lorentzo/ink-nature-animation

Blender tech art: draw-style images

Tech-Art And Animation

Blender tech art draw-style and animation:

• Create procedural animation
• Introduce imperfections into rendered images

Procedural animation:

• Blender Python API animation
• Script: copy_animate_curve_extrude.py - based on given curve, create curve copies with randomized transforms and applied animation of growth and curve extrusion (thickness).
• Script: copy_animate_curve_bevel.py - based on given curve, create curve copies with randomized transforms and applied animation of growth and curve bevel (thickness).
• Script: grow_around_curve.py - given input curve create multiple displaced curves around with grow and thickness animation.

Edges rendering:

To render edges, combination of following methods was used:

• Procedural curves placed on polygons with black-non emissive material
• Blender Free-style rendering
• Blender Compositor filter node (sobel)

Procedural splines via Blender Python API:

• https://docs.blender.org/api/current/index.html
• Script: procedural_spline_polygons.py - create displaced splines around each polygon edge.
• Add black non-emissive shader to imitate lines.

Blender Freestyle renderer:

• https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/freestyle/index.html
  • Advantage: wide range of possible edge lines and some which are not possible with simple edge detection.
  • Problem: very slow!

Blender compositor

• filter, sobel node: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/compositing/types/filter/filter_node.html
  • Advantage: very fast
  • Problem: not all edges (contours) are captured!

Faces rendering:

• All surfaces have emission shader applied to obtain "flat" looking appearance
• Hatching shaders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZR5XIjBmho