Issue1 | Nov 2005

Blender learning made eas y

Special: Blender Mechanical Gears

TUTORIALS
Modeling a robot
Plane line intersection
Texturing [robot]
Animating [robot]

NEWS FLASH
GIMP 2.34
Blender 2.40
Blender Conferences

GALLERY

www.blenderart.or g
 CONTENTS

ED ITO R
Gaurav Naw ani Le arning
e ditor_bl
e nde rart@ yah oo.co.in
As k b l e ntuu: H ave any q ue rie s re garding Bl e nde r
M ANAGER as k ble ntuu.
Sandra Gilbe rt Ne w s Fl as h : A s h ortre vie w ofupcom m ing re l e as e of
m anage r_bl
e nde rart@ yah oo.com Gim p2.4 is ital lw orth th e h ype ?re ad on to find out.
Al soal ook atbl e nde rs upcom m ing 2.40 re l e as e its
W RITERS fe ature s .
Sandra Gil be rt Confe re nce : Dre am s gate update s us on th e re ce ntl y
Gaurav Naw ani com pl e te d 'Ble nde r Confe re nce "
Ste fano Se l
le ri
Alvaro Luna Bautis ta
Le arning
D ESIGN
W ork s h op3d: Th is m onth w e bring you a 3d
Gaurav Naw ani m ode l
ing tutorial.

Ste fano Se l
le ri uncove rs th e pow e r of h is
fabl ous "Ble nde r M e ch nicalGe ars "s cript and
m ore ...
CO PYRIGH T
"Ble nde rart M agazine ", 'ble nde rart'
and bl e nde rart l
ogo are copyrigh t
Le is ure
Gaurav Naw ani. "As k Bl e ntuu' and
"bl
e ntuu l ogo"are copyrigh t Sandra Th is m onth w e bring you th e re vie w of th e book
Gil
be rt. "D igitalte xturing and painting"

Al lproducts and com pany nam e s And a gal l

e ry of 'M e ch anicalartw ork s ' done in
fe ature d in th is publ ication are bl
e nde r.
trade m ark or re gis te re d trade m ark of
th e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs .

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e nde rart.org
 Tabl
e of conte nts 3

Editorial 4

As k Bl
e ntuu ............................................................................................... 5

Ne w s
Gim p 2.34 re vie w .............................................................................. 6
Ble nde r 2.40 .................................................................................... 8
Confe re nce ne w s .............................................................................. 8

Le arning
M ode ling a robot .............................................................................. 9
Ble nde r M e ch anicalGe ars (s cript).................................................... 17
Plane l ine inte rs e ction ...................................................................... 22
Te xturing th e robot .......................................................................... 24
Le ts ge t th e robot m oving ................................................................ 26

Re vie w s
D igitalte xturing and painting ........................................................... 30

Gal
le ria ...................................................................................................... 31

Cre dits ....................................................................................................... 41

Pre vie w ...................................................................................................... 42

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e nde rart.org
 ED ITORIAL 4

Five ye ars ago I w e nt l

ook ing for a 3D program . I ne w fe ature s , and s e l
dom us e d/obs cure fe ature s .
found bl
e nde r, frie nds and a ne w w ay of l
ook ing at W e w il
ltak e a l
ook at ne w w ays of doing th ings
th e w orl
d around m e . D uring th is tim e , one of m y and cove r h ow to accom pl
is h bas ic to advance d
favorite bl
e nde r re l
ate d activitie s h as be e n proje cts . Tutorial
s in e ach is s ue w il
lcove r a
brow s ing onl
ine for al
lth e l
ate s t bl
e nde r ne w s , ne w ge ne ralth e m e , pul
ling toge th e r a com pl
e te
fe ature s , tutorial
s and te ch niq ue s . O ve r th e l
as t proje ct, giving you th at e xtra l
ittl
e pus h to try
five ye ars I h ave us e d l
ite ral
ly cas e s of pape r, s om e th ing ne w .
Sandra Gil
be rt printing out e ve ryth ing avail
abl
e on bl
e nde r. I s til
l
re m e m be r h ow I (and m any oth e rs ) e age rl
y w aite d In th is is s ue w e are going to tack l
e m ode l
ing,
for e ach ne w is s ue of th e "Com m unity Journal
". It te xturing and rigging a robot for bas ic anim ation.
w as s om e th ing coolto l
ook forw ard to. And Ke e ping in l
ine w ith our th e m e , Ste fano s h are s h is
s om e th ing I s til
lm is s . te ch niq ue s on m ode l
ing and anim ating ge ars , w ith
a s h ort tutorialon us ing th e Bl
e nde r M e ch anical
W h ich brings us to th e point of th is e ditorial
. Ge ars (BM G) s cript. And Al
varo Luna Bautis ta
Gaurav and I de cide d th at w e didn't h ave s h ow s us h ow to cal
cul
ate a pl
ane l
ine inte rs e ction.
anyw h e re ne ar e nough th ings to do w ith our non- W e al
s o h ave a s m al
lgal
le ry of m e ch anicalim age s
e xis te nt fre e tim e , s o w e de cide d to l
aunch th e s ubm itte d from com m unity m e m be rs .
l
ate s t re -incarnation of a bl
e nde r m agazine . And
th is is it, Bl
e nde rart. W e l
com e to our m is s ion to W e h ope you e njoy our firs t is s ue and w e l
com e you
provide ne w s , tutorial
s and bl
e nde r re l
ate d to s ubm it articl
e , tutorial
s and artw ork for future
inform ation in an attractive , fun to re ad form at. e ditions .

A pl
ace to find out al
lth e l
ate s t ne w s conce rning
bl
e nde r. W e w il
lbe bringing you tutorial
s cove ring

w w w .bl
e nde rart.org
 As k Bl
e ntuu 5

Wel l
, s ince I h ave n’t re ce ive d any q ue s tions ye t, I obje cts , a m e nu w il
lbe dis pl
aye d in th e 3D
th ough t I w oul d k ick off our firs t is s ue w ith s om e w indow al low ing you to pick th e obje ct you w is h to
littl
e k now n/obs cure bl e nde r tips . se le ct.

1. Anim ation Pre vie w in al lw indow s at th e 4. Sh ow al ph a te xture as w ire :

s am e tim e : It is w e l
lk now n th at Al t-A is for ctrl-d in 3dvie w can s h ow al ph a te xture as w ire .
pre vie w ing an anim ation on th e 3D w indow . But ve ry us e fulfor pre vie w w ith out re nde ring.
th at's not allof it. D ivide your s cre e n into m ultipl
e
3D W indow s , e ach from a diffe re nt point of vie w . If you h ave an obje ct (w ork s be s t on a m e s h
pl ane ) w ith an im age te xture , you can us e [Al t-V]
If you h ave an Action/Ipo W indow and 3D w indow s outs ide e ditm ode . Th is w il ladjus t th e obje ct's s ize
ope n, and you is s ue th e [Al t-Sh ift-A]com m and val ue s s o th at th e im age w on't be s tre tch e d w h e n
from th e Action (or th e Ipo) w indow , it w illanim ate proje cte d•
both (th e action and th e 3D ) in s ync!! Gre at for
vis ualization of Ipo's e ffe ct on your m ode l. Th e s e are jus t a fe w tips I found brow s ing bl e nde r
forum s . If you h ave a coolbl e nde r tip or te ch niq ue
2. "Truck " th e cam e ra in cam e ra m ode : you w oul dl ik e to s h are or a q ue s tion you w oul d
a) go into cam m ode w ith NUM PAD 0 lik e ans w e re d, s ubm it it to:
b) m ove th e cam e ra w ith pre s s ing Gk e y
c) pre s s th e m iddl
e m ous e button m anage r_bl e nde rart@ yah oo.com .

3. H idde n O b je cts : Untilne xt tim e

I don't k now h ow ol d th is is (or w h e th e r it's be e n Bl
e ntuu
m e ntione d be fore ) ... but I jus t dis cove re d it. Say
you are in front or s ide vie w and you w ant to
se l
e ct an obje ct, but it is h idde n be h ind oth e r
obje cts . If you pre s s Alt RM B ove r a group of

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e nde rart.org
 NEW S FLAS H 6

GIM P 2.34
"Clos e to th e re l
e as e date of Bl
e nde r2.4 w e m igh t s e e th e Te xt ToolFinal l
y
re l
e as e of Gim p2.4 too." GIM P h as e ve n m ore
el e m e ntary s upport
LL e t 's tak e a look and find w h ats in th e s tore . Firs t of al lth e adde d in th e te xt
m ajor fe ature th at w il lm ak e in to th e 2.4 re l e as e are th e ICC tool , you can now
col our profile s s upport in th e im age form ats th at s upport it, m ak e th e te xt fol low
lik e tiff and jpg. W h il
e its nice to h ave th e porfil ce s upport at any path , and th is al l
las t but again it m is s e s out on not h aving th e CM YK is done in ve ctors s o
col ours pace to be us e d w ith it. Th is m ak e s th e ICC profil e th e re w illbe no
s upport a bit offcol our. None th e l e s s its a pre tty us e fultool bl urring of th e te xt in th e proce s s . Infact a ne w path l aye r for
for th os e w h o us e SCRIBUS for th e D TP w ork . W e found good th e fol l
ow e d path is cre ate d s o now you can m ak e us e of th e
us e of ICC s upport in producing th is m agazine in SCRIBUS. path by th e options avail abe for path l ik e s trok ing copying
se l e ction or e ve n m odifying th e path its e l f.
SIO X a prototype
of ne w forground Apart for th e s e m ore vis ibl e
e xtraction toolin fe ature s th e re is addition of
gim p w h ich w ork s tw o m ore tool s in th e m ain tool
inte ractive l y, it not box firs t is 're ctangul ar
com pl e te ye t but s e l e ction' it look s m uch l ik e old
w ork e d fine in th e one but th is h ave s om e be tte r
Gim p2.33 (te s t fe ature s l ik e you are al low e d to
ve rs ion) its e l f. active l y m anipul ate th e s ize of
se l e ction th rough th e m ous e
lik e m oving or incre as ing th e
s h ape , click ing ins ide or
Cl e anup of s criptfu and pyth on fu fil te rs . Th e s e filte rs /s cripts outs ide th e box w il lm ak e it
Ne w e ntrie s in th e tool
box
are now pl ace d nice l
y ins ide th e m ain 'Fil te rs ' m e nu its e l f, into th e s e l e ction.
th is re duce s a l
ot of confus ion for amateur us e rs ..

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e nde rart.org
 NEW S FLAS H 7

GIM P 2.34
Th e re are s om e im prove m e nts in th e inte rface again in
com pl iance for th e GIH (Gnom e H um an Inte rface
guide l ine s ). But w h at is e ve n m ore inte re s ting is th at
th is tim e around w e m igh t s e e a gre at de alof m e nu
ove rh aul ing as th e Gim p proje ct h as jus t now as k e d for
UI de s igne rs /e ngine e rs , e vide ntl
y th is fe ature be com e s
m ore pronounce d s ince th e re are m any ol d
Ph otos h ope rs com pl aining about th e 'diffe re nt' inte rface
now a days .

I ne arl y forgot to m e ntion one m ore im portant fe ature ,

it is introduction of ne w 'Lanczos ' s am pl ing al
gorth im
us e d in s caling of im age s . It is k now n to be of h igh e r
q ual ity th an th e ol
de r bicubiic s am pe l ing.

Col
our m anage m e nt pre fe re nce s

In th e e nd It can be s afte ly s aid th at th e upcom m ing Gim p

re le as e w il
lbe re al
ly e xciting in te rm s of s h e e r num be r of
fe ature additions and im prove m e ts .

Ne w Se l
e ction box in action.

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e nde rart.org
 NEW S FLAS H 8

Bl
e nde r Ne w s Confe re nce Ne w s

Th e l as t s e ve ralm onth s , and m ore s pe cifical ly th e l

as t
s e ve ralw e e k s h ave s e e n a rus h of ne w fe ature s be ing
adde d to bl e nde r. D ue in a l arge part to re q ue s ts by
Proje ct O range , th e anim ation s ys te m h as be e n
s ignificantl y im prove d w ith ne w fe ature s and tool s th e e ve nings . Picture s and vide os of both confe re nce s
th e re by s h rink ing th e proje ct 'w is h lis t'
(h ttp://orange .bl e nde r.org/blog/th e -e ve r-s h rink ing-
orange -w is h l is t) and giving us a vas tl y im prove d w ork
flow .
And w h il e th e anim ation s ys te m h as gotte n a m ajor
ove rh aul , oth e r are as of ble nde r w e re not ignore d.
M odifie r Stack s , M e s h Subdivide Tool s , RadialBl e nd
Type , Fl uid Sim ul ation, H air s trand re nde ring and M e s h
Ripping h ave al lm ade th e ir w ay into re ce nt te s t builds .
Additional l
y th e Sum m e r of Code proje cts are in th e
finals tage s of be ing adde d to th e code .
O ctobe r s aw both th e Am s te rdam and M ontre alannual
bl e nde r confe re nce s . Re ports from atte nde e s s ay all
h ad a good tim e , w ith us e fuland productive
pre s e ntations filling th e day, and fun fil l
e d inte raction in
are al re ady be ing pre pare d and pos te d onl ine for th os e
of us unabl e to atte nd.
Ton h as pos te d an articl e outl ining brie fly topics of
inte re s t for th e com ing ye ar. H igh on th e l is t is
e ducation and training de ve l opm e nt. A topic of gre at
inte re s t to m any of us . For h is fullarticle , go to:
h ttp://w w w .bl
e nde r.org/cm s /Ne w s ite m .607+ M 55216e 564b2.0
.h tm l
For vide os /s lide s h ow s of th e Am s te rdam confe re nce ,
go to: h ttp://w w w .ble nde r.org/cm s /2005_Vide os .714.0.h tm l

And th e s e w e re jus t th e m ajor ch ange s , th e re h as be e n Th e vide os from th e M ontre alconfe re nce are n't q uite
no e nd of code cl e an-ups , m inor and s om e tim e s m ajor re ady ye t, but k e e p an e ye out at th e e l ys iun forum s ,
fixe s of e xis ting tool s . Ve rs ion 2.40 l ook s to be a m ajor w h e re ne w s w il lbe pos te d w h e n th e y are re ady.
upgrade . For ful lde tail s on th e l ate s t fe ature s and
additions , go to: Ne w Yafray?
h ttp://w w w .bl
e nde r.org/cm s /Bl e nde r_2_40_al ph a.59 8.0.h tm l Re ce nt ne w s from th e Yafray cam p s ugge s ts th at Yafray is
als o going to be com pl e te l
y re vam pe d, th at m e ans it w il lbe
And drop by th e te s ting forum s to pick up a curre nt code d from s cratch . Im portantl y it w il
lbe us ing ph ys icial ly
buil d w ith al
lth e ne w fe ature s . Th e m ore of us th at te s t m ore accurate al gorth im for raytracing, in s im pl e te rm s it
th e buil ds out, th e s oone r bugs can be re porte d back to m e ans w e can e xpe ct it to be of e ve n h igh e r q ual ity l
ik e
th e code rs and fixe d. M axw e llre nde re r, h ope ful l
y th e is s ue of s pe e d up in
re nde ring w il
lal s o be addre s s e d in th is re vis ion al ong w ith
lots of ne w fe ature s .
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 W ORK S H OP 3D M ode l
l
ing a robot
M ode l
ing a robot in bl
e nde r
Le ve l
: Be ginne r to inte rm e diate
Introduction
3D m ode l ing is one ofth e m os t inte re s ting
parts ofth e CG, but it provide s q uite a
ch al l
e nge for a be ginne r to th e 3D
m ode l ing. In th is tutorialw e w il
ltak e you
th rough various te ch niq ue s invol ve d in
m ode l ing an s im pl e look ing robot in
Bl e nde r. Th is particular robot is called
'pape ro' and its a com panion bot produce d
by 'NEC' Corporation Japan.
Ple as e note th at th is articl
e is not m ade for
any com m e rcialgains and ne ith e r is
allow e d to be dis tribute d or us e d for
com m e rcialgains . It is not affiliate d to NEC
in any w ay. Th e NEC robot re fe re nce d h e re
is pure ly for e ducationalpurpos e onl y.
Th e be s t approach to l e arn from th is
tutorialis al s o to cons ul t th e ble nde r
m anualw h e re e ve r you find it ne ce s s ary,
e s pe cial ly ifyou are ve ry ne w to bl e nde r
th e n l e arn about th e various nam ing
conve ntions l ik e vie w -port, 'e dit m ode ',
ve rte x, 'trans form e r gizm o' e tc. In th is
tutorialcare h as be e n tak e n to provide
th e s e fe ature s as th e h e ading ofth e s te ps ,
s o th at ifw e s ay add a cube you can
re fe re nce on h ow to add an obje ct s te p
le arne d pre vious l y. Re ading it once is
re com m e nde d for al lne w us e rs to th e 3D
w orl d ofBl e nde r e ve n ifyou are not abl
fol low it prope rl y.
w w w .bl
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9
ofve rtice s to 24 and again 24 in anoth e r
popup th e n pre s s O K to add th e s ph e re .
Starting up
Firs t ofal lm ak e a s e arch on goggl e for
'pape ro' or 'NEC robots ' for re fe re nce
im age s . Try to figure out h ow th e m ode l
look s from diffe re nt vie w s . Th e re are fe w
diffe re nt ve rs ions avail abl e but w e are
going to m ak e a ge ne ric body. It w oul d be
h elpfulifyou can ge t im age 1 from th e ne t,
ifth ats not pos s ibl e it is als o provide d in th e
s am pl e ble nd fil e for th is tutorial.
M ode l ing th e
h e ad PART-1
Ste p 1. Adding a
im age to th e vie w Ste p 3. W ork ing m ode s : Note th at th e
port: Start up s ph e re is adde d at th e pl ace w h e re th e
Bl e nde r. Firs t th ing ins e rtion curs or(re d w h ite s tripe d circl e ) is
you ne e d to do is and th e ce nte r ofth e circl e is re pre s e nte d
de l e te th e de faul t w ith a pink dot. Al s o you w il lnotice th at th e
cube . Righ t cl ick on obje ct adde d is in 'e dit m ode '. You can
it to s e l e ct it, ifits toggl e th e 'e dit m ode ' to 'obje ct m ode ' by
not al re ady, th e n pre s s ing [Tab]
pre s s [D e l
]and confirm de l e tion in th e k e y once . D o it
popup. Now w e w il ladd an re fe re nce im age now .
ofth e robot in th e vie w port. Pre s s
[Num Pad 1]for front vie w in th e vie w -port,
now go to 'Vie w |Back ground Im age ...'
m e nu ofth e vie w -port. In th e popup cl ick
on th e 'fol de r' icon and navigate to th e
re fe re nce im age , s e l
e ct it and pre s s Ente r.
Ste p 2. Adding prim itive s : Now w e w il l
s tart m ode ling, w e w illfirs t s tart w ith
m ode l ing th e face . Ke e p th e m ous e in th e
e to vie w -port and pre s s [Space bar]In th e
popup m e nu go to Add |M e s h |UVs ph e re .
Again in th e ne w popup re duce th e num be r
 W ORK S H OP 3D M ode l
l
ing a robot 10

Ste p 4. Moving O bje cts : Now to pos ition th e Ste p 6. Se l e cting ve rtice s : Up to now you
s ph e re in 'obje ct w e re w ork ing in 'obje ct m ode '. Ke e p s e l e cte d
m ode ' to th e h e ad th e s ph e re and pre s s [Tab]to ge t into th e
part as s e e n in th e 'e dit m ode '. 'Edit m ode ' is th e core of
re fe re nce im age in w ork ing on a 3dm ode l , so l e arn and obs e rve
back . To do th at, care ful ly. Now w e w il ll e arn to s e l e ct
m ove your m ous e ve rtice s . You can do various type s of
ove r to bl ue se l e ction in bl e nde r. To s e l e ct or de s e le ct al l
arrow h e ad, cl ick and ve rtice s us e [A]k e y to toggl e . Pre s s [A]tilal l
k e e p pre s s e d th e ve rtice s turn bl ack (de s e le cte d). Now pre s s
button and m ove [B](box s e l e ct) and m ove your m ous e curs or
th e m ous e upw ards . to th e top l e ft part ofth e ve rtice s in s ph e re
Th e s ph e re obje ct cl ick and drag dow n s o as to s e l e ct th e le ft
w illm ove upw ards , part as s h ow n in th e im age .
k e e p pre s s ing [Ctrl]
Ke y to m ak e big grid Ste p 7. D e l e ting ve rtice s : Now w e w il lde le te
jum ps . Us e [Sh ift]in com bination for m inor th e s e l
e cte d ve rtice s . To do th at, pre s s e ith e r
grid jum ps . Pos ition th e s ph e re as s e e n in [D e l]or [X]k e y and in th e popup, s e l e ct
th e im age . 've rtice s '. As now you can s e e th e s e l e cte d
ve rtice s are al lgone . W e did th at be caus e
Ste p 5. Scal ing O bje cts : To s cal
e any obje ct th e robot h e ad is s ym m e tric in appe arance ,
in 'e dit m ode ' or 'obje ct m ode ' you firs t h ave s o w e ne e d to jus t w ork on one h al fand l ate r
to s e le ct th e obje ct or m irror it to ge t th e com pl e te h e ad. Now as
its parts . Since th e you can s e e in th e im age , w e h ave al so
s ph e re is al re ady se le cte d th e e ar part ofth e s am e s ph e re .
se le cte d. Pre s s [S] Ye s w e w il lde le te th e m too. D o it th e s am e
k e y and any m ous e w ay as e xpl aine d jus t now .
m ove m e nt tow ards
th e obje ct ce nte r w il l
re s ult in s cal ing dow n CREATING TH E EYE PIECE
ofobje ct and Ste p 8. Z oom ing in th e vie w -port: To zoom
inve rs e ly any in th e vie w -port you can us e 's crol lw h e e l ' or
m ove m e nt aw ay [Num Pad + ][Num Pad -]. Now pre s s [Z ]k e y
from obje ct ce nte r to toggl e to s h ade d vie w m ode from w ire
w illre s ult in s caling fam e m ode . Now as in th e im age , s e l e ct th e
up ofth e s ize . H e re tw o ve rtice s by k e e ping pre s s e d [Sh ift]k e y
s cal e up th e s ize ofs ph e re as s h ow n in and righ t cl ick ing on th e individualve rtice s ,
im age fol low ing th e re fe re nce in th e back . se l
e ct as s h ow n in th e im age and th e n
Note again, you can com pl im e nt th e s cal
ing de le te th e tw o ve rtice s to cre ate th e e ye
ope ration w ith [Ctrl ]or [Sh ift]or com bination h ole for th e robot h e ad.
ofboth for be tte r control .

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 W ORK S H OP 3D M ode l
l
ing a robot 11

Ste p 9 . Us ing Subs urface : Subs urface is Ste p 12. Me rging face s : Triangul ar ve rtice s
th e m os t im portant toolin 3d Me s h face s are bad for a s m ooth s urface s o w e
m ode l ing. To e nabl e Subs urface on th e ne e d to conve rt th e tw o triangul ar face s to
m e s h , pre s s [F9 ]and in th e m e s h tab in a s ingl e four ve rtice s face . To do th at s e l
e ct
th e buttons w indow (be l ow th e vie w -port) al lfour ve rtice s ofany of th re e ve rtice s
Cl ick th e 'SubSurf' button, al s o th e optim al face s . W atch im age 12 for e xam pl e . Now
button and incre as e th e divis ions to 2, s e e go to 'Me s h |Face s |Conve rt triangl e s to
im age . q uads ' in th e vie w -port m e nu. And th e
triangul ar face ge ts conve rte d into a four
s ide d face .

Ste p 10. Cre ating a face from ve rtice s : Ste p 13. Scal ing th e ve rtice s : now s e l e ct
Se le ct th e ve rtice s as s h ow n in th e th e ve rtice s as s h ow n in th e im age 13 and
im age 10 and pre s s [F]k e y once to m ak e a s cal e th e m up a l ittl
e bit s o th e s h ape ofth e
face out ofs e l e cte d ve rtice s . Now re pe at it e ye h ol e l ook s l ik e a circle . H e re try to
for oth e r ve rtice s on th e h ol e as s h ow n in m ove th e oute r ve rtice s ofth e e ye in a
th e im age 11. s traigh t l ine , us e various m e th ods of
se le ction th at you h ave l e arne d e arl ie r.

Ste p 11. Subdividing an e dge : Se l e ct th e tw o ve rtice s w h ich are Ste p 14. Extruding th e face s : Ge t in to 'Side vie w ' by pre s s ing
ins ide th e h ol
e for th e robot e ye . Pre s s [W ]Ke y and s e l e ct [Num Pad 3]and s e l e ct al
lth e ve rtice s ofth e e ye th at form a circl
e.
'Subdivide ' , as s oon as you s e l e ct it th e face ge ts divide d into tw o Pre s s [E]to e xtrude th e s e l
e cte d ve rtice s and s tart m oving th e
face s . Im age 12. Re pe at th e s te ps w ith oth e r ne w ly cre ate d face s . e xtrus ion in th e dire ction ofgre e n axis ofth e trans form e r gizm o as
s e e n in th e im age 14 (a) and (b).

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Ste p 15. Ke e p th e l as t s e l
e ction, now pre s s [Num Pad 1]to ch ange Ste p 17. W e l ding th e ve rtice s : W e lding
back to th e front vie w . H e re once m ore pre s s [E]to e xtrude and or m e rging ve rtice s give s us a cl os e d
im m e diate l
y pre s s [S]to s cal e dow n th e e xtrus ion a l
ittl
e . im age 15. face w h ich w e w ant for th e back ofth e
e ye pie ce to be l ik e . Now again pre s s
[E]and im m e diate l y 'righ t cl
ick ' to le ave
th e trans form s tate . Now pre s s [Al t+
M]in th e popup s e l e ct 'at curs or' and
you can s e e th e dupl icate ve rtice s ge t
re m ove d and th e y al lform a face as
s e e n in im age 17.

Loop s e l e ction: Now w e ne e d to cre ate a e ye cove r gl as s for th e e ye

pie ce . s e le ct th e s e cond l oop ofve rtice s from th e e ye pie ce . Pre s s
[Al t + B]and h ove r your m ous e ove r th e s e cond circul ar loop in th e
im age 18. Th e active s e l e ction w il
ls h ow a blue loop form ing on it as
s oon as it doe s l e ft click once to s e l
e ct th e l
oop. D uplicate it and
D upl icating th e ve rtice s : To m ak e a copy ofth e s e l e cte d s e parate from th is m e s h . Ge t out ofe dit m ode [Tab]now s e l e ct th e
ve rtice s /face s you can pre s s [Sh ift + D ]. Continue d from th e l as t ne w l y cre ate d m e s h and pre s s [Tab]to ge t into e dit m ode .
se l
e ction pre s s [Sh ift + D ]and im m e diate l y pre s s [P](to s e parate it
from th e m e s h into anoth e r obje ct) cl ick "s e l
e cte d"in th e popup. Ste p 18. Fol l
ow ing th e im age 20 e xtrude once and s cal e it dow n
Now you can pre s s [Tab]to ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' to 'obje ct (im age 20a) Th e n e xtrude it again , im m e diate ly righ t cl
ick . Th e n
m ode '. Righ t cl ick to s e le ct th e ne w circular m e s h and pre s s [Tab]to pre s s [Alt + M]to join th e ve rtice s and com pl
e te th e face for th e e ye
e nte r 'e dit m ode ' for it. cove r gl as s . Ge t out of'e dit m ode '.

Ste p 16. Now w e ne e d to cre ate th e tube l ik e s e ction for th e e ye .

Se le ct allth e ve rtice s [E]e xtrude th e m dow n a l ittle (im age 16a)
Now ge t in to 's ide vie w ' [Num Pad 3]and e xtrude th e s e l e cte d
ve rtice s tow ards gre e n axis tw ice as s e e n in th e im age 16b.

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PART-2 CREATING TH E EAR & M IRRORING TH E H EAD Ste p 3. O nce again ge t out ofth e 'e dit
You h ave notice d th at m any tim e s w e h ave dupl icate d a m e s h part m ode ' and add a s ph e re of16x16 ([Space
to s tart w ork ing on anoth e r part ofth e m ode l . Th is is done for tw o Bar] 'Add |Me s h |UVs ph e re ') in th e m iddl e of
re as ons firs tl
y th e duplicate d m e s h w e ge t fits clos e ly to th e part of th e e ar as s h ow n in th e im age 21. m ak e s ure
th e m ode lw h e re w e pick e d it from and s e condl y it s ave s a lot of th at you pos ition ifrigh t. Ch e ck th e pos ition
tim e ;) in 'front vie w ' and 's ide vie w ' s e e Im age 21.

Ste p 1. Inne r Ear: Again w e w il lus e dupl icating m e th od to m ak e th e

e ar pie ce . Firs t s e l
e ct th e h e ad m e s h ge t into 'e dit m ode ' do one
e xtrus ion to ve ry s m al ldis tance tow ards re d axis (im age 19 b) and
dupl icate it by [Sh ift + D ]. Now ge t out of'e dit m ode ' and s e l e ct th e Ste p 4. Mirroring a m e s h : Now th e h e ad is
ne w ly cre ate d m e s h . Again ge t into 'e dit m ode ' [Tab]and do th re e al m os t com pl e te . Since th e h e ad is
e xtrus ion in re d axis as s e e n in th e im age 19 c. com pl e te l
y s ym m e tric, w e can go ah e ad and
Final ly cre ate one m ore e xtrus ion and s cal e it dow n a littl
e . Cre ate a m irror it to ge t a com pl e te d h e ad m e s h . To
dupl icate [ Sh ift + D ]from curre nt s e l e ction and s e parate [P]it from do th at s e l e ct th e 'h e ad m e s h ' and m ak e
th e m e s h . s ure th at you are in th e 'front vie w ' now
pre s s [Tab]to ge t into th e 'e dit m ode '. Pre s s
[A]k e y tilal lth e ve rtice s are s e l e cte d. Now
pre s s [Sh ift + D ]to dupl icate th e s e le cte d
m e s h . Im m e diate l y righ t click to cance lany
trans form ation. Now pre s s [M]to bring up
th e m irror m e nu popup. h e re ch oos e 'X
Gl
obal
'. You w il
ls e e th e s e l
e cte d m e s h is m irrore d.

Ste p 5. Me rging th e
m irrore d s urface s :. Now
us ing th e 'trans form e r
gizm o' ofth e x axis
(re d) bring th e tw o
m e s h e s clos e r s o th at
th e ne ar e dge s are
Ste p 2. O ute r e ar part: Exit th e e dit ove rl apping e ach oth e r
m ode and s e l e ct th e m e s h jus t w atch th e im age 23a for
cre ate d. As s e e n in th e im age 20 th e h igh ligh te d part.
e xtrude it th re e tim e s and once
m ore righ t cl ick and w e l d th e At th is point you can
se le cte d ve rtice s [Al t + M]. zoom in and m ak e s ure th at th os e e dge s are 'corre ctl y ove rl
apping
e ach oth e r. Now de s e l
e ct al
loth e r ve rtice s and m ak e a box
se l
e ction [B]around th e h igh l igh te d part as s e e n in im age 32a.

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Now ge t out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' Ste p 2. Rotating th e obje cts : Pre s s [R]k e y to rotate th e circl e as
and as s oon as you ge t out of s h ow n in th e im age 27a. Ge t into 'e dit m ode ' and e xtrude once
th e e dit m ode you m igh t s e e a dow nw ards on th e Z axis (bl ue ) and s cale it as s h ow n in th e im age
bl ack line in th e m iddl e ofth e 27b. Fol low ing th e im age e xtrude once m ore .
h e ad m e s h as s e e n in im age
23b. Again ge t in to 'e dit m ode '
se le ct allve rtice s and pre s s
[Ctrl+ N](cal culate norm al s ).
Now th e m e s h w il llook s m ooth
and you h ave cre ate d th e h e ad
ofth e robot.

Ste p 6: Cre ating th e re s t ofth e

h e ad parts . Now fol l
ow ing th e
proce dure ofdupl icating and
m irroring go ah e ad and do th e
s am e for th e 'e ye pie ce ' (im age
25a) e ye gl as s ' and th e 'e ar bal
l'.
Afte r you h ave done th at th e
finalm ode ls h oul dl ook s om e
th ing lik e in th e im age 25b. Ste p 3. Extrude once m ore fol l
ow ing th e im age 28a. Now w e ne e d
to m ak e out th e body de s ign as s e e n in th e re fe re nce im age s . To do
th at ge t in to th e 'front vie w ' [Num Pad 1]and box [B]s e l e ct th e
ve rtice s as s h ow n in th e im age . [G]grab th e ve rtice s and
im m e diate ly pre s s [Z ]and pul lth e m dow n as s h ow n in th e im age
28b and 29 a.

PART-3
UPPER & LOW ER BOD Y
Ste p 1. Mak e s ure you are in 'O bje ct
m ode '. Go to 'top vie w ' [Num Pad 7} and
add a UVs ph e re [Space bar]'Add |Me s h
|Circl e ' of24 ve rtice s (im age 26). Ge t
out ofth e 'e dit m ode ' and ch ange th e
vie w m ode to 's ide vie w ' [Num Pad 3].
Firs t pos ition th e circl
e jus t be l
ow th e
'e ar part'.

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Ste p 4. Adding a l oop of e nabl

e 'SubSurf' button. Th e m e s h w il
lturn roundis h .
ve rtice s : At th is point w e ne e d
to e xtrude ve rtice s once and Ste p 7. Ke e p th e vie w in 's ide vie w ' [Num Pad 3]Extrude th e s ide
th e n s cal e th e m dow n s o th at ofpl ane (tw o ve rtice s ) tw o tim e s and m ove th e ve rtice s to l
ook l
ik e
w e ge t a s m ooth be nd e dge as in th e im age 32.
for th e body. But you w il l
notice th at th e body l ook s a
bit pul py s o w e w il ladd a ne w
loop ofve rtice s jus t ne ar th e
bottom part (im age 29 b) to
m ak e it l ook l ik e a s olid
s urface w ith de fine d e dge s . To
add a e dge l oop pre s s [Ctrl+ R]th e curs or w il lnow ch ange in to a
bl ue lop l ine and w il lfol l
ow th e pos ition ofth e m ous e , bring it dow n
and ne ar to th e bottom part as s e e n in im age 29 b and cl ick to add
th e loop.

Ste p 5. Low e r body: Mak e a Ste p 8. Ch ange th e vie w to 'front vie w ' [Num Pad 1]. and e xtrude
dupl icate [Sh ift + D ]ofth e th e pl ane th re e tim e s outw ards (re d axis ). and m anipul ate th e
s am e s e le ction and s e parate it ve rtice s to as th e y l
ook in th e im age 33a im age 33b.Now ge t out of
from th e m e s h . W e w il lus e it to th e 'e dit m ode ' and as s oon as you ge t out ofth e e dit m ode you
m ak e th e l ow e r body. Ge t out m igh t s e e a bl ack line in th e m iddle ofth e h e ad m e s h as s e e n in
ofth e 'e dit m ode '[Tab]and im age 23b. Again ge t in to 'e dit m ode ' s e l e ct al lve rtice s and pre s s
se le ct th e ne w l y cre ate d m e s h [Ctrl+ N](cal cul ate norm al s ). Now th e m e s h w il
llook s m ooth and
and again ge t into 'e dit m ode ' you h ave cre ate d th e h e ad ofth e robot.
[Tab]. Now e xtrude once and
s cal e it a little . Again e xtrude and bring th e e xtrus ion dow n a l ittl
e.
Extrude and bring it dow n as s e e n in im age and h e re m ove th e
ve rtice s in th e s am e l ine . Now e xtrude tw ice fol
low ing th e im age 30a
and w e l d[Al t + M]th e l as t e xtrus ion.

Ste p 6. Ge t in to th e 's ide vie w '

and s cal e th e low e r part ofth e
'uppe r body' and uppe r part ofth e
'low e r body' as s h ow n in
im age 31a. Ge t out of'e dit m ode '
com pl e te l
y and add a pl ane [Add
|Me s h |pl ane ], pos ition it ne ar th e
s ide bottom ofth e robot body,
w atch im age 31b for re fe re nce .
pre s s [F9 ]for e diting buttons and

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Ste p 9 . Afte r th e robot 's h oe ' and m ove m ous e to rotate . Rotate th e s e l
e cte d face s s o th at th e y
h as be e n done s e l e ct al
lth e l
ook lik e as in th e im age .
ve rtice s ofth e s h ow and is s ue
[Sh ift + D ]m ove th e s e le ction to Ste p 12. Ch ange vie w to front. Now ch ange th e s e l e ction
oth e r s ide ofth e robot and afte r m ode [Ctrl+ Tab]to ve rtice s . And s e l e ct th e s ide ve rtice s (th re e
pos ition it m irror [M]it in X axis . e ach s ide ) as s h ow n in im age 37a. Follow ing th e back ground
Se e im age 34. im age in th e vie w -port m ove th e m dow n (z axis ).

PART-4 LEFT OVER D ETAILS

Ste p 10. Ch anging th e s e l e ction
m ode s : Th e bas ic m ode lis jus t
about com pl e te , w e forgot to add
th e l ittl
e bum p in th e m iddl e of
h e ad. Now s e l e ct th e h e ad m e s h
and ge t into 'e dit m ode ' Now w e
ne e d to us e th e s e l e ction m e th od
as face as it w il lprovide for e as ie r
se le ction. Pre s s [Ctrl+ Tab]and Th e re are various s m al le r de tail
s le ft for th e robot, th e y are l
e ft as
in th e popup s e l e ct th e 'face an e xe rcis e for th e re ade r. You can us e us e th e m e th ods provide d
se le ction' th e vie w w il lch ange a h e re to cre ate th e m , l
ik e th e s pe ak e rs in th e front part ofbody and
bit as s h ow n in th e im age . Now th e tire s ofth e robot. Mak e s ure to re ad th e oth e r tutorialon
you can s tart s e l e ction th e face s by righ t cl ick ing on th e m , h e re you te xturing th e robot in th e l e arning s e ction.
w illne e d a group offace s to be s e l e cte d s o k e e p pre s s e d th e [Sh ift]
k e y. Se e th e outcom e ofit in th e
's h ade d' [Z ]m ode .
Ste p 11.
Extruding
face s :
Ch ange th e
vie w to s ide .
Extrude th e Th is w raps up th e m ode l
ing
face s tutorialh ave fun bl e nding !
upw ards (bl ue
axis ) once . Gaurav Naw ani
Now w e ne e d
to rotate th e
se le cte d
face s onl y on x axis s o w e w il
lpre s s [R]and im m e diate l
y pre s s [X]

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Using Bl
ender M ech anical
Gears - Script prope rtie s ;th e m os t im portant ofw h ich is th at te e th ofm e s h ing
ge ars w h os e profile is an invol ute do not s lide one on th e oth e r w h ile
By Ste fano Se l
le ri th e ge ars rotate , and th e pre s s ure angle w ith w h ich a ge ar pus h e s
th e oth e r s tay cons tant.
Ab stract: Th is articl e de al
s w ith th e m ode l
ing and anim ation of
ge ars , providing a s h ort tutorialfor th e util
ization ofth e Bl
e nde r I w il
lnot go de e pe r on th is h e re ;you don’t ne e d to k now , s ince th e
Me ch anicalGe ars (BMG) s cript. BMG w il lh andle m ath e m atics , but ifyou are curious jus t brow s e
[1,2].
Introduction
O ne ofth e k e y points in m ode l ing and anim ate m e ch anicalde vice s Th e Script
re lie s in th e ne e d to produce ge ars . Ge ars are not m e re l y “w h e e l
s BMG is a s cript s uite you can dow nl oad from [3]. It com pre h e nds
w ith te e th ”. Ge ars w e re l ik e th at in ancie nt days , but m ode rn tw o s cripts , a m e s h e r (BMGm ) and a s pinne r (BMGs ) w e w il l
m e ch anics de e pl y s tudie d th e diffe re nt w ays in w h ich s pin can be conce ntrate on th e form e r firs t. BMGm be l ongs to th e Me s h
trans fe rre d from one rotating axis to anoth e r, de fining e xactl y h ow a cate gory ifyou e l e ct to ins tal
lit in th e prope r pos ition w ith in th e
ge ar m us t be de s igne d for m axim um e fficie ncy. .bl e nde r tre e . In any cas e , once l aunch e d, it pre s e nts a s cre e n as
s h ow n in Fig. 1
Som e th e ory can be obtaine d from th e docs on [1](I don’t w ant to
prom ote any particul ar ge ar m anufacture r, but th is is th e re fe re nce I BM Gm can cre ate Cyl indricaland Conicalge ars … th e w orm
us e d to cre ate m y option is not w ork ing, ye t ;
). In th is articl
e w e w il
lconce ntrate on
ge ars ) as w e l las indricalto de m ons trate s cript us age .
cyl
in th e Bl e nde r
Me ch anicalGe ars M ain Ge ar Param e te rs
(BMG) s cript Th is group of param e te rs de fine s th e bas ic l ook of th e ge ar. W h e n
docum e ntation tw o m e s h ing ge ars are s e t w h at de fine s th e ge om e try is th e Pitch
[2]. Bas ical lya Radius , w h ich is th e radius of th e ide alcircl e on w h ich th e
ge ar m us t be m e s h ing te e th of th e tw o ge ars touch . It is th e pitch radius th e
de s igne d s o th at one de fining m os t of th e ge ar ge om e try. Th is , as m os t ove r
no friction occurs e ntrie s , is de fine d in Bl e nde r Units . W e w il lk e e p th e de faul t 5 for
at tw o m e s h ing now . Th e te e th num be r de fine s h ow m any te e th th e ge ar h as .
ge ar te e th . Th is Th is is th e s e cond m os t im portant param e te r, and w e w il ls e t th is
e ns ure s e fficie ncy, to 25 for th is e xam pl e . Th e Pre s s ure angl e is vital , from a
long duration, and m e ch anicalpoint of vie w , but is of l e s s im portance in com pute r
low nois e . Th e graph ics . It de fine s th e angl e be tw e e n th e tange nt pl ane to th e
m ath e m atical ge ar tooth at th e contact point and th e pl ane containing th e tw o
de s cription ofa ge ars rotation axis . It is probabl y be tte r to l e ave th is to th e
ge ar is bas e d on de faul t 20°val ue . H e licalAngl e de fine s h e licalge ars s h ape .
th e invol ute Com m on ge ars h ave s traigh t te e th . H e l icalge ars h ave s l ante d
conce pt. Th e te e th . H e l
icalge ar are l e s s nois y and m ore s w ift in ope ration, and
invol ute ofa circl e m ore cos tl y to m anufacture , al lth ings you don’t care in 3D
h as s e ve ral graph ics , s o w e w il lk e e p th is angl e to 0 now .

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Th e Adde ndum and D e de ndum de fine s h ow far be yond and be ne ath Ple as e note th at th e s cript ge ne rate d a s ingle tooth both for th e
th e pitch radius th e te e th e xte nds . Th e s e param e te rs are critical . m ain ge ar and th e pinion. Th e m ain ge ar obje ct ce nte r is in th e
Firs t th e Adde ndum cannot be gre ate r th an th e de de ndum , or you origin, th e pitch radius is 5 bl e nde r units , you can s e e th is s ince th e
w illh ave big m e s h ing probl e m s . Se cond, Th e ir val ue m us t be tune d te e th w ould touch th e re , once rotate d. Th e pinion radius h as be e n
according to th e num be r ofte e th . Th e m ore th e te e th , th e s m al l
er autom atical ly com pute d by th e s cript, its ce nte r is in th e righ t
th e s e tw o m us t be , th e fe w e r th e te e th , th e l
arge r th e y can be . For pos ition for corre ct m e s h ing (righ tm os t ye l
low dot) and th e tooth
our e xam pl e 25 is an ave rage te e th num be r, s o w e can k e e p th e m h as be e n produce d s l igh tly rotate d for th e s ak e ofclarity.
to th e de faul t 0.4 val ue .
O ur ne xt tas k w il lbe to com pl e te th e ge ar and th e pinion m e s h .
Be ve l ing:
No true m e ch anicalde vice s h ave s h arp e dge s . Fil le t de fine s th e Ge ar M e sh e s touch -ups
radius ofth e rounding at th e top and bottom ofth e tooth . Be ve l Firs t ofal l, rotate th e m ain ge ar tooth 1/50 of360°(7.5°) (Fig. 3.1).
de fine s th e be ve l ing ofal le dge s on uppe r and l ow e r face ofth e ge ar. Th is m ak e s l ow e r e dge ofth e tooth al igne d on th e xz pl
ane . In front
vie w and e dit m ode w e can e xtrude th e top ve rte x to com pl e te th e
M e sh Param e te rs: profil e (Fig. 3.2). D upl icating th is and m oving it around on th e xz
Th e s cript ge ne rate s a s ingl e tooth for th e ge ar, w ith a give n pl ane w il lm ak e th e profil e for th e inne r ge ar part too (Fig. 3.3). Now
re fine m e nt le ve lin th e m e s h . Th e re fine m e nt l e ve lis give n as a dupl icate al lth e s e ne w ve rtice s and m irror th e m al ong globalz w ith
Re s ol ution along th e tooth pe rim e te r, w h ich s h oul d be k e pt to 2 re s pe ct to curs or.
unl e s s you are pl anning to zoom in a l ot (ris e it) or zoom out a l ot
(low e r it) on your ge ars and a LongitudinalRe s ol ution al ong th e
tooth th ick ne s s . Th is is actual ly ne e de d onl y for h e l icalge ars , w h ich
do e xh ibit l ongitudinaltw is t. Final ly th e Th ick ne s s de fine s h ow th ick
is th e ge ar and th e W idth de fine s h ow m uch to th e ins ide , w ith
re s pe ct to th e pitch circl e , th e body ofth e ge ar e xte nds be yond th e
tooth . Ke e p al lth e s e to th e ir de faul ts

Pinion:
Th e re is no point in de fining a ge ar w ith out is m atch ing pinion. Th e
pinion can be e ith e r a s tandard pinion (a ge ar) a rack (a s traigh t
tooth e d ite m ) a
crow n (a big ge ar
w ith te e th on th e
ins ide ) l
e t’s k e e p
th e Pinion option
and m aintain th e
12 te e th .

Ifnow you pre s s

th e Ge ne rate
button you w il ls e e
th e s ce ne in Fig. 2

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Using BM G - script 19

Now go back in top vie w w ith al lth e s e ne w ve rtice s s e l e cte d. Ide all
y But you w on’t h ave th e s pace to m ak e th e m e s h s o com pl e x.
w e s h ould s pin (counte rclock w is e ) th re e copie s in a 14.4°angl e. Re m e m be r th at th e pinion h as 12 te e th s o a tooth is 30°(360°/12)
Sadl y Bl e nde r doe s not acce pt de cim al s h e re ! So w e w il ls pin th e m w ide . At th e e nd you s h oul
d h ave s om e th ing l ik e Fig. 6. Give to th e
15 copie s al ong a 72°angl e . (Fig. 4.1). Now Se l e ct th e tooth , and Ge ar O bje ct a m ne m onic nam e (Lik e ‘Ge ar’) and to th e pinion obje ct
SpinD up it by 5 tim e s by 72°. You w il lh ave an e xtra copy ofit (Fig. a m ne m onic nam e too (‘Pinion’ is a good ch oice !)
4.2), w h ich you s h ould de le te . Now re m ove doubl e s.
Pre paring for Spinning!

To h ave th e
ge ars s pin
prope rl y you
w illne e d to
s e t up fe w
th ings , but
firs t, s ince tw o
ge ars onl y is
re al ly a s ad
m ode l , se l
e ct
Rotate th e ge ar 36°cl ock w is e , to h ave it s ym m e trical
ly place d w ith both ge ars ,
re s pe ct to th e xz pl ane . Now e xtrude s om e ve rtice s from th e inne r dupl icate
part (Fig. 5.1 and 5.2) and e xtrude it tow ards th e oute r ring, m e rge th e m and
s om e ve rtice s w h e re ne e de d. It is al s o a good ide a to us e th e Be ve l m ove th e copie s s o th at th e ne w Ge ar is coaxialand be ne ath th e
s cript to m ak e th is arm nice r. originalpinion (Fig. 7). Give th e dupl icate s s m art nam e s , l
ik e
‘Ge arB’ and ‘PinionB’. Be ve ry care ful , th e Pinion and th e Ge arB
obje cts
m us t h ave
s am e x
and y
location,
and an
offs e t on z.

Now you onl y h ave to SpinD up on 288°4 copie s and re m ove

doubl e s ! You m igh t w is h to s cal e th e inne r part a l ittl
e al ong z only
to m ak e th e ge ar le s s flat. D o s om e th ing s im il
ar w ith th e pinion too.

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Using BM G - script 20

Now add an e m pty for e ach ge ar, l ocate d in th e ge ar ce nte r, w ith los t!)
th e z axis pointing in th e dire ction ofth e ge ar rotationalaxis , th e n Now s w itch to th e ‘Link ’ Pane l . Add th re e line s h e re w ith th e Add
pare nt ge ars to e m ptie s . Give th e m m atch ing nam e s (Fig. 8). button. Th e ne w l ine s appe aring contain inform ation on w h ich ge ar
is conne cte d to w h ich oth e r. Th e firs t col um n in e ach l ine contains
Th is is ne ce s s ary be caus e th e s pinning s cript (BMGs ) w il lh andle th e driving ge ar, th e s e cond col um n th e drive n ge ar. Th e th ird
rotations for th e ge ar as re l ative to th e z axis . Ifth e ge ars are to be col um n s pe cify th e l ink type , w h ich can be a m e s h k ind ofl ink , in
m ove d and are not l ying on th e xy pl ane th is w illre s ul ts in odd w h ich th e pinion rotate s in th e oppos ite dire ction w ith re s pe ct to
be h avior. ge ar and th e s pe e d is give n by th e ge ar s pe e d m odifie d by th e tooth
num be r ratio. For coaxialge ars , th at is , for ge ars not m e s h ing but
By pare nting rath e r m ounte d on th e s am e axis th e l ink type is fixe d be caus e th e
ge ars to e m ptie s rotation s pe e d is th e s am e . In rare cas e s , w ith crow ns and h e l ical
and by ge ars , th e s pe e d m igh t s til
lbe in th e tooth num be r ratio but not in
m oving/rotating th e oppos ite dire ction. For th e s e cas e s th e InvMe s h option e xis ts .
onl y th e e m ptie s
from now on – In our e xam pl e in th e firs t l
ine w e w il
ls tate th at ‘Ge ar’ is th e drive r,
ne ve r th e ge ars – ‘Pinion’ is th e drive n and th e l ink is of‘m e s h ’ type . O n th e s e cond
th e anim ation line ‘Pinion’ is now th e drive r, ‘Ge arB’ is th e drive n and th e l ink type
w illbe h ave is ‘fixe d’ s ince th e y are rigidl y bound. At l as t, th ird line s tate s th at
prope rl y. ‘Ge arB’ is th e drive r to ‘PinionB’ in a ‘m e s h ’ type l ink .

Now l aunch th e BMGs s cript. It is an ‘Anim ation’ cl as s s cript. It w il

l Th e Link s databas e de fine s a cons e q ue ntials e rie s ofactions . Ifa
pre s e nt q uite an e m pty inte rface , w ith jus t an Add button. Pre s s it drive r ge ar is rotate d its rotation propagate s to its drive n pinions
four tim e s and four l ine s w il
lappe ar. In th e s e line firs t col
um n and from th e s e to th e ir ow n drive n ge ars and s o on. To facil itate
m ainte nance th e tw o s m al lbuttons on th e righ t al low s ch anging
l
ink s orde r.

O nce th e l ink s
databas e is done (Fig
9 .2) w e are done . You
s h ould now pre s s th e
Ge ne rate button. Th is
cre ate s a ne w s cript,
pre s e nts a Ge ar O bje ct nam e . Fil l‘Ge ar’ in th e firs t and ‘Pinion’ in nam e d D rive rSL(Fig.
th e s e cond, ‘Ge arB’ in th e th ird, ‘PinionB’ in th e fourth . Se cond 10). Th is ne w s cript is
col um n s pe cifie s th e te e th num be r. ‘Ge ar’ and ‘Ge arB’ h ave 25, s tore d in th e .bl e nd
‘Pinion’ and ‘PinionB’ h ave 12. Th is com pl e te s our ge ars databas e file and w il lnot be l os t
(Fig. 9 .1). Th e ge ars databas e h ol ds info on w h ich obje cts in your w h e n e xiting Bl e nde r
s ce ne is re ally a ge ar and s h oul d be s pinne d. You can Save and Load (You m us t h ave s ave d
databas e to/from dis k , th e s cript ge ne rate s XMLfil e s . You are your fil e , of cours e ).
advis e d to do s o be caus e th e databas e s w il lbe los t w h e n you q uit
bl e nde r (Th e autom atical ly ge ne rate d s cript for s pinning w illnot be

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Using BM G - script 21

To com pl e te th e s e t-up go to Script conte xt in th e Buttons W indow

and add a Sce ne Script l ink on Fram e Ch ange d e ve nt. Put D rive rSLas
l
ink e d s cript (Fig. 11)

Le t’s Go! W e bograph y

Now w e ’re re al ly th e re ! Firs t m ak e a q uick Fram e 1 to Fram e 2 and
[1]h ttp://w w w .bos tonge ar.com /pdf/ge ar_th e ory.pdf
back s w itch . Ifs om e ge ars are not at 0 rotation th e y w il lre ve rt to it
(In th is cas e our pinions ) [2]h ttp://proje cts .ble nde r.org/vie w cvs /vie w cvs .cgi/bs tar/BM G/BM G-
and you m igh t h ave to 0.0.2.pdf?cvs root=bs tar
rotate th e ir e m ptie s (not [3]h ttp://proje cts .bl
e nde r.org/vie w cvs /vie w cvs .cgi/bs tar/BM G/?cvs roo
th e ge ars th e m s e l
ve s !!) to t=bs tar
re cove r a prope r m utual
m e s h ing be tw e e n ge ars .

Fig. 11 –Se tting th e Script

Link .

Now s e le ct th e driving
ge ar, in our e xam pl e
‘Ge ar’. And add to it a non-
cons tant rotation IPO on
RotZ (onl
y on RotZ ).

Fig. 11 –Se tting th e IPO .

Now pre s s ALT-A. Th e drive r Ge ar w il

ls tart to rotate , and th e Pinion
and al
loth e r ge ars w il
lfoll
ow w ith a corre ct m atch ing ve l ocity! By Ste fano Se l
le ri
Conclus ions

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Pl
ane l
ine inte rse ction 22

Pl
ane- l
ine Intersection
By Al
varo Luna Bautis ta
1.1. Th is articl e de al s w ith th e old Pl ane -l
ine Inte rs e ction e xe rcis e
th at e ve ry s tude nt w il
lfind in h is D e s criptive Ge om e try practice s .
Wel l, e ve ryone k now s th at th e Pl ane -l ine Inte rs e ction is actual l
ya
point (Fig. 1). Th e proce s s de s cribe d in th is articl e w illh e l
p us to find
th at point: a) cal cul ate d w ith Ble nde r
m ode l ling/e diting tool s ;b) no s cripts
invol ve d;c) w ith s om e ge om e tric
re as oning be h ind. Th e re s ul t th at inte rs e ct one e ach oth e r(Fig
th e re fore w on't be m ath e m atical ly
e xact (w e w oul d ne e d to do s om e
m ath s and coding to ach ie ve th at)
but q uite an ace ptabl e one , a ve ry
good approacch ing and back e d by
ge om e tric l ogic.
Figure 1. Th e fam ous pl
ane -l
ine
inte rs e ction.
1.2. Th e m ain purpos e ofe xe rcis e s
lik e th at is to bypas s curre nt and
unpre dictabl e Bl e nde r bool e ans
tool s . O nce w e are abl e to find th at
pl ane -l ine inte rs e ction, w e can appl
th is proce s s to a w ide range of
s ituations w e re w e ne e d to k now
w h ich is th e inte rs e ction be tw e e n
tw o obje cts ofth e s ce ne . In th e cas e
be l ow (Fig.2) I've cal culate d th e
inte rs e ction be tw e e n th e pris m a and
th e pl ane , us ing th e principl es
de s cribe d in th e paragraph s be l ow .
Figure 2. An appl
ication ofth is practice .
1.3. Th e firs t e xe rcis e cons is ts on finding th e proje ction ofan obje ct
(l
ine ) onto anoth e r (pl ane ). W e 'l
lfind th at by us ing cons e cutive l
y h
s ide and front vie w in orth ograph ic m ode . Be fore s tarting, l e ts tak e
al ook on th e Snap m e nu (Sh ift+ S k e ys ). O n th at m e nu, w ith th e
Curs or to Se l e ction option w e can
pl ace th e curs or on a ve rtice
pre vious l y se le cte d. Th e n, ifyou
put your pivot in curs or m ode
(Pe riod Ke y), th at ve rtice w il lbe
th e pivot for s cal ing and rotating
ope rations . Le ts go. W e s tart from
a s ingle obje ct in e dit m ode . Th at
obje ct cons is t in a pl ane and a l ine
3).
Figure 3. A pl ane and a line th at
inte rs e ct e ach oth e r.
1.4. In a orth o s ide vie w (3
Num Ke y) , s e l e ct an uppe r ve rtice
ofth e pl ane as pivot. Th e n s e l e ct
th e oppos ite ve rtice ofth at e dge ,
dupl icate it (Sh ift+ D Ke y) and
s cale it (S k e y) untilit coincide s
w ith th e l ine . D o th e s am e proce s s
w ith th e l ow e r ve rtice s . (Fig.4).
Se le ct th e tw o ve rtice s w e 've
y cre ate d and join th e m by an e dge
(F k e y).
Figure 4. Proje cting th e l ine onto
th e pl ane .
Inte re s ting Link s
h ttp://w w w .h indu.com /th e h indu/2001/10/18/s torie s /08180007.h tm
h ttp://e n.w ik ipe dia.org/w ik i/D e s criptive _ge om e try
h ttp://w w w .e ncycl ope dia.com /h tm l /d1/de s cript.as p
h ttp://dg.vidivici.cz/dg/dge .h tm l
h ttp://ge om e tria3d.250fre e .com /ge om tr.h tm
ttp://w w w .igpm .rw th -aach e n.de /~ pue tz/pub/269 .pdf

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Pl
ane l
ine inte rse ction 23

1.5. Th e n w e ch ange to th e orth ograph ic front vie w (1 Num Ke y). W e tw o tim e s , one for th e l
e ft e dge and oth e r for th e righ t one . Th e
se le ct a ve rtice from th e re s ulting e dge as pivot and s cal e th e s am e for th e 2nd. pivot. W e join th e ve rtice s w e 've cal culate d by
oppos ite one untilit coincide s w ith th e l ine (Fig.5 i 6). Th e clos e r e dge s .
your are to th e e dge s , th e m ore pre cis e th e re s ult. And th at's it.
Th at point w il lbe th e pl ane -l
ine inte rs e ction. You can ch e ck th e Figure 8. Proje ctions of
re s ult ofth e e xe rcis e by rotating th e vie w (MMB). plane e dge s onto th e
oth e r.
Figure 5. Front vie w ofth e re s ul
ting l
ine . Figure 6. Scal
ing th e l
ine in
th e front vie w . 1.8. As w e s e e in th e
s e q ue nce be low , w h e n
w e ch ange to th e front
vie w , w e w il
lprobabl y
ne e d to ch ange th e
vie port s h ading into s ol id
m ode to ge t a gras p ofth e s ituation. Th e n, s cal e your re s ultant l ine s
according w ith w h at you s e e . W h e n your l ine s h ave be e n s cal e d,
join th e n and th at w il lbe th e
inte rs e ction be tw e e n th os e
pl ane s . You can ch e ck your
re s ult by rotating th e vie w .

1.9 . Th at's it. Th is tim e w e 've

h ad a bit offun w ith Bl e nde r
1.6. W e can de ve l op furth e r th is k ind ofge om e tric re as oning to by appl ying ol d principl e s of
s ol
ve m ore D e s criptive Ge om e try e xe rcis e s . In fact, ifBl e nde r can D e s criptive Ge om e try, in fact
h elp us to s olve th is s im pl
e principl e , th e n It coul
dh el p us to s ol ve a coupl e ofh undre d ye ars
any D e s criptive Ge om e try e xe rcis e , e ve n th e m os t difficul t one s . old! A buch ofinte re s ting l ink s
Th e ne xt ch alle nge w il lbe th e inte rs e ction be tw e e n tw o pl ane s about D e s criptive Ge om e try:
(Fig.7). Is th at pos s ibl
e?

Figure 7. Tw o pl ane s th at inte rs e ct

one e ach oth e r.
1.7. W e s tart from a s ingl e obje ct
in e dit m ode . Th at obje ct cons is t in
tw o pl ane s th at inte rs e ct one e ach
oth e r (Fig. 7). Th e n, in a orth o s ide
vie w (3 Num Ke y) w e proje ct th e
e dge s ofa pl ane onto th e oth e r as
de s cribe d in paragraph 1.4 (Fig.8). By Al
varo Luna Bautis ta
Th e l e ft ve rtice ofth e uppe r e dge al
varol
unab@ yah oo.e s
is th e 1s t. pivot for s cal ing ve rtice s

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Te xturing th e 'robot' 24

Texturing and rendering th e robot 'diffus ion s h ade r' it tak e care s ofh ow m uch th e s urface re fl e cts
ligh t. Ne xt 'Cook Torr' is a 'Spe cul ar s h ade r' it de fine s h ow m uch
Th is tutorialw il lte ach you h ow to add and as s ign m ate rial s to th e s h ine s s a m ate rialw il lh ave . You can tak e th e im age 2 for re fe re nce
m ode l . It is bas ic to inte rm e diate l e ve ltutorial . Th is tutorialis s e q ue l ofth e 'O range ' te xture .
to th e robot m ode l ing tutorialpubl is h e d in th is is s ue .
Ste p 3. As s igining
Ste p 1. As s igining m ate rial s to a m e s h : To as s ign a m e te rialto any m ul tiple te xture s to th e
m e s h you h ave to firs t s e l e ct it. So m ak e s ure you are in 'obje ct s am e m e s h : Ke e p th e
m ode ' th e n s e l e ct th e h e ad h e ad m e s h s e l e cte d
m e sh . look ing at th e and ge t into 'Edit
re fe re nce im age s w e can m ode ' al s o e nabl e
s e e th at th e h e ad h as tw o s h ade d vie w [Z ]now
col ours , w h ite cove ring onl y se l e ct th e ve rtice s as
th e front face w h il e orange s h ow n in th e im age 1.
cove ring re s t ofth e part. Now pre s s [F9 ]and in
Firs t w e w il las s ign a th e 'Link and Mate rial s
m ate rialto th e h e ad. Pre s s tab' (Im age 3) cl ick th e 'Ne w ' button th is w il lcre ate anoth e r m ate rial
[F5]to bring up th e m ate rial for th e s e le cte d v e rtice s . But you m us t as s ign th e s e l
e cte d ve rtice s
buttons . In th e 'Mate rialtab' for th e m ate rialfirs t. So now pre s s th e 'As s ign' button. Now
cl ick 'Add Ne w ' and re nam e re m e m be r th e 'Mat' Num be r for th e s e l e cte d face s .
it to 'O range '. You now h ave
adde d a m ate rialto th e
m e sh . Ste p 4. Now ge t out ot th e 'e dit m ode ' and pre s s [F5]again to ge t
Ste p 2: Ch anging th e m ate rialprope rtie s : Now w e w il lch ange th e to th e m ate rialbuttons . H e re you w il ls e e th at th e s e cond m ate rial
prope rty ofth e 'O range ' m ate rials o th ay it l ook s l ik e a pl as tic. Firs t as s ign is th e s am e as w as th e firs t. W e ne e d a w h ite pl as tic h e re s o
ch ange th e 'Col ' slide rs ofR,G,B to 1.000, 0.600, 0.000. Th is w il l go ah e ad and cl ick th e 'x' in front ofth e 'O range ' Mate rial . Now
m ak e th e m ate rialoforange col or. again add a ne w m ate rialand re nam e it to 'Pl as tic w h ite '. Ch ange
Now in th e 'Sh ade rs ' tab ch ange th e 'Re f' to 1.000. ch ange 'Spe c' to th e prope rtie s ofth e w h ite m ate rialby pick ing th e val ue s from th e
0.700 and final l y 'H ard' to 130. Th e 'Lam be rt' s h ade r is actual ya im age 4.

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Te xturing th e 'robot' 25

Ste p 5. As s igining th e pre m ade m ate rial : Now you k now h ow to pos ition th e cam e ra. To ge t in to
as s ign a ne w m ate rialbut w h at ifyou w ant to re us e th e s am e th e cam e ra vie w pre s s [Num pad
m ate rialagain. Now as you can s e e th e e ar pie ce s are ofth e s am e 0]. H e re you can s e e th re e
orange pl as tic. So to as s ign th e m th e orange m ate rialjus t s e l e ct fram e s firs t one is th e 'capture
th e m and in from th e m ate rialtab s e l e ct th e 'O range ' m ate rial . Al
l fram e ' s e cond one is th e 's afe
th e m ate rialyou cre ate are adde d to th e dropdow n l is t. fram e ' th e th ird one is actual y
th e cam e ra its e lf. Righ t cl
ick th e
out m os t fram e and pre s s [G]
grab now ifyou m ove your
m ous e you can s e e th e cam e ra
m ove s . Try to pos ition th e
cam e ra as s e e n in th e im age 7.

Ste p 8. Now its tim e to re nde r th e s ce ne . To re nde r th e s ce ne go to

'Re nde r' m e nu and s e l e ct 'Re nde r s e ttings ' or jus t pre s s [F10]. H e re
e nabl e th e 'Sh adow s ' button and al s o e nabl e th e 'O SA' button. Now
to re nde r th e s ce ne jus t pre s s 'F12'. You can s e e th e re nde r l ik e
im age 8. Al s o dont forge t to add a 'pl ane ' be l ow th e robot and
Sim ilarly as s ign orange m ate rialto oth e r pars t w h e re it is ne e de d. s tre tch it s o th at it l
ook s lik e th e fl
oor in th e im age 8.
Uppe r and l ow e r body h ave th e s am e type ofpl as tic m ate rialbut
only th e col our is re d. So cre ate a ne w m ate rialfor it cal le d 're d
plas tic' and as s ign it to th e m

For th e 'e ye pie ce ' and th e 'e ye glas s ' as s ign th e follow ing m ate rial .
For th e s h oe s you can as s ign th e 'W h ite pl as tic' m ate rialth e s am e
w ay.

Ligh te ning and re nde ring th e sce ne .

Ste p 6. Adding a l am p: Afte r
as s igning m ate rial s ch ange th e
'vie w port vie w ' to top [num pad
7]. Z oom out a l ittle and add
([Space bar] 'Add |l am p |lam p')
a ne w l igh t in to th e s ce ne . Th at w raps up th e 'Te xturing and re nde ring th e robot' tutorialH ave
Move it to th e righ t as s h ow n in fun ble nding!
th e im age 8. Gaurav Naw ani

Ste p 7. Us ing a Cam e ra: Since

w e h ave us e th e de faul
t s ce ne
w e alre ady h ave one l am p and
a cam e ra as s igne d. Now w e w ill

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Anim ating th e robot 26

Le t's Ge t th is Robo M oving robo. (fig 2)

Th is tutorialas s um e s you h ave al re ady m ode l e d your robo, Ne xt pl ace your curs or at th e bottom s e ction of th e robo, about
Pape ro. I h ave done a fe w pre l im inary tas k s to m ak e th is tutorial e ve n w ith th e w h e e l
s.
e as ie r to fol l
ow ; Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe th e 'W h e e lBas e bone ', and w il
l
I as s igne d bas ic m ate rial s to th e s e parate parts s o th at th e y are be pare nte d to th e Root bone . (fig. 3)
e as ie r to dis tinguis h (if you h ave al re ady follow e d th e te xturing Ne xt pl ace your in th e m ain body s e ction, Space bar |Add |Bone ,
tutorial , th at is fine ) th is w il
lbe th e 'Body bone ', and w il lbe pare nte d to th e 'Root
I h ave al s o turne d off s ubs urf for now (m ak e s it e as ie r to s e e w h at bone '.
you are doing). (fig 1) [Tab]out Edit m ode and RM B on th e robo h e ad, in th e
Edit'buttons cl ick on th e 'Ce nte r Ne w ' button, [Sh ift + S]|Curs or
W ith s im pl e ch aracte rs , s uch as our robo, you don't ne e d a l ot of |Se le ction. (fig. 4)
com pl icate d m ove m e nts . In fact you coul d probabl y ge t aw ay
w ith jus t us ing s im pl
e k e yfram ing of h is h e ad m oving from s ide to
s ide , and adding additionalk e yfram e s as h e ch ange s l ocation. But
th e n th is w ould be a ve ry s h ort tutorial, and rath e r unne ce s s ary
as you coul d figure th at out al lby yours e lf.

Th e fact th at Gaurav m ode l e d Pape ro's h e ad as al

ls e parate parts ,
pre s e nts us w ith an inte re s ting option for giving our robo an
inte re s ting action s e t. W e are going to anim ate th e e ar rings and
e ar bal ls h ooting out from th e s ide of h is h e ad as h e rol l
s along.
W e are going to accom pl is h th is by us ing Action Cons traints .

Th e bas ic pre m is e of Action Cons traints is s im pl e . You cre ate a

s e t of actions once , th e n attach th at s e t of actions to one bone
w ith an Action Cons traint. W h e n you rotate th e one bone , th e s e t
of actions ge ts trigge re d. Pre tty s lick tim e s ave r, it al
s o as s ure s
th at th e action w illbe cons is te nt th rough out your anim ation.

Th is tutorialw as cre ate d w ith Bl e nde r 2.40 al ph a-2. (If you h ave a
pre vious and or pos s ibl y ne w e r ve rs ion, th is s h oul
d not be a big
probl e m as Action Cons traints h ave be e n around for q uite a
aw h ile .)

So l e t's ge t s tarte d.
Ste p 1. W e ne e d a bas ic arm ature . Th e re w illbe no IK ch ains or
anyth ing fancy.
Place your curs or be l ow th e robo. Pre s s s pace bar |Add |Arm ature .
Th is w il
lbe th e 'Root bone ' and w illbe us e d to m ove th e e ntire

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Anim ating th e robot 27

Pre s s [A]k e y to de s e l
e ct all
, RMB de s ire d bone in l is t, cl
ick 'As s ign' k e y
on th e Arm ature and Tab back To de l e te ve rtice s from 'Ve rte x Group', s e l e ct ve rtice s w ante d,
into 'Edit m ode '. s crol lto de s ire d bone in l is t, cl
ick 'Re m ove ' k e y
Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe Mak e s ure you te s t your robo in Pos e Mode , s e l e ct e ach bone and
th e H e ad bone , and w il lbe rotate /grab to e ns ure e ve ryth ing is m oving prope rl y. In Edit m ode ,
pare nte d to th e Body bone . (fig. 5) se le ct al lbone s and pre s s [Ctrl + N]to re cal culate bone rol l
Z oom in on th e e ar rings , pl ace (oth e rw is e you m igh t ge t s trange re s ul ts ).
your curs or in th e firs t ring,
Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe
th e Ring 1.Lbone , and w il lbe
pare nte d to th e H e ad bone .

Pl ace your curs or in th e s e cond

ring, Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is
w illbe th e Ring 2.Lbone , and w il l
be pare nte d to th e H e ad bone .
Pl ace your curs or in th e e ar bal l,
Space bar |Add |Bone . Th is w il lbe
th e Earbal lbone , and w il lbe pare nte d to th e H e ad bone . (fig. 6)
[B]k e y, drag a box th rough th e e ar ring and Earbal l.Lbone s ,
[Sh ift+ D ]k e y to dupl icate th e m , [Ctrl
+ M]k e y to m irror th e m , drag
th e m to th e oth e r s ide ofth e h e ad and l ine th e m up w ith th e e ar
rings . (Nam e s w illbe th e s am e , e xce pt w ille nd in 'R'.)
Th is com pl e te s your arm ature .

Ste p 2: Now w e ne e d to pare nt our robo to th e arm ature .

Tab out ofEdit m ode , pre s s [A]k e y to de s e l
e ct e ve ryth ing.
Se l
e ct (RMB + Sh ift k e y) al
lth e robo pie ce s , th e n s e l
e ct th e arm ature
[Ctrl+ P]|Arm ature
Ch oos e 'From Cl
os e s t Bone s '.

Now com e s th e fun part, doubl e ch e ck ing to m ak e s ure al lth e parts

as s igne d to th e corre ct bone , no h e l p for it, s o l
e t's ge t to it. Th e
s te ps w il lbe th e s am e for e ach part.
Se l e ct part, Tab into 'Edit m ode ', A k e y to de s e l e ct allve rtice s , l ook
at th e 'Ve rte x Group' pane l
Scrol lto th e corre ct bone for th e part you are ch e ck ing, cl ick th e
'Se l e ct' button. Ifal lgoe s w e l
l, th e righ t ve rtice s w illturn ye l l
ow .(fig.
7)

To as s ign ve rtice s to 'Ve rte x Group', s e l

e ct ve rtice s w ante d, s crol
lto

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Anim ating th e robot 28

Ste p 3: Now w e can s tart s e tting up our actions .

Spl it your s cre e n into 2, w ith 3d vie w on one s ide and Action Editor
W indow on th e oth e r (fig. 8)
Se l e ct th e Arm ature , [Ctrl+ Tab]into Pos e Mode (Arm ature bone s
8
s h oul d be bl ue /gre e n de pe nding on s e l
e ction s tatus )

Se l e ct th e 3 e ar bone s (Ring 1.L, Ring 2.L& Earbal l

.L), [I]k e y |LocRot,
th is w illbe th e bas e point in th e action.
Go forw ard 40 fram e s , [I]k e y |LocRot, th is w il
lbe th e e nd point in th e
action.

Go back 20 fram e s
Se l e ct th e Earball.Lbone , [G]k e y, w h il e h olding dow n th e [Ctrl ],
m ove th e Earbal l
.L3 units to th e l e ft. [I]k e y > > LocRot.
Se l e ct th e Ring 2.Lbone , [G k e y], w h il e h olding dow n th e [Ctrl ], m ove
th e Ring 2.L1 unit to th e l e ft. [I]k e y > > LocRot. (fig.9 )
Go back to fram e 1 and te s t your ne w action by pre s s ing [Al t + A]
k e ys .

In th e Action Editor W indow , re nam e your action s om e th ing re l e vant,

lik e 'Ear action', cl
os e th e action (cl
ick th e [X]ne xt to th e action
nam e )
Add a bone above th e h e ad (Space bar |Add |Bone ), nam e it 'Ear 9
Move r', pare nt it to th e Root bone , s o it doe s n't ge t l
os t w h e n m oving
th e robo around a s ce ne .

Se l
e ct Ring 2.Lbone and add an Action Cons traint in th e Cons traint
pane l. Fillin th e fol
low ing s e ttings to m atch th e im age . (fig. 10)
Re pe at th e s am e for Earbal l
.L

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 W ORK S H OP 3D Anim ating th e robot 29

Now w h e n you m ove th e Ear Move r bone , th e Ring 2.Lbone and th e

Earbal
l.Lbone w il lm ove th rough th e ir action. (fig. 11) 11
At th is point you can go back to your Ear action and add in actions for
th e righ t s ide ofth e robo, s o th at both s ide s pop out at th e s am e
tim e . Afte r you h ave adde d in th e ne w actions for th e righ t s ide , don't
forge t to add action cons traints to th e righ t s ide Ring 2.R and
Earbal l.R bone s .

At th is point Pape ro is re ady to rol l. H e can be k e yfram e d to m ove

acros s th e s cre e n, bum p into th ings and s h ow s urpris e (h is e ars
popping out).

To practice on you ow n, h e re are s om e furth e r s ugge s tions on actions

you can add to our l ittl
e robo Pape ro to give h im a l ittl
e m ore
ch aracte r:
Mak e h is h e ad pop up a l ittl
e offofh is body
Mak e h is body pop up a l ittl
e offofth e w h e e lbas e
H ave Ring 1 and Ring 2 rotate s l ow ly back and forth w h il
e h e is rol
ling
th rough s ce ne .
H ave th e Earbal ls l
ide e ve r s o s l
igh tl
y in and out ofrings
Move H e ad back and forth s ide w ays as ifh e is s canning h is
s urroundings .

H ave fun w ith your ne w l

ittl
e robo.

By Sandra Gil
be rt

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 REVIEW ED 30

Book in re vie w
D Igital
te xturing & painting

W e h ave al lh e ard it s aid, h undre ds of tim e s , q ue s tions , you l e arn h ow to dis s e ct te xture s
te xturing can m ak e or bre ak your m ode l . and th e n re cre ate th e m as ne e de d for any
Unfortunate l y I can confirm th at from give n proje ct. O nce you h ave cove re d th e
pe rs onale xpe rie nce . Th e be s t m ode lin th e bas ics , th e re is a s e rie s of e igh t com pl e te in-
w orl d w illjus t l
ay th e re if you don’t prope rl y de pth tutorial s s h ow ing h is te ch niq ue s . Each
te xture it and a l e s s e r, m e diocre one s tands tutorialis fil le d w ith fantas tic im age s and
a be tte r ch ance of dazzl ing vie w e rs if th e s te p by s te p ins tructions on h ow to ach ie ve
m ate rial s and te xture s are top notch . gre at te xture s .

In your s e arch for th e ul tim ate , pe rfe ct W h ile no l onge r th e ne w e s t book on th e

te ch niq ue on te xturing [if you actual ly find it, m ark e t, it is s tillth e m os t com pre h e ns ive
be s ure to l e t m e k now . ;) ], you s h oul d re fe re nce of te xture cre ation. Accom panying
ch e ck out “D igitalTe xturing & Painting” by th e book is a CD fil le d w ith e xam pl e s and
O w e n D e m e rs . e xe rcis e file s , m ak ing th is a m us t h ave book
on e ve ry s e rious m ode l e r’s book s h e lf.
O w e n D e m e rs h as w ritte n a one of a k ind
re fe re nce th at not onl y give s you a th orough D igitalTe xturing & Painting (Pape rback )
unde rs tanding of traditionalart th e ory, but by O w e n D e m e rs
actual ly s h ow s you h ow to appl y th at Pape rback : 352 page s
k now l e dge to your com pute r art. Starting
w ith an in-de pth l ook at w h at actual ly m ak e s Publ is h e r: Ne w Ride rs Pre s s ;Bk & CD -Rom
up a te xture , h e s h ow s h ow obs e rvation and e dition (Augus t 9 , 2001)
tw e ak ing of te xture de tail s can h e l
p you Language : Engl is h
cre ate re al is tic te xture s .
ISBN: 0735709 181

By ans w e ring a s e rie s of obs e rvational Product D im e ns ions : 10.0 x 7.9 x 0.7 inch e s

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 GALLERIA 31

TANK
Carl os Pe na Cativo |NY, USA
Ins piration: W ar I gue s s ...

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 GALLERIA 32

AGE O F STEAM
Z s ol
t Ste fan |Budape s t, H ungary |Stude nt of Indus trialD e s ign
Ins piration: I s aw a s im il
ar m ach ine e xh ibite d in a national"h is toric park ", bas ical
ly a h uge ope n air m us e um .

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 GALLERIA 33

AGE O F STEAM
Z s ol
t Ste fan |Budape s t, H ungary |Stude nt of Indus trialD e s ign
Ins piration: Th is w as m y e ntry to th e firs t round of th e firs t Bl
e nde r W orl
d Cup, it re ce ive d th e m os t vote s ! Th e topic w as
"Prototype s you th ink w il lne ve r be m ade ".

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 GALLERIA 34

ANT
Ale xande r M e tz |Karl s ruh e , Ge rm any
Ins piration: Ins piration is th e cl as s icalconfl
ict be tw e e n nature and te ch nol
ogy.

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 GALLERIA 35

TH E D RAGO N
Carl os R. Bis q ue rtt |Ch il
e
Ins piration: Th e Gre at Space D ragon from "GAIKING"anim e

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 GALLERIA 36

M otorcycl e
M ich ae lTh ao
Ins piration: I w ante d to do s om e th ing th at I w as uncom fortabl e w ith s o I de cide d on a H onda VTX 1800. I am not a m otorcycl e
or car fanatic, jus t anoth e r com pute r ge e k /graph ics artis t. I l
e arne d al ot about m y m ode l ling s tyl
e and m ode l ling in ge ne ral .I
aim e d for m e ch anicalauth e nticity and fak e d noth ing. H undre ds of obje cts (incl uding individuals cre w s , nuts , and w as h e rs ) and
m illions of pol ygons .

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 GALLERIA 37

O PERATO R
D on Kim |Potom ac, M aryl and. USA
Ins piration: Th e ge ne ralins piration cam e from s e ve ralpl ace s . Th e re are touch e s of H al
o, th e Unre alunive rs e , and oth e r
s cie nce fiction gam e s . Th e s e w e re alloriginally inte nde d to be as s e ts for a s h ort fil
m th at I w ante d to m ak e . I de cide d th ough
th at m y s k il
ls at th at point w e re n't e nough to do th e s tory and jus tice . Th e bas ic pre m is e th ough w as a futuris tic, s ort of pos t
apocal yptic w orl d, and th e s e w e re obje cts in a s cie ntific m il
itary re s e arch ins tall
ation of s om e s ort.

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 GALLERIA 38

Rol and H e s s |Pitts burgh , Pe nns yl

vania, US.
Tim e Invol ve d: a coupl e of ye ars ago, s o, l
ik e s ix h ours a pie ce ?
Ins piration: None .

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 GALLERIA 39

M e ch
Gabrie lBe l oin |Québe c Canada
Ins piration: M e ch W arrior 4

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 GALLERIA 40

Policarpov I-16
Alvaro

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 CRED ITS 41

Al varo Luna Bautis ta w as born in 19 72.

H e is an Arch ite cturalD rafts m an and curre ntl
y re s ide s and w ork s in Spain. H is favorite h obbie s
are re ading and bl e nding.

Gaurav Naw ani is a graph ics artis t at IronCode Softw are .

H e is an ope n s ource e nth uis as t and love s w riting articl e s as a fre e l
ance r. Apart from h is us ual
h abbits of ph otograph y and trave l ing h e dabbl e s w ith cook ing ;)

H i, m y nam e is Sandra Gil be rt, (ak a dre am s gate ). I h ave be e n us ing bl e nde r for a l
ittl
e ove r
five ye ars . I curre ntl yl ive in Nam pa, Idah o, USA and w ork as a graph ic de s igne r for a s m al l
print s h op. I’m m arrie d and h ave 2 ch il dre n, w h ich l
e ave s not ne ar e nough tim e for fe e ding m y
grow ing bl e nde r obs e s s ion. Ye t s om e h ow I alw ays m anage to find th e tim e to e xpl ore ne w
fe ature s , k e e p up on th e l ate s t ne w s and s tart ne w bl e nde r proje cts . Som e of th e m I actually
e ve n m anage to finis h .

Ste fano <S68> Se l le ri, w as born in Viare ggio (LU), Ital y on 19 68. H e m e t Bl e nde r in 2000, by re ading of
v. 1.72 on a com pute r m agazine but it w as onl y in 2001 and v. 2.23 th at Bl e nde r be gan to e at a l ot of
h is tim e . H e us e s Bl e nde r m ainl y for artis tic s till
s (at le as t h e be l
ie ve s s o) and, to a l e s s e r e xte nt, for
anim ation. H e w as aw arde d th e Suzanne Aw ard 2003 for Be s t Art. H e al s o produce s and m aintains
s e ve rals cripts , m ainl y conce ive d as m ode l ing and anim ation aid. Th e s e can be found in th e bs tar
re pos itory of th e ce ntralBl e nde r CVS s e rve r (cvs .bl e nde r.org).
H e is al s o invol ve d in th e adm inis tration of e l Ys iun, s ince 2002 and, s ince th e n h e is al s o de e pl y
invol ve d in Bl e nde r Foundation, organizing and coordinating Bl e nde r docum e ntation board e fforts at
m aintaining Bl e nde r docum e ntation, as w e l las active l y w riting.

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 Pre vie w 42

ISSUE 2
Avail abl e in Jan2006
Th e m e : 'Anim ation'

H igh l
igh ts
Article s from th e 'Suzane aw ards w inne rs ' about th e ir prize w inning e ntrie s .
Ne w s from proje ct 'O range '.
Tutorial s
Re vie w s
Gal l
e ry

D ISCLAM ER
bl e nde rart.org doe s not tak e any re s pons ibil ity both e xpre s s e d or im pl
ie d for th e m ate rialand its nature , or
accuracy of th e inform ation w h ich is publ is h e d in th is PD F m agazine . Allth e m ate rial s pre s e nt in th is PD F
m agazine h ave be e n produce d w ith th e e xpre s s e d pe rm is s ion of th e re s pe ctive auth ors . bl e nde rart.org and
th e contributors dis cl aim al lw arrantie s , e xpre s s e d or im pl ie d, incl
uding, but not l im ite d to, im pl ie d w arrantie s
of m e rch antabil ity or fitne s s for a particul ar purpos e . Al lim age s and m ate rial s pre s e nt in th is docum e nt are
printe d/re printe d w ith e xpre s s e d pe rm is s ion from th e auth ors .

Th is PD F m agazine is arch ive d and avail

abl
e from th e ble nde rart.org w e bs ite . Th e bl
e nde rart m agazine is
m ade avail abl
e unde r Cre ative Com m ons 'Attribution-NoD e rivs 2.5' l
ice ns e .

Th e CC l
ice ns e is avail
abl
e at h ttp://cre ative com m ons .org/l
ice ns e s /by-nd/2.5/l
e gal
code

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