[Bf-blender-npr] priority targets for Freestyle and Blender NPR capabilities

[Tamito KAJIYAMA]

Hi Ton,

It must be highlighted very clearly that the entire process of planning,
discussions and decision making on priority targets has been much
supported by the people here in this mailing list as well as by many
blenderheads around there on the net. The selection of 2.72 priority
targets was not a quick occasional action but was based on a much
longer-term, continuous inflow of feature requests and ideas on future
improvements over years. Most of the wanted functionalities documented
in the summary of my request for comments [1] were indeed the most
frequently requested features since the beginning of Freestyle
integration into Blender.

As to feedback from NPR artists in Gooseberry studios, Paolo Acampora
(MAD Naples) is one of major contributors. The recovery of textured
strokes in Freestyle was led by him based on specific requirements for
NPR workflows. Paolo also expressed his interest in the face
intersection detection for feature line detection [2]. This feature is
indeed within the most wanted features in the aforementioned summary.

Other major contributors to the discussions of priority targets included
Light BWK and Lee Posey of the Blender NPR team (who recently released
an awesome self-learning Freestyle video course [3]), tomo (one of top
Blender NPR advocates [4] and the author of a book about Blender NPR
character animation [5]), and mato.sus304 (who kindly offered sample
Freestyle .blend and attractive still renders for inclusion in the 2.67
release notes [6]), just to name a few. Their continued support was
fundamental for the selection of 2.72 and future priority targets.

I am done with the work on Freestyle line rendering for Cycles, and the
code deliverable is under review through patch D632. Thomas Dinges has
promptly responded to the review request and already accepted the patch
from a UI perspective. It looks like the work took more time than
expected. I will try to compensate the time loss as much as possible by
doing my best on the other priorities.

I would also like to discuss how to proceed. It seems that sitting calm
and waiting for inputs from NPR artists of the Gooseberry project won't
work. If such feedback is considered a must, I would try to get in
contact with them individually to collect application requirements. The
present target tasks are of course a matter of discussion and subject to
changes. I personally am open to any work components on Blender and
Freestyle.

As to the BEER efforts, I was told through personal communications that
the BEER team has a specific plan to get the coding work done. They told
me that you were informed of their plan (including the name of a core
Blender developer).

[1] http://lists.blender.org/pipermail/bf-blender-npr/2014-June/000045.html
[2] 
http://lists.blender.org/pipermail/bf-blender-npr/2014-February/000000.html
[3] http://www.blendernation.com/2014/06/18/new-course-freestyle-level-up/
[4] 
http://www.blendernation.com/2014/04/02/video-cardcaptor-sakura-opening-sequence/
[5] http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4861007658/
[6] http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.67/FreeStyle

With best regards,

-- 
KAJIYAMA, Tamito <rd6t-kjym at asahi-net.or.jp>


On 21/07/2014 00:35, Ton Roosendaal wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Could the frequent NPR artists here feedback on the todo for Tamito?
> He's on an extended contract for the development fund, and I like to see his work well supported by as much people here. I can see why it's interesting to have Cycles render strokes, but I never would have thought it's a priority for anyone.
>
> I also thought everyone liked to see more work done on quality rendering for NPR (material options especially). Blender Internal is very much ready for that.
>
> I specifically asked NPR artists from studios (Kampoong, MAD Naples, etc) to get involved. Where are they?
>
> Lastly: the 'beer' project, where are they? This is a chance to get features handled and worked on.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Ton-