HOW DO I MAKE CARTOON SHADERS IN BLENDER?
Paul Hatton replies
In years gone by, artists were constrained to work in either 2D or 3D. Animators who wanted to work in 2D utilised a set of tools specific to their requirements. 3D tools were left primarily for creating in 3D and then rendering to 2D. In some of these applications it was possible to render objects with cartoon shaders, but it was hard work and not particularly suited to animators.
Blender provides a rich set of tools that bring the worlds of 2D and 3D together. There are still numerous animation packages that function solely in 2D and these will continue to take up most of the 2D animation market. The likes of Synfig Studio, Pencil2d and Toon Boom Harmony provide tried and tested features that are well loved by the animation industry.
However, as great as these tools are, some projects are still much easier to create in 3D before utilising flat rendering tools to create the stylised look that’s required. By working in 3D from the outset, it also makes it possible to create other outputs from the same base model such as photorealistic renders, videos and interactive experiences.
In answer to this particular question we’ll take a look at a fairly standard solution inside Blender to create toon shaders. Through four simple steps artists can be up and running in no time. In the expert tip you’ll find a quick nod to Blender’s Grease Pencil, which is specifically targeted to pushing the boundaries of what’s achievable.
In our example we see that it’s possible to use Grease Pencil to add additional lines and details to our models by drawing directly onto them, but this extended toolset provides a much greater range of capabilities than that. With it, artists can create 2D animation, cut-out animation, motion graphics, storyboards and much
more. If you are used to traditional 2D vector animation programs then you’ll feel right at home with Grease Pencil.
The tool is built upon points and strokes that can be edited, stroked, tinted and filled; the precise capabilities that you’d expect to find as part of any vector drawing application. All of these tools are contained nicely in their own workspace named 2D Animation.
Blender has an extensive range of documentation and, as you’d expect with the Blender community, there are plenty of free resources on the web to get you up to speed with Grease Pencil.