In this quick Blender 2.5 video tutorial we introduce you to the Masonry add-on available from the scripts repository, we go over most of the available settings and we show you how to use it to create a circular, stone room by using the add-on in conjunction with an Array and Simple Deform modifier.
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Discussion
76 Responses to “Tip: Using the Masonry Add-on”Leave a Comment
great add-on.
Nice tut man!
This is a great add-on
If we build a wall with this plugin, do we get a free membership into the Mason’s Guild?
don’t you mean ‘if we build it, will they come?’
It’ll give me a place to put Johnny Blender. Running up and down the steps.
Very cool!
I think I’ll need to look into these addons.
Thanks Jonathan!
#5
Thanks Jonathan, I really enjoy these quick tips! I would never have known the masonry plugin existed without this quick tip.
This script needs to take a page out of the “sapling” script and have the feature..
“export preset” and “load preset”
after you have a base wall setup like you want you export the preset..
then you can reload it, and make subtle changes to it then add that wall to the scene..
That would be nice…yes…..heh heh. For now we just need to copy the edited settings to a Text editor and repaste, but that export/import preset would be very handy!
I agree too! Cheers to the developer.
Nice add-on ..
love it.
Looks cool. Will have to mess around with this! Maybe this plus Meshlab would make them usable for games? I still need to take the time to learn Meshlab though.
Very interesting as usual. thanks
Excellent !
Thank you !
Merci Jonathan
super travail
Awesome, time to revisit my bell tower!
this is the kind of add-on that makes me feel like a kid again!!
thanks for bringing it to my attention!
wow. Time to model a castle xD
Okay this pisses me off. I’ve known about this add-on for about two weeks now and I’ve tried using it off and on for the entire time yet the number one problem I have you blow right over.
GETTING THE DARN THING TO TURN ON!
Seriously, in 2.59 I try and it shows up at least but says “WIP – updates pending and API not final for Blender.”
My previous two installs both would never show the bloody thing in my add-ons! If I use the install add-on button or even the manaual install option it just never shows up! Seriously what’s the fracking deal?
i’m no expert on this topic, but the add-on suggests it is good for versions 2.54 through 2.56. have you tried those? personally, i haven’t.. but it’s an idea. cheers
quick follow up.. the masonry add-on works just fine in 2.59 for me. the “WIP – updates pending and API not final for Blender” exists as a warning, but also exists in Jon’s tutorial. i hope you can get it to work because it’s a beautiful thing!!
Okay I’m not sure how it got submitted as a ticket, but the CG Cookie guys emailed me a trouble ticket with a link to a secondary build site of blender. http://graphicall.org/444
I downloaded that version and it would allow me to actually use the add-on.
See what was happening before was that even when I could see it the check box was unselectable and it showed the WIP warning. So from the looks of things I’m going to be getting the later builds from this graphicall site as it has all the add-ons already installed nice and neat. Thanks for the help!
I converted your earlier comment into a support ticket so as to make it easier to trouble shoot
Zendesk allows us to do it automatically.
-Jonathan
I uploaded an image to demonstrate how to use the radial feature of this add-on to generate a roof.
You could use any technique, but the radial setting I used for it demonstrates an easy and fast way to generate a conical roof for a castle tower. Hope this helps someone.
Enjoy.
Okay call me dumb but I don’t know how you got the cone shape you show in the image. I set it to radial and got the flat circle of blocks no worries but I haven’t figured out how to stretch it into a cone in an easy way. I’d appreciate your helping this noob.
I made a radial wall. Set the thickness to extremely small. Once I’ve got it looking like I want it, set it. Now, insert a plane or empty at the center. With Proportional Editing on, select the plane or empty and move along the z until you have the slope you want on your roof. Once you have it set like you want, delete the plane or empty you used to shape the roof.
Enjoy.
Use an empty or small plane at the center. Select it, with proportional editing on, and move it along the z, until you have the roof looking like you want.
THIS is fantastic! I think this plugin may save me a LOT of work in the very near future! THANK YOU for the review!
Thanks, very good tut. You should have showed us how to install it though, I’ve never done that myself, just used whats in the trunk. How can we contact the scripts author for suggestions for the next version of the script?
Thank you very much. How would yo creat a corner? Is there a way to tie in with the offsets or would you just but the ends together?
hey, Jonathan. As you said in the video, we should probably know how to install this add on, but if we don’t, look up a tutorial. I have spent the last 2 days searching for a video explanation to no avail… Could you make a video tutorial on how to install this add on. because without the installation this whole tutorial is blown. Also, nice tutorial!
as you probably can tell, i am a complete amateur.
Hey all you peoples who need help installing it, here you go!
All right, so you go here: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Add_Mesh/Masonry
Under General, you should see “See Using Add-ons to install/enable the script (standard procedure). ” Click the link(or this one: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.5/Manual/Extensions/Python/Add-Ons), and scroll down to “Installation of an Addon”. Follow those instructions….
The way I did it is just put it into a Addons folder(Under where I put all my blender stuff), run Blender, go under User Preferences, tab “Add-Ons”, click “Install Add-On…”, and then select the .py script. Also, when you download it, my browser opens it up as a .txt file inside itself. From that, just copy the whole thing, paste into the Text Editor, and save it with a .py at the end
Tell me if you have and “?” ‘s!
–Michael120
Oh noes! It seems someone is using my username(So I can’t make a gravatar account!)! :O
You all shall now know me as….MTC120!
sorry michael120, as i said before, i am a complete amateur. could you explain this to me as if i am an 8 year old? is there a blender add on folder already made or did you make it, what is the huge read-me file that i pull up on the masonry website link? again sorry, i don’t like being amateur-ish.
‘Tis fine, Bergalicious1, ’tis fine. You can make a folder anywhere, anykind, then, going under user prefrences and doing what I said there. Also, I would very much recommend the Video from Blender cookie I put a link to below, it helps a lot! (Its at around 1:30 where he explains installing an addon
)
Also, the weird thing that happend to me when trying to download it is that “ReadMe” File you are talking about as well. See, it opens it up in the web browser as(somewhat) a .txt file. What you have to do, is copy all of that(ctrl-A + ctrl-C) and then paste it into you favorite text editor(It HAS to be your favorite, or else it won’t work….jk
). Once there, save as type:”All Files”, save with ANSI coding, and save as “add_mesh_masonry.py”(It wants to save it as “add_mesh_masonry_py” but you have to get that .py at the end or else it won’t be a python file). Then, just follow the rest of the tut….or follow what I am saying;
For the folder, I have this big folder located here(I made it, also made a library so that I can access it easier)
C:\Users\[user]\Game Creating\Blender\Addons
And just put all my addons there. After putting it there, just go under User Prefrences(ctrl-alt-U methinks…), tab Add-Ons, and then clicking Install Addons.
Glad to be of help!
(Any more questions, comments? Feel free to post!)
How to download it from the site? I’m sorry for my dumb question. I just started with blender and this is totally new for me. And I’m dutch and 14 years old, so if it is described on the website, it is possible I didn’t notice it.
Actually, Better yet, you could either listen to my “Read Along” Type-tut above, or you can follow a Video tut from right here in Blender cookie!
http://cgcookie.com/blender/2010/09/23/tip-clay-render-addon/
(Yes, I know its about a clay render but he shows you how to install the addon!)
(Oh, and, btw, I have dicided to keep the name…no need to not to because some inactive user uses it on wordpress
)
Thats weird..the comments got moderated in the wrong order…. :S
What I said about the name was that I was going to not use it because someone used it for their wordpress account so I couldn’t use it for Gravatar…..but instead I have decided to use it anyway
My Read-along tut thing should approve shortly…but I recommend the video tut anyway
Ah! Nevermind, they all approved
That’s awesome, Jonathan.
Hi guys,
thanks for the add-on it looks great.
Is there anyway to get back to the properties of our wall after we toggled back from the edit mode or added any modifier?
Thanks for your help!
Unfortunately there is not currently. At least not without some extra python scripting.
-Jonathan
Hey thanks, that’s an extra quick answer!
I’ll have to learn to plan things carefully in advance then…
When I try to download this addon, it just gives me an endless series of code, and not an addon. Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Oh nevermind I got it! Quick answer, huh?
How I install an add-on?
Oh! And where I can get the Masonry Add-On as a python script? I follow the link in the box of “Current version download” in http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Add_Mesh/Masonry , but I only get a lot of text…
Hi David, if you right click and Save Link As you can download the file.
-Jonathan
Some time ago I made a proposal for blender.. to have parameters in mesh properties panel..
I think this is the case where it reeeeaaaaly could be useful, don’t you think?
here is blender artisits forum:
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?207706-Proposal-%97-Editable-Object-Parameters&s=c3593ebda6b50c582f48d2e8ddbead0f
and here the proposal:
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:2.5/Source/Development/Proposals/Editable_Object_Parameters
So this addon doesn’t create the grout/mortar in between the bricks? What’s the best way to add that so the wall isn’t see-thru?
The big problem I have with this is that there is a gap between all of the blocks. This causes problem with light leaking between the blocks where the grout should be which doesn’t help for realism. Anyone been able to fix this?
Im sorry to ask, but how the hell do i install this extension. When I click on the link you gave, and click on https://svn.blender.org/svnroot/bf-extensions/contrib/py/scripts/addons/add_mesh_walls/,
I get 3 .py files to download. I tried to install these 3 files the way described using blender, but they don’t appear in the addon list. I also tried to add them to a folder in the addon folder, but they still don’t appear in the list. Do i miss something here?
I tried it with Blender 2.57b and just now with blender 2.6
mmacasso – I’m having the same problem. I tried those 3 files and one that I found at SourceForge (“add_mesh_masonry.py”).
Tried just dropping the files into scripts addons directory and by the install button in the preferences interface.
First method – nothing loads. Second method, I sometimes get a cryptic little message in the console window “addon_utils.disable”. Tried it with 2.56, 2,57a, 2.57b, 2.58
Nothing.
Help appreciated as I need to create some castle walls for a little project.
gryff
An update on script installation. I followed “happy_hubby” suggestion above and downloaded and unzipped this file
http://graphicall.org/204
Then used “User Preferences->Addons->Install Button.
Works fine in Blender 2.57.
Also tried it in Blender 2.60a – the script installs but when you try to add a wall there are problems. A wall is added to the scene but NO parameters appear in the Tools menu. And there is an error message about “values not being returned”.
So the “Help Desk” can ignore my submission earlier today.
gryff
soooo soooo quikly
)
Hi,
I have a problem,
if I install this addon, nothing happens and if I copy the .py file to the addons nothing in the Addons in User preferencse happen. I treid it on 2.60a, 2.58a, 5.57b.
Hi Nitramek, download and extract the file from the link I gave in my post above. Then use the “User Preferences->Addons->Install Button” and point it to the extracted files and in particular the “add_mesh_masonry.py” file in the “addons_contrib” directory of the extracted file.
It installs fine into Blender 2.57.0 r36147. Does not install properly in 2.60a.
gryff
Thanks, but i tried it today with Blender 2.57 with your metod, but when i pushed install and selected the directory some problem apeared.
I write here link with the problem
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i330/Martin_Stengel/?action=view¤t=Probelm_masonry.png
Only other suggestion I have would be to put a copy of the “add_mesh_masonry.py” file in the “addons directory” then go through the “user preferences” routine but pointing to the file installed in “addons”.
No idea what those console messages mean as I’m not a python scripter.
I suspect with so many versions of Blender, that it is hard to keep these 3rd party scripts up-to-date.
Good luck with it – I wrestled around with it for almost a day
gryff
Is this ever going to be compatible for Blender 2.6a? Or does someone have a link for a download of 2.57? Either way I’d love to see this add on again!
damn. that looks like fun.
i was ofcourse shouting at you at the end for not doing a spiral staircase.
Ha spiral stairs are always fun. They’re pretty easy to do with an Array modifier with Object Offset.
This might be me being really dumb, but i cant install the add on? im at the same website as the video and it says on the using add ons page to locate the script, i cant download it? or i cant see where to download it? please help anyone!
Hi Keith, you can download the script from here: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Add_Mesh/Masonry
jonathan, sorry for being blender noob #1 but i got to that website you said above and clicked the link on that page saying current version download: https://svn.blender.org/svnroot/bf-extensions/contrib/py/scripts/addons/add_mesh_walls/
and all i get is the actuall script in text, written infront of me? am i suppose to copy it somewhere, theres no downloader that im used to popping up
sorry again i am fairly new to blender.
Please can anyone download and send me the add-on ” Masonry.py or Walls ? I ve tried several ways but cant download it
From the download page just right click > Save As.
e-mail is Pamodu@hotmail.com
Thanks
Just a quick question, Does this script work with the latest version of blender? I tried installing it and it just moves the files into the addons folder without giving me an option to enable the add on. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated, and if the add on does not work with the current version of blender where do I go to suggest a fix or call attention to this? I am not downgrading blender for one script. : / Thanks.
Hey there,
really great tutorial.
I just dont get how to download the Masonry Add-on
is there someone who can explain it to me? (win 7, 64-Bit, Blender 2.61)
How do you guys get all the object smooth like this…it isn´t a shading option….
Help me
!
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Can’t get this to work in Mac OS X. Anyone succeed?
Ok there are 3 files at the address which one do i use I am a real blender noob and scypt noob