Using the Skin Modifier

Hello there, I have done a tutorial which focused on using the Skin Modifier. This seems like a really helpful tool to create figures with amateurs that then can be sculpted into the final shape.

Here is the link for the tutorial.

http://www.blendtuts.com/skin_modifier_04_09_2012

This modifier creates a mesh over a stick figure design enabling you to create complex shapes without having to physically place every vertices. The features of the Skin Modifier include the option to mark loose which means that the veritices selected don't affect topography of the mesh. This is what I did for the collar and hip vertices. Another option is to  mark root. This option defines where the mesh radiates from as well as the spot where the armature will be generated. Equalise radi is an option which smooths out the mesh around the branches of your framework.

A really handy part of this modifier is the create armature feature. This takes the framework of your object and turns it into bones that are already connected and parented. Once you apply the modifier the mesh will respond to any movements in the frame accordingly in pose mode.

As you can see, I took a screen shot with the armature visible to help illustrate the relationship between mesh and frame. It's pretty rough but the purpose of this tutorial was to come to grips with this modifier. The next step would be to use the sculpt tool to create your finished model.

As part of this tutorial I used the Mulitresolution Modifier which smoothed out the mesh alot like the Subdivision Modifier except it allows you to manipulate subdivided vertices when sculpting.

Nut and bolt tutorial part 2

This tutorial took me to new places on Blender, namely the node edit mode. There are a ridiculous amount of options to choose from in there. I think the challenge is using the right one to get the effect you want. I also learnt how to easily make metallic textures using only a texture mode in the options when making a new texture.

Making the bolt itself was straightforward, the tutorial focused on texturing, lighting and effects. The main lesson I will take away is how to use those nodes to manipulate the balance and texture of an object. This is the link below.

http://www.blendtuts.com/nut_bolt_part2

Nuts and bolts tutorial part 1

Hello, I've chosen this tutorial because it is creating a more technical object than artistic and is a good way to learn some more techniques and tips on shortcuts. Here is the link below.

http://www.blendtuts.com/nut_bolt_part1

There are a few things I've learnt from this tutorial, the first is the loop cut shortcut Ctrl+r. This is a handy way to put a seam into any object and you can increase the number of cuts you can make by using the mouse wheel. Another thing is insetting. By pressing i on the keyboard with a face selected it will create faces around the edge of the plane as well as one in the middle. This is a good way to make holes in objects of pull the middle out or in.

Selecting a loop of edges or faces is made easy by holding the Alt and right clicking on an edge that makes part of a loop. This is much easier than trying to pick out a line of vertices in a complicated model. Especially in wireframe mode.

Making this model required some subdivision of surfaces. Pressing the w key will open the subdivision menu which gives many options. Another handy trick if you need to do the same action multiple times is the Shift+r function which repeats the last action you took when you have selected another area.

Here is a picture of my efforts from part one.
 

There's something weird going on with the surface, I don't know what that is but hopefully it will fix itself when I get to texturing and rendering the nuts in part two.

Missing feature, new shortcut and new function

Hello there, I was watching a tutorial here -

http://cgcookie.com/blender/2014/01/13/using-bisect/

This bisect tool caught my interest and while following it I ran into a little trouble. For the life of me I couldn't find the bisect tool in my menu. Typing in bisect to the space bar search gave me nothing. I must have an older version than what the tutorial is using. This was interesting but it watching wasn't a total loss.

While watching it I saw a really handy way to bevel objects while in edit mode. Highlighting your object while in object mode and pressing Ctrl+b you will enter into bevel mode. Moving your mouse left and right increases or decreases the amount of bevel. Rolling the mouse wheel forwards or backwards increases or decreases the number of faces of the bevelled edges. This will be a handy short cut to be able to soften edges and create nice rounded corners.

The new function I have learnt is part. This function enables you to separate part of an object you have selected while in edit mode. By pressing p, the selected faces will become a separate object which you can select once you have returned to object mode.This part has open ends so you would need to fill them. The handy thing about the bisect tool was that it left a face.

This was more of a warm up tutorial anyway, next time I will be learning how to create bolts and nuts and how to texture them.