The Text Tool Add-on (version 1.0)

In this video, we will be creating a new add-on I call, the Text Tool Add-on. 

I wanted to create an add-on that would help speed up our workflow when adding text within blender.

We will need a Panel for our button and a Popup Dialog Box to execute the operation (and we have covered this in previous tutorials. Playlist here).

We can add pretty much anything to our Dialog box, and for the Text Tool add-on I want to be able to enter Some Custom Text, Set the Scale,Set the Orientation, Set the Alignment, add a Boolean and if the Boolean is True; I want the text to be extruded.

Then in the next video, we can take a look at tidying up the Dialog box Layout and make it look much better. 

I also have some Ideas for Animated effects. So if you think that sounds good, let us know in the comments below.

If you would like to download the add-on you can find the script here.  

 
I hope you find this video helpful and if you have any comments or suggestions for things you would like to see in future versions, be sure to let us know!.

How to create a Popup Dialog Box - bpy

In this video, we will be creating a Popup Dialog Box. 

With the Dialog box we can change various things and in this example we will be using it to add a cube, rename it to what ever we define and also what ever scale we want too.

Download the Add-on here. 

We also have the ability to use other Properties such as, a Boolean, Int/Float, Enums and more!. We will look at some of the other Properties in future videos, but for now we will create a very basic popup box. 

Now we have created one Popup Dialog box, we can take this further and add more functions. You can also go ahead and create more Popup dialog boxes for each of the other buttons.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful!. As always, thanks for reading.

Blender Python Tutorial: How to create a Custom Node Group (Compositor) - [bpy]

In this Video, we will be creating a Custom Node Group for the Compositor.

Custom Node Groups are really useful for speeding up our workflow. We can take a whole bunch of nodes and contain them in a single group. 

We can then define what options we want the user to be able to change.

Download the Template Script here. 

In this example we are just going to create a really basic Node Group with a couple of nodes, but you can take this further and create some awesome Custom Node Groups. 

As Many of you already know, the Darkfall VFX Nodes Add-on has a many Custom Node Groups and each of them give different effects or results.

The Eye Color Change Node

For example, this Custom Group Node will change the Eye Color of your Actor in your Movie clips. We have a whole bunch of values we can change and it's all packaged neatly in a Node Group. 

You can add what ever nodes you want inside of a Custom Node Group and create your own awesome Group Nodes.

Inside the Node Group, we can see all the nodes that are needed for the Effect to work. The more complex the effect, the more nodes you may have.

What kind of Custom Node Groups are you going to make?

Scripting Continued - Blender Python - bpy

In this video, we will be continuing scripting our "Object Adder" Add-on.

We will add some more functions such as the Smooth Shading option, Add a Modifier and more.

We also look at creating two more panels (for simplicity we call them Panel A and Panel B). After creating the new Panels we can add them to the Main Panel as "Sub Panels". 

It's really easy to add a panel to another panel and it only requires one property. By adding the, bl_parent_id = 'PT_MainPanel' 
we are telling 'Panel A' to be a child of the Main Panel.

By adding the, bl_options = {'DEFAULT_CLOSED'} 
we are telling the Panel to be minimized by default. If you have a whole bunch of panels open by default it can be a pain for the user to navigate to the section they intend to use.

 Once we are happy with the Add-on we need to make sure we add the bl-info at the beginning of the script (you can see the full script below). 

Without this Information, we can not install the Add-on. 

With our add-on now installed, we can use it without needing to run the script nor mess around with any settings.

  

Of course this Add-on is super simple and we can always add, change and improve this add-on but I wanted to create something easy to follow and I hope I have managed to inspire you to take this further and start to make awesome add-ons!..

If you want to use this script you can copy and paste the text below or you can click here.

In the Next Tutorial, we will be creating an Add-on that's a little more advanced but with the knowledge we have learned over the last two videos, it should be easier to pick up.

Again, I hope you found this Tutorial helpful! be sure to let us know what you think of this series or if you want more videos like this? 


Script result : 
__________________________________________________________________________
 

bl_info = {
    "name": "Object Adder",
    "author": "Darkfall",
    "version": (1, 0),
    "blender": (2, 80, 0),
    "location": "View3D > Toolbar > Object Adder",
    "description": "Adds objects and other functions to help our workflow (Tutorial Result)",
    "warning": "",
    "wiki_url": "",
    "category": "Add Mesh",
}

import bpy

    #This is the Main Panel (Parent of Panel A and B)
class MainPanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = "Object Adder"
    bl_idname = "PT_MainPanel"
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'
    bl_category = 'Object Adder'
   
    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        layout.scale_y = 1.2
       
        row = layout.row()
        row.label(text= "Add an object", icon= 'OBJECT_ORIGIN')
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("mesh.primitive_cube_add", icon= 'CUBE', text= "Cube")
        row.operator("mesh.primitive_uv_sphere_add", icon= 'SPHERE', text= "Sphere")
        row.operator("mesh.primitive_monkey_add", icon= 'MESH_MONKEY', text= "Suzanne")
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("curve.primitive_bezier_curve_add", icon= 'CURVE_BEZCURVE', text= "Bezier Curve")
        row.operator("curve.primitive_bezier_circle_add", icon= 'CURVE_BEZCIRCLE', text= "Bezier Circle")
       
       
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("object.text_add", icon= 'FILE_FONT', text= "Add Font")
        row = layout.row()
       


    #This is Panel A - The Scale Sub Panel (Child of MainPanel)
class PanelA(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = "Scale"
    bl_idname = "PT_PanelA"
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'
    bl_category = 'Object Adder'
    bl_parent_id = 'PT_MainPanel'
    bl_options = {'DEFAULT_CLOSED'}
   
    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
        obj = context.object
       
        row = layout.row()
        row.label(text= "Select an option to scale your", icon= 'FONT_DATA')
        row = layout.row()
        row.label(text= "      object.")
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("transform.resize")
        row = layout.row()
        layout.scale_y = 1.2
       
        col = layout.column()
        col.prop(obj, "scale")
       


    #This is Panel B - The Specials Sub Panel (Child of MainPanel)
class PanelB(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = "Specials"
    bl_idname = "PT_PanelB"
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'
    bl_category = 'Object Adder'
    bl_parent_id = 'PT_MainPanel'
    bl_options = {'DEFAULT_CLOSED'}
   
    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
       
        row = layout.row()
        row.label(text= "Select a Special Option", icon= 'COLOR_BLUE')
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("object.shade_smooth", icon= 'MOD_SMOOTH', text= "Set Smooth Shading")
        row.operator("object.subdivision_set", icon= 'MOD_SUBSURF', text= "Add Subsurf")
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("object.modifier_add", icon= 'MODIFIER')
       
  
       
    #Here we are Registering the Classes       
def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(MainPanel)
    bpy.utils.register_class(PanelA)
    bpy.utils.register_class(PanelB)

    #Here we are UnRegistering the Classes   
def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(MainPanel)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(PanelA)
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(PanelB)

    #This is required in order for the script to run in the text editor   
if __name__ == "__main__":
    register() 
                         

An Introduction to Scripting (Blender Python - bpy)

In this video,we will be taking a look at Scripting with Blender and Python.

Before we begin, I should mention that I am in no way an expert and in fact, I have only been learning Python (and scripting in general) for a short time. That being said, I went from knowing absolutely nothing - to developing the Darkfall VFX Nodes Add-on, and would like to share with you some tips and maybe a basic introduction into Scripting. 

  We first start by arranging our layout. There are three important windows we need in order to start scripting and they can be placed anywhere in your layout. It's a good idea to save a template file (so you can use a fresh scripting start up file each time). 

Learning Python and Scripting may seem daunting at first but with a little time and patience you can create something useful. 

If you do get stuck and need some help you can always check out the Blender API, there's a stockpile of really useful information along with some nice examples. You can also check out The Blender Stack Exchange, I have been saved many times by helpful people over at the Stack Exchange and certainly recommend using it. 

Blender also comes with many Python Templates for you to check out. I find it a good idea to have a look at how other scripts are structured and many times they can be slightly adapted to fit our needs.

Now, I assume that anyone reading this blog post will have their own idea for an add-on and many things in this introduction may not apply to what you need but I think having a basic understanding of creating a simple script will go a long way when it comes to tackling your own idea. 


In this Introduction, we will be creating a very simple add-on that I dubbed the "Object Adder"... With just a few lines of code we have created our first add-on!. Congratulations!.. 

We created a Panel in the 3D View that has a bunch of buttons, that when pressed add objects. So yeah, it's obviously not that impressive but if (like me) you thought you wouldn't ever be able to code something, you have just made your first steps into the new world of Python.



There are some different ways we can layout the panel and making it look "pretty" can always come later. I like to make sure everything is working and then we can go back and make some adjustments. The first version of the Darkfall VFX Nodes add-on was a mess. Not only did it look bad but it also was not as simple to use as it is now. 

Thanks to those who have downloaded and used the Add-on, I took their feedback and started to develop newer versions. So with that being said, If you find yourself stuck or need help improving your add-on, be sure to take all the feedback you can get. 

Since we could not cover everything in a single Video, I will be creating more videos on scripting and hopefully you guys will find them helpful. If you have any suggestions on what you want to see, make sure you leave a comment in the video and let us know!.

If you guys want to check out the code that we wrote in the video, you can find it here:

import bpy

class TestPanel(bpy.types.Panel):
    bl_label = "Object Adder"
    bl_idname = "PT_TestPanel"
    bl_space_type = 'VIEW_3D'
    bl_region_type = 'UI'
    bl_category = 'My 1st Addon'
   
    def draw(self, context):
        layout = self.layout
       
        row = layout.row()
        row.label(text= "Add an object", icon= 'OBJECT_ORIGIN')
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("mesh.primitive_cube_add", icon= 'CUBE')
       
        row.operator("mesh.primitive_uv_sphere_add", icon= 'SPHERE')
        row = layout.row()
        row.operator("object.text_add", icon= 'FILE_FONT', text= "Font Button")
       
       
       
       
def register():
    bpy.utils.register_class(TestPanel)
   
def unregister():
    bpy.utils.unregister_class(TestPanel)
   
if __name__ == "__main__":
    register()