Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Meshing about


Mesh is coming to SL.  It's already on the beta (Aditi) grid, and people are preparing for the move onto the main grid.  For those of us who are not blessed with 3DMax or Maya tools, the time has come to learn Blender.

Blender is an open source programme for 3D creation which is compatible with mesh in Second Life.  I have been learning it (or not learning it) for years.  Today I decided to update my installation, and found myself on a merry-go-round where Blender told me it couldn't find my Python installation, even though I had just installed it and... it's RIGHT THERE.  Look!  Python, on my list of programs. 

I installed and uninstalled, trying to work out how to get Blender to recognise it.  I've also been seeking out good tutorials and videos for Blender, which will teach me how to use it and not to feel like I want to kill someone.

Fortunately for me, Eelco came becack from his winter holiday and told me about Machinimatrix, which is a website written by someone in SL, who has a download of the integrated program and who does very good tutorials.  They have an irritating artificial voice, but apart from that are very well produced and very simple to follow.  I like the style a lot, and felt I learned more in one tutorial than I have learned from hours of watching people on Youtube.

So, I am beginning properly with my journey towards mesh building.  I was also sent a link to Sintel, a film made in Blender, which is amazing.