How I recreated an entire Steam Locomotive in 3D
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- Опубліковано 28 кві 2024
- At long last, it's time bring folks into the studio with me as I create Animagraffs, starting with the Steam Locomotive project!
Here's the Steam Locomotive documentary I created, for any who haven't seen it: • How a Steam Locomotive...
Blender is free, open source software. Get into it!
www.blender.org/
00:00 Intro
00:18 Research
03:44 3D Modeling
07:19 Materials & texturing
21:48 Rigging
27:48 Animation
29:36 Rendering
31:10 Labels - Наука та технологія
Let me boil the essence of this clip down, for those of us with little patience. This is extremely easy to build. All you need is an artist's mind and a huge, inhumane amount of work! Let's face it! Dudes like this one, right here, are extremely rare because very few of us can display the passion and the stubbornness of putting in so much work to create what usually is done by animation studios. Don't tryto do what this guy does. You'll go insane. Just thank him and enjoy his work. Thank you, mate! Hats off to you!
I think you’re completely missing the fact that modeling is ENJOYABLE to a lot of people 😅 just like anything else that’s a lot of “work” e.g. programming, woodwork, sculpting, video editing, painting, composing, etc. etc. etc. if you’re finding that an activity is testing your patience and not offering any satisfaction in return, you should probably look into doing something else
I can appreciate both your points of view, because right about the time modeling is wrapping up, I'm READY to be done. But it's dope because with modeling I can listen to podcasts and whatnot, even in the midst of trying to figure out how something should look. But with animating, for example, I have to hear my voice as I go along. So no more podcasts.
Had me in the first half!
@@DrCaesarsPalace_MD wdym
Well I'm doing something similar. Modelling and animation in Blender for leaving. Yeah, that can drive one sort of insane. Sometimes I miss old days when I had simple job at construction (apartment renovations).
This was fascinating and you've got some serious skill - thanks for sharing Jake!
Hiya Jared! Always good to see you. Thanks for your compliments. Isn’t it great to be doing what we do?! :D
@@animagraffs Yes it is😀 I gotta get better at some of the shader node tricks you use. Simulations are a pain in blender
@@JaredOwen haha now we're like old generals who've seen some sh*t. Simulating is way too hard. I mean, it's amazing too, and I love the wacky simulations ya see around online for the sake of simulating. But I already spend 2-2.5 months in the deepest trenches with these things! And I have no more hair to lose over it! ;D
Erindale's channel has a ton of procedural nodes tutorials. Somehow, in the end, I really only use the couple of techniques though, and pull out other weird procedural strats only occasionally. Also, asking blender to do all that math with built-in noise texture nodes and whatnot can get intense memory-wise. So I use noise textures in images sometimes to keep memory usage down. But overall, the couple tricks I showed in this vid can make all the liquids/gases I've needed so far. That includes the water treatment vid too!
big friendship right there
"Jake here, the creator of anime graphs." i've heard this line so many times, i couldn't have guessed how you looked man. i love your voice man
looks aren't half bad either ;)
Can you tell us the gear you use for your 3D rendering
@alphasbirdcage You mean software or hardware? Software, I use Blender's command line renderer to spin up multiple blender instances and dedicate them to one of two GPUs I have, as eevee render engine can't split up renders any other way. I've found I can max out my capabilities this way, and closing the window (terminating the render) is easy and doesn't crash Blender, unlike trying to render from the interface.
As for hardware, it's just a beefy gaming type PC, with two GPUs. A Ryzen 5900x cpu and the GPUs are a 3080 and a 2070 super. I prop the case open with a big fan at render time and it heats the entire apartment. lol.
@RobFeldkamp you're very kind Rob, us fellas somehow don't hear stuff like that very often. I'm keepin it.
@@animagraffs That was my Reddit post at 10:12 but I didn't think you would ever see it, let alone make a video responding to my question! I think Blender should incorporate your technique , because I'm sure other people have looked for a simple solution like yours. In any case, thanks for the hard work!
I very much wondered. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that you're a one-man operation. I didn't expect that. Terrific work back from the non-video days.
:) a fan from way back to the animated GIF days! heck yeah. Oh the things I could show! I found ways to make, for example, a fire effect like this BUT seamlessly repeat in a loop. So far online I haven't seen someone pull it off for pure noise based textures, you can usually see where the loop jerks at is start / end. Anyways, glad to have you on the channel!
HI, Jake, Nice to see the creator of these. Always appreciate not only the CG but the research, script and narration (also the selection of music) and vast amount of time you put into these.
Video game developer here! Seeing your materials, and the node setups you have for them, makes me indescribably happy. YOU, sir, are the type of artist that I *love* to work with. 🥰 Thanks for this! Super cool breakdown. Your work is really special, and I love watching it. Keep doing what you do!
PLEASE make more videos like these, this was amazing to watch!
I appreciate you showing this. Not only does it make me appreciate the work you do, but it gives me motivation to continue working on the things I do. I often get overwhelmed in doing 3D or other things because they feel too big. I need to keep realizing that while they are big projects, they just encompass small, simple steps.
I love that this is what you've taken away. I hoped people would see that. I mean, I'm here eyeballing things that ultra-smart engineers will definitely "have an issue with" if I publish it wrong. And yet ... somehow it just gets done if I keep patiently trying to make it work.
Unlike a magician revealing his tricks, my awe of your efforts and abilities are not at all diminished after a glimpse behind the curtain. Just incredible work all around. Bravo!
I just discovered you, saw the SR-71 video, and this. Rarely does one think, " This person I want to be my role model," but you convinced me in 90 minutes of watching.
I admire your dedication, expertise, and clear vision.
I absolutely loved the episode on the big boy steam engine. A topic very close to my heart. So a very deep thankyou.
I have a suggestion for another amazing piece of mechanical wizardry.
The combine harvester. Some how it manages to cut the crop, feeds it into the machine itself, opens up the pods, takes the seeds and saves them and at the same time discards the rest of the plant and at certain intervals when the hoppers are nearly full are able to dump the produce into a tractor and trailer running along side.
And doing all this virtually non stop at about 10 - 15 mph. A seriously clever piece of machinery!!
WOW!!! I have only recently found Animagraffs with the SR-71 video. I was and continue to be absolutely blown away at the quality of your productions. And now with this, to have a glimpse at what it takes to make the graphical content makes it that much more impressive.
I would like to say thank you so very much for what you do. This is the kind of content that provides real value to this platform.
Thank you for such a great channel. Me and my 5 year old son love your content. I’ve worked on and repaired equipment my whole life and I always learn something new. My son has watched the diesel and steam train videos about 300 times now.
It's pretty special when folks tell me they watch with their kids, or that their kids just love to watch my work on their own. I dunno, it's, like, sacred in a way. thx for being here on the channel!
This was SUCH an awesome video to watch. Thank you for making this!! It is ridiculously impressive how you go about doing all of this
Your skills are amazing. You should be proud of your talent. Thank you for sharing this!
Jake! I am a 3D animator since 1991. However my work took a turn away from 3D motion in 2005 only being sporadic through now. What has happened in this field is incredible. The work is amazing. Your candid honesty about our industry and the “smoke and mirrors” to pull off the amazing fire, steam, coals and the nodes it takes to layer it all is so cool. The way you programmed the opacity groups and the scale groups is inspirational. Thank you for your dedication to the craft of 3D and education of how things work.
Amazing work and patience. As a "flat" corporate designer I often forget how important cross-section referenceing is. You are next level.
The quality and attention to detail in your work is on another level, but what struck me the most is how proud and passionate you are about your work, it was palpable from the way you talk and react about the little details in your work! Would love to see something about Fusion reactors next.
This is unbelievable. The amount of work you put into this as an indie and the level of knowledge you demonstrate in each field of 3D/animation is outstanding. It showcases not just your talent but how intricate and complicated this field is while you also introduce the concepts and building blocks of this profession in a way even a layman can understand!
As an aviation enthusiast, I was introduced to Animagraffs by the P-51 Mustang episode showing up in my recommendations when I was watching videos about WW2 planes like the Spitfire. I was blown away by the graphics and just by getting such a deep and intuitive understanding of how all of the moving parts fit and worked together. I immediately binge-watched the rest of your animations and have eagerly awaited every new release since. This channel is one of my absolute favorites on UA-cam. Thank you so much for all the great videos, and keep up the outstanding work Jake!
the Big Boy video will forever be ingrained in my mind as a work of ungodly effort, genius, and artisanal skill in the way of animation/blender/explanation. Animagraffs is the best out there in this regard!
One of the few channels I hit the bell for. It's almost incomprehensible how much time and effort must go into each video, even knowing broadly how you do it.
I've been doing 3D professionally for about 25 years now. I am seriously impressed by this (and I get how incredibly difficult it is to do what you have pulled off). Kudos!
Glad you take "shortcuts" like buying the exterior. Proof you are in fact human. So much work!
I will never take one of your videos for granted ever again.
I had to do a lot of research on locomotives when I researched my book (called The Locomotive). These machines are nothing less than a work of art, and your work is greatly appreciated by countless people. This was one of my favourite videos on your channel!
Yup...IMMENSE amount of work. 99% of the time, there's WAY more work behind UA-cam than people think and this is a SHINING example of that. Keep up the fantastic work, man. And...MOAR BTS!! 😁
Jake, You truly have a talent that is rarely seen or experienced. When I first watched a video you had made, How a Formula 1 Race Car Works, I was mezmerized by your commentary, detail and above all the fluidity of the animation. I have been following your work for sometime now and appreciate it as a teacher myself to be truly an education. Please keep your work and dedication going as it would be such a great loss to the world if you stopped. Finally hats off to you for working as an individual on these projects. Thankyou.
Getting the valve gear right is hard. Probably the hardest part for both models and real engines. Getting the valve gear right WITH the reverser having full range of motion that's just amazing!
Your work on this locomotive is absolutely insane. Not only you managed to show everything there is in enough detail to explain a complete basics of operation, but also you did it about something that is far gone I history.
I’m absolutely amazed that I finally learned everything I ever wanted about locomotives
I am speechless. The passion for these projects I can see and hear in your voice as you explain what is involved making these machines come to life. Thanks for sharing. When I saw the locomotive its design - I had new respect of the people that designed and built these machines. Personally I would place you there with them.......
We appreciate your selfless efforts for making these videos
I love to see the smile as you explain to all of us, your craft. You are a genius and you look really happy making this video.
hey brother, you are loved.
by the insanely obsessed members of the mechanical world.
i once was a mechanical illustrator, by hand back then, truly understand the amount of dedication you have...
im sure i speak for many, when i say, we look forward to every rendering you create...and thank you!
keep it up...
much love from Texas
I congratulate you not on your talent, but on your hard work and work ethic.
One of the coolest videos I've seen in a while. It's incredible to see just one person doing such an amazing job of creating educational content. What's more incredible is seeing that the secret sauce behind the accuracy is just lots and lots and lots of hard work and dedicated research. Browsing old forums for 1930s magazines might be one of the coolest research processes I've ever seen.
epic! thank you for the behind-the-curtains look. love all your videos!
I love the old Locomotive Cyclopedias! They are the gold standard for my own modeling projects. Only have a few (none from the 1930's yet 😢), but I have learned a lot from them.
This is really valuable stuff! Considering that Blender is free, you're possibly enabling other passionate people to create whole videos almost entirely in Blender (Like Project Zero does, I suspect). I love the sneaky tricks used for shaders (like using the flow of the UVs to pan a texture). You might really enjoy seeing how Bethesda did many of their particle effects. Lots of meshes with panning textures, and an extensive use of UV colors to control transparency or effects (something you can also do in Blender using the color node to grab vertex painted color info).
Thanks for going into as much detail as you did, including the nodes. Other Blender nerds will be able to freeze-frame and learn exactly what you've done. 👍
I watched it back and giggled at where I know other Blender users are gonna pause and inspect the screen, scraping my vid for ANY clues. Because sometimes that's how you gotta learn. I don't mind showing a lot but also leaving some to be figured out >:)
You have no idea how much I admire your work! I do explainer animations myself, but I think I’d go mad with this complexity.
The amount of work and skill that goes into your videos is truly incredible. Class act.
OMG . The amount of work and talent here is off the scale. You are the GOAT. You are the Blenderdaddy for engineers ... I feel humbled and inspired.
AnimaGOAT. 🚀🚀🚀
I just watched your Big Boy vid and was blown away. Then I found this vid. I'm speechless.
Wow, what an enthusiasm ! Never would have enough patience to create such an artwork !
I does get easier when I have to release these projects to eat. heh. But I super accept what you meant by your kind words and thank you for saying them.
@@animagraffs Been looking forward to see breakdowns of how you work. There're not many people who do what you do with quality all around (research, 3d illustration, insightful presentations, etc...). Thanks!
oh my goodness! This is amazing! I too have stopped trying to mess with simulation, it is just too processor heavy and I've learned to fake things but make it look good. This is an exceptional behind the scenes, and very inspiring!
That texture map for the fire just blew my mind, might use this concept instead of simulation for some of my blender hobby projects
I can attest to the difficulty of rigging the waelschertz valve gear. I haven't gotten mine to work yet and I'm only doing that because I want a more hands-on way to learn how the linkages interact with eachother. I find it absolutely insane that you pulled that off so beautifully. Respect, man.
It's the secondary and tertiary movement that really fries Blender's wires. Some of those components never 'rest still', they're always being driven by some other part. Solidarity, may you achieve the holy grail of getting it to work and also actually understanding how all those parts contribute to the final outcome [prayer hands].
Jake you're the beast and I adore your work / art ! Your personality seems to be as much interesting as your animations do😉. I'm very glad about your success and wish you a good and strong tailwind.
I don't intend to watch the whole vid...until I DID, curiosity had me. Thanks for this in-depth explanation Mr. Animagraffs! 😉👍
got 'em! >:D
So interesting, such patience. You had such a problem with the valve gear - can you imagine the work Walsheart did to design this on paper without computers, just a slide rule. Not only that he had to calculate the modifications as a result of the mechanical movements of the parts to make the gear. Beautifuly done except for one thing. IT IS NOT A TRAIN. It is a LOCOMOTIVE. And it is beautifully done, telling the layman something they can not learn even watching the real LOCOMOTIVE in operation as it pulls a TRAIN. Thanks not only for this, but all the other astounding projects you have undertaken. But do remember, names do have meaning and correct names are vital to educating, which is what you are doing - Big Time. Even with your explanations, I don't think most viewers can comprehend the amount of work, imagination and creativity you put forth to accomplish this amazing illustration.
Waiting for Captain Disillusion to drop a thumbs up here. The ultimate stamp of approval.
You should be proud. This is excellent.
Let me tell ya. I love your site and the graphics are fantastic!! That's why I subscribed.
The magician behind the curtain! I enjoy every video you post, thank you
Wonderful, thank God UA-cam algorithm suggest me that, so much inspiration filled inside that I can do whatever I wanted in blender, rather to rely on 5-6 different programs that create syncing problem. You have to push your limits and you have also done scripting by yourself for that.
Your video will set a milestone for other educator as well that want to utilize blender to demonstrate their work. Visualization simplified....
Wow!!! Mind blown how you completely sidestep physics simulations... brilliant
Love it - thanks for sharing your workflow. It's really cool to see how proud you are of your custom tools and clever hacks. I find that to be a very satisfying element of my not-entirely-dissimilar career in 3D too. I'm not an animator, though, and I feel excited when I can rig things that are super basic compared to what you're doing. Inspiring work, and great content.
Why am I watching this with a huge grin on my face??? I know it’s said for sufficiently advanced technology but we can very well extend the quote to a insanely talented and hardworking artist to say ‘a sufficiently sophisticated artwork done by a master can be indistinguishable from magic’ :)
Absolutely astounding, every one of your creations I have seen so far. Thanks for doing this so well and so in depth with your research.
Halfway through the video and already amazed to discover you combine Blender + Python. Not many people in the world are able to do it; you are a special talent in helping us learn incredible machines and facts. Thanks for sharing man
I was sure you did all this in SOLIDWORKS or Fusion... And I use those for a living. Man, Blender.. bold move. Much respect.
Thank god for the illustrative style I use that lets me keep the meshes really simple. Sometimes tho, try as I might to avoid it, I have to build complex stuff with cutouts and radiuses and proper beveled edges and yes, in a mesh modeler it's a circus ... where in CAD software it'd be a breeze!
Your videos are amazing !!! I love the clarity, how you make complex machines seem simple by breaking them down in to parts, showing how the parts work, and then showing how the whole works. And such high quality.
Love it! This time learning about digital processes instead of physical mechanisms. Please don't stop, you're making the world better through your work
Dude, you are AMAZING!! Please keep doing what you're doing! Your technique for the boiler fire was awesome :D Also, i was really glad you consulted/worked with Hyce on this to attain as much accuracy as possible. Perfect partner choice right there. Peace and love. You're awesome!
Jake, this was a fantastic video. So nice to put a voice to a face - finally! You are a genius amongst us and the Mozart of Blender. Thanks for making this and sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm. More than a million of enjoy your one-man shows!
inspiring content. love that you went into how annoying purchased models can be. sometimes it feels like im losing time having to fix them but in your case it makes total sense.
This is stunning! Thanks you so much for this behind the scene view!!
There is a man who loves what he does!!! Awesome to see how proud he is of his accomplishments... and they are amazing!!!
Amazing work, Jake, definitely something to be proud of! Documenting amazing machines and teaching people in depth about how they work is very noble!
Keep up the good work! I allways thought its a big team behind this, cause I thought its just way too complex for a single person to do it! Not just animation but also research and all that. This is so amazing! Well done! Wow!
I LOVE this so much!!!!!! Thank you for those of us that lov getting down to every nut and bolt. I cannot appreciate tour research, time, effort and amazing results enough.
Seeing this feels like Christmas! I really appreciate the work you do, and knowing you also use Blender is super inspiring for other creators. Thanks!
the materials are SO SICK
Everything you do is leaving me.. speechless. Masterpiece!
absolutely love this, an explanation of how you went about while making the video helps visualize the process incredibly well and where to follow if youd wish to create similar projects like i do, instead of getting lost in more minute details or pretty but overall counterproductive parts of the program haha
very nice explanations too, having some prior knowledge of blender before helps but i feel like i could tackle the topic of making materials for example more bravely now that i have a bit more of an idea of what to actually do LOL
either way, lovely video, certainly didnt expect you to look like you do but im glad you have such a pleasant voice !
Super nerdy, super awesome, hardest work that results in relatively short video, OMG YT you’re the best.
Phenomenal research and artistry. Kudos and thanks to you.
Great format. It takes my appreciation of your content to another level. The intense dedication shows. Thank you for continuing to put out some of the best content on UA-cam.
Very, very interesting. Superb work. We love Animagraffs.
I just discovered this guy channel (came from the video "how engine works") , and after watching this video I am totally convinced that Jake is the real Blender guru , just wow! such an inspiring channel , thank you sir 🤩
I just started learning Blender about a month ago. I'm really struggling with the learning curve, but seeing how you make your incredible models in Blender is inspiring.
Thank you and I’m so happy to see the process of those beautiful and awesome videos.
I’ve worked as a 3d artist in game business for over 20 years so I can feel every effort you put in every steps (and vertexes, edges, faces).
Always thank you for your great work. I learned so many things. Please keep up the good work and always take care of your health.
this is immensely impressive. absolutely loved seeing behind the scenes. keep up the great work
You are a wonderful person. Thank you for your efforts. Your animations, research, voice, explanation all are top notch.
It's soooooo much work! Kudos to you.
I'm glad you're enjoying doing all this.
The complex engineering in this machine is mind blowing for its time
Especially since it was all done with pencil/pen & paper, plus at best a slide rule, paper, & pencil for calculations -- no computers!
Amazing Jake!!! What a treat to see behind the scenes. Thank You!
Jake you are awesome! Your creations are artfully science and amazing! The 1st I seen was P51 mustang at 11pm I was hooked till 1am and shared many of ur videos to my friends. Excellent work that are classroom grade material
Next Animagraffs has to be his vocal folds. Because I have no idea how his voice sounds like he is a giant carved from stone but appears as an otherwise ordinary man.
Great project! Thank you for sharing such a complex workflow!
I am not working in the modeling field (nor I am planning to), but even I can see how much work you had to put into recreating such a complex object.
Enjoyed the video a lot, wish you the best and thank you for presenting such a beautiful piece of work in a simplistic way :)
Congratulations your voice sounds is exactly like the one we ear in the Animagraffs video. Joke aside colossal work and thank for sharing Jake 👍
B)
Dude this work is straight up beautiful I am legitimately in awe.
I am as well "blenderer", but now, after I watched this video, I feel like a donut-maker - you know :D. So good, modeling, rigging, and that simplicity yet efficiency in materials... perfect! Hats off, man!
Thank you very much for posting this informative video. It's nice to have a "behind-the-scenes" peek at your process. It's amazing what an individual can create in Blender. Keep up the great work!
love these "little" projects. Many people don't understand the amount of work, and why the heck the author talks about keeping sanity 😄 (beautiful work btw 😉 )
Insane amount of work, honestly, and all done in blender! Thank you for your videos that go straight to the point and end when all things are covered. Purely educational content.
I agree and appreciate what this guy does. Blender takes a huge amount of study in and of itself to master because its complexity offers so much flexibility, which makes all the menus like learning mathematical engineering or something. Then once you master that to make a complex video of this nature require a ton of research on the model and to explain it in such a way this guy does is remarkeable. Very nice job, and big thanks for the inspiration you provide others.
Imagine you going back in time and show this to the actual designer/engineer of the Big Boy.
The look on his face...
Great work dude. I knew it was complicated but i had no idea.
Keep it up, always looking forward to new work.
Thnx.
Bloody awesome! I worked as Mech design drafter in the 90s. I learned 3D surface modeling. Now I use Fusion 360 for my work. So I have an appreciation of what's involved even if I don't use Blender. I sure do get how complex a job it is to do what you did for the Steam Loco video. Damn impressive. I loved that vid!
I put off watching this because I didn't expect this to be this fascinating, or you to be this entertaining. Happy that I came back for it, because it's great.