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Aribethorial - Aribeth Modification Blender Tutorial
An Aribeth-themed Enhanced Edition-level "how to modify NWN models" Blender tutorial, aiming to introduce complete 3d modeling newbies to content modification. Does not cover extracting models or setup of new models from scratch - that's a tutorial for another day - but does include how to add new objects within a model as well as use sculpting on a high(er) poly base to bake a normalmap from high- to low-poly.
Screenshots and babbling by TheBarbarian. Edited until humanly readable by [The webpage is melted down into a smouldering scorch mark in this spot. Somebody must've really not wanted you to be able to read what was written here].
Disclaimer: The author is a self/internet-taught amateur and has no idea what they are doing. Advice by the more experienced as well as questions and help requests by the less experienced are most welcome. Please alert the author if they are inadvertently spreading horrible misinformation so that they may rectify it, and also consult your physician or pharmacist if perusing this tutorial results in dizziness, nausea, hallucinations, or a sudden increase of kneecap hair growth to beyond six meters' length because that would be extremely unusual and worrisome seriously if that happens I have no idea how to help you.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 the_aribethorial_-_an_aribeth-editing_tutorial.rar (466) | 92.53 MB |
Purely for the blood, sweat, tears, Pulling of hair out etc. I have some inkling of what must have gone into this (TR's Basics anyone?). Illustrated to within an inch of it's life. Also this is a promise kept when asked for something like this TB stepped up and delivered.
Also, of the 7 parts I think 6 of them are just as applicable to 1.69 as they are to EE.
Well done.
TR
Centuries later, though. Word to the wise: Possessing the ability to spam ridiculous amounts of text out in short amounts of time does not automatically equate to "writing tutorials is really quick to do!", no matter how logical that seems. Teaching is hard. Start trying to explain something to somebody whom you imagine to have no grasp of it whatsoever, and suddenly you'll start to notice all the gaping holes in your knowledge and reasoning. Rubber ducking all over again.
<3, Tarot. :-)
Yes, it's well done! Nice and slow step by step workflow with good screenshots! Also very nice are the non moddeling additions like how to do the uploads to the vault/steam! A good package!
I never used Texture Paint, but now I've an idea! Great!
Switching to Blender is not a quick step to do, but this TUT helps alot.
Much work goes into writing up TUTs! Thanks for your time!
<3! :-)
TheBarbarian,
Dude, I couldn't stop reading it. Seriously, thank you so so so much for making this tutorial and sharing it, too! Now I feel armed enough that I may venture forth beyond the world of portraits!
Many thanks again, TB!
ONE OF US... ONE OF US... :-D
You're most welcome! :-D Shout if you run into any problems, or have any questions while tinkering, or just want somebody to "Yay!!" at what you're crafting.
Wow ! These are great, and Gnomes, other all things like collecting good tutorials !
For some time, i have been on the edge; dreaming to learn Blender to do more Nwn CC, and escape the evil sharp fangs of proprietary software. Now, i have an incentive to do that, and learn rigging sexy creatures bodies, all in the same smooth sweeping move...
Thank you, good sir.
Yay! Most welcome, good sir, and hooray! :D Another soul has been claimed by the infinite pits of 3d modeling, which are filled with many strange and colorful things with many strange, oddly-shapen limbs!
Note to other readers: Rigging is not covered in this tutorial. X_x I should make a robe-crafting one that covers weighting and danglymesh setup and baking diffuse bases. Adjusting robes for other races/phenos and mounted phenotype isn't well-documented for NWN at the moment, either. And skinmeshes are just going to get more relevant now that other bodyparts can be skinmeshed, too. ::headscratch:: Plus, DrA's right - this one doesn't cover the parts_* 2das. 'course, with the EE, parts of the process may very well be subject to change. The file bloat from how robe phenotypes are currently handled is just silly. hm!
@TheBarbarian,
Congratulations and welcome to tutorial writing world. Your's was really good, with main points stressed, and nicely illustrated. One thing though, I couldn't find anything about dealing with 2da (appearance.2da). While it's not necessary if you replace existing models, you'll need it if you add the new creatures - at least in NWN 1.69, I'm not sure about EE.
Hello DrA! :D And - oop. Good point. Barreled right past that one. x_x
In case somebody's here in the comments looking for help finding out how to set their Aribeth up as a separate creature appearance, these should cover it: 2da (313) and appearance.2da (943) wiki entries, as well as Ryuujin's Hakpack and 2da Merging Tutorial. Correct - as is, this tutorial only covers how to modify an existing model and install it as an override.
I think we might need a new general content extraction / installation tutorial. For opening Steam-installed content, too, like getting at BD's graphical showcase stuff. ::headscratch:: And there's no real way to add extra creature appearances or clothing for players without modifying the 2das or overriding something that's already listed in the 2da somewhere at the moment, is there. That kind of sucks, especially as the module 2das would still override custom 2das. Setting up console scripts or self-conversations for changing the player appearance works well enough for heads, but just because they're the only bodypart that doesn't need a 2da. Gneh! May need to start up discussion on the Beamdog boards if it's not already ongoing.
Really cool. When I get a chance I plan to do this. I have been wanting to make a gag (funny) creature that my guys encounter in my PW. I know this will sound stupid but I really would love to make a large BUM walking on spindly legs (and has spindly arms on the side that wave around as it walks) that shoots gas out of the crack....lol...I know weird huh?
Cound you make this? It will be a while before I could learn how to model
It does sound weird. It sounds incredibly weird. Spectacularly, magnificently weird beyond the confines of weirdness itself. I approve. Here - take Bongo, Cursed King of the Buttpeople. Weird people out with my blessing.
Yer most welcome, and thank you right back at'cha. :'-) Give me a shout if you run into any trouble in your crafting adventures!