Blender

Material Greenscreen

https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/93922

Every so often it’s good to take a bit of greenscreen footage, place it like a cardboard cutout in a 3D scene, and do some nice smooth CG camera moves.

Now you can key out the greenscreen within material nodes!

Credits in order of appearance:
Little House by dono
Aquarius Loading theme from Super Carling the Spider by Joe Dixon
Floppy Disk Drive Write by mrauralization
Material Girl by Madonna arranged for C64 by Sami Sepp
Photo by Eugene Capon from Pexels
Peacock by Magdabed

Eevee + Alpha : Bloom

Rendering bloom with an alpha layer in Eevee is not straight forward – but it’s not that hard either. This tutorial assumes you’ve already made the smoke, and are now hunting for that elusive transparency.

Maturation and Prelude Grandiose – Trailer

For a while now I have been working with artist Unus Safardiar creating CGI visualisations for giant kinetic sculptures … and, working with fellow Blender user Peter Applerock, we created what turned out to be an incredibly complex artwork to be undertaken by such a small team :

A video artwork to be displayed on a 20m x 4m screen seamlessly looping with no cuts, multiple moving parts, close integration of CGI elements with human actors, morphs between actors, and complex mechanical rigs.

While the neck and head morph was done in After Effects, the greenscreening and compositing of the helm was done in Blender, which allowed for 3D elements to appear both infront and
behind the actors, and the light of the flames to reflect on the actor’s head.

We are planning to show the final video alongside some of Unus’s giant kinetic sculptures on number of galleries in Russia, England and Germany (and perhaps more) in 2019 including
The Federation Tower, Moscow (the tallest building in Europe) and The Saatchi Gallery, London.

Eevee + Alpha : Volumetric Lighting

Creating volumetric lighting (or spotlights in the fog) in Blender with an alpha layer.

This concentrates on the creation of an alpha layer – there already tutorials on the volumetric lighting it’s self.

Eevee + Alpha : Smoke

A BUG-FIX IN BLENDER 2.8 HAS MADE THIS EASIER!!! Make sure that your version of Blender 2.8 was released on or after 3rd Jan 2019.

Rendering smoke with an alpha layer in Eevee is not straight forward – but it’s not that hard either. This tutorial assumes you’ve already made the smoke, and are now hunting for that elusive transparency.

The .blend files can be found here: https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/93211

Note – 40% faster refers to the tutorial being 40% shorter – not counting intro and outro.

Manuel Bastioni LAB, Rhubarb Lipsync + Blender Tutorial

This time – using Rhubarb with Manuel Bastioni LAB!

TIMINGS:
00:00 – Intro
00:29 – Installing addons
01:46 – Setting up a Manuel Bastioni LAB charactor
03:00 – The MANY shapekeys of Manuel Bastioni
05:04 – The five shapekeys that we care about
06:39 – Setting up drivers
13:36 – Setting up the pose library
17:52 – Running Rhubarb

LINKS:
Manuel Bastioni LAB:
http://www.manuelbastioni.com/

Rhubarb Lipsync:
Site: https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync
Download: https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync/releases

Rhubarb addon for Blender:
https://github.com/scaredyfish/blender-rhubarb-lipsync

Relevent shapekey names:
Expressions_mouthOpen_max
Expressions_tongueTipUp_max
Expressions_mouthOpenO_max
Expressions_mouthOpenO_min
Expressions_mouthLowerOut_min

Blender + Rhubarb Lipsync : Shapekeys

The second of a set of two tutorials: different approaches to using Rhubarb Lipsync with Blender. This one is on animating a mouth with shapekeys – the first is on stopmotion-style animation.

00:00 - Intro
00:23 - Downloading and installing the addon and project files
01:12 - Intro to the blendfile and its shapekeys
02:45 - Set up the armature
04:48 - Set up the drivers
05:28 - Attach drivers to bones
11:15 - Pose Library
13:20 - Preparing Rhubarb - importing sound

RHUBARB LIPSYNC is an open-source automated lipsync program by Daniel S Wolf. It was used on the 2017 Ron Gilbert adventure game Thimbleweed Park.
Rhubarb Lipsync Page: https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync
Rhubarb Lipsync Download: https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync/releases

The RHUBARB LIPSYNC BLENDER ADDON for it is by Scaredyfish: https://github.com/scaredyfish/blender-rhubarb-lipsync

The BLEND FILES used in the tutorial can be downloaded here:
https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/92431

The MOUTH REFERENCE IMAGE can be found here:
http://yogyog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/shaperef.png

SISTER TUTORIAL: Blender + Rhubarb Lipsync : Stopmotion Style

Blender + Rhubarb Lipsync : Stopmotion Style

The first of a set of two tutorials: different approaches to using Rhubarb Lipsinc with Blender. This one is on stopmotion-style animation – cutting between different mouth models – the second will use shape keys.

00:00 - Intro
00:23 - Downloading and installing the addon and project files
01:12 - Setting up the rig
03:48 - Setting up the Pose Library
06:19 - Preparing to run Rhubarb Lipsinc
10:49 - Adjusting the keyframes

RHUBARB LIPSYNC is an open-source automated lipsync program by Daniel S Wolf. It was used on Thimbleweed Park.
Rhubarb Lipsync Page: https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync
Rhubarb Lipsynce Download: https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync/releases

The RHUBARB LIPSYNC BLENDER ADDON for it is by Scaredyfish: https://github.com/scaredyfish/blender-rhubarb-lipsync

The BLEND FILES used in the tutorial can be downloaded here:
https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/92431

The MOUTH REFERENCE IMAGE can be found here:
http://yogyog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/shaperef.png

Free Automated Lipsync: Blender, Makehuman + Rhubarb

NEWS FLASH!

We can now do fully automated nine-phoneme lipsinc, using the same Program that Ron Gilbert and his team used on Thimbleweed Park.

Rhubarb Lipsync is created by Daniel S Wolf, and the Blender addon is created by Scaredyfish.

There are a lot of links in this tutorial, so here goes…

First there’s the software:

  • Rhubarb Lipsinc Download Page:
    https://github.com/DanielSWolf/rhubarb-lip-sync/releases
  • Rhubarb Lipsinc Blender Addon:
    https://github.com/scaredyfish/blender-rhubarb-lipsync

And then some bits I created myself:


I was really exited to discover this – even if it makes my previous tutorials obsolete!

 

Lipsinc for the Lazy in Blender 2: Realism

As promised – lazy lipsinc with realistic human models – from Makehuman, ManualBastioniLAB or wherever.

From MakeHuman to Blender with IK and Face Controls Tutorial

Personally, I’m using a model imported from Makehuman using this method ➡️
but other realistic humans are available.

The technique for lazy animation for realistic humans is a little different to lazy animation for more cartoony characters: The movement has to be more subtle.

00:55 – Creating shapekeys
08:45 – Setting up drivers
18:07 – Facial expression
19:15 – Recording body animation

I hope you all find this helpful.

From MakeHuman to Blender with IK and Face Controls

From MakeHuman to Blender with IK and Face Controls

Don’t worry – I’ll get back to the Lipsinc for the Lazy series, but this is a necessary detour… Whether it had to be quite such an elaborate tutorial, and whether I had to make it a Ru Paul’s Drag Race spoof… I really don’t know. While under 10 mins this took around as long to make as the 50 min crowd tutorial!

Anyhow – this is about The MHX2 format (MakeHuman eXchange 2) which allows you to import into Blender with a full IK rig and facial controls.

MakeHuman Blender Addons

Then there’s three I decided to host myself. I didn’t create these addons: they’re made by the Makehuman Team.  All I did was zip them up individually ready for you to download and install in Blender by going LINK

  • MAKEWALK Enables you to import motion capture data in .bvh format. looks like it also works with
  • MAKETARGET Enables you to create custom shapes for the Makehuman body mesh in Makehuman
  • MAKECLOTHES Enables you to create clothes, hair, and other accessories in Makehuman.

Also, feel free to download How to Install Blender Addons in 8 Seconds and use it in your own tutorials.  This has the credits already added.

I would like to thank these videos for teaching me:
Import MakeHuman Files to Blender for Mac (Tutorial)
MakeHuman to Blender with IK Bones and Motion Capture (Tutorial)

Lipsinc for the Lazy

LIPSINC for the LAZY on Blender.

Episode 1: Tweened Cartoon.

A quick and simple way to animate dialog.

This would be ideal for a youtuber who wants to represent themselves as an avatar, or quickly animating a cartoon that mostly consists of dialog.

On later episodes I’m going to look at using more realistic characters (EG from Makehuman), and stop-motion – style characters, with replacement mouths and faces.

00:17 Touching up your sound in Audacity
00:54 Important setup steps
01:12 Import the sound
01:51 Add shape Keys
03:31 Shapekeys react to audio
06:05 Shapekeys for exressions
09:22 Animate expressions
10:17 Why don’t we use actions for the body?
11:52 Setting up a pose-lib
12:14 Animating the body

A slightly more advanced version of the character can be found here: https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/92042

Creating a Crowd in Blender and Makehuman

Part 1: Makehuman___________________________00:57
Part 2: The Gimp____________________________05:11
Part 3: Importing into Blender______________09:26
Part 4: Materials___________________________10:14
Part 5: Correcting FBX rotation wierdness___12:52
Part 6: Setting up variations in Edit Mode__13:37
Part 7: Randomising Materials 1_____________17:06
Part 8: Modulo Explained____________________19:53
Part 9: Randomising Materials 2_____________22:14
Part 10: Setting up simple IK_______________24:06
Part 11: Adding black people________________28:35
Part 12: The Particle system________________32:08
Part 13: Animation: Setting up actions______37:23
Part 14: Animation: combining the actions___47:32

Blender and a Bad Greenscreen – tutorial

getting a good matte from bad greenscreen footage in Blender Compositor.

Blender Tesla Coil Lightning Tutorial

Blender Tesla Coil Lightning Tutorial

Part 1: Modelling __________________________ 0:39
Part 2: Modifiers __________________________ 3:25
Part 2B: Variations ________________________ 8:26
Part 3: Materials and compositing _________ 10:00
Part 4: Animation _________________________ 13:06
Addendum: _________________________________ 15:28

Blender Tutorial: Tesla Coil Lightning

Blender Tutorial: Tesla Coil Lightning

Part 1: Modelling __________________________ 0:39
Part 2: Modifiers __________________________ 3:25
Part 2B: Variations ________________________ 8:26
Part 3: Materials and compositing _________ 10:40
Part 4: Animation _________________________ 13:38
Addendum: _________________________________ 16:00

Scrapyard Beach Robot Uprising

Scrapyard Beach Robot Uprising

Design and animation by Mike Futcher yogyog.org

Live-action video by Dan Hart

Robot built using components from Custom KL2 Diesel tractor by Betasector https://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/50414

Between the Earth and Sky : Helix

Between the Earth and Sky : Helix

Sculpture by Unus Safardiar
CGI by Mike Futcher

Search for Immortality : Capsule

Search for Immortality : Capsule

Sculpture by Unus Safardiar
CGI by Mike Futcher

Luk Oil Building Sculptures

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=yF7X7BVxx4s

Luk Oil Building Sculptures

Sculptures by Unus Safardiar
CGI by Mike Futcher

Real Motion
Source of Global Energy
Rise of the Biotechnogenic Age

Spinning Wheel by Tsunami Section

Spinning Wheel by Tsunami Section

Animation by Studio YogYog

Live Action Director and Producer: Light Engine Films

13 TEETH

Short film and accompanying interviews created from Sheffield Festival of the Mind

Accompanying interviews:

To quote the festival’s press:

“Mike Futcher and Mark Gwynne Jones’s short film is a gothic thriller about a man who thinks the voices in his head are coming from his teeth. His quest to extract them (eek!) leads to a shocking revelation.
Based on Gwynne Jones’s narrative poem, the film mixes live action and animation to brilliantly unsettling effect. A rare exponent of dentistry noir, it asks the big question: what is behind consciousness?
In the accompanying documentary, The Making of 13 Teeth, Sheffield academics talk us through some of the film’s most striking images, including skeletons, nerves and teeth.
The film is unsuitable for young children.”

Unus Safadiar Sculpture Showreel

visualizations of giant kinetic sculptures designed by London-based Russian sculptor Unus Safardiar http://www.unussafardiar.com/ . As his sculptures are often around 20 meters high with several moving parts, Unus works with a 3D artist in the proposal phase. Two of these proposed sculptures are currently being built in Federation Towers: the tallest building in Russia:

Search for Immortality: Capsule, shown in the video at 1:00, will be 470cm x 110cm x 1800cm when built.
Between the Earth and the sky: Helix 1:47 will be 2700cm x 550cm x 550cm when built.
They will be completed in the autumn.

The sculpture at 1:30 is designed by Vitarli Vin.

Armagideon Time

Ol Man Jonny

Featuring guest star Vin ‘Trommie’ Gordon
Joe ’90’ Wood, Chelly ‘Ol’ Man’ Bee, Dave ‘Ol’ Man’ Fullwood, Errol ‘Ol’ Man’ Brown

Animation by Yogyog.org
Produced by Lightengine Films
Charactor Design: Zaneta
Horse model by Bigmouse
Basemesh by BenSimonds

“Armagideon Time” was originally released by Willi Williams in 1978. It was famously covered by The Clash in 1979.

Open Source Video Editing – Lesson 11: Addons: Easy Logging

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 11: Addons: Easy Logging

Here we look at the excellent addon
http://easy-logging.net

Allowing us to use a three point edit, finding a shortclip within a longer clip, and adding it to the timeline.

Open Source Video Editing – Lesson 10: Blender Addon: VSE Transform Tools

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 10: Blender Addon: VSE Transform Tools

This shows how to install Blender Addon: VSE Transform Tools from
https://github.com/kgeogeo/VSE_Transform_Tools

Keypresses covered:
T – transform strip
G : Grab
(X move only along X dimension – Y only along Y dimension)
ALT-G : Return to original position
S : Scale
(X scale only along X dimension – Y scale only along Y dimension)
ALT-S : Return to original size
R : Rotate
ALT-R : Return to original orientation

Open Source Video Editing – Lesson 9: Blender addons: Jump to Cut

Open Source Video Editing –
Lesson 9: Blender addons: Jump to Cut

This teaches how to install Blender addons to make Blender better for editing video.
This Addon: Jump To Cut by Carlos Padial is available from
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Sequencer/Jump_to_cut

Open Source Video Editing – Lesson 8 : Speeding and Reversing

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 8 : Speeding and Reversing

This lesson covers
Reversing footage (playing backwards)
Speeding up and slowing down – various ways of doing this,ending with the one I believe to be the most practical. This method uses Metastrips, which are covered in this lesson: https://youtu.be/yVS-vVPo6g8

Open Source Video Editing Lesson 7 : Hiding and Metastrips

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 7 : Hiding and Metastrips

This lesson includes
Hiding strips with H
Unhiding strips with Alt H
Grouping strips with CONTROL G to create metastrips
Ungrouping strips with CONTROL ALT G

Open Source Video Editing Lesson 6: Keyframes and Scaling

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 6: Keyframes and Scaling

Keyframes (Create with I, delete with ALT I)
Opacity / transparency
Offset and Cropping
Transform effect (move, scale and rotate)
Fancy use of strip ordering, transparencies, and modification layers
Use of curves in video editing view for linear keyframing

Open Source Video Editing Lesson 5: Colour Correction and Wipes

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 5: Colour Correction and Wipes

The covers:
SHIFT UP to expand the current panel
The video editing view and why I’m not recommending it
HOME to zoom to view everything
KEYPAD . to zoom into selected object
Saturation
Modifiers
Adjustment layers (for applying modifiers to multiple clips)
Wipe transition

Open Source Video Editing Lesson 4: Editing

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 4: Editing

This covers:
S-click to select
shift-right-click to select multiple clips
Key presses depends on what area of the screen the mouse-arrow is over
Adding video, audio, images and transition effects through menus or with Shift A
Box selection with B
Cut clips with K
Move clips around with G
Using this more precisely by typing in numbers or by pressing Y to move the clip in the y direction only
Deleting clips with the DELETE key

Open Source Video Editing Lesson 3: File Systems

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 3: File Systems

How to organise the files that make up a project so that the entire project an be moved between computers.

Open Source Video Editing Lesson 2: Setting up Blender

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 2: Setting up Blender

How to find the video editor within Blender, Play with synchronised Audio and Video, and export videos with sound.

Open Source Video Editing – Lesson 1: Downloading Blender

Open Source Video Editing
Lesson 1: Downloading Blender

As promised – how to install the latest Blender on (ubuntu) Linux:

Open up terminal, and copy and paste the following lines into it.
After the first line it will ask you for your computer’s password. Type it in (as you type nothing will appear on the screen). The computer will also ask you to say yes/no (tap key Y or N) after some of the lines.

Here are the lines of code:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:thomas-schiex/blender
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install blender

I hope that helps.

Even The Kitchen Sink

Do you wish you could take EVERYTHING on holiday?

3D Showreel