wonder if if it is possible to keep the size? (not scale) of exchanged objects? Or maybe change dimmensions to scale (reset dimmensions to 1x1x1 value and keep sizing by changing scale with simple math - moving value to scale field). Than my problem will be solved, but I have no idea how to do it. Anyone could help?
What I really need:
Exemple: I imported 1000 objects (as cylinders) that represents trees - height of a cylinder is a height of a tree, and XY is the crown diameter. I'd like to exchange these cylinders to a LowPoly tree model keeping XY-Z sizes. I know it may strech my input tree a little but I can accept it...
Is there a way to do that? Will be glad for suggestion.

My best try is 3 steps.
Replacing a cube with Suzanne, keeping exact dimensions.

Link Object Data (Ctrl + L > Object Data)
Copy dimensions of the Cube to one Suzanne (it gets slightly distorted)
Select all other monkeys, and copy object scale to them (RMB > Copy all to selected)

Linking Object Data, nothing new here.

Copy exact dimensions from Cube to Suzanne. And then copy the scale to the rest.

Hi, your solution looks well for a small amount of objects. For me - the main problem is that we are talking about ca. 5000 individuals.

Well, it should work the same no matter the object count. Are you running into any issues? :)

I am now having custom properties with Z - height value for every object, and R- radius value for every object.
I am thinking about creating custom script for transform.resize, but have no idea how to access data from custop properties tab.
bpy.ops.transform.scale(value=(R,R,Z), orient type='GLOBAL' etc ....
I attach my blend file to show the project (part of it)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14YYIZERVTDGy6ghfRVYXh6gvjtctI7or/view?usp=sharing

Right :). Please post this as a new question (you can link this one to provide context). There are many experts on scripting on this site, and they'll surely help :).

Now I saw the other comment - your solution works but only if we have unified size of the cube. If every cube in the scene would have different dimensions, than it has to be performed for single cube. And it is not so easy to update in a time...
I am trying to reuse city data about vegetation to have them quite up to date in a 3D visualisation for ArchViz purposes.

Yes, if all cubes have a different scale, it get's more complicated :) Again, post it as a new question, add the #script hashtag, and you'll have better chance of getting a relevant answer :). Don't forget to include all this new info.

new branch over here: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/188193/scripting-scaling-based-on-custom-properties


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Hi , is there a way in the blender api to get the fullpath of an object which is multiple groups ?..here is an example of maya

Hi , is there a way in the blender api  to get the fullpath of an object  which is multiple groups ?..here is an example of maya


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Wire Edit lines showing over Vertex mode Edge Select?

Hey guys, I've been using blender 2.8 for a little while now and this has me stumped. The only way I can get my vertex mode to show the yellow gradient highlighting connected edges is to display edges through viewport overlay, which is not ideal. I must have hit some key or another but now the black lines projected by the Wire Edit (in user themes) is displaying OVER the yellow gradient. Any way I can get this back to default? Thanks. I like being able to see my edges.

do you mean that, in the Viewport Overlays, the Mesh Edit Mode > Edges is deactivated by default?

Edges is disabled, but I vaguely remember there being an overlay highlight on edges in vertex mode even without that option being on. is that not true anymore?

I'm not sure what you mean, the way to see the edges enlightened in yellow is precisely to keep the default setting, which is Viewport Overlays > Mesh Edit Mode > Edges activated


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How can I move the camera on one axis and simultaneously accelerate with sound (subbass)?
I need your help and couldn't figure it out how I'm able to accelerate the camera movement with the help of sound (bass).
Is it even possible?
Thank's in advance!

Welcome to Blender Stack Exchange! Just to clarify what you're asking, you want to have the camera moving along an axis and have the sound speed it up and slow it down? Or is the sound going to move it along a different axis? Either way, it sounds like the animation nodes addon would have all the tools you need.

Hey! Thank you for your quick response. The camera is moving along 1 axis continuously and the subbass of the music track should accelerate the movement in this axis. what is an animation node addon? thank's in advance!

Animation Nodes is an addon that lets you use nodes to control animations. You could definitely do what you're asking with it, but I'm not very familiar with how it works. Have you tried baking sound to an f-curve in the graph editor? That might be what you're after.


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How can I have the car body contain multiple objects with "Offroad Rig Generator Setup for Geometrynodes"
I have downloaded "Offroad Rig Generator Setup for Geometrynodes": Download it here.
I want to have multible objects attached to the car body as shown on the car on the right.

The node setup does only allow one object as the car body:

Is there a way I can have the car body being a collection instead of just one object?

I found a solution.

In the node setup zoom in on this Object Info node:

Replace it with a collection info node.

Press "n" on the keybord then click on "Group" and select the "Body" input.

Change the "Type" from "Object" to "Collection".

Now the body can be a collection instead of just a single object.


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How would I add dots to the texture on a 3d object?
I am pretty new to blender and I've been trying for a little while to get dots on a 3d surface.
On the picture below you can probably better see what I am after. On the top is the image I am trying to recreate, and I am wondering how I can get that dot pattern onto my model. My model does have a bool and subdivision modifier, and I feel like that is making it a bit harder. I have tried following this (Procedural polka dot pattern with cycles), but I cannot get it to work on my model. I've also tried texturing, but I don't know how that works too well and the dots just get stretched out.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

I like your way of thinking, but the procedural texture you picked is meant to be used on a 2-dimensional plane. The z-scale isn't being touched at all by the other nodes.
While i cannot give you a setup for a procedural texure, why not create a small .jpg or .png and then scale up the UV map? You may have to mark the seams manually to get it lined up perfectly though. If you're using Smart UV, make sure "Stretch to UV Bounds" is deselected to not mess up the aspect ratio.

I do think this will probably get me close to the result I want. Though I am still very confused by the UV mapping part. Now I have this result (https://imgur.com/a/CRACbqW). But you can see the texture density is higher on the top, and the bottom is reversed (I think). What technique should I read into?

If you want to add details like those you've shown in your original post anyway, I suggest you do that first. That way you have more places to hide the seams of your texture. It doesn't look like your base texture is correct, cause the dots aren't placed evenly. To gain a better understanding of UV unwrapping i recommend Blender Guru's tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scPSP_U858k

Thank you very much, this has helped a lot!

Nice. Feel free to mark my answer as "accepted" so the bot won't push it to the front page in random intervals (and also give me some sweet, sweet reputation ;D)


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Is there a way i could speed up my work?
I'm macbook pro 18 user and complete beginner. I thought my computer can handle Blender 2.82 but I couldn't even add materials on my project. On view mode eevee works fine but on cycles it just stop working. How do I speed up my process?

The performance will depend on 3 things, your CPU, available RAM and if you have a GPU. What do you have here?

My GPU isn't working on cycles since Mac has AMD  I'm trying to make a talking burger animation here, looks like my 3D dream is done untill I get PC


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How do I produce an uneven offset /solidify modify on a cube?
I am trying to create an offset that is wider on one side than the other and i have been using the solidify modify tool, however this creates an even offset. I am relatively new to blender and so any information would be useful. Thanks.

Solidify modifier can use a vertex group as parameter. So the offset will depend on the vertex weight in the group. Could you add a picture of what you want to obtain?

If you are solidifying through the Solidify modifier you can use a vertex group to control thickness.
Create a vertex group and add all desired vertex to it, set solidify thickness to a known value so multiplying by a factor is easy, like say $1.0$ units, or $0.1$ Units.
This value will be multiplied by the Vertex Weight set for that vertex. Now adjust thickness on a per vertex basis adjusting vertex weight.
With with weight paint, Vertex Weight Proximity modifier, or manually.


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How do I make a teleporter for rigidbodies?
Is there a way to make a rigidbody move to pointA when it touches pointB? I'm sorry if this is a really dumb question but it would help a lot.


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Duplicate mask including animations in vse (2.81)
I need to duplicate a mask including its animation to invert it and apply it on a movie strip. Is there a possibility to do it? In the dope sheet in mask mode it says "Keyframe pasting is not available..". In recent version it was possible via a number button next the mask name, but this button does not exist in 2.81 any more.
thanks daniel

Save your file with a new name (myproject_tmp.blend), then reopen the original file. File/append, select myproject_tmp, Mask, mymask, Append.
You can now delete myproject_tmp.
That's a dirty workaround... The miss of this button is either a bug or a regression in my opinion.

Great, thanks for your help!


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Easily select a bone in a bone
It is difficult to select the one in the bone. When I view the tutorial, it's easy to select at once. But I can't do that. I tried to solve it by pressing it several times. But I want to know the easy way.

Try the Outliner.

It is hard. T.T thanks


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What is the factor in the collapse option in the decimate modelifier?

I get it roughly, but there's no response on the program.

Will do something only if the weights differ. If all equal, nothing.

thank you. After applying weight paint, the mesh seems to decrease depending on the value.


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where is duplication menu in object property 2.90.1?

I'm taking Blender classes.
The blender version of the course is 2.79.
They replicate over there like the one above, but the 2.90 version doesn't have a duplicate menu.

It's now called "instancing", in the object property panel. But several things have changed since 2.8 (no dupli group and no dupliframe now).

aha thank you so much


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Quadrilaterals and objects with higher than four vertices
I know textures cannot work on triangles and I know they work on quads so can they work on faces with higher than 4 vertices

Textures work on triangles fine.  They can work on faces with more than four verts (ngons) but the mapping can be hit or miss-- mapping on triangles or quads is preferable.

Thank you, I wish I could give you a cheesecake right now for helping me.


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Scale won't save
What could be the reason that Blender won't save a model's scale. Every time I scale and save a particular model, then re-open it, it jumps back to it's original scale. Feel like I might have accidentally enabled something that I shouldn't have.

Do you have much experience in setting a keyframe?  Do you recall setting a keyframe?

Please include a screen snapshot so we can see your keyframes and scale values and constraints .

sorry for necro-ing but I have to same problem and do you know how to fix it?

If you have set keyframes then keyframes will supersede a temporary scale action.  Test the results  when you scale and set a keyframe.
You can test by moving the frame position back and forth and verifying your intentions have been recorded.
If you have any keyframes then a scale operation may just a temporary exploration.  Keyframes have CRUD abilities... for the operations of Create Read Update and Delete.
https://youtu.be/8Wb_ftxZ37o

You're right! I accidentally set a keyframe. Didn't even think about that. Thanks!

Blender has a lot of things to remember.  This little problem happens all the time.  If you feel this candidate answer has answered your question you may mark it as the answer ... or you can downvote as well.  Thanks.


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Unable to see inside object
I'm using an image as texture for sky background on a sphere, however I'm unable to see inside of that sphere, which is the whole point of background image.
Thanks.

That is really not how you should setup an environment map, but if you must

Select everything, click CTRL+N and then flip normals

Normals is the vector value that represents face's direction. By default normals are directed outside of the sphere, so everything will be displayed correctly only on this side. When you flip normals, you flip the direction of the faces to make them facing inwards.
Also, if you want to use this sky as background or lightning, make sure to check out what HDRI is and how to use it in blender.


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Weight paint, I can't subtract but can draw
I can draw in weight paint mode, but can't substract. Brush weight/strength are both 1.

I restarted my blender and the problem is gone.

With weight painting, you aren't actually painting any colour, you are just using painting tools to get a less technical approach to assigning values to each vertex. The colours you see are a visual indication of the value assigned, blender uses a colour ramp to indicate the value assigned, which is a range from 0.0 to 1.0.

The weight setting is the weight value you are assigning to each vertex, the strength will determine how many brush strokes it takes to get there. To remove the weight from a vertex, set it's weight to 0.0.


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How to get this Facial Rigging? see attached image
I saw this youtube video on facial rigging that did such a wonderful job. However I don't know if it's based on an add-on or some advanced amature rigging. Please let me know either way. Thanks in advance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfL8VD7vGGs


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Find armature pose from shape key?
I'm curious if there's a way to find the corresponding armature pose from a shape key?

I don't think so. Many shapes wouldn't even be reproducible with just armatures, right?

@Leander, or if the shape key has been created from a pose itself? But would be a really big equation system to solve...

@Leander Agree, but what about finding the closest shape from armature pose?

@June Do you have basic knowledge of python and would be willing to use a script?

@Leander A little, wouldn't mind using a script at all.

Just to clarify, you have you mesh in a shape with Shapekey1 at 1.0 and want to reproduce that shape with Shapekey1 at 0.0, but with an armature deformation instead.

@Leander Correct.

imho, this is not resolvable if you don't have more specific constraints. Like amount of bones, geometry of the mesh. Do you have a concrete example?

@lemon think amount of bones shouldn’t matter, we can find the according deforming bones of the deformed verts by weights, try out local combinations of the bones to match the shape with some searching algorithm. Neither does geometry of the mesh matter, other than reducing workload if mirrored. No I don’t have a concret example,  but working on it in the meantime.

So you mean, bones and weights are known? Maybe something like 'simulated annealing' can do the job (not sure, of course).


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What are Blender equivalents to Softimage constraints?
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I've been struggling to get my shoulder armor for my Mega Man X project to work with an IK system. I stumbled upon a blogpost that potentially has some clues surrounding this, but they are using softimage, and the two main contraints that they use is the "Lookat" and "Up Vector" constraints. The "Lookat" seems like the Damped Track or Track To, but "Up Vector" has me stumped, and I can't seem to find what would be the Blender equivalent of that Softimage constraint, and their set up is based off of those two contraints.
The blogpost in question: https://polycount.com/discussion/200175/rigging-a-spaulder-an-easy-way-a-simple-way-to-rig-shoulder-armor

From what I can tell, reading your link:
A "lookat" is indeed a Track To constraint.
The "up vector" is not a constraint at all; it is the up axis of the Track To constraint.  The idea is that the up axis depends upon the orientation of the chest.
I can offer one way to achieve the same thing in Blender.  (There are probably multiple ways, but I don't use a track to for much myself.)  You can set the track to constraint to use "target Z" for the up vector:

This one is set to use the target's +Z axis as the up vector.  If we want that vector to point at the chest, as in your link, then we can give the target bone a damped track (track +Z) targeting the chest bone:


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Why are my IK rigged legs shaking/jiterring?
I hope you're doing good. I just finished rigging a character, and when I was blocking the run cycle (which is this exagerated in the game), it looks amazing, but when I set it to linear, there is a jitteriness/shakiness to it, mostly in the knee and thigh bones. I thought it was IK popping, but I also get that with other ik legs when I try animating a walk or run cycle. The only thing that comes to mind as a fix is to ditch the IK and animate with FK, everwhere I look online says it's a bad idea, and could take even longer to animate it in FK. I don't know if it's the rig I made or if I'm animating it wrong. Thanks in advance for reading this.

This is purely an animation issue. A typical "knee pop" we get when animating legs in IK incorrectly.
Enabling motions paths on the knee and feet from the Armature Properties > Motion Paths panel allows you to track the location of the different joints through time and better understand what's going on:

You can also use the annotation tool to trace over the animation and analyze what the limbs do:

The issue is that you have several frames where the knee is either too close or backtracking from its position in the previous frame.
Such as here:

So you have to modify the poses to correctly transition from the different movements.
We can see at frame 19 the foot is placed perfectly between two keyframes by the interpolation, but what you need is pull out the foot a bit further. You can also look at the knee angle and consider that it wouldn't go from a fully extended leg to an almost half bent leg in two frames, and then unbend and bend again before the foot goes down under the body again. You need to pay attention to how the movements transition from and towards each other.
Furthermore, you also need to pay attention to the spacing of each frame. When the foot and knee reach the apex of their back movement, they decelerate, and then accelerate when going forward again to make a new step. This should be visible in the spacing that should be tighter in the apex.

It also doesn't help that your hips do not participate in the motion. They should pitch, yaw and roll to both accompany the legs movement and counterbalance the weight. And the whole spine should be affected up to the head too. Without hip rotations, you end up having less options for things such as how to extend legs to have your knee - foot timing and spacing correct.
To be honest, this kind of tight-knit animations rarely ever have any frame left to interpolation, everything gets hand keyed precisely to avoid these kinds of issues.
And while using FK instead of IK usually makes this issue less frequent to happen, it usually trades it for others, such as handling ground contact in FK being a pain, or alternating between FK and IK depending on whether the foot is in contact with the ground. And in any case, it although each solution has its advantages and inconveniences depending on the scenario, the basics of timing x spacing and other animation principles are always to be kept in check.
With just a quit retouch on one foot ik controller trying to touch up the timing and spacing, here's what you can get already:

I highly recommend you to take a look at the run cycle sheets from the Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams (or even get the book altogether, it's a goldmine for animators).


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Can I extrude a plane into a half cylinder?
Is it possible to take a 2D object like this rectangle and extrude it into a half-cylinder?
And, could it be done so that a pattern on the former is transferred to the surface of the latter? Not by simply draping the pattern over the half-cylinder, but projecting each point upwards from the plane to the cylinder's surface.
Because the height of any point on the curved surface is related to the horizontal distance from the long edge in a predictable manner (Pythagoras' theorem) this feels like it should be a simple process, but I cannot work out a method.

you could create a cylinder and shrinkwrap your plane on this cylinder?

Read: How to bend a large model?

Does this answer your question? How to bend a large model?

What is special about the 2D object you want to map to the cylinder?  If it's truly 2D it would just be a rectangular plane, do you mean it has some "thin" detailed geometry?  If so the linked question above may serve your purpose, otherwise it may be done with a script fairly easily.

Or you can use proportional editing.

Get into front view (View > Viewpoint > Front)
Move the middle vertices by your 'radius' (that'd be 100 mm in my example)

Check ✓ Proportional editing
Set Falloff > Sphere
Set Size to 'your radius' (0,1 corresponds to 100 mm)
Check ✓ Projected 2D


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Flag Physics seems fine when on the viewport but looks messed up when rendered
I'm fairly new to blender and I've come across this issue. My flag with wind physics seems fine when I animate it on my view port using collision physics.
Here's a sample:
https://i.sstatic.net/eZXGu.jpg
But the moment I render the animation the flag seems to spins around then the meshes seems to break.

https://i.sstatic.net/IhJSs.jpg

Do you have any subdiv modifiers for that flag? If so make sure they have the same amount of subdiv steps on render and viewport. Because the gif you posted seems to have more geometry on it than the last image you posted...

My only submodifiers are cloth and collision. So I'm sure they're the same number of subdivision.


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The Shader Editor Show Up Blank When reopen it
So I'm still learning about texturing in blender. Then after googling around i found about shader editor and uv editor. When i first open shader editor to make material the node show up okay. Then after that i go to uv editor to aligning the textures to my object. But, when i go back to shader editor to messin around with roughness and heightmap, the nodes that's there before is gone and just show up blank like this

maybe try keeping the uv editor AND the shader editor both open at the same time (split that bottom window again), and see what happens.

Change the drop-down(Material) that is at the middle of the header and select the right material so you can edit the particular material nodes

I think that you set up your nodes for the brick material, yet because you are in object mode, you have the default material showing up to be edited, not the brick. Change which material is to be edited at the top of the shader editor window.

i only have 1 material in the list

nvm i found it. dont know how but it move far away down. Have to use scale and folow the guideline

@farisadityanugraha ..  as in other editors, a quick way to recenter the view is 'A' select all, followed by Numpad '.'


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How to separate environment in Compositor without black cutouts
Nice people of Blender SE.
I'm using Compositor to blur my HDRi (as suggested by others on BSE).
Cycles render engine.
However, the environment behind objects isn't rendered, there's just a black cutout.
Therefore any applied blur results in an annoying black halo around objects.
Black halo occuring when combining blurred environment with objects.

Sure, I can render the environment separately, but it's not very practical when handling multiple scenes or animation.
Question
How can i separate the environment without these black cutouts?

You could create an additional view layer that has all collections disabled and therefore would only render the environment. Add another Render Layer in the compositor and select the view layer that only contains the environment. Would that work for you?

Thanks a lot for your response. I found that reccomended here on SE and also in the Blender manual, and it works reasonably well. But have you got any idea why are there those black cutouts? Just curious :).

Probably in order to compute the final image like this: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/layers/passes.html

Well it seems using a separate view layer is the way to go here. I'll stop looking for another solution. Cheers.

I was just curious :)
Because render View Layers doubles rendering if I'm right.

You can use existing setup, just ...

add Set Alpha node and plug inverted Alpha to create transparency in BG
and use InPaint node to recreate missing environment

Note:
because of alpha antialiased edge, I added Delete/Erode node with value -1 to get rid of one pixel that did InPaint node job slightly darker

Great solution thanks! :). I had no idea about these nodes since I don't use compositor very much.


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How Do I Rig A Human and Werewolf To The Same Rig?
Basically what I'm trying to figure out is how to have a human body with a werewolf blend shape, but I need to be able to control other things like the ears for the werewolf. How do I do this? I'm very confused.

Please show your current work.  You may wish to show some simple morphing of keyshapes so that readers have a starting point.  Currently your questions reads like  .. How do I reach my large project goal?  You may want to reduce your question to something much smaller.  Such as how do I transform from human teeth to werewolf teeth.  If a person is starting from scratch this does not appear to be a small focused question.  Again showing current work may help you.  Its your choice

Any armature could be used for many meshes at the same time.  I tend to think that is not really a large part of you question.


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Error meanign: ID user decrement error: OBmesh34_mesh34-geometry.088 (from '[Main]'): 0 <= 0
I am running a multi-view rendering script in blender-python version 2.78. Rendering itself is happening successfully, but I get the following error messages
ID user decrement error: OBmesh34_mesh34-geometry.088 (from '[Main]'): 0 <= 0
I would like to know what is the meaning of this error and why would it generally occur.
Thank you!

Objects in blender have users. A mesh object is a user of its mesh. At least an object can have zero users aka an orphan. The error is warning that somehow the system is trying to remove a user from an already orphan object.  Why it is occurring for your script may be more apparent on seeing your script.

Thanks! I am quite not able to understand that blender have users and mesh object is a user of its mesh. Can you give an example of what an user does and why do we need to have many users for one object(for ex. a mesh being an object)?

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/2448/what-does-users-means-in-term-of-datablocks


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Camera intrinsic parameters in blender python
How to get the camera intrinsic parameters matrix? By intrinsic parameters, I mean the focal length and principal point. Thank you!

https://blender.stackexchange.com/search?tab=votes&q=Intrinsics%20camera%20python


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How do I pixelate a texture in Blender 2.91.0?
I have a perfectly clear normal image I'm using as an image texture, now I want to make it pixelated via blender. How do I do that?
Some stuff I've learned: Can't use the pixelate node because I'm using the compositing nodes, Can't find the resolution node which seems to be used in the only other answer about this question on this site, also that answer isn't updated to 2.91 so my nodes look different than the ones in that answer and I'm confused.
The answer I mentioned is linked here: How to pixelate a texture in Cycles?

There is no "resolution" node. It is just a value node, that has been renamed. And note that there are two answers on that page.

Pleaese [edit] your question and clarify.  Are you asking about pixelating a texture used on a material, or pixelating an image in the compositor? For the compositor use the pixelate node.

I think this is your answer:  https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/39859/rendering-a-pixelated-image/39868#39868


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use node-generated grayscale image as texture for particles
We can drive particle systems by greyscale images (as textures). Is it possible to use an image what was generated by nodes in blender for this, without saving it as an image and open it as a texture? I didn't find anything about it, I guess no is the answer, it's my last try, thanks!

AFAIK it's not possible in 2.8 and greater version. For 2.79 and less there was texture node editor which generates textures. These textures maybe - i'm not sure - used for particle system.

thanks, it's just.. sad :)


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Pivot point is binded to the 3D cursor, scale with G only works with Ctrl
I'm a moron, I know. This is my first real project in Blender I have a goal, and I'm walking through it step by step I'm fighting with Blender, my old crappy pc, I find out not just how to do it, but how to make it with a final render before the end of the epidemic.. and time to time, accidentally I push a combination of keys, and kill the whole software. Pls help, as google doesn't. Now:

The pivo point of every object is the 3d cursor (when I rotate, for example) - nothing is locked on the 3D cursor part of view panel.
Moving with G, only works if I push Ctrl when I'm moving my mouse, after G.

I just want to go back to normal, thanks..

I think we'd need to see an image of your Blender window to answer that one! In blender, from The Window menu, select Screenshot and save the image to your desktop. Then edit your above question and drag and drop the image into the question.

I pushed shift + tab (shortkey of the button with magnet icon) accidentally


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Paint Weights Mirroring Same Weights
When I begin to paint weights for arms/legs, it paints the same side weights on the other side instead. It mirrors the same weights. My mesh is symmetrical butt I also check it by doing edit mode and symmetrical. Also, I've tried keeping on/off Auto Normalize but I would get the same results. Thinking it might be my mesh, I made a new scene using the default cube, used a mirror mod(applied it), created some geo/bones, and repeated the process. The same thing happened, so I'm not sure what could be causing it. Here are some images to give you an idea. And the brush settings are default "mix."

There are two different symmetry options while using wheight paint:
Symmetry 1 mirrors the strokes along X axis in the active vertex group.
Symmetry 2 mirrors the strokes on two vertex groups which have the same name and suffix like .l .r, .L .R, .left .right, and similar (check Blender manual for a list of valid suffix).


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How do I make faces and vertices invisible in viewport?
I started learning Blender recently, however once I got to a point in a tutorial, it showed faces and vertices being invisible (2nd image), my view doesn't show this, despite, as far as I'm aware, having the same settings as in the tutorial, how do I make these become invisible? I'm sure it's a fairly simple fix, but the tutorial I'm using didn't have any information on how to change this

They went to Object Mode.

I went to object mode and I still have the same issue

With H you can hide stuff and Alt+H brings it back - in object mode all is back by default

That fully hides the objects though, in the tutorial it wasn't hidden, the objects still had an outline, just faces and vertices weren't visible

Could it be 'Solid' mode with 'X-Ray' set to full transparency in the  Viewport Shading Options? (dropdown, far right of the viewport header bar)

Are the normals for the faces correct?

In your first picture, we see a cup of tea in object mode. No big deal.
In the second one, we see a cup of tea in edit mode. With a subdivision modifier display. But with optimal display On.
My guess is, your tutorial shows you a mesh modeled with a subdivision modifier, and the authors has it set so that in edit mode, the subdivision modifier displays a preview of its effect (that's the default behavior), but has the Optimal Display option checked on so that it doesn't draw the created geometry's wires:

Are the normals for your faces correct?


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Exchanging objects between 2.78 and 2.80
So, I have a scene put together in Blender 2.78 and a model made with Blender 2.80 that I want to use together. I downloaded the scene (version 2.78 required) and made the model myself beforehand. Apparently, I can neither open the older version's file with 2.80, nor the newer version's with 2.78.
I tried exporting the model from 2.80 to various export formats and import it in 2.78, and vice versa, but that didn't work either. Is there any way you guys know of, how to make this work? I'd be glad, if I wouldn't have to model that all over again.

Did you try to append the model in the newer version of Blender? Use 2.8 to append the scene into the new file to combine it all together.

Hey thank you, didn't thought about that. Seems to have worked.


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Boolean Cutting is not Working
I have been working on this for like 5 hours but still can't figure it out. I want to use the plane and the Boolean Modifier to remove the end of the nose from the elephant, but it doesn't seem to work, and either the plane is gone or the size of the nose cuts the plane.
I have attached the file, if anyone could help that would be great! Sorry for the trouble once again, thanks in advance.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1atL5yEH1WCgFQqHJp0WW-m-y0HmZfVwZ/view?usp=sharing

Booleans are a volume-based operation
Literally, boolean is about doing simple maths between two volumes. Like A + B or A - B.
A plane has zero volume. So you're asking Blender to do the maths A - 0... Which equals A.
If you want to remove the end of the nose, extrude your plane so it contains all the parts you want to cut off:

The modifier must be set on the target final object
Your goal is to have your elephant without its nose, so it's the elephant object that should wear the boolean modifier:

Wow, thanks for the clear explanation! I didn't really get how booleans were in Blender at the start, but now I do. Thanks so much!

You just need to make a boolean between the Elephant and a cube, not a single plane.

Got it, thanks for the help!


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How to bevel corners and edges a different amount?
I'd like to bevel the corners of my cube more than the edges of my cube.  Any way to achieve this?  Please see image of the two effects that I'd like to combine.

what object are you trying to create? (I don't think that you can bevel an "angle")

I'm making dice

If I understand well, you want to round more the edges.
So you can inset individually the faces of a cube:

and add a subdivision surface:

Oh that's just perfect!  Thank you.

You can combine two Bevel modifiers with different offset.
Just set the first one to affect Only Vertices.

Ah I tried that, but I can't bevel the edges as much as I want using that technique.

@RobertSeber This is a limitation of the bevel modifier in Blender. It is planned to add a sliding effect once the bevel get to the overlap threshold, but there is no way to know when or if it will be added.


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Normal map changes from brushed metal to small square dents after texture paint and saving it
So I've been editing a normal map for a metal texture through texture paint to get some bumps on areas where the metal is rusty. The normal map originally gives the metal kind of a brushed finish look, but after saving it, the normal map changes completely into small square divots and dents. Does anyone know why this is happening? Thanks in advance.

Please show your work as multiple Blender screen capture to ease the readers task. Are you talking about normal map or displacement map?  Blender users often [bake] normal maps.  Blender users can hand paint displacement maps.  I believe attempting to manually paint a normal map is rare, nearly impossible .. or even worse.  Suggestion add a new displacement texture.  Manually paint the displacement texture if you  choose.  See a video tutorial on using multiple textures to create a final look. The website which has a name that rhymes with noonube is available.

It's a normal map, not a displacement map. I'm not yet familiar with baking and how to bake textures, so I haven't been doing that. As for the painting, I'm not hand painting the whole thing, I'm just painting over small areas for more defined bumps to make the rust more realistic on the metal texture.

My original comment stands.  Please See multiple tutorials. They will save you time.  I will let you do your work.  A plus.

Alright, Thanks


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Baked indirect lighting from emission not showing in viewport (Eevee)
Newish user here and appreciate any help I can get. I'm running into an issue where I can't seem to get my baked indirect lighting to show up in my viewport or render in Eevee.
After baking, the emission from these windows doesn't appear to light the interior of the room.

Here's what I've double checked:

The material I've created has an emission w/ enough power
Irradiance and Reflection cube map Probes are set up
I've clicked the bake indirect lighting button

The other weird note is that when I move the object with the emission material closer to the objects in the scene, it suddenly works as expected. I've included all of this in screenshots. Let me know if there's any other info that would be useful.

Here are my render settings also:

I followed the same course and I have the same exact problem, I don't have any hidden object blocking the light but I have the same exact lighting as your first screenshot, when I move the windows forward it isn't any better, are youre sure the issue was something occulting the light? Thanks :)

FACEPALM
Turns out I had an object hidden in viewport that was blocking the emission layer. Hiding that object in the viewport and render fixed everything!


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Simultaneously see Eevee and Cycles renderings
Since the light rendering is not the same depending on whether we use Cycles or Eevee, I would like to easily compare this difference on a small scene.
Is it possible to display simultaneously Eevee and Cycles rendering in two different windows instead of having to constantly switch the render engine?

If by "different windows" you mean a second Blender instance, then yes, this should be possible (depending on the specs of your hardware). You can also open the same scene on two different Computers. You still have to reload the file manually in the second instance after editing and saving it in the first instance.

I meant in two different areas in one Blender Window. I can indeed use a second Blender instance, but I was wondering if it's possible in a single window.

No, there is no such functionality in Blender 2.80. Only one rendering engine can be selected at a time in one instance of Blender. It might not be very practical to attempt running two render engines on the same hardware at the same time in 3d Viewports. If you wanted to view the render previews side by side I think the easiest solution would be to make screenshots of the viewport. You could look into some software that may make the process easier.
I could recommend looking into this nice free program called PureRef - I use it myself and it works perfectly for this when the interior designers I work with want to compare variations of some designs side by side in real-time. It makes it extremely simple to make a screenshot and paste it right on top of the screen and then crop it with it's shortcuts (c + left click) and keep it there for a while while working.

Maybe an old question but worth mentioning that YES, it is indeed possible. Though may be seen as a workaround:
First place all your settings as you'd like them with Eevee set as your renderer. This includes activating AO, screenspace reflections, irradiance/reflection objects etc. Any setting that is relevant to Eevee basically. This doesn't include lights.
NOTE: HDRI will be independant from Cycles world settings if you're using an irradiance object to bake the lighting.
When you have it all set, split the window to have a second 3D view, then switch to Cycles as your renderer. In the one view set the shading mode to rendered (shortcut: Z) which will be Cycles, and set the other shading mode to material preview for Eevee.
In the material preview window, make sure that the extra options "Scene lights" and "Scene world" are checked.


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Adding Edge Loops Around Airplane Window
I would like to add an edge loop around each one of these windows and are not 100% sure on the best way to do it even after watching some videos.
If someone could point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks.

Similar to this question

Avoid NGons, and avoid Boolean operations, you topology is not quad-dominant and you wont be able to easily add edgeloops anywhere with ngons like those around the windows. in fact you will likely have a hard time doing anything at all with your current model.
Ideally your mesh should be made primarily of faces with four sides, use Ctrl+R to add edge loops, use Ctrl+B to bevel, use E to extrude, and abuse of modifiers.
In your case I am guessing a Mirror modifier would help with symmetry, a Subdivision Surface would help with smoothing/curving, and an array might help with multiple windows.

you can select the faces and just use  I to inset the selection, this will add loops to arbitrary geometry in a way the is relatively even.

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


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Adding vertices with chosen weight in a vertex group - Python
I would like to add vertices in a vertex group with a weight already set by python.
For example a button that set weight force to the selected vertices to 0.5:
row.operator ("object.vertex_group_assign", text=" 0.5")

for v in obj.data.vertices:
    if v.select:
        for g in v.groups:
            if g.group is your_target:
                obj.vertex_groups[g.group].add([v.index], your_weight_value, 'REPLACE')

Hi, thanks for the post. This site is not a regular forum, answers should be substantial, stand on their own, and thoroughly explain the solution and required steps. One liners and short tips or code-only posts rarely make for a good answer. If you can, [edit] your post and provide some more details about the procedure and how it works, perhaps add a few images illustrating some steps and final result. See How to write a good answer?.


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Understand how to make EXTREMELY large objects if i should?
So intend to make a space colony ship for a VR game I'm messing around with and I'm wondering if i should even be doing it this way.
The ships length measurement is going to be 18000 meters obvious this is massive I'm not too experienced in Blender but i found how to increase the size of the grid.
Unfortunately no matter what I try 18000 goes far beyond it and when i try to zoom out the screen goes weird.
What is the correct way of doing this or is Blender not the right place to do something this large.
I have seen videos on youtube comparing sizes of ships but i cant figure out how you can see everything in that

Scale in 3D models is relative, 18000 is just a number, the absolute size is irrelevant, what you have to worry about is the relationship between size and level of detail. It may be feasible, look into Viewport Clipping settings and adjust them to match your scene for the display issues. Also consider dividing your ship into a modular design composed of blocks and reusable assets so you can break it apart into several working files and work on them separately

Also see https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/4946/where-can-the-viewport-clipping-parameters-be-changed

thank you for that link and yea i could split it up how would i go about connecting the image thats going to cover the ship if i split it

How would this VR game work? is it a pre-rendered or point-and-click style image based game, or will it be using a full 3D environment rendered in real time? What game engine will you be using? This is probably a question best asked at the game engine forum/site, not necessarily Blender related.

it will be htc vive using unity unity uses meters ( i think) and The original ship size was going to be 18k meters but i wasnt going to have the  actual item in game be that long was to make another item thats the ship but smaller. But now that i think about it when you make a scene you dont need to make it the exact size just make it look that large. But and now that you bring that up im coming up with ways to make it so i dont have to make the entire ship render

After comments and talking to people I realized that i shouldnt actually make something that large. when im making a scene just make it look larger than it is and when its in game make it so they dont realize isnt completely made

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


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Smoke Domain casting shadows?
In a smoke, or fire, domain I've created light balls that are not balls emitting light, but moving planes with round colour gradients, as this gives me a smoother colour effect.
What I notice is that when these light balls/planes move inside the domain, then suddenly edgy shadows appear over them, spoilinhg the effect. I enlarged one such plane to see a reference what part of the domain is casting this shadow, but I'm not sure it even is a shadow at all. But what else?
But more important... How can I get rid of it?

Thank you. There is indeed transparency involved, and yes it's in cycles. I've tried this, see screenshot, but it didn't affect the shadow-effect. I've added the node setup of the blue plane, which I copied from someone who solved his lightning problem by using an array of planes. I don't think this caused the shadows, but... I'm not pro :-).

The second image looks exactly like the first one. Isn't there a link error?

New test:
I tried a configuration similar to yours and found that my first answer might apply when you have a lot of "light balls" superimposed.

I also figured out what might be the issue : when you have coplanar light balls, it might create a black zone although it should be transparent.
A displacement modifier with a musgrave texture and very low scale fixes the issue as it removes any coplanarity:

(Outdated part but left for understanding)
When you say "moving planes with round colour gradients", do you imply that there is some transparency involved? And are you in Cycle rendering?
In that case it could mean that you are lacking some Transparent bounces in the Light path panel.

Hi, thank you. Yes I was using cycles rendering, and yes, transparency is involved, but I may have handled this the wrong way.
Meanwhile I have found a way to overcome the problem by firstly changing the square planes to rounds ones (so the shadows became smaller and more natural), and secondly by positioning them sp that the shadows don't spoil the camera view.
But your solutions is much beter as it seems you have really understood and tacikled the problem here. Thanks a lot!

@AkaijaArt Thanks for letting us know and glad you fixed it. So maybe could you edit the title to reflect it's linked to "transparent textures casting shadow" and not shadow in smoke domain, and label the issue as resolved?


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World Background Solid Colour Cycles
I'm new to blender, and would not consider myself to be 'good' at it. I'm trying to create a changeable sky texture that I can use for an animation by changing the world colours using sky nodes and noise nodes. But when I do so, the colour remains solid.

maybe because you are in orthographic mode. press numpad-5

Fun fact, the reason only one pixel is visible of the world background in orthographic view is because the camera is simulating parallel rays. Thus, no matter where one  points the camera, only the rays parallel to the direction of the camera will reach it. Because the world background is essentially a sphere, that means only two points will have a normal that is parallel to the camera-- the one directly in front of the lens and the one behind the lens (thus would not be visible!)

As @DiogoValadares said, if you are trying to use a sky texture or HDR image, you will need to be in perspective view to see it. Otherwise it will display as the color of the single pixel that is directly opposite your view.

You are in orthographic view, press 5 on your numpad.

It's telling me not to say thanks, but I do appreciate a good answer to a dumb question, so thank you.


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Textured Sky in Orthographic Mode
I was hoping that there might be a way to make a textured sky while in the camera's orthographic mode? I am making a pre-rendered 2.5D platforming game, and it would save me a lot of trouble if I could find a way to do this. It's easy to use Dynamic Skies in perspective mode, but as you know, as soon as I go to orthographic mode I just get solid colors...
I suppose I could just use a plane and texture it with a sky, but in the long run, that will be kind of a hassle to do every time for every flick screen that I am making.
Here's an example of a render from Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, which is the closest that I am going for:
How can I achieve a sky like this one in orthographic mode?
Thank you!

Would you be able to set "Transparent" on and then add the background in via the compositor? (See set up below).

I suppose that's what I'll have to do! Hopefully it doesn't look too unnatural. If I turn on "transparent" it still saves all of my lighting settings from the Dynamic Sky, right?
Thank you for the help, it's much appreciated!


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How do I solve the problem of black surface forming on an object with 0 alpha transparency adjusted in cycle mode?
In order to give the effect of disappearing the product through video, i made the alpha 0 in the cycle mode to give transparency.

When I proceed the rendering, it's not completely transparent also black surfaces are occured, and I've tried this and that, but I'm asking because it doesn't work.
I'd like to ask if there is any way to get rid of this black surfaces and set it to a completely transparent state.
The current setting is as follows.

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/42023

Maybe you're lookin for "film" render options? In render property panel, under "film", check "transparent"

Increase your transparency bounces in Render Settings. I think you don't have enough bounces to make it through the object all the way .

How to upload an image to a post


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How do i add shapes and how do i get a Square?
I have no idea what I'm doing and could really use some help. I also don't know how to color anything and I need to start of with a square for this model. I'm a teenager so I don't know what all these fancy words mean.

this forum is happy to help with specifics, but not so much generic (or broad) ranging issues. I am relatively new to Blender and I found the following YouTube tutorial series valuable and these may help you:

Grant Abbitts complete beginners guide to Blender may be a good start (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MRonzqYJgw). I have not done that one, but he has other beginner guides (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn3ukorJv4vvWfYmRnGS260JTjhShJFRP) that I have done that are very good.
Blender Guru donut tutorial was interesting and fun and covers a lot of different aspects (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPrnSACiTJ4)
Jayanam (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs5J4GVRB8s2P4hE-O0izrg) also does a lot of tutorials.

I was also fortunate enough to do CGBoosts Blender Launch Pad, which really took things from the basic approach, however this is not free.
When doing these tutorials and you get stuck or have a question, this forum will is a very good place to ask and will most likely resolve your questions.


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Where is the UV Maps Panel?
I am looking for the UV Maps Panel, which is "in the Mesh Tab." I am totally lost on this.
There are buttons at the top which say View, Select, Add, Mesh. When I click on the Mesh button there are a lot of menu items, but no UV Maps panel. I'm guessing that this isn't even the Mesh tab. I would appreciate the info.

it's in the Properties panel > Object Data > UV Maps

Thank you - very helpful!

Just to illustrate @moonboots' comment.
Properties editor > Object Data (Green Icon) > UV Maps

Thank you so much - I never would have found it otherwise!

@JoeGideon Hello and welcome. Please don't add thank you as a comment, upvote the answer instead. If you feel it completely solved your problem consider marking it accepted


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Prevent certain node groups from being included in the Add menu
I have created many node groups, and want some to appear in the Add > Group menu, but not all of them.
How do I hide certain groups from appearing in that menu?

Simply set the name of the group to start with a period.
Make sure you're setting the name of the group (what appears in the menu), and not the name or label of the instance of the group.

love these little quirks in Blender :))

And it works for other data-blocks, too (Materials, Scenes, etc.)

Great find, wasn't aware of this. Though I never really needed this it is a very welcome feature. Useful if you want to create very complex node assets with many sub node components and don't want certain "working parts" to pollute the top level add menu.

Just remember that hidden nodegroups also won't show in the Nodegroup node dropdown. So if you want to add hidden nodegroups to some nodetree, you need to do it with Python.

It's a useful feature, though I was looking all over the group settings for a toggle or something. There's no way to find this without google.

Wow. Learn something every day.

Additional help:
Hiding node groups works by adding a period at start, for example:
myGroup == .myGroup

Hidden node groups are now invisible in all menus. But if you like to add them to a new node tree, just open the outliner in the "Blender File" filter mode.
All nodegroups, even the hidden ones, are listed there. You can drag and drop them into your tree now.
Example:


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Camera set up problem
I am trying to create a scene where I have a text set up and it is covered by a cube.
I will eventually have the cube break away looking like the wood is chipping away and creating the text (I've done it many times in version 2.79B  and now am trying to learn blender 2.8.
I have done two quick scenes with something and did Ctrl/Alt/numpad 0  to put the camera into position I want for the render..
When I am trying to do it with this scene,  when I hit the Ctrl/Alt/numpad 0 to put camera into position..  the cube goes up above the text and i can't control the camera at all    I have tried to position the camera 6 times now and it continually moves my cube off the text and moves it above the text and I can't get the camera in position.
I can't see a problem, but not knowing how 2.8 works, I don't know what am missing with this particular scene.
I looked at one of the other scenes I did in 2.8.. if I click the arrow next to Camera, it shows 'Camera"   but if I click the arrow next to Camera in this scene that is giving me problems,  it says Camera.001   as if there are two cameras in the scene, but I only have one camera.
I am going to try and delete the camera again, not sure at this point what to do with it.

Okay..  I just saw this in the forum....
"What happened is, I somehow put another object as my camera.
I solved it by going on Scene Settings (third tab on the Properties window), one of the first fields asks for the camera (and there I had a plane)."
So I went and checked to see what mine showed..  it was showing the cube.. I have NO idea how it got there, but I changed it to show the camera and now is working...
thanks...


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Importing OBJ. FBX from MODO
I am trying to export a model from modo to blender and the polygons are coming in with a weird look. I am exporting out of Modo as a FBX & OBJ and I get the same result with both. The polygons appear to be the correct shape but there is odd tearing look on the polygons any idea whats going on here?

Hello and welcome to Blender SE. It seems like a simple problem with normals. Please share your file https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/ so others can take a look. Without that, it's just guessing.

Here is a file with the same issue of a motor. I imported this one as a .OBJ and the blender file is in the link below. Could you let me know what you do to fix it because I am looking to switch from Modo to blender but I have 6 years worth of work in files and this seems to happen every time I try and import to blender.

Hello. There's a simple solution. Go to Edit Mode and select all vertices Select->All. Then you just split the normals through Mesh->Normals->Split. Voilá, solved.

The solution can be also found in the original thread https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/8720/78972 by none other than the mighty gandalf3.

Thanks for the speedy response!


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Eliminate holes in mesh for stl files
Being a hack while sculpting I end up with multiple holes in the mesh. Many can't be seen and this causes problems when I use the STL file to cnc machine the object. Is there a simple way to correct this and create an even surface without holes?

There is a function for this, called: "Fill Holes", it can fill every hole which have less then 100 sides. Or you can find holes by: Select>>Select Loops>>Select Boundary Loop. (Both in Edit Mode and select everything before use them).

also the new remeshers in 2.81 can help to fill the holes


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How to cut a cross shape into a sphere?
I'm working a file where I need to cut a cross shape into a sphere so that it looks like a guide an artist would use to draw a head, like the following:

However, I'm not sure where to start, I can't seem to manipulate the topology of the sphere in order to do this.

Perhaps a quad sphere would be suitable for this. How can I create a “volleyball sphere” for sculpting?

I would use Boolean Modifier. 3 times to be exact.
First cut a sphere shape out of a panel.
Do this by moving the panel into the sphere, until the edge of the panel is in the center of the sphere. Then add a Boolean Modifier, select the sphere as the Object and Apply.
(the panel might have missing faces, or an open side. If this happens you'll have to close up the mesh first I'm afraid.)
Then move the panel with the piece cut out of it into a Sphere, only a tiny bit deeper than the previous panel and put a Boolean Modifier on the Sphere this time (and select the panel as the Object), and again apply.
Then rotate the panel 90 degrees and do it again.
(To finish it off you could Shade Smooth the object and putt an Edge Split Modifier on it, to make it look nicer.)

Cut a cross shape as in make the cross slightly indented into the surface? You should already have edges running exactly where you want the cross, so you could try selecting those edges, bevel (ctrl+ b), increase the loops in the middle to two (scroll wheel up two times), then just grab the new faces you’ve made in the middle and pull them in a bit. That should indent a cross shape.

You can select the edges where you want the red line to be, (alt click 2 times, in front and behind), duplicate (shift d), scale it up a bit (s), make a face (f). Then, you can extrude it (e), separate it (p) by selection, add a material and make it red, and sculpt your sphere in material preview mode.


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Fixing Armature Bone Rotations
What should i do with this? I want to prepeare him for animation, by putting ik and controllers. What is important for me to do in this situation and where to start?
Animation will be used in Unreal Engine

Actually, you should manually rotate all bones aligned according to arms, legs, etc

Or add a new rig with Rigify add on. Watch this


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How can I relocate the Transform tool in Sculpt mode (Blender2.81)?
I tried to relocate the position of this tool but the same time my mesh (its unmasked part exactly) was also transformed.

Well If i mask out the whole object I can manipulate the tool's position, but I think it is an uneffective workflow to mask out the whole mesh everytime I would try to relocate the tool.

Is there any way to relocate the Tranform tool in Sculpt mode without affecting the unmasked part of the mesh?

@RobertGützkow see my answer about using the 3D cursor with Transform Pivot Point

Thank you for your answers!
I guess i wasn't clear enough but my problem only concerned with Sculpt mode.
However i've found a solution: Expand Mask by Topology (shift+a) and transform gizmo automatically jumps to middle of the unmasked are. IMO still an unintuitive and cumbersome method, but better than nothing. It'd be great If we can manipulate the tranform gizmo in sculpt mode independently.

I found a somewhat better alternative than Bön suggests.
If you switch to the layout mode and set your pivot point to be "3D Cursor" then you can shift-rmb move it around while you're in the sculpt mode:

An obvious benefit is that it preserves the mask, as opposed to the shift-a selection.
Unfortunately, it's not as precise and you can only place the pivot on the surface (which might be enough for the simple moves/rotations). I looked around blender market and experimented with "Pivot Transform", which kinda works – you can get the pivot gizmo on screen via a hotkey, but it won't preserve the sculpt mode and will kick you out into the object mode after you're done (you can get back with ctrl-tab, though). The combination of the two gets you really close to that popular sculpting software and its gizmo.

thank you! exactly what i was looking for

one annoying thing w/ the 3d cursor method is if you want to rotate from the center of a limb. you have go into edit mode > select edge loop > move cursor to selected... A little more cumbersom than shift+right clicking.

I love you Farcaller, saved me a million headaches!

Sculpt > Set Pivot > Pivot to Surface Under Cursor

Hi, thanks for the post. This site is not a regular forum, answers should be substantial, stand on their own, and thoroughly explain the solution and required steps. 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 how it works, perhaps add a few images illustrating some steps and final result. See How to write a good answer?, otherwise it may be converted to a comment.


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moving, rotating or scaling doesn't affect the mesh, it only affects its borders
I bought a PC for my friend, and installed blender 2.8 and 2.9 but in both I have the same problem, when I G, R, S it doesn't move the mesh it only affects its borders, its completely weird, please look at the screenshot you will understand.
It works at my PC very well but doesn't work on his, what do you guys think.
I want to teach him blender but it won't work on his PC.

This issue is commonly caused by a non-supported GPU or out of date graphics drivers. Check here to make sure your card is supported (Must support OpenGL 3.3) - https://code.blender.org/2019/04/supported-gpus-in-blender-2-80/ Update your drivers if needed.

his graphic details are in this pic https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e3Q7bMwf9niPI_W-A6Dt_O1q0nvYQhmG/view?usp=sharing

@ChristopherBennett also when I go to render mode this error shows up: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mwQezhxdA3NrJ95aiBusXjji4jAmqMNy/view?usp=sharing


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how to rig the eyebrows which are separate from the head?
I imported character from makehuman, and rigged it using rigify, but the eyebrows and eyelashes are separate objects, I don't know how to rig them. should I join them to the head, or parent them to head bone or what.
I am stuck, need your advice.

We can do both, either select the separated eyebrow and parent it to the eyebrow bone, or join it to the face mesh using Ctrl+J and rig the face as usual, and then weight paint the geometry. However, in terms of proper deformation I guess the second option might provide more control.


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Why does my render look like this in eevee?
I am trying to workout a workflow from Boujou to blender but when I use EEVEE the cubes look messed up and start jittering and going transparent. Then in Cycles everything looks alright but I would really like to use EEVEE instead.
Top Pic EEVEE
Bottom Pic Cycles


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How to set up accuracy of edge length overlay?
Is there a way to somehow increase a number of digits in the fractional part of the edge length? For example, real length of the edge on the picture is 1.215mm. What can I do to make Blender display this length without rounding it off?

Did you try changing the Length "Units" in the "Scene Properties" to "mm"? You can also activate "Separate Units" to have it display the next lower unit, like 102 mm and 32 μm.

Thanks for your comment. Yes, I did that. When I switched to mm, I found out, that there is no fractional part at all, so I was unable able to distinguish (for example) 1225,1 mm from 1225,4 mm. I don`t need such an accuracy in my current project, but it is really strange for me, that in Blender it is impossible to set desired accuracy.

While it is not possible to increase the precision of the "Edge Length" overlay (as far as i know and after searching), there is a way to have a precise value displayed, BUT it's not "as easy" available and intuitive as activating the edge length.
What you may want to try is the "MeasureIT"-addon which comes with Blender.

It allows you to create a dynamic measurements.
I use Segment most the time to show the distance between 2 vertices (picture below).

As shown, the precision is set to 4 decimals after the point.
Expanding the shown measurement shows this:

Here you can deactivate it, change the color, size of the text, distance from object and many more things. Best to test and play around with to get the feel.
I hope it helps for your situation.

Unfortunately it is impossible. The precision is hard-coded to 3 significant figures here.

Just use the add-on Edit Mesh Tools and set the absolute value of the edge length.


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Cant render volume shader in EEVEE at blender 4.2
I'm just simple: create a new file, add a block, set a volume scattering shader for the block, and connect the shader output to the volume.
Then in rendering mode, EEVEE cannot render and the blocks become transparent. Under Cycles rendering, everything is normal.
I have tried multiple times but cannot render properly under Blender 4.2. I switched back to Blender 3.6 and everything returned to normal. What's going on?
In addition, I heard that EEVEE can choose between EEVEE or EEVEE NEXT in version 4.2. Why don't I have a switching option here?
https://imgur.com/a/5rPqx64 (Sorry about big gif file)

Where did you hear that you can switch? I know there were earlier versions of EEVEE Next in previous experimental or alpha builds of Blender where you could switch between them, but those were no official stable releases and just for testing and debugging (there it was clearly named "Next" at the end, while now it is just "EEVEE" because it replaced the old one). But about your problem: it would really help if you showed your render settings under Volumes (especially the Custom Range settings I guess), because with my default settings it simply works without any problems.

@GordonBrinkmann       Custom Rang   is the default 0.1-100.Even if I close it, the volume will not be rendered correctly.


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How to change the shortcut (F) to resize the brush in sculpt mode
how can i change the shortcut to resize the brush in sculpt mode, i want to use the S Key instead of the F key.

You have to go in the "Blender Preferences" and under "Keymap" select search by "Key-Binding".

Then click in the middle of the list to be able to scroll down and search for the first entry under Sculpt

The open one is the one for the basic resize with F, so you can just click on the field i marked red to then assign a new key means click on it, then press S.
If you want to keep the functions on the same button for the different types of resize, then i'd recommend to assign the S key to the 2 other "Radial Control"s. Do only click again on the same area as before and press S, the modifier keys in the column below like Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Cmd stay the same as long as you do not click them.
It should then look like this after the change:

Happy Blending

Can you map it to something which does not involve dragging the mouse?
Like when you press SHIFT+CTRL+F it will increase size by N steps?


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Mask only the front faces with lasso mask tool in sculpt mode

Is it possible to mask only the front faces in blender 2.82 with the lasso mask tool in sculpt mode without the need to hide all the underlying faces?


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Grey Render? Noobie question
As the title suggest I can't seem to render my project. I'm really new to this and I already tried the answers already posted. I'm guessing it's probably a very basic answer, but can't seem to figure it out.

 Here is the file

Can I ask what version of blender you are using? I just downloaded your blender file and rendered it, and the render worked fine.

@person132 it's 2.79b, the issue was the one explained below anyway. Thanks for stopping tho!

Render layers
All your object are in the first and second render layer (you can see that by giving a look at the orange dots in the quick layer bar), while the only layer that will be rendered is the third (see the cursor location in the image below).
Is not immediately understandable, but the boxes under the Layer section in the Render Layer panel control the layers that should be rendered.

You just have to enable the layers with your objects. Shift+click the first and the second box.

Thank you so much! I have no idea how to handle the layers, I tried to use them but I seem unable to place solids in them so I kinda gave up. Thanks again!

@PernyH If this answers your question, please accept the answer by clicking the checkmark on the left of the post.

@PernyH you can move object into a layer by hitting the M key.   This moves the active object in to any and all layers you select in the layer popup.


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Can't enter wired weight paint in 2.81
I can't go to wired weight paint mode, i want to weight paint in wired mode instead of solid, but it wont let me go there, it goes full wired instead of weight paint mode.

Nvm, the toggle x-ray option was toggled on and you need to toggle that option off before going to weight painting.


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How to rename bones without renaming vertex groups?
I'm making a model which is covered with panels that each can move individually, and some of these panels need to rotate, but not all, so some of them need a rotation controller bone at the end. I'm not entirely sure which ones will end up needing rotation, though.
Basically what I'm wondering is: Can I rename a bone without renaming the corresponding vertex group(without deleting and remaking the bone)?

do you mean you want to be able to change the bone's name without automatically changing the vertex group's name?

Yes, that's exactly it.


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Inset faces not working as it had been a few moments ago
A few moments ago, inset faces simply created a new face inside another face as it always did. Now, either this happens (see picture 1) or the border between the new face and the old one is disproportionate (see picture 2). Any ideas what the problem could be?

it's not clear what you're trying to do on the first picture, could you please share your object? https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/

Your topology is not good, you have overlapping faces and vertices, if you move your face up and move some vertices you can see that it's not a quad but an ngon, you can inset an ngon but in your case it quickly creates overlapping.
Oh and as pointed out by Csarb3d, you need to apply your scale, it will fix the second point.

@Pnyx don't add thanks as a comment, upvote the answer instead. If you feel it completely solved your problem consider marking it as accepted

This might be caused by an uneven scale, check you apply Scale with ctrl+a and then try again.

Ok, thank you! But, that fixed picture 2, not picture 1.


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Curve from selected vertices/edges using low level api
I want to convert selected vertices/edges into curves. I can convert them using bpy.ops functions. But is there any alternative using lower level api preferable using bmesh.
I can get all spline points to proper position but not in proper order so I get this mesh(middle) not the expected curve(left).

Here is the code.
import bpy
import bmesh

def create_curve(coords_list):
    # make a new curve
    crv = bpy.data.curves.new('crv', 'CURVE')
    crv.dimensions = '3D'

    # make a new spline in that curve
    spline = crv.splines.new(type='POLY')

    # a spline point for each point
    spline.points.add(len(coords_list)-1) # theres already one point by default

    # assign the point coordinates to the spline points
    for p, new_co in zip(spline.points, coords_list):
        x,y,z = new_co
        p.co = (x,y,z,1)

    # make a new object with the curve
    obj = bpy.data.objects.new('object_name', crv)
    bpy.context.scene.collection.objects.link(obj)

def main(context):

    obj = context.active_object
    if obj.mode == 'EDIT':
        # this works only in edit mode,
        bm = bmesh.from_edit_mesh(obj.data)
        selected_verts = list(filter(lambda v: v.select, bm.verts))
        pos = list(map(lambda v: v.co,selected_verts))

        create_curve(pos)

class SimpleOperator(bpy.types.Operator):
    """Tooltip"""
    bl_idname = "object.simple_operator"
    bl_label = "Simple Object Operator"

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

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

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

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

There is also this stack overflow thread. Solution in that thread works for closed loop. I tried to modify it to work for non-closed loop/selected edges but no success. Modified script works in some cases in other gives weird results.

Walk the edges.
To give them some order walk the edges.  It may take more than one spline to make the curve, since we cannot branch.  For example the default cube when "de-faced" and converted to curve has 4 splines.
Here is test script to walk the selected edges. It does not make the curve, rather creates an ordered list of the edges to use in each spline.

Get all selected edges.
Pop an edge, get its two end verts. Tag the edge.
Grow spline from each end on a non tagged and selected edge, prepend at one end, append at other.
Add spline to splines.
Repeat until no more edges to process.

Script
import bpy
import bmesh
from collections import defaultdict

from bpy import context
tag = defaultdict(bool)

ob = context.edit_object
me = ob.data
bm = bmesh.from_edit_mesh(me)
# selected edges
edges = list(filter(lambda e: e.select, bm.edges))
# all edges
#edges = bm.edges[:]

splines = []
def tag_remove(edge):
    tag[edge] = True
    edges.remove(edge)

def grow(end, spline, idx):
     while True:
        nextedge = next(
            (e for e in end.link_edges if not tag[e] and  e.select),
            None
            )
        if not nextedge:
            return
        tag_remove(nextedge)
        spline.insert(idx, nextedge.index)
        end = nextedge.other_vert(end)

while edges:

    edge = edges.pop()
    spline = [edge.index]
    tag[edge] = True
    a, b = edge.verts
    grow(a, spline, 0)
    grow(b, spline, len(edges))
    splines.append(spline)

print(splines)

Result for default cube. Notice 4 splines as with convert.
[[5, 1, 0, 3, 6, 11, 7], [4, 10], [2, 9], [8]]

Result for default circle.  Since edge 30 shares a vert with edge 31 could make this cyclic.
[[30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 31]]

To reverse order, could try swapping which end to append / prepend...


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What does `filter` parameter of Template_id do? and How to use it?
In blender docs
template_ID(data, property, new='', open='', unlink='', filter='ALL', live_icon=False, text='', text_ctxt='', translate=True)

filter (enum in ['ALL', 'AVAILABLE'], (optional)) – Optionally limit the items which can be selected
From the available docs it looks like filter is used to filter out particular ids based on some sort of parameter.
I tried to add filter in blender ui's code where template_id is used. But didn't get any result.
So how can I use filter parameter.

Linked to current scene, or any.

Have used this for setting the active object, or pointer properties to bpy.types.Object instances.

'AVAILABLE' for objects linked to context scene
'ALL' for all objects in the blend file.

Setting an object not linked to a scene to the active object of that scene is going to cause issues.
GIF shows following  draw method used in  (Used in gif above with Templates > Python > UI Panel Simple)
    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout

        obj = context.object

        col = layout.column()
        col.template_ID(context.view_layer.objects, "active", filter='AVAILABLE')
        col.template_ID(context.view_layer.objects, "active", filter='ALL')

See Limit "prop_search" to Specific Types of Objects  re using poll to narrow down selection options for pointers.


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How to toggle(Open/Close) `T` or `N` Panel in 3D view Using Python
I want to hide or show blender T and N panel using Python.
From This
To This

You can use bpy.ops.wm.context_toggle(data_path), which will toggle N- or T- panel of whatever area operator was called.
import bpy

class SimpleOperator(bpy.types.Operator):
    """Tooltip"""
    bl_idname = "object.simple_operator"
    bl_label = "Simple Object Operator"

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        return context.active_object is not None

    def execute(self, context):
        bpy.ops.wm.context_toggle(data_path="space_data.show_region_ui")
        return {'FINISHED'}

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

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

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

If you run this script and call the operator in Text_Editor It will open this side panel.
So if you want to open/close N Panel of view3d from other areas you need to override context. It is a way to fool blender thinking that operator was called in different area.
Blender 3.2+
import bpy

class SimpleOperator(bpy.types.Operator):
    """Tooltip"""
    bl_idname = "wm.toggle_properties"
    bl_label = "Toggle N Panel"

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        return True

    def execute(self, context):
        for area in context.screen.areas:
            if area.type == 'VIEW_3D':
                with context.temp_override(area=area):
                    bpy.ops.wm.context_toggle(data_path="space_data.show_region_ui")
                break
        return {'FINISHED'}

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

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

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

    # Test call
    bpy.ops.wm.toggle_properties()

Blender 2.8+
import bpy

class SimpleOperator(bpy.types.Operator):
    """Tooltip"""
    bl_idname = "object.simple_operator"
    bl_label = "Simple Object Operator"

    @classmethod
    def poll(cls, context):
        return context.active_object is not None

    def execute(self, context):
        #copy context
        context_copy = context.copy()
        #loop over current areas
        for area in context.screen.areas:
            #Check if there is 3d view area
            if area.type == 'VIEW_3D':
                #If yes then override context
                context_copy['area'] = area

        #Now pass our custom context.
        #When calling any bpy.ops operator it takes context in which it was called
        #but you can override that.
        #look here for Offical documetation : https://docs.blender.org/api/current/bpy.ops.html#overriding-context
        bpy.ops.wm.context_toggle(context_copy,data_path="space_data.show_region_ui")
        return {'FINISHED'}

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

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

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

Now when you run script and call operator from text editor, it will open n panel of 3d view
Where does the data_path comes from?
What I do is go to Edit > Preferences> Keymap, change search type to Key-Binding and type key which is used in Blender to open/close whatever panel you want. Here I am searching for Tools or Toolbar or T panel in viewport. It can be open using T so I searched for it and this yields to the following the operator call:

bpy.ops.wm.context_toggle(data_path="space_data.show_region_toolbar")


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how to join across mirrored edge 0
What is the method to join points across the mirror edge?

it's not possible, you need to apply your modifier

all I want to do is what Lile does in this tut at 7: 03. Is it just a matter of lining up to the edge then? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QT1GNMevfc&t=579s

he doesn't create an edge between the 2 vertices, he just sticks the 2 vertices so that they're one, you need to activate the Clipping option of the Mirror modifier if you want to do it

'Merge' on the mirror will do.. then scale the vertices you want to weld about your  mirror center, in the mirror direction, to 0.

If you want to create an edge between a vertex and its mirrored image you need to apply the modifier. That said, if you want the 2 vertices to stick together (and merge into one unique when you'll apply the modifier), you need to activate the Clipping and the Merge options of the Mirror modifier.

AND the merge option.

oops you're right  ;)


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polygon shading when editing
Just starting out, wondering exactly what the darker shading means:
Is it simply shadowing based on the current dimensions?
Is it also an indicator that front and side rigging are somehow not correspondent with each other?
Thanks a bunch.

you probably need to recalculate the normals: select all and ctrl N

In edit mode, select your entire mesh and press Ctrl+N. This should recalculate all of the normals and the shading should be correct again.


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One Object Looks Like Material / Texture is Noisy
I have rendered a 2 min animation that I'm pretty happy with (my first go with Blender) using models I created. The render was great, noticed a few mistakes so I was going to do some more editing.
I now notice one of the objects has become very noisy, screenshot below. I can't get the texture back. Everything looks fine within Material & Texture in the Properties section of the object. I've even tried to relink the material and UV maps from the object beside it in the screenshot as they are essentially the same object.
Have I just accidentally added noise to the object somehow? To new to Blender to figure it out.
Thanks in advance.

Double check that you don't have a duplicate of the geometry there - it looks like Z fighting that happens when there is duplicates sitting in the same place.

Ah yes indeed Craig, that was the problem. You can even see the culprit in the original screenshot - Element2.001, many thanks!


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Warp image to fit UV unwrap, without using projection unwrapping
I am trying to make my volcano. I want to apply a normal texture to the volcano, which is very warped as I am currently using Project from View (Bounds) as my UV map unwrapping. This is currently the texture for my volcano model:

It currently works well for just the image texture:

However, applying a normal does not work so well, and looks more like this:

This bad normal mapping is due to the steep gradient. This is why I need to somehow warp my original UV map to fit the simple Unwrap, which currently looks like this:

How can I manipulate my original image texture to fit the new UV map from the old UV map? Is there a tool for this in Blender?

Sorry for all the images. I am trying to make this question as clear as possible. If you have questions, please ask me!

From the question it seems that you want to make texture according to new UV map shown on the second screenshot. In this case you're searching for baking https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/15510/possible-to-bake-texture-to-new-uv-map. Just make sure to choose UV map used for baking from as renderable one (second answer there).

@MrZak The reason I want to change the UV map is because I want the normal to be from roughly the side, and not just projected from the top (causing the problems listed in the question). Will baking the UV map actually help BOTH the normal and the texture? Or will it only affect the image texture?

I don't think I understand the phrasing here. Baking will help to create yet another image texture which will be made according to UV map you'd like it to be fitting, that's it. Normal map is something different usually, more like image tinted in blue which stores orientation of normal vector for given face from highpoly so not sure how it's applicable here.

@MrZak I'm trying it now - the reason why I was mentioning normal maps is because I wasn't sure if the new UV map would just affect the texture. I will let you know if I have any problems.

@MrZak After trying it for so long, I still can't get it to do what I am looking for.

UV map isn't and isn't supposed to affect texture, it is used to "flatten" the 3d mesh to wrap the 2d texture onto it. I don't get the problem since there is some phrasing or terminology problem which is important when explaining. I suggest looking into another answer on baking here https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/13383/how-to-bake-texture-from-multiple-overlayed-uv-islands-to-individual-uv-islands and editing your question with details of why it is not fitting your pipeline

@MrZak Yeah sorry, I am very new to Blender and started about a week or two ago. All I am looking for in my end result is to not have a problem with my normal mapping - stated in the third image. I believe this is due to the steep gradient. So as you say, I was trying to flatten the 3D mesh. However, I am having problems that I can't align it. I was looking for a method to transform the texture by looking at the before and after of the UV map, to warp it. Hope that makes sense.

You're not actually experieneing bad normal mapping here, the normal map is doing exactely what it is supposed to do - if I am interpreting the 3rd image correctly. What exactely is causing you issues?

@IAmGettingTiredOfAliases I forgot to update this post - I will add the answer for me now.

In the end, I resulted to keep the same texture as it is and not warp it. Then I experimented around a bit until I found my solution.

First of all, I increased the resolution from 900px to 2048px - this will allow more pixels on steep gradients, reducing the stretch.
Next, when creating my normal map, I set the blur to -10 to make the normal have a gradual change, to create more of a rounded impression than a square-shaped dent.

Following these steps will get you the desired result.


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Fill in missing point in grid
I was doing some destructive work in Blender when it frustratingly crashed on me. I was just testing a few things.
I was trying "Dissolve vertices" on my mesh, and ended up with this when I reloaded the project again:

I tried F to join each edge, but it made a strange tugging-looking mesh.
How can I fix this grid mesh, by adding the point in the middle and all the other edges?

It seems that Grid Fill will do the job, for me it worked with Span = 2, Offset = 1

Assuming the blank area is a face, select a pair of opposite vertices,  hit 'J', and then do the same with the other pair.

It looks like you have some modifiers applied to your object, most likely a subdivision surface with the "edit cage to modifier result" option enabled. That's whats causing the tuggy-looking mesh.
Don't worry though, it's not as bad as it seems, it really is just a square hole and is easily fixed.
Simply select the vertices opposite each other (but not alternate corners!) like this:

and then press J
This will join the vertices across the face and give you this result:

Just do the same to the remaining, opposing set of vertices and you're back to a grid!

Thank you so much for the help, it worked perfectly! Instead of F, I just needed to do J :p

Well, you still need the face to be present in order for the j operation to work. So F is still good :)

Standard way is to remove tha Ngon face and use Grid Fill to fill in with quads. Another a bit less fast way is to use either Connect Vertex Path tool (J) or Knife tool (K) to cut edges according to existing geometry.
However there might be another way without removing that face:

Press Alt+P to poke faces.
Press Alt+J to convert tris to quads.

Note that it depends on geometry what resulting topology you will get. Also note - Grid Fill restores the curvature of the filled surfaces, this way doesn't.


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Object with volume absorption, in an environment with volume absorption
I have tried different approaches, some of which work, but feel more like workarounds than proper solutions.
Let's say:

I have an environment (in the most simple case, the world, alternatively an object like a cube), featuring volume absorption
I place a transparent object (e.g. a cube) inside that environment.
The object has a different volume absorption (in the most simple case: none) than the environment.

If I press render, then ASFAIKS the volume absorption of the environment is effective everywhere, i.e. also inside the object.
However, there are situations in nature, where this not the case. E.g. if we imagine a drop of clear oil in muddy water.
So, my question is: What is the most elegant way to model this?
Booling out the object from the environment is the best solution I have so far, however it gets a little cumbersome if the object itself is also supposed to have volume absorption, since I have to work around intersecting geometry, etc. So I thought that there could be a more elegant way.
Thanks in advance.

Would a boolean modifier chop out a portion of the inside of the larger volume?

Exactly. If I wanted the object to have no absorption at all, that would be fine, But if I want the object itself to have volume absorption as well, then I'd have to create another object, which is just a bit smaller to not have intersecting faces. That just doesn't seem like an elegant solution to me.


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Lighting artifacts for very small objects
For very small objects (micrometer range), which nearly touch each other, I encountered the following artifacts:

To me, they look like the result of some sort of cut-off for the raytracing.
I tried to play around with bounces, but to no avail.
Is there another solution (e.g. some sort of scale setting for the raytracing), apart from changing the size of the particles themselves?
Thanks!

Did you try scaling up? I don’t know why you really need the exact unit…but working with „normal“ scaling works usually…

Thanks for the suggestion. Scaling up would probably work. However, I'd like to keep physically accurate dimensions, to not impact things like the mass of objects for rigid body simulations, etc.