Any Blender fans?

Coding
#1

Been following it, trying to work in it more, and the whole 2.5 and later changes are so much better, as far as UI/workflow goes.
The UI is so customizable now, the smoke simulator is very nice, and though it’s no FumeFX, it’s coming along nicely, as well as the fluid solver, etc. It’s still in Alpha release (2.5, that is), but it’s turning out quite nice. :slight_smile:
So anyone anyone else keeping up w/ it?

Here’s the link to the Blender 2.5a2 update,
http://www.blender.org/download/get-25-alpha/

(Older similar thread here,
http://tech-artists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=140&highlight=blender)

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#2

I’ve been curious how the smoke/fluid sim stuff is - if it’s actually production viable or just suitable for youtube ‘test’ renders.

#3

Well, with MaxScript and FumeFX, you can run circles around the smoke sim in Blender, as far as iteration time.

As for the fluid sim, at worst it’s useful for pre-vis, working on aesthetic ideas, etc., and could easily be used for rendering out animated textures/flipbooks, etc.

Of course, FumeFX/Realflow would be better in just about every way if available.

#4

I’ve been keeping up with blender for a while now. <3 blender

#5

[QUOTE=j83;6202]Well, with MaxScript and FumeFX, you can run circles around the smoke sim in Blender, as far as iteration time.

As for the fluid sim, at worst it’s useful for pre-vis, working on aesthetic ideas, etc., and could easily be used for rendering out animated textures/flipbooks, etc.

Of course, FumeFX/Realflow would be better in just about every way if available.[/QUOTE]

Thats good to know. I’ve seen some pretty promising looking tests from youtube, but I’d like to get ahold of it and run some benchmarks/tests. If results were decent, it might be a nice alternative to run on a bunch of machines and do a network sim (if that even exists?)

#6

Everyone, grab your morning coffee and then go grab Blender 2.53 :slight_smile:
http://www.blender.org/download/get-25-alpha/

#7

I’ve just started using blender, and at first I was not a fan due to the UI. since then, I’ve grown to like it. Haven’t really played with the particle system though. just character modeling, rigging, and animation.

Quite awesome to be able to have a powerful 3d system for any project for free.

#8

I’ve been using blender for a year now, I prefer it because it has Cycles, a path-traced good renderer for free. but i find blenders UI not so beginner friendly. this was a bit cumbersome but it has become increasingly good and there’s so many tutorials, plugins and resources that make it easier, I would recommend to keep learning blender because their development is going crazy fast.
I also suggest use a drawing pad for more convenient operation in blender. I used a XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 at work, it was great because you can take advantage of changes in pen tip pressure and not have to readjust some brush attributes constantly and manually.

#9

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#10

Blender is the best free software for animation. I honestly like it more than maya.
It’s fast for laying animation in. Rigging, setting up IK/FK stuff is incredibly quick, and actually moving stuff around is very snappy.
There are a few other niche programs out there but nowhere near that level. Pretty much the only free option worth considering.

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