Hey Reader,

Zach here,

With another round of exciting news from the 3D world.

Today we have a new Pwnisher 3D challenge, a Blender rigging tutorial, an anime horror "Alien" short, and there’s also a fun video messing with Blender’s UI.

Let’s dive in.
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​Kinetic Rush 3D Community Challenge​

A new 3D challenge from Clinton Jones (aka Pwnisher) is now running through the month of August. This time it’s parkour-themed with the title "Kinetic Rush", and the deadline is September 1st.

There are 5 premade animations and templates to use as a starting point to create your unique animated scene, that can be a part of a great community montage.

If you haven’t participated in those challenges before, you can get an idea by watching the previous top 100 montage here.

What's very exciting this time, you can try out useful programs such as Marvelous Designer (software for making 3D clothes) and EmberGen (software for real-time fire, explosions and smoke) for free for this challenge.

All the rules are explained in the announcement video. You can also find a useful FAQ and all the starter files on the webpage.

If you’re looking for some help and inspiration to enter the challenge, Robin Squares has made an insightful video (based on his own hard-learned lessons) with tips on how to win the challenge (or at least increase your chances).

​Learn to rig Anything in Blender (with Rigify)​

Blender comes with a powerful, built-in rigging add-on, called "Rigify".

Though it might seem complex to use at first, it’s very customizable and allows you to rig any character quickly without much hassle.

SouthernShotty prepared a video explaining how to use Rigify for your characters. He shows it step by step in a practical example of rigging his cute cat character.

You’ll learn how to modify a premade rig template for non-typical characters and how to fix errors with weight painting.

​"Alien: Monday" Anime Horror Short Movie (Gore Warning!)​

I want to share a cool anime styled short by Paul "OtaKing"Johnson and Claudia "Maki" Montealegre based on the classic "Alien" movies.

I must warn you though that it contains some really disturbing gore imagery (blood and violence with the deadly alien monster) as well as a little bit of profanity.

Only watch it if you’re OK with seeing such things!

The cinematography and style in this fan-made piece is outstanding. It’s even more impressive that it’s mostly done by just 2 artists, almost all hand drawn frame-by-frame animation with a little bit of 3D.

​You can watch it here​

If you’re interested in the process of making this animation, the author made a video about it, and how he integrated 3D into his workflow. It’s made with Cinema4D but could easily be done with Blender as well.

​Anime Girl breaking Blender's UI​

On a lighter note, imagine your 3D character becoming alive inside Blender and playing with the user interface to tweak itself… well, that’s exactly what happens in this hilarious video by Japanese artist @kensyouen_Y.

That’s it from me for today. Have a great week and till next time!

~Zach