3D Animation with Blender

 

Track owner: Jason van Gumster (Groo)

 

3D Animation with Blender Resources Software Documentation Hardware Giveaway Ideas Other Possible Resources Sample Projects Suggested Teaching Team Return of Last Year's Instructors: Possible Guests (either for the class or for an out-of-class presentation to the whole group) Possible Issues Curriculum Development

 

Resources

Software

• Blender (blender.org) - Obviously ;)
• The GIMP (gimp.org) - Mostly secondary usage for texturing

 

Documentation

• Blender Manual
• Blender: Noob to Pro Wikibook

 

Hardware

• Absolutely Necessary
  • Most modern PC CPU/RAM configurations should work fine
  • Very important - OpenGL-capable video card with properly configured drivers. Blender plays nicest with nVidia cards, but ATI cards should work fine with current drivers.

 

• Would Be Nice
  • Wacom tablet
  • Digital still camera (for textures)

 

Giveaway Ideas

• Production workflow chart
• Hotkey cheatsheet
• Printed versions of the intro tutorials
• Live CD and/or data CD with applications (for multiple platforms) and tutorial files
• Elephants Dream (and project files)
• Sketchbooks/pencils/erasers
• Blender gear (stickers, shirts, etc.)?

 

Other Possible Resources

• BlenderArtists.org
• Blender Nation
• Blender Model Repository (if it comes back on line)
• Textures and materials available through links on the Blender.org Resources page
• Books
  • Introducing Character Animation with Blender by Tony Mullen
  • Essential Blender (to be released soon)
• Training DVDs (not so much for during the camp, but perhaps after)

 

Sample Projects

• Model, Texture, and Light a complete (but simple) scene from scratch
• Model a relatively detailed character/creature, vehicle, or building
• Create a simple object-based animation (possibly involving special effects like particles, softbodies, or fluids)
• Animate a character animation using a provided character model and rig

 

Suggested Teaching Team

Return of Last Year's Instructors:

• Jason van Gumster
• Jeffery McGregor - sadly, unavailable this year
• Jonathan Williamson

 

Possible Guests (either for the class or for an out-of-class presentation to the whole group)

• Sam Brubaker (Asheville Blender user whose animation, Infinitum, won a Suzanne Award and recently a local award in North Carolina) - CONFIRMED: Teaching!
• Bassam Kurdali (Director of Elephants Dream) - CONFIRMED: Teaching!

 

Possible Issues

• Blender 2.44 might be released before camp starts. Chances are good that it will be compiled to have support for Python 2.5 rather than Python 2.4. What version of Python is in the version of Fedora we're planning on using? - RESOLVED: Blender 2.44 has been released for Linux, compiled against both Python 2.4 and Python 2.5... we get to pick!

 

Curriculum Development

• Since we now have a better idea of what the students are capable of based on last year's results, there will be a more explicit emphasis on animation this year
• Curriculum Outline

 

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