Lots of work has been done, here’s a (likely incomplete) list:
Exporter completely rebuild from scratch to use appleseed.python bindings, so no more export files (although those are still an option if you want)
INTERACTIVE RENDERING!
Support for archive assemblies and linked objects
Area lights
OSL now handled by the Python bindings, so no more issues with oslinfo not being found
Post Processing stages (such as render stamps and color map/isolines processing)
Adjustable motion blur segments (curved trails)
Full support of appleseed AOVs
And another big one:
appleseed is now bundled with the addon. So no more configuration woes (we hope)
Right now I only have a Windows build of the new addon. Hopefully we should have a Linux one soon.
BTW This plugin was compiled using Python 3.5, so it will only work with Blender 2.79b. It will not work with daily builds or Blender 2.8, so please don’t complain about that. If there’s demand I can post a version that will work with the daily builds of Blender’s master branch (but still not 2.8).
Any bugs or questions please let us know. We’re really excited about this release!
The documentation is lacking (although actually better than most open source projects.) I’ve had some crashes during interactive rendering. I couldn’t seem to figure out how to correctly map an image to a mesh. I guess if there was some more documentation on the material nodes it would help. It also seemed like changing the rendering to sppm didn’t change anything. Although in the last version it really did make a difference
Hi. Images need to be UV mapped to an object unless you use the triplanar mapping node. SPPM doesn’t work for interactive rendering. If you have suggestions for additional documentation by all means please share! Now would be the time to possibly create more.
Ok I did UV map but it had some gaps. I didn’t know if it needed a texture coordinate node like cycles. Also it seems as if volumetrics are supported but I didn’t see a node setup for that either. Is that in the blenderseed plugin?
Volumes are supported but not yet by OSL (which is what the node tree supports). There’s a selection menu below the preview window that lets you switch between a surface (OSL) it volume shader. Volume shader parameters will appear in the material tab when needed.
Hi all,
I just installed the latest Blenderseed & Appleseed in 2.79b, but am lost on how to hook them up.
re: this tutorial from May 2018… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylfLvjvs-bk
There is no option for Blenderseed to find Appleseed bin (?)…no materials options.
No subsurface, Lambertian BRDF, Refleftance multiplier, bump map, emission shader…nada. =(
ps- tried to upload 2 small screenshots , but didn’t work (?)
With the new release appleseed is bundled with the addon, so there is no bin parameter.
The material system now works exclusively with the node editor (unless you’re using a volume) and OSL. Unfortunately that means existing files will need to be updated.
I’m node challenged, so went back to the previous versions in the tutorial (I’d downloaded earlier, but never tried).
Blender 2.79 + BS 0.8.0 + AS 1.9.0…
Seems to be working now.
Hope newer versions will allow nodes & gui. I know nodes are awesome, but not very intuitive.
Hi @3dcal
I suggest you give the new plugin with node based materials a try. You will see that it is not much more difficult than the gui materials. You just select an object, press new material and then switch to the Compositing View. A standard Disney material is then already assigned and you can adjust the settings or replace it with an other material (Add -> Shader). You don’t need to combine several low level shader (e.g. glossy and diffuse) to define common materials, just use asDisney (easier) or asStandardSurface (more options).
appleseed switched recently to a fully OSL (Open Shading Language) based material system and in Blender it is only node based. The reason is more flexibility and in the future a unified material system among all appleseed supported DCC (Digital Content Creation) applications (3ds Max, Maya, Blender, Gaffer).
One way to view nodes is like the material or modifier panels. Left is the topmost flowing to the right / bottom. That is the execution order flows that way. Branching is more obvious in nodes but not a requirement.
I’ll try it…looks like the tutorial goes into nodes anyway.
I’ve tried using nodes many times, but still haven’t got the hang of it.
Maybe it will “click” this time.
Thanks!
Yes, when you switch to the Compositing Screen Layout the node editor, 3D-view and UV-view are shown.
The reputation of a node based material workflow being difficult comes from the early days of Cycles when one needed to add several low-level shader to define a standard material. With the addition of the Principled BSDF (Disney Shader) or similar asDisneyMaterial and asStandardSurface in blenderseed, this is not anymore necessary.
The advantage of a node based system is that it is much more flexible in defining materials as it gives you also access to many low level shader which you can arrange and combine to suit your needs.
