Blender: Introduction, Modelling and Exporting 4076/GV07: Virtual Environments (VE) MSci 4th year, MSc VIVE, EngD Will Steptoe Room 6.22, Computer Science

Aims Introduce the main concepts and practical issues in constructing and understanding Virtual Environments, and how people respond to VE experiences. Use Blender to construct your VE and its inhabitants Export Blender content to XVR Develop content in XVR’s scripting language

Software Blender –Download: –Tutorials: XVR –Download: –Forums: Blender -> XVR exporter script (.aam) –Download: –Copy to: {Blender Installation Directory}\.blender\scripts\ –Help: –Make sure Blender is in Edit mode (TAB)

Blender: Interface

Blender: Viewport Acronyms –LMB:Left Mouse Button –MMB:Middle Mouse Button –RMB:Right Mouse Button Use split/join functionality to customise interface: –Hover over separator & click RMB Choose from a pop-up menu Use View menu to set different views of the scene

Blender: Navigation Click and drag MMB to rotate the view freely Hold Shift and drag MMB to pan scene on the plane Use mouse-wheel or hold Ctrl and drag MMB to zoom in and out of the scene –Press “C” and “Shift + C” to find out what they do… –Press “Z” and see what happens Also use the “Viewport Shading” button to see the different options...shortcuts for everything

Blender: Modelling Start with the Cube in your new file –Notice the camera and light source RMB (not LMB) is used to select objects –“Shift + RMB” to select multiple objects There are many modes in Blender –Object (whole objects) and Edit (vertices) modes –Use the TAB key to toggle between modes

Blender: Object and Edit modes Object mode allows you to scale, rotate and translate objects Edit mode allows you to do the same to the vertices of an object –Can’t toggle into edit mode if a Camera or Light is selected (not composed of vertices) Select an object/vertex, grab using g key and move cursor around –Or click LMB in the middle of the transform gizmo –What happens once you click on RMB or LMB after that?

Blender: Selection Tools RMB Press A:select/deselect all objects/vertices Press B:selection drag-box Press B twice:activate circular selection tool Shift+LMB:active lasso select tool –“Shift + Ctrl + LMB to activate lasso deselect tool Select some vertices, then press E, select Region in the pop-up menu, and extrude vertices –Repeat for the Vertices and Edges option in the pop-up menu

Blender: Other Functions Spacebar brings up menu similar to Maya with many functions: –Edit mode:Add new vertices and edges to parent object –Object mode: Add new object to the scene at cursor position –Make faces from vertices (also by pressing F) –Subdivide faces Move the cursor crosshair (LMB) near an object and press “L” to select associated object Press X:Delete popup menu Press Ctrl+J:Join Objects by selecting both Press Ctrl+P:Make parent-child relationship ( first selected=child) Button window for more manipulation functions

Blender: Materials, Textures, Rendering F5: Access materials and shader functions F6: Access texture functions –Play around with RGB values and Render to see effect –Play around the values in Map To and Map Input F12: Render –Rendering will be from the camera’s perspective –F3 to save rendered image as a JPEG

Blender: Export to XVR Blender -> XVR exporter script (.aam) –Download: –Copy to: {Blender Installation Directory}\.blender\scripts\ –Select objects to export in Object mode –Export to XVR (.AAM) format

The End Room 6.22, Computer Science Task: –Familiarise yourselves with Blender and XVR –Recreating your version of the PIT experiment