A couple of little ideas that would help modeling (to developers)

[dllb]

I just did a break, so I thought I could write a couple of little ideas that I felt that would help me with modeling and certainly would help others too -if they were implemented:

1. Continuous loop-animated lights during modeling OR animated environment map with some light pattern.

Purpose: To see clearly the bumps and valleys of your model while you work through the continuously slow-moving shiny reflections, without having to rotate each and every time the view, then return to what you were doing, change something and so on.

That would be useful in many cases, including in a two-window setup with front and side views, on top of the corresponding reference images in the background. It would be possible to do 10 times more work with no interruption. I bet it would help sculpting too.

(Just thought of another one for the same purpose although I bet this one has already been proposed):

2. Support for 3D monitor.

Nowadays you can have a 3D monitor for less than 200 euros with passive polarized glasses, easy on the eyes and the brain, albeit with half the horizontal resolution, or a bit more expensive full res 3D monitor with active shutter glasses if you prefer. So what would be more beneficial for a serious modeler than creating AND watching his/her 3D creation …in 3D?

3. Directional proportional edit with edge propagation capability.

Purpose: To do in just a few moves, what would take a lot of pulling and pushing of neighbor vertices and smoothing cycles, in many cases.
Example: You have a curved large edge and you set proportional edit to propagate along the edge with eg Smooth falloff at strength 0.7, while you set it to propagate to all other directions at strength 0.2 and Sphere falloff.
Now with the combination of shortcut keys and/or the mouse wheel you could change that setting while you hover the mouse above the edges (until you press enter).

Also, it would be very useful to use a desired oval shape (instead of just circular) and select the orientation of that oval shape.

[Fweeb (Jason van Gumster)]

I won’t speak to the others, but this one:

@dllb"

1. Continuous loop-animated lights during modeling OR animated environment map with some light pattern.

This is doable now (and has been for some time) in Textured view… especially with GLSL materials. Just set up a scene with your animated lights, make those lights unselectable (for safety), press Alt+A and then get to modeling.

[zeauro]

1. Take a look at Quick Prefs Add-on.
2. you can use a hook + weight paint.

[dllb]

@Fweeb

I won’t speak to the others, but this one:

This is doable now (and has been for some time) in Textured view… especially with GLSL materials. Just set up a scene with your animated lights, make those lights unselectable (for safety), press Alt+A and then get to modeling.

Thanks! I did try this before I post and I set the lights to animate, I started the animation and when I went to the modeling layout the lights appeared stopped while when I returned to the Animation layout they were rotating. So I stopped them and started them at the modeling layout with Alt+A as you said and they were rotating …but I stumbled on another issue (EDIT: BUG), my model is also going …downwards and I can’t stop it. I have deleted all the keys and it still moves. Is there a massive, all-key destroyer no-questions-asked function that will uproot all the darn keys in existence?

[dllb]

@zeauro

1. Take a look at Quick Prefs Add-on.
2. you can use a hook + weight paint.

1. I installed that and saw the settings on the N-panel, but I’m not sure how it can be useful. Any hints?
2. I have to try that.

[Fweeb (Jason van Gumster)]

@dllb

Thanks! I did tried this before I post and I set the lights to animate, I started the animation and when I went to the modeling layout the lights appeared stopped while when I returned to the Animation layout they were rotating. So I stopped them and started them at the modeling layout with Alt+A as you said and they were rotating …but I stumbled on another issue (EDIT: BUG), my model is also going …downwards and I can’t stop it. I have deleted all the keys and it still moves. Is there a massive, all-key destroyer no-questions-asked function that will uproot all the darn keys in existence?

You could go into the Dope Sheet, select all keys (A toggle), and delete them. As for your model, it sounds like you either had autokey enabled and accidentally moved your model downward (thus setting keys). It’s either that or you have some kind of physics simulation enabled for that object and it’s reacting to gravity.

[LiquidApe]

1. I installed that and saw the settings on the N-panel, but I’m not sure how it can be useful. Any hints?

I think he’s referring the the lighting presets - so you can just set up lights however you want and then save them.

[dllb]

@Fweeb

It’s either that or you have some kind of physics simulation enabled for that object and it’s reacting to gravity.

That was it! Thanks again! Obviously it was caused by a shortcut mishit as I have never used physics yet.

@LiquidApe

1. I installed that and saw the settings on the N-panel, but I’m not sure how it can be useful. Any hints?

I think he’s referring the the lighting presets - so you can just set up lights however you want and then save them.

This has many interpretations -I tried a couple and it doesn’t work as I thought - I have to invest some time to figure out it’s exact purpose.

EDIT: It’s a very good addon but it doesn’t work in texture mode where the animated lights can be used. It uses it’s own opengl lights. I don’t know if there is a workaround though.