UPDATE: 2020/06.23 install PySide2 for Blender 2.83

• go to Blender install folder, D:\YourPathToThat\blender-2.83.0-windows64\2.83\python\bin
• copy the path, and go commandline (type D: enter if your blender in D drive, C drive no need):
  • for Mac and Linux, same, just cd to that directory, and do above. the drive letter thing is just for windows, if you prefer to put app in other drive
  • run command code

    cd D:\YourPathToThat\blender-2.83.0-windows64\2.83\python\bin
    D:
    .\python.exe -m pip install PySide2

  • for mac, change version number accordingly

    /Applications/Blender.app/Contents/Resources/3.2/python/bin/python3.10 -m pip install --upgrade pip
    /Applications/Blender.app/Contents/Resources/3.2/python/bin/python3.10 -m pip install pyside2

• restart blender, you should be able to call “from PySide2 import QtWidgets,QtCore,QtGui” without issue

set camera clipping distance

1. viewport, press N, to bring up tool panel, in View tab, set the far clip distance

• right click on any menu item, you can choose “create shortcut” from there
• check all shortcut in Edit > Preference > Key Map

• select with LeftMouseButton is default since v2.8 in Blender,
  • https://www.blendernation.com/2018/11/28/left-click-select-is-now-the-default-in-blender/

Blender Special shortcut

modelling shortcut in blender

Blender is 2nd 3D application I picked up when I was starting the 3D learning. (Cinema 4D is my first 3D app, Maya is my 3rd, 3DS Max is my 4th).

Before 2.6, the Blender interface is the most struggling thing to cope with,

• short named buttons
• unconventional shortcut oriented operation, wield layout

But now, as 2.6 comes with a new interface, it pops up and let you use optional Maya user interaction;

Now I started to pick it up again.

• number pad
• focus on selected: Num (.)
• display vertex count: viewport overlay icon on View3D, check statistics
  • for show selected vertex count: select object, shift+h to hide other, view count, then alt+h/undo to show all

show selected vertex count and vertex count

• go Preference Interface > Status Bar : check Scene statistics,
• then at bottom it shows statistc
  

show vertex index

• go Preference > Interface > Display : Developer Extra checked
• go viewport option > Developer : check Indice

bounding box display:

• select the objects to show bounding box:
• go Property panel > object property tab: viewport display section
  • check Bounds or choose Display As = bounding box, right click corresponding UI > copy to selected to apply to rest selected object.

Parenting:

• Parent: it will put under parent in hierarchy, keeping old location value (zero will align object to origin)
• Parent keep transform: same as above
• Parent without inverse: will parent, and zero its location.
• Parent keep transform without inverse: (like Maya parent), location will recalculate with 0 at its parent. (zero location, will put object align with its parent)

Seperate object

• Tab to EDIT mode, SPACE-EDIT-VERTICES-SEPARATE .. “p”

Select edge loop

• alt + RMB click

• unlike Maya, material is stored in data, and show in the list of material choice for objects
• there is no material grid view of all material created, but only from those dropdown list for object shader
• in the Shader Editor panel, it only shows current select object's material, the whole panel is belong to current active object,
  • the Shader editor top dropdown UIs, it is active object material slots (how many material connected to this object) and material list in current file.
• Note, blender can create material and if no object use them, they are considered as unuse blenddata (unused datablocks), when save file, they will be delete, so your material library wont store if not used in each file.
• in Outliner, choce Blender File instead Scene in 2nd dropdown, you can see the tree of blend data structure, all materials currently there is under Material tree node.
• in short, if you want keep your shader network builds, you need to assign them to something to hold reference to them

• also, you can't reuse nodes directly cross different materials, you need to select nodes and create Node Group
  • Group nodes will be shown in shade edit Add menu>Group> yourGroupNode

Steps:

1. Many surfaces need to be “cut” to make it possible to unwrap them.
2. The edges that will be cut “Seams”. In Edit Mode, selected edges can be marked or cleared as seams, using Mesh → Edges → Mark Seam (Ctrl E)
3. UVs → LSCM Unwrap (E Key) in the UV editor will launch LSCM unwrapping

• Python GUI designer
• Basic python programming tutorial in Blender 2.6
  • 23 videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYtDzby1wdY3NMM07u9tV0eCJ1HM-llM

• Sci Fi Animator
  • tons of video guide on Blender 2.6
  • link: http://www.youtube.com/user/FirstGradeCalculus/playlists
• CG Cookie - Blender
  • quite a lot blender free and paid tutorials
  • link: http://cgcookie.com/blender/

• Green Screen Compositing Technique in Blender
  • https://vimeo.com/57499254

• space vfx element creation tutorial: http://www.creativeshrimp.com/spacevfx.html

• save selected as
  • https://github.com/Tilapiatsu/blender-export_as_blend

• Text FX: http://codeofart.com/text-fx/
  • https://codeofart.gumroad.com/l/Animax

• layout manager:
  • (free) Workspace Manager for Blender
    • https://tingjoybits.gumroad.com/l/yyoghm?layout=profile
  • (paid) Layout Manager
    • https://blendermarket.com/products/layout-manager

• batch file to pass python_process_file and object_file to blender app

  batch_for_blender.bat

  @echo off
  rem Put the path of the blender folder and cd to the obj file folder
  set PATH=D:\blender-2.78a-windows64
   
  set FILENAME=Cliffs_Beach.blend
  set TARGET=Cliffs_Beach.obj
   
  blender %FILENAME% --background --python blend_to_obj.py -- %TARGET%

• the python process for file format convert in blender

  blend_to_obj.py

  import bpy
  import sys
   
  argv = sys.argv
  argv = argv[argv.index("--") + 1:] # get all args after "--"
   
  obj_out = argv[0]
   
  bpy.ops.export_scene.obj(filepath=obj_out, axis_forward='-Z', axis_up='Y')

• (most useful) https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/90992/is-there-a-way-to-compute-vertex-density
• (useful) Blender 2.76 Overview: Point Density : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESZsWNCfpPU
• http://builder.openhmd.net/blender-hmd-viewport-temp/render/cycles/nodes/types/textures/point_density.html
• https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/243289/how-to-combine-vertex-groups-and-texture-as-density-map-in-geometry-nodes
• Blender 2.74: Point Density Texture in Cycles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FV03stf6X0
• https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/62505/point-density-doesnt-render
• Blender Tutorial - Point density based pattern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KogFovV-QoA
• https://blenderartists.org/t/point-density-particles-not-rendering-when-object-is-big/681320
• Datamap Visualization in Blender 3.0 Geometrynodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwCCCR_BLdQ

• basically, use point density node in material setup to show the point density info as color
  • (first), go Render setting tab, change render from Eevee render to Cycle CPU render
  • use object vertex as info to fit the object per material, and assign that material to that object
  • radius is vertex search radius, which decide how the density amount calculated
  • resolution is actual dot render, 100 is 100×100 pixel render for each dot. dont need so high res sharp dots, as they will blend together

• You can view material list in > Outliner [data api view]
• You can check per object material usage case in > Outliner [scene view], expand the object arrow
  • You can also check per object material usage case in > Material tab panel (object selection required)
• You can swith/edit object material in > Shader Editor (shift F3)
  • object selection required
  • if object is not assigned to any material, a New button is there instead
• In viewport, you can view material on object as result of (Preview material view) or (render material view)
  • note, the (render material view) is linked to the > Render tab setting
  • some material like Point Density can only be used in Cycle CPU render setting, so make sure Render tab is set properly for the render material view to work
  • the default render preview is from Eevee GPU render.

ref:

• create height map from mesh
  • https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/105283/create-height-bitmap-from-mesh
• bake texture
  • https://brandonsdrawings.com/texture-baking/

the reverse process:

• texture driven to mesh : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McALCOr39rY