my blender 3d adventures!

[Mr.FaosFX]

I made this post to possibly help motivate those who are learning blender! It's always nice to hear from people who are making a switch or stepping up the learning curve.

I now have enough knowledge to create models like I did back in gmax, it's all still just slightly fuzzy. So I'll be taking this time to model various objects around my living area to get more acquainted, it's a continuous learning process from here on out, the road is rough ahead but in time, it will become smoother as I get more comfortable.

When I textured in gmax I used an .md3 exporter to map out my UVs and texture them but I see that blender has this functionality built in [you can export your UV maps as a texture image file and then texture that with any image editor!], if not it has a full editing suit to work with UVs and textures, I would say that's a bonus but more interesting is this feature that tells you how stretched out a texture will be by using a color coding system, quite handy I might believe.

All that being said, I don't feel eager to model any fantasy aircraft right now. However, I feel confident that I know the interface and features well enough to construct a very good looking model at this point.

I am however, going to do what I did when I initially learned gmax. As I said before model objects in my living area, for example; the kitchen or the bathroom, or a tv remote and then start getting into more condensed mesh work and texture them to continue to build up my knowledge of blender. all focused on 3d modeling at this point.

My first 3d modeling project will be something simple, when I have completed, I'll post a picture of it here. I will not create any more posts about blender, this will be my thread to share with you guys the learning process and perhaps helps others in the process!

Cheers!

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

I just spent the last few hours figuring out how I could turn a curve into a 3d mesh in Blender well after much looking around, it was as simple as increasing the preview sections to adjust the cuts, adjusting the depth of the curve which, made me go ohhh yeah baby, here we go but then, I wanted to turn it into a mesh........well my dumb self could of searched online but I actually found it by accident by pressing alt+c LOL...WOOOOWWWWW I chose the last option and to my surprise, the curve was now a mesh with selectable vertices and faces...now I can continue working on my 3d model and i'll be using this to add the next set of detail......brrrrrrr, I haven't modeled in a while guys, I almost forgot about the 'pulling the hairs out of your head factor'

 

[Dutcheeseblend]

Haha fun mate! It also works the other way 'round Oh, you know about the search option in Blender? Space, Search.

By the way, I found Alt+C accidentally too

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Yes I know about the search option but it is still quite Alien to me. I hit alt+c because I thought alt+curve and let's see what happens! when I saw that little menu show up, my eyes opened wide with an expression of "no wayyy, are you kidding me?" haha

I even saved the curve and called it "myfirstblendersplinetomeshoperation" here is the curve!

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Well here is my first project, a soda cup with a straw.

I ran into a rather frustrating situation while making this. I ended up with over 17 window duplications at the top which, I didn't know how to close. But eventually, I managed to close them all by right clicking on the area that separates the windows and joining them; this feature is very user unfriendly I might add and it shouldn't be that hard! — A simple "close window" option on the selector is much more straight forward than that unpredictable method of trying to figure out which edge will close the window when you split it!

Another feature I had to dig up was turning on all my edges for all objects in the scene.

Overall, I had fun with it and learning about Blender and it's annoyances as I go!

 

[shamrock122]

Hi Mr.Faos,
I also just started learning blender in the past few days and i have to say, i am so impressed with it!
It took a small bit of getting used to initially, but i find it much better than gmax already!

I started working on a model of an airport bus and here are my results so far! (hope you don't mind me posting them in your thread Mr.Faos?)

Keep up the good work! Your DC8 will look even better thanks to blender!

 

[krispy1001]

Very Nice work Mr.FaosFX and Shamrock122!

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Not a problem Shamrock122 I love to see other people's work! That's a really nice bus! And thanks to you again krispy1001 for your wonderful tutorials. I can't wait to test out the Blender2FSX tool.

Blender has made a move in the right direction with this new interface, the old one just didn't work but this one invites you to stay the minute you see it!

Oh and for the DC8 it can be said that the VC will definitely be done in Blender. I want to keep quiet on that for now tho, it's been about 2 years and I got hammered with a lot of life issues. I live in Florida now, starting a new life and things are going great for me, it has helped me to move on from past negative experiences and rekindle my love for past hobbies.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

For my next little project, I am modeling a flying school bus during my Christmas vacation :3 I want to keep it simple but all sorts of ideas are popping into my head and it could turn into a massive project.

 

[krispy1001]

Hi Mr.FaosFX!

You are very welcome. I am happy that the tutorials are be used. On a side note I think I finally found out my problem with using 2D gauges and mouse rects. It is exactly what Mr. N4gix told me. He said: "Also, you really should not use so many gauge polygons. Just one would be enough, or at most two! One for the few 'round' gauges, and one for the GPS."

Thank you Mr. N4gix!!!!

That was the problem. FSX was having a problem with the zorder of all of the polys I was using for my gauges.

I will be starting on the next Blender2FSX video. It will be on using mouse Rects to control throttle, mixture, and a couple of buttons.

Thanks, Krispy1001

 

[ozzman1997]

Blender really is an amazing piece of software. The first cockpit that I made was totally done in Blender; the only reason it didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to was due to a lack of reference...So I restarted. I think you will enjoy crafting the DC-8 cockpit in its welcoming UI when the time comes. There's just something about the UI that keeps me from getting bored with it. But if you do get tired of the interface at some point, just change it to your liking!

I have yet to find ONE THING that Max has over Blender in terms of functionality. And I honestly think Blender's workflow is considerably faster.

Blender = The Future

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Blender really is an amazing piece of software. The first cockpit that I made was totally done in Blender; the only reason it didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to was due to a lack of reference...So I restarted. I think you will enjoy crafting the DC-8 cockpit in its welcoming UI when the time comes. There's just something about the UI that keeps me from getting bored with it. But if you do get tired of the interface at some point, just change it to your liking!

I have yet to find ONE THING that Max has over Blender in terms of functionality. And I honestly think Blender's workflow is considerably faster.

Blender = The Future

True but Max is very powerful! I think for people wanting to get into 3d modeling, lighting and compositing, Blender is a good start. If you want to get into the professional stuff, Max is loaded with features.

Blender is pretty straight forward, the learning curve is less steeper than before with the new interface and there are tons of tutorials out there to help you out. I know they helped me a lot! I bought a good tutorial pack from 3dbuzz that explained every feature in detail and that's really what got me working better with Blender.......as I use it more, I learn better ways to do things and the Blender2FSX tool is looking promising! I wouldn't have made the switch if it wasn't for that, capt_X is my hero I would say.

Overall, Blender just looks fun to work with, once your project picks up, the scene inside Blender is like a morale booster, it just looks good and inviting!

you still have to finish your CRJ ozz! by the way, I have a new facebook account, I can't find ya, would like to re-add ya!