Hey Reader,

Zach here,

With fresh news, tools, and inspiration from the 3D world.

Today we’ll start with a detailed breakdown of the armless Ping-pong boy animation by KoalaOK, followed by a MegaMan X Fan Film by DemNikoART, a quick introduction to 2D/3D animation in Grease Pencil, and an instant compositing add-on from Daniel Nees.

Let’s dive in.
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​Ping Pong Boy Animation - Behind the Scenes with KoalaOK​

KoalaOK a 3D artist from China who uses Blender and won 2nd place in the recent Kinetic Rush challenge (he’s won 2nd place for the 2nd time) has shared a detailed and very entertaining breakdown video of his creation process.

I was amazed by the simple but powerful techniques he developed to get his vision across. The automatic voiceover used in the video might be a bit jarring at times, but the content is worth watching as it’s packed with many useful tips and tricks that can inspire your creations.

The main character for the animation is based on a real Paralympics player, Ibrahim Hamadtou, who has his own inspiring story as well.

​Mega Man X ​Blender ​Fan Film by DemNikoART​

If you’re a fan of MegaMan X (a game series released in the 90s for SNES) or if you generally like robots, mechs, and action movies, you’ll like this short film. Niko from DemnikoART - a 3D artist making robots in Blender has just released a new episode of his short film series "Mavericks Episode 5".

The whole series is a personal project made out of love for the game and as an opportunity to grow and learn artistically (Niko shares what he learned while making each episode). He also shares some of it as breakdowns or tutorials on his channel - a good resource if you want to make robots in Blender (just like our Robotic Planet course).

Just a little warning for people who are sensitive to violence or flickering lights, the film contains both.

If you’re ready to meet the evil boss Boomer Kuwanger, jump in.

​Learn the basics of 2D animation in Grease Pencil​

If you have been curious about Grease Pencil, this 3-minute Studio Ghibli style video is as a great demonstration of its capabilities, while being very entertaining to watch, giving you a great overview of PolyPaints workflow.

If this is convincing you to learn Grease Pencil in Blender, we have a course called Magic Storybook, taught by the very talented Kevin Ramirez.

Kevin also has an in-depth tutorial on our channel on creating a stylized microscope with Grease Pencil in Blender.

​Instant Compositor (add-on by Daniel Nees)​

Our team member Daniel Nees is a real productivity machine. He just released a new add-on for Blender that can help you add professional compositing presets in a single click.

If you want to tweak the looks of the presets it’s also very convenient as the tools shipped with the add-on are arranged in useful node groups like Film Grain, Film Scratches, Vignette, Lens Dirt, Light Group Grading, etc.

It’s a great way to add some compositing boost to your renders.

I’ve had the chance to play around with the add-on, and it's great to get a professional compositors workflow and settings, in a single click.

​Get Instant Compositor here (affiliate link)
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That’s all from me today. Have a great week and until next time!

~Zach

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P.S. Stay tuned for some great news next week (a little bird told me a new course and a big sale is coming).