Blender tutorials

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Introduction

This page tries to put all the important Blender tutorials in one place instead of having them scattered all over. Contributions are very welcome since most of this will always be based on personal workflows and as such other ways of doing things will exist as well.

Keep in mind, if you're stuck at any point you can always join the /aesco/ Discord or ask in /4ccg/ and someone who went through the same steps once will help.

Note that the PES16/17 tutorials are not always compatible with PES18+ and vice versa.

Tools and Requirements

These are the general things you'll need for pretty much everything. More specialized tools and files will be linked at the beginning of their specific tutorial.

For Windows

Blender

This is your most important tool. The most used versions are 2.67, 2.71, 2.78 and 2.79. Getting 2.79b is probably the safest bet but as you get more used to Blender in general it all comes down to personal preference.
If at some point you want to use RigEx, you'll need 2.71 for that.

Pick your versions here

An Image Editor

Again, one of the basic aesthetics tools that's all down to your personal preference. Only requirement is the ability to handle the DDS image format. Most used programs are Paint.NET, GIMP and Photoshop.

  • GIMP and gimp-dds, the plugin you need for importing/exporting DDS in GIMP, read the readme. The GIMP UI was slightly redesigned after 2.8 so if 2.10 feels weird going back to 2.8.22 is recommended.
  • If you want to use Photoshop you probably already have it, otherwise sail the seven seas it should be easy to find.

Blender Plugins and Config

All PES versions

  • Blender Starter Pack - Complete all-in-one pack of scripts and settings for a cup-standard installation. Use this if you have just installed blender or if you want to have the recommended settings and layout.
    This pack includes the plugins listed below.

PES16/17

  • pes-model-importer - A model importer for PES16/17, has some helpful features (like keeping vertex group names on import) which make it a better option than the regular 16/17 importer/exporter for porting purposes.
    Move to AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.79\scripts\addons and remember to enable in Blender's user preferences.

PES18+

  • pes-fmdl - The main import/export plugin from PES18 onwards.
    Move to AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.79\scripts\addons and remember to enable in Blender's user preferences.

Tutorials

PES16/17

Porting PES18+ to PES17-

This will be a very large section, attempting to cover the porting process of most if not all types of PES18/19/21 models to PES16/17

For now this section will assume a basic understanding of blender, such as the most common keystrokes (G for Grab, X for Delete, S for Scale kind of level of difficulty) and how to find certain things (how to get into Edit Mode, where the Data tab / Vertex Groups list is). This is to try and keep things even a little concise. The eventual video covering porting will display keystrokes and serve as a visual aid for navigating around blender and thus will be much friendlier to complete beginners.

Click here to expand

Basic Head Model

This is the first thing anyone should learn about Blender and PES aesthetics. It's simply the process of taking an existing model and making it usable for PES, but thanks to how basic it is it functions as the foundation for all the other more advanced Blender stuff. Everything else simply adds extra layers on top of the basic process.

First download the base folder and then watch the video tutorial which should cover everything. The video tutorial is made for MMD anime heads but the process for any basic head replacement model is exactly the same so going by the video should be good enough.

Card/Box/Cube/Flatheads

A process even more basic than the Basic Head Model thanks to pre-existing templates and also one of the few tutorials that doesn't necessarily require Blender. You can also skip using the templates and instead go for some Blender practice by making your own heads, but for getting the job done quickly simply editing the clearly labelled textures in the templates is the way to go.

Click ->

Facemasks

A way to give human players a custom face without having to either use a cardhead or hunt for a model which most likely doesn't exist if you're considering facemasking. Also includes the added benefit of keeping the PES facial animations intact so your player can show emotion which with good facemasking work can make for an excellent-quality playermodel without tons of work.

Click ->

CM3D2 Heads

For when you can't find a model for an anime character but really want them to have a model anyway. Lets you frankenstein your own anime girl from pre-existing pieces which you can then import to Blender and turn into a face model to get around the no MMDs problem.

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Balls

Maybe a little out-of-place in the midst of nothing but player aesthetics tutorials, but balls are Blender work as well so might as well have them here.

Click ->

Static Models

A direct expansion on balls, static models are also done in RigEx and simply glide around the pitch. The method of making them is almost identical to balls and it's ideal for models like cars since they don't need to move in a specific manner, just gliding is enough. This tutorial will also be good XML and MTL editing practice since you need to load a whole new model and change an MTL to accommodate.

Click ->

Full-body Models

For when the default PES body just isn't enough. Replacement of the entire default PES player with your own model that also moves like a player, or at least close enough. This tutorial talks about a complete body replacement but the same principles and techniques apply for replacing only certain bits of a player or adding extra stuff to a normal PES player model. These will have their own section but it's best to know the theory behind replacing a full body to help make smaller replacements and additions easier to understand.

Click ->

Short & Simple

Smaller tutorials that are more like nifty tricks that enable you to do some cool stuff. Most are just layers on top of FBM and most also have very easy templates that do most of your work for you. This is also the point where you might want to read up on APC if you didn't do so already since all of these will assume you know how to add models to load into the XML and make sure the MTL they point to is correct.

Custom Skin

Custom skin means exactly what's on the tin, you're giving your player custom-coloured limbs, most likely to fit better with the head/neck. Also gives a decent intro into APC and some hints about FPC if you haven't had a look yet.

Custom human limbs is actually very easy thanks to the template. All you need to do is pick the correct files and put them in your player folder, edit skin_color.dds, copy the right lines from the .txt file in Config and PES will load custom-coloured limbs for your player. Remember to set invisible skin in an editor and you're all done.

Attaching Parts to Players

Also known as APC, it might seem a bit weird to have this only after learning how to do full-body models but most of this will actually require at least some understanding of weight painting so better have it here than before the weight painting tutorial. If you haven't learned how to weight paint yet take a look at Full-body Models first, you'll need both guide.txt and the template but you can apply the guide to your attachment piece instead of a proper full-body model just fine.

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Custom Kit Textures

Same basic progress as custom skin except now a bit more complicated because of more files and the fact that we're dealing with a kit texture instead of a skin texture where just dumping a solid-colour paint bucket on it was enough.

Read the readme.txt inside, it's got all you need to do.

Boots and GK Gloves

For when the default PES selection just isn't good enough. Please note that this is simply for editing the textures of the default PES models, for custom models you should use APC.

Click ->

Using Kit Textures for Models

Making the model change colours depending on which kit is selected. Very useful for repping team colours and making FBM players look more like they belong on the team. In more extreme cases can be used to load a full custom model depending on which kit is selected.

Click ->

Custom Models as Kits

Expanding on the previous topic, custom models as kits are also accomplished by loading models with their type set to uniform. This time though the problem is that if you want to have a cloth kit and a custom kit or several custom kits then there needs to be some way to hide the other kit models while only the selected one is visible. This is accomplished by using alphatest in the MTLs for transparency and cramming all the textures for the custom kit models into the 2048x2048 area of the PES kit texture. NOTE: changing between custom and cloth kits doesn't work for keepers since they can only ever have a single kit.

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Custom Models as Kits - The Special Scenario

The WAY easier scenario of the two where cloth kits don't exist and everyone can have the same custom kit models which lets you use the magic of collar slots.

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Custom models from boots

A methode where boot slots are used to load in custom models. It may sound pretty hard but it is very easy. Check PES16/Boots to see which IDs you should use for your boot. Make a new folder using the ID you found on the page so it becomes kxxxx. Copy your already made model with its mtl and texture and dump them into the folder. Then rename the .model to boots.model and the .mtl to boots.mtl. Make sure the texture name is the same as in the boots.mtl otherwise PES will give you a white texture on the model. If you have renamed everything in the map there should be 3 files: boots.model, boots.mtl and the .dds.

Now to get this into the game check AET/Boots to set them up correctly in the game. Then use a editor to give your player the Boots ID. If all went right the model should show up when you check your player.

Pictureguide

PES18+

Basic Head Model

This is a text based and illustrated .pdf guide that covers porting basic head models into PES. It assumes you have no prior knowledge of Blender and contains links to all the tools you'll need. The guide was made specifically for Source Filmmaker models, but can be applied to any model that Blender can open.

Porting Heads

Another tutorial for heads, likely repeating a lot of what the above one already covers. Pick whichever you prefer and stick with it and all should be well.

Click here to expand

Completely New Head Models

This time we have a model that has never been in PES before. Very similar process to porting old head models, to the point where this section is just going to be a slightly modified version of the porting guide, but worth having to avoid confusion. Video soontm

Click here to expand

Porting FBMs

Click here to expand

Completely New FBMs

Click here to expand

Porting Koikatsu Models

Click here to expand

Porting MMD Models

This isn't so much a tutorial as it is a blender addon that will make the process much easier, though there is some useful information in the Usage section of the GitHub page. If you lack some knowledge, see the tutorials for Completely New FBMs and Custom Hand Models.

Porting WWE2K Models

This guide assumes you have some knowledge of blender and the PES porting process, if there's anything you don't know then see the tutorial for Completely New FBMs and if you want articulated hands then check out the tutorial for Custom Hand Models.

Shadelessness and Outlines

Click here to expand

Static Models

Click here to expand

Custom Hand Models

Click here to expand

Stadiums

The aesthetics compiler won't save you now.

Click here to expand

Model Settings

Also known as getting around pes-fmdl.

Click here to expand

Making your own head

Everyone has their own way of making stuff. Here is just one example.

Click here to expand

Custom Character Models

How to make an entire character model from scratch

Click here to expand

Misc

Finding Models

The most difficult part of making aesthetics, finding the perfect source model. Be it for the cute girl from that niche anime about 3 people in Japan watched or for the main character from that one video game that is unrippable and nobody in the west can re-create 3d models for, chances are you will eventually run into problems trying to find a usable model for your next project. Sometimes they just don't exist, sometimes you're just not looking hard enough, so this page will list resources and hints to enhance your model-hunting capacities.

Here's how you generally want to go about looking for source models. I'll split everything into a couple sections so you can better focus on exactly what sort of models you want.

General

  • Google - Just Google it, this is the universal rule for looking for 3d models. If it's a named character of any sort search for "<character name>" 3D as a generic search term, or "<character name>" MMD with both the English name and the Japanese name for anime characters or characters that might possibly have a big enough Japanese following to spawn MMD recreations. Keep the quotation marks, they make it so that exact phrase in that exact order has to appear in the search result which is what we want. For non-named characters and just about everything else just searching "<generic descriptor>/<generic name>" 3D should give you some results but checking specific sites listed further in this tutorial might be a better choice.

Anime

Even though the previous section mostly covered googling anime models, there's still some specific sites you can focus on. Googling is still recommended but if any of these pop up in the search results they're always worth checking first.

  • nicovideo.jp - Some MMD video creators link their source models in the video description, and some password-protected models might even make you watch the video to figure out the password. The main nico site doesn't host the 3d models itself but it's a great way of finding models that wouldn't otherwise show up in your search results.
  • 3d.nicovideo.jp - Completely different from the main nicovideo, this is their own 3D model repository that might have some cool MMD stuff easily accessible. You need a nico account to be able to download models and you need to navigate your way around a site entirely in moonrunes, but that's what looking for anime models really is.
  • bowlroll.net - The main page has a nice collection of mostly MMDs, but realistically you'll end up straight to a model page either from Google or from a niconico MMD video. Probably the most used MMD dl site, good luck trying to figure out the passwords since most of the models are protected due to Nip paranoia.
  • deviantart.com - Deviantart is a surprisingly robust source of weeaboo models. You might be able to find something using the site's own search function, otherwise use google with this search site:deviantart.com "<character name> 3d" and replace the 3d with MMD for another set of possible results.
  • sketchfab.com - When you're starting to get desperate, Sketchfab has a small community of anime model creators but good luck trying to find someone willing to share their precious models.
  • The Seven Seas - Get on nyaa or your alternative tracker of choice and search for MMD. Sort by filesize and you should find some model packs just fine. Also grab these two from personal collections and read the big pastebin courtesy of /e/'s MMD thread. /e/'s thread is also a good place to possibly find some models that have been pulled from distribution, just mind the rules and don't bother people too much if you end up spending time there.

Video Games

  • Adams Archive - This sheet contains a ton of links for the rips of many popular games, in addition to extraction guides and useful software (check the tabs at the bottom).
  • mega folder - This archive contains assets from a few other popular games, mainly FPS games.
  • models-resource.com - Your go-to for game rips, the site is entirely founded on people posting models ripped from video games. It's pretty comprehensive and your best chance of finding anything especially for retro stuff, but might be lacking in more modern releases.
  • p3dm.ru - Click the Russian flag and then the second option and you can actually read most of the site. In true Russian fashion most of it is army stuff ripped from vidya but if that's your thing this is a treasure trove.
  • xnalara.deviantart.com - All hail Xnalara. In addition to a decent collection of MMDs Deviantart also boasts a huge amount of stuff in the Xnalara file format. Mostly game rips ranging from characters and vehicles to everyday props. Same google trick works here as well, just search site:deviantart.com "<model> Xanalara" or site:deviantart.com "<model> XPS". You'll need this plugin for importing XPS to Blender.
  • PS1 games - Most 3D PS1 games utilize the TMD model format (sometimes packed within archives, much like PES CPKs). If you do find a .tmd model on a game disc, it can be converted using TMD2LWO (a command-line-only program) into an LWO model, which can then be converted into the format of your choosing. Your mileage may vary.

Everything

For sites that have a little bit of everything and don't specialize in anything, especially good if you're looking for CAD stuff or western models or props of some sort.

  • grabcad.com - CAD model heaven, usually really high-quality stuff if you happen to find what you're looking for here. Beware though, most of the time you'll either have to bake the material colours into a texture or possibly even make your own texture from scratch, this is the downside of CAD but luckily solid-colour textures will work fine for these sorts of models.
  • 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com - Probably the biggest dump of 3d models on this list, you can find absolutely anything here but the tradeoff is that everything's in the Sketchup format and mostly low-poly and really shit-looking. Good texturework can mitigate the low-poly look but that means you have to do extra work. Still, if you want an inanimate object as your model there's a 99% chance you'll find it here. You'll also need to download the Sketchup software to convert the models you download. With this version you should download SketchUp 2016 Model or older when prompted on the site.
  • sketchfab.com - Already mentioned in the anime section, Sketchfab is another site where you have a bit of everything and in extremely high quality. Problem is people don't have to share their models and it's more like a portfolio than a model sharing site. There's a way to rip any model off the site though but that's a whole another topic.
  • blendswap.com - Entirely for stuff made in Blender and as usual everything goes. Everything is licensed under a form of Creative Commons which to us means everything is freely downloadable as long as you make a blendswap account, giving credit be damned. Usually pretty high-quality as well since almost everything is made from scratch by either enthusiasts or professionals.
  • About a million other sites - The above 4 are just my go-to picks. Google will give you several pages of results no matter what, and even though sites like turbosquid host paid models some might still be free and decently usable so if the first 4 fail go digging deep. One neat trick is using image search instead of web search on Google to get a sneak peek of the models themselves so you know what you're going in for.

Converting Models

Once you've found your model you're probably going to face another equally annoying problem. It's probably in a fuck-off weird format the creator for some reason prefers above literally anything else. The SketchUp software for converthing their models to something actually usable is already linked above but here's some pointers and software for other filetypes as well.

  • Easy solution, get 3ds Max - Max is fully featured and a pain in the ass for someone who has only ever used Blender, but the one thing it does well is handling just about any filetype without a problem. This is the version I have, you might be able to find an alternative download off a site somewhere.
  • Freecad - A CAD modeling software that can also convert some of the most used CAD formats to .obj
  • Noesis - Download Documentation - A program that can import and export hundreds of different (3D model) file formats.
  • Google - Your best friend once more, if you google "<format>" import Blender you'll probably find a result either in stackexchange or Blenderartists talking about an importer plugin and how to install it. Github is also a possible source. Otherwise there probably isn't a plugin for Blender and you're out of luck.
  • Ask someone else - There's several people in /aesco/ who already have 3ds Max installed for this specific purpose and if you're nice and persistent enough someone will take your model and run it through the conversion machine.

Useful shortcuts in Blender

See Blender shortcuts.

More in-depth list

Recommended Reading

Things not fully covered here (at least yet) that are also worth reading for a better understanding of how some things work.

  • Aesthetics Export - Learning how to make an aesthetics export is a basic skill anyone who plans on making a team or contributing aesthetics to a team should know how to do. Also includes a download link to the aesthetics compiler which will save you some time when testing aesthetics over manually compiling a full-path CPK every time.

PES 16/17

  • Setting Up .model Files - Details the different parts and values of both the model-loading XMLs and the MTLs associated with them.
  • FPC and APC - If you somehow made it all the way here without reading one or both, congratulations, go read them since even for someone who doesn't actually do FBM models or aesthetics at all at least learning how to apply the correct settings and hide bits of your players is important since every cup several managers fail to do this simple task, thus piling more work on /aesco/ who have to fix it all.