Monday, October 14, 2024

Post 25/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Advanced Cloth Simulation (Interaction with Objects)

Goal: Learn how to simulate a cloth interacting with other objects in your scene for more realistic physics-based animations.


Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Open Blender: Start by opening Blender and creating a new project.
  2. Set Up Your Cloth Object:
    • Add a Plane: Go to the top menu, click on Add > Mesh > Plane. This will serve as your cloth.
    • Resize the Plane: Press S and move your mouse to scale the plane to the desired size for the cloth.
  3. Create an Object for the Cloth to Interact With:
    • Add a Sphere or Cube: Click on Add > Mesh > UV Sphere or Cube. This will be the object that the cloth interacts with.
    • Position the Object: Move the object below the plane by selecting it and pressing G (grab) and then Z to constrain movement along the Z-axis. Place it just underneath the plane.
  4. Apply Cloth Physics to the Plane:
    • Select the plane (cloth), then navigate to the Physics Properties panel (right-hand side menu, icon resembling bouncing ball).
    • Click Cloth under the physics types. This adds cloth simulation to the plane.
  5. Adjust Cloth Settings:
    • In the Cloth Physics tab, you can modify the default settings to get different results. For now, you can stick with the default settings but feel free to adjust Quality Steps for more detailed cloth behavior (increasing this value will make the simulation smoother but slower).
  6. Make the Object a Collision Object:
    • Select the object (e.g., the sphere or cube), go to the Physics Properties tab again, and this time click Collision.
    • This ensures that the cloth will collide with the object and not pass through it during the simulation.
  7. Simulate the Cloth Interaction:
    • Press Spacebar to play the animation. The cloth will fall and drape over the object due to gravity, simulating interaction between the cloth and the object.
  8. Fine-tune the Simulation:
    • Pause the simulation and tweak cloth properties under the Cloth Physics tab, such as Bending (for stiffness) or Damping (to control the energy lost during the motion).
    • You can also adjust the Collision settings under the object to change the way the cloth interacts with it.
  9. Add Lighting and Camera:
    • Add a Light Source: Go to Add > Light > Point or Sun and position it so that it illuminates the cloth and the object.
    • Set Up the Camera: Press Numpad 0 to view through the camera. Adjust the camera position and angle by selecting the camera and using G to grab and move it, or R to rotate it.
  10. Render the Simulation:
    • Once you're satisfied with the simulation, go to the Render Properties panel (camera icon on the right-hand menu).
    • Set up Output Settings like resolution and frame rate.
    • Render Animation: Once everything looks good, press F12 to render an image or Ctrl + F12 to render the animation.
  11. Shareable Visual:
    • Save the rendered animation or image and share it! Your result should be a visually realistic cloth draping and interacting with the solid object.

Source:
ChatGPT


Day 21: Blender tutorial for making illustrations – Syncing Audio and Visuals for Better Engagement

Today, you’ll focus on improving viewer engagement by syncing your voice narration with key visual elements in your Blender illustrations. Syncing audio and visuals helps guide the viewer through the material and ensures the narration complements the animations.

Step-by-Step Guide for Day 21:


Step 1: Prepare the Audio

  • Record the Voiceover: Use any audio recording tool (e.g., Audacity, your phone’s voice recorder) to record the narration that will accompany your video.
  • Save as WAV/MP3: Ensure your voiceover file is saved in a common format like .wav or .mp3 to import into Blender easily.

Step 2: Set Up Your Blender Scene

  • Open Blender: Start a new project or open your previous project with the illustration or flowchart.
  • Check Timeline & FPS: In the timeline at the bottom, check your frames-per-second (FPS) settings, which determines the smoothness of animation playback. For standard videos, set FPS to 24 or 30 frames per second.

Step 3: Import the Audio

  • Go to Video Sequence Editor:
    1. Change the workspace layout by switching to "Video Editing" from the top menu.
    2. In the lower half of the screen, switch the editor type to "Video Sequence Editor" to display your video editing timeline.
  • Add the Audio:
    1. Press Shift + A or click Add in the Video Sequence Editor.
    2. Select Sound and browse to your audio file (voiceover). This will add your narration into the timeline.

Step 4: Match Visuals with Audio

  • Scrub Through Audio: Move the playhead through your audio track to listen and find key moments where certain visuals should appear or move.
  • Add Keyframes for Sync:
    1. Select an object (e.g., text or shape) in your scene that needs to sync with the audio.
    2. Move the playhead to the exact frame where the object should appear or start animating.
    3. Press I to add a keyframe for the object (you can keyframe properties such as location, rotation, or visibility).
  • Adjust Timing: Use the timeline and move keyframes forward or backward until the visuals match the narration perfectly.
  • Tip: If you have multiple objects to sync, break down the audio in sections and animate each section one at a time.

Step 5: Fine-Tuning Sync

  • Add Transitions or Delays: To make transitions between visuals smoother, consider using Blender’s animation easing functions (like Ease In/Out) to make visuals appear or disappear gently.
  • Visual Cues for Important Points:
    1. Add emphasis to critical points in your narration by animating visual effects such as highlighting a text, zooming into a diagram, or changing the color of a flowchart element.
  • Test Playback: Play your animation with audio multiple times to see if everything is perfectly in sync.

Step 6: Adjust Audio Timing (If Necessary)

  • Trim or Shift Audio: If necessary, go back to the Video Sequence Editor and adjust the audio by moving it left or right on the timeline or trimming unnecessary parts.

Step 7: Export the Final Animation with Audio

  • Set Output Format: In the output properties (right-side panel), set your render format to an appropriate video format like FFmpeg for video and audio. Choose MPEG-4 under the Encoding options.
  • Render: Once everything is synced perfectly, go to Render > Render Animation to export your animation as a video with synced audio.

Outcome:

By the end of today, you will have successfully synced your voiceover with key visual moments in your animation, making the video more engaging and easier for viewers to follow.

This skill is crucial for creating educational videos that captivate the audience, helping them stay engaged with both your visuals and the concepts you explain through voiceovers.

 

Source:
ChatGPT


Five well-known societies in Islamabad, considering real estate business

(Source: Pixabay)

In Islamabad, some of the well-known societies include ParkView City, Capital Smart City, Lakeshore residencia, New City Paradise, and Kingdom Valley. All of these societies have already achieved their NOC, except ParkView City for which Phase 2 (extension) is going to be approved soon.

Capital Smart City is the project of Habib Rafiq Group, and is developing near new Airport. This project has also an approved its own interchange on Motorway. Most of the residential areas, amenities, and commercial areas have already been developed in this project. It has also started an Overseas West Block, which is also closely adjusted to interchange. DHA Gandhara project is also adjacent to this society. Nevertheless, the Overseas West project in this society has different options of plots, including 5 marlas, 7 marlas, 10 marlas, and 1 kanals.

ParkView City, Phase 2, also has residential plots of 5 marlas, 10 marlas, and 1 kanals. This plot has some of the most attractive amenities, such as dancing fountains and food court. The return on investment is also higher in this area. For instance, 5 marla plots were purchased by people in the price range of 35 lacs but now they are at a price of about 1 crore 30 lacs.

Lakeshore city is available near Khanpur Dam. It is such a project in which KPK is also interested. It is also one of the most beautiful projects. It has different plot options, including 5 marlas, 7 marlas, and 10 marlas.

The New City Paradise is near Burhan Interchange. It suits very much to the people from KPK and Hazara, or Wah Cantt. Or Attock. It’s 5 marla plots are attractive options.

Eventually, Kingdom Valley is a project developing at Chakri Road. It can also be considered one of the most marketed projects in Pakistan. A project, namely BlueWorld City, is also located near this project, but it was an unsuccessful project, despite the investments of overseas people, because of its NOC.

Source:

Saad Ali Khan - Big Discounts & Exclusive Real Estate Deals: Discover Islamabad's Top 5 Trending Housing Societies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDKeuWvaL5s

Sunday, October 13, 2024

Post 24/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Creating Realistic Glass with Refraction in Blender

 

Goal: Learn to create realistic glass materials with refraction and render a visually appealing glass object that distorts light.


Step-by-Step Guide:

1.     Open Blender & Set Up a New Scene:

    • Open Blender and create a new project by selecting FileNew.
    • Delete the default cube by right-clicking it and pressing X to remove it.
    • Press Shift + A to open the add menu and choose a new object (e.g., a sphere or cylinder) to act as your glass object. This will be your primary subject for refraction.

2.     Setting Up Glass Material:

    • Select your object, and in the right-hand panel, switch to the Shading workspace.
    • With the object selected, click on the Material Properties (the sphere icon) and click New to create a new material.
    • In the Shader Editor, under the Principled BSDF shader, set the following:
      • Base Color: Leave this as it is (optional: slightly tint it if you want colored glass).
      • Transmission: Set this to 1.0 to make the object transparent like glass.
      • Roughness: Set this between 0.0 (for clear glass) to 0.2 (for frosted glass).
      • IOR (Index of Refraction): Set this to 1.45 (the value for glass).

3.     Adding Refraction:

    • Make sure Transmission is enabled in the Principled BSDF shader to allow light to pass through the object and create realistic refraction.
    • In the Render Properties tab (camera icon), scroll down to the Screen Space Reflections section and check the box to enable it.
    • Then expand this section and ensure that Refraction is enabled.

4.     Set Up the Lighting:

    • Good lighting is essential to make the glass effect stand out. Press Shift + A and add an Area Light or an HDRI environment.
    • Position the light so that it shines onto your glass object from an angle to create beautiful reflections.
    • You can adjust the strength and size of the light source for different effects. Start with a strength of around 1000.

5.     Add a Background or Ground Plane:

    • Add a plane beneath your glass object by pressing Shift + AMeshPlane. Scale the plane by pressing S and dragging your mouse to size it appropriately.
    • You can add a simple material to the plane by following the same steps as adding materials for the glass. For a reflective surface, add a slight metallic sheen or a glossy shader.

6.     Camera Setup:

    • Press Shift + ACamera to add a camera to the scene.
    • Position the camera by pressing Numpad 0 to enter the camera view. Use G to move and R to rotate the camera until you have a good composition of the glass object.
    • Adjust the camera's focal length in the Camera Properties to add artistic blur or depth if needed.

7.     Final Rendering Settings:

    • In the Render Properties tab, set the render engine to Cycles for more realistic lighting and refraction effects.
    • Scroll down and increase the Samples (start with 128 for preview, and go higher, like 512 or 1024, for the final render) for better quality.
    • Under the Film section, enable Transparent if you want to have a transparent background in your final render.

8.     Render the Scene:

    • Once your setup is complete, go to the Render menu at the top and click Render Image.
    • After the render finishes, save your image by clicking ImageSave As… in the render window.

Shareable Visual:

  • Your final result should be a realistic, reflective glass object that distorts the light passing through it, with clear refraction visible. You can share this rendered image or animation to showcase your mastery of glass materials in Blender.

This task will help you learn the fundamentals of creating glass effects, playing with reflections, and working with lighting to produce realistic materials in Blender.

Source:
ChatGPT

 


Day 20: Blender tutorial for making illustrations - Creating Educational Content with Timelines

Objective:

Learn to create an animated timeline in Blender, suitable for illustrating processes or historical events. You'll add visuals, text, and animation to make the timeline dynamic and engaging.


Step-by-Step Guide for Day 20:

1. Set Up Blender Project

  • Open Blender and start a new project.
  • Go to the Layout workspace for easy access to 3D view and tools.
  • Delete the default cube (press X to delete it) to clear the workspace.

2. Create Timeline Base

  • Add a Plane: Press Shift + A, select Mesh > Plane. This plane will act as the base for your timeline.
  • Scale the Plane: Press S and drag the mouse to scale the plane horizontally (you can press S, then X to scale only along the X-axis). This forms the horizontal base of your timeline.

3. Create Key Events on the Timeline

  • Add Markers: For each key event on your timeline, you’ll add small vertical lines or shapes. Press Shift + A, select Mesh > Cylinder or Mesh > Cube (for simplicity, use a cube).
  • Position the Events: Move each cube or cylinder vertically along the timeline using G (grab tool) and restrict movement to the Z-axis by pressing G, then Z. Place these markers along the plane to represent different points in time.
  • Duplicate Markers: Select the marker and press Shift + D to duplicate it for each key event along the timeline.

4. Add Text to Each Event

  • Add Text: Press Shift + A, then go to Text.
  • Edit Text: Enter Edit Mode by pressing Tab, then type in your event description or year.
  • Position Text: Exit Edit Mode (Tab again), then use G to position the text above or beside each event marker.
  • Rotate Text (optional): Press R, then X (or Y/Z) to rotate the text along different axes if needed.

5. Animate the Timeline

  • Animate the Camera: To make the timeline dynamic, animate the camera moving along the timeline.
    • Select the camera, press N to open the transform panel, and set keyframes by pressing I (Insert Keyframe) at the start position.
    • Move the timeline cursor ahead in the timeline (on the lower bar), adjust the camera’s position using G, and insert a new keyframe.
    • This creates smooth movement across the timeline.
  • Animate Markers (optional): If you want, animate each event marker appearing by scaling it from 0 to full size. Select the marker, insert a keyframe for scale at 0 at an earlier frame, then insert another keyframe at full scale.

6. Add Visual Elements (Images or Symbols)

  • For each event, you can add small images or symbols to make the timeline visually appealing. For example:
    • Import Images: Go to Add > Image (import image as plane). You can use simple icons or images that fit the theme of the timeline.
    • Position the Images: Use G to move and place images near each event marker or text.

7. Add Lighting

  • Add basic lighting by pressing Shift + A, then select Light > Sun or Point Light.
  • Adjust the intensity and position of the light to ensure the timeline is well-lit and looks visually appealing.

8. Add Background (Optional)

  • You can add a simple background color or image to make the timeline stand out.
  • Go to the World tab in the properties panel, and change the background color or add an HDR image for dynamic lighting.

9. Preview and Render Animation

  • Preview the Animation: Press Space to play through your animation in the timeline. Ensure the camera and marker animations look smooth.
  • Render Settings: Go to the Output Properties tab and adjust the resolution and frame rate. Choose an output folder to save the final video.
  • Render the Video: Press Ctrl + F12 to render the animation as a video file.

10. Export the Video

  • Once rendering is complete, the video will be saved in your output folder. You now have a simple, animated timeline video!

Outcome:

By the end of Day 20, you will have created an animated educational timeline, perfect for explaining historical events, processes, or any sequence-based content. This timeline can be customized further with narration or additional visuals for your YouTube channel.

Source:
ChatGPT

If you have purchased property on installments, keep on giving installments…

 

(Source: Pixabay)

There are different types/categories of people who invest in real estate. One are those, who have little amount of money to invest and they start investment on installments and eventually get a possessionable property. Other types of people are those, who have prepared investment and purchase some property. Another type of people are those who make houses and shift in them, as they have nothing to do with real estate, but in their lives they may have taken one or two houses and started living in them. People with installments-related options usually face most problems. For instance, these people may get tired after giving installments within two to three years, even when they have to give installments for about 5 years or 10 years. They often get trapped in rumours running on social media. It is important to note that stopping giving installments in the mid can result in the loss of only buyers (not housing society or any other). Overall, it would be better to invest in real estate at this time.

Source:
Secure Your Property | Real Estate Market Up and Down in Pakistan, My Analysis, Files On Installment - Gondal Group of Marketing Islamabad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5rW-S6tLnQ


Saturday, October 12, 2024

Prices of corner plots in DHA Phase-5, Islamabad, Pakistan

(Source: https://www.dhai-r.com.pk/)

One of the most important plots in any kind of plot in property is “corner plot.” Note that aside from corner plots, there are several other kinds of plots, including park-facing plots, back open plots, front open plots, some are at heights giving eagleness kind of feeling, etc. Nevertheless, corner plot can be considered a king of all kinds of plots. It can give you two gates.

In the DHA Phase-5, Islamabad, prices of corner plots of about 1 kanal can be ranged from 2.80 crores and higher, such as 5.5 crores. The plots can be of different kinds depending on the price of plots. For instance, below average plots in the price range of 2.80 to 3.10 crores can be considered to be found in low lying areas and they can be found in Sector H or G. Average plots in the price range of 3.25 to 3.50 crores can be found with streets, though non-sun-facing, or in Sector F. Plots in the price range of 3.5 to 4.0 crores can be found with wider streets and sun-facing. Plots in the price range of 4.0 to 4.25 crores can be found in the main Boulevard corners, particularly Liaquat Ali Khan (LAK) Boulevard (especially with the sun-facing side) and Johar Boulevard. Plots in the price range of 4.5 to 5.5 crores are available with extra lands (for example, plots can be about 25 to 30 marlas).

Source:
Property Gupshup - 🚨The ONLY true "CATEGORY" plot that MATTERS in DHA Islamabad | Property Gupshup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp8lU9-uqNA