blender posts

Filed under: Audio, Design, Utilities, Video, Linux

Ubuntu Studio released

by Brad Linder May 11th 2007

An Ubuntu-based Linux distribution designed for creative types has been released. Ubuntu Studio was originally due out last month, but some last minute glitches caused the developers to delay the release date by a few weeks.

Ubuntu Studio is designed to prove that Linux is just as good as OS X or Windows for creating and manipulating media files. Of course, if you're not an ubergeek, installing audio, video, and image editing applications can be a bit of a hassle.

That's where Ubuntu Studio comes in. The distribution comes with some of the most popular and powerful free multimedia software available, including:

Ardour2 and Audacity for audio editing
Pitivi for video editing (Cinelerra will be available after license issues are worked out)
Gimp and Blender for image editing
And a boatload of other packages designed for creating digital media

Sure, you could configure your own Ubuntu or other Linux system to run all the same software. But Ubuntu Studio takes most of the pain out of the process.

One thing to note, the ISO is a bit larger than your typical LiveCD, at 860MB. So you'll have to burn it to a DVD. Oh yeah, and it's not a LiveCD... err LiveDVD. You'll have to install Ubuntu Studio if you want to take it for a test drive. Fortunately the installation process is fairly straightforward, and if you have an empty partition on your hard drive Ubuntu Studio can happily coexist with Windows or other operating systems.

Tags: ardour, audacity, blender, cinelerra, editing, gimp, multimedia, pitivi, ubuntu, ubuntu studio, UbuntuStudio

Filed under: Audio, Video, Linux, Open Source

Ubuntu Studio announced for April release

by Chris Brentano Jan 22nd 2007

Aimed at being a "multimedia editing flavor of Ubuntu for the Linux audio, video, and graphic enthusiast or professional", Ubuntu Studio was announced this week, with the goal of building a solid multimedia distribution based on Ubuntu's custom flavored Gnome environment. Planned packages include the Soma Suite, Cinelerra, Jahshaka, and Wired, so far. I'm sure, or at least hope, that other popular tools such as Audacity and Blender will be included as well.

This is not the first media-oriented Linux distribution (see dyne:bolic, Studio to Go!, and 64 Studio) and hopefully not the last. Democratization of media editing tools, especially in regards to user-friendly Linux distros, is a good thing in my book. Have you used any open source media creating tools, and if you have what has your experience been? What areas do you think some are better than their commercial counterparts, or where can they improve?

[via Slashdot]

Tags: 64 studio, blender, cinelerra, dynebolic, jahshaka, linux, soma, studio to go, ubuntu, ubuntu studio, wired

Filed under: Design, Games, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware

Free Blender book

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Jan 18th 2007

Blender is a pretty amazing piece of software. I remember when you actually had to pay for the thing! Well it's been a while since those days, as Blender has been free for a while now. Still, Blender takes a lot of getting used to. Not that 3ds max and Maya aren't difficult, but since they are commercial apps (no longer competing, sadly) they have had to polish their workflow and interfaces over time to stay competitive. But in the right hands, Blender can do almost anything. The trick, as always, is that learning curve. So it was with great joy that I stumbled upon a free intro book to Blender, one which also covers the game engine. It's a hefty PDF tome that'll take you from basics to games in a fairly short time, and well worth a read for anyone wanting to try their hand at 3d.

Tags: blender, game development, GameDevelopment, pdf

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Finance, Games, Internet, Utilities, Features, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, Productivity, Web services, Shareware

How To: Create your own game company, Part Two

by Victor Agreda, Jr. May 19th 2006

In part one I talked about a lot of the production tools: 3d apps, game engines, and so on. This time I want to tie that in to the business end. How do you run the company, and how do you make money?

First of all, I discovered PopCap Games offers their engine to developers for free. The license agreement spells out the details, but primarily all you need to do is acknowledge using the PopCap Games Framework. The practical upshot of using PopCap's engine? They might publish it. The practical upshot of getting an engine and look by a successful publisher? You can make money. You still have to file taxes, and do all the other business stuff you'd normally have to, but you get to skip the part where you worry about marketing, payment, etc.

One other development is the rather old Torque Exporter Plugin for Blender is now up to version .91. Since Torque is $100 puny bucks for an indie license, and Blender is free, that also seems like a reasonable choice for budget game developers. If you're still thinking 2D (or very limited 3D, like an isometric game), another option is the Arcade Engine for Runtime Revolution.

So lesson #1 in business: keep your costs low. I don't want to get into a lot of business advice, but if you want some great tips on what NOT to do, check out Ten Easy Ways to Screw Up Your Game Company, and Part 2 of the same. If you're really looking to make a company, and can get investors, there's a lot of funny and valuable lessons to be learned in those few pages...

And not to be redundant (which I'm good at), but Lesson #2? Pick the right product. I know, the author of Ten Easy Ways says the same thing, but this lesson is too important to miss. You can spend thousands on the Unreal engine if you like, but trying to make another Halo? Good luck. It's not impossible, but unlikely. Shoot for realistic early goals and clean up with original, playable content. Now, on to the software!

Tags: blender, game design, GameDesign, popcap, torque, unreal

Filed under: Design, Fun, Video, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Open Source

Blender 2.41 released

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Jan 27th 2006

The Blender 2.40 release was huge. Seven months in the works, it revealed a ton of new features including better character animation tools, a modifier stack, fluid effects, hair, and physics. The Blender 2.41 release was pretty hot on the heels of 2.40, but it adds a bunch of improvements to something I've been wanting for a long time: the Game Engine. The Blender game engine has endured a checkered past. When Blender first went open source, there were fears the engine wouldn't be licensed, as the original agreement was only for the modeling and animation assets. But it looks like recent releases (including 2.40) have been bolstering the engine's features. Key components in this one involve the materials and shaders within the game engine. Previously, well, they sucked. Now you can program pixel and vertex shaders, and use most of the materials you'd find in Blender. The armature system is back, as is sound support. All this and several killer Python tools to boot. If you've never tried Blender before, this is a great time. Now I wish they'd fix the browser plugin...

Tags: 3d, animation, blender, game engine, GameEngine, python

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