I just started learning Blender. My goal for a blender is to create more detailed 3D models either for a 3D render or for my 3D Prints when I can’t make it in the 3D builder or other more straightforward programs.
At first, Blender is highly confusing because I’m used to other 3D programs being super easy and straightforward to learn. For example, even just moving around and viewing your model, you use the scroll wheel by pressing it down and holding it, then moving your mouse. This is different from the other 3D programs I used before because they would use the left or right-click to move around. But after an hour, I had felt like I knew the basics, and I started a tutorial where you can learn how to make a donut.
Here’s the video series if you want to watch it so far. It’s a fantastic series:
Recently I got back into 3d printing, and after I set up OctoPi with my Ender-3, the first thing I printed was keycaps for one of the specific characters from a video game called Valorant. Keycaps are the keys that you press on when you type on a mechanical keyboard (click here for a better explanation.) (Valorant is a game I play with my two brothers Nicholas and Simeon).
In valorant, a 5v5 shooter-based game with about twenty characters, each has about four unique abilities that can help them perform in the field and switch from your in-game gun to one of your abilities, you press a key that you set on your keyboard. The keycaps I made are for each one of those abilities.
I found a 3D model keycap for only one character from Valorant on Thingiverse. Still, since there are about 20 different characters and they are constantly adding more characters every couple of months, there aren’t many free keycap 3d model designs for each specific character out there. But after looking up a couple of videos and testing different ideas, I concluded that designing them in software called 3D Builder was the easiest, thanks to this video which introduced me to the program:
And after playing around with the program (which was a lot easier to learn than I thought.) I created keycaps for my brother Simeon and Nicholas, who play different characters than I usually play. For future reference, I found that the following steps were the best for making new keycaps:
STEP 1:
Find the character you want to make the keycaps for on the Valorant fandom page, which you can find here. For example, this is Chamber’s page, then click on one of the pictures of the abilities you want to use, then right-click the image and click “save image as” and call it whatever the name of the power was (tip: create a folder to add all of the files that will be used for making the keycaps just to keep it organized)
Click “Edit” on the top menu bar, then choose “Emboss.” Then click the “Pattern” dropdown button and select “Load” to find the picture of the previously saved characters’ ability that you wanted on the keycap and double click it once opened make sure that the “Bevel” button on the top menu is not selected. And move the image onto the blank top of the keycap and center it, then drag the green double arrow up as high as you want the picture to pop out. Then hit “Emboss.” If you need help, here’s a short video
STEP 4:
Now just press the hamburger menu button on the top left of the app and hit “Save as,” and save as STL, OBJ, or whatever file type you prefer. Then open the 3D model file in your slicer (I use Cura as it is the easiest for me). In Cura, there is a feature called support blocking, which, as the name implies, blocks the 3D printer from printing supports where you want it to. Click the “Support Blocking” button on the left side menu and then press everywhere on the bottom inside of the keycap except for the small cross-section where you attach the keycap to your keyboard, for example, this video:
And that’s it! If you need help in any way, write a comment below this post or contact me via email at the top of this site.
I hate advertisements especially on YouTube when they are playing on the TV especially when they are now “unskippable” and I have to watch them for fifteen seconds without being able to skip them. Even skippable ads are also annoying because if you just put down the remote to play that long 10-hour ambiance you have to get up every half an hour to grab the remote and skip them. Recently I found an amazing application for blocking youtube ads and at the same time adding some other pretty cool features.
The application is called Smart Tube Next, Originally I found it after googling a while and found it on one of the many APK sites. But as I later realized there is a Github official version that had the latest updates and not the beta version. According to their Github page they currently support these different devices:
To install all you need is the Downloader AFTNews app for fireTV, once installed use the built-in browser within the download app and type 28544 into the search bar, and hit enter. It will start downloading and prompting to ask for security confirmations, accept all prompts and the app should pop up in your App Library. (for more info on installing the application or for help read the README document on the Github page)
As well as blocking Ads Smart Tube Next has a feature where it auto skips the sponsors/intro outro parts in videos, which is surprisingly useful! Of course, you can always disable it in the settings. One flaw in the app is the lack of voice command support for youtube searches. For example, in my experience, I can’t say “open youtube” when pressing the voice command button on the fire tv remote. all it will do is find the youtube app on the Amazon app store. But I found that in SmartTubeNext if I’m in the search bar I can say “some music video, on youtube” and that seems to work for me most of the time. Overall for me, it’s definitely a great alternative to the regular YouTube app on the fire tv.
Recently I stumbled upon a book called “Adventures in Minecraft” written by Martin O’Hanlon, and David Whale. The book teaches you how to code in Minecraft with python, which is split up into chapters called “Adventures,” and basically, each “Adventure” is a short version of a “project” where you make a “mini-game” that runs in your own world. For example, the 2nd chapter teaches you how to make a short game called “rent” using geo-fencing, where the player has a certain amount of time to do tasks. What I love about the book is that you make your own twist to the game. You don’t always need to do only what it says to write, but it encourages you to add more of your own code in addition to what you learned from the previous adventures.
For example: After you’ve finished the second chapter, it encourages you to make another game if you want to be based on the code you have learned.
The book uses a bukkit server for setting up and coding. Since spigot is now better and updated for performance, I would recommend using a spigot server instead for better performance. The recourses offer a Linux version if you want to try, but they say it isn’t updated for every distro. I used the Linux version on my laptop (running Linux Mint) so far. Everything has been running extremely well.
(To note: this version is the updated version. There is an older one made in 2014. And which is no longer supported)
