Blender and Paper Model Export script mini tutorial
Oct 14, 2015 0:22:04 GMT -9
squirmydad, Vermin King, and 2 more like this
Post by lightning on Oct 14, 2015 0:22:04 GMT -9
In case anyone is interested in working with the free Blender 3D modeling software and the paper model export script I can share what I have found most helpful.
Get Blender here.
Get the unfold export script here. There is a current download link somewhere in the top half of the page and some info on how to install it below. Also it might be interesting to have a look at the blender artists forum thread indicated there.
Watch a Blender introduction tutorial like this or this to get the basics (if you are unfamiliar with Blender). You will need only a small amount of what blender is capable of, so you should not need much more than the bascis :-)
To make working in Blender match what you are planning in size it is important to set the units as desired! The short info is go to the scene settings and select imperial or metric units and a scale of 1.0. Or watch a tutorial like this or this.
Now all you need to do is create stuff in Blender and know that 1 (metric) unit is 1 meter (1m). I am not sure about imperial but according to this site it is 1ft.
Some quick tips for blender:
Select something with right-click!
Left-clicking in the 3D design panes will move the so called 3D cursor (some temp origin for moving, scaling, rotating etc). If you have done this accidently you can reset it back to origin using Shift+C.
T toggles the tool bar on the left. In the Create tab you can create primitives like boxes or spheres. Or use the Paper Models tab to work on the paper model unfold and export it.
N toggles another bar more to the right side. There under Transform you can check or edit coordinate values precisely.
Tab switches between object mode and edit mode.
In object mode (or outside mode as I call it) you select the object/shape as a whole and move, scale, rotate etc the whole shape in one.
In edit mode (or inside mode according to me) you can select single vertices (points), edges or faces and to stuff with them independtly to the rest of the object.
In edit mode using Ctrl+Tab (when the mouse is over the 3D design parts not some settings or attribute part) you can switch between working with vertices, edges and faces.
When you have your shape done and want to create the paper model, all that is left is to tell Blender, where to cut/split so that it is able to create an unfold shape.
To do this you need to be in edit mode (Tab) and make sure have the Tool bar (T) visisble and you have the Paper Models tab selected.
Then use Ctrl+Tab to select edge.
Now select edges (right click!) which would represent a cut and click the Mark Seam button on the paper model section. The edge will turn red (when not selected). You can also clear seams if required.
When all is done you can click the Unfold button in the paper model section. You wont see any result! except some info on the number of islands in the paper model section. Islands are single unfold bits. This can be helpful in knowing if everything went as planned.
A cube usually could be unfolded as one island (looking like a T shape or similar depending on where you marked the cut seams).
A simple house object, where you want the walls and roof parts separate would result in two islands etc.
Finally you click the Export Paper Model button and enter a name for the exported SVG file. The script will produce file(s) with _page1 depending on how many pages it produced. So if you entered the name "house" and the model would go on two pages you will find house_page1.svg and house_page2.svg.
One caveat: If a single island is too large to fit on one page you will get an error message and no file is exported. But I have found that if an island is only a little too large you don't get an error message but the scale of the parts exported is off (reduced). So when you find that your parts don't match your expected size, you might want to check if further splitting is requried.
You can view the exported SVG files in the Firefox browser or edit with Inkscape.
I hope this summary will help, when taking this road to paper modeling. I am happy to answer questions related to specific problems but please refer to tutorial pages and videos on how to use Blender or Inkscape in general.
Get Blender here.
Get the unfold export script here. There is a current download link somewhere in the top half of the page and some info on how to install it below. Also it might be interesting to have a look at the blender artists forum thread indicated there.
Watch a Blender introduction tutorial like this or this to get the basics (if you are unfamiliar with Blender). You will need only a small amount of what blender is capable of, so you should not need much more than the bascis :-)
To make working in Blender match what you are planning in size it is important to set the units as desired! The short info is go to the scene settings and select imperial or metric units and a scale of 1.0. Or watch a tutorial like this or this.
Now all you need to do is create stuff in Blender and know that 1 (metric) unit is 1 meter (1m). I am not sure about imperial but according to this site it is 1ft.
Some quick tips for blender:
Select something with right-click!
Left-clicking in the 3D design panes will move the so called 3D cursor (some temp origin for moving, scaling, rotating etc). If you have done this accidently you can reset it back to origin using Shift+C.
T toggles the tool bar on the left. In the Create tab you can create primitives like boxes or spheres. Or use the Paper Models tab to work on the paper model unfold and export it.
N toggles another bar more to the right side. There under Transform you can check or edit coordinate values precisely.
Tab switches between object mode and edit mode.
In object mode (or outside mode as I call it) you select the object/shape as a whole and move, scale, rotate etc the whole shape in one.
In edit mode (or inside mode according to me) you can select single vertices (points), edges or faces and to stuff with them independtly to the rest of the object.
In edit mode using Ctrl+Tab (when the mouse is over the 3D design parts not some settings or attribute part) you can switch between working with vertices, edges and faces.
When you have your shape done and want to create the paper model, all that is left is to tell Blender, where to cut/split so that it is able to create an unfold shape.
To do this you need to be in edit mode (Tab) and make sure have the Tool bar (T) visisble and you have the Paper Models tab selected.
Then use Ctrl+Tab to select edge.
Now select edges (right click!) which would represent a cut and click the Mark Seam button on the paper model section. The edge will turn red (when not selected). You can also clear seams if required.
When all is done you can click the Unfold button in the paper model section. You wont see any result! except some info on the number of islands in the paper model section. Islands are single unfold bits. This can be helpful in knowing if everything went as planned.
A cube usually could be unfolded as one island (looking like a T shape or similar depending on where you marked the cut seams).
A simple house object, where you want the walls and roof parts separate would result in two islands etc.
Finally you click the Export Paper Model button and enter a name for the exported SVG file. The script will produce file(s) with _page1 depending on how many pages it produced. So if you entered the name "house" and the model would go on two pages you will find house_page1.svg and house_page2.svg.
One caveat: If a single island is too large to fit on one page you will get an error message and no file is exported. But I have found that if an island is only a little too large you don't get an error message but the scale of the parts exported is off (reduced). So when you find that your parts don't match your expected size, you might want to check if further splitting is requried.
You can view the exported SVG files in the Firefox browser or edit with Inkscape.
I hope this summary will help, when taking this road to paper modeling. I am happy to answer questions related to specific problems but please refer to tutorial pages and videos on how to use Blender or Inkscape in general.