This is a short video I created to showcase a new technique I learned how to finally do right in Blender. This is something I have been interested in doing for decades but due to not having a decent computer in the past, I had to put things like this off.
Working in the Confines of Others AKA My Early Days with Video Editing
Early on, I relied heavily on already created videos that were free to use according to their license. These were sometimes super generic but at the time I was posting videos heavily on TikTok and there simply weren't many people doing content like this.
I also relied heavily on those pre-made videos having some area of green screen. That was literally my crutch in the bginning - if there was no green screen option, I was probably going to have to pass on using it. I simply did not know enough about editing to make those changes.
I also had to keep in mind the limitations of the screen ratio that TikTok used – vertical video. It is quite different planning a vertical video than a horizontal one.
I had to let go of many amazing videos I could use if I could figure out a way to make it work in a vertical format. So much content was simply not possible in that ratio.
Now that TikTok allows viewers to turn their phone to watch horizontal videos full screen it may help. Before, that was not an option, and the actual video was squished so small it was hard to see so I just didn’t try.
Here is one of my earliest attempts with using green screen videos to create something unique.
Later, after learning about layers and how to apply more than just a couple, and how to use transparency, I created things like this –
Getting Addicted to the Green, Green Screens
I eventually purchased a green screen off of Amazon and started doing more with it. I was coming to an end for my cosplay stuff at this point though. I ended up using the green screen more for jokes and changing the background a bit.
Eventually I retired the green screen content completely as life got in the way. I simply did not have time to produce videos for a long time. That and the heavy focus on TikTok to use song snippets left me sitting on the outside looking in.
I refused to be one of those creators that does the same 5 to 10 songs EVERY week, sometimes every other day, just to say “I posted a video”. I wanted my content to be intentional, to be different, to stand out.
I hated being mediocre at it.
Considering I did all the songs I cared about doing, I was left searching for more songs to use. I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to do, not with my skills at that time. I didn’t want to just stand there and lipsync a song, that was boring to me, I wanted to do more.
I wanted to stand out. I wanted to leave an impact on people after they watched my content.
Couple that with having run the gamut of what I could do with the available green screen content on YouTube and it was clear, I needed to take a break and evolve or simply quit.
I didn’t want to quit, I enjoy creating content, I enjoy the escape from reality.
That left me with learning how to make my own green screen content. Considering I am no artist, I had to turn to programs like Unreal Engine, Unity Engine and Blender.
Challenges of Learning What I Don’t Know
My first instinct was to download Unreal Engine. I saw tons of tutorial videos on YouTube for it, I was a big fan of Fortnite at the time, it just made sense.
Then I finally got the main program downloaded. That took awhile because I was on slower Internet and I was unprepared for how big it was, about 40 gigs to start.
Then the wait time for the program to load on my computer. I was unprepared for nearly 10 minutes loading.
My work in Unreal Engine did not last long as it makes my GPU in my laptop quite warm.
I went to Unity Engine after that. I was able to figure out how to get a few things working in Unity. I could never figure out how to do 3rd person or get rid of the default gun in the tutorial I was using. It looks odd in the one or two videos I did create.
Then over on Humble Bundle, Game Guru Max went on sale for $10 and included about 15 asset packs. This was a game changer for me.
Back in the day, I was an early adopter of Dark Basic, never got far with it but it was incredible fun to play with. For my 3D efforts back then I was using A3 or A4 3D Game Studio to create basic mazes and such.
I took to their style of editor for the world like a fish to water.
I wanted to see if I could make money with these types of things, so I looked into what uses they had. Keep in mind, this was pre-2000.
I saw realtors as a potential client and did a mockup of the apartment I was living in at the time, even created a mockup of the public area including parking lot, most of the buildings, etc.
No realtors picked up on the idea, it was just not something they felt their clients would be interested in using. It being the late 90’s and scams from “Nigerian princes needing help” to viruses from downloading fake Joe Cartoon games they found on the Internet made it a tough sell.
I did pick up one client, my landlord at the apartment complex. He liked it and I was able to work out three months free rent in exchange for giving them the executable to use.
They ended up setting up an older computer in their lobby and had the program running. The reasoning was, if it was bad weather outside, or a potential renter had disabilities, they could still “virtually tour” an apartment.
Sadly, I was young and ignorant, I did not think to approach other apartment complexes for similar setups. I was thinking, I didn’t have a need for several months free rent at another complex.
Just as well as a year or so later I got divorced and moved anyhow.
Other things I was doing with the 3D Game Studio software was rendering a mockup of a local entertainment arena that was being built. I created a concert scene using t.A.T.u.’s music and was able to use the positional audio of the 3D Game Studio to make it sound different depending on where you sat in the audience.
This went nowhere as I did not have the connections to get in touch with the right people to pitch this to. I also was naïve; I did not have the business acumen to make those connections.
I did realize my limitations at this point, having to rely on available 3D assets was tough.
Around late 1999 I discovered Blender. Not a ton of information was available, just some basic tutorials. I did my best with it, I made foliage mostly, a mushroom here, a tree there, nothing anywhere near what would be considered human. Thus, not much use for my, then, current endeavors.
Plus, rendering anything on a Pentium 2 300 with 32 megs of RAM was not something you measured with even an hourglass but rather a calendar. This cut me out of creating my own assets, so I ended up focusing on reselling again as the summer lull was coming to an end. This was, financially, the best decision I ever made and was my first climb to the “Top of the Mountain” so to speak.
Enter TikTok
My story with TikTok started like most did around that time. It was the pandemic; the whole world just began lockdown earlier that year. I was coming up on a vacation of 12 days and there was not much to do.
I downloaded TikTok figuring I could pass some time watching some hot chicks dance or get a few laughs from people doing stupid things. I had an idea of what TikTok was about after seeing a few compilations on YouTube so it was not a blind experience for me.
I decided to start making content and began just posting gaming clips. I got bored with that and started checking out the main feed more. I became a fan of cosplayers and many had some amazing makeup skills.
Me not having anything resembling those skills simply did lip-syncs or inspirational videos.
I got tired of just “me” so I pulled out some masks I made out of Perler beads, did a few awkward videos with them and retired those rather quickly.
I eventually created a clown character then retired it decently quickly as it ran its course for me. I created my second character named “Billy” who was supposed to be a broken doll, but my makeup skills sucked so he took on the monicker “Billy the Clown” though he was more a mime.
I ran the gamut with characters and finally got a decent computer. That is when I started investigating 3D stuff again. I was starting over after not touching anything for decades.
I came across Game Guru early on and was interested in it as the demo felt very much like A3 3D Game Studio. I just couldn’t afford it at the time (it was around $80).
I did eventually get Game Guru Max off Humble Bundle. I created a few things in it, one made it to TikTok, the rest, not so much. This is a really basic design I came up with -
The version built off of this that I used in a TikTok video is here -
Better Things Showed Up
Upgrading my computer again gave me the option to use things like Unreal Engine and Unity Engine.
After watching a lot of tutorials on YouTube for Unreal Engine and Unity Engine I was able to produce results that were interesting, if only to me.
I dropped Unity soon after though due to the license changes their CEO of the time was implementing on users. This forced me into Unreal Engine more.
Sadly, I have not really learned how to do a whole lot in Unreal Engine. I can create the basics but being limited in only being able to run the software for an hour or two before my temp warnings start popping up screaming limits my time with the program. A LOT.
This pushed me back to Blender. Early on I figured I could at least turn what I learn in Blender into some income by selling assets or animation plugins.
Then I saw what stuff I could never dream of making goes for and I gave that idea up.
I mainly use Blender for my 3D work because it doesn’t seem to want to either kill my wallet or my computer like Unity and Unreal do.
That is where I am now, this latest animation was created in Blender and puts to work a few things I have learned.
It was annoying to learn how to turn the pages realistically, even more so figuring out how to put a different video on each side. Anyone that is a programmer or works with computers can tell you one seemingly miniscule thing can throw your project off. Or destroy it.
I ran into this A LOT while learning the steps to create this video.
I learned camera animation methods, quite crude but they get the job done, years ago. It was one of the first things I wanted to learn, figuring if I could not tackle that, I would be dead in the water with the rest of the things I wanted to do.
For the last year I have been working on figuring out how to work with water in Blender. I have a few videos up on YouTube showing my current experience.
My goal with water is to create things like a swimming pool, beaches, rivers, rain on windows, etc. Water can be effective in creating ambiance and improving scenes.
The pages on the table animation will eventually be a den style room, a hard cover book, rain running down a window and potentially a fireplace. The final animation I plan to create will have the camera fly up the stairs, pan around the room, show the various assets, and finally the pages of the book turning.
I don’t see anyone doing things like that to feature their content so I am pretty sure I will stand out slightly.
If anyone is interested in the Blender files, I can upload them if there is enough interest in them. I can save them in other formats for use with Unreal and other engines too. Like I said, if enough people want them, I will investigate how to get them made available.