Question about 3D model program I have seen mentioned a lot by modders

[Lissy]

So I have seen the program "Blender" mentioned a lot by modders when I was trying to figure out how to "reskin" something and whatnot. I have seen at a glance something about scripting and was wondering if I would be needing to make another attempt at learning scripting or if it was separate. I havent gotten very far in the video tutorials yet for blender. I am still working on the donut. I do want to be able to use blender to perhaps make my own custom meshes maybe. Is it easier to modify the existing meshes for skyrim with blender or just make my own? 

[ragna_r0k]

i think youve seen my thread. it is a lot easier to modify existing meshes. its my method of choice. it also guarantees that things are immersive, they fit into vanilla games no matter what, i love immersion.

just my personal opinion ^^

[ragna_r0k]

btw, you dont need scripting for adjusting meshes.

[Lissy]

cool. well i finished the donut tutorial. working on the chair tutorial now which was really recently released. I am actually kinda enjoying using blender.

[garnet18]

Beware, Blender is addictive!

[Lissy]

its too late for that warning

[ragna_r0k]

garnet is right ... its too late for us! were dooooomed!

happy blending. cheers to modding!

[Lissy]

Cheers

 

[donnato]

You will need an earlier version of Blender to support NIF files and DDS for texturing for export. If you can search this site and find Vince`s Blender to Oblivion tutorials , it`s the best place to start. On Nexus you may be able to find Mr. Sika`s tuta ... also very good.

Edit:  I found Blender to Oblivion part 1 >>   

I hope the  link works. Part 2 is  in there too .

Edited May 20, 2020 by donnato

[Lissy]

An earlier version of blender?? i am suprised the newer version wouldnt support nif stuff. is it possible to have 2 different versions of blender installed on the same computer? I really like the version i am using. I am still in a learning phase and not up to the point that i am ready to begin making meshes for my personal skyrim mods but I can come back to this post and check the stuff you posted. thank you

also I am assuming those references for tutorials will work with skyrim meshes as well. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Lissy

[donnato]

Yes you can have other versions of Blender installed. To avoid confusion I suggest you create seperate reciever folders in your destination of choice , clearly labeled like .. Blender 2.49 , or Blender 2.8 .. etc. then during download , direct it to down load to that folder.

[Lissy]

ah ok. At thi point i am hoping having 2 different blender folders wont take up too much room (i would want to also have a materials folder for that version to keep that stuff separate). My computer has less than 300 gigs left and my material folders that tend to go with these programs take up a lot of space lol. I do need to upgrade my computer though at some point. As it is, using blender to render with cpu seems to be faster than using my GPU......

 

[donnato]

Have you thought of an external storage device? I have lots of old stuff on thumb drives and a ton on an external ssd with 1TB I bought for cheap. 

[ragna_r0k]

i use blender 2.49 for the armor skinning scripts (once i find them again), but mainly use 2.59 for working on meshes. never change a winning team.

[Lissy]

@donnato I do have a 4 TB external hard drive. Its not a SSD though. I use it more for backups and storage because I dont want my stuff running even slower (if the time it takes to copy something to the external drive vs another folder on my main hard drive is any indication of running speeds). I actually dont even run a SSD as my main hard drive. 

@ragna_r0k  nice. (makes note)

ok so another question then...lol.  Is it possible to create a file with 1 version of blender, then open it in another version? Just curious mostly if this would work and not just for skyrim meshes.

also....I have an idea about what to do about the blender materials folder so that they can all share it   

[ragna_r0k]

it is possible. i frequently swap files between versions. not sure about the latest versions though. the only data that gets lost worst case would be the weight painting, this only affects morphing objects, stuff that stretches, armor or animals. with statics you shouldnt have any problems.

[Lissy]

nice   well stuff like that can probably be redone if needed. i did see a usage of weight paint i think in the donut tutorial that would tell the particle thing where the particles could be distributed but otherwise i am not worried. i am currently practicing with a house project. I am pretty sure it will take a while to finish it.