Blender

[box o crayons]

ok so i just downloaded blender and ive been watching tutorials but i havnt seem to found how to import blender into pepakura so i can unfold it and see how it looks. sorry i dont have pics but i have no idea how to take them of my computer. (OLD)

NEW gots me a new model that i finished and i need some help unfolding. its probably not worth it but if anyone has spare time just want to try my own models for the fun of it. heres the link http://www.4shared.com/file/67217066/7407c...numero_uno.html
and heres the link for my sword http://www.4shared.com/file/67217258/cf65a..._final_pep.html

 

[Droakir]

Blender has several different file formats that you can export your surface model to.

Now I'll give you some basic ideas for exporting and importing into Pepakura. Although these instructions are written for Blender, these steps should work with pretty much any modeling program.

Blender offers the following export file formats:

3D Studio (*.3ds)
AC3D (*.ac)
Autodesk FBX (*.fbx)
COLLADA 1.3.1 (*.dae)
COLLADA 1.4 (*.dae)
DEC Object File Format (*.off)
DirectX (*.x)
LightWave (*.lwo)
Lightwave Motion (*.mol)
M3G (*.m3g, *.java)
MD2 (*.md2)
OpenFlight (*.flt)
OpenInventor (*.iv)
Quake 3 (*.map)
Raw Faces (*.raw)
SoftImage XSI (*.xsi)
Stanford PLY (*.ply)
VRML97 (*.wrl)
Vertex Keyframe Animation (*.mdd)
Wavefront (*.obj)
X3D Extensible 3D (*.x3d)
xfig export (*.fig)



Pepakura Designer allows the opening of the following file formats:

Pepakura Designer File (*.pdo)
Hexa Great (*.6kt, *.6ks)
Wavefront (*.obj)
AutoCAD (*.dxf)
Metasequoia (*.mqo)
3D Studio (*.3ds)
Lightwave (*.lwo)
STL (Binary format) (*.stl)
Google Earth (*.kmz, *.kml)

Looking at these export and import file formats, we notice a couple that are similar.

Wavefront (*.obj)
3D Studio (*.3ds)
Lightwave (*.lwo)

These three surface model formats are quite common and are supported by both programs. Therefore, exporting in one of these three model formats should result in a working importation into Pepakura. Now remember: if the model doesn't work very well in one file format, you can always try out another. It doesn't hurt to experiment with the different formats to see which one works for you.

In my case, I prefer 3D Studio.

Export the model, save it to a folder where you can easily find it, and then simply open it with Pepakura, following the simple instructions to set up the model orientation. Then unfold.

It's that easy!

I'll be writing up a tutorial with images here soon to explain the process in a bit more detail.

Until then, happy armoring!

----------------------------------------

EDIT: Tutorial now posted with step-by-step instructions: Tutorial: Blender to Pepakura

 

[tlither]

Just use Print Screen to grab the current window. Open it in paint, and you can edit it however you like. Or look for a program called Gadwin print screen. It lets you select a portion of a window if you like.

 

[box o crayons]

Just use Print Screen to grab the current window. Open it in paint, and you can edit it however you like. Or look for a program called Gadwin print screen. It lets you select a portion of a window if you like.

im sorry but i have no idea what any of that means.droakir thanks im goign to try it after school

 

[Crucible]

Press the Print Screen button on your keyboard - it's right next to F12 and Scroll Lock. Then open up MS Paint, press CTRL+V (or right-click and select 'paste' and there you go. One screencap.

 

[rundown]

Just use Print Screen to grab the current window. Open it in paint, and you can edit it however you like. Or look for a program called Gadwin print screen. It lets you select a portion of a window if you like.

no not just printscreen you need to go to render and then render image, when you see youre image clear go to file-> save rendered image

and box you should use .obj files^^never use .3d files since there is a bug in it for some reason.


glad to be of help

 

[Toby]

no not just printscreen you need to go to render and then render image, when you see youre image clear go to file-> save rendered image

and box you should use .obj files^^never use .3d files since there is a bug in it for some reason.
glad to be of help

+1, what he said. definitely use *.obj files

 

[Dreadnought]

.obj FTW!

 

[FinnishSpartan]

Yeah, .obj's will work great. Just keep working on your models and they should turn out well.
Even if you would like to bash your head on the wall

-FSS

 

[Droakir]

im sorry but i have no idea what any of that means.droakir thanks im goign to try it after school

Not a problem, box.

What the other 405th members are trying to explain is how to screenshot your models to post a 3D picture here on the web... I believe related to the second part of your original post about not being able to take pics with your computer.

The Quick-And-Dirty Way

Taking pics and screenshots of your 3D models is relatively simple in Blender, if you know what you're doing. You can either do a render in the Blender interface itself and rendering onscreen. That is done by going to Render > Render Current Frame, and then once the render appears, hitting the Print Screen key on the keyboard, and then pasting it in Paint or some other graphics editing program. This is done when Blender is running in it's default mode.

Rendering to a file in Blender

The other, more sophisticated way, is to render to a file. This is the best option, in my opinion. Please note that to get different angles on your model, you will need to orient the camera differently.

Hitting F10 on the keyboard should bring up your Render Settings. Alternatively, you can to to Render > Render Settings to bring up the Settings toolbar on the bottom of the page.

On the bottom left hand portion of the screen is a list box with the words "Render Window". Click this box, and change it to Image Editor. This will make the render appear directly in the UV/Image Editor screen which should now have opened automatically.

Hit F12, or go to Render > Render Current Frame to render your model from your current camera view.

Looking at the Blender interface, on the lower section of the window you will see a toolbar with a funny looking face icon button. This toolbar has other buttons with the words View and Image to the right of it. Click the Image button, and go to Image > Save As.

From here, in the upper two text boxes, are where you put the file path and file name. Then simply select "Save Image" and your model will be saved.

If there are any questions, or if these steps don't work, let me know and I'll we'll work it out.

Hope this helps for getting your renders out of Blender and onto the 405th!

Cheers!

-Droakir

 

[FinnishSpartan]

Your instrcutions are great, but i think you should shorten them a little bit?

-FSS

 

[Droakir]

Possibly, but the instructions for Blender are a bit specific, because it's a difficult interface to understand.

The simpler way would be this (for those of you who don't like to read a lot... )

Simple way to render to file in Blender
Taken from last post, but without all the nice big words.

1. Open Blender, load the model, and move the camera where you want it.
2. Hit F10.
3. Change "Render Window" button to "Image Editor" in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
4. Hit F12.
5. Go to Image > Save As on the Image Editor toolbar.
6. Enter file path and file name, and click "Save Image"

That better?

I like to take time to explain the steps, mostly so that one can learn a little bit more about the interface. Although quick steps help in getting it done fast, I usually find it more helpful if it is explained why I am clicking these buttons and what those buttons do. Especially in programs with steep learning curves like Blender.

I will keep an eye on my verboseness in instructions in the future, though. Thanks, Finnish_Spartan.

-Droakir

 

[box o crayons]

ok so i did all that but i dont get my actual model i just get the very end of the sword blade and i can't get the tip or anything

 

[Droakir]

Have you tried combining all of your geometries into one single mesh? That should help in the exporting. Also, make sure that you have every geometry item selected when you export.

 

[box o crayons]

i dont know what to do it won't let me export my finished model any sugestions it just says that pep designer unnexpectidly quit

 

[Droakir]

Is your error occurring when you export from Blender to a file, or is the error when you try opening the file with Pepakura Designer?

 

[Toby]

Simple way to render to file in Blender (not the best way, maybe, but definitely the simplest)

1. Load model.
4. Hit F12.
5. Hit F3.
6. Enter file path and file name, and click "Save Image"

No offense, but until you get a bit more experienced, take more advice than you give. We all start as n00bs with blender, because the interface is unusual, but it's highly productive!

BTW: I suggest changing "Save image as" (Scene panel, F10) to PNG.

 

[Droakir]

Simple way to render to file in Blender (not the best way, maybe, but definitely the simplest)

1. Load model.
4. Hit F12.
5. Hit F3.
6. Enter file path and file name, and click "Save Image"

No offense, but until you get a bit more experienced, take more advice than you give. We all start as n00bs with blender, because the interface is unusual, but it's highly productive!

BTW: I suggest changing "Save image as" (Scene panel, F10) to PNG.

Hehe. Forgot about the F3 shortcut for rendering.

No offense taken. I learn by helping, and I try to help where I can. Thanks for the input!

 

[box o crayons]

yep i got it down now i just dont now how to actually get a good picture there always way off the target but i just take a window screenshot thing and check out my new creations

 

[Droakir]

yep i got it down now i just dont now how to actually get a good picture there always way off the target but i just take a window screenshot thing and check out my new creations

What you need for your renders, however, is move the camera.

1. Select camera and object (Right Click + Shift on both objects)
2. Ctrl + T and select TrackTo Constraint

You should now be able to render with F12 and Save with F3.

Noob Tip: If you have trouble selecting and moving the camera, remember that you have to right click and drag it and to drop it in a location, you left click.