Need some help SFM and Blender

[simba86 1,541]

alright so I don't know anything about blender but I am trying to bring a sfm pony model into blender. I'm 16 hours in and I have flailed around enough to where I have figured out how to import the files and figured out how to use nodes to fill in the colors and hair.

what's tripping me up now is trying to load the .png file for the pupils of the eyes. they load WAY to far forward and make her look ridiculously cross eyed. how do I move them to a normal position?

[Splashee 28,537]

I haven't done any texture mapping myself in Blender, but there are a lot of videos out there explaining how to do it.

Blender is one of those programs that works really great if you made the model yourself, and did ever step correctly. If something was done in the wrong scale, everything just starts falling apart.

[simba86 1,541]

56 minutes ago, Super Splashee said:

I haven't done any texture mapping myself in Blender, but there are a lot of videos out there explaining how to do it.

Blender is one of those programs that works really great if you made the model yourself, and did ever step correctly. If something was done in the wrong scale, everything just starts falling apart.

the problem I'm running into is a lot of the videos are older videos shown on old versions of blender and the buttons aren't where they used to be and the user interface is different.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Is it just a pupil, or the iris and sclera as well as all one .png?

What you need, is likely UV mapping. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping)  

You've already figured out basic shaders according to your post, and so I'll skip to that. I'm not sure where the SFM model 'landed' when you imported, or what state it's in. So we're gonna need some information. The material nodes for the eyeball... does it have an Image Node with the pupil .png loaded into it? Is the vector of the Image Node connected to a Texture Coordinate node? If it is, is it connected to the UV output, Object output, or Generated output?

Basically, the 'vector' input on a node sets up the direction of the shader, where it sits on the mesh. You want a Texture Coordinate node to tell the shader what the direction is. For images, the most useful Coordinate (though possibly the most complicated) is the UV mapping. But this depends on the eyeball object having the UV 'unwrapped', and I need to know if the import of the SFM model actually retained that, or if it just scrapped it and is locating the image 'raw' without any vectoring.

 

[simba86 1,541]

1 hour ago, Fhaolan said:

Is it just a pupil, or the iris and sclera as well as all one .png?

What you need, is likely UV mapping. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping)  

You've already figured out basic shaders according to your post, and so I'll skip to that. I'm not sure where the SFM model 'landed' when you imported, or what state it's in. So we're gonna need some information. The material nodes for the eyeball... does it have an Image Node with the pupil .png loaded into it? Is the vector of the Image Node connected to a Texture Coordinate node? If it is, is it connected to the UV output, Object output, or Generated output?

Basically, the 'vector' input on a node sets up the direction of the shader, where it sits on the mesh. You want a Texture Coordinate node to tell the shader what the direction is. For images, the most useful Coordinate (though possibly the most complicated) is the UV mapping. But this depends on the eyeball object having the UV 'unwrapped', and I need to know if the import of the SFM model actually retained that, or if it just scrapped it and is locating the image 'raw' without any vectoring.

 

This is as close as I can get it, if I add texture coordinates they don't change it, when I add mapping it turns black and adjusting xyx doesn't change it. pretty much everything I have tried besides this set up breaks it. I think it is loading the pupil larger than the eye hole or something

the eyes are 2 different png files, one for the whites of the eye and another for the pupil

[Splashee 28,537]

5 hours ago, simba86 said:

the problem I'm running into is a lot of the videos are older videos shown on old versions of blender and the buttons aren't where they used to be and the user interface is different.

Are you using a new Blender version that changed the interface?

Oh, those screenshots look interesting!

[simba86 1,541]

13 minutes ago, Super Splashee said:

Are you using a new Blender version that changed the interface?

Oh, those screenshots look interesting!

I'm using the most recent version. it's different enough to the point of when they say to "click this button" in.the video the button is not there in my version it's somewhere else. 

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Okay, as I see it you've got two choices:

1) the complicated but probably 'right' way by creating a UV map for the eyeball. First, put the Texture Coordinate node in with the UV output connected to the vector input of the Image node. Yeah, the eye will turn all black, we're not done by a longshot. Now, enter the edit mode on the eyeball, Select All (A) to make sure you've got all the vertexes, and then under the UV menu pick 'Sphere Projection'. If we're lucky, because the eyeball is at least vaguely spherical, that will get you the UV. You'll then need to open the UV editor window (I've got it open in the image below.

The spiderweb mess is the UV map. I do my eyes in a completely different, ridiculously complicated way that I regret but haven't fixed, so it's not showing an image under the spiderweb. Again, if we're lucky you'll see the pupil image under the web. With the UV editor window active, you should be able to hit G and move that spiderweb around as a big unit, which will change where the pupil shows up on the eyeball. There's a lot of 'hopefully's and 'if we're lucky's in this, because I'm still getting used to this new interface myself and it's easy to get lost and find your way into a deep pit of confusion.

2) the 'if you have a hammer, everything can be a nail' approach.  Add a Texture Coordinate node in like above, but instead connect the Object output of that to a Mapping Node, and the output of *that* to the vector input of the Image node:

Then futz with the various settings of the mapping node to move the pupil about. You kinda have to brute force it at this point.

[simba86 1,541]

16 hours ago, Fhaolan said:

Okay, as I see it you've got two choices:

1) the complicated but probably 'right' way by creating a UV map for the eyeball. First, put the Texture Coordinate node in with the UV output connected to the vector input of the Image node. Yeah, the eye will turn all black, we're not done by a longshot. Now, enter the edit mode on the eyeball, Select All (A) to make sure you've got all the vertexes, and then under the UV menu pick 'Sphere Projection'. If we're lucky, because the eyeball is at least vaguely spherical, that will get you the UV. You'll then need to open the UV editor window (I've got it open in the image below.

The spiderweb mess is the UV map. I do my eyes in a completely different, ridiculously complicated way that I regret but haven't fixed, so it's not showing an image under the spiderweb. Again, if we're lucky you'll see the pupil image under the web. With the UV editor window active, you should be able to hit G and move that spiderweb around as a big unit, which will change where the pupil shows up on the eyeball. There's a lot of 'hopefully's and 'if we're lucky's in this, because I'm still getting used to this new interface myself and it's easy to get lost and find your way into a deep pit of confusion.

2) the 'if you have a hammer, everything can be a nail' approach.  Add a Texture Coordinate node in like above, but instead connect the Object output of that to a Mapping Node, and the output of *that* to the vector input of the Image node:

Then futz with the various settings of the mapping node to move the pupil about. You kinda have to brute force it at this point.

Thank you I will try that!

[simba86 1,541]

fixed it LOL, she is a sunglasses pony now

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by simba86