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Blender: Introduction, Modelling and Exporting. 4076/GV07: Virtual Environments (VE) MSci 4th year, MSc VIVE, EngD Will Steptoe Room 6.22, Computer Science W.Steptoe@cs.ucl.ac.uk http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/W.Steptoe. Aims.
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Blender: Introduction, Modelling and Exporting 4076/GV07: Virtual Environments (VE) MSci 4th year, MSc VIVE, EngD Will Steptoe Room 6.22, Computer Science W.Steptoe@cs.ucl.ac.uk http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/W.Steptoe
Aims • Introduce the main concepts and practical issues in constructing and understanding Virtual Environments, and how people respond to VE experiences. • Use Blender to construct your VE and its inhabitants • Export Blender content to XVR • Develop content in XVR’s scripting language
Software • Blender • Download: http://www.blender.org • Tutorials: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D • XVR • Download: http://www.vrmedia.it • Forums: http://www.forums.vrmedia.it • Blender -> XVR exporter script (.aam) • Download: http://www.vrmedia.it/wikifiles/blender_scripts/aam_exporter.py • Copy to: {Blender Installation Directory}\.blender\scripts\ • Help: http://wiki.vrmedia.it/index.php?title=AAM_exporter_for_Blender • Make sure Blender is in Edit mode (TAB)
Blender: Viewport • Acronyms • LMB: Left Mouse Button • MMB: Middle Mouse Button • RMB: Right Mouse Button • Use split/join functionality to customise interface: • Hover over separator & click RMB • Choose from a pop-up menu • Use View menu to set different views of the scene
Blender: Navigation • Click and drag MMB to rotate the view freely • Hold Shift and drag MMB to pan scene on the plane • Use mouse-wheel or hold Ctrl and drag MMB to zoom in and out of the scene • Press “C” and “Shift + C” to find out what they do… • Press “Z” and see what happens • Also use the “Viewport Shading” button to see the different options • ...shortcuts for everything
Blender: Modelling • Start with the Cube in your new file • Notice the camera and light source • RMB (not LMB) is used to select objects • “Shift + RMB” to select multiple objects • There are many modes in Blender • Object (whole objects) and Edit (vertices) modes • Use the TAB key to toggle between modes
Blender: Object and Edit modes • Object mode allows you to scale, rotate and translate objects • Edit mode allows you to do the same to the vertices of an object • Can’t toggle into edit mode if a Camera or Light is selected (not composed of vertices) • Select an object/vertex, grab using g key and move cursor around • Or click LMB in the middle of the transform gizmo • What happens once you click on RMB or LMB after that?
Blender: Selection Tools • RMB • Press A: select/deselect all objects/vertices • Press B: selection drag-box • Press B twice: activate circular selection tool • Shift+LMB: active lasso select tool • “Shift + Ctrl + LMB to activate lasso deselect tool • Select some vertices, then press E, select Region in the pop-up menu, and extrude vertices • Repeat for the Vertices and Edges option in the pop-up menu
Blender: Other Functions • Spacebar brings up menu similar to Maya with many functions: • Edit mode: Add new vertices and edges to parent object • Object mode: Add new object to the scene at cursor position • Make faces from vertices (also by pressing F) • Subdivide faces • Move the cursor crosshair (LMB) near an object and press “L” to select associated object • Press X: Delete popup menu • Press Ctrl+J: Join Objects by selecting both • Press Ctrl+P: Make parent-child relationship (first selected=child) • Button window for more manipulation functions
Blender: Materials, Textures, Rendering • F5: Access materials and shader functions • F6: Access texture functions • Play around with RGB values and Render to see effect • Play around the values in Map To and Map Input • F12: Render • Rendering will be from the camera’s perspective • F3 to save rendered image as a JPEG
Blender: Export to XVR • Blender -> XVR exporter script (.aam) • Download: http://www.vrmedia.it/wikifiles/blender_scripts/aam_exporter.py • Copy to: {Blender Installation Directory}\.blender\scripts\ • Select objects to export in Object mode • Export to XVR (.AAM) format
The End • http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/W.Steptoe • Room 6.22, Computer Science • http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro • http://forums.vrmedia.it • http://wiki.vrmedia.it • Task: • Familiarise yourselves with Blender and XVR • Recreating your version of the PIT experiment