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I've built a setup in Geometry Nodes to get data from bones, so now I can do things like make Normals from them, and I'm experimenting with much more. The Normal here is basically a cylinder around each bone. So it doesn't work that great around the shoulders, but... show more

aVersionOfReality

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13,309 views • 7 months ago •via X (Twitter)

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Taking a look at Camera based changes to the Face Proxy Normals. 3D anime characters have the fundamental problem that Normals which produce the right shading from the front often don't from 3/4ths and side view without making big compromises. On this character, the puffiness of the cheeks means it doesn't work right. If we reduce them, we ruin the silhouette of the geometry. If we change the Normals further around the side to get a shading terminator that does work in both views, then when the light moves it will probably have new problems at other angles. There are combos that work pretty well for every angle, but they limit your face shape options. Everything is easier if you can make Camera based changes! This is rotating the Normals on the proxy before transfer to the face in Geometry Nodes. Its the same as rotating the bones shown at the start. Since there are only 3 spline profiles, its a bit low res to get this quite right, but you get the general idea. Its going to take some experimenting to figure out the best way to handle it all, but it will be much easier to author on the proxy than on the face.

Taking a look at Camera based changes to the Face Proxy Normals. 3D anime characters have the fundamental problem that Normals which produce the right shading from the front often don't from 3/4ths and side view without making big compromises. On this character, the puffiness of the cheeks means it doesn't work right. If we reduce them, we ruin the silhouette of the geometry. If we change the Normals further around the side to get a shading terminator that does work in both views, then when the light moves it will probably have new problems at other angles. There are combos that work pretty well for every angle, but they limit your face shape options. Everything is easier if you can make Camera based changes! This is rotating the Normals on the proxy before transfer to the face in Geometry Nodes. Its the same as rotating the bones shown at the start. Since there are only 3 spline profiles, its a bit low res to get this quite right, but you get the general idea. Its going to take some experimenting to figure out the best way to handle it all, but it will be much easier to author on the proxy than on the face.

aVersionOfReality

19,395 views • 9 months ago

I needed better accuracy in my Blender vertex attribute smoothing, so I built a Laplacian Smooth in Geometry Nodes. Notice the difference compared to blur: it preserves the geometry spacing on triangulated meshes. Basically, it smooths complex topologies as if they were quads. Blender has a modifier version, but it doesn't give as much control. And of course, the next step is to adapt it for smoothing arbitrary attributes, like Normals!

I needed better accuracy in my Blender vertex attribute smoothing, so I built a Laplacian Smooth in Geometry Nodes. Notice the difference compared to blur: it preserves the geometry spacing on triangulated meshes. Basically, it smooths complex topologies as if they were quads. Blender has a modifier version, but it doesn't give as much control. And of course, the next step is to adapt it for smoothing arbitrary attributes, like Normals!

aVersionOfReality

46,069 views • 1 year ago

Putting the finishing touches on the Anime Face Normals proxy. Still setting up the geometry nodes modifier inputs and other controls. It is easy to adjust the placement and shape of the shading with the rig, and the modifier has options for the shape of the interpolation, and automatic mask setup that blends back to the mesh Normals on the forehead and below the chin. The Proxy Normals modifier automatically feeds into the Laplacian Smooth modifier to benefit from smoothing and Weighted Normals. There's a lot more planned to give more control of the number of curves, points on them, interpolation+falloff, masking, and more. But I'll save those for future updates and not make the wait longer!

Putting the finishing touches on the Anime Face Normals proxy. Still setting up the geometry nodes modifier inputs and other controls. It is easy to adjust the placement and shape of the shading with the rig, and the modifier has options for the shape of the interpolation, and automatic mask setup that blends back to the mesh Normals on the forehead and below the chin. The Proxy Normals modifier automatically feeds into the Laplacian Smooth modifier to benefit from smoothing and Weighted Normals. There's a lot more planned to give more control of the number of curves, points on them, interpolation+falloff, masking, and more. But I'll save those for future updates and not make the wait longer!

aVersionOfReality

103,668 views • 11 months ago

The #geometrynodes Curve Normals Proxy Rig is almost ready! You place it on the face and adjust some controls to line things up, and it just works. The controls can be worked with in lots of different ways. You can attach it to an existing rig or animate it. Those bones are controlling a mesh which controls the curve points, so you can also make Shapekeys on the meshes instead and Drive them to match other expression keys! The forehead above the top curve blends to Radial Normals, and under the chin blends to the actual mesh Normals. I'm adding the rest of the controls to allow completely arbitrary Normals per curve point, and then its just cleanup and it can be released! (There's lots more that can be added to it like falloff and interpolation controls, but if I try to put everything into the first version it'll never release.)

The #geometrynodes Curve Normals Proxy Rig is almost ready! You place it on the face and adjust some controls to line things up, and it just works. The controls can be worked with in lots of different ways. You can attach it to an existing rig or animate it. Those bones are controlling a mesh which controls the curve points, so you can also make Shapekeys on the meshes instead and Drive them to match other expression keys! The forehead above the top curve blends to Radial Normals, and under the chin blends to the actual mesh Normals. I'm adding the rest of the controls to allow completely arbitrary Normals per curve point, and then its just cleanup and it can be released! (There's lots more that can be added to it like falloff and interpolation controls, but if I try to put everything into the first version it'll never release.)

aVersionOfReality

57,424 views • 11 months ago

The Fondant Easy Custom Normals Blender addon 2.0.0 is out! We've added the Anime Face Proxy Normals tool I've been developing as a new tier to help fund further development ($10). Get it on Gumroad (link below.) The free tier Laplacian Smooth modifier has also received fixes and optimizations. The Normals Proxy is a set of rigged Curves + Geometry Nodes magic. Place it around your anime face and get clean toon shading fast (compared to other methods.) Easily adjust the shape with the rig for different expressions and poses, add it to your character's rig, and even shapekey it for expression keys!

The Fondant Easy Custom Normals Blender addon 2.0.0 is out! We've added the Anime Face Proxy Normals tool I've been developing as a new tier to help fund further development ($10). Get it on Gumroad (link below.) The free tier Laplacian Smooth modifier has also received fixes and optimizations. The Normals Proxy is a set of rigged Curves + Geometry Nodes magic. Place it around your anime face and get clean toon shading fast (compared to other methods.) Easily adjust the shape with the rig for different expressions and poses, add it to your character's rig, and even shapekey it for expression keys!

aVersionOfReality

63,047 views • 11 months ago

Here's what's coming next for the Fondant Custom Normals Addon: Adjustable 3D anime face proxy mesh! If you've tried the proxy method before, you know that it can be difficult to get good results as you need the right topology and shape for good Normals, and also for it to fit to the face properly for a clean transfer. The solution is to use two proxies: one for the shape, and one for the fitting. But that gets cumbersome! And it is still often unintuitive to get the correct shading shapes. The next major feature of the addon will be aiming to solve these problems by providing a convenient proxy mesh that you can fit to your character's face with some rig controls, and then handles the rest under the hood with Geometry Nodes. All the benefits of complexity without having to deal with it yourself! This clip shows the general idea, but is early stages. I'll be sharing more as I build it out.

Here's what's coming next for the Fondant Custom Normals Addon: Adjustable 3D anime face proxy mesh! If you've tried the proxy method before, you know that it can be difficult to get good results as you need the right topology and shape for good Normals, and also for it to fit to the face properly for a clean transfer. The solution is to use two proxies: one for the shape, and one for the fitting. But that gets cumbersome! And it is still often unintuitive to get the correct shading shapes. The next major feature of the addon will be aiming to solve these problems by providing a convenient proxy mesh that you can fit to your character's face with some rig controls, and then handles the rest under the hood with Geometry Nodes. All the benefits of complexity without having to deal with it yourself! This clip shows the general idea, but is early stages. I'll be sharing more as I build it out.

aVersionOfReality

106,561 views • 1 year ago

Im sure many 3D artists know you can transfer normals from a sphere to get softer and smoother looking trees, but did you know the same process can be used for other visual tricks for stylized fur, clouds or even blending low-poly objects together? Its a real versatile trick.

Im sure many 3D artists know you can transfer normals from a sphere to get softer and smoother looking trees, but did you know the same process can be used for other visual tricks for stylized fur, clouds or even blending low-poly objects together? Its a real versatile trick.

That Guy Mike

117,491 views • 1 year ago

The Fondant Custom Normals Blender addon is being tested, and we're aiming for a 1.0 release next week! The first feature is the Weighted Normals + Laplacian Smoothing Geometry Nodes modifier. This let's you calculate Normals that are as clean as a nice quad mesh even if your topology is a mess and triangulated! We'll be following up with more tools to support creating high quality Normals for 3D anime and vtuber characters. We have an optimized adjustable Face Normal Transfer proxy mesh nearly ready to go. Check out the Docs to see more about the Addon's features and workflow (link in the reply.)

The Fondant Custom Normals Blender addon is being tested, and we're aiming for a 1.0 release next week! The first feature is the Weighted Normals + Laplacian Smoothing Geometry Nodes modifier. This let's you calculate Normals that are as clean as a nice quad mesh even if your topology is a mess and triangulated! We'll be following up with more tools to support creating high quality Normals for 3D anime and vtuber characters. We have an optimized adjustable Face Normal Transfer proxy mesh nearly ready to go. Check out the Docs to see more about the Addon's features and workflow (link in the reply.)

aVersionOfReality

53,806 views • 1 year ago

Curve hair, but you can set different meshes per curve strand! And have options to adjust them. And its using the flat wrapping method so its easy to work with! This is the hair workflow i've wanted for over 7 years, and it can finally be built #b3d

Curve hair, but you can set different meshes per curve strand! And have options to adjust them. And its using the flat wrapping method so its easy to work with! This is the hair workflow i've wanted for over 7 years, and it can finally be built #b3d

aVersionOfReality

147,907 views • 3 years ago

Check this out. No Booleans, SDFs, or anything fancy. Just setting the normals via geometry nodes. And the setup is right in the 4.5 release notes! The new "Free Normals" option helps this calculate nice and fast.

Check this out. No Booleans, SDFs, or anything fancy. Just setting the normals via geometry nodes. And the setup is right in the 4.5 release notes! The new "Free Normals" option helps this calculate nice and fast.

Jonathan Lampel

135,058 views • 1 year ago

Here is the Geometry Nodes Weighted Normals with Laplacian Blur on a full character (a vroid). It easily improves the shading even on game topology with almost no setup. I built this as part of my quest to improve real time toon shading. 3D anime models are popular, but use of dynamic light is rare even among high quality vtuber models. This is for several reasons, but a big one is simply that it takes a lot of Custom Normals work to make 3D cel shading not look like a jagged mess (other pieces of the puzzle are issues like deformations, multiple lights, etc). And fixing Normals is tedious, especially on existing game topology. I have focused on proxy meshes for priority areas like character faces, but they aren't an efficient solution for the whole body + outfit. I wanted something I could just throw on any model and make it at least not a jagged mess anymore even if it wasn't perfect. As you can see from this clip, this does that very well! And vertex groups can be used to control the style of the effect and power. It still can't smooth beyond what the topology density can support, but the topo itself is no longer a problem (for higher res, could be run on a subdivided version of the model and then baked to a Normal Map.) The only changes I made to this model were adding a weld modifier to merge split edges during interpolation, and a vertex group to select the skirt. I have not yet added full handling and logic for detecting edges with big angles like the skirt, or for handling boundaries like on the hair, so both those areas can get better too. You can also see that while it successfully smooths out the Face, it isn't really stylistically correct there. That is still best done with a proxy mesh to define a new shape. This is part of the tools I am working on for Fondant. We are putting together a Blender Addon to release this + a proxy mesh tool for the face, and are working on resolving other problems in-engine to fully bring dynamic light to real time 3D toon shading. Give us a follow, and send them a DM if you are interested in testing these tools as they develop!

Here is the Geometry Nodes Weighted Normals with Laplacian Blur on a full character (a vroid). It easily improves the shading even on game topology with almost no setup. I built this as part of my quest to improve real time toon shading. 3D anime models are popular, but use of dynamic light is rare even among high quality vtuber models. This is for several reasons, but a big one is simply that it takes a lot of Custom Normals work to make 3D cel shading not look like a jagged mess (other pieces of the puzzle are issues like deformations, multiple lights, etc). And fixing Normals is tedious, especially on existing game topology. I have focused on proxy meshes for priority areas like character faces, but they aren't an efficient solution for the whole body + outfit. I wanted something I could just throw on any model and make it at least not a jagged mess anymore even if it wasn't perfect. As you can see from this clip, this does that very well! And vertex groups can be used to control the style of the effect and power. It still can't smooth beyond what the topology density can support, but the topo itself is no longer a problem (for higher res, could be run on a subdivided version of the model and then baked to a Normal Map.) The only changes I made to this model were adding a weld modifier to merge split edges during interpolation, and a vertex group to select the skirt. I have not yet added full handling and logic for detecting edges with big angles like the skirt, or for handling boundaries like on the hair, so both those areas can get better too. You can also see that while it successfully smooths out the Face, it isn't really stylistically correct there. That is still best done with a proxy mesh to define a new shape. This is part of the tools I am working on for Fondant. We are putting together a Blender Addon to release this + a proxy mesh tool for the face, and are working on resolving other problems in-engine to fully bring dynamic light to real time 3D toon shading. Give us a follow, and send them a DM if you are interested in testing these tools as they develop!

aVersionOfReality

14,381 views • 1 year ago

Lebron on what it takes to play for as long as he has at a high level that the average fan may not understand: "It starts way before you get on the floor. They see us once the game is going the popcorn's been popped and the lights are brighter. It takes so much more like sacrifice and discipline and things over the course if you want to be really great at this and if you want to do it for a long period of time. It's so many hours that you got to commit to it. There's so many things that you maybe want to do that you can't if you want to be great but everybody's journey is different. I'm just speaking from my journey but I do think that the game gives back to the ones who put the time in and commit to the game. That's just the game God's rewarding and we don't cheat the process"

Lebron on what it takes to play for as long as he has at a high level that the average fan may not understand: "It starts way before you get on the floor. They see us once the game is going the popcorn's been popped and the lights are brighter. It takes so much more like sacrifice and discipline and things over the course if you want to be really great at this and if you want to do it for a long period of time. It's so many hours that you got to commit to it. There's so many things that you maybe want to do that you can't if you want to be great but everybody's journey is different. I'm just speaking from my journey but I do think that the game gives back to the ones who put the time in and commit to the game. That's just the game God's rewarding and we don't cheat the process"

Oh No He Didn't

36,652 views • 2 months ago

Image remake. Only so much you can work with on solo character posts, so this'll have to do. Gremory is a vibe though. I probably could've gotten a couple of motions from the actual game, but I don't feel like reinstalling it or looking around.

Image remake. Only so much you can work with on solo character posts, so this'll have to do. Gremory is a vibe though. I probably could've gotten a couple of motions from the actual game, but I don't feel like reinstalling it or looking around.

RyoGrills

30,978 views • 2 years ago

Naz Reid on supporting Karl Anthony Towns and the Knicks run in the playoffs now that the Wolves season is over “I'm trying to get out there back home for sure, trying to see him play in person, you know, from a spectator aspect, that's a brother for sure, he's I've been years in with him as well, so and him being also being from Jersey, I've known him long before, you know, NBA, so I mean, just trying to make sure you know, give the same love to him that he's indicated to us, and so forth and so on, and obviously want to be there for him as much as much as I can be, he's been there for me more than you guys know, so I mean, just, you know, showing that love is least I can do”

Naz Reid on supporting Karl Anthony Towns and the Knicks run in the playoffs now that the Wolves season is over “I'm trying to get out there back home for sure, trying to see him play in person, you know, from a spectator aspect, that's a brother for sure, he's I've been years in with him as well, so and him being also being from Jersey, I've known him long before, you know, NBA, so I mean, just trying to make sure you know, give the same love to him that he's indicated to us, and so forth and so on, and obviously want to be there for him as much as much as I can be, he's been there for me more than you guys know, so I mean, just, you know, showing that love is least I can do”

Andrew Dukowitz

297,122 views • 1 month ago

Spent the whole day working on the thigh deforms... It's not 100%, but it's definitely an improvement from my old setups!😄 I've got the twist/breakdown bones left to do here, and a lot more learning to do in the future. but for now, i'm pretty pleased. #blender #rigging #rig

Spent the whole day working on the thigh deforms... It's not 100%, but it's definitely an improvement from my old setups!😄 I've got the twist/breakdown bones left to do here, and a lot more learning to do in the future. but for now, i'm pretty pleased. #blender #rigging #rig

Ryan

117,624 views • 10 months ago

Blender soft body simulations are great for animating squishy things like cells, but they break if you make cells divide. So I'm building my own cell growth soft body simulator from the ground up in blender geometry nodes. Hope to release this tool soon. #b3d

Blender soft body simulations are great for animating squishy things like cells, but they break if you make cells divide. So I'm building my own cell growth soft body simulator from the ground up in blender geometry nodes. Hope to release this tool soon. #b3d

Brad Krajina

37,229 views • 1 year ago

I’m so sorry but this is the new worst Mega design out of EVERY Mega IMO. Never liked Floette,this was a chance to make it more epic,or at the very least just make its actual face or body a bit different…instead they just give it a bigger,more boring flower I havent beat the game yet and I know this is a Mega exists for the story, but it doesn’t matter. This design and its animations below is what we get and it’s just so uninteresting and uninspired. Sure it’s the same concept as Mega Kangaskhan…but worse. Only the flower Mega Evolves but the flower isn’t a pokemon, it doesn’t have a character or a face (or a good animation to demonstrate its own sentience). I get that it’s because it’s following the whole Floette line gimmick of just their flowers changing. But it’s just not good. I would’ve at least preferred that it evolved into Florges gained a new color and then its Mega would just gain this same flower🤷‍♂️ The shiny is bad too lol

I’m so sorry but this is the new worst Mega design out of EVERY Mega IMO. Never liked Floette,this was a chance to make it more epic,or at the very least just make its actual face or body a bit different…instead they just give it a bigger,more boring flower I havent beat the game yet and I know this is a Mega exists for the story, but it doesn’t matter. This design and its animations below is what we get and it’s just so uninteresting and uninspired. Sure it’s the same concept as Mega Kangaskhan…but worse. Only the flower Mega Evolves but the flower isn’t a pokemon, it doesn’t have a character or a face (or a good animation to demonstrate its own sentience). I get that it’s because it’s following the whole Floette line gimmick of just their flowers changing. But it’s just not good. I would’ve at least preferred that it evolved into Florges gained a new color and then its Mega would just gain this same flower🤷‍♂️ The shiny is bad too lol

SoulSilverArt

1,681,368 views • 7 months ago

The same clip they’re using to paint winter as rude and a pain to work with opens up with her giving the stylist a spoon so she can eat with her from the same bowl. She even asks her later if the food was delicious. Idk how many coworkers you have that you would eat with from the same bowl but for me that’s only the ones I’m very close to and comfortable around. The two of them were joking and bantering around so much and clearly are close

The same clip they’re using to paint winter as rude and a pain to work with opens up with her giving the stylist a spoon so she can eat with her from the same bowl. She even asks her later if the food was delicious. Idk how many coworkers you have that you would eat with from the same bowl but for me that’s only the ones I’m very close to and comfortable around. The two of them were joking and bantering around so much and clearly are close

Alejandra~

234,638 views • 6 months ago

heechul: i certainly think i'm the happiest when i'm with my members. i've received lots of love from viewers in shows but i'm so happy when i'm with the members. tbh preparing for a performance is harder than filming but the happiness from that hardship is great i love him 😭💙

heechul: i certainly think i'm the happiest when i'm with my members. i've received lots of love from viewers in shows but i'm so happy when i'm with the members. tbh preparing for a performance is harder than filming but the happiness from that hardship is great i love him 😭💙

f

35,504 views • 10 months ago

Scott on why conviction in an idea is dangerous as an investor but required as a founder: "From the investor seat, I don't think you want to be in love with an idea. That's a risky thing because you'll find a way to express that by investing and make some compromises on the team because you know this idea is just so good, its time has come. But if the team isn't there, 90% of the time it doesn't work. Then there's a whole thing can you swap out the team? But the whole Founders Fund thesis was always no, you need the founder to run the company. But on the company side, you have to be in love with the idea. It's not that rational to start a company. There's a lot easier, more comfortable ways to make money if that's the goal. So it's got to be about what the company is doing specifically. If you want to actually start a company, it better be something that you're really passionate about, or you think that the problem is really important."

Scott on why conviction in an idea is dangerous as an investor but required as a founder: "From the investor seat, I don't think you want to be in love with an idea. That's a risky thing because you'll find a way to express that by investing and make some compromises on the team because you know this idea is just so good, its time has come. But if the team isn't there, 90% of the time it doesn't work. Then there's a whole thing can you swap out the team? But the whole Founders Fund thesis was always no, you need the founder to run the company. But on the company side, you have to be in love with the idea. It's not that rational to start a company. There's a lot easier, more comfortable ways to make money if that's the goal. So it's got to be about what the company is doing specifically. If you want to actually start a company, it better be something that you're really passionate about, or you think that the problem is really important."

Patrick OShaughnessy

33,016 views • 2 months ago