[def13]

Hi,


I would like to share with you my knowledge about Blender, because it's a lightweight software but it's a real powerful 3D tool for your SGI workstation.

It's not usual to work with Blender for 3D projects on IRIX, CG artists mostly prefer using Softimage or Maya. In the middle of the 90s, the CG industry has been built auround Softimage and Alias|Wavefront until Maya arrived. In this context, Blender is a tiny challenger.

I work with it since 2003 (before : 3D Studio - DOS, 3DS Max, TrueSpace, Cinema4D - MacOS). I've install Blender 2.45, because the version 2.48 refuse to start (python version ?)… Nevermind. Blender 2.45 is a very stable built. I hightly recommand to install neko_python_2.4.1 (this version and not an other / important to run some scripts) and neko_yafray-0.0.9a (for beautiful renders).
Normaly, if you have well declared usr/nekoware/bin and usr/nekoware/sbin in your .cshrc, Blender should find Python and Yafray à startup.


As you can see in the picture above, Blender has found Python library …


Splash-screen designed by François Deretz aka … DEF13 (more about this picture here)


This is my favorite Blender workspace

According to me, Blender is hightly better than Maya for polygon modelling, UV mapping, scanline rendering, compositing nodes based rendering (like Flame or Shake), easy and quick animations set-up … But unlike Maya, Blender has not a friendly interface and to work quick and well with it , YOU HAVE TO KNOW ONE WORD : SHORTCUTS … and when you know them, you will create objects quicker than on Maya or Softimage.

Today, I've start to control a huge archive of Blender's Python scripts. Some of them are very powerful and useful (camera match, cyclic IPO manager, lots of objects creators : gears, trees, cities, …). When I'll finish check, I'll share this library with you.

If you have some questions, I'll try to answer it

[BrainStorm]

Hi there def13. Have you any experience using the FilmicBlender color setup? The examples/demos/tutorials I've seen create renders that are so much more realistic. I'm curious about using it in our older IRIX machines and just had not brought this question forward here yet, but since you brought up Blender...

[Jacques]

Nice post, thank you.

I could never get around the Blender interface, to this day I cannot stand it.

[def13]

Filmic is use in color management section in latest Blender releases.
When you render a scene with it, your image get a high color dynamic range ; it works exactly like 'log' for movie and video camera (the result is a non contrast image with clamped highlighs and shadows) ; so it's perfect for color grading.
The best advice I can give is before begining a project, be sure to work with Filmic mode in Blender Color Management in the Scene set-up…
-- Color management doesn't exist on Blender's versions for Irix but to keep a large range for color grading, you could save your render as *.exr (ILM OpenEXR) or *.dpx (Kodak Cineon), for exemple.

The realism of the picture come from a mix of Blender knowledge and the talent of the CG Artist. Blender keeps his 'Internal Render' (an hybrid of scanlien and raster scan) but everybody moved to 'Cycle Render' (a path tracing / photorealistic render engine) … and shortly EEVEE, a real time photorealistic render engine to complete 'Cycle Render'.
-- Cycle Render doesn't exist on Blender's versions for Irix, but we can use Yafray (It's not really perfect but it could make the job).

In fact, using old CG softwares on old "Rolls Royce" computer is a way for me to clamp my artistic process … By our days, it's easy to find an esthetic answer to a graphic question ; I love non perfect artworks because I could feel the artist behind pixels.

---

Nice post, thank you.

I could never get around the Blender interface, to this day I cannot stand it.

In fact, in Blender, you can create, manage and store your own interfaces … this is the first thing I didn't find in Maya

---

Well, I got a little problem with Blender 2.48a.

It have been compile with Python 2.5 and I have to install Python 2.5 but I only find Neko_Python_2.5.2.tardist … and naturaly, scripts doesn't works.

So I looked for and I found the 2.5 version here.
According to them, to install it I just have to do from the terminal in the Python-2.5 directory :
./config
make
make install


My questions are :
Where does it install ? Which comand I have to chose ? Does it overwrite Neko_Pytho_2.4.1 ?

Why installing Blender 2.48 ?
Because there a huge gap between this version and the 2.45 version.

[vishnu]

So I looked for and I found the 2.5 version here.
According to them, to install it I just have to do from the terminal in the Python-2.5 directory :
./config
make
make install

My questions are :
Where does it install ? Which comand I have to chose ? Does it overwrite Neko_Pytho_2.4.1 ?

The default behavior of autoconf is to install in /usr/local, but you can change that behavior by passing in the prefix option, for example:

./configure --prefix=/opt

You can get a list of supported options with ./configure --help

[def13]

Thanks Vishnu.
I always forget "man" or "--help" useful commands [-_-!]

Next episod : trying to run a 100% fonctional Blender 2.48a … and after, posting screenshots of a project made and rendered on my Octane (with rendering times).

[def13]

Installing Python-2.5.0 looks harder than what I thought  :s  :

Code:

# ./configure
checking MACHDEP... irix6
checking EXTRAPLATDIR...
checking for --without-gcc... no
checking for C compiler default output file name... configure: error: C compiler cannot create executables
See 'config.log' for more details.
#

And here is what I found in config.log in the Core tests section :

Code:

## ----------- ##
## Core tests. ##
## ----------- ##

configure:1517: checking MACHDEP
configure:1662: result: irix6
configure:1668: checking EXTRAPLATDIR
configure:1683: result:
configure:1704: checking for --without-gcc
configure:1753: result: no
configure:1812: checking for gcc
configure:1828: found /usr/freeware/bin/gcc
configure:1838: result: gcc
configure:2082: checking for C compiler version
configure:2085: gcc --version </dev/null >&5
2.95.2
configure:2088: $? = 0
configure:2090: gcc -v </dev/null >&5
Reading specs from /usr/freeware/lib/gcc-lib/mips-sgi-irix6.2/2.95.2/specs
gcc version 2.95.2 19991024 (release)
configure:2093: $? = 0
configure:2095: gcc -V </dev/null >&5
gcc: argument to `-V' is missing
configure:2098: $? = 1
configure:2121: checking for C compiler default output file name
configure:2124: gcc    conftest.c  >&5
gcc: installation problem, cannot exec `as': No such file or directory
configure:2127: $? = 1
configure: failed program was:
| /* confdefs.h.  */
|
| #define _GNU_SOURCE 1
| #define _NETBSD_SOURCE 1
| #define __BSD_VISIBLE 1
| #define _BSD_TYPES 1
| #define _XOPEN_SOURCE 600
| #define _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED 1
| #define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200112L
| /* end confdefs.h.  */
|
| int
| main ()
| {
|
|   ;
|   return 0;
| }
configure:2165: error: C compiler cannot create executables
See `config.log' for more details.

I understand when the error happens : configure:2124: gcc    conftest.c  >&5 ; but I clarely don't understand what I have to do to solve it.

Anybody has an idea, please ?

Edit : I've start my project by unactivate the path to python scripts to not be frustrated to see a script that could solve a potencial problem : HARDCORE MODE !

[gijoe77]

I haven't gotten around to trying this yet because I'm currently restoring my development system from months and months old backups, but first thing that jumped out at me was your using the /usr/freeware gcc, I think that's pretty outdated. I would at a minimum try the nekoware 3.4.6(?) version of gcc

[def13]

I haven't gotten around to trying this yet because I'm currently restoring my development system from months and months old backups, but first thing that jumped out at me was your using the /usr/freeware gcc, I think that's pretty outdated.  I would at a minimum try the nekoware 3.4.6(?) version of gcc

Thanks

According to you, it could be a good idea to uninstall "gcc" and replace it by neko_gcc-3.4.6.tardist
GCC is a compiler, so uninstalling it won't affect IRIX (except for compiling) ; that's right ?

[Raion]

According to you, it could be a good idea to uninstall "gcc" and replace it by neko_gcc-3.4.6.tardist
GCC is a compiler, so uninstalling it won't affect IRIX (except for compiling) ; that's right ?

No, he's not saying to use that version of GCC, you should use a later one if you want to build 2.7.x Python. I suggest trying with GCC, this one for example:

ftp://ftp.irisware.net/nekoware/obsolete....1.tardist

This is an older GCC, but one that doesn't have the pthread and other issues with GCC 4.7.x on IRIX.