Mecabricks to Blender Template

[DarkKnight7]

These are so friggin cool. Are these just using bricks and pieces imported from LDD or something? I'm confused of how this is done, but completely entranced!

[Scrubs]

Sort of Models are built in Mecabricks which is a browser based application - mecabricks.com - and exported in one click to an open format (Collada in this case but I also created OBJ and STL exporters). Parts are not coming from LDD or LDraw but from a third system that I created.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Scrubs

[A Gallifreyan Cat]

I don't understand how you delete it in Blender? Do you press the delete key on the keyboard?

Never mind, I figured it out. Great tutorial!

[BEAVeR]

Great work, Scrubs! I don't know how you get your renders so realistic. I'm working in Blender as well, with skyspheres, the same bevel script and all... but I'm still in awe of what you're capable off. What is your secret? And just a small question: do you use a Fresnel node in your materials to get more realistic bricks?

These are so friggin cool. Are these just using bricks and pieces imported from LDD or something? I'm confused of how this is done, but completely entranced!

There actually exists a Blender add-on that imports LDraw models. Since you can export models from LDD to LDraw pretty easily (especially when you use this resource to fill in parts that are available in LDD but not in LDraw), it's a pretty easy solution to render your LDD models. You can find the official converter here. I also modified it of my own, but some of the features are pretty dirty and add a lot of extra geometry (logo on the studs). You can find it here.

[zanna]

Great work, Scrubs! I don't know how you get your renders so realistic. I'm working in Blender as well, with skyspheres, the same bevel script and all... but I'm still in awe of what you're capable off. What is your secret?

Like when you take a photo, I think the secrets are:

• lighting (you can use HDRi images and / or Blender's lamps, light areas, ...)

• composition

Then you should add some other effects like Depth of Field, flare, etc... to simulate a real camera

Finally, you can have fun with post production with dedicated softwares, such as Photoshop, but it isn't always necessary.

Edited August 28, 2015 by zanna

[Scrubs]

Hello,

You can now download version 1.06 of the Mecabricks script for Blender. http://www.mecabricks.com/en/forum/topic/72

Here is my last render that I made using this version - Model by Sunder_59:

Space Debris Harvesting Ship by Nicolas Jarraud, on Flickr

[ashir]

Hey Scrubs, I render this image using POV:

And this other was rendered using your template and Blender:

I don't understand what I'm doing wrong...

[Scrubs]

Hello,

Did you export this model from Mecabricks? I am asking because the trees and a lot of other parts I see in your model are not available in Mecabricks.

My script is made to be easy to use with models exported from the website as per the video tutorial. Otherwise, you will need to do some work before running the script.