Post 16/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Camera Movements & Advanced Animation in Blender

Goal: Learn to animate the camera for dynamic shots and create a cinematic feel in your scene.

Step-by-Step Tutorial

1.     Open Your Scene:

• If you’ve been working on a project from a previous day, open that file. Otherwise, create a simple scene using a few objects (e.g., a cube, sphere, or another shape of your choice).

2.     Add a Camera:

• In the top menu, go to Add > Camera to place a camera in your scene. Alternatively, you can select the camera from the Shift + A shortcut and choose "Camera" from the menu.
• Position the camera by moving and rotating it using the G (move) and R (rotate) keys to find the right angle.

3.     Set Camera as Active:

• Press Numpad 0 to view through the camera.
• If it’s not active, right-click the camera in the outliner and choose Set Active Camera.

4.     Create a Path for the Camera:

• To animate a moving camera, you can either move it frame by frame or create a path for smooth camera movement.
• Go to the top menu and select Add > Curve > Path. This will generate a path that the camera can follow.
• Adjust the path by entering edit mode (Tab) and moving the control points to create the desired motion path for the camera.

5.     Parent the Camera to the Path:

• Select the camera, then hold Shift and select the path.
• Press Ctrl + P to parent the camera to the path and select Follow Path.
• The camera will now move along the curve.

6.     Animate the Camera:

• In the timeline, set your starting frame (e.g., frame 1). Then go to Object Properties while the camera is selected, and insert a keyframe for location and rotation.
• Move to a later frame (e.g., frame 100) and adjust the camera's position or orientation. Insert another keyframe.
• Scrub through the timeline to see the camera movement.

7.     Add Dynamic Camera Effects:

• Go to the camera properties (select the camera, then check the camera icon in the right-hand toolbar).
• Enable depth of field for more cinematic visuals by adjusting the focal length and the object in focus.
• You can also experiment with motion blur by enabling it in the render settings.

8.     Render a Preview:

• Press Ctrl + F12 to render a preview animation of your camera movement.
• If needed, tweak the keyframes or path for smoother motion.

9.     Shareable Visual:

• After rendering, you’ll have a short, cinematic animation where the camera smoothly moves through the scene, showcasing dynamic shots.

Tips for Improvement:

• Try different camera angles and experiment with speed by adjusting the position of keyframes.
• Use multiple cameras in the same scene to switch perspectives for a more dynamic animation.

This step will introduce you to camera animation, an essential aspect of VFX for creating engaging scenes.

 

Source:
ChatGPT

Post 15/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Simulating Water (Basic Fluid Simulation) Tutorial

 

Goal: Create simple water simulations.

Step 1: Setting Up the Scene

1.     Open Blender:

• Launch Blender and start a new project.

2.     Delete the Default Cube:

• Right-click on the default cube and press X to delete it.

3.     Add a Domain Object:

• Press Shift + A > Mesh > Cube. This will serve as the container for your fluid simulation.
• Scale the cube up (press S and drag) to create a larger box that will contain the water.

4.     Set the Domain Object:

• With the cube selected, go to the Physics Properties tab (the bouncing ball icon).
• Click on Fluid and set the type to Domain. Set the domain type to Liquid.

Step 2: Adding the Fluid Object

5.     Create the Fluid Object:

• Press Shift + A > Mesh > UV Sphere to create a sphere that will represent the water.
• Scale the sphere down (press S) to make it smaller than the domain cube.

6.     Set the Fluid Properties:

• With the sphere selected, go to the Physics Properties tab.
• Click on Fluid and set the type to Flow. Change the flow type to Liquid.
• In the flow settings, set the flow behavior to Inflow to make it continuously pour into the domain.

Step 3: Adjusting the Simulation Settings

7.     Adjust Domain Settings:

• Select the domain cube and navigate to its Physics Properties.
• Under the fluid settings, find the Cache section and set the type to All. Increase the end frame to around 100 for a longer simulation.
• Optionally, set the resolution to 64 or higher for a smoother fluid simulation.

8.     Adjust the Flow Settings:

• Select the sphere (fluid) again.
• You can adjust the Flow Rate in the flow settings to control how much water is poured in.

Step 4: Baking the Simulation

9. Bake the Simulation:
• In the domain cube's Physics Properties, scroll down to the Cache section and click on Bake. This will calculate the fluid simulation.
• Wait for the baking process to complete (this may take a moment depending on your settings).

Step 5: Setting Up the Materials

10.  Add Water Material:

• Select the fluid (sphere).
• Go to the Material Properties tab (the sphere icon) and click New.
• Change the surface type to Principled BSDF. Adjust the Transmission value to 1.0 for a clear water effect. You can also adjust the Roughness for different effects (lower values for smooth water).

11.  Add Lighting:

• Press Shift + A > Light > Area to add an area light to your scene.
• Position it to illuminate the fluid well and adjust its strength in the light properties.

Step 6: Rendering the Scene

12.  Set the Camera:

• Press Shift + A > Camera to add a camera.
• Move it to a good vantage point to capture the fluid simulation (press G to grab and move it).
• With the camera selected, press Ctrl + Alt + Numpad 0 to snap the camera to the current view.

13.  Render Settings:

• Go to the Render Properties tab (the camera icon).
• Choose your render engine (Cycles or Eevee). Cycles will give more realistic results but may take longer to render.
• Adjust the resolution and output settings as desired.

14.  Render the Animation:

• Press Ctrl + F12 to render the animation. Blender will output your animation based on your set resolution and settings.

Step 7: Share Your Work

15.  Export Your Animation:

• After rendering, you can find the output video in your specified output directory.

16.  Create a Shareable Visual:

• Use your rendered animation to create a short video to share on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or your social media accounts.

Recap:

In this session, you've set up a basic fluid simulation to create a water pouring effect. You learned how to manipulate objects, apply fluid physics, and render your scene. With these skills, you can create engaging shareable visuals that demonstrate your progress in Blender!

Source:
ChatGPT

Day 13: Blender tutorial for making illustrations - Using Blender's Camera for Smooth Animations

Objective:

Create a smooth pan or zoom effect in your diagram to make your illustrations more engaging.

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Step 1: Setting Up Your Scene

1. Open Blender:
• Start by launching Blender and opening your existing project with your illustrations (e.g., mind map, flowchart).
2. Select Your Camera:
• In the 3D viewport, press N to open the sidebar.
• Click on the “View” tab and make sure you are in “Camera” view (Numpad 0). This allows you to see what the camera sees.

Step 2: Positioning the Camera

3. Adjust Camera Position:
• If the camera is not positioned well, select it (click on the camera icon) and use the G (grab) key to move it, R to rotate it, or adjust the properties in the sidebar under the camera's settings to frame your illustration.
4. Set the Camera Lens:
• In the Camera Properties panel (camera icon), adjust the focal length. A lower value gives a wider view, while a higher value gives a zoomed-in effect.

Step 3: Adding Keyframes for Animation

5. Set Initial Keyframe:
• With the camera selected, press I and choose “Location” to insert a keyframe for the camera's current position.
6. Move the Timeline Indicator:
• Move the timeline indicator (the blue vertical line) to frame 30 (or the desired time for your animation).
7. Change Camera Position:
• Move the camera to a new position that highlights another part of your illustration (again use G to grab and move).
• Insert another keyframe by pressing I and selecting “Location” again.

Step 4: Adjusting Animation Settings

8. Smooth Motion:
• Go to the Timeline at the bottom of the window, click on the “Graph Editor” to adjust the easing of your animation for smooth transitions.
• Select the keyframes and press T, then choose “Ease In” or “Ease Out” to create smoother starts and ends for your camera movement.

Step 5: Previewing Your Animation

9. Play the Animation:
• Press Space or use the play button in the timeline to preview your camera animation. Make adjustments as needed by moving the keyframes in the timeline or repositioning the camera.

Step 6: Rendering the Animation

10. Render Settings:
• Go to the Output Properties panel (printer icon) and set your desired resolution and frame rate.
• Ensure the output folder is set correctly to save your video.
11. Render the Animation:
• Click on “Render” in the top menu and select “Render Animation” to create your animated video.

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Outcome:

By the end of this tutorial, you will have created a smooth camera animation that dynamically showcases your illustrations, making them more engaging for your audience.

 

Source:
ChatGPT

Post 27/30: Three important pillars in the real estate business

(Source: Pixabay)

I thought of learning about different aspects of Pakistan, as I want to do something for it. Therefore, I started with some of the well-known indices or reports that would help me in gaining more information about Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT). These were 12 posts. You can search my posts related to Pakistan by typing: #UsmanZafarParacha_Pakistan

Now, I have been learning about real estate business in Pakistan. I have started from Youtube videos and hopefully during my learning Journey, I will get some more useful resources to move ahead in this learning and perhaps entering into the real estate business.

I have seen a video, titled, “Real Estate Investment in Pakistan | Real Estate Secrets Exposed | Analysis | June 2024” on the channel “CDB PROPERTIES”.

The host of the video discusses about three pillars in the real estate business. One of the pillars is seller side, one is the buyer side, and most important is real estate consultant. On the seller side, it is considered that whether seller wants to hold the property or the seller wants to sale the property with profit. A real estate consultant assures the proper fulfillment of dealing. Real estate consultants advise about the best time to sale or purchase a property. They also tells about everything, such as charges or taxes, etc, so that the seller may not find it difficult to deal with the situation.

Follow my Hashtag #behtareenkitalaash on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/behtareenkitalaash

Sources:

CDB PROPERTIES - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hA4mQSWyVQ

Post 14/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Introduction to Cloth Simulation

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to create and simulate cloth in Blender, using a simple flag waving in the wind as an example. Cloth simulations are a great way to add realistic movement to fabrics and soft materials.

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Step 1: Open Blender & Set Up the Scene

• Open Blender.
• Delete the default cube by selecting it and pressing X.
• Add a plane to act as the cloth:
  Press Shift + A, go to Mesh and select Plane.

Step 2: Reshape the Plane

• Scale the plane to make it rectangular (like a flag) by pressing S, then X to scale along the X-axis. Drag the mouse until the plane is stretched horizontally. Press Enter to confirm the scale.

Step 3: Subdivide the Plane

• To give the cloth realistic flexibility, it needs more geometry.
• Select the plane and go to the Object Mode (press Tab to toggle to Object Mode).
• With the plane selected, press Tab again to enter Edit Mode.
• Right-click the plane and select Subdivide.
• In the Subdivide options at the bottom-left of the screen, increase the Number of Cuts to 20 to add more subdivisions.

Step 4: Add Cloth Physics

• With the plane still selected, go to the Physics tab (right-side panel, the icon looks like a bouncing ball).
• Click Cloth to add a cloth simulation to the plane.
• In the Cloth Settings, leave everything as default for now.

Step 5: Create a Pole for the Flag

• To simulate a flag, it needs to be attached to a pole.
• Press Shift + A, go to Mesh, and add a Cylinder.
• Scale the cylinder to make it tall and thin by pressing S, then X, and dragging to stretch it along the X-axis. Press Enter to confirm the scale.

Step 6: Pin Part of the Cloth to the Pole

• Select the plane (flag) and go to Edit Mode (Tab key).
• Select the vertices on the left side of the flag that will attach to the pole. You can do this by selecting the top-left vertices, then holding Shift and selecting the bottom-left vertices.
• With the vertices selected, go to the Object Data Properties tab (the green triangle icon).
• Click the + icon under the Vertex Groups section to create a new group.
• Name this group something like "Pinned."
• Click Assign to assign the selected vertices to the group.

Step 7: Add the Pin Constraint

• Go back to the Physics tab (the bouncing ball icon).
• Scroll down to the Shape section and find the Pinning option.
• Check the box for Pinning and select the "Pinned" vertex group from the dropdown.

Step 8: Add Wind Force

• To make the flag wave, add a wind force field.
• Press Shift + A, go to Force Field, and select Wind.
• Move the wind object to the side of the flag by pressing G, then Y to move it along the Y-axis.
• Rotate it so the wind is blowing toward the flag by pressing R, then adjusting the wind’s orientation until it faces the flag.
• In the Physics tab, increase the Strength of the wind to around 150.

Step 9: Run the Simulation

• Press the Spacebar to run the simulation. The flag should now wave in the wind.

Step 10: Render the Animation

• Set up your camera to view the flag and wind in action.
• Press 0 on the numpad to enter Camera View.
• Adjust the camera position and angle by pressing G to move it and R to rotate it.
• Once the scene looks good, press F12 to render an image, or set up a render animation by going to the Render Properties tab and choosing Render Animation.

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Shareable Visual

Your final output for today will be a short animation of the flag waving in the wind, demonstrating the cloth simulation in Blender.

Source:
ChatGPT

Day 12: Blender tutorial for making illustrations - Introduction to Lighting and Shadows in Blender

 

For Day 12, we’ll focus on adding basic lighting and shadows to your illustrations. These elements will enhance the overall look of your diagrams, creating depth and making them visually appealing.

Step-by-Step Guide:

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Step 1: Open Blender and Load Your Scene

• Open Blender and load the scene you’ve been working on (either a mind map, flowchart, or any other illustration).
• If you don't have a saved scene, you can start by creating basic shapes like circles, squares, or text elements to practice lighting techniques.

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Step 2: Switch to the Rendered View

• In the top-right corner of the 3D viewport, switch from Solid or Wireframe mode to Rendered View.
• This will allow you to see the effects of lighting in real-time as you add lights to your scene.

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Step 3: Add a Light Source

• Press Shift + A and choose Light from the drop-down menu. You’ll see several options:
• Point Light: Emits light in all directions from a single point.
• Sun Light: Provides directional light, as if from the sun.
• Spot Light: A focused beam, like a flashlight.
• Area Light: Creates soft, diffused light from a rectangular or square area.

For this tutorial, we’ll start with a Point Light for general lighting.

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Step 4: Position the Light

• After adding the Point Light, move it into position using G to grab and drag it around your scene.
• Try placing the light slightly above your objects and to the side for a natural-looking effect.
• Experiment by placing the light at different angles to see how it affects shadows and highlights on your shapes or diagrams.

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Step 5: Adjust Light Properties

• With the light selected, go to the Object Data Properties tab (the green lightbulb icon on the right-hand toolbar).
• Power: Adjust the strength of the light. Increase or decrease the power to see how it impacts the brightness of your scene.
• Radius: Control how sharp or soft the shadows are by adjusting the light's radius. A larger radius will create softer shadows, while a smaller radius will give sharper edges.
• Color: Change the color of the light to match the tone or theme of your illustration. For example, warm light can create a welcoming feel, while cool light can make it look more professional.

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Step 6: Add Shadows

• Ensure that shadows are enabled. In the Light Properties tab, scroll down to find the Shadow section.
• Turn on Shadows if they aren’t enabled by default.
• You can adjust the Softness and Strength of the shadows to make them more realistic or stylized based on your preference.

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Step 7: Add Additional Lights (Optional)

• To make your scene look more dynamic, add additional lights:
• Fill Light: A softer light from the opposite side of the main light to reduce harsh shadows.
• Back Light: A light behind the subject to create separation between the subject and the background, adding depth.

Add these lights using the same steps as above and position them carefully to avoid over-illumination.

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Step 8: Fine-Tuning and Testing

• Rotate your camera or adjust the position of your objects to see how the lighting interacts with them from different angles.
• Test how your illustrations appear in different lighting conditions by adding more lights or changing the type of light.

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Step 9: Save and Render

• Once you're happy with the lighting and shadows, you can render a preview.
• Go to the Render Properties tab (the camera icon) and adjust your render settings for a quick preview.
• F12 to render a single frame to see how everything looks with lighting and shadows applied.

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Outcome:

By the end of this session, you should have a basic understanding of how lighting and shadows work in Blender. Your illustration should now have more depth and visual appeal, and you’ll start to see how lighting can bring out details in your work.

Source:
ChatGPT

Post 26/30: An important reason of the probable increase in the rate of property

(Source: Pixabay)

I thought of learning about different aspects of Pakistan, as I want to do something for it. Therefore, I started with some of the well-known indices or reports that would help me in gaining more information about Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT). These were 12 posts. You can search my posts related to Pakistan by typing: #UsmanZafarParacha_Pakistan

Now, I have been learning about real estate business in Pakistan. I have started from Youtube videos and hopefully during my learning Journey, I will get some more useful resources to move ahead in this learning and perhaps entering into the real estate business.

I have seen a video, titled, “Big News on Interest Rates, State Bank of Pakistan, Property Rates will increase, Islamabad Property” on the channel “Gondal Group of Marketing Islamabad”.

The host tells that real estate business will keep on going in Pakistan. For instance, only in the areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, there is shortage of a huge number of houses, as the population increases. They tell that about 2 years ago, prices in real estate went down because of the political instability. Nevertheless, now chances are high that real estate business is going to perform better in Pakistan. The host tells that Interest Rates in Banks were about 22% about two years ago. However, now the interest rates have declined from 22% to 19.5% and then to 17.5%. It is highly probable that his interest rate will decline to 13% to 14% in the coming days. So, this decline in interest rate would cause people to take the money out of bank (due to decline in rates and profits) and start investing in real estate. Therefore, rates of properties have started increasing, and at least sale of property has started. Similarly, many people have invested in gold, and have not gotten much benefit, and so, they are also returning towards real estate.

Follow my Hashtag #behtareenkitalaash on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/behtareenkitalaash

Sources:

Gondal Group of Marketing Islamabad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5oVxZElysI