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Modeling, rendering, and animating realistic machines with Blender 3D Walk through the complete process of building amazing machines Model and create mechanical models and vehicles with detailed designs Add advanced global illumination options to the renders created in Blender 3D using YafaRay and LuxRender Create machines such as a handgun, a steam punk spacecraft, and a transforming robot In Detail Blender 3D provides all the features you need to create super-realistic 3D models of machines for use in artwork, movies, and computer games. Blender 3D 2.49 Incredible Machines gives you step-by-step instructions for building weapons, vehicles, robots, and more. This book will show you how to use Blender 3D for mechanical modeling and product visualization. Through the pages of the book, you will find a step-by-step guide to create three different projects: a fantasy weapon, a spacecraft, and a giant robot. Even though these machines are not realistic, you will be able to build your own sensible and incredible machines with the techniques that you will learn in this book along with the exercises and examples. All the three sections of this book, which cover three projects, are planned to have an increasing learning curve. The first project is about a hand weapon, and with that we can image a small-sized object with tiny details. This first part of the book will show you how to deal with these details and model them in Blender 3D. In the second project, we will create a spacecraft, adding a bit of scale to the project, and new materials and textures as well. With this project, we will be working with metal, glass, and other elements that make the spacecraft. Along with the object, a new space environment will be created in the book too. At the end we have a big and complex object, which is the transforming robot. This last part of the book will cover the modeling of two objects and show how you can make one transform into the other. The scale and number of objects in this project are quite big, but the same principles as in the other projects are applied here with a step-by-step guide on how to go through the workflow of the project. What you will learn from this book? Learn the tools and options to use YafaRay to render your images Arrange a three-point light system, which produces light for renderings where a single object is the main focus of the image Create a steam punk spacecraft with minute detailing and more UV Mapping techniques to add extra realism to the model Use Edge Modeling to create, place, and shape different sections and then connect them together to create a base model Produce cables and wires by using a combination of curves and surfaces Make use of textures to generate shadows and the impression of depth in models Make an object look old by adding dust to its texture Use, set up, and create combustion flares with particles in Blender 3D Set up composite nodes, and create glare and glow effects with them Create a photorealistic space environment for the spacecraft with stars and planets using vertices and Halo materials, and add textures to them Create a curve, and make any type of object use this curve as a path for animation in Blender Construct an amazing robot that can change its shape and transform itself into a military vehicle Approach This book presents practical tutorials and focuses on fun projects. It contains a lot of serious training material, but is presented in a fun and entertaining way. Who this book is written for? This book targets game designers/developers, artists, and product designers who want to create realistic images, 3D models, and videos of machines. You are expected to have experience with basic Blender operation, as the book is not a 'getting started' tutorial. About The Author Allan Brito is a Brazilian architect who specializes in information visualization. He lives and works in Recife, Brazil. He works with Blender 3D to produce animations and still images for visualization and instructional material. He is an active member of the community of Blender users, writing about Blender 3D and it's development for web sites in Brazilian Portuguese allanbrito.com and English blender3darchitect.com and blendernation.com Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1: Machinery Modeling and Visualization with Blender Chapter 2: Modeling a Handgun Chapter 3: Polygon Modeling of the Weapon Chapter 4: Adding Details Chapter 5: Rendering the Project with YafaRay Chapter 6: Steampunk Spacecraft Chapter 7: Working with Smaller Areas Chapter 8: Advanced UV Mapping Chapter 9: Putting the Spacecraft to Fly and Shoot with Special Effects Chapter 10: Rendering the Spacecraft with YafaRay Chapter 11: Transforming Robot Chapter 12: Using Modifiers and Curves to Create Details for the Robot and Scene Chapter 13: Making the Robot Look Metallic with Materials in LuxRender Chapter 14: Adding Lights to the Scene and Rendering with LuxRender Chapter 15: It's Alive! Animating the Robot Chapter 16: Post Production of the Robot Index