Vitor Balbio's BoolTool add-on makes working with booleans and hard surface modeling more streamlined.
BoolTool is a add-on that i'm developing for speedup the workflow of Hard Surface Modelling using Boolean operations in Blender 2.7x. It count with a UI tab, controls and View3D/Object menu and some hotkeys.
I have a LONG history with Blender - I wrote some of the earliest Blender tutorials, worked for Not a Number and helped run the crowdfunding campaign that open sourced Blender (the first one on the internet!). I founded BlenderNation in 2006 and have been editing it every single day since then ;-) I also run the Blender Artists forum and I'm Head of Community at Sketchfab.
29 Comments
wow! great addon. that's the way boleans should work. to trunk!
hey by the way nice color theme. Happen to know where to get it?
and i noticed a strange button. i don't have it and you do. in the right panel of 3d view under item tab you have a check box called "auto s..." whats that ? it's working similar to edge split modifier.
That's the new auto smoothed normals in the latest dev builds. It used to be in BI, but only in rendered view. Now it's in cycles and the viewport too.
Here's the old documentation:
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.6/Manual/Modeling/Meshes/Smoothing
And the release notes:
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.71/Modeling
great news. thanks.
I got the latest build but I can't find that "auto smoothed normals" anywhere... if I use the "Shade Smooth" there don't show up any properties where I can enter a value or something. There's simply nothing. It's only smooth or flat and I have to use the edge split modifier...
The awesome theme is by Vitor Balbio. You can find it here: http://www.blendernation.com/2014/04/19/blender-theme-graph-1-3/
It's completely magnificent.
thanks. i'll try it out
Thanks, hope you like it! =)
Great stuff Vitor!
Extremely useful!
Thank you!
Bool Tool is WAY COOL!
I may actually be able to use booleans now! Never understood how they work ... this should be interesting!
Powerful tool!!
I just went to GitHub to download BoolTool and it's free!! Victor, what about a donation button? It become viable for you to expend time to improve even more this wonderful tool!
Hi Roberto, this stuff start as a in-house usage in my company http://www.cogumelosoftworks.com . Blender is a great software with a great comunity that help me so much times that i can't count. So i think is fair enougth release it as my little contribution back for all these years of goodness. Thanks to your comment, hope you like to use booleans now =)
Ok! So thanks a lot, Vitor! It's a great tool!
Color me impressed.
It appears to be a useful tool, but without instructions on how to use it or a tutorial, the time lapse is pretty much useless as the resolution is not sufficient to tell what options he is using or the time lapse didn't capture it.
Eventually there may be a tutorial, but for now it's a great demonstration without any insights as to how to use it.
1080p is not high enough resolution for you? Wait for 4k then bro.
If it's not self explained without a complete tutorial i think it's not a good UI. I'm working on a better UI for the next release keep in touch =)
First select the object you want to use for the boolean. Shift right-click to select you base object. Same as parenting. Then select your operator. Now select only the boolean object. You can now move it around, scale it, ... Same procedure to add another boolean.
Vitor, this is a time saver. Thanks a lot.
Great interface addition - I use Booleans a lot when I do furniture design before I even touch a CAD application. Nice way to quicker create the modifier inputs!
Claas
this tool will be excellent for game development because of its similarities to many game engines BSP/CSG functionality I have been waiting so long for a tool like this! also I bet Fluid Designer would want to take a look at integrating this add-on into their pipeline.
I love Unreal Engine 4 CSG too =)
Congrats man, that's a handy add-on
one tiny thing I noticed from the video - the Addon is called BoolTool but the panel is called ToolBool
anyway well done
I did the video before decide the final name, in the add-on is Bool Tool =)
It's powerful features like these that are going to make excellent usage of the Interactive Quadrilateral Remeshing (IQR) coming to Blender all the more sweeter.
Your BoolTools addon here. MadMinstrel's Sculpt Tools addon. Psy-Fi's curve-confined sculpting features in Sculpt Mode. CG Cookie's Contours addon. IQR and improved NURBS on the agenda for Google Summer of Code 2014. Some major contributions for modeling tools this year in Blender.
I'm also glad to see the power Boolean operations being embraced more in graphics software recently. It's such a powerful feature that really hasn't been utilized to its fullest potential until more recent times.
I think we've previously been held up in terms of reproducing usable topology, which has always hindered the power of Boolean workflows, but now better re-topology functions are making such possible.
There's been quite a number of software increasing their focus on Boolean operation lately. There's been the 100%-Boolean-centric software GroBoto. And then we saw ZBrush give some better notice to Boolean operations dealing with making holes.
Then the maker of GroBoto produced MeshFusion for modo. And even Maya 2015 improved Boolean operations for itself. It's even a focus in Unreal Engine 4 with CSG tools. It's a rising trend, and wonderful addition to a modeler's workflow.
It's nice to see Blender's seeming to keep pace with this. And this will fall right in place when an improved remeshing solution like IQR and improved re-topology tools like Contours.
Hi,
For some reason I have trouble installing the plugin. I'm
using blender 2.7 and trying to "install from file" in the user
preferences. Afterwards booltool does not show up in the addon tab in
the user preferences, but the .py file is saved in the folder
D:Users%USERNAMEAppDataRoamingBlender FoundationBlender2.70scriptsaddons
I
have installed other plugins that works just fine (such as the F2
addon) . Does anyone have a clue of why booltool doesnt work?
Would be cool this add on can work better with modifier (add SS, or Bevel or mirror or Array modfier ) while bool Tool is still performing.
or we can do Operation like Shift D or Alt D or mirroring or maybe Edit one of the Objects during the bool Tool Operation is still running .
so it can be used in a Building up Process intuitive without a messy workflow like now.
Would be great ..
Found that Blender sensei 's customized Blender version have a new Kind of Bool Tool and its
Ready for Modeling now..
Best regard
s.R.
Would be cool this add on can work better with modifier (add SS, or Bevel or mirror or Array modfier ) while bool Tool is still performing.
or we can do Operation like Shift D or Alt D or mirroring or maybe Edit one of the Objects during the bool Tool Operation is still running .
so it can be used in a Building up Process intuitive without a messy workflow like now.
Would be great ..
Found that Blender sensei 's customized Blender version have a new Kind of Bool Tool and its
Ready for Modeling now..
Best regard
s.R.