WIP thread for my first Blender book (Issue#4 updated)

Artwork Works in Progress
#1

Hi all,

I’m now working on my first book introducing Blender in Chinese! The release may after the end of October of this year while I plan to ship it with v2.6. All features will be documented based on v2.5 and I will name the book with v2.6. This book will be a shortcut for beginners to get into the world of Blender. So there would not assume any specific 3D knowledge, I will provide quick and basic introduction to Blender. The only challenging would be how long will you focus on the blending!
There will contain total 18 chapters. For first 6 chapters there will contain basic concept and general features in UI, Mode, Modifier, Material & Texture and Lighting. The next 7 chapters will introduce Render & Env, Node & Compositing, Simulation, Animation Tool, Python Script and GE. The last 5 chapters will include 5 projects with all process details. There will present a car model, a character case, rig set & a walking cycle animation, interior with Yafray, VFX with Camera Mapping into real video sequence.
I raise this thread to present my work process and hope to get all greatful feedback and comments. Althogh the final book will using Chinese but I think screenshoot will tell most of the story. :slight_smile:
As the v2.5 is still in dev, so I plan to start from the more easier part like case introducing. I will update the final case render result in #1, and will keep upload my new process.
Regards,
congcong009

Issue#1 Audi R8

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Issue#2 Two Face

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Issue#3 Character Animation

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Issue#4 Interior by Yafaray

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#2

okey, here’s my frist case in the book.
I have worked on this for 1day, and captcured 190+ scrrenshoot pictures. I use grease pen to show the model workflow. So far not too much special but only only wanna show the ideas and rules before you create anything.

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#3

That is a good idea, the chinese will become a super power soon. So if blender is famous there we will see a lot of nice bejing movies in the future :smiley:

#4

good luck with your project, i wish the best of luck and hope a good book comes out at the end

#5

Great! Nice to see the big BWC winner make a book for his home country. :smiley: Are you also going to add the work flow of your entry in it? Or is it going to be the title page or something. It’d be a waste to not show it loud and proud like the cover of Mastering Blender has it. :slight_smile:

#6

Hi Meriabo,

Thanks for your greeting, I also hope to see more people to walk into Blender in China. :slight_smile:

Hi Tyrant Monkey,

Thanks man~ and your comments will be appreciate for me. :slight_smile:

Hi ShadowFantasy1,

Ha thanks, actually I will plan to introduce these workflow for the next chapter <character creature>, I could make a preview here that I would like to make the two-face man from bat man movie. Here I will try to explain how to model a human head, the sculpt with alpha brush, texture baking, SSS shade and hair cut in v2.5. We will see what I can do here. :slight_smile:
And regarding the cover, the publisher has their plan but I of course hope they could use my work. :slight_smile:

=============================
Update on Audi R8,
Today I have finished the modeling, shade setting, lighting and rendering. All finished in v2.5, no post at all. And I hope to get your comments for me to improve my work. Meanwhile I will move to the next chapter’s screenshot work. The theme is the two-face man :cool:

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#7

hi,
Here’s a short update for the second issue: human head.
I spend half day to create this low poly mesh and of course captured many screenshots, introduced with Gencil Pen to guide on the line and structure.
Maybe I could put this into Blending Life:D

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#8

So far this is the update, not sure Blending life would accept such creature~ :stuck_out_tongue:

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#9

more and more close to my mind~ still want more poly then move to the next sculpt scope~:p

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#10

太好了！

Unfortunately that’s about the extent of my Chinese, so I won’t be able to read your book any time soon but I hope your project goes well. :yes:

#11

Thanks, Codexus, your Chinese quite good~ :slight_smile: anyway I will try to translate part of my work to English and share with all.
As the sculpt still in dev not completely delivered, so I decide to leave the head to this step. Will plan to work on sculpt in the next version’s steady lease.
So I moved forward to the next interior chapter. Not plan to work on the render setting, So now this will be the example scene setting. :yes:

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#12

Great work so far, the book looks very promising. I have to ask, however, if now is a good time to make such a book? If you’re using 2.46 for this book and that’s the version you plan to include, then if your readers uppgrade to any version past 2.5, they will be confused. I assume it will take at least a year for you to finish and publish your book and by that time 2.5 should be completed and we should be moving on to 2.6. At this point, I am assuming all subsequent version updates will be using the 2.5 UI as well.
Making the book with 2.5 at this point may be difficult as well because it is still buggy.
I could be wrong though, you certainly do seem to know what you’re doing :slight_smile:

#13

Hi,
Yes I agree with that function are still not proper to be documented, so now I was just preparing the example scenes. So far what I have done is only modeling and simple constraint setting. These seems won’t change too much in the future. You can see I stopped some chappters and wait for the function final release. The R8 render is just for fun :stuck_out_tongue: A bigger len camera will used for the final render cos now it does’t looks like R8 style IMO.
I’m plan to prepare sufficient and then start to work on the writing, the timeline is prepared by the publisher cos they need a time sheet for schedule. Any way I think I will push the deadline forward and I will walk along with Durian project.
Making a v2.5 book is difficult :yes:, name it v2.5 or v2.6 both will be long time plan so I will not rush for it. As the note v2.6 will be the prod for v2.5 so that’s why I plan to name and publish it after v2.6. I want reader to follow the new upgrade so all old version before v2.49 won’t be included here. Meanwhile in China Blender is quite fresh so this should be more than like an introduction and guide but not tech upgrade. Thanks for your concern, I will try my best to work on this. :eyebrowlift:

#14

我希望這本書是好的。這會令我非常開心。在這裡，在中國我一直在努力學習攪拌器，但它是一個非常艱苦而漫長的進程。是有緣千里來相會。

just kidding :slight_smile: (i used google translator)

good luck on your book!

#15

hi bojo600,
:yes:I got your meaning ha~ google translator sucks :smiley:

Here’s a small character which I plan to explain the rig setting and animation tool. Really simple character. No rig yet cos I plan to wait for the later release. :slight_smile:

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#16

I think your book is going to be really good judging by what you have produced so far. Shame my own chinese isn’t that good, but luckily I did see a mention of an English version of your book!

#17

thanks man~ I would try my best on this :slight_smile:

Here I would like to update the final render for R8 chapter. Hope you like it.

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#18

I see major aliasing issues, but I like the car.

#19

Dear all,

It’s been months I didn’t do any update. And I’m still working on this.:o Hard long road to record everything for Blender as I don’t have any Chinese reference, only some partly Wiki doc.
Good news is I have finished the first 9 chapters, now working on the CH10(Node system).
The 2.5 is more and more amazing, and I have put many notes for every new function release. Plan to update them after some days once I’m working on the review.
Here I would like to share some of the screen shoots for some chapter, they could not tell the whole story but it’s fun to see what will happen.
I hope you like them.
:slight_smile:
Regards,
congcong009

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#20

more screenshoots~ :smiley:

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