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.
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.
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
I’ve created a video showing how you can combine basic Blender 3D modelling techniques with the Plating Generator add-on to quickly create a Sci Fi looking helmet like the one you see here. Hope it’s useful to you!
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 mapsA 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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
I 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.
My latest add-on will create many windows at once on the faces of a mesh:
The add-on has applications beyond just modelling spaceships, and would also apply when needing to quickly model many windows onto architectural buildings.
