Author Topic: Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials! UPDATED: Videos!  (Read 29800 times)

Offline Jayfeather55

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Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials! UPDATED: Videos!
« on: December 12, 2014, 01:48:00 am »
New videos related to both tutorials!!!!
First post's video
Second post's video
I am FINALLY going to make a couple of tutorials on how to convert meshes. The first part of the series will be on setting up Blender 2.49 for being able to export .mesh files. It is very much like the first part of Hammy's intro to Blender with more step-by-step instructions.

PREREQUISITES:
Admin permissions and/or ability to actually change stuff on your computer!
WinRAR/7Zip
Basic understanding of how to download and install .exe/.msi files
Basic knowledge of how to navigate your main hard drive (usually C:\ or D:\)
A LOT OF PATIENCE
FIRST. You’ll probably need to download Blender as well as Python and some OGRE .xml to .mesh converters, so here are the links:

Ogre Command Line Tools
Before you get into any sort of meshing, you’re gonna need OGRECommandLineTools. Don’t worry--you don’t need to know any commands or code or anything like that for it to work.
Go here. Highlighted in red is what you want to download. (The windows one!)

Once you download the zip, you have to extract it. Its nice to make a folder in C:\ and name it OGRECommandLineTools, but you need admins permissions to do so, so put it wherever you think it will be easy to find.

Blender 2.49
For the sake of following along with my screenshots, as well as it being p easy to use, we’ll be using Blender version 2.49. As I have never tried it on a Mac or Linux, it will be a windows download. Go here to find the download. Since it's easiest to download the .exe, which is the highlighted  link:

Python 2.6.6
Next, you’ll need the corresponding version of Python [which is KEY to running Blender because it is a programming language that the scripts in Blender run on. It will make sense, trust me.] Blender 2.49 needs Python 2.6.2, but the most current version of 2.6.x works, so be sure to make your way HERE and download THIS:


Again, once you download the .msi, run and install it without changing any directories.

OGRE Exporter(Specifics for installation too)
Now, you can run Blender all fine and dandy, mesh to your hearts content, but you can’t export it as a .xml.mesh (which converts to a .mesh eventually, you’ll see). So, you need to download the OGRE mesh exporter for Blender [FYI, OGRE is what FH runs on. See definition from the OGRE wiki: OGRE (Object-oriented Graphics Rendering Engine) is an open-source graphics rendering engine that is written and maintained by a small core team, and contributed to by its ever growing community.]
ANYWAY, here is the link you want: http://www.ogre3d.org/tikiwiki/Blender+Exporter if you scroll down to the “Installation” section, you’ll see “Download and integrate the Blender Exporter. (zip | SVN)” Click on the “zip” in parenthesis, and open it with WinRAR or 7Zip. If you still have the OGRE wiki page open, you’ll see that it says “Copy ogremeshesexporter.py and subfolders to the path ...\blender\.blender\scripts. Note: .blender for Blender 2.49b (latest stable) on Windows 7 is located in C:\Users\<name>\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\.blender\scripts” If you have previous knowledge of getting to the AppData folder, you probably know how to get there. But if ya don't, SEE PICTURE


OK, so now you are in your Roaming folder. Get yourself to your .scripts folder by finding “Blender Foundation” in your Roaming folder. Once you are in BF, enter the “Blender” folder, and then the “.blender” folder inside that. Now, you should see “.scripts” in there. Open that up and bask in the glory of all the other scripts that you will be adding more to momentarily....Get your copy and paste (well, when it’s moving from a rar/zip it’s usually just select all and drag, but you get the point) skills ready, and move ALL of the stuff from the “BlenderExport.zip” to you .scripts folder, which should still be open. Voila. Now, open Blender 2.49…

THIS IS THE FUN PART. THE ACTUAL POSSIBILITY OF EXPORTING OGRE MESHES FROM BLENDER.

Step 1: Open Blender.
The Python command line should come up too. It should say “Compiled with Python version 2.6.2. Checking for installed Python… got it!” as the Blender window pops up. THIS IS A GOOD THING. (If Python is not gotted, then u gots problems. It means Python didn’t install correctly.)

Step 2: Update menus
So we've downloaded everything and opened Blender, but the program doesn’t realize that you put the export scrips in there just yet…


When you are at Scripts, the top part of the screen (where the cube and grid was before) should now be completely gray. Right next to the lil green snake (where the green arrow was pointing in da picture) You should see the word “Scripts” plz click on it and at the very top of the lil menu thing that comes up, click on “Update Menus”. Now it may seem like nothing happened…

Step 3: Make sure the menus actually updated
To check that your menus updated to include the new exporter, (quoting Hammy here) “click on the "scripts" button again. From the list, highlight "Export" and from there select "OGRE meshes". This should cause the window to be filled with some text boxes and big buttons. (some blue, others yellow).”
Honestly, this part was the most frustrating for me because “OGRE meshes” didn’t show up so I had to retry it like a billion times and then it finally worked. If at any point in this tutorial something doesn’t work right, CHECK YOUR WORK. Just like in school, kids. Make you you downloaded all the right stuff. Make sure you put it in the right folder. Also, it doesn't hurt to close out of Blender (and Python's command prompt if it doesn't close on its own) and open it again to see if the menus updated.

Step 4: Get comfy with the OGRE export screen and change defaults
Assuming that steps 1-3 work, yay now you can export OGRE meshes. But there is more to it. You need to know what to do once you click on “Scripts>Export>OGRE meshes”. In the previously big gray window, it will change to the export screen below, should you choose to export OGRE meshes...


Step 5: Tell Blender where to put your exports!
Now, when you click select, a different kinda window is there instead of the exporting screen--don’t worry, it’s just choosing where the stuff will export. It should start you off in C:\, and if you have admin permissions, your OGRECommandLineTools folder should be there. [But if it is not, you'll have to navigate to where ever you extracted the OGRECommandLineTools through Blender. Ex: if you put in on your desktop, you'll have to click on users, then your user, then desktop.] Click on that folder (where ever your OCLT extracted to) and click on “Export Directory”


Step 6: Click the big export button and see what Blender has to say about untextured cubes...
Now you are back to the OGRE exporting screen. As you can see, the export path is now C:\OGRECommandLineTools (It could be different depending on where you extracted it). So theoretically, if you were to click the big EXPORT button near the bottom left, you would export everything that is in the scene right now (which should be an untextured cube, b/c that is the default thing that loads)


Step 7: Find your exports and convert the .xml.mesh to a .mesh file
Now, make your way to your mesh export folder, and you shall see nameofmesh.xml.mesh and nameofmaterial.material. Drag the .xml.mesh onto the OGREXmlConverter. A command prompt should open up and lots of stuff will come up on it. Let it do its thing and then when it closes, look for your .mesh file! Once the .xml is converted to a .mesh, feel free to delete the .xml.

Step 8: Load the Big Scary Untextured Cube into FH
Here it comes. What you've been waiting for. Copy the .mesh and the .material (which you can open with notepad and check out if ya want, even though there shouldn't be much in it) into FeralHeart>Media>Objects>my_objects. Open FH's object maker, and when you load the mesh, type in its name. It should show up with BaseWhite as a texture!

MORE TO COME.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2017, 12:52:31 am by Warriorstrike »

Offline Jayfeather55

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Re: ITS HAPPENING. Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials!
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2014, 01:48:48 am »
STILL A WIP

It’s time to actually convert something holler. First, you need to have everything set up from up there ^^^^ and you need a file to convert. Since I usually convert .OBJ files to .MESH (I don’t know why, but it seems the easiest to me lol), we’re gonna do that today. There are several things you should keep in mind when it comes to converting:
We’ll get into uv maps and texturing later, but for now PLEASE, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, try to find files that include textures. For this tutorial, I’ll link to some websites that I use that most generally always include textures.
Keep in mind that the objects have to be fairly low poly. If not, Blender will struggle to load the object and when you test the converted object in FH’s object maker, the default lion won’t be able to move. ((This is why I use websites that are known for low poly meshes! Makes it a lot easier to deal with))
First,, download this http://opengameart.org/content/pallets and open it with 7Zip or WinRAR. Open your OCLT folder in Windows explorer, and copy the .obj and .png to that folder.

Open Blender and delete default cube.

Import .obj. See first picture on what to click to open import window, then see gif for how to get to OCLT and to select the .obj.


If you have a number pad, now is the time to use it! Turn number lock on, and press 5, and then use 8, 4, 2, and 6 to spin the camera around so you can see the pallet. As you can see, it is gray right now. We have to make the texture visible, which just makes the pallet kinda glowy-white because we have to create and assign textures, yay. [pic]

Now, right click again on the object, and select edit mode

Now  right click between both windows, and click split area and click in the middle of the big window.

On the right window, click on the # looking button and choose uv/image editor.

The object in the left window should be slightly pink with yellow lines and dots on the vertices. Next, click on the little gray sphere below the M of mesh on the left boxes header (bottom where you choose object/edit mode)

On the lower window, the objects shading window, all the way on the left click on add new under texture [pic] Now, see image to click on leopard print-y box to get to textures.

Under texture, click on none and then image on the drop down menu that comes up

Next farther right you should see image, click load. Then the “..” in the directory window your OCLT folder is visible
*note that the “..” brings you to the folder that the current folder is in (parent folder) which is why you click it a bunch to get out of the obscure blender folder and into your C:\ drive!

Once you find where you dragged the .obj and .png, click on the pallet_defuse.png and click select image. As you can see, nothing happened. You have to do uv stuff now. Make sure the left window’s object is still completely selected ((yellow and slightly pink. If not, right click on the object and press a to either deselect or select all the verts)) in the right window, you should see blue rectangles. Click the weird arrow thing and click pallet_diffuse.

Congrats, the object is textured
« Last Edit: February 28, 2017, 12:48:44 am by Warriorstrike »

Offline Jayfeather55

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Re: ITS HAPPENING. Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials!
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2014, 01:49:53 am »
Reserved nummer zwei

Offline Jayfeather55

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Re: ITS HAPPENING. Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials!
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2014, 01:50:17 am »
Reserved nummer drei.

GOPHER IT.

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Re: ITS HAPPENING. Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials!
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2014, 04:39:33 pm »
YES.
Thank you for making this. ;u; This is very helpful for those who don't know how to use Blender all that well. I've been meaning to make a tutorial on this but muurr I'm so lazy. I love that you've incorporated screenshots into your post too - Very helpful!

Offline Jayfeather55

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Re: Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials!(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2014, 12:14:07 am »
Thank you friend!
I learned how to convert using Hammy's tutorial, but I thought that a more step-by-step-idek-what-computers-are approach would be nice too, lol.
And yes screenshots are key when it comes to describing this stuff! When a person has ZERO experience with something, its sooooo nice to be able to SEE what people are talking about.

Offline Goldchocobo

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Re: Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials! UPDATED: Videos!
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2015, 01:18:40 am »
first of all: thank you.
I found it extremly hard and frustraiting to understand Hammy's tutorial but you simplified it, now I can make items and objects for FH (which I've always wanted to do)

however I've come into a problem where I can't for some reason re-size items. I tried to in blender and made the actual mesh much smaller than I originally made it, but for some reason the converter doesn't recognize the change at all, I'm wondering if you have the solution to this, as I've goggled my problem, but no one has the answer.

Offline tiges7

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Re: Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials! UPDATED: Videos!
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2015, 01:46:43 am »
Great tutorial! Blender isn't that friendly for people new to this stuff ;w; thanks so much!

Offline dragongirl1993

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Re: Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials! UPDATED: Videos!
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2015, 02:30:24 am »
I need help myself. This tutorial no longer works for thoughts of us who now have windows 10. If you could help that would be nice. Because when I download this blender it does not give me a 'scripts' folder. It now downloads different and that folder is not even there for putting the exporter in it.

Offline ge33850

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Re: Jayfeather55's Blender Tutorials! UPDATED: Videos!
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2016, 08:18:58 pm »
I got to 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Blender Foundation\Blender' and then there is no scripts folder... Help? o.o
"You're as randomly lethal and entirely confused as you ever were."  - The Cheshire Cat, Alice: Madness Returns