For Dummies Blender, 2nd Edition 978-0-470-58446-0 User Manual
Product codes
978-0-470-58446-0
12
Part I: Wrapping Your Brain Around Blender
Making Open Movies and Games
One cool thing about the programmers who write Blender is that many of
them also use the program regularly. They’re writing code not just because
they’re told to do it, but also because they want to improve Blender for their
own purposes. Part of this motivation has to do with Blender’s open-source
nature, but it also has to do with Blender’s history as an in-house tool built
on direct artist input and sometimes written by the artists themselves.
them also use the program regularly. They’re writing code not just because
they’re told to do it, but also because they want to improve Blender for their
own purposes. Part of this motivation has to do with Blender’s open-source
nature, but it also has to do with Blender’s history as an in-house tool built
on direct artist input and sometimes written by the artists themselves.
Seeking to get even more of this direct artist feedback to developers, the
Blender Foundation launched Project Orange in 2005. The project’s purpose
was to create an animated short movie using open-source tools, primar-
ily Blender. A small team of artists was assembled in Amsterdam, in the
Netherlands, and roughly seven months later, Elephants Dream premiered
and was released as the first open movie, meaning that not only was it cre-
ated by using open-source tools, but all the production files — 3D models,
scenes, character rigs, and so on — were also released under a permissive
and open Creative Commons Attribution license. If you don’t like Elephants
Dream, you’re free to change it to your liking or use the files for something
else entirely! How many movies give you that luxury? You can see the film
and all the production files at www.elephantsdream.org.
Blender Foundation launched Project Orange in 2005. The project’s purpose
was to create an animated short movie using open-source tools, primar-
ily Blender. A small team of artists was assembled in Amsterdam, in the
Netherlands, and roughly seven months later, Elephants Dream premiered
and was released as the first open movie, meaning that not only was it cre-
ated by using open-source tools, but all the production files — 3D models,
scenes, character rigs, and so on — were also released under a permissive
and open Creative Commons Attribution license. If you don’t like Elephants
Dream, you’re free to change it to your liking or use the files for something
else entirely! How many movies give you that luxury? You can see the film
and all the production files at www.elephantsdream.org.
Due to the success of Orange, the Blender Institute was established in 2007
for the expressed purpose of having a permanent space to create open proj-
ects, as well as provide the service of training people in Blender. The first
open project from the Blender Institute was Project Peach, which, follow-
ing the model of Orange, assembled a team of artists who produced a short
comedic animation called Big Buck Bunny. Like Elephants Dream, all produc-
tion files for the Peach project were released under an open license. You can
access them at www.bigbuckbunny.org.
for the expressed purpose of having a permanent space to create open proj-
ects, as well as provide the service of training people in Blender. The first
open project from the Blender Institute was Project Peach, which, follow-
ing the model of Orange, assembled a team of artists who produced a short
comedic animation called Big Buck Bunny. Like Elephants Dream, all produc-
tion files for the Peach project were released under an open license. You can
access them at www.bigbuckbunny.org.
Not being inclined to rest on its laurels, the Blender Institute launched
Project Apricot as the team creating Big Buck Bunny was wrapping up its
production. Apricot was a project similar to Orange and Peach, but rather
than create an animated movie, the goal here was to create a video game.
The result of this was Yo Frankie!, a game based on Frankie, the leader squir-
rel character from the Big Buck Bunny project. And, of course, all the content
is freely available at the Yo Frankie Web site, www.yofrankie.org, under a
permissive Creative Commons license.
Project Apricot as the team creating Big Buck Bunny was wrapping up its
production. Apricot was a project similar to Orange and Peach, but rather
than create an animated movie, the goal here was to create a video game.
The result of this was Yo Frankie!, a game based on Frankie, the leader squir-
rel character from the Big Buck Bunny project. And, of course, all the content
is freely available at the Yo Frankie Web site, www.yofrankie.org, under a
permissive Creative Commons license.
With the completion of each project, the functionality and stability of Blender
increased by a large degree. Orange brought improved animation tools, basic
hair, and a node-based compositor. Peach provided enhanced particles for
better hair and fur, optimizations for large scenes, improved rendering, and
even better animation and rigging tools. Apricot revitalized Blender’s internal
game engine, which extended to better real-time visuals when modeling and
animating in Blender.
increased by a large degree. Orange brought improved animation tools, basic
hair, and a node-based compositor. Peach provided enhanced particles for
better hair and fur, optimizations for large scenes, improved rendering, and
even better animation and rigging tools. Apricot revitalized Blender’s internal
game engine, which extended to better real-time visuals when modeling and
animating in Blender.
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