text:
Blender 2.91 Mesh Object to 3D Print STL
I am a Blender newbie. I started on 2.7. Recently upgraded to 2.91.
I used blender to create models for 3D printing and I use a Cura as my Slicer.
My issue is has to do with creating a “sliceable” STL file from joined mesh objects.
Here is an example.

Add ==> Mesh ==> Cube
a.  Set dimensions X: 8cm  Y: 8cm  Z: 1 cm
Add ==> Mesh ==> Cylinder => Named Cyl
a.  Set dimensions X: 12.4 cm Y: 12.4 cm Z: 4 cm
Add ==> Mesh ==> Cylinder => Named Cyl1
a.  Set dimensions X: 11.8 cm Y: 11.8 cm Z: 10 cm
Select Cyl ==> Add Modifier ==> Boolean ==> Object = Cyl1 ==> Difference ==> Apply
Select Cyl1 ==> Delete
Select Cube ==> GZ move a few centimeters above top of Cyl
Select Cube and Cyl ==> Ctrl-J to join objects ==> Tab to enter edit mode
Click in Edge and Using MRB – Subdivide, I subdivided the equal distant edges of the Cube multiple times so that there are as many vertexes on the edge as there are on the curve it faces
Click on Vertex mode and select two facing vertexes (bottom of cube edge to inner cylinder wall top) I create and edge by clicking F. I go all the way around doing that, then go around selecting two edges and using F to create a face.
I do some clean up like the top face of the cylinder and the 1 cm edge of the cube, I remove the faces.
In object mode, it look perfect. I Merged by DIstance and Recalculated Normals.
I export to STL. Import into CURA, resize (x10), Cura can’t slice this. The error message it gives is:

Unable to Slice:
Please review settings and check if you models:

Fit within the build volume (yes I can see the gray outline of bottom and it does)
Are assigned to the enabled extruder (not sure what this is)
Are not set as modifier meshes (again not sure about this)

Bottom line, cant slice. Now If I export the cube or the cylinder as STL, then Cura can slice those, So I think I am missing a step for complex joined objects. I assume I need to fill this object but how do you do that in 2.91. Solidify modifier seems to distort the image.
Does anyone have a faster way of doing the above and any insights of export STL’s for 3D Slicing?

Just a hunch, as I don't know anything about your slicer program. But I know people often get tripped up in other cases by joining objects without realizing the limitations of doing so. So step 7 is likely your culprit, though it may not be the only issue. I'm just betting it's one of them. When joining objects in Blender, they are almost more "grouped" than "fused"; they can be separated later. My gut tells me that your slicer program is complaining about them being joined. You will likely need to separate the joined objects and combine them properly afterwards with a boolean union operation.

Valid point, I thought about Boolean modifier but missed in in practice. I will try again adn report back

R-800 it seems you got it right. I just redid my work and it slices. If you answer the question, I can marked it as answered correctly by you. Thanks again!

Just a hunch, as I don't know anything about your slicer program. But I know people often get tripped up in other cases by joining objects without realizing the limitations of doing so. So step 7 is likely your culprit, though it may not be the only issue. I'm just betting it's one of them. When joining objects in Blender, they are almost more "grouped" than "fused"; they can be separated later. My gut tells me that your slicer program is complaining about them being joined. You will likely need to separate the joined objects and combine them properly afterwards with a boolean union operation.


text:
UV Map remains black or checkerboard even when I tried baking: used node shade editor, uv unwrap and more
I am constantly having trouble baking my materials into a texture. So I've tried using tutorials like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImdwwM75cE but when I try baking my colors, I get the error " Baking map saved to internal image, save it externally or pack it". My colors don't appear automatically on my image that I set up like in the video and it just simply remains black or a checkerboard color. I UV unwrapped my object and while it was selected in objected mode, I baked it with these settings. I also made sure to set up the image texture node, that is not connected as mentioned in the video..

"I get the error " Baking map saved to internal image, save it externally or pack it"" it is not an error, it's a message telling that you need to save baked image before quitting Blender or it won't be saved. Other than that settings seem to be correct except that nothing is fed into Diffuse pass as per selected material. There are many others materials beyond that and bake result really depends on if that same image is present there and selected

Okay, thanks for letting me know thats not an error but it still leaves me with none of my material printed in my image texture. I've been told not to connect the image texture to diffuse until it was baked. When I did bake it, and connect it in the shader editor, it was still black.

"I've been told not to connect the image texture to diffuse until it was baked" That is correct as that should be end result, not source information. Multiple things could go wrong but as mentioned above - check that all materials added to the object have that image selected in their node trees and not connected as well as required nodes are connected to the Diffuse color and that shader is connected to Output. Cycles bakes whole object and all materials. If that doesn't help you could be better to share your file, use https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/

Thanks so much, I was able to resolve my issue by applying all of the unattached image texture nodes to all of the materials that were used in my object. Your reply was fast and clear.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
My material is shown in preview but does not appear in object or render view
When I tried using tutorials to assign randomized color on each polygon, they don't seem to appear in the object mode and render mode. I've tried two methods. one, I used one method found online https://blenderartists.org/t/quick-tip-easy-randomize-face-color-with-cycles/627580 , in a forum someone was kind enough to post (but I suck so it didn't work :P). Two, I started using the method I found on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBrOzCxOWhM but as soon as I started to use the node editor, I didnt see immediate change in my object. For both instances, I could see that the preview mode in the material tab showed the material that I wanted but was not applied into my object. I am fairly new at using blender so I don't really know where I went wrong. If you can help me, that would be great! Thank you.

You are in Solid view. The circle at the top of the screen, change this to LookDev or Rendered, the cartoon 3d sphere and the full 3d sphere next to it. Or press Z to get a Pie menu to change.

Oh wow thank you thank you! I feel a bit silly :P but I'm glad there wasn't anything wrong with my material. I wasn't used to blender 2.8 so i didnt know many of the settings.

THanks for the fast reply!

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


text:
Change vertex color by selection
Is there a way to set the vertex color by selecting vertex or faces rather than painting? I know there is a way in maya, but I can't seem to find a way to do it in blender.

Yes, you can select vertex while in paint mode. Just switch to the select tool and change selection mode to vertex. Also note that if you select vertex in edit mode and then switch to paint mode, the selection is preserved and edit mode has better ways to make selections than paint mode does.
With your selection just set the colour you want and use the Paint->Set Vertex Colors menu.

That works! Thank you so much!


text:
(2.8) Bevel tool not duplicating edge correctly
I apologize if the title doesn't get the problem across properly, I'm new to blender so not very familiar with the correct terminology, and not a native english speaker.
When I try to bevel the edge shown in the following image, this happens:

As you can see, it's in same dimension. It's supposed to duplicate across Z and horizontal axis, but it doesn't?
When I do the exact same thing with other edges, there is no problem:

Why does this happen and how do I fix it?

Duplicate vertices: select all in edit mode and alt+M by distance.

You should also delete your loose geometry. Select > Select All by Trait > Loose Geometry.

thank you @lemon and @barkest! it works now


text:
Object creation in modal operator
I'm currently trying to create objects from random arrays, by using timer modal operator. However the code below doesn't work, and I think I miss some knowledge of Blender:
import bpy
import random
import time
from bpy_extras.object_utils import object_data_add

class ModalTimerOperator(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = "wm.modal_timer_operator"
    bl_label = "Modal Timer Operator"

    limits = bpy.props.IntProperty(default=0)
    _timer = None

    def add_object(self, context):
        verts = [(random.random()*10, random.random()*10, random.random()*10),(random.random()*10, random.random()*10, random.random()*10),(random.random()*10, random.random()*10, random.random()*10)]
        faces = [[0,1,2,3],[4,5,6,7],[0,4,7,3]]
        edges = []
        mesh = bpy.data.meshes.new(name='test')
        mesh.from_pydata(verts, edges, faces)
        object_data_add(context, mesh, operator=self)

    def modal(self, context, event):
        if event.type in {'RIGHTMOUSE', 'ESC'} or self.limits > 10:
            self.limits = 0
            self.cancel(context)
            return {'FINISHED'}

        if event.type == 'TIMER':
            XYZcoord = (random.random()*10, random.random()*10, random.random()*10)
            self.add_object(context)

            self.limits += 1

        return {'PASS_THROUGH'}

    def execute(self, context):
        wm = context.window_manager
        self._timer = wm.event_timer_add(time_step=0.5, window=context.window)
        wm.modal_handler_add(self)
        return {'RUNNING_MODAL'}

    def cancel(self, context):
        wm = context.window_manager
        wm.event_timer_remove(self._timer)

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

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

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()
    bpy.ops.wm.modal_timer_operator()

The first iteration works fine, but then there's some issues with object_data_add.
It throws out an error:
'ModalTimerOperator' object has no attribute 'layers'
If I add definition of self.layer, then this error happens:
TypeError: WM_OT_modal_timer_operator.is_property_set("location") not found

I think you can remove the operator argument. Passing the operator is only for when you want to set location and rotation properties, which the operator would need to have, but yours doesn't.

You can check 2.79/scripts/modules/bpy_extras/object_utils.py for the implementation of object_data_add().

Thanks! that helped


text:
what's the deal with periods in blender names?
I'm using the following to iterate across the objects in another Blender file so I can append certain objects to the current scene:
files = []
with bpy.data.libraries.load(full_path) as (data_from, data_to):
    for name in data_from.objects:
        if not 'Camera' in name and not 'Light' in name:
            if  not "." in name:
                files.append({'name': name})
bpy.ops.wm.append(directory=full_path+"/Object/", files=files)

As you can see, I am filtering out the objects with 'Camera' and 'Light' in their name. That works fine. I am also trying to filter out objects with a period in their name, but that does not work. There is 1 known named object with a period in the name I do not want appended, yet this method or looking for the specific name does not filter that object away. I've experimented with objects with periods in their names, and I cannot figure out why any objects in other Blender files that have periods in their name will get appended despite my filtering logic above. Any ideas?

Your logic is correct and works in my sample test set.  What is the actual name that doesn't work for you?

I have a copy of another model named "femaleAvatar.tuck". I've gotten into the habit of making the names of temp items the name of their source, with ".tuck" appended. The off thing here, my use of "femaleAvatar.tuck" was temporary; in the source blender file I am appending models from, "femaleAvatar.tuck" was deleted. I used the File->Cleanup options after deleting, as well as the File->External Data options in the hope the apparently not deleted model would be finally deleted. But upon use of append() as shown above, here comes "femaleAvatar.tuck" again.

I tried testing for "femaleAvatar.tuck" in my first version of the above, and it was as if that conditional did not exist...

Maybe share a file with an example?

I can't share the original, a work file. And trying to recreate does not exhibit the issue. Something with this blender file, I don't understand. Hate this kind of voodoo bs.

...and a remote coworker showed me the outliner's other, non-scene views such as the 'Blender File' view, and there was the deleted FemaleAvatar.tuck model ready to be deleted for real. So, when deleting from the current scene, a model is just moved outside of it's scene? Seems non-obvious.


text:
Geometry Nodes - Image Texture on UV Sphere
I'm having an issue which I'm stuck at. If you look at the image you can see a very simple node tree - what I'm struggling with is the vertical line of instances where the edges of the image connect. Any ideas how to get rid of this from within geometry nodes?

could you provide your image file + blend file so we can check it?

I tried with many map files, here are two: Normal and Equirectangular The blend file is File

UV map is a face corner data, but you set up your scene at vertices. At this seam, you have a row of vertices that's attached to two corners of UV map.

That's mean that to get the U cord, Blender calculates it as middle of 2 UV coordinates (1 + 0)/2 = 0.5
Easy fix is set instances on faces instead of points:

An outer way is to split vertexes by UV Seam by using V:

Snap! I wish i could figure out exactly where the interpolation was happening.. the same problem arises between the 0 and 1 parameters of cyclic curves.

nice solution! +1

ok, i think, it has something to do with UVMap/UVEditing. Unfortunately i am not an export in that area.
Because of that ...i can only try and error it out...so i tried...and i am sure this is a very hacky solution but for my image it worked (i couldn't test with yours because you didn't provide it).
so i added a vector node here:

and because you have a sphere adding a x value won't change the image...so...play with the x-value and the line will disappear.
Don't ask me why ;) I hope you are one of the person's who search for solutions - not for explanations. But i am sure some others come up with an explanation ;)

I don't see what's "hacky" about it. The UV coords map the image texture as desired. The light/dark values then define the "Selection" where instances should be generated (you are using the Alpha output, but one could use any grayscale data here). The subdivision level determines the resolution/density. Looks straightforward and practical to me. :-)

I think it goes like this:

All fields in GN are linearly interpolated
UV's are defined on Face Corners
Here, the 'Selection' field is defined on Points, (Vertices)

Somewhere, an interpolation is being made from face-corner U=0 to face-corner U=1, to determine where to sample the vertex 'Selection' value. The sample-point's U winds up being neither 1, nor 0, which is what we want, but 0.5, sampling the texture from the other side of the world.
Indeed, the problem can be fixed by splitting the edges down the UV seam longitude in the geometry, preventing interpolation.

thanks for the explanation ;) +1


text:
It is possible to insert specific space/region within a panel?
my question consist if it is possible to add a preview of a certain region or space to be able to visualize it inside a panel as I show in the following image:


text:
Replicate brush browser icon view interface
I've been looking for a way to replicate this browser:

I have tried this code, but seems that I missing something:
import bpy

class BrushIconsPanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = "Brush Icons"
    bl_idname = "PT_BrushIcons"
    bl_space_type = 'PROPERTIES'
    bl_region_type = 'WINDOW'
    bl_context = "texture_paint"

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

        # Get the active brush
        brush = bpy.context.tool_settings.image_paint.brush

        # Display the brush icon
        layout.label(text="Active Brush:")
        layout.template_icon_view(brush, "icon", scale=8.0)

        # Display a list of available brushes with icons
        layout.label(text="Available Brushes:")
        row = layout.row()
        for brush in bpy.data.brushes:
            row.template_icon_view(brush, "icon", scale=1.0)

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

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

if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()

I found this solution if it could help anyone:
brush = bpy.context.tool_settings.image_paint

row.column().template_ID_preview(brush, "brush", new="brush.add", rows=3, cols=8, hide_buttons=False)


text:
how do i change 24 fps to 60 fps without affecting the speed?
i tried time remmaping but that messed up the keyframes and i really dont want to rekeyframe my animation. like when i set 24 fps to 60 fps and put 24 in old and 60 in new the speed is fine but the keyframes end way after. i dont have anything more to put here. this is all that i tried and i searched everything and found only a tiny bit of people who were in this situation.
edit: i'll explain it better. when i time remap my blender animation from 24 to 60 (old: 24 new: 60) and put framerate to 60. the speed is fine but the keyframes in the timeline get very desincronized (if thats how you say it)

There is a time remapping option to remap your speed under the Render Dimension panel:

After the remapping, you need to calculate the end time by your self.
And also, you can directly "scale" the animation inside your time line as you do in 3D View (press s). As 24 to 60, press 2.5 in your numpad should give you a correct result
The keyframe and animation is kind of complicate and give various option to tweak and customize the result. Give it a try and if still having problem, list more detail on what you've encountered with clear figure or good structured text description.


text:
How to create a new action strip
I deleted all animations via the blender file outliner and now I cannot add actions in the action editor as there is no action strip. Trying to add a new action strip in the Nonlinear Animation window brings up a search for action strips which is obviously empty. Screenshot below to illustrate.
Thanks

so what happens when you begin to keyframe a bone?

Can't believe I didn't try that, that created a new strip thanks

as moonboots suggested keyframing a bone generated a new action strip


text:
Adding materials to parts of normal maps
I recently came across the idea of normal maps, and I've begun baking them and using them in my work. However, I can't seem to figure out how to apply different materials to different parts of the normal map [by elevation, etc]. For example, I have this model here
 and I want to bake its normals and apply it to a low poly mesh. Then, I want to texture it according to its normals, so that different parts have different colors [indentations, the rod, etc, are all different materials]. Is this possible with a normal map, or do I need to bake the base color map as well?


text:
How make hair using textures
A while back (could have been 2 summers ago at this point), I discovered this great piece of software on Steam called Fuse. It's a piece of software that allows you to create custom 3D characters. This was interesting to me because I'd always wanted to make my own characters, but I didn't know how to model. Fuse took care of that. I found a great tutorial that showed me how to put a character that I made in Fuse into a Blender workspace. It really introduced me to texturing and how to plug in things using material shaders, mainly because Fuse just took the textures of the model and exported them as high-resolution PNG files in a easy-to-use folder along with the object for me to plug into the website to have the model automatically rigged for me.
However, there has been one thing that I think is missing. The textures work great on the body, the clothes, and the eyes, mainly due to them including many different textures that fit in nicely. However, one piece was seemingly hard to do, and that was hair. I should mention that the hair and clothes and basically everything is established as it's own object, but they are tied to one singe armature. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone has any idea how to set up the hair for a character model I already have with the textures, or if it's better to try and figure out how to do emissions.
Details:
-I have 4 different textures for the hair: Diffuse, Specular, Gloss and Normal.
-The screenshot of the shader layout shows how I have it set up for each of the parts of the character (Shoes, pants, shirt, etc.) but obviously with different textures.
-I am comfortable with working with either Cycles or Eevee, and do not have a preference. I will take what I can as long as it works.
-I am just looking for a way to have the hair look as natural as possible. Physics are not my concern. I'm just concerned with the look for the moment.
-Also, I'm fairly inexperienced with many different types of lingo, so I'd prefer a somewhat simpler answer rather than a massive spew of information that wouldn't make sense to someone who isn't a professional modeler or texture designer.
Any help that anyone can give me is appreciated.
This is a screenshot of the hair itself:

And this is a screenshot of the shader layout I use:

You mean you want the texture itself to look more natural, correct? Is there a reason your Normal Map strength is set to 0?

The biggest thing missing in your screenshot is transparency.
To achieve this you probably want connect up the hair texture alpha channel to the alpha channel of your diffuse texture (I am assuming this is where it is stored, otherwise you may need an extra texture from somehere). Additionally, if you are using Eevee, you will also need the set the blend mode to Alpha Hashed in the material settings.
You may find this answer useful:
How can I make an image plane have transparency in Eevee with nodes?
And as @ChristopherBennett mentioned in the comments, you shpuld set your normal map strength to 1.


text:
Extrude circle wrong shape
I'm following a tutorial step by step and I really don't understand why is the circle I get by extruding flattened along Z axis.
What I'm trying to do:

What I get:

Any advice please?

Hello :). This looks more like Extruding along normals (it's right next to standard extrude tool).

@JachymMichal it worked, thank you!


text:
Baking normal map produces strange result
I am following the Anvil tutorial and all was well until the normal baking step. The result I get from blender is different than the tutorial, I tried reiterating on steps, but I got the same wrong results. I am not sure what I missed.
Both objects were set to smooth shading, object face normals look right to me
My baked normal output
My scene setup

Could you upload your UV Unwrap?

@joshsanfelici you're right, there was a problem with the UV Unwrap, is was scaled up too much. Thank you!


text:
How can I get import an .FBX point cache animation to Blender?
I'm trying to export an .fbx from Cinema 4D of a skinned object that I baked to a point cache and import it to Blender 2.81.
The point cache is working with Maya, but not with Blender.
Here is a video of what I'm experiencing:

Can anyone help me get this point cache working with Blender & .fbx? Thank you!

Blender's FBX toolset doesn't support point cache data.  So you'll have to separate out the mesh from the point cache.  Just export the object as an FBX, then save out your point cache in either the LightWave .mdd or the 3DS Max .pc2 format.  You can then apply the point cache back to the object in Blender by using the Mesh Cache modifier.
However, if you simply want to transfer the model and animation, you can try using Alembic, which from what I saw in your video, C4D can export and Blender can import.
Cheers!


text:
Changing lighting & color_type for OpenGL Render
When I render with bpy.ops.render.opengl, the shading appears to always be SOLID shading. If this is the case, how do I change the solid render's light & color_type? When the view_context argument is set to True, the shading will match the active Viewport, however when it is False, the shading is always "MATERIAL" and the light is "STUDIO."
import bpy

my_areas = bpy.context.workspace.screens[0].areas
for area in my_areas:
    for space in area.spaces:
        if space.type == "VIEW_3D":
            space.shading.light = "FLAT"
            space.shading.color_type = "TEXTURE"

bpy.types.View3DShading.light = "FLAT"
bpy.ops.render.opengl( animation = True, view_context = False )
bpy.ops.render.play_rendered_anim()

Thank you!

As far as I can tell, the shading type for OpenGL can only be SOLID, but the light and color_type can be set as such (thank you to Jacob Merrill @BluePrintRandom):
bpy.data.scenes['Scene'].display.shading.light= "FLAT"
bpy.data.scenes['Scene'].display.shading.color_type = "TEXTURE"

The 3D Viewport uses the Workbench render engine, for SOLID mode and the opengl snapshot code simply copies the scene using that engine. You can change any of the SceneDisplay properties to render.  You can also change any of the View3DShading properties so that you can, for instance, use a Matcap material.
Here's an example of setting various properties and then rendering with opengl:
win = bpy.context.window
scr = win.screen
areas3d  = [area for area in scr.areas if area.type == 'VIEW_3D']
area = areas3d[0]
space = area.spaces[0]
regions   = [region for region in areas3d[0].regions if region.type == 'WINDOW']

shading = space.shading
shading.type='SOLID' # 'WIREFRAME' 'SOLID', 'MATERIAL', 'RENDERED'
shading.light='MATCAP' # 'MATCAP' 'STUDIO' 'FLAT'
shading.color_type='MATERIAL' # 'MATERIAL', 'SINGLE', 'OBJECT', 'RANDOM', 'VERTEX', 'TEXTURE'
shading.studio_light='metal_carpaint.exr'
bpy.ops.render.opengl()

Note that to set the properties we using the space_data for the View3D area.


text:
Adding an Operator to the Context Menu of a UIList
How may I add an operator to the Context Menu of a UI List?

Context menus seem to be defined per Spaces (e.g. NODE_MT_context_menu in the below code). Could this be set for the menu of a region? Thank you!
def draw_menu(self, context):
    layout = self.layout
    layout.separator()
    layout.operator("node.duplicate_move", text="My new context menu item")

def register():
    bpy.types.NODE_MT_context_menu.append(draw_menu)

def unregister():
    bpy.types.NODE_MT_context_menu.remove(draw_menu)

For a UI list context menu you can use bpy.types.UI_MT_list_item_context_menu. So in your code snippet:
def register():
    bpy.types.UI_MT_list_item_context_menu.append(draw_menu)

def unregister():
    bpy.types.UI_MT_list_item_context_menu.remove(draw_menu)

To figure out the type, I executed this in the Python console and looked for the most plausible one:
blender_types = dir(bpy.types)
for blender_type in blender_types:
    if 'context_menu' in blender_type:
        print(blender_type)

In addition:
What type of list and which list item did the user right-click on? According to the Blender docs you can use context.button_pointer and context.button_prop for that. See the code example in the docs for a dump function of all the properties of button_pointer and button_prop.
As far as I can tell, context.button_pointer.active is the list item the user clicked on.
context.button_prop.name gives an indication which type of list is clicked, e.g. 'Active Shape Key Index' or 'Active Vertex Group Index'. This name is used as title at the top of the context menu:

That's waaaaay cleaner than my previous solution! Thank you so much Sietse!!!

Oh, one question: how do I know which UI list is right-clicked (when there are many) from that draw menu function?

Yeah, good question. context.button_pointer.active points at the active item in the list. I will update my answer.

As an addition not all data containers implement an active member, so the second method might fail. You can get the active item with getattr(context.button_pointer, context.button_prop.identifier)


text:
All drawings move together in Blender? Is there a way to turn this off?
I've been trying to work on a new animation. I'm new to Blender so i'm still learning it. I was drawing my character but then I ran into a problem where when I click one object like the character's head. It selects literally every single drawing in the software so now I can't move anything separately for the animation to work. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? (Oh sorry I forgot and by the way this is for 2D Animation)

It might help us answer your question if you could add a screenshot or a video demonstrating your problem.

This is for absolute beginners like yourself. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13UpIjJEE7Oa7x5BiMsjXGW5CGOTDF03-SocRYi4Babs/

In Grease Pencil edit mode: select the strokes you want to split from the rest and then (menu)Stoke -> Separate -> Selected Strokes. The Separate menu has the shortcut "P". You will then have the selected strokes as separate Grease Pencil objects. You can also move them in edit mode, after you select, as you see fit.


text:
Spotlight isn't working?
I'm following a tutorial (you know the one) and the spotlight isn't working.. Also, I think somethings wrong with my flooring because ever since I added it in it didn't have any light hitting it? It may just be the spotlight full stop though.

You don't have an Output Node for the lamp.
You can insert them manually: Just add an Emission and a Lamp Output nodes.


text:
Clear specific animation data
Is it possible to remove one specific animation data instead of clear all by python script?
For example, I have set animations on location and scale properties, and just want to clear animation data for location only keeping scale ones.

I have similar situation recently, got thousands of objects and only needing to clear certain channels. I was trying to see if I could find Python script, but apparently Dope Sheet have Summary feature and you can quickly filter out Channels of your selected Object(s) by "Name". So this is super handy as you can search for Scale, and then select all and delete those Scale XYZ channel, or search for X Scale and the summary filter will filter out the X Scale from all selected objects, and then so you can select all from filter and delete those keyframes you don't need.

Came across this question as I was looking for a solution to the same problem. For my Blender needs, deleting keyframes via the Dope Sheet would be quite unwieldy so ended up putting together the following simple Python script to delete animation data of a specific type (location, scale, etc.):
def clear_keyframe(obj, data_path):
    try:
        afc = obj.animation_data.action.fcurves

        for fc in afc:
            if fc.data_path == data_path:
                afc.remove(fc)
                print(f"{obj} {fc} removed")

    except:
        pass

So you can delete scale animation data like so:
clear_keyframe(obj, 'scale')

insert location or rotation as needed.


text:
How might I add an audio track to the 2D Animation dope sheet?
I'm hoping to animate some 2D characters based upon an audio dialogue -- is it possible to put the audio track as its own layer on the dope sheet with audible playback so I can match up the characters with their voice audio?
Thanks.

You can do this at least two ways - Sync the animation to the audio by sliding Dopesheet keyframes left and right to suit the audio track, - OR - create automatic sync something akin to this

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/145105/voiceover-in-blender/145346#145346

@Edgel3D thanks for the info -- but how do I even add an audio track to the 2D Animation Dopesheet?

Have another look at that link.  Scoll right down until you see a sub-heading called "--> POINT A <--"    This is where you add the audio file and "Bake" it to an f-curve. (graph it)  It becomes the graph that's read to expand and contract the 'sound bar' .
If you have no experience, I'd suggest setting up a new and simple project such as that shown but without the lips.  Just concentrate on getting the sound bar (an ordinary plane) expanding to the audio.
To hear the audio you can also add the file as a sound strip in the VSE. (video editor)

PS to the above - The sound graph won't be added as keyframes in the Dopesheet and chances are you won't need to anyway.  It's a different technique and not one you want to be distracted by just yet.

The Sound Waveform Display addon allows to display the waveform in the timeline and dopesheet editors.

I stumbled with this question, and although it is not the specific thing been asked, I think can easily solve it.
If we remember that Blender can configure windows as we need, we can adapt it to show the waveform while editing with the dope sheet.
1. I choose to adapt the windows of Animation Layout. You can make a new one if you want.

2. Then I split the dope sheet to have a parallel window below it.

3. Change the new panel to a Video sequencer.

4. Load your audio. You can use "Shift A" to add a sound clip. Open the side panel to turn the waveform on.

5. Adjust the height and vertical position of the track with the scrollbar to the right.

6. Now you can see both the dope sheet and the waveform with a clear head position. If you play your animation the sound will play and the dope sheet (and 3D view) will run accordingly.

If the audio sounds choppy, turn the rendering of the animation to wireframe.


text:
Why might I not be able to activate my drawing canvas grid guide?
As you can see in my screenshot below -- my overlay "canvas Grid" is greyed out, despite being check-able. I'm new to Blender and still getting my bearings, so forgive the dumb question here! Thanks!

I'm not sure why it's greyed out, but I don't think you will need it,  Is there some special reason you want it checked?

It looks like Grid is the grid that is displayed when you are both in orthographic AND perpendicular view, it allows you to view the units when in ortho front view, ortho right view, etc... it always displays a grid perpendicular to your view, whereas Floor is the floor, it's only an horizontal plane, and it is seen whatever is your view, orthographic or not, but it's still an horizontal plane.
In your case the option is grayed because you are not in orthographic AND perpendicular view. It will appear when you'll be in both.


text:
Advanced object instancing, to create a distributed network with specific rules... help
My project is simple - create a dynamic neural network, for a stellar animation.
Using the skin modifier on a simple wireframe, I created an armature inside a softbody mesh. Next I need to instance the mesh many times around the scene, however, since I plan to animate my camera right up to a synapse, I need each axon to reach right up to and almost touch each adjacent neuron's dendrite.

In the screenshots, I did this manually by duplicating the object, and moving the mesh around to get it just right, which is obviously not a technique that will scale. The challenge is to do this as procedurally as possible.

I'm thinking of a few methods to help achieve this, but I'm still new to blender, and not fully aware of all the tools available. One idea might be to add some kind of "magnetic" force at the terminating ends of each axon, to automatically attract to the nearest dendrite, however that could only work if each one is flexing the mesh in a proportional way. I'm not opposed to programming rules for mesh interaction if anyone could offer a starting point there.
Another curve ball here, is that I must maintain an armature, or some wireframe throughout the center of every mesh, as I am also animating a point light along the wireframe, to shine through the mesh material. I'm using a point light because, the whole thing must be done in Eevee.

This noob would much appreciate your wisdom and advice!


text:
I'm having issues with getting the correct Normal values for my Roblox mesh exporter
I've been trying to make a Roblox Mesh 1.0 exporter, and I'm nearly there, but I have encountered one problem that's causing a lot of annoying lighting issues: the float values for the Normals are not as I expected at first.

For comparison, the custom exporter that inspired me to make this is an anim8or plugin, and when I export a mesh from that, the normals are lit pretty well.

I did also notice that importing an obj into anim8or, exporting it back into an obj, importing that back into blender, and then running the python code produces near identical results.

Here is the code, I hope it helps give some context.
import math
import bmesh
import bpy
from bpy import context

def triangulate_object(obj):
    me = obj.data
    bm = bmesh.new()
    bm.from_mesh(me)

    bmesh.ops.triangulate(bm, faces=bm.faces[:])

    bm.to_mesh(me)
    bm.free()

def FixNumber(number):
    return str("{:.9f}".format(math.ceil(float('%.9g' % number) * 1000000000) / 1000000000)).rstrip('0').rstrip('.')

bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode='OBJECT')
filename = "traffic2.mesh"
objects = context.scene.objects
numFaces = 0
iterator = 0
Output = ""
arr = []

for shape in objects:
    if (shape.type == "MESH"):
        triangulate_object(shape)
        data = shape.data.polygons
        tMatrix = shape.matrix_world
        numFaces = numFaces + sum([(len(p.vertices) - 2) for p in data])
        for face in data:
            for vert_idx, loop_idx in zip(reversed(face.vertices), reversed(face.loop_indices)):
                iterator = iterator + 1
                pointx, pointz, pointy = shape.matrix_basis @ shape.data.vertices[vert_idx].co
                pointx = FixNumber(pointx)
                pointy = FixNumber(pointy)
                pointz = FixNumber(-pointz)
                normal_local = shape.data.vertices[vert_idx].normal
                normalx, normaly, normalz = normal_local
                length = math.sqrt( normalx**2 + normaly**2 + normalz**2 )
                normalx = FixNumber(normalx / length)
                normaly = FixNumber(normaly / length)
                normalz = FixNumber(normalz / length)
                uvx, uvy = shape.data.uv_layers.active.data[loop_idx].uv
                uvx = FixNumber(uvx)
                uvy = FixNumber(uvy)
                arr.append(f"[{pointx}, {pointy}, {pointz}][{normalx}, {normaly}, {normalz}][{uvx}, {uvy}, 0]")
                if (iterator % 3 == 0):
                    print(iterator)
                    arr.insert(iterator-2, arr.pop(iterator-1))
open(filename, "w").write(f"version 1.00\n{numFaces}\n")
for triangle in arr:
    open(filename, "a").write(triangle)

What I do know, is that anim8or is giving the obj some "Custom Split Normals", as what blender tells me. However all my efforts trying to change the Normal values in blender on the original model using modifiers have failed.

To elaborate on the Roblox mesh format, it's quite simple.
version 1.00
TriangleCount
[VertexX, VertexY, VertexZ][NormalX, NormalY, NormalZ][UVX, UVY, unused]

The last line gets repeated for every Triangle
The Mesh 1.0 format does not support any kind of materials, or nodes. It only supports vertices, normals, and uvs.
Here is an archive of the anim8or script in question, and instructions on how to install it.
I want to be able to recreate these anim8or Normal values in python automatically, and then have it export those, but I'm not entirely sure what to do here.

You should fetch the triangulation with me.calc_loop_triangles() and then calculate per-corner normals with me.calc_normals_split(). This should give you the correct object space normals in me.loops[i].normal.
You also need to transform the normal from object space to world space, just like you do for positions, using the inverse-transpose.
I have no real way to test this, but I tried to clean up the code and handle normals correctly. Hopefully it works.
import bpy
import math

def FixNumber(number):
    rounded = math.ceil(float("%.9g" % number) * 1000000000) / 1000000000
    return "{:.9f}".format(rounded).rstrip('0').rstrip('.')

filename = "traffic2.mesh"

bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode='OBJECT')

objects = bpy.context.scene.objects
numTris = 0
vertexLine = ""

for ob in objects:
    if ob.type != 'MESH':
        continue

    me = ob.data
    uvLayer = me.uv_layers.active.data

    # this matrix transforms points into world space
    vMatrix = ob.matrix_world

    # this matrix transforms normals into world space
    # (must re-normalize afterwards)
    nMatrix = vMatrix.to_3x3().inverted().transposed()

    # called to populate me.loop_triangles with triangulation
    me.calc_loop_triangles()

    # called to calc loop.normal for every loop
    me.calc_normals_split()

    numTris += len(me.loop_triangles)

    for tri in me.loop_triangles:
        for i in (0, 2, 1):
            v = me.vertices[tri.vertices[i]].co
            n = me.loops[tri.loops[i]].normal
            uv = uvLayer[tri.loops[i]].uv

            # transform point
            v = vMatrix @ v

            # transform normal
            n = nMatrix @ n
            n.normalize()

            vertexLine += (
                f"[{FixNumber(v[0])}, {FixNumber(v[1])}, {FixNumber(v[2])}]"
                f"[{FixNumber(n[0])}, {FixNumber(n[1])}, {FixNumber(n[2])}]"
                f"[{FixNumber(uv[0])}, {FixNumber(uv[1])}, 0]"
            )

with open(filename, "w") as f:
    f.write("version 1.00\n")
    f.write(f"{numTris}\n")
    f.write(vertexLine)
    f.write("\n")

That does seem to fix the issue with the incorrect normal floats! However now all the values are shuffled around and I'm unsure of how to fix it. In my original code, I reversed the values in the zip, and then I shuffled every 3 iterations back one. However it seems when I try to reverse the for loop in this, the values aren't quite accurate there, either. The mesh is also sideways, too, rather than standing up.

Yeah, I couldn't understand what order you were trying to use. Does just using the (0, 1, 2) order work? In Blender, you get the verts in counter-clockwise order around the tri, but I don't know what your format expects. If the model is sideways, you need to use vMatrix = robloxMatrix @ ob.matrix_world where robloxMatrix transforms from Blender space to Roblox space. Of course I also don't know what that transform is (a decent first guess is probably X,Y,Z -> X,Z,-Y though).

The Euler seems to have fixed it being on an angle, but The values still seem to be in a completely different order than I can decipher. I know with the code I made, I put a reversed() on the zip values, and suddenly it started to make sense. However they were slightly out of order, so I had to shuffle every 3rd with the second. I should also mention that some of the normals are inverted, and if I try flipping them the uvs break.

I got it working! I mixed the normal generation of your code with the vertex and uv mapping of mine. It's slower now, but It'll do.


text:
I can't find where the example tools installed by the ui_tool_simple.py python template showed up. Where are they?
I would like to write my own tools in python, and so I'm starting with the template.  When I run the ui_tool_simple.py python template python script, I can't tell what it did.  I know it did something, because when I run it twice, I get a "Tool XXXX already exists!"  I just am not sure where to look.
I'd like to be able to find my tool when I write it.  But if I can't find this, then I sure as hell won't be able to find mine.

those seems to be the new tools...

You are right.  Thanks!

For folks like me who were still scratching their heads for a long time after seeing this answer... (1) Pic on left is what the tool sidebar looked like before doing anything.  (2) When script is run, nothing visible happens until you hover over this tool sidebar (it is sneaky). (3) Pic in middle is what it changes to when you hover over this tool sidebar after running script. Note that one new icon got added!  It's the standard circle-select icon (confusing; an obviously-custom picture would be better). (4) Long-pressing on the new icon gives the pop-up menu shown in the pic on the right.


text:
Union boolean glitch with non destructive modeling
I trying to merge two objects but this happend when i bool union. Please help me fix that!

Put the other object in a new collection and disable that collection. Or hide it in the viewport and render.

The other object is still there so they're "Z-fighting" because they overlap now. Do what Geri says, but be aware that hiding an object in the viewport won't remove it from the render, for that you need to disable it, but that's another question.

@Kuboå "Or hide it in viewport and render" (Geri)

@GordonBrinkmann Ah, and I was wondering why Geri would suggest that OP render an image after hiding the object in the viewport ("hide, and then render"). Shouldn't comment while sleepy.


text:
Issues with faces on an object - Blender 2.93
So I have a plane and for some reason some faces of the plane will show filled from side but not the other.(Also the circles are not a part of the plane). I'm so confused as to why this is happening. This happened after I did Mesh -> Clean up -> Merge by distance. Before that the faces showed as filled on both sides. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong or how to fix this?

hello please share your object: https://pasteall.org/blend/

Try selecting all in Edit mode and SHIFT-N > Recalculate Normals. No idea about the circles without seeing the Blend file.

@moonboots is pasteall the new preferred over blend-exchange?  I'm getting errors uploading with blend-exchange today and often.  The du jour error: " There was an internal error attempting to complete your request. "

@james_t Yes, it looks like there's a problem, I don't know what's happening. Pasteall is not the "official" alternative host site, it's just that it has been asked not to clutter Blend-Exchange, not sure it's better to cluster pasteall though


text:
Why is the scale of the Bezier Bevel so massive on Curves? how can I scale effectively?
I'm struggling to model with curves today. I can't seem to scale the curve without making the object curve so tiny I can't even see it?

To get the curve size I want, the target object is a speck on the screen.

Has this been updated since last I used it? 2020 How do I scale without having a speck on my screen?

Can you upload the blend file to https://blend-exchange.com/ ?

Check the radius of your bevelled curve's control-points, in Edit Mode.

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/58564/curve-bevel-function-scale/58567

When you scale a curve, it also scales it's vertex radius.
And vertex radius affects bevel size.
Simply tab to edit mode and set Mean Radius back to 1.

Excellent thanks @jachym, super helpful.... what a nice little place to hide that setting.

no problem :). The first time i got stuck on this I also went here to get help :))

Does anyone know how to do this with, say 150 curves at once?

Hi @Hector :). Consider asking this as a new question, you can link this one to provide context. People won't see your comment here, this is an older thread ;).


text:
Blender isn't snapping to the grid, its shift 1 grid space away from the original
I'm trying to make a few modular assets. To support my quest, I'm using grid snapping. However I have noticed that when moving faces or vertices, it doesn't snap them to the grid, it just moves them 1 grid space (based on the grid space I have set 0.5 in this case).
Here is an example:
I want to move this face onto a grid.

When I move it this happens. It just passed the grid.

How do I turn on absolute grid snapping?

Check the Absolute Grid Snap box in the snapping popover to enable absolute grid snapping:

Ahh perfect and it was right there.. That helps allot


text:
Blender models issues when importing into Substance Painter
Hello I'm new to Blender and SP, please go easy on me.
I've created a model in Blender, when importing features that have been boolean'd with difference modifier from blender to SP, I get mesh distortion in SP and allot of errors. I have tried applying before exporting as well.

[Scene 3D] Failed to triangulate polygon (no ear found). Probably not
a simple polygon?

I gather this is a blender setup issue. Here is an example of the blender Model:

And the SP import of the model.

Here is the pre-export blender mesh:

Thank you in Advance

Got it, found out the issues. Substance Painter does not like faces with more than 4 nodes. Correcting that fixed it up straight away.


text:
Blender Basics Tutorial, sprinkles appear underneith the surface with solidify modifier
So I did the Blender donut tutorial on my work PC last year. I wanted to refresh Blender and get back on track learning. Finally got a new PC that can handle blender well.
Installed the new version of Blender 2.92. I have noticed quite a few weird UI changes, but the one thing that is crippling is the offset of the particle generated in Part 2 of the series. In the new version the particles appear under the ICing... see figures.
Is the issue with solidify modifier? Is it something that can be reversed/swopped/offset in the Particlsettings? I might add I didn't get this with the previous version of blender, so many I missed something or it was moved?

The top is clear.

I see the normals are different in the new version, so flipping that in the modifier -> Solidifier options sorted that out.


text:
Two components with identical modifiers, yet the bevel modifiers have different results?
I have the top and bottom cover of an assault rifle model I'm building. Both sections have identical modifier settings, yet the bevel mod between the two look completely different.
Thoughts?

It must be unapplied scale of the object. In Object Mode Ctrl + A -> Scale

Nope... tried that... Its got to do with complex geometry. But I can't for the life of me figure it out.

Oh yeah it is possible that some verts are too close together on one of the objects and it's limiting the distance.

I'll try check that quick.

It may be that some of the vertices are too close, and the Bevel modifier is automatically limiting the offset amount.
The bevel will only be as big as it can be between the two closest vertices without overlapping.


text:
I've hit something now I can't see textures in viewport
I've been following Imphenzia low poly styles. I'm trying to view the texture in the "non-material" viewport. The "solid" viewport.  The option to click in the drop-down box is here:

However, it is no longer working. The object does have a material.
Any thoughts on what I have done differently. The texture is visible if I click on the materials preview.

Even though textures are not to be viewed in solid mode (1= You can't make it show up in solid view if you have edited UV's or generated mapping. 2= You alreaddy have the material preview and rendered mode) you can view it by going to the shader editor, and selecting the texture node you wan't to preview. You can select for example a normal map image texture node also, and the normal mapwill be previewed in solid mode.


text:
Rigify errors with different feet levels
I'm having issues with the Rigify add-on, I don't get this if I use my own bone structure.
1.) When I copy one side (ctrl-c) to the otherside (Ctrl-shift-v) is doesn't match the foot height exactly. One foot is about 10cm off. it is also missing some random copying keypoints. After hitting "a" I make sure they are all there but they are not. I have to go and tweek the animation on the otherside myself?

Eh???
2.) When I use the IK, to bend the knees the foot goes through the floor on one foot, and the other stays flat. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

3.) The toe spline is not fixed and bends all over the place. It also does not have an IK sketch property?

No comments? I'm going to do the rig manually I think

Have you tried to insert a keyframe first at frame #13, then mirror the pose, and finally replace the keyframe?


text:
Help with Edge creases, creat folds in corners
I'm trying to make an engine sit ontop of a wing for my spaceship. However, When I don't use edge creases, I get circles.. when I do I get folds in the mesh.
here is the Un-sub-D modded mesh:

this is what it looks like with the sub-division modifier:

once I add the additional lines.. like this:

I end up having corner folds, which suck...

what am I doing wrong?

This looks like the geometry may not be manifold, or normals may be incorrect. Is this a possibility?

I checked that all good

Hmm. Degenerate geometry?

I can give it a try


text:
Modelling interrior smooth or flat, what methods are commonly used?
This is a bit of an art question rather than a "bug" or "how do I" question. And I'm new to Blender.
I'm building a spaceship interior and naturally, it has a lot of flat surfaces, I'm trying to find the best modeling technique. Going for a bit of a clone wars type of animation style (got a long way to go, still learning the software). From my research I see there are 4ish sort of methods. Here they are with the snapshot below them.

Model Flat

Model Smooth

Model Smooth with Bevel modifier

Model Smooth with Subdivision modifier

To phrase this into a question. What would you use for a Sci-Fi interior? Could you use the same method for creating weapons? Are there better methods that I have missed?

One thing I find frustrating is that modifiers are not linked to meshes that are linked. Is there an easy way to change that?

If you want the dark grey parts to be smooth, I'd use a combination of flat, smooth, and sharp edges. Select an edge, right click it (or left click menu if you have it the other way), then set edge to sharp. You can use them to isolate certain areas to be smooth or sharp. Also you would need to join the wall panels and merge their verts to get the modifiers to look right and connect.

to add something, for subdivsion modifier, choose your edges, press N and in panel Item, the first panel, go to Edges Data and increase the "Mean Crease" or shortcut shift+E. It makes edges sharper
| Edge Crease:
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/2.80/modeling/meshes/editing/edges.html

For your scene it doesn’t seem to matter much if it is left as flat, as there aren’t really any curved surfaces. However if there are then I would recommend using smooth with auto smooth turned on (the auto smooth prevents the edges that don’t need to look smooth from being smoothed).
If there are any close up shots or you don’t mind the scene being a more high poly then you can use the subdivision surface modifier. Remember to go into edit mode and select the edges you don’t want to be curved, then click shift+E to increase the crease.
Basically you can use all of the methods you’ve mentioned but you just need to know how to use them properly.


text:
Mantaflow Initial Velocity 2.83 vs 2.9
I'm working on some explosions and have been using the initial velocity for some of it. When I installed 2.9 it seems like this setting is either not working, or is very much different. I can stick with 2.83, but I recently got 3070 which didn't work with 2.8 and obviously it would speed stuff up.
Thanks

In what way is it "very much different"? There was a patch applied due to the initial velocity when switching a flow on/off being incorrect (it would be zero the first time and based on the last time it was 'on' on subsequent times) but that should have been 'fixed' - so I would expect a difference. See https://developer.blender.org/T80833 and https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/194591/29586

Basically the initial velocity, on smoke and fire, was about 10x less. So I amped up the force from 3 to 30 and it looks more or less the same as in 2.83. It also seems far more sensitive to any increase in Sampling Substeps, but I haven't done tons of testing. It's also reacting to force fields differently, as in they seem to have much less influence. I don't see how I can add files here, but I've been rebaking scenes I setup in 2.8 in 2.9 with the values kicked up and while the basics are the same the overall flow is really different. I'm going to try 2.29A today.


text:
I have a seam in 'Shade Smooth' mode that I can't fix
I am a bit of a novice when it comes to Blender and I'm having trouble fixing a very noticeable seam on a mirrored object (a head).
I've checked to see if there's vertices that haven't been merged near the seam to no such luck. I've changed the order of the modifiers (mirror and subdivision surface). "Clipping" and "Merge" are both enabled within the mirror modifier too. I've even copied and pasted one side of the head, flipped it and then tried to merge the vertices but that won't work either.

I hope this isn't a silly question, but I'm only a university student and would really appreciate the help!
Thank you! :)

Does selecting everything and hitting Shift+N to recalculate the normals fix it?

Try moving the subdiv after the mirror modifier. Also, make sure you don't have interior faces. In edit mode go Select > Select all by trait > Interior faces

Also: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/69020/why-do-i-get-a-seam-using-mirror-modifier

Its caused by the subdivision modifier being used before the mirror modifier. Click and hold on the 6 dots by the top right of the modifier and drag the mirror modifier above the subdivision mod.
I am not 100% sure why having them in the wrong order makes that line appear, but changing the order fixed it for me. Also, it appears the line gets more pronounced the more subdivisions you have.

The order in your modifier stack is the order that these operations are applied to your mesh.
So if you use Subdivision Surface first, you create a smooth mesh with a hard edge, and then Mirror replicates that over the axis.

It's as though you had two empty halves of coconuts, and you're banging them together.
Whereas if you first Mirror your base mesh, you're free to subdivide the whole thing afterwards.


text:
Moving along individual origin does not work
There is such a geometry. I wanted to move all the selected vertices to the top relative to their normals to get a pointed shape.

And so I use normal motion + mode individually for each vertex. as you can see, the geometry is tilted from above. How do I complete my task?

Depending on the edges positions relative to the objects origin, you might be able to get away with selecting those edges and simply "scaling up" (changing transformation orientation to Normal may assist with this). You can probably get the end result to look "pretty close" if that's what your after, however any sense of "specificity" may be lost (again, depending on the shape and the edges location relative to the origin). More of a quick, easy fix than a real answer, I admit.

From what I understand, individual origins does not work for vertices. For polygons or edges only.

Contiguous vertices are not considered as individual elements.

As @lemon says.. connected vertices are not individuals. If you do the crazy thing .. every even vertex, followed by every odd vertex, it works.
But here, you can use AltS (Shrink / Fatten) instead.


text:
How to make onion skin the same color as the sketch?
I am doing an animation of a hand using Grease Pencil, and for the sketch, I have each finger and the thumb a different color.  How do I make the Onion Skin have the same colors as the sketch?

Hello, could you please provide a screenshot?

Does it answer your question ? https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/grease_pencil/properties/onion_skinning.html


text:
Transform Axes are all wrong
For some reason, in my Blender:

Moving an object along X moves it forward and backwards (like Y)
Moving along Y moves it up and down (like Z)
Moving along Z moves it left and right (like X)

How do I fix this?

The answer is right there in your screenshot :

You are moving your object along the 3D cursor.
To fix this just press SHIFT + C to reset your cursor position and rotation or change the transformation orientation since you probably (accidentally) set it to Cursor :

Change it back to Global again and everything should go back to normal.
Further explanations
You see, the 3D cursor, since 2.8, has an orientation that can be used as a Transform orientation.
You can transform the 3D cursor under the N-panel > View and 3D Cursor :

While in 2.7, we could only change its location, now we can rotate it. If you check yours you will probably see that your rotations value for the 3D Cursor are not to the default value anymore :

Also, always be aware of the Transform Orientations, if the transform axes are not the way you expect them to be, it's most likely because you have the wrong Transform Orientation enabled. The shortcut for changing it is . (the period on the alphabetic pad not the number pad). They should be the first thing you check if you have problems like these.


text:
Missing options in Texture Paint's Active Tool and Workspace Settings
I am following a tutorial on texture painting, and there is no "Texture" option in the Active Tool and Workspace Settings for Texture Painting.  There is also no Texture Mask, Stroke, Falloff, or Display.  How do I make these active?  I often have trouble activating things in Blender.

In the new Blender update, they move the option to the top side, You just have to scroll your mouse wheel over there and the option will be there.
Just found out from the documentation lol.
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/sculpt_paint/texture_paint/tool_settings/mask.html


text:
How do I add a new preset to the FFMPEG Presets list in Blender?
I have done a lot of customization in the encoding settings. I want to add these settings to FFMPEG Presets to quickly access them later. How can I do that? I want to add a new preset to the list that appears in the picture I added.

The presets are python script files. They can be found in the folder for the program.
version number/scripts/presets/ffmpeg.

Create your own and save them there, they will show up next time you open blender. To understand the options, use the existing ones as reference.

Read: Change Encoding Settings through Python API

Thank you very much for your help.


text:
I opened blender and when I went to scale my cube the module doesn't show up
I opened up blender and went to scale my object and the module thing (completely forgot what it is called) doesn't show so I can't scale my object the way i want

Have you enabled the Show Gizmo option?

I'm sitting here confused as to why this button was off in the first place, it happened randomly thank you so much lmaooo


text:
Texture problem two sides of a face after a solidify
I have a problem with my blender project.
I modeled a can cut in two to make a kind of boat, but that's not the problem. The problem is that after doing a solidify to give it a thickness, I can not texture only one side of my object, the UV MAPPING is displayed double-sided. I cannot because of the solidify select the other faces inside my can. I put you pictures to better understand the problem.I want a texture in my can and an other texture out of my can. I hope you can help me.

Create your second texture:

In the Solidify modifier > Materials > Material Offset choose the slot where the material is, 0 is for material #1, 1 for material #2, etc. You can also choose the rim material:

You can also make a double sided surface based on normals direction with a backfacing node set-up

yes but are you sure it works with a Solidify modifier? I can't make it work...

Not with the solidify that i know of - you would need to do the extrusion manually and flip the normals. This was just an optional workaround. The material slot is best plan if the solidify is needed or for different rim color etc.


text:
Prepping File From Zbrush to Blender Rendering
Trying to work out a workflow for taking my highly detailed ring designs in Zbrush into Blender for rendering.   I can bring into Keyshot from Zbrush and render just fine but when taking the same thing into Blender for rendering its totally bogged down and slower than molasses.  Can anyone give me an idea how to get these high detail sculpts to work in Blender rendering ?

ZBrush can handle more geometry than other 3d software packages including Blender because it uses proprietary algorithms different than other 3d packages. What kind of polycounts are we talking about? You probably need to get the polycount down. That shouldn't be a problem, because the objects might be way too dense to keep the same form. Decimating them before export might be a solution. i hesitate to put it as an answer, because of the lack of context provided. It's a guess.

Thanks, I'm decimating down to 600k in Zbrush before exporting in FBX. When opening in Blender it was over 4 million faces.  Wondering how best to lower polycount without sacrificing detail ?  Hoping there is a reasonably automated way to prep from Zbrush to Blender

Have you tried: https://github.com/JoseConseco/GoB ?

I would try to avoid .fbx format whenever possible when using Blender. Can you get away with .obj maybe? Maybe fbx is imported as separate faces or something like that...


text:
grow faces over single axis
Let's say I have a grid of small cubes 20 x 20. I want to be able to make some amount of them 'grow' over one axis.
The closest I had to this was use displacement with a cloud texture matched to an empty object that moves across the screen, but because it affects vertices instead of faces it doesn't look like cuboids anymore. Is there a way around this?

(to further complicate things I'd like to be able to then assign different materials to sides so would be much better if starting point is cubes rather than plane)

I would keep the displace modifier but start from a single vertex that way it doesn't deform the meshes.
Start with a single vertex and add 2 Array modifiers

Add a Displace modifier, setup a cloud texture, direction to Z, and set the coordinates to object, and add an Empty in the scene.

Add 2 Screw modifiers along X and Y, set the steps to 1 and the angle to 0°

Add a new vertex group to the object

Add a Solidify modifier. Set the thickness to 0, the rim material to 1 and the output vertex group to the group you just created.

Add a very large plane in your scene, set it to not render and set the viewport display to Bounds

Add a Shrinkwrap modifier, target the large plane, set the wrap method to Project along Negative Z, and limit it only to the vertex group. I also added a Bevel modifier.

Add 2 Materials, one for the Top & Bottom, and one for the Sides.

Move the empty :

That looks incredible! Would this allow to assign different materials to the faces? I.e. rather than just one material to the side and one to the top, with this method would I be able to assign a certain material to only say 3% of faces? thanks! appreciated

Should be able to use Geometry -> Random Per Island to get random values for each

@zergkills Sure there are several options. Are you using Eevee or cycles for rendering ?

Problem: displace modifier has no visible effect. Solution: make sure the empty and the initial vertex are not in the same location (specifically, move the empty so that it is not the scaling factor of the cloud texture (default: .25 unit vectors) away from the vertex).

thanks for your responses guys, I'm using Eevee currently but I can change if it helps

hi all, thanks again for all your help with this. So far using the method of random per island I managed to get very close to where I need to be - https://imgur.com/a/KUDkWEt. This is using just constant colour ramp, but on assumption I'd like one of the materials to have different properties than just colour (like texturte over it for example), is there a way to do this? Thanks and sorry again for newbie questions

This time it can warrant a new question on its own :) You can try plugging the random per island into a Math node set to greater than and then plug that into the fac input of a mix shader, then you can use 2 different shaders. Tweak the greater than value if you want just a certain percentage of one shader over the other.

That's incredible @Gorgious! Worked like a charm. But yeah, I think i will set this all up as a separate question


text:
Make tiled texture bend with object
I'm working on a road model. I managed to make the road texture tile, so I wouldn't have to manually modify the UV mapping each time I extrude or stretch a road.
Note: The road texture is a square seamless image, so is the pavement. The pavement and the road are two different material but their shader nodes are identical at the moment.

How would I make the road texture rotate with the road faces?

don't use object, use uv as coordinates. Create a single road segment, and create the UV map for it. Create a curve that will be the path for the road Then use an array modifier on the road segment and curve modifier that uses the curve to guide the array. Read:  Create a road along large terrain

Alternatively https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/69115/how-to-curve-road-without-array-modifier

as Susu says, use the Texture Coordinate UV output, then you can unwrap with Follow Active Quads option so that the UV is straight

Read also: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/155591/how-to-make-texture-coordinates-follow-curvature-of-mesh


text:
exporting multiple animated objects to gltf
I'm fairly new to gltf and am gradually learning about it's abilities/limitations. I am currently trying to test a file that would have multiple objects animate in a scene. However, whenever I export, only one of the objects animates (but if I export them individually, they animate fine on their own).
I read in the documentation that "glTF allows multiple animations per file, with animations targeted to particular objects at time of export. To ensure that an animation is included, either (a) make it the active Action on the object, (b) create a single-strip NLA track, or (c) stash the action." but it's hard to tell if that means one object can animate multiple times, or if you can have multiple objects animate in the one export. As I tested this with no success, but maybe I'm not creating the NLA track properly.
Any help or clarification with this would be extremely appreciated!
Thanks :)

A newer manual says:
"An NLA Strip animation consists of multiple actions on multiple objects that should play together. To create an NLA strip animation with the name “My Animation”, push the action that should play each object onto an NLA track for that object with the name “My Animation”.
NLA Strip animations will be exported if the Animation ‣ NLA Strips option is selected (on by default). All glTF animations are imported as NLA Strip animations."
Or see here: https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glTF-Blender-IO/issues/219#issuecomment-453621051
The second part of that post:  "If you have two NLA tracks with the same names on different objects, you should get a single merged animation out that affects both."
So you have to create NLA tracks and give them the same name. It worked with my animation. good luck with yours!

Amen to this! I was wasting time trying to combine all my animations into a single NLA action, thinking that was the solution. In fact, it doesn't matter how many tracks or strips you have - just make sure that every track you want involved in a single GLTF animation has the same name.

to export multiple animated objects with armatures, vertex groups should have unique names. here's a little script to rename bones and vertex groups based on parent armature name:
import bpy

for obj in bpy.context.selected_objects:
    if obj.type == "ARMATURE":
        prefix = obj.name + "_"
        for bone in obj.data.bones:
            bone.name = prefix + bone.name

    if obj.type == "MESH":
        prefix = obj.parent.name + "_"
        for vg in obj.vertex_groups:
            if vg.name[0:len(prefix)] != prefix:
                vg.name = prefix + vg.name


text:
Editing number of steps in spin
Once you apply spin to a bezier curve with a set amount of set amount of steps, is it possible to go back after switching over to object mode and increase/decrease the amount of steps?


text:
three questions about particles
is it possible to create a collision particle/hair system on an object without having to animate it?
other questions:
actually I would like the particles' metaballs not to enter the collision object, the sphere, in the image below.
also not be in the object that emits it, the cube in the image.
and I would like the particles to be in greater quantity where the two objects collide.
it's possible ?

Does anyone have a tutorial or addon tip that performs the above operations?

pls read the rules about here which i sent you on your other question: you should ask only one question. But you can open as many questions as you want. Although you should accept answers (click on the checkmark left of an answer) if it helped you. Else people might think you are pretty unthankful (remember: they put lots of effort and time to answer you - for free!)


text:
how to change the intensity of two lights at the same time?
how to change the intensity of several lights at the same time keeping the aspect ratio in a static scene? for example: change the intensity of several area lights directly on the intensity button of any one of the lights and all the others in the group also undergo change keeping the proportion established previously?

Use drivers and encode ratio in drivers

do you have a tutorial? I already tried to configure the driver , but I can not get results ?

Hover over source intensity. right click copy  as new driver. hover over dest. right click paste drive. right click edit driver. switch to script expression type x * var in expression. use what you want for c

@MrBill that was a bit cryptic, but if you can simplify it I will upvote it as an answer. I might also add that you can use a single custom property to drive all the lights, which means that it will have as zero to one value that will be easy to multiply by and set things up.

@thelabcat is that ok?

To use one property to drive another you create a driver from the first property. then copy the driver to the second property. then edit the driver to do what you want.
You create a driver by hovering over the property input, right click, and select copy as driver
You copy it by hovering over the second property input, right click, and select paste driver.
You edit the driver by hovering over the second property, right click and select edit driver.
You want to do this with the lights intensity.
The new driver is set to average value but you want to multiply intensity. change ave value to scripted expression in driver editor. new input will show up. type x * var in field. but for x use number you want to multiply by.
You can copy the driver to each light and replace x by a different value to set different proportions.
If you want all lights using same intensity you can make a new custom property and make the driver from it.

I'm sorry for the confusion
but I can't set the aspect ratio.
is there a tutorial with images about this configuration?

another question: how do I configure the intensity to be changed from any light in the group while maintaining the proportion?

actually I wanted to adjust the intensity of several lights and then with a button change the intensity of all the lights keeping the proportion. it's possible ?

I think you are wrong.
according to the video the settings are different from the ones you mentioned. in any case thanks. follow video with tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ER1wOOg1Y


text:
material with generic procedural maps?
is there a way in blender to make a tree of procedural maps that can be used in several materials at the same time? and updated at once by changing their contents in the various materials that receive it? where they are linked to the map trees of the materials that receive it?
thanks

https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/32984/is-there-a-way-to-save-composite-node-presets/32985#32985

Voting to reopen because none of the answers in the supposed duplicate address the question asked here about global changes affecting every material.

Sure create one material that has the tree you want.  Select the tree and make it a node group. (Shortcut Ctrl–G).  Hook some of the inputs to the group input and some of the outputs to the group output.  An expanded group might look like this silly example:

Once you've created such a group you can add it the same way you would add an individual node, by typing Shift–A and going to Group in the select menu and picking it by name.  I didn't change the name of the above group so it shows up as Node Group in the menu.  You should name your node groups so that you can tell what they do.

In this silly example, any Material that uses the group can have a unique value for the Noise Texture's Scale input, but if you change any other input, such as the Voronoi Texture's Scale input, it changes it for every material that uses the group.
That is, Group Inputs are unique to a given use of the node group, but any internal setting is shared by every use.

and is it possible to turn this function off and on again for all materials with the same configuration? can i have a mixRGB node to connect external maps in the group?

yes.  for instance, pass a color in, use the node group to modify it, then use the mixRGB to select between the modified and unmodified version of the color.

can you be more clear? actually the above questions are two different questions.

Probably should ask another question.  I would need more screenshots to be more clear and I don't know how to add them to comments easily.

to change the values only in a material, just ungroup?Or is there another more efficient way?

Is it possible for a group to be used in several "files" and the settings to sync the same across all files?

to change the value for one material, ungroup, or make it a new group, open it and edit it.  To use in several files: Before v3, put a material in a separate file that has the group, and link that material into any file you want to use the group in.  Starting in v3, make it a material asset or do it the pre-v3 way

when applying a procedural map of an object to another object of smaller size, it is necessary to rescale the map. Is there anything I can do to not have to reconfigure the procedural map scale?


text:
position the polygon by dragging the mouse
is it possible to position the circle , created by procedural maps , by dragging the mouse over the object in the viewport?
could be by addon.

Not Exacly. But you can use empty.
Like This:

just reset in Mapping Node Position
create new Empty and drag to surface of your Cube
Add in Texture Cordinate Object - "Empty"

And should looks like that:

thank you for the help
but there is a problem :
when I send the empty to the top of the cube the circle disappears

@Beegs works just fine for me, no idea what could be wrong on your end :)

Here's a fun way: create a setup like this:

Now add 3 drivers to Combine XYZ node:

The simplest way to do that is to right-click X Location in the Numbers Panel in 3D viewport, "Copy as a New Driver", right-click on the X field in Combine XYZ node, Paste Driver, right-click, Edit Driver, change to Scripted Expression, change sign, repeat for the two other drivers.
Now you can search for a sphere, and once you're done, you can duplicate the Combine XYZ node:

Move the cube back to XYZ=0,0,0, and use your saved (duplicated) Combine XYZ nodes:

actually I wanted something like this:
https://blendermarket.com/products/mapping-gesture
I've tried it but it's not good with procedural maps.
do you know anything about this?


text:
Substance designer nodes in blender shader?
is it possible to use substance designer " nodes " in blender shader ?
I know you can use ready-made materials.
but I want to know if it is possible to mix the substance designer nodes with the blender nodes.
it works ?
thank you so much

Sorry, but no.  Blender has no idea how to interpret substance designer's internal data structures.

is it possible to bevel the mesh with substance designer? like? do you have a tutorial?
thanks

Alas, I don't.  Sorry.

and create curvature with substance designer, do you have a tutorial?

is the Republished sbsar working?
Do you have any settings for it to work?


text:
is there a MixRBG node with input for multiple maps?
do you know any addon that has a MixRBG node with input for multiple maps?
one that has the mix setup for each input channel on the map?

Have you tried the Combine RGB node? Plug that into one of the MixRGB's color sockets, and you can plug your RGB channels in separately. I assume that's what you want.

it's not that . I wanted to simplify the map tree by subtracting several Mixrgb nodes by just one mixrgb with several map entries. it's possible ?

I see. I'm not sure if there's an add-on for that, but you can try grouping your nodes together by selecting them and pressing Ctrl+G.

To mixRGB from multiple sources, you need multiple factors to mix (and some methods for mixRGB wouldn't make sense, or at least require disambiguation.)  If I want to mixRGB on mix mode from >2 inputs, I will usually sequentially do mixRGB/adds, with the first adding from black.


text:
NANITE feature of Unreal Engine in Blender 4.2?
Is there any feature or addon for Blender 4.2 that works like the NANITE feature in Unreal Engine?
to use extremely dense meshes in polygons?
thanks

No. There isn't even a Nanite feature in other game engines. It's a pretty cutting-edge feature that Unreal developed themselves. You can look into a Decimate modifier, to cut down the number of polys in your mesh. But that doesn't work in real time like Nanite does.

Do you believe that triangulating the mesh optimizes the use of the EEVEE GI viewport in Blender 4.2? Are there any palliative measures in this regard?
What about the procedural maps of the materials? Is it appropriate to bake them to optimize the use of the EEVEE GI? Thanks


text:
how to bake on opacity map between two materials?
How can I bake the opacity map that exists between two materials on the same object for the image?
Below is the image of the object with two materials:

thanks


text:
How do I get objects with visibility toggled off in a file saved in Blender 2.79 to be visible in Blender 2.8?

I started this model in Blender 2.79 and at the time of saving the .blend file last time in version 2.79, I had the visibility of objects with red arrow turned off.
Now how do I get those object meshes to show in the viewport in version 2.8? Their visibility is on as indicated by the eye icon but they still cant be seen or be selected in the viewport.

There are a few visibility options in Blender 2.80 that confuse new users (and also experienced ones). By default, you can only see the hide in viewport one, which is represented by the eye icon. However, there is also another option called disable in viewport. You have to enable a filter option first from the filter popup on the right to even see this icon (looks like a small TV screen):

Then you'll be able to see and toggle it from the Outliner:

Its purpose is to hide an object from a collection instance. So if you instance Collection from the example in the screenshots, the Plane object would be hidden. If you only used the eye icon, the instance will show the Plane object regardless.


text:
How to connect two vertices of two objects in python
I have two objects where I want to randomly link different vertices.  Is there a way to select two vertices and connect them if I know their coordinates?

Hello. Can you elaborate a bit more about what you want to do, add pictures for instance. If two objects, they need to be merged in one if you want to connect their vertices.

Not sure if this answers your question, but you can Shift-Click vertices in Edit Mode to select multiple of them. If you select 2, and then press "F", an Edge will be formed between them. If you select 3 or more and press "F", a Face will be formed between them.

As lemon says in his comment, this will only work if they are part of the same mesh.

I am new to blender so I may not be phrasing my question correctly.  I am trying to create an image entirely in code.  I am randomly distributing objects and now trying to connect them.  Ultimately I want to run physics simulations but for now I'm trying to create the model.


text:
Use Layer Collection Property Group for UI LIst?
making a property group for a UI List is not a problem when using Collections, as follows:
class CUSTOM_objectCollection(bpy.types.PropertyGroup):
    coll_ptr: bpy.props.PointerProperty(
        name="Collection",
        type=bpy.types.Collection)
def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(CUSTOM_objectCollection)
    bpy.types.Scene.custom = bpy.props.CollectionProperty(type=CUSTOM_objectCollection)

but trying to use Layer Collections by changing type to: type=bpy.types.LayerCollection produces ValueError: bpy_struct "CUSTOM_objectCollection" registration error: coll_ptr could not register. How can we use Layer Collections instead of Collections?

Need to be subclasses of  bpy.types.ID with some exceptions like bones. Will find ID types are saved in blend eg for the Collection in  bpy.data.collections  Not for LayerCollections which belong to the viewlayer object. The workspace is something to consider looking at.


text:
Propeller Rotation
I am making an animation involving planes. Of course, planes need propellers. I thought this would be simple to do. All I would have to do was rotate and keyframe. This worked for the first few scenes, but in the later scenes it stopped working. In the later scenes, I would keyframe the propeller idly at the start of the shot, then I would go to the end of the shot and rotate it around 30,000 degrees. Both keyframes look good when I went to their exact frame, but in between the two frames the propeller just seemingly rotates randomly. Here are the pictures to show what is going on.

Does someone, Anyone, have an answer to my predicament?

Please consider rotating the propeller first on some world axis. Typical.  Then parent  the propeller to the plane body (wing nose et cetera).  Discuss what is the parent of the propeller in your question above please.  Show it by expanding your outliner. Or simply delete your current parenting, get the rotation of your propeller correct on some major axis .. in the set [X, Y, Z] .. . Inspect front and side.  Next parent again for a second cleaner attempt.  This is a small problem.  The parent plane should originally be aligned to a major axis world [X, Y, Z]

There should be no fine tuning for different frames.  That would typically be a sign of defect.  You may also rename object from the confusing names of Cube Blah N .. to improved names of propeller and plane and wings ....

One possibility is that you're using quaternion rotation rather than Euler rotation. Quaternions don't work well for rotations more than 360 degrees (outside of -180 to 180). In the n-side panel in the 3D viewport, ensure the dropdown below Rotation is set to XYZ Euler.

Hi @TheTrueJard and @Atomicbezierslinger! Thanks! I unparented the propeller and rotated it on the global axis. Then I re-parented it and that really worked. Thanks a lot again, you're life savers!


text:
Everything is Pink
I moved my Blender files into a new folder, to help clean up my directory, but my textures went pink. I remember this happened before to me, but I can't remember how I fixed this. How do I designate in Blender the new locations of these files on my HD. Does anybody know how to help me? Thanks!

Try File > External Data > Find Missing Files. It will let you pick the directory where your textures are.

Thanks, that solved my problem!


text:
Save the transformation of Boolean Modifier Difference
I currently have carved out a chunk in my mesh as shown in the picture using the boolean modifier.
The 'cutout' is the mesh I am using to carve out what I want from the 'bishop model' mesh.

How can I actually save the carved out mesh version so I can delete the 'cutout' mesh?
Is this possible?
Thanks.

Hello :). Just click Apply in the Boolean modifier. Then it will stay that way. And don't forget to backup your model first.

Thank you! Very helpful.


text:
Mirror modifier creates duplicate vertices when modeling
I have a mirror modifier on a few loose meshes I've joined into a single mesh (original image).  When I try to move one part of the mesh (the leg), it seems to duplicate the vertices I'm trying to move and leave the original object behind.
Why is the mirror modifier not working correctly?
Image before moving leg:

Image after moving leg with modifier:

Check the box of the 'bisect' Y axis in the mirror modifier.
The mirror modifier duplicates your whole mesh and mirrors it as a whole, so that's why there are duplicate vertices. To make it mirror only one side and get rid of the other, you must check the 'bisect' axis as well (bisecting literaly means cutting in half).
If the side it got rid of was not the one you wished to get rid, also check the 'flip' box in the same axis.


text:
How can I store an animation action for later use?
In the action editor, I see there's a stash option.  Is this the way to store an action for later use in animation?  If I reopoen the animation action and then click on stash again, I get an error that the action has already been stored.
What is the proper way to close an animation action (so I can work on another one) for later use?

Stash Them.
By stashing the actions we are doing little more than using the NLA as a bag to hold them, and associate them with their object.  If the object is linked or appended to another blend all the actions will come too. (Similarly with many export formats)  Pushing them down adds a track and action strip contributing to the animation result. Stashed actions do not.

Example of Action Editor above NLA Editor, with 3 previously stashed actions, Hop, Throb and Spin.  The new action "Walk" is in the slot, then stashed too.

To save an action it only needs to be stashed once.

Adding a new action to the slot in action editor automatically
stashes the prior.

The stashed animations do not contribute to the animation result.
(They are disabled by default), whereas those that are pushed down
do.

The top shown animation in the NLA editor, is the one in the slot..
(I call the active action the one in the slot, like putting a record
from your stash on the turntable. ... pushing down on the other hand
is like having multiple turntables, and some kind of mixing is
required. Would generally say if you are going to use NLA to animate
don't have one in the slot (unless editing)

Can select a stashed animation in the NLA and hit Tab to
put it in the "slot" to edit. (tweak) Shown as green in my colour scheme.

Have demonstrated editing by dragging keyframes in action editor, if
it's in the slot can also use timeline, dopesheet or inserting in 3d
view or over property field, or in graph editor to edit.

Is there any tangible difference between the "Stash" and "Push Down" operations other than the default .mute and .lock settings?

Not that I'm aware,  stashed is used to save them & assoc to owner, but not contribute to animation result

Use Fake User.
You actually don't need to push your action down into the NLA in order to save it, you can press on the X (close) or New (duplicate) buttons to close your current action and to create a new one, the action you've closed will be saved and you'll be able to call it back later with the dropdown menu, as long as you don't close your file. But the best option is to click on the Fake User button (shield icon), it will save your action even if it's not used by any of your object/armature. An action that has no user (meaning an action that is not currently used by any object, that is not pushed down in the NLA or that has no fake user) will be automatically lost when you'll close your file:

Once you've clicked on Fake User you'll see that an F now appears in front of this action in the dropdown list, it's the garantee that your action will be available when you'll close and reopen your file. A 0, on the contrary, means that this action has no user and will be lost when you'll close the file:

The Push Down and Stash buttons push down the selected action into the NLA, the NLA is an action sequencer that allows to combine your different actions later (open a new window then select Nonlinear Animation).
You can save this way, as Batfinger says it allows to easily link the action to the object. In that case, if you make any change, you don't need to push down again, the action in the NLA is automatically synchronized.
The problem is that if you ever want to use the NLA later you'll have a stack of tracks and strips that you may not want. If you delete a strip it will also delete the action (if this action is not shared by other object(s) and if it has no Fake User). Also, if you delete an object that has this action stashed, the action will also be lost (again, if this action is not shared by other object(s) and if it has no Fake User).

In some ways semantics, but wouldn't use "close" the action. The  action in action editor dropdown is the the one  that is linked to the animation data of an object.  (ob.animation_data.action)  This is automatically created on first keyframe, eg "CubeAction". Pressing the X sets it to None, essentially removing the action from the object.. The idea of stashing is the action is still associated with the object thru the NLA (ob.animation_data.nla_tracks) but muted.  Sure can simply fake user any action, but also lose the association.

Sure you can push donw into the NLA but I think it's a little bit confusing to do that before understanding the base of Dope Sheet / Action Editor (at least how I understand it), no? How would you rephrase my answer?

No issue with fake user idea. Feel though this is a bit NLA-phobic.  A bit more NLA-centric would explain that action only needs to be stashed once. Adding a new action to the slot in action editor automatically stashes the prior. The stashed animations do not contribute to the animation result. (They are disabled by default), whereas those that are pushed down do. The top shown animation in the NLA editor, is the one in the slot..  (I call the active action the one in the slot, like putting a record from your stash on the turntable.  ... pushing down on the other hand is like having multiple

turntables, and some kind of mixing is required.  Would generally say if you are going to use NLA to animate don't have one in the slot (unless editing)

sure but I don't feel like the poster wants to learn how the NLA works, I feel like he wants to know the basics of the Dope Sheet /Action Editor and someone told him to push the action into the NLA as a way to save it, which in my opinion is not the right way to understand correctly how the Dope Sheet works, it's the beginning of how the NLA works. Plus even when you know how the NLA works you don't necessarily want a huge stack of strips in the NLA when you open it

Or looking at it another way, stashed of fake user only needs to be done once. The action is saved "for Ron". If stashed open the NLA to see them.

,, prob getting to where should add an another answer. If all the actions belonging to Cube are stashed, they come along with Cube when linked or appended from another blend (the association angle mentioned earlier) . Not so with just making fake user.

yes you're right, the poste may want to know that


text:
Huge gap between curve and mesh when using array modifier
I'm trying to fit my mesh's created with an array modifier around a curve.
It seems to be going in the right direction, but the array modifier
1) Has a major gap between the curve (the window outline which has the orange highlighted)
2) causes some meshes to be elongated (near the top of the curve)
3) Seems to be creating too many mesh objects to neatly fit around the curve (there will be overflow).
Why are these 3 problems occurring and how can I fix them?
Thanks!

Set the relative offset to 1.0 instead of 1.1

Found the answer!
So I'm not entirely sure what this is, but if I switched back to edit more, there is a sort of "base mesh" which wasn't really the mesh but some object, and if I moved it along the correct axis, the "array modified" mesh moved accordingly until it fit properly around the curve.


text:
How to create moving, dynamic/animated fog/clouds?
I watched tutorials on how to create fog within bounding boxes, but the fog is static.
I'm trying to create a scene of an airplane where the camera is looking down on the clouds, and the clouds should be moving.  I was going to try and make the clouds in a similar way as I made the fog (with bounding boxes) but is there a way to make the clouds move?  The airplane is going to fly through the clouds so it's important that they are 3d and not just a plane.
Is there a better way than using bounding boxes?

How did you make the fog effect?

You could try noise and density with a principled volume, while changing the vector

Animate the coordinates for a texture used in the volume scattering and/or the settings for a noise texture: See the bottom of this answer: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/43600/low-lying-fog-bounding-object-rendering-as-solid

As Yohello says you could use the Principled Volume and plug it into the Volume socket of the Material Output. Here is a basic way to do it (perhaps not the most realistic solution though, but you'll find other ones on youtube or maybe someone will propose here?):

Create a basic elongated shape, subdivide it a bit, give it a Subdivision Surface modifier.

Create this node chain: Texture Coordinate > Mapping > Noise Texture > ColorRamp.

Plug the Noise Texture into a Vector > Displacement node to give it a bit of 3D relief (don't forget to enable the Displacement > Displacement Only option in the Properties panel > Material > Settings > Surface).

Plug the Noise into the Density socket of the Principled Volume.

Now play with the Location values of the Mapping node in order to make the cloud shape evolve through time.