Fedeylin 1 book cover

WRITTEN_BY David REVOY - - 9 comments
Fedeylin book cover t.1 , a book written by Nadia Coste Mypaint , Gimp-painter. Last week, I traveled to Paris to do a cartoonist job ( while Blend&Paint is getting an english correction at the Blender Institute ). It was a pleasant job because of the place : on a boat on the Seine ( the major river in Paris ). Aside of this cool job, I spent a bit of time with my publisher Gründ too, and we talked about next book cover. I'm not used to talk on my blog about the book cover and board game I illustrate because they are mostly not traduced and only in French. But I decided to change my mind and showcase from time to time the cover artworks. Under, the book cover with the titles : ![fedeylins nadia coste t1](data/images/blog/2011/04/fedeylins-nadia-coste-t1.jpg) **links ( fr )** : Nadia ' blog : Official website : Publisher :

Videocapture settings for the Blend&Paint DVD

WRITTEN_BY David REVOY - - 26 comments

Warning :the method presented in this article are too old to be applied now. Use this information at your own risk.

videocapture screen

Blend&Paint is my next DVD video tutorial as you probably already read here last week . The DVD is actually on a presale period on the Blender e-shop during the time I finish the video editing.

Read more Videocapture settings for the Blend&Paint DVD

Tsunami : pictures for Japan

WRITTEN_BY David REVOY - - 14 comments
The project "Tsunami ; pictures for Japan" was initiated with a common and simultaneous movement, on social networks and communities, at the initiative of Jean-David Morvan, Sylvain Runberg, Aurélie Neyret, Kness Made & and the whole community CFSL.net. When I saw this page I decided to join with the speedpainting above. \- an auction of original drawings made for the occasion and whose profits will be donated to [Give2Asia](http://www.give2asia.org/). \- The achievement of a collective book whose profits will be donated to [Give2Asia](http://www.give2asia.org/)

DVD Blend & Paint

WRITTEN_BY David REVOY - - 44 comments
[youtube]9mpIR7hIHho[/youtube] _Blend&Paint video trailer_ Blend & Paint 'B&P' is my second DVD tutorial after Chaos & Evolution. It's a DVD focusing on paint-over 3D mesh done in Blender. The DVD content is spitted in two parts : 1. a quickstart to learn to use Blender ( written for 2D artist beginner with 3D ) 2. a complete making-off commented ( with text label over video ). ## 2 hours of videos! the main illustration done in this training is a big high detail 6K picture of a science-fiction environment, with space ship, a city, plants and trees, and several characters. The real target of the training is to understand the 3D to 2D workflow. ## An open DVD ? why to buy it ? Simply because if you can't support, open project like this one will stop one day. The Blender Open Movie Workshop DVD series is a Blender Institute product. Think about it ; By purchasing this DVD you support the Blender Foundation projects, artist like me and the free culture. [Buy Blend&Paint DVD on Blender e-shop now](http://www.blender3d.org/e-shop/product_info_n.php?products_id=134 "link for Blender e-shop page of the Dvd 'Blend&Paint'" ) **Requirement : ** \- a basic knowledge of Gimp-painter or any digital painting software is recommended. **Specifications :** - DVD-Rom ; not meant for DVD player but for PC/Mac ; HTML menu, videos as \*.avi files. - 2 hours of videos of 1280x720, 30fps ; play well in browser,VLC, etc... - Short, concise steps, commented with english labels (no voice-over). - Made for Blender 2.5 - Gimp-painter 2.6 - Mypaint 0.9 , - licensed as Creative Commons 3 Attribution ## Screenshot gallery : ![Blend and Paint resultl](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp/Blend_and_Paint-resultl.jpg) _Blend&Paint main artwork_ ![Blend and Paint screenshot02 net](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp/Blend_and_Paint-screenshot02-net.jpg) _Tutorial , first parts about navigation and manipulation of 3D object in Blender_ ![Blend and Paint screenshot03 net](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp/Blend_and_Paint-screenshot03-net.jpg) _Set the light source in the 3D scene_ ![Blend and Paint screenshot04 net](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp/Blend_and_Paint-screenshot04-net.jpg) _Pasting texture in 2D with Gimp_ ![Blend and Paint screenshot05 net](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp/Blend_and_Paint-screenshot05-net.jpg) _Painting over details with Mypaint_ ![Blend and Paint wire net](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp/Blend_and_Paint-wire-net.jpg) _The 3D scene before exporting_ ![02 Vaisseau final net](data/images/blog/2011/04/02_Vaisseau_final-net.jpg)A speedy exercice to do a concept-art _from a 3D model _ ![03 Secret passage final net](data/images/blog/2011/04/03_Secret-passage_final-net.jpg)Another Speedy video _result : using 3D to setup view angle _ ![bp menu](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp-menu.jpg) _Main menu ( html file on the DVD )_ ![bp videothumb](data/images/blog/2011/04/bp-videothumb.jpg) _Main course menu with all the videos_ [Buy Blend&Paint DVD on Blender e-shop now](http://www.blender3d.org/e-shop/product_info_n.php?products_id=134 "link for Blender e-shop page of the Dvd 'Blend&Paint'" ) ## Support page : Every DVDs link to this page. Use the comments of this blog post to ask your questions, or report issues, or post your artworks. Printing issue with the manufacturer : first batch of DVDs printed got short (8.3) names in Windows, Mac. A temporary HTML fix is available [here for download ](http://www.blender.org/bf/blendnpaint_html_for_windows.zip)now. On any request to the shop, the Blender e-shop will send you a reprint for free. ### Typos : In the 'resources' documentation, 2 typos in the code to install all softwares were found ... too late. This code on Linux is also irrevelant now. Gimp 2.6 user : you'll need the plugin [file-ora.py](./?telechargement/Li4vLi4vZGF0YS9kb2N1bWVudHMvZmlsZS1vcmEucHkqZjY1YjI0) to open \*.ora. Gimp 2.8 user wont need it. ### Video erratas : Clip duplicated or badly rendered by Kdenlive: - **Blender-02_basics : 13:05 **Bevel sequence get a "Mirror" clip - **Blender-04_modeling2 : 5:20** during multiple duplication , a part of the Del/X Demo clip come back ## FAQ This question were found on the youtube video comments posted above. Feel free to ask more in the comment part bellow this post. **Q: What kind of program is used to create the "subtitles"?** A: I use Kdenlive (http://www.kdenlive.org/) and the template titles engine (http://www.kdenlive.org/discover/0.7.5#template ). **Q: ****I really want this..but i don't have a dvd player..** A: The DVD is a DVD-Rom , to read on a PC with VLC ; so you don't need a TV home dvd player. If your computer don't have a DVD player, feel free to download it ( a torrent will be surely available by the community soon after release) don't forget to support the Blender foundation with a Paypal donation (http://www.blender.org/blenderorg/blender-foundation/donation-payment/> ) if you think it worth it. **Q:** **Doesn't anyone feel a certain element, or even a large chunk of the magic involved in creating , admiring and displaying, has been removed from the whole essence behind illustration ? ** A: No, this is just less pains for illustrator. Difficulties and technical skill are just frontier for artist to express their essence. All possibilities and way are good if the final result express something interresting : a feeling, an idea. Don't mix the Art ( the idea, the result ) and the Handicraft ( the technics, the road to get it ) . Art history with Marcel Duchamp and Readymades already crossed ( almost one hundred years ago, 1917 ) this reflexion with a lot more of provocation than my 3D paint-over technic , really cool ! ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readymades_of_Marcel_Duchamp **Q:** **I would also like to know is there is a suitable BOOK, normal paper, that will teach me about thing s using the new blender interface 2.5?** A: Yes, I advice this one : **Q:** **The future Blender Movie Project???! :P It would be so cool if the next project will be a "science-fiction" story^^ ;) ** A: :- ) 'Mango' (codename) will be about sci-fi ; and I really plan to be around to help with concept-art if the future team want it ;) **Q:** **I am a new beginner on blender and 3D world, and from the moment I realized that blender is a wonderful tool for my future work, I am interested to buy your video DVD blender and Paint. But, this is the question: I do not use MyPaint. I have another colouring software that I bought, and I was wondering if I still can follow your DVD instructions using my software.** A: As a beginner, it will be a bit harder to follow it with OpenCanvas or Photoshop or Corel Painter. But the DVD present a workflow more than a real 'press this button' tutorial . So I think you can benefit from it. **Q:** **Cool, I wonder how easy this would be to translate into doing 2D animation... the way traditional animation is done with painted backdrops and simply shaded cartoon "layers" has always left me unsatisfied somehow, if this technique used more 3d rendering and less direct hand work would create some beautiful animation** A: For creating 'frame' this techniques would still be to slow in my opinion ( for a traditional 2D anim ) , but for painted background, it's ideal. I learned most of it while doing the backgrounds for the video games Troll de Troy ( watch many screenshots here : ) **Q:** **Just wondering how much the 3d art is used in the end product. is it mostly for reference, or is it almost 100% traced?** A: I would say the right proportion is around 30% of 3D, and 70% of paint-over

Making of: Yin Yang of World Hunger

WRITTEN_BY David REVOY - - 19 comments
I created this personal artwork in September with the following text:_ “Enough food is produced in the world today to feed everyone, but it’s not the case... That’s the best way to see the total failure of our actual human societies. This is what I tried to represent in this picture. You can help with signing this free online petition [www.1billionhungry.org](http://www.1billionhungry.org) to express your support against world hunger. Done with Mypaint and Gimp on Linux”_. A large movement was created around this artwork with thousands of blog and social websites sharing this visual message. A lot more I would ever expect from an artwork. Thanks ! I propose you to discover the making of behind “Yin Yang of a world hunger, this making of was published months ago for Cgarena.com . I'm happy to take time this evening to also post it on my blog to share with my visitors. The cloned article is [ here](http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/misc/yingyang/hunger.html). ## TRADITIONAL The idea of this artwork was born in the metro of my city. When I was back in my home studio, I speedily sketched on a ‘post-it’ yellow paper and glue it on my desk. It often happens to me to have an unusual idea and leave it on the corner of my drawing table to see if it’s not a whim of the moment. Day after days, this little post-it bad sketched idea watched me working with always the same intensity. So I decided to do a digital painting of it, even if it’s not really adapted to my ‘Fantasy’ portfolio. ![01 ref](data/images/blog/2011/03/01-ref.jpg) First step was to do a larger and better version of my original sketch. (The original post-it sketch was thrown to garbage just after finished the cleaned one, too bad for the making of). The above photo created today while writing is a reconstitution of the tools used. The paper used is an A4 page for printer. I used on this one a hard pencil as H, a black liner pen 0.1 and a black marker to fill some area. I used the eraser to brighten some part darkened by the pencil. I scanned it with Xsane on my canon Mp560 multifunction printer at around 150 dpi. I didn’t look for grabbing a hi-resolution version of the picture, but I wanted to use it as a guideline. 150dpi is really fast too and make the transition from the drawing table to the computer less painful in my opinion. The scan is cleaned and cropped with the tools of my picture viewer Gthumb. When the acquisition work is finished, I can open it in my main program: Gimp to start to prepare it for digital painting. ![02 digital](data/images/blog/2011/03/02-digital.jpg) ## GIMP - PAINTER PREPARATION Before starting the digital painting process, I like to prepare my artwork with few tricks to make it easier to paint on. Cross hatching lines of my sketch, hard outlines and high black and white contrast are unwanted effect of the scanned picture, and to break it I apply this solution: ![03 screenshot](data/images/blog/2011/03/03-screenshot.jpg) From the picture on the previous page (a reconstitution I did): 1\. The scanned sketch. 2\. I duplicate the sketch 3 times to obtain 3 layers. On the top one I apply a big Blur effect (with a large radius) Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur. On middle layer with a less and large radius. The first one a radius just too softly blurs the lines. 3\. I change the layer blending mode (on the layer windows) to ‘Multiply’; the result become too dark, and to avoid it I reduce the opacity of some layers. 4\. I flat the result Image > Flatten Image and I shade the overall with an airbrush in multiply blending mode. ![04 brushes](data/images/blog/2011/03/04-brushes.jpg) 5\. Now the picture is ready. Here is a step I kept from a backup drive of the preparation step of my illustration. I also used a brush ‘Sparkle’ to overlay a little texture. The sparkle brush is from my brush kit ‘Chaos & Evolution’ for Gimp-painter ( Note : Chaos&Evolutions brush kit are merged now with the [GPS project](http://code.google.com/p/gps-gimp-paint-studio/) ; up to the 1.5 version ) . To finish my preparation, I scale the result to a better size to work details: around 1800x2400px. ## DIGITAL PAINTING WITH MYPAINT ![05 mypaint](data/images/blog/2011/03/05-mypaint.jpg) When my preparations are over, I open the picture in Mypaint (I use flat PNG to communicate between the two applications most of the time). I prefer to paint in this painting program for many reasons, the most evidents are about the fast 2D engine, and the good ergonomic. On the picture under : 5\. A simple ‘GTK wheel’ and fast color selector (a more complex with advanced feature is also available) but I like this one a lot since we can use it in ALL other open source programs I know. (ex: If you develop a strong color selection ability with this one, you will be able to use your abilities everywhere on Linux after). 6\. The icons of the brush selection, here it’s my Brush Kit V3 for mypaint (installed by default with many others strong brush kit ) as it’s a recent “reconstitution screenshot”, some tools of the future V4 can be seen (still in experimentation ). 7\. Working with an illustration condensed into a circle is easier with a program able to rotate the workspace. With Mypaint , you can assign 2 keyboard shortcut for rotate left/right or use Ctrl+Space to rotate depending of your stylus position. 8\. The right-click in Mypaint propose a little pop-up menu next to the pointer with a 5 block of color history. This is easy to call from the stylus pen button. On a grey scale work it’s make an easy palette to select last greys used as well as pure black or white. With Mypaint I finish a black and white version of my illustration. I take care of the modeling, the shading and refining the drawing of each shape. ## RECOLORING IN GIMP - PAINTER ![06 recoloring](data/images/blog/2011/03/06-recoloring.jpg) I re-import my artwork in Gimp-painter, and I crop the artwork to the good size (My paint infinite canvas compute sometimes extra-borders at saving , it’s a well know side effect of the ‘infinite painting workspace’ features for Mypaint users). In gimp-painter I create a layer above my grayscale artwork with the ‘color’ blending mode, and I start to paint on it the color I want to add to my artworks. With the same process I work on deeper shadows on a multiply layer, and highlights or effect with an overlay layer. This is fast and efficient. When I’m happy with the result I flatten the picture and continue to paint with the ‘mix brush’ of gimp-painter to correct the details. ## RETOUCH IN GIMP PAINTER ![07 lastretouch](data/images/blog/2011/03/07-lastretouch.jpg) I always finish an illustration with a bit of image manipulation to enhance my effects and rendering. I often sharpen (Filter > Enhance > Sharpen) my picture to reveal the painting strokes a bit more. I also in this case overlay a texture (here on the background, a texture in grey level on a layer in ‘overlay’ mode) and I play with the ‘balance of color’ and the ‘contrast’ of the picture. (In the ‘color’ menu). I usually have more than one result with these manipulation experimentations. (Here under 4 results thumbnails ). At this stage I like to let those result ‘sleep’ on my hard drive for a night or few days. Few days after, when my eyes “refreshed”, it’s easier to do a choice, and it’s often evident. I will choose the last one: even if the contrast burn a bit the black and overexpose the white, I like the effect of dramatic light. That’s how end this making of. Nothing revolutionary in terms of workflow aside the fact I use only Free/Libre/Open Source Software on a Linux System. This artwork was not meant to be a technical demo in the result, and as you saw In this article; all the step from A to Z were easy and totally controlled in a minimal of execution time. I hope this article will inspire you a bit or give you ideas of a workflow to produce your own artworks. Thanks for reading! ## Final : ![yin yang of world hunger final net](data/images/blog/2010/09/03/yin-yang-of-world-hunger_final-net.jpg)