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Hey guys, thought I'd start a little dump thread for Blender work.

I'd consider myself to be an 'intermediate' level user when it comes to Blender and I use it specifically for exporting game ready assets to DBpro and AppGameKit, so that is where my posts will mostly be focused. This assumes some basic knowledge of Blender specifically, and of of modelling in general. There are lot's of good 'getting started' tutorials out there already so I'm not going to spend a lot of time explaining how to unwrap and texture a cube or the like but I thought I'd share some of the techniques and workflows that I have settled into over the years, and as usual, it's as much about working to get better myself as it is to help anyone else.

First off, some of the interface settings and customizations that I use and find helpful are:

File > User Preferences > Input Tab >

Check 'Emulate 3 button mouse' - This option lets you move the view around with the left mouse while holding Alt instead of the default middle mouse.

Set 'Undo' > 'Steps' to something larger, be careful though as the application will use more RAM the higher you set this, so it depends on what your system can handle. 64 Steps is pretty decent, and rarely hits 4 GB even on fairly large files. (If you are not using the 64 bit version of Blender, you should!)

Expand '3D View' > '3D View (Global) >

Remap 'Set 3D Cursor' to Alt + Middle Mouse
Remap 'Center View to Cursor' to Alt + Numpad 0

Now, Left Mouse by itself is basically reserved for using brushes in scuplt and paint modes. In most other modes, it does nothing. It's been a while since I used the default controls, but I seem to remember having left mouse conflicts between setting the cursor, managing the view, and actually using the brush tools. This set up just works really nicely for me.

Next, we want to enable some handy add-ons:

File > User Preferences > Add-ons Tab >

The 2 most important for me are:

'3D View: Dynamic Context Menu' - this brings back the 'dynamic space bar' menu from the older 2.4x versions
'DirectX Exporter' - of course exports to .x format for use with DBPro and AGK.

There are a ton of nice tools and options in here though, and it is worth taking some time to look through the list.

I also go to the File Tab and set 'Save Versions' to 0 so my storage doesn't fill up with a bunch of .blend1 and .blend2 files.

Anyway, today I will drop you in to a bit of scultping.

At this point I am working on mid-level detail on the pants. This is at, I think, 4 sub-divisions (multires, not subsurf) on a fairly low poly base mesh. (the legs are only 4 or 5 quad segments long and 12 around)

I typically sculpt at 3 or 4 subdivisions, sometimes I'll push it to 5 if I am just not getting the forms or smoothness needed, but it is better to start at low resolution and work your way up, spending time with the underlying forms at each level. If you rush straight to sub 5 or higher, you will often get 'muddy' / lumpy surfaces. I also work with very low strength brushes building up forms over time.

The vast majority of my sculpting work uses just a couple of the same brushes: Layer, Smooth, Flatten, and Crease. Every now and then I'll take out Inflate or Nudge for certain touch - ups and that's about it.

No audio sorry, but I'm happy to field questions! Enjoy.

Hello people. Another week, more Blender work. This time I am diving into detailing the skin.

Blender's sculpt mode is fantastic, but it does still struggle with geometry resolution high enough to handle full body micro detail such as pores, wrinkles, and hair. One technique to deal with this is to add such details into a bump map through texture paint instead of straight up sculpting them. A nice benefit to this approach in addition to keeping performance high, is that it is non-destructive to the geometry and the larger forms that have been sculpted.

Don't forget though, these details go both up and down, so you will actually want to paint 2 maps, one with a + normal value and one with a - normal value.