## Help in using Blender for GUIs?

Scope and XITE Development

Original topic on PlanetZ: https://forums.scopeusers.com/viewtopic.php?t=24504

#### Help in using Blender for GUIs?

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:54 pm
by MCCY
Just a try:
I wanted to try it all the time: Today I made my first steps with Blender and have the impression that this program is very powerfull & fun to get (at least a bit) used to it.
I am thankfull for any help! I just managed to build a strange "landscape" or universe with strange planetz flying through it... I didn't come very close to a simple pot-design so far - for my early attemts on LC1 & co. I used a completely different strategy
I will try to ask more detailed questions. I just thought it would be worth starting a blender-dedicated-thread again.
Martin

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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:22 pm
by next to nothing
just downloaded it since i havent used it for ages. lets see what we can do

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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:49 pm
by hifiboom
it would be nice if someone could give us a default blender project with a basic knob design and light source, where us non 3d designers could start from scratch to modify that basic construction.

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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:33 pm
by MCCY
Very good idea. I have the feeling, that in the end it could be relatively easy, to get blender working the basic way we need it. It should be easily possible to build a project, where the camera rotates around itself and spits out the animation of a rotating "thing" = pot. Sadly the weekend is over & I will be short on time the next days, but I have the idea of working on that idea with all that online-help available in short moments where internet is available over the week. Maybe this plan will work. Getting used to work in blender is a future-investment like getting used working with all the other freeware like open office, gimp & co. which is "future-proved".

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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:43 pm
by next to nothing
mccy, it would rather be the knob itself rotating, otherwise the light/shadows would look rather silly on your GUI

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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:44 pm
by next to nothing
and btw, do a search on "blender tutorial" on youtube, lots of useful hints

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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:56 pm
by MCCY
Thanks! So my easy idea was a bad one, I see

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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:23 pm
by MCCY
I thought it would be more difficult. This took not too long. I'd say: One weekend away from my first 3d knob.

Attachments
    2.gif (653.74 KiB) Viewed 2941 times

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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:53 am
by MCCY
...

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    5.gif (434.46 KiB) Viewed 2883 times
    4.gif (173.58 KiB) Viewed 2884 times

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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:45 am
by hifiboom
wow martin, not bad for the start !
now you are getting a 3d guru.
will you share the project with us?

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Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:36 am
by Shroomz~>
Martin, I can't & won't help with Blender specifics, but I might be able to give a general tip or two.
Firstly & possibly most importantly, you should be looking to rotate your knob by 300 degrees as a base standard for pot designs. 150 left & 150 right of 0 center will give you the most desirable & common 'standard' rotation/range.
That's all I've got time for right now, as I'm only in the studio for 10/15 mins.
cheers

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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:28 am
by MCCY
Thanks hifiboom! I'd like to tweak a bit more before sharing it. Right now I'm again involved in a spontanious project which has completely other things to do with scope. I seem to be a very -too lazy to find the english word- "sprunghafte" personality ... but really, I find it often usefull to have breaks in a project and keep it going on later .
Thanks shroomz for the rotation-tips. Yes all these basic tips are very welcome!!

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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:18 am
by Shroomz~>
No problem at all.
Once you've mastered detailed manipulation of the vertices in a mesh, you've practically won the battle.

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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:27 pm
by next to nothing
playing around

Attachments
    Lights off...
    render1.jpg (22.35 KiB) Viewed 2695 times
    lights on!
    render2.jpg (23.99 KiB) Viewed 2693 times

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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:29 pm
by next to nothing
ah sorry, not blender work, but related to topic
3ds max for modelling/rendering

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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:27 pm
by hifiboom
wow !

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Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:23 am
by Jah Servant
W W!

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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:34 am
by King of Snake
I once made this in 3ds MAX
the modelling was relatively easy cause it's all just repeated elements. The big job was creating the interface graphics in Adobe Illustrator.

Attachments
    nordrender02.jpg (78.07 KiB) Viewed 2539 times
    nordrender.jpg (106.97 KiB) Viewed 2538 times

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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:46 am
by MCCY
iiiiiiiiiikkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O.K. This thread was worth it! Wow, what a look!!! I implemented my first pots some days ago, but some guys here have eaten 3d as breakfast
Nice to see all these examples!
It's nice, b.t.w. to work with blender. After 2 days I for myself I had the most basic things in my mind & now I can turn on it for some minutes for relaxing and experiment a bit & maybe find something new from time to time. It's a longterm project & I don't regret starting it...
THANKS!
Martin

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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:57 am
by hifiboom
@king of snake, did you make this for clavia...?
or do you just recreate GUIs for fun in your free time?
man, it looks decent!

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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:46 pm
by next to nothing
nice work king!

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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:09 pm
by King of Snake

> hifiboom wrote:@king of snake, did you make this for clavia...?
> or do you just recreate GUIs for fun in your free time?
> man, it looks decent!

well it was just for fun and I was kinda trying to learn 3ds max at the time. I just thought what would be a nice simple object to model, and I've got this Nord Rack sitting on my desk so it was an obvious choice
Haven't done anything in max since, but I do occasionaly do some simple stuff in Cinema 4d now.

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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:30 pm
by hifiboom
at least to me it looks like you have succeeded in learning 3DS properly...
Like taken from a clavia pre design studies....
sick, how much uncovered skill is laying here on planetz !

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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:05 pm
by maky325
Wow! Coincidence at work Last week i signed papers and i am waiting for my SDK. In the meantime i just did some jiggling in blender te collect my memories back in head And now i am seeing you guys working GUIs in blender
In case anyone is interested for blender file you can give it a go at:
http://www.4shared.com/file/44266488/717090d/Mixer.html
I dont have real hosting so take my apology for this one. Just click on "Download file". File is 3Mb zipped and after extraction it is just 25Mb big.
IMO you can have astounding photorealistic GUIs finished in blender as in PovRay but PovRay is much harder to learn. Also look for YafRay free renderer(this can work as blender plugin). IMO a must have!!
See ya guys

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Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:25 pm
by Shroomz~>
looks good mpogrug!
So the blender boys are in the house...