ABX is our "Anansi Blender eXtensions", which is our studio helper code. I'm currently working on the core functionality, and one thing I need is to get some context on the file I'm processing so that we can correctly generate names, identify appr...
These are some videos showing the process for color-calibration. I made an attempt to fix the color balance issues on my monitor, but it turns out, it's just too far out of balance to calibrate this way. Probably means I'll have to use another mon...
Making of "Down the Rabbit Hole" We recently completed this "Making Of" case study video of how we put together a short VFX movie for a local community play project (with Southwest Reprise Theatre in Fort Worth, TX). After verifying that we ...
Before assembling the Soyuz Flight sequence, SF-1 subsequence, I had to make sure the component libraries were up to date. This video details the fixes I made to the Teddy Bear String Rig to rescale it and make it work correctly with my set.
It is possible to go from an original idea to a finished animated film entirely using free/open-source software, as illustrated here with examples from the "Lunatics!" project. FilmFreedom.org is a new site we are creating as a portal for acces...
In this 3rd video in the Sequence Assembly series, I explain the way the teddy bear rig is supposed to work, before going into how I updated it to work in the sequence.
This is the introduction to setting up the SF-1 subsequence of the SF-SoyuzFlight sequence. It will contain the character action and shots inside the Soyuz spacecraft during the launch, and be intercut with other subsequences later.
We are developing a tutorial/demonstration course, illustrating our production design process for "Lunatics!" open movie project. This is the first video as part of that course, explaining the plan for linking the various sources files together to...
Keneisha Perry illustrates the problems with updating an animation shot file when a character's proxy has become "broken" -- meaning it has become unusable due to changes in the library file (typically, the rig or rig object name had to be changed...
Keneisha Perry shows the process of adding animations to a scene, using the Non-Linear Action (NLA) editor, from existing action libraries to a shot file (this is a shot from our pilot episode, "Prolog").
I'm starting to assemble the components into a new animatic. I've created the Audacity sound stems, Ardour audio mixes, and Kdenlive video edits for each sequence, and started replacing shots with updated GL renders showing newer character animati...
This is the first "Worklog" video that is mostly production work, so I can post it. I've found making these worklog screencasts is a useful motivational and analysis tool. This one shows what it's really like to start learning a new piece of so...
Rigging for the "MoonTruck" model for "Lunatics!" Presented by Chris Kuhn, who created this model and the constraints-based control rig for it. [NOTE (2022): The components of this model have been color-coded for simpler modeling and rigging, ...
The time has come for us to adopt a better system for workflow and asset management, and to put it all together into a "virtual studio" system. We want to do that entirely with open-source software, and integrate it well with Blender, Synfig, and ...
A multiple-camera configuration allows animating a scene just once, and capturing the action with several cameras. Although Blender has a facility for switching cameras during rendering, it does not allow for any overlap for transitions (or to all...
Collaboration on programming projects has been dominated since the 1970s by "merge-based" version control, which allows multiple contributors to work on a project together without stepping on each others toes. This can be generalized to other "lis...
In this 2nd tutorial on lipsync with Papagayo for Blender, I explain how to import the MOHO .dat lipsync file into Blender for animation. Direct link to the download page for the script on our site: http://rs.lunatics.tv/pages/view.php?ref=262
In this second part of the Tumbling Letter Title Effect tutorial, I explain how to get reverse playback using the Blender Visual Sequence Editor, and then how I animated the materials and freestyle lines for the letters to get the "toon materializ...
Papagayo is a tool we are using to automate the process of generating lipsync movements to match voice actors. This is a line from our "Lunatics!" pilot, "No Children in Space" as it plays in Papagayo with our own "Hiromi" avatar to demonstrate th...
Papagayo is a tool we are using to automate the process of generating lipsync movements to match voice actors. This is a line from our "Lunatics!" pilot, "No Children in Space" as it plays in Papagayo with our own "Hiromi" avatar to demonstrate th...
This is the first of two videos explaining the tumbling-letter title effect we use for the opening credits of "Lunatics!" The movement of the letters are simulated using rigid body physics simulation.
A 23-minute introduction to the Lunatics! Project, emphasizing the project team, size, history, and comparisons to other free-culture / open-source animation projects. Also examines the Non-Photorealistic (NPR) style ("toon-shading and ink") that ...
Updated fundraising trailer for "Lunatics!" Pilot Project (support us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/lunatics, more project info at http://lunatics.tv ). Also our 2015 submission to the Blender Conference Suzanne Awards competition in the "Sho...
Object and camera tracking in Blender 2.49. This is the resulting animation from my Free Software Magazine tutorial [Object and Camera Path Tracking in Blender: Monkey See Monkey Do](https://web.archive.org/web/20120509124447/http://freesoftwar...