Blender can create stand-alone versions of Game Engine content but it can only create a version for that platform that you work on. Enter blenderStarter, a clever script created by Jan Albartus that separates the Stand Alone executable from the game data.

Continue Reading 'Make Your Game Run on Any Platform' »

Have you ever wondered where the Blender logo came from? Or even why our beloved program is called Blender? Joeri Kassenaar gives us a history of the Blender logo (along with some interesting history of Blender itself).

As far as Suzanne goes, the almighty Wikipedia answers all! It's an interesting parallel that Blender got its name from a song titled "Blender", and that Suzanne got her name from a monkey in a movie, who's soundtrack (you can hear a clip in this link) had a song titled "Susanne." Okay, so not exactly parallel.

While designed for speed and ease of use, the Blender interface can be daunting for new users. One of the reasons for this is that is is largely hotkey-driven. Once you have these keys 'in your fingers' you'll be able to use Blender like a true 3D Ninja, but until then you're in for a steep learning curve. Here's a bit of documentation that may be of help.

Continue Reading 'Blender Hotkey Map' »

Alienhelpdesk is a well known site that houses numerous Blender scripts, including Caliper and BRayBaker, though you have to see the comprehensive list to really appreciate the many useful scripts you can find in one place.

Continue Reading 'Alienhelpdesk Scripts Updated' »

For those new to Blender, YafRay is a free, open source ray tracing program integrated into Blender.  There has been lots of talk about where YafRay was headed (due to the slow development in the past months), but I think this release shows that YafRay is certainly not dead.

Continue Reading 'YafRay 0.0.9 Released' »

The new node-based Compositor was used in Elephants Dream to composite the stunning visuals. Now that Blender 2.42 has been released, everyone can use it and I figured it would be nice to provide some background reading on the subject.

Continue Reading 'Just What Does It Take To Comp a Shot?' »

Given that with release and announcing of Blender 2.42 we likely have a great deal of new Blenderheads visiting BN, I was at first wondering if this post would be okay (since a new build might be confusing with the official release just happening).  But the beauty of opensource is the ability for the community to contribute.  In that spirit, just before the arrival of 2.42 and soon after, Joshua Leung (aligorith) was busy adding even more to Blender… three new constraints. He's already posted a test build incorporating his patch on graphicall. If the 2.42 features have brought you to the very edge of excitement, then these three constraints will certainly tip you over it.

Continue Reading 'Transform Limiting Constraints Test Build' »

Mal Duffin from CanDo Interactive will be hosting a weeklong course on learning the Blender Game Engine in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from the 31st of July to the 4th of August.

Continue Reading 'Blender Game Engine course in Belfast: July 31st-August 4th' »

Are you looking for a way to add extra realism to your interactive Blender projects? Andrew West describes a way to create accurate static shadows by processing a screenshot.

Continue Reading 'Creating Static Shadows for the Blender Game Engine' »

After almost one month of testing, the Blender Foundation and all the developers in our community have done it: Blender 2.42 sees the daylight today.

Continue Reading 'Blender 2.42 Has Been Released' »

We all love seeing great animations being posted on-line or in films.  Many of us even create our own to test our skills or to do a job.  Though as we watch the subtle movements of the scene, we sometimes forget the other senses that bring it all to life.  In particular, sound.  Tim (Room335) points us to The Freesound Project allowing any animator add a sound to the silence of animation.

Continue Reading 'Free Sound Database' »

Blender features heavily in issue 80 of the international magazine for 3D artists, themed around open source graphics software. It even features @ndy's work 'Moon Man' on the cover! We were in touch with 3D World's editor Jim Thacker who gave us an overview of the issue and who generously supplied us with some PDF samples of articles.

Continue Reading '3D World Open Source Special Featuring Blender' »

We came across a neat site about Simon Spartalian (a student at the Art Institute of Chicago) and Mike Beradino (a recent graduate of the Art Institute) who are using Blender to offer 3D "prints" of Second Life avatars via a milling process.  Blender for milling?  I had to ask for more from Simon and Mike who together are Recursive Instruments.

Continue Reading '3D Milling Using Blender' »

The Blender F1 Challenge Results are in. Curtis Smith, who has been organizing this yearly event for six years now, looks back at this year's competition.

Continue Reading 'Blender F1 Challenge Results' »