Blender

Blender Dropping Collada?

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The rumor that Collada will be dropped from Blender is circulating. See: SL Post: Blender dropping COLLADA support and Blender Lists. It is undecided whether the Blender development team will drop it or not. Everyone strive for No Panic Mode.

Don't Panic
Don't Panic

It looks like Collada is the ideal format for use with SL. Several other pay big money modeling programs have Collada export. So, it is unlikely it is going to die out. I have a hard time believing the Blender Team will give up on it. But, those playing with the code say it is a bit of a mess and likely will be rewritten. That could mean we will see it removed and come back latter. But, even that seems unlikely to me… the ‘remove’ part that is.

It looks like Domino Marama is going to make a Python Collada exporter for Blender. For those of us that have purchased Primstar or Avastar it will be free. Or it may end up free to all. Only time will tell us what is finally decided.

I’ve heard someone at the Lab say they had some people working with Blender Org on Collada. So, may be they can or will LL chime in at Blender Org or otherwise help to keep Collada in Blender. We’ll ask but don’t expect a definitive answer. It is obviously in LL’s interest to have Collada export in Blender.

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Blender 2.61 Released

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A new version of Blender was released a couple of weeks ago. It has 180 fixes that will be helpful. There are some new features but those are not for anything we do in Second Life. Also, Gaia Clary has a Collada fix rigged mesh over on Machinimatrix.org.

New Blender 2.61

Simple Blender Install

To have multiple versions of Blender installed download and use the Blender Zip Archive. The zip file contains a working copy of Blender in a folder. The folder can be placed anywhere in your file system and work. One unzips the file to a folder, opens the folder, navigates to the blender.exe file, right click and drag it to the desktop or Launch Bar, release, and select Create Shortcut. That’s it. You have an independent install of Blender.

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Blender 2.60 Released

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A new release is out. There are reports of some new problems for those importing rigged mesh to Second Life. Some rigged Collada model uploads are failing. The Lindens know the reports and in yesterday’s Mesh Content group it was discussed. So, a fix is already in the works.

New Blender 2.60

3D Audio

This is the big NEW feature for this release. However, it cannot be used for anything in Second Life. The SL viewer has its own sound system. This feature is for those making animated videos and games in Blender. It is an OpenAL thing.

Animation System

This is an improvement to an existing feature in Blender. The user interface has been polished and usability improved. Also Collada integration has been improved; I suppose they mean integration with the animation system. The release information links to a section on Full Collada Animation Support.

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Blender 2.5 Exporting Height Maps Tutorial – Part 2

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The previous part of this tutorial is OpenSim Terrain Tutorial via Blender – Part 1. The previous part is about getting terrain from Second Life and OpenSim into Blender. This part is about exporting  the terrain from Blender 2.59 as a height map image.

Height Maps via Blender Nodes

Terrain

By the time you start this tutorial you should have a completed terrain or at least have a test terrain to try.

Also, you should have a backup of your region. Loading the tutorial can mess up your region. So, a backup is a good idea. In OpenSim I make OAR file backups. (save oar [filename.oar] – save to OpenSim’s working folder. You can specify a path.)

Now is a good time to back up your Blender file too. It is a great idea to work in a copy of the file.

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#SL Cloth Simulation Clothes

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With the addition of mesh objects we have some nice possibilities for creating new things in Second Life. Ashasekayi made a great 6 part clothing/rigged mesh tutorial. Gaia also makes wonderful tutorials for working with sculpties, going from sculpties to mesh, and mesh. They have the basics pretty well covered. I want to get beyond the basics and find more Blender features. I have found several features that can help with modeling and in particular with making clothes. This article is about one of the Blender features.

Second Life Tutorial Example
Nice Clothes Example

Looking through loads of tutorials I’ve found some I think are pretty good examples of how to use the feature for making clothes look like they are made from real cloth. This is not a complete how to make a top. This is about a feature you can use in making a blouse.

Feature

Cloth Simulation – This is a feature in Blender that I have seldom seen discussed in Second Life circles. I wanted to explore what it can do and try it out. I used Blender 2.59.

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Blender Update 2.59 RC

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There is a new Blender release out that several people are using with Second Life. Results are varied in regard to rigged mesh.

The current ‘stable’ release is 2.58a. If you search on Blender Download, you will find the 2.58a download files. The 2.59RC is hidden away in the development sections. Download Blender 2.59RC. If you move up one directory/folder you can see all the Blender releases. All the version information shows the version as 2.58.1. But, the archive is clear this is the 2.59RC.

Blender 2.59 Release Candidate - Uses older art

The download I have linked to is the ARCHIVE not the Installer. If you are not using the Blender Archive for your install, you’re working too hard to get Blender installed. See my article Blender 2.57b Released for information on how to do easy installs and upgrades.

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Blender 2.58 Released Review

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A new Blender version is out. Like any upgrade this one is loaded with bug fixes. It also has new features added from the To Do List. You can find the well written Release Log here: Blender 2.58 update log. I’m not going to write about all the fixes and additions, there are too many and I have no idea what a number of them actually do. I’ll touch on a few of the things that are interesting to me as a person interested in Second Life.

Blender 2.58
New Blender 2.58 Release

Collada

Collada is the file format used by Second Life to import 3D models. Those of us working on rigged mesh, used for replacement avatars and clothes, have been using Blender 2.49b to export them. The Collada export in 2.57b has problems with rigged mesh.

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Learning Blender 2.57 Basics

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If you have been put off learning Blender because of the arcane user interface and myriad of invisible shortcut keys, it is probably time to reconsider learning Blender. If you learned Blender 2.49, you may be frustrated with 2.5. I know one of the challenges I’ve had shifting over to Blender 2.57 is figuring out where the tools are that I use in 2.4. The new 2.5 user interface in Blender has drastically changed. I think it is much easier to learn than 2.4. If you are looking for good, simple tutorials on 2.5 read on.

Blender 2.57b Released
Blender 2.57b

Blender Basics

It seems most tutorials are about how to do something in Blender. How to use Blender, it’s user interface, is a byproduct of learning to build or texture something. The basic information needed to use Blender is skipped over and it is assumed you know or can find the commands needed.

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