This is a python command line script to rearrange the parts of the top half of a Blender environment map to make a square cube map, typically used in 3D scenes for skies and environments. This version 0.2 also supports sky cube maps from CGTextures as input files, which have a different layout as Blender env maps.

Download: skycubewizard v0.2
The script needs Python and the Python Imaging Library to run.

Details:

A Blender environment map has a layout like this for the top half of the scene:

The script rearranges it into this image:

This is an image layout that is easily mapped to a half cube. Make a cube in Blender, cut it in half so that only the top half remains, mark the four vertical sides a seams, and unwrap it (Tab into edit mode -> AKEY to select all vertiecs -> UKEY -> Unwrap). The result should look like this:

This UV layout can then be directly used for the cube maps from the wizard. Since Blender tends to show seams at the vertical sides of the skycube when mapped to the edges of the image, the script automatically extends those sides by four pixels to prevent that. A different extend margin can be set by the -e command line option. The option -h shows a short help and further options.

Example usage:
python skycubewizard.py my-blender-envmap.png

I made the script work also for 3D Text and Surface objects, prevented crash with Empty objects.

Limitations:
1. Right now only the first particle system gets operated on. Might be due to a bug in the Python API which I’ll be investigating and reporting if needed.
[EDIT] Might be my mistake. I found that for baked particle systems it works fine, so it seems that’s the solution.

2. Surface objects get duplicated as Curve objects, I found no way around that. Any modifiers on the original object therefore can’t be copied to the new duplicated objects, because their type doesn’t match.

object-make-partobs-real.py version 0.2

BlenderArtists thread

The sunsky panel code for accessing the sunsky settings from the Blender Yaf(a)Ray Python GUI is now in SVN. You can now just checkout of Yaf(a)Ray and Blender and compile both according to Lynx’s documentation.

Here’s a small update to the Blender python exporter GUI (correction of tooltip for “From (update sun)” button):

Yaf(a)Ray GUI Python plugin for Blender:
yafaray_ui-193-sunsky-0.1.1.py.tar.gz

As of svn revision 193, the sunsky exporter code for Blender is now included in the Yaf(a)Ray sources (thanks Lynx!), so you won’t need my patch anymore. Just do a usual checkout of Yaf(a)Ray and Blender and compile both according to Lynx’s documentation.

You still need my modified python script to access the sunsky setting from inside the exporter GUI:
yafaray_ui-188-sunsky-0.1.py.tar.gz

I updated the exporter and python GUI to support the sunsky “from” value. It now supports what I initially aimed for, so this is now version 0.1.
(more…)

Patch for the Blender exporter code

Modified Yaf(a)Ray GUI Python plugin for Blender

For Yaf(a)Ray svn revision 183

Welcome to mine.