I might be being thick here, but how the hell do you use an ambient occlusion map with EEVEE and the principled BSDF shader? Just spent a fruitless hour trying to find examples.
You're not the only one. I actually wondered that exact thing just one page earlier in this thread. It's such an important map to plug in, among with base color (albedo), roughness, metalness and normals. It's so weird that there's no input for that. SSAO is great in Eevee, but it's not enough. Couldn't find info about by googling or from YouTube either.
@m00k That's an incorrect way to do it, 'cos it's against the rules of PBR. The point of an ambient occlusion texture is to react to lighting.
Is there a mesh-snapshot option in blender which does the same as in max -> copy a mesh with all modifiers deformations applied to a new object?
If you use Shift+D to duplicate the object it will have all the modifiers and such on the new object, however you would need to go apply the modifiers from the settings panel. I assume the goal is to have a copy of the original, unapplied model for backup purposes before making additional changes to the new version with the changes "baked" in?
Edit: I am also building my own materials library. What's a smart way to have it set up so I can access it from any Blender scene? I've saved some materials in my startup scene, but that doesn't help me when I am opening other's scenes. Can I save locally a file with materials, and reference them from python? Is this about data libraries?
Edit: I am also building my own materials library. What's a smart way to have it set up so I can access it from any Blender scene? I've saved some materials in my startup scene, but that doesn't help me when I am opening other's scenes. Can I save locally a file with materials, and reference them from python? Is this about data libraries?
Very interested in that as well as asset libraries working kind of similar to a prefab drill-in and out system. (Loading and instancing .blend in a .blend? ) thanks
@justo in a new scene go to file>append>select your blend file containing the materials and a list of sub-folders will appear. Go into the materials folder and select your material.
@another caveman@Justo If you want to use data from other files as instances, you can use "Link" instead of "append". In that case data is only editable in the original file but will updated all linked/instanced versions in other files. You can always convert certain datablocks from linked to local. For example you have an object linked and want to change the location/rotation etc. you can set the object data to local and keep the mesh data linked.
Docs question: where can I see what each of the operator parameters displayed in the Keymap interface do for default Blender functions? For example, I see a ton of parameters for the Loop Cut & Slide tool, but if I go to the Python API docs I only see two parameters that don't really explain anything. Am I looking in the wrong place?
PS: that particular operator needs to be invoked rather than executed. If you want to call it from a script, you need to do it like this:
bpy.ops.mesh.loopcut_slide('INVOKE_DEFAULT')
The 'INVOKE_DEFAULT' option is what makes the operator become modal, as opposed to 'EXEC_DEFAULT' which would execute it at once and won't do anything since that op is built to be modal anyway.
@RN Thank you for explaining that!! Now I know what that is about. I always wondered what that OT meant too...Your insight is tremendously helpful Rafael (espanol?)!
Guys, about linked objects: is there a quicker way to place multiple linked objects along a surface than using the right click and manual transform tools?
Pic below: say I want to place 8 of the black cylinders every 45deg along this bigger cylinder. The way I currently know of doing this is rmb>Duplicate Linked, and then manually use the transform tool/keyboard keys to place it. This is difficult because the Ctrl key only snaps to 5deg increments and cannot be changed afaik, thus its easy to miss the mark by 5 deg. Sometimes I'll just input the value on the popup below, but this whole ordeal feels a bit slow, specially if I have to repeat this action multiple times. Max users will know how fast this operation was back there.
You'll have to find where these options are in 2.80, because in 2.79 there's the Shift + R keymap that calls bpy.ops.screen.repeat_last, a smart repeat action:
In Blender you can type additional commands into a live operation and re-run it as many times as you need.
One way to copy objects around a circle is: Alt-D (Duplicate Linked) and while it's active type R (initiates rotation) then X, Y, or Z (selects the axis of rotation) then 360/N (where N is the number of objects) and confirm. After that just tap Shift-R (Repeat Last) until the correct number of objects appear.
It could also be done with an empty and array modifier running object offset but that's a pain to setup. Object mode really needs a Spin Duplicates button like Edit mode has...
A couple side notes: Shift + Ctrl will change the rotation increment from 5 deg to 1 deg. During transform operations Shift, Ctrl and Alt are increment modifiers. Blender's input boxes can do math for you so that's why I used 360/N instead of manually entering the number of degrees for each rotation.
Slightly clunky, but you can use an array modifier to do this.
Move your object's origin to the centre you want to duplicate and rotate it around (origin to 3d cursor in your case above)
Create an empty at the 3d cursor's location. This will be your rotation controller.
Add an array modifer to your object. Turn off constant and relative offset. Turn on object offset and pick your empty from the dropdown. Set the array to "fixed count" (default) and choose the number you need, which'll be eight in your case.
Rotate the empty on the desired axis. For your example, it'll be 45 degrees.
It's a bit slow to set up, but once it's done you can copy/paste the modifier to other objects and just select a different empty as a controller.
@Justo you can use the spin tool. Be aware if you use 360 degerees it will duplicate the first object in its place. You can always use some simple math in the degree parameter to get the exact degree.
This is difficult because the Ctrl key only snaps to 5deg increments and cannot be changed afaik, thus its easy to miss the mark by 5 deg.
It's funny, but coming from Max I feel completely liberated of gizmos and have fully adopted Blender's hotkey transform approach. Using hotkeys you can just type your exact degrees.
For your example I would just use the spin tool. Seems a bit crazy to use at first with the widget, but is a really useful tool.
Add a black diffuse bsdf, then mix it with the principled shader then use the ao map as factor.
Thanks for that. I'm not sure that it works as a proper light occluder that way though. Isn't that just adding black to the diffuse?
@FrankPolygon : Learned a new trick from you. I've tried repeat last before, but couldn't get it to work with a duplicate > translate/rotate. Keeping the duplicate action "live" while positioning works great.
So many cool ways of doing this! I love this thread. Thank you for the tips and gifs everyone!
@FrankPolygon I had been told about typing values during transform ops but it only just clicked now. This is so much better and typing 45 is so easy! About doing the math though...
"then 360/N"
This does nothing for me: As soon as I hit /, you can see in the gif the previous value is encased in a 1/(____), and whatever I type next simply remains inside. Using the arrow keys doesnt let me get out of the brackets either. I also tried 1/(8), 1/(45) & 1/(360) along global Z. What's the correct way of doing this?
As for the Shift + Ctrl functions during transform ops, am I right to say both simply work as a toggle that switch you from 5deg (by holding ctrl) to 1deg (by additionally holding shift)? There is absolutely no other way to change snapping increments while manually transforming.
Thanks for the reply chuck full of info
@CheeseOnToast I see, the array modifier does look very powerful. Like you say though, it's probably a bit slow for this kind of op, but thank you for pointing that one as an alternative.
@m00k@musashidan Spin tool looks awesome. I just saw some videos on it - it even works with individual faces too; very nice for making some pipes. However, this is not usable in object mode, is it? I can only duplicate within the mesh, since the tool is not selectable outside edit mesh mode? Thus, no way either of using it to instance multiple linked objects
@RN Well hello there neighbour, argentine here haha.
XRG is correct. The correct expression would be: "=360/N" During live tool operations in Blender 2.8 the = switches from Simple Numeric Input to Advanced Numeric Input. This change was implemented in older versions but I'm not sure why it still worked without the = in 2.79...
For rotation snapping I believe you are correct. Move snapping increments will change based on zoom level and unit settings.
@RN Found out about your "Bézier Mesh Shaper" tool, and I'd be interested to use it for hair cards, but I noticed from the gifs/videos that when adjusting the curves the feedback of the shape isn't instant/real-time. It's after confirming the tweak.
Hi @FourtyNights, thank you for your interest. That's right, the mesh updates after you confirm any transform operation on the curve knots, such as move/rotate/scale, tiilt, shrink/expand etc.
This doesn't hold you back in any way though, you end up not noticing this behavior once you're familiar with it. You can buy BMS with confidence: if you don't like it for any reason, send me an email and I'll get you a refund no sweat.
One of the things that bothers me the most in blender compared to max is sharp edges smoothing. It should be quite simple in python to do, but Idk if anyone could have created an addon for it, and probably some of you here might have found the solution.
Hard edges are sharp depending if they're set as sharp explicitly, but also because of the autosmooth angle option. So the addon should get both and mark the edges that are shaded sharp and set them to 1 in the Edge crease option.
Btw @Justo if you want a quick circular array, any of these four addons might be what you're looking for, the modifier list addon simplifies all the gizmo hassle, you can even use it in edit mode which is quite useful when you want to mirror along a certain point without changing the origin or having to manually place an empy.
@xdaniel I know some of those but I'm curious to check the rest. Thanks for sharing those links Daniel!
In regards to your sharp/smooth edge frustrations, I feel your pain. Of the first things I did when getting into Blender was bash together a script that would deal with this, smoothing and setting edges automatically.
I do have to wholeheartedly recommend you Hard Ops though. It focuses specifically on this, and expands on what my scripts were doing tenfold! It also replicates Max' nondestructible SGs+Chamfer+TS workflow and improves on it. I only just began using it this morning, but I've already replaced my original tools with it.
I hope for your help, because I see that there are a lot of advanced users.
Does Blender have the same fast and convenient analogue to shift-extruder as in 3ds max? When you press Shift and drag the gizmo, and the edge is extruded.
I know about ctrl+RMB, E+axis, E+MMB, Shift+D In max it’s very convenient and fast, you just click and drag, click and drag.
@So3Datel You can hold E for extrude, it does the same thing.
The "same thing" would be: "Hold Shift and then use the (move/rotate/scale) gizmo with your mouse" Imo this should become a natively supported feature in blender soon.
Hi @FourtyNights, thank you for your interest. That's right, the mesh updates after you confirm any transform operation on the curve knots, such as move/rotate/scale, tiilt, shrink/expand etc.
This doesn't hold you back in any way though, you end up not noticing this behavior once you're familiar with it. You can buy BMS with confidence: if you don't like it for any reason, send me an email and I'll get you a refund no sweat.
Alright, I'll probably get it at some point, since it's useful in many ways anyway.
@So3Datel@rollin I don't see the need to have this exact shift + click and drag feature in Blender when you can just press E and move your mouse and click. It's faster then clicking a gizmo. Nevertheless, @maxivz has already built the shift click thing into his addon Maxivz's Tools. When you rely heavily on gizmos in blender you end up crippling yourself because the power comes from interacting with keystrokes and mouse movement (IMHO)
@ant1fact , @Defunct This is the same old blender-style discussion we had for more then a decade - sorry. It's not about the end-result. Of course I can select with the right mouse button. But that is not the point and it will never be.
@ant1fact , @Defunct This is the same old blender-style discussion we had for more then a decade - sorry. It's not about the end-result. Of course I can select with the right mouse button. But that is not the point and it will never be.
I get your point and I hope that eventually you will all get the features in Blender that you want to have. At the same time it can be worthwhile to get out of one's comfort zone and adopt seemingly unorthodox workflows every now and then. At work I have to use Maya and I understand that it is a different piece of software than blender and that similar actions are invoked in a different manner. After a while my brain is used to accessing different parts of my memory when I use Blender, Maya, or even ZBrush. And again I get your point, I just also wanted to make mine
Is possible to set the auto smooth to be 180° by default instead of 30°?
By default? Not that I know of; that's hardcoded stuff. Of course, everything is modifiable depending to what lengths you're willing to go haha. Activating AS, setting it to 180 and applying Shade Smooth (and then sharpening edges by my preferred angle) was one of the things I did with my own scripts before using Hard Ops. I might go back to them too depending on my experience with HO. If I'm wrong though I'd love to hear otherwise.
I can go into the orthographic side view and just press E to extrude. But this is not quite what I had in mind. I was hoping that there are experienced Max users here who are well aware of what shift-extrude is capable of. Maxivz's Tools It seems like what I need, but I did not understand how it works and how it is better than standard features. I need to click every time Smart Extrude for this? sorry for my english
Maxivz's Tools It seems like what I need, but I did not understand how it works and how it is better than standard features.
I use Max' smart extrude script, and without any doubt I can say that if anything, his script is by no means "better than standard features". You can do a lot more with the standard features. Max' script only works in the move tool, and doesnt support snapping or moving the extruded edge in 2 axis. I think if he finished this and added scale tool support these would become invaluable tools, but we have what we have for now...
So yeah, it's just a matter of preference at the moment. You can do a lot more with pressing E no doubt. Personally speaking though I haven't completely embraced the idea of having to press 3-4 different keypresses to do the extrusion I want, so I like to cut those down as much as possible.
Hi Guys, For 3d Modelling only - for a new Blender 2.8 user, does it make sense to use Blender 2.8 default keymap or industry compatible keymap.
I have used Maya. I dont mind learning the new shortcuts etc if they make modelling in Blender faster than Maya.
When i follow Blender 2.8 tutorials, simple tasks like - edge-slide along a particular axis/ direction leave me confused if I use the "industry compatible keymap", because the Tutorial guys are using Blender 2.8 default keymap and shortcuts.
Replies
Any way to check a mesh for geometry problems in 2.8? Apart from merge verts by distance. I was a big fan of the mesh check addon in 2.79.
For example, I see a ton of parameters for the Loop Cut & Slide tool, but if I go to the Python API docs I only see two parameters that don't really explain anything. Am I looking in the wrong place?
Edit: I am also building my own materials library. What's a smart way to have it set up so I can access it from any Blender scene? I've saved some materials in my startup scene, but that doesn't help me when I am opening other's scenes. Can I save locally a file with materials, and reference them from python? Is this about data libraries?
You can always convert certain datablocks from linked to local.
For example you have an object linked and want to change the location/rotation etc. you can set the object data to local and keep the mesh data linked.
(OT = Operator Type, MT = Menu Type, PT = Panel Type)
bpy.ops.mesh.loopcut_slide('INVOKE_DEFAULT')The 'INVOKE_DEFAULT' option is what makes the operator become modal, as opposed to 'EXEC_DEFAULT' which would execute it at once and won't do anything since that op is built to be modal anyway.Thats a function I always wanted in blender. Didn't think it would be here so soon! Praise be the pablos!
Guys, about linked objects: is there a quicker way to place multiple linked objects along a surface than using the right click and manual transform tools?
Pic below: say I want to place 8 of the black cylinders every 45deg along this bigger cylinder. The way I currently know of doing this is rmb>Duplicate Linked, and then manually use the transform tool/keyboard keys to place it. This is difficult because the Ctrl key only snaps to 5deg increments and cannot be changed afaik, thus its easy to miss the mark by 5 deg. Sometimes I'll just input the value on the popup below, but this whole ordeal feels a bit slow, specially if I have to repeat this action multiple times. Max users will know how fast this operation was back there.
How would you do this?
Add a black diffuse bsdf, then mix it with the principled shader then use the ao map as factor.
@FrankPolygon I had been told about typing values during transform ops but it only just clicked now. This is so much better and typing 45 is so easy! About doing the math though...
This does nothing for me: As soon as I hit /, you can see in the gif the previous value is encased in a 1/(____), and whatever I type next simply remains inside. Using the arrow keys doesnt let me get out of the brackets either. I also tried 1/(8), 1/(45) & 1/(360) along global Z. What's the correct way of doing this?
As for the Shift + Ctrl functions during transform ops, am I right to say both simply work as a toggle that switch you from 5deg (by holding ctrl) to 1deg (by additionally holding shift)? There is absolutely no other way to change snapping increments while manually transforming.
Thanks for the reply chuck full of info
@CheeseOnToast I see, the array modifier does look very powerful. Like you say though, it's probably a bit slow for this kind of op, but thank you for pointing that one as an alternative.
@m00k @musashidan Spin tool looks awesome. I just saw some videos on it - it even works with individual faces too; very nice for making some pipes. However, this is not usable in object mode, is it? I can only duplicate within the mesh, since the tool is not selectable outside edit mesh mode? Thus, no way either of using it to instance multiple linked objects
@RN Well hello there neighbour, argentine here haha.
That's right, the mesh updates after you confirm any transform operation on the curve knots, such as move/rotate/scale, tiilt, shrink/expand etc.
This doesn't hold you back in any way though, you end up not noticing this behavior once you're familiar with it.
You can buy BMS with confidence: if you don't like it for any reason, send me an email and I'll get you a refund no sweat.
Hard edges are sharp depending if they're set as sharp explicitly, but also because of the autosmooth angle option. So the addon should get both and mark the edges that are shaded sharp and set them to 1 in the Edge crease option.
Btw @Justo if you want a quick circular array, any of these four addons might be what you're looking for, the modifier list addon simplifies all the gizmo hassle, you can even use it in edit mode which is quite useful when you want to mirror along a certain point without changing the origin or having to manually place an empy.
https://blenderartists.org/t/interactive-tools-for-blender-2-8/1164932
https://blenderartists.org/t/array-tools-all-in-one-for-translation-scale-and-rotation-array/1170295
https://blenderartists.org/t/modifier-list-1-4/1147752
https://blenderartists.org/t/radarr-ver-280-4-3/1147534
In regards to your sharp/smooth edge frustrations, I feel your pain. Of the first things I did when getting into Blender was bash together a script that would deal with this, smoothing and setting edges automatically.
I do have to wholeheartedly recommend you Hard Ops though. It focuses specifically on this, and expands on what my scripts were doing tenfold! It also replicates Max' nondestructible SGs+Chamfer+TS workflow and improves on it. I only just began using it this morning, but I've already replaced my original tools with it.
In max it’s very convenient and fast, you just click and drag, click and drag.
"Hold Shift and then use the (move/rotate/scale) gizmo with your mouse"
Imo this should become a natively supported feature in blender soon.
This is the same old blender-style discussion we had for more then a decade - sorry. It's not about the end-result. Of course I can select with the right mouse button. But that is not the point and it will never be.
Maxivz's Tools It seems like what I need, but I did not understand how it works and how it is better than standard features. I need to click every time Smart Extrude for this?
sorry for my english
I use Max' smart extrude script, and without any doubt I can say that if anything, his script is by no means "better than standard features". You can do a lot more with the standard features. Max' script only works in the move tool, and doesnt support snapping or moving the extruded edge in 2 axis. I think if he finished this and added scale tool support these would become invaluable tools, but we have what we have for now...
So yeah, it's just a matter of preference at the moment. You can do a lot more with pressing E no doubt. Personally speaking though I haven't completely embraced the idea of having to press 3-4 different keypresses to do the extrusion I want, so I like to cut those down as much as possible.
I have used Maya. I dont mind learning the new shortcuts etc if they make modelling in Blender faster than Maya.
When i follow Blender 2.8 tutorials, simple tasks like - edge-slide along a particular axis/ direction leave me confused if I use the "industry compatible keymap", because the Tutorial guys are using Blender 2.8 default keymap and shortcuts.