Plasmasolutions

23/11/2018

🤯 Wow, just wow 🤯!

Coming home from work and seeing a review of my on BlenderNation which is almost as in-depth as my book itself is mind blowing and flattering 😊. Thank you so much, Phil Gosch - an incredible review! The review score is the icing on the 🎂 !

If you want to see for yourself how a book with 17 chapters, 917 pages, 1200+ illustrations, more than 250 demo files and packed with Blender knowledge looks like, head over to https://www.plasmasolutions.de/the-comprehensive-handbook/?be=8 - hope to see you there!

Btw: It's 🖤 Black Friday Week 🖤 💸 Save over 20% until 26th of November!

Last but not least: Incredibly nice testimonials pile up in my mailbox - this one is from Aidy Burrows 3D: "The book I wish had been out when I first started on the blender journey! It's like 8 massive video courses all compacted into text form! The time put into it is mind boggling! 😀😲💥🤯 Incredible work and extraordinarily deep dive into the blender seas with this book!! 😀😀😀

It's awesome to see so many happy Blenderers - newbies, intermediates and pros loving this book - you make me think that the last 6 years were indeed worth it - thank you 😍!

17/11/2018

Hey Blender peeps!

My 🖤 Black Friday Week 🖤 has started! 💸 From today on until 25th of November you get the most comprehensive and in-depth Blender book 📖 ever written, for only 39,99€ 💸 - save more than 20% 🤑!

17 chapters, 917 pages, 1200+ illustrations & more than 250 demo files of pure Blender knowledge. Learn more about it here: https://plasmasolutions.de/the-comprehensive-handbook/?be=8

Btw: Your testimonials are blowing us away! Thanks so much:

Gleb Alexandrov: "I'm sure you've already seen it and got impressed and cried. Tears of joy! It's spectacular, pretty much every block of in detail. 🤯🤯😳🔥🔥🔥"

Aidy Burrows 3D: "The book I wish had been out when I first started on the blender journey! It's like 8 massive video courses all compacted into text form! The time put into it is mind boggling! 😀😲💥🤯 Incredible work and extraordinarily deep dive into the blender seas with this book!! 😀😀😀

Blender Guru Andrew Price: "If you want a comprehensive Blender guide to reference when needed, I’d recommend this. The author () is a veteran Blender developer so you know the information is reliable."

Much love to the community and happy blending,
Tom

12/11/2018

Hey Blender peeps!

In the last 6 years I wrote 2 German Blender books, both super comprehensive, up-to-date and well received: the 1st book (https://www.amazon.de/Blender-2-7-umfassende-Handbuch-Galileo/dp/3836224968/) had 700 pages, was targeted at Blender 2.72 (not yet released at that time) with an Amazon rating of 4.4 / 5 ⭐, and the 2nd book (https://www.amazon.de/Blender-2-7-umfassende-Werkzeugen-Funktionen/dp/3836244543/) 800 pages, targeted at 2.79 (also not released back then) with an Amazon rating of 4.8 / 5 ⭐.

Today, after 2 more years of translating, improving, refining and recreating countless pages and images, and based on the successful German predecessors, I'd like to present you my newest baby, a super in-depth, 917 A4 pages & 1200+ illustrations strong international version for Blender 2.79b - this time as an professionally type-set and laid out eBook: "Blender 2.7 - the comprehensive handbook". Have a look at https://plasmasolutions.de/the-comprehensive-handbook/?be=8 to get more info about the eBook, reading extracts, some first testimonials, an overview of all chapters and why Blender 2.8 is covered in the appendix.

I wish that I can give you something with this book that I desperately missed when I started with Blender: a very comprehensive Blender guide that is not only showing you how Blender and its tools work both on the inside from a developer's and at the surface from artist's perspective, but also show you the real world origins of many areas that Blender touches - may it Rendering, Lighting, Animation and many more.

If you want to ask my anything about the book, got to

- Blenderartists: https://blenderartists.org/t/its-finally-out-the-most-comprehensive-and-in-depth-blender-handbook-ever/ or
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/blender/comments/9w42lj/out_now_the_most_comprehensive_blender_book_ever/

Last last but not least: The sneak peeks will continue next week 🤗

Thanks for reading and having a look,
Tom

06/03/2016

Developer Sneak Peek #26 - Video Sequence Editor
------------------------------------------------------------------

Blender 2.77 is coming! And a new sneak peek will show you all Video Sequence Editor features... Share it!

Video: https://youtu.be/DTPAepFlpW0

Learn Blender in depth
----------------------------------
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3836224968/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=6742&creativeASIN=3836224968&linkCode=as2&tag=plasmasolutio-21&linkId=5KFDT2F7IZ2PBIBB
Rheinwerk Verlag: https://www.rheinwerk-verlag.de/blender-27_3404/

In this episode
-----------------------

Video Sequence Editor:
- Speedup gaussian blur (0:31)
- Whitebalance modifier (1:49)
- Tonemap modifier (2:44)
- Text effect word-wrap (4:00)
- "Alpha Mode" in Scenes (5:01)

The tiny bits:
- Relative / Absolute mask animation time (6:47)
- Append strip's modifiers (8:01)
- Use movieclip framerate when importing new movie strips (8:58)
- Nested scene strip support - strips from other scenes can now be used in current scene by importing a scene strip. (9:45)

What's this all about
---------------------------
In this series I'll present new and (hopefully) useful features for all of you outside the Blender 3D development universe... all those features are brand new and are soon available in the official Blender version 2.77.

Greetings to all of you and thanks for all the encouraging comments and shares!

Downloads
--------------------
The newest 2.77 release at http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.77/
Fresh builds at http://builder.blender.org (Attention: there will be bugs in it for sure!)

Happy Blending,
Thomas Beck & the Plasmasolutions Team

Blender 2.77 is coming! And a new sneak peek will show you all Video Sequence Editor features... Share it! *Learn Blender in depth* -------------------------...

30/01/2016

*Caminandes 3 - Llamigos out now*
The newest episode with our beloved Alpaca (nooo, it's no Llama :) ) is out now:

https://t.co/Y1Yybnxyun

*Weeklies*
Following the progress of the short in the weeklies was already awesome - if you haven't seen them watch the episodes right after watching the final short film!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQH897V9bDg&list=PLI2TkLMzCSr_H6ppmzDtU0ut0RwxGvXjv

And if you haven't seen the previous two episodes, then have at them...

*Caminandes: Llama Drama*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOhiWY7XmoY

*Caminandes 2 Gran Dillama*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4C82eyhwgU

I could only imagine how much sweat, tear and headache was caused by this amazing short, especially during the last days! But I'm absolutely sure that you'll pull a lot more professionals in the open source 3D space with this series!

Sarah, Hjalti, Pablo, Andy & Francesco you gifted us with a stunning, funny short that is top notch in every aspect: animation, compositing, layout, materials, lighting... it's simply amazing!

Now enjoy the fame and rest - you all deserve it!

I'll go and re-watch the short now several times :)

In this episode of the Caminandes cartoon series we learn to know our hero Koro even better! It's winter in Patagonia, food is getting scarce. Koro...

26/12/2015

New Video Sequence Editor modifier developed

As sad as I am that I can't dedicate much dev time into my beloved nowadays (beneath my full time job, my company and my studies), as happy am I to say that now I had a day to develop a new VSE modifier.

I'm filming much while Christmas is happening - all with as few in camera effects as possible to ease the post production. That's why every video is using camera raw white balance and as Blenders VSE is my editor of choice I wanted to set the white balance point in there.

We have a Color Balance modifier but it's more guessing than an easy way to set the white balance point - in fact setting the white balance is the first step of postpro. Color grading should be the last step in this pipeling.

Long story short: I developed a new VSE modifier that lets you set a new "white point" ... I'll polish the patch a bit and will then post it on our developer portal... should be ready for Blender 2.77 !

Best wishes, merry Christmas and a great new year for all of you,
Thomas

31/10/2015

Blender conference 2015 aftermovie filmed and edited by Peter Baintner with music from Alexander Mitzkus - amazing conference, music and edit! Missing all the blenderheads already.

Be sure to meet me & the team next time there!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqDpUNw1hMA

My Bcon15 Aftermovie. Shot on a Nikon D5500. Music by Zuggamasta.

08/10/2015

Blender Developer Sneak Peek #25 is out now!

Blender 2.76 is coming - and a new sneak peek will help you to grasp most new features in the VSE, Filebrowser, Freestyle and Particle section.. Share it!

Video: https://youtu.be/WBt4qkAnTM0

*Learn Blender in depth*
----------------------------------
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3836224968/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=6742&creativeASIN=3836224968&linkCode=as2&tag=plasmasolutio-21&linkId=5KFDT2F7IZ2PBIBB
Rheinwerk Verlag: https://www.rheinwerk-verlag.de/blender-27_3404/

*In this episode*
-----------------------

VSE:
- Text Effect Strip (0:30)
- SRT export support (4:48)
- Removing gaps will now also move the scene markers (5:50)

Filebrowser (7:40):
- Navigation with Keys is now possible
- Previewing is much faster
- Recursive directory browsing
- Filtering in Appendi/Link mode massively updated

Freestyle (13:35):
- Thickness: Tangent
- Thickness: Noise
- Thickness: Crease AngleA
- Thickness: Curvature 3D
- Geometry: Simplification

Blender Internal (13:35):
- Particle Info node

*What's this all about*
---------------------------
In this series I'll present new and (hopefully) useful features for all of you outside the Blender 3D development universe... all those features are brand new and are available in the official Blender version 2.76.

Greetings to all of you and thanks for all the encouraging comments and shares!

*Downloads*
--------------------
The newest 2.76 release at http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.76/
Fresh builds at http://builder.blender.org (Attention: there will be bugs in it for sure!)

Happy Blending,
Thomas Beck & the Plasmasolutions Team

Blender 2.76 is coming - and a new sneak peek will help you to grasp most new features in the Video Sequence Editor, the Filebrowser, Freestyle and Particles...

04/10/2015

B3D Sneak Peek 24 out now

Blender 2.76 is coming - and a new sneak peek will help you to grasp most new features in the node editor, cycles renderer, viewport and the blenderplayer.. Share it!

Video: https://youtu.be/GhwzIQ6qZO8

*Learn Blender in depth*
----------------------------------
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3836224968/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=6742&creativeASIN=3836224968&linkCode=as2&tag=plasmasolutio-21&linkId=5KFDT2F7IZ2PBIBB
Rheinwerk Verlag: https://www.rheinwerk-verlag.de/blender-27_3404/

*In this episode*
-----------------------

Viewport (0:37):
- Display optimizations (with a comparison to 2.75)
- Pixars OpenSubdiv is in trunk (Animators: fun times ahead!) (2:33)

Blenderplayer (6:16):
* Allows sound playback for movies
* Allow play-pause with space button
* Allow displaying a position indicator with the I button

Nodes & Rendering (7:40):
- Point density texture support
- Expose Clip image extension type (14:50)
- Auto-offset nodes on insertion (17:23)

*What's it all about*
---------------------------
In this series I'll present at least twice a month new and (hopefully) useful features for all of you outside the Blender 3D development universe... all those features are brand new and are available in the official Blender version 2.76.

Greetings to all of you and thanks for all the encouraging comments and shares!

*Downloads*
--------------------
The newest 2.76 release at http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.76/
Fresh builds at http://builder.blender.org (Attention: there will be bugs in it for sure!)

Happy Blending,
Thomas Beck & the Plasmasolutions Team

Blender 2.76 is coming - and a new sneak peek will help you to grasp most new features in the node editor, cycles renderer, viewport and the blenderplayer.. ...

28/06/2015

Blender developer sneak peek #23 out now

Blender 2.75 is coming - and a new sneak peek will help you to grasp most new features in the node editor, cycles renderer, painting and sculpting section.. Share it!

Video URL: https://youtu.be/CWPVRsGHlP8

*Learn Blender in depth*
----------------------------------
Rheinwerk Verlag: https://www.rheinwerk-verlag.de/blender-27_3404/
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3836224968/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=6742&creativeASIN=3836224968&linkCode=as2&tag=plasmasolutio-21&linkId=5KFDT2F7IZ2PBIBB

*In this episode*
-----------------------
Nodes & Rendering:
- Snapping for Node Editor: Shift+Tab to enable it, Ctrl+Shift+Tab to open the menu, exit group now Ctrl+Tab 0:42
- Cycles: Light portals 2:50
- Cycles: Animated seed feature 9:10
- Separate scene simplification into viewport and render 10:30
- Show left/right buttons to change render layer/pass in UV Editor header 12:10
- Cycles: OpenCL kernel split, so AMD cards are now in experimental state supported 12:34


Painting:
- Project Paint: Symmetry support 13:40
- Allow ctrl click to do negative stroke in line strokes 14:25
- Use alt for angle constraints 15:00
- Dyntopo detail expressed in percentage of brush radius 15:43

*What's it all about*
---------------------------
In this series I'll present at least twice a month new and (hopefully) useful features for all of you outside the Blender 3D development universe... all those features are brand new and are available in the official Blender version 2.75.

Greetings to all of you and thanks for all the encouraging comments and shares!

*Downloads*
--------------------
The newest 2.75 release at http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.75/
Fresh builds at http://builder.blender.org (Attention: there will be bugs in it for sure!)

Happy Blending,
Thomas Beck & the Plasmasolutions Team

Blender 2.75 is coming - and a new sneak peek will help you to grasp most new features in the node editor, cycles renderer, painting and sculpting...