Renzatic on 29/9/2014 at 04:13
The next edge up where we made all our readjustments? It's already kinda constrained. I'll suggest grabbing this edge loop...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_59.JPG...and scaling it out to give it that little bump you see in picture.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_60.JPG I might end up deleting those edges once everything is said and done. It's a little too much of a throwaway detail.
Next loop: the transition from the flat edge, to the wick housing (there's probably a specific name for that, but hell if I know what it is).
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_61.JPGInline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_62.JPGAnd lastly, the two sharp edges along the top of the wick housing.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_63.JPGInline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_64.JPGInline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_65.JPGInline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_66.JPGOf course, if you like the way something looks, you can leave it as is. I kinda liked the smoother transition there at the top, but figured I'd sharpen them up for the sake of the tutorial.
Once all your edges are sharpened, go ahead and enter Object Mode by hitting TAB, and apply the modifier. Don't ask me why you can't apply modifiers while editing. Just one of those things.
And there you go. Your smoothed up lamp. 880 Tris, and far more edges than you actually need.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_67.JPGNow let's clean it up. This part's easy, and I'm actually going to do them in a few big lumps, rather than one at a time.
We'll start with the top. Switch into Edge Selection with CTRL+TAB, and select any superfluous edge you want to get rid of. By holding down CTRL+ALT and RMB clicking on any offenders. Like these...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_68.JPGNow, with them highlighted, hit X to bring up your delete menu, and select Edge Loops at the very bottom.
Bam. They're gone. You just removed over 110 tris.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_69.JPGIf you accidentally deleted an edge that was important to the overall shape of your object, just hit CTRL+Z to undo the delete, then hold down CTRL+ALT and RMB click the one you don't want to delete.
Now for the next group. Select multiples with CTRL+ALT and RMB-clicking the ones you want to remove.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_70.JPGRenzatic on 29/9/2014 at 04:14
Then hit X to bring up your delete menu, and select Edge Loops to get rid of them.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_71.JPGIt's looking more low poly already! We're down to 656 tris, and we're not even halfway finished!
Next group.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_72.JPGYou know the drill. X, and Edge Loops. Make sure you zoom in to check for some tight loops.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_73.JPGNext up: This bunch down here on the bottom.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_74.JPGInline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_75.JPGThere's one extra edge along the dome, right here...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_76.JPGBut instead of deleting it, I'm gonna scale it out, and use it to refine my curve a little.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_77.JPGNow for the bottom. We're gonna do something a slight bit different here. Select these edges.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_78.JPGThen hit SPACE, and start typing LIMITED DISSOLVE.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_79.JPGAnd there you go. End result: 496 tris! I PREDICTED THAT! HALLEUJAH! HOLY SHIT!
Now you want the truth on this? This method on this particular model was actually the very opposite of efficient. While simple to do, it required a bit more work than necessary. You know what you could've done in lieu? I'll show you...
Start with your square object, and make two loop slices down the centers...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_80.JPGHit S, then CTRL+Z to exclude it on the Z Axis, and...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_81.JPG...scaled it out. Then I could've added a cut here...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_82.JPGRenzatic on 29/9/2014 at 04:15
Scaled it to refine the shape...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_83.JPGThen did that a couple more times, each cut refining my curves, and got the same results with almost the exact same poly count.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_Lamp/Blender_Tut_Lamp_84.JPGSo why did I take you through the long way, when I could've done that exact same thing with techniques I already knew? That's it. You didn't know how to do any of that. And now...hopefully, you do.
This model wasn't the best place to showcase subsurface divisions, and how they can be used in Thief. But they can be used, and you should now...hopefully have an idea of how to use them. You now have a grasp on making complex, smooth objects out of simple ones. And as an added bonus, you've all but taken a primer course for high poly modelling 101.
While you're limited to a relatively low poly count per model in Thief., you can make complicated objects out of multiple models. With a better grasp on the tools, you now have less limitations on what you want to make. Once you have the basics down, it's all about learning how best to use and apply them.
...at least that's what I keep telling myself after writing a 15 page tutorial with 75 pictures explaining a process, and creating an object that could've been created and explained with far less effort.
You better have learned, damnit.:mad:
And don't worry. Even if this one was a little overcomplicated by design, the next two techniques are far more straightforward and easy to grasp. Especially now that you've gone through all this.
Renzatic on 29/9/2014 at 04:15
...I'm getting paid for this, right? $15 per consecutive double-post?
nicked on 29/9/2014 at 05:45
These tutorials are great! Even though I know a fair few basics in Blender, I've already learned a few new tricks looking through these.
But did I miss where you tell us how you baked ambient occlusion and made lovely in-texture shadows, or is that coming soon?
Renzatic on 29/9/2014 at 19:23
Oh yeah! I forgot all about AO baking. It's a fairly simple process, so I'll go ahead and throw it out right fast.
Before entering Edit Mode, go ahead and create a material if you haven't done so already. If you don't know how to do this, I'll refer to this tut I did for TDM awhile back, (
http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Blender:_UVs_%26_U_Part_1) which you can find here.
Call it whatever you want. I named my AO.
Enter Edit Mode, and drag out a UV window. Highlight your entire model, so you can see the UVs. (
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_1.jpg) like so
...yeah, I redid my UV.
At the bottom of your UV window, you're going to see a little picture icon, with “New” and “Open” buttons next to it.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_2.jpgThis is where you apply textures already loaded into Blender, open ones you've already got, or create new blank images to fill. The latter of which is what we're going to be doing here. Click “new”, and you'll see this little popup.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_3.jpgThe name is obviously what you'll be naming your new texture.
Width and height are self explanatory. I set this one to 1024x1024, though you could go much higher if you want. Just remember, the higher the resolution you use, the longer it'll take to bake.
Color is also pretty obvious. It'll be the base color of your new texture. Since I kept it at black, when I hit OK, it turned my entire model black.
Generated Type? I just learned something new! (
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_4.jpg) You can create UV and color grids from here!. Though for this tutorial, keep it blank.
Alpha. With this on, it'll produce a .png file that's only take into account the render, and leave everything outside of that transparent (you'll see this when it bakes the UV). Though producing transparent textures obviously has myriad uses, for AO baking, you can turn it on or off to taste, it won't make any difference to the end result.
32-Bit Float. I believe this creates an image that uses 32-bits per color channel, instead of the usual 8-bit, and saves it out as an .exr image. This is excellent for producing high quality displacement maps, HDR and image based global illumination data, and...okay, you won't be using it for Thief. Ignore it.
Hit OK, and watch your model turn to your selected color. Your image is now applied.
Now, hit up your toolbar on the right, and hit up the baking tab (look for the little camera icon on the far left). Collapse all the submenus, save for the Bake menu, the bottommost one.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_5.jpgHit up the dropdown menu, and select Ambient Occlusion.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_6.jpgAnd the Bake menu itself...
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_7.jpg...well, there's a lot to explain there, but I'll go through the basics.
Bake From Multires. If you're working on a multires mesh, you'll want to use this. Since we're not, you can safely ignore this.
Normalize. Bakes your texture from the geometry, ignoring any material settings. In the case of our AO bake, checking this will give you better results.
Bake to Vertex Color. I don't know if Thief supports vertex color data on the models, but if it does, you can bake the AO shadowing directly to it, saving yourself a texture. Pretty neat.
Selected to Active. From what I understand of it, this is useful for when you're baking normalmaps from a high poly object to a low poly game ready mesh. Useless for us here in Thief.
Clear. Wipes the image you have loaded clean before beginning the baking process, setting it to Blender's default color (black, in this case). I'd say go ahead and keep it checked.
Margins. Tells Blender to render image data over the islands, giving it a buffer. Important for AO baking, since Blender will produce with produce weird, faceted AO maps that are constrained per island when you have this set low. 5-8px is usually pretty good.
Split. Tells Blender to temporarily split faces to give you the best rendering results. It won't break anything if you play with it, but I'd just leave it at automatic.
Okay. You have your model selected, your UVs activate, and your image primed. Hit “Bake”, watch Blender fill in your UV for a few seconds, and...
(
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_8.jpg) Your first ever AO Map.
If you want to see it fullbright lit, head over to the Materials tab, open up the Shading menu, and select Shadeless.
Inline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_9.jpgInline Image:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_10.pngWe're not quite done yet, though. I've got a few little tips, tricks, suggestions, and other things to add.
First, notice how the AO bake is a little faceted? That's because we didn't have smoothing applied to the model. If you want something a little more blended together, you can hit up Object Mode by hitting Tab, and selecting smooth from the toolbar on the left. It'll make your whole model really mushy, because Blender brute forces smooths, and we never separated or constrained our geometry to account for sharp edges (in a way, it's like constraining geometry for subsurfing). You can turn it on for the bake, then turn it back off again when you're done if you want.
Secondly, Blender tends to produce somewhat spotty AO maps. By spotty, I mean it has little spots on it, like it's rendering the map with too few rays. As far as I know, there's no way you can bump that up, but if it bothers you, you can smooth it out by using a smart blur filter in Photoshop or GIMP. It's usually barely noticeable when you add it as a mulitipled layer in your favorite image editor, so doing this is entirely up to your taste and/or standards.
Thirdly, the AO bake we just performed was only bouncing light off the model without any outside influence. If you want to go for a generalized AO that works in any situation, that's fine. But say you always intend for your gravestone to be on the ground, so maybe you want to AO bake it with a ground plane accounted for.
So what do you do? Just add a plane into your scene. Hit Shift-S to bring up your Snaps menu, tell it to snap the 3D cursor to the center of your scene, add a plane mesh, and scale it out so it covers a large amount of area.. Don't make it perfectly flush with the bottom of your model, though. Drop it a little below it, so it'll give you a slightly more generalized bake. It'll look more like it's lit from the top, shadowed from below.
(
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/Blender_Tut_AO/Blender_Tut_AO_11.jpg) Like So.
And there you go. AO baking. When you're done. Go over to your UV window, hit up the Image menu from the footer at the bottom, and click “Save As Image” (or hit F3) to save it out for opening in an image editor.
nemyax on 29/9/2014 at 19:32
Quote Posted by Dale_
maybe it's possible to completely change the keybinds in Blender?
It is. But as with any complex software, you'd be better off getting somewhat used to its own way of doing things before you customise.
Renzatic on 29/9/2014 at 19:46
What Nemyax said. When I first started trying to learn Blender, one of the first things I did was try and change the hotkeys around so they were set up more like Modo.
It wasn't a good idea. There are hundreds of entries in the Hotkey editor, not all of them are clearly labeled, and each one contextual depending on what task you're performing at what time. Plus, changing around too many can break other things unexpectedly. It's better to bite the bullet and learn everything as is. Muscle memory will start kicking in once you've played around with it for a few days, and from then on, it's all pie.
nemyax on 29/9/2014 at 21:08
Quote Posted by Renzatic
When I first started trying to learn Blender, one of the first things I did was try and change the hotkeys around so they were set up more like Modo.
The keys used to be hardcoded. At one point, even the developers started having trouble adding a hotkey that wasn't taken. Of course, by then all hope for the hotkey assignments to follow any logic had long been lost.
Excuse me while I vomit over the memory of 2.4* and earlier. Thank heavens for 2.5+.
Quote Posted by Renzatic
(
http://vimeo.com/26339130) It's when you start dipping your toes into the higher end that Blender shows off what it can do (yeah, that music is annoying).
Thanks for this video! I didn't realise such a neat cross between NURBS and polygons was available. Still, the sweep-based workflow is pretty much a workaround for the absence of real NURBS. Yet the sketching and retopology features are top-notch.
Renzatic on 29/9/2014 at 22:41
From what I've seen, Blender is at least as good at dealing with bezier curves and the like as all the other big SDS modellers. You use them for cages, paths, and guides, but don't model with the exclusively. If you want something like that, you have to go with CAD tools, or specialty programs like (
http://moi3d.com/) Moment of Inspiration.
