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.

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Step-by-Step Guide:

1.     Open Blender & Set Up a New Scene:

• Open Blender and create a new project by selecting File → New.
• 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 + A → Mesh → Plane. 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 + A → Camera 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 Image → Save As… in the render window.

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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.

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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!

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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

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

Post 23/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Procedural Textures & Bump Mapping in Blender

 

Goal: Learn how to use procedural textures to create advanced surface details and apply bump mapping to give objects a more detailed, realistic appearance.

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Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Open Blender & Set Up Your Scene

• Launch Blender and open a new project.
• In the default scene, you'll see a cube. You can use this, or replace it with any other object like a sphere or plane if you prefer.

2. Switch to Shading Workspace

• Go to the top of the screen and select the "Shading" workspace. This will open up the shader editor, which is where you’ll create and apply materials and textures.

3. Add a New Material to the Object

• In the lower-left corner, you'll see the Shader Editor.
• Select your object (e.g., the default cube).
• In the Material Properties panel (right-hand side), click New to add a new material.

4. Add a Procedural Texture Node

• In the Shader Editor, press Shift + A to bring up the add menu.
• Go to Texture and select Noise Texture (or any procedural texture like Voronoi or Musgrave).
• Connect the Color output of the Noise Texture to the Base Color input of the Principled BSDF node.

5. Preview the Procedural Texture

• Your object should now display the procedural texture in the viewport.
• To see this clearly, switch the viewport to Rendered mode (top right of the viewport) or use Material Preview mode.

6. Adjust Texture Scale and Detail

• In the Noise Texture node, play with the Scale and Detail sliders to adjust how the texture looks on your object.
• You can also adjust the Distortion to give the texture a more interesting effect.

7. Add Bump Mapping

• To give your object a more realistic 3D texture effect, you'll add bump mapping.
• Press Shift + A again, and this time go to Vector and select Bump.
• Connect the Color output of the Noise Texture to the Height input of the Bump node.
• Then, connect the Normal output of the Bump node to the Normal input of the Principled BSDF node.

8. Adjust Bump Mapping Strength

• The bump effect might be too strong, so in the Bump node, adjust the Strength slider to a lower value (e.g., 0.1 or 0.2) for a subtle, more realistic effect.

9. Tweak the Material Properties

• You can also adjust other material properties to enhance the look of your object, such as Roughness (for a shinier or more matte surface) and Metallic (for a metallic surface).
• Experiment with these sliders to get the desired look for your object.

10. Add Lighting for Better Detail

• Add or adjust lighting in your scene to highlight the texture details. You can add an Area Light or Spotlight for dramatic effects.
• Go to the top of the viewport, click Add, then select Light > Area Light.
• Position and rotate the light to illuminate your object from a good angle.

11. Render the Scene

• Set up the camera by pressing 0 on the number pad to switch to the camera view.
• Adjust the camera’s position using G to grab and move it, and R to rotate it until you have the right framing.
• Press F12 to render the scene.
• Once the render is complete, save the image by clicking Image > Save As in the render window.

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Shareable Visual: A 3D object with detailed procedural textures and realistic bump mapping, ready for sharing on social media or in a portfolio.

Source:
ChatGPT

Day 19: Blender tutorial for making illustrations - Adding Voice Narration to Your Videos

Objective: Learn how to add your voiceover to your Blender animations using video editing tools. By the end of the day, you'll be able to narrate your visual illustrations to create more engaging and educational content.

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Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Complete Your Animation:
• Ensure you have an animation ready in Blender, such as a flowchart, mind map, or other educational illustration.
• Render the animation as a video file. You can follow these steps:
• Go to the Render Properties tab.
• Under Output Properties, set the file format to a video format (e.g., FFmpeg Video).
• Select the output folder and render the animation (press Ctrl + F12).
2. Prepare Your Script:
• Write a script for your narration. Make sure the script aligns with the visual content and highlights key points that need to be explained.
• Practice speaking naturally and clearly. Your tone should match the content—e.g., calm and instructional for educational material.
3. Record Your Voiceover:
• Use an external audio recording tool (such as Audacity, which is free, or a similar software) to record your narration.
• Ensure the audio quality is clear. Use a good microphone and record in a quiet space to avoid background noise.
• After recording, export the file as .mp3 or .wav (both formats are widely supported in video editing software).
4. Import Your Animation and Audio into Blender:
• Open Blender and switch to the Video Editing workspace (found at the top of the Blender window).
• In the video editor, import your rendered animation:
• Go to Add > Movie and select your rendered video file.
• Now, import your audio file:
• Go to Add > Sound and select the narration file you recorded earlier.
5. Sync Audio with the Animation:
• Adjust the placement of the audio file in the timeline so that it aligns with the visuals.
• Use the playback controls to preview and fine-tune the timing. Make sure your narration flows smoothly with the transitions or key visuals in the animation.
6. Adjust Volume and Audio Quality:
• If needed, adjust the volume of the audio by selecting the audio strip and tweaking the volume properties in the side panel (press N to bring up the properties).
• Use basic audio effects like fade-in/fade-out for a polished finish.
7. Export the Final Video:
• Once you’re satisfied with the synchronization, it’s time to export the video.
• Go to the Render Properties tab and ensure the settings are configured for video (e.g., FFmpeg Video).
• In the Output section, choose the desired format (e.g., MP4 for YouTube).
• Select the audio codec as AAC for the best compatibility.
• Finally, click Render > Render Animation to export the video with both the animation and voiceover.
8. Review and Refine:
• Watch the final video to ensure the voiceover is clear and well-timed.
• Make any adjustments as needed (e.g., adjust the volume, re-record certain sections, or tweak the timing).

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Outcome: By the end of Day 19, you’ll have successfully added a narrated description to your illustration, making it more engaging and educational.

Source:
ChatGPT

Post 22/30: VFX tutorial for Blender – Creating Explosions with Fluid Simulation in Blender

Goal: Learn how to create a realistic explosion using Blender’s fluid and smoke simulations.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Set Up the Scene

1. Open Blender and start a new project.
2. Delete the default cube by selecting it and pressing X.
3. Add a sphere to act as the source of the explosion.
• Press Shift + A → Mesh → UV Sphere.
• Position the sphere in the center of your scene using G (Grab) and Z to move it along the Z-axis.

Step 2: Set Up the Domain for the Fluid Simulation

1. Add a domain box around the sphere.
• Press Shift + A → Mesh → Cube. Scale the cube to enclose the explosion area.
• The domain should be large enough to contain the smoke from the explosion.
2. With the cube (domain) selected, go to the Physics Properties tab and enable Fluid.
3. Under the Fluid Type, set the domain type to Gas.

Step 3: Set Up the Sphere as the Fluid Source

1. Select the sphere, go to the Physics Properties tab, and enable Fluid.
2. Under Fluid Type, choose Flow.
3. Set the Flow Type to Fire + Smoke. This will ensure your explosion contains both fire and smoke.
4. Set the Flow Behavior to Inflow so the sphere emits fire and smoke.

Step 4: Adjust the Explosion Settings

1. Go back to the Fluid Domain settings (select the domain box) and adjust the simulation parameters:
• Resolution Divisions: Increase it to around 64 for better detail.
• Enable Adaptive Domain to save on simulation time and keep the domain size dynamic.
2. Scroll down and expand the Gas section:
• Enable Noise to add more detail to the explosion.
• Under Flames, tweak the Flame Rate to adjust how quickly the fire spreads.

Step 5: Bake the Simulation

1. In the Physics Properties of the domain, scroll down to the Cache section.
2. Set the End Frame to the number of frames you want for the explosion (e.g., 150).
3. Press Bake to calculate the explosion simulation. This might take a few minutes depending on your hardware.

Step 6: Add Lighting

1. Add a light source to your scene for better visuals:
• Press Shift + A → Light → Point Light.
• Position the light above the explosion for dramatic lighting. Adjust the light intensity in the Object Data Properties tab.

Step 7: Camera Setup and Rendering

1. Set up a camera to capture the explosion:
• Press Shift + A → Camera.
• Position the camera using G and R to move and rotate it into place.
2. Switch to the Camera View by pressing 0 on the numpad.
3. Go to the Output Properties tab, set the resolution and frame rate, and select an output folder for the rendered animation.
4. Press F12 to render a single frame or Ctrl + F12 to render the entire animation.

Step 8: Export the Animation

1. After rendering, go to the Output Properties tab.
2. Set the file format to FFmpeg video for exporting the explosion as a video.
3. Press Ctrl + F12 to render the animation and export it as a shareable video.

Shareable Visual:

A fiery explosion with realistic smoke and fire effects, which you can share as an animation!

Source:
ChatGPT