Tag Archives: blender

Get 25% off all my add-ons in the Blender Market Sale

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Shop Link : https://blendermarket.com/creators/mark-kingsnorth

Until Monday 30th August the Blender Market Summer Sale is on – all my add-ons will be 25% off!

By supporting these add-ons you also support their continual improvement, so it is a mega help – you also help out the Blender Foundation too as a percentage of each of the add-ons go to them as well.

My current add-ons are:

  • The Plating Generator – Quickly create a configurable mesh in the form of a fighter jet or starfighter. 
  • Shape Generator – Quickly create and configure countless random shapes for a wide variety of purposes.
  • Hull Texture – A versatile, reusable base texture for creating irregular plating effects.
  • The Shipwright – A bundle of the above add-ons combined with a custom set up for automatic sci fi model generation.
  • Curves To Mesh – Create and configure mesh surfaces from bezier curves.
  • Mesh Materializer – Map objects onto another object using its active UV coordinates.
  • Window Generator – Model many windows at once on the faces of a mesh.
  • Bevelled Extrude – Create extrusion effects that have configurable bevel effects on the base, corners and tops.
  • Twisted Extrude – Extrude Faces with an Extra Twist.
  • Fit Lattice – Quickly fit a lattice deformation cage around a mesh or set of meshes.
  • Sci Fi Jet – Enrich your space scene with a lightweight Sci Fi Jet 3D Model.
  • Configurable Dynamic Jet – Create a configurable mesh in the form of a fighter jet or starfighter.  

You can find out a lot more about each add-on here.

2D Displacement Technique in Blender

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I stumbled across an interesting displacement technique that’s useful for subtle parallax type effects and ripple distortions. Using this technique, you can add movement effects to still images such as clouds to give them the appearance of movement as the camera travels over them.

The above video talks about the technique, and I’ve added a simple Node Group I developed for it up for download at Gumroad and Blender Market.

Blender Market: https://blendermarket.com/products/2d-displace

Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/l/2d-displace

Adding Materials to Plating Patterns

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A short demo of materials being applied to a simple helmet object.

The Plating Generator now comes with the ability to add materials to the plating patterns it generates on the mesh, an often requested feature. Jaroslaw Waskowiak tipped me over the edge with this specific request (among many great suggestions):

Material variations, randomizing UVs, assigning different maps to different “plates” at random

So I set to work:

Different variations can be applied without the need for displacement maps
A close-up of the underlying topology generated and different materials being applied.
A screenshot of the settings that control the colors on the plates.
A vertex color layer can be applied so the same material can be used with different colors.
A simple example of a material’s color being driven by a vertex color layer via the Vertex Color Node.

You can assign different materials which will be applied to the grooves and randomly assigned to the plates. You can also vary the vertex colors of the plates so you can get different colored effects from the same material.

The add-on works by using the existing topology to cut out grooves for the plates in an interlocking pattern. Once those grooves are cut, the faces of the plates can be grouped and different materials automaticaly assigned.

Animation Nodes version

A version of the add-on in animation nodes with materials being applied. The file is part of the supplied samples.

I’ve also included an Animation Nodes version if the add-on so you can play with dynamically changing the effect. The file is part of the samples.

Here are another couple of examples of the add-on at work:

The plating effect (triangular mode) being applied to a basic torus shape with vertex colors applied.
The standard Blender Suzanne object with the same helmet effect applied.

Read more about the feature from the documentation.

Houdini Version

Houdini Version of the Plating Generator

I am also working on a Houdini version of the Plating Generator, but it’s not quite ready yet…here’s a sneak preview of the settings:

If you’d like to test the Houdini version, let me know in the comments.

New Add-On: The Shape Generator

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Available at https://www.blendermarket.com/products/shape-generator – a new year, a new add-on!

Quickly create and configure countless random shapes for a wide variety of purposes:

  • Generate ideas and abstract concepts for inspiration.
  • Create base meshes for further editing such as spaceships, game assets, and objects I haven’t even thought of.
  • Create shapes for background assets or to add peripheral details.

The shapes are created by specifying a random number and then changing a range of length, scale and rotation parameters of the resulting extrusions. By default, the add-on will work to ensure that the faces of the shape won’t overlap.

A demo video is here:

A more detailed list of features is available at https://www.blendermarket.com/products/shape-generator.

If you have a new feature request or any questions, either contact me via this website, the Blender Market or you can reach me on Twitter.

Nebula Generator now on Blender Market

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Features:

  • Fast render times at high resolutions.
  • A range of configuration options allow you to change the colour and shape of the nebula.
  • Optional star effects that can be swapped out for your own.
  • By animating the parameters, the clouds can be made to appear as if they are moving.
  • Great for game backgrounds, animations, or concept art backdrops.
  • By default the effect is projected onto the background of the blender scene but can also be used as a texture on other objects.

Earlier versions of the node setup (version 1.2.0) will remain free on my website, however by getting this version here you will:

  • Have a priority on new feature requests.
  • Be able to take advantage of new updates.
  • Allow me to invest the time in developing the effects further.

Future roadmap:

  • Potential migration to python code if efficiencies in usability and performance can be seen.
  • Increasing ease of use of the different parameters on offer.
  • Experimentation with more 3D like effects.

Blender Add-on: Bevelled Extrude

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Add-on Link: https://blendermarket.com/products/bevelled-extrude

My latest add-on will create extrusion effects that have configurable bevel effects on the base, corners and tops. Good for creating smooth recesses or protrusions:

If you have a new feature suggestion or feedback on the add-on feel free to contact me through this website or through Twitter @markkingsnorth.

Blender Add-On: Window Generator

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My latest add-on will create many windows at once on the faces of a mesh:

Years ago, I had a very hard time modelling window patterns onto models like this one:

ae4ab5b082274201b26b0e56a57634df

The user wanted more and more windows added to the 3D model, and each time I found myself painstakingly adding each one in a random pattern onto the faces.  This took up many hours and days of my time, far more than modelling the overall model itself. After this painful experience, I thought there surely must be a better way.  So when using Blender, I decided to create an add-on that would do the job for me.

The add-on has applications beyond just modelling spaceships, and would also apply when needing to quickly model many windows onto architectural buildings.

Features:

  • Select faces and then add a configurable pattern of windows, where the amount of coverage and randomness can be controlled.
  • Control how many windows are mapped across each face and how many are mapped down them.
  • The width and height of the windows can be changed.
  • Different window styles can be created by adding corner bevels, and outer bevels can be added to make the window edges smooth.
  • Option to disable top or bottom bevels to create different effects.
  • Ability to assign a material to the newly created windows by specifying a material slot id.
  • Also assign a lights-off material to give the impression that some window lights are switched off.
  • Introduce further variations by adding a random “jitter” to the width and height of each window.
  • Option to perform edge split operations to create a quicker clean look.
  • The process automatically creates uv seams to aid in uv mapping for textures.
  • Faces are mapped from the top-to-bottom of a face by default, but the orientation can be changed to either left-right or front-back.
  • Additional refinement options that will attempt to remove unwanted edges or vertices from the created window patterns.

If you have a new feature suggestion or feedback on the add-on feel free to contact me through this website or contact me on twitter @markkingsnorth.

Updates to the Plating Generator

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Screen Shot 2017-08-25 at 20.50.14

The Blender Add-On has proved very popular and based on requests, I have made some additions to the plating generator which are free to all current users:

  • Define the number of segments on the sides of the plates and within the grooves.
  • An additional option of selecting the faces for the plates as well as the grooves.
  • Add a bevel to the edges of the plates, and define the number of segments.
  • This plugin is also tested on the upcoming Blender 2.79.

A short demo video of the new features is here:

You can get the Plating Generator from here.

 

Blender Add-On: Configurable Jet Mesh

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DynamicJetFront_bnI have created a Blender add-on that will quickly create a configurable mesh in the form of a fighter jet or starfighter, available on the Blender Market.

In the past I have found it laborious and repetitive to model, mirror & subdivide the starting shape. This add-on does the job for you, first allowing you to dynamically configure the basic shape, then leaving you free to edit the base mesh by leaving the Mirror and Subdivision Surface modifiers intact.

For modellers who want to either generate different shapes for a jet or starfighter in their scenes, rapidly prototype plane concepts, or have a starting point to develop a more detailed mesh.

Features:

  • Add the Dynamic Jet mesh from the standard Add menu.
  • A range of configuration options allow you to quickly shape and concentrate on the overall design.
  • Once done, you can then move on to edit the underlying basic mesh as the modifiers are left intact.
  • Base mesh is based on quads which will help it to be quickly extended and used with other operators and add-ons.
  • The range of configurable options include: optional engines and tail wings, wing span & angle, cockpit size.
  • Also compatible with my Plating Generator add-on.

If you have a new feature suggestion or feedback on the add-on feel free to contact me through this website or through twitter @markkingsnorth.

I have also created a demo video: