Scrubs

Hello, Yes, it has been rendered with Blender Cycles. Bevels are actually part of the shader. I made experiments with real bevels but the extra geometry made it unmanageable with big models. Regarding the LEGO logo on studs it is the one exported from mecabricks. The only things I did are: import the model -> scale it -> replace materials -> set my scene -> render I will make available the shaders at some stage but I waiting to add a new feature to mecabricks for that.

Hello everybody, I bought the real Helicarrier a couple of months ago and I used this opportunity to improve the mesh of the ~300 part designs included in this model. I basically built the digital version in the same time as the real stuff. Here is my rendering of it: SHIELD Helicarrier by Nicolas Jarraud, on Flickr To see the model in mecabricks it's here

Heuuu excuse me but we are talking about just a few dollars here for something that looks pretty cool. I totally understand that a software doesn't have a demo version. I think you are going way too far here...

Yep. I agree 100% with you. My comment is only valid if the application is actually doing what he says. I had a look at the video and it seems legit but someone would have to sacrifice for the community to ensure that lol Exporting or opening 3ds files doesn't mean that you need 3dsmax for android. Same as ldd files (however in that case not too sure which part library he is using!)

I didn't try it but if it does what he says it is on topic, No? Besides not everything has to be free! And it wasn't a requirement in the original question...

Don't hesitate to give it a go and let me know how you find it ;-)

Thank you! I think the black lines comes from the combination of a gap which is too narrow and the use of the shader to round the edges. Reflection of the textures works - not too visible on this rendering - but you are right for fake bevels reflection. To go faster, it doesn't appear on reflection.

Hi everybody, After the UCS Millennium Falcon has been built on Mecabricks by one of the user - DaPhatty - I thought it was a good exercise to see what I could get out of Blender. I exported the model in Collada with "group geometry" and "lego logo" options activated. In Blender, I used a HDR environment map to light up the scene plus my custom nodes for bricks materials. Here is the result after 2 hours of rendering time for this 4K version: UCS Millennium Falcon by mecabricks, on Flickr

Thank you. I just had a look in the code for the area selection tool. I found out that when the wrong button of the mouse was clicked first before using the appropriate left button to select the area it was reactivating the camera controls. I modified the code and hopefully it fixes your issue! On the same note, this tool wasn't working with the orthographic camera - it was selecting the whole scene. It is now sorted too. P.S. I saw your model in the library. Your moles are pretty funny!

Another update in the workshop - I added the support for the orthographic projection. You can now toggle between the Perspective and Orthographic view (Numpad 5). I also changed the camera controls which makes it easier to work under a model as it can be seen upside down. Last but not least, I added an option to reset the camera as it was asked by a few people.

Hello, You don't replace the materials for each brick. If 2 bricks have the same material, you only replace it once. For a model like the taj mahal with 5000 parts but very little colours, it only takes a couple of minutes :-) It shouldn't be too hard to do automatically, probably in python for Blender, but I don't really have the time to learn how to write scripts. So I prefer to waste a few minutes for the few renderings I do . If someone is keen to write it, I'd be more than happy!

A render of the Bike Shop & Café set built by Veon on mecabricks: Bike Shop & Café by mecabricks, on Flickr

Hello, I'm also still doing the material replacement manually, but it doesn't take that long. I import my node group for each type of material and copy and paste. I want to do the things properly when sharing my nodes - tutorial etc. But if you want to have a play before, I'll send you a PM with the link to the file. I generally export the model as collada. This format keeps the part origins and transformation matrices so it is a lot easier to handle in Blender if any little modifications have to be made. Besides you can choose the option "Group by Geometry" which means that for a same part design, the geometry will be shared. If you want to modify the geometry of a part, you only do it once for all the occurrences of this part. With the Collada format, scene appears very small in Blender, just rescale it or adjust the focus of the Camera.

Here is a rendering of a MOC built on Mecabricks by user RuMontag - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Lola VS. Deathlok by mecabricks, on Flickr

Hello everybody, Just to keep you posted with the last improvements on Mecabricks. Among other things, the last additions to the workshop are: - Export in Collada - in addition to STL and OBJ - Export LEGO logo on studs for increased realism when rendered in third party software - Undo/Redo function. it currently records the last 100 actions The library now counts more than 1400 unique part designs and about 700 decorations. You can view part data on this page.

Thanks guys, it is really appreciated It is a team of one so far! I spent a lot of time recently on the exporters (mainly collada) and on the admin side of the part library - not really visible for the average user but it will make my life much easier to add new parts. My next job will be to redo the model display page and I intend to provide a button to export part inventory in multiple formats, Bricklink being one of them. The database is already capable to handle bricklink references and names - it just needs to be completed.

Hello, After seeing this post, I thought it would be a good exercise to see what I could do with Mecabricks and Blender. So here is my 4K (same resolution as virtualrepublic) version of the LEGO® Taj Mahal. I exported the model using the Collada exporter with the options LEGO® Logos and Group by Geometry which is correctly supported by Blender. it took a couple of seconds to get the .dae file from Mecabricks and only a few more to be imported in Blender. After 15/20 min to swap the materials with my Cycles nodes and tweak the scene, I launched the rendering. I took 2:30 on my iMac Quad-core i5@3.5GHz (no GPU rendering). I used a custom shader to fake round edges (0.3mm) and a depth of field - focus is made on the main wall in the middle. LEGO® Taj Mahal by mecabricks, on Flickr

I guess it will become more and more common soon. I am lucky enough to have a retina imac 27" and I can tell you that the 5K resolution for pictures is awesome. I really struggle at work when i go back to a normal display.

No all good. I use blender on a mac. Easy to install and easy to uninstall. I definitely recommend!

Hello, I still try to improve my CGI skills with Blender - especially after having seen the images from virtualrepublic. Here is my last rendering. This is the Flower Cart 40140 that I exported from Mecabricks. I might post the nodes I used at some stage so that people can try them and improve them as well. Flower Cart 40140 by mecabricks, on Flickr

Hello, I spent some time today experimenting shaders with Blender for models exported from Mecabricks. I took virtualrepublic images as a starting point plus some of his advice. I added a subsurface scattering shader and a rounding edge shader. I think I'm slowly getting there. Blender Materials by mecabricks, on Flickr

Hello, If you see some sort of digital artifact, it doesn't sound good There might be an issue with the support of WebGL and your tablet. The workshop is mainly designed to work on a desktop computer anyway and the support of touch devices is quite limited even if it kinda works (I can play with it on my Galaxy S4). Can you see the 3D models from the library? (e.g. http://www.mecabricks.com/embed/EMgaXwAlvz0)

Hello, No, you currently can't open LDD models in mecabricks. I could partially support it but I would need to write a converter - Mainly a conversion table for parts as they don't have the same origins. I make the bricks in Blender however, any CAD software that can export in a format that Blender can read for final export is ok.

Hello, I come back with my latest rendering of a model I just built on mecabricks. This is the first real big Technic set. I wanted to see how usable the workshop was for this kind of build. It turned out pretty well I think :) Cargo Plane by mecabricks, on Flickr

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