I recently started working on a new showreel. After creating a few new scenes, I started rummaging through my Blendfile folder to see if there was some unfinished stuff that I could use.
Blender is a really versatile program. It can even be used as a replacement for image manipulation programs like Photoshop or Krita in some cases, with the added benefit that real and fake 3D can be combined.
The new Version of BlenderDiplom's Cycles Encyclopedia is out. If you don't want to scrub through it looking for the latest additions yourself, here is a list of the most important changes.
The mask modifier has received an update in Blender 2.79. Frederik Steinmetz explains all settings in depth and shows example situations where the mask modifier might come in handy.
In the second part of the BlenderDiplom Halloween 2016 series Frederik Steinmetz shows how to use animation nodes to track the rotation of several objects towards another object at once and how to use the setup to easily control further attributes and effects.
Kenneth F. Musgrave came up with an algorithm to create procedural patterns suitable for creating procedural terrain. His results actually exceed this purpose and can produce some very interesting patterns. His methods are implemented in Cycles but they are largely overlooked.
The Boolean Modifier has received an upgrade in Blender 2.78, watch this tutorial to find out all about the modifier and what the changes are.
Have you ever wondered why the boolean modifier does not respect materials of the boolean mesh? Find out all about it, including the difference between BMesh and Carve as well as how to preserve the materials and UVs.
It's Halloween 2016 - scary eyes everywhere - looking at you! Frederik Steinmetz shows how to morph a sculpted mesh using shape keys and how to make objects look towards the camera.
Last year's fluid particle demo has been meshed using the cubesurfer addon. Check out the results and how the version with surface compares to the one with just the particles and as final bonus a version that shows both.