Book Image

Python Scripting in Blender

By : Paolo Acampora
5 (1)
Book Image

Python Scripting in Blender

5 (1)
By: Paolo Acampora

Overview of this book

Blender, a powerful open source 3D software, can be extended and powered up using the Python programming language. This book teaches you how to automate laborious operations using scripts, and expand the set of available commands, graphic interfaces, tools, and event responses, which will enable you to add custom features to meet your needs and bring your creative ideas to life. The book begins by covering essential Python concepts and showing you how to create a basic add-on. You’ll then gain a solid understanding of the entities that affect the look of Blender’s objects such as modifiers, constraints, and materials. As you advance, you’ll get to grips with the animation system in Blender and learn how to set up its behavior using Python. The examples, tools, patterns, and best practices present throughout the book will familiarize you with the Python API and build your knowledge base, along with enabling you to produce valuable code that empowers the users and is ready for publishing or production. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to successfully design add-ons that integrate seamlessly with the software and its ecosystem.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
1
Part 1: Introduction to Python
7
Part 2: Interactive Tools and Animation
13
Part 3: Delivering Output

Animation Drivers

A driver is a function that controls the value of a property. It can take the value of other properties as input, creating a connection between two or more properties. For example, a driver might set the X location of an object based on the rotation of another object.

Drivers are similar to animations, with which they share the update system and f-curve data but are way more flexible and can be combined with Python to create custom setups.

They are an essential part of technical animation and are used for creating simple controls or complex mechanics. Drivers don’t have a specific purpose: they are designed to create custom behaviors. For that reason, they are ubiquitous in rigging and help connect properties, even between entities of different types, such as objects and shaders.

In this chapter, you will learn how to create and test your Python drivers easily, as well as how to script their creation. Besides helping with automating rig mechanics,...