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Hard Surface Texture Painting Extra – Peeling Paint

I’ve seen this effect so much in Substance Painter and figured out a way to achieve the same thing in Blender. Paint peeling from the edges of worn away areas that you can paint in real-time. It adds an extra touch of detail and realism for your really worn, beat-up objects!

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My Advice for becoming a VFX artist

Since starting this blog, I’m emailed a couple times a week by people asking for advice about the VFX industry. I’m usually asked:

  • How do I get started in the VFX industry?
  • How can I become really good at VFX?
  • What goes on my resume/reel? Will you look at it?
  • Everyone says I have to learn Maya/Nuke/Houdini, is that true?
  • Do I need a degree?
  • Can I learn online?
  • Where can I get started learning Blender/Nuke/Natron?
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Semi-Automatic Matchmoving

Everyone using Blender for matchmoving still hopes that some day soon we’ll get the big green button for full automatic tracking and camera solving. I’m happy to show you that the tools for automatic tracking are already in there (well, mostly). Most matchmoves do not have to be a supervised track and camera solve.

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Christmas Donation Tutorial Contest!

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Hi everyone! The holiday season is here, and regardless of what you celebrate, we can probably all agree it’s a wonderful time to spend with friends and family. Every year at this time, a few friends and I volunteer at a local Los Angeles girls orphanage to throw a Christmas party for the girls there who either don’t have families or won’t be able to be with them during the holidays. For most of these girls, it’s the highlight of their year. (more…)

BlenderGuru Podcast

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In a pleasant turn of events, it just so happens that both Ton Roosendaal and Andrew Price are here in Los Angeles for a few weeks, both working on different business-related things. With Colin Levy now a local resident, we all couldn’t resist getting together at a local Taiwanese restaurant for a fun evening. (more…)

Stretching & tearing cloth in Blender

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At work this week, I came across a problem I wasn’t sure how to solve. I would never call myself a Blender expert, especially in the area of simulations, and even more especially when dealing with cloth or soft bodies, so it didn’t surprise me that I couldn’t figure this out. Thankfully, the magical hive-mind of Twitter came to the rescue. More specifically, a Blender user from Bulgaria named Syziph. (more…)

Siggraph 2017

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I’m not sure if this was my 4th or 5th Siggraph. I’ve been attending the conference since I began using Blender professionally, invited by Ton to help work the booth and chat with people about using Blender for visual effects. Siggraph become one of the highlights of my year. I’ll be completely honest with you, though – I’m probably not the best person to write about Siggraph. I do not take full advantage of the convention. I don’t go to talks, don’t attend the parties, don’t get to visit every booth on the exhibit floor, and I don’t pick up a Pixar teapot. (more…)