In this simple tutorial, I will show how to animate a Zealot in Blender version 2.83, assuming that you know how to export and import .m3 models from Starcraft 2 Editor to Blender and vice versa and how to install the addon.
You will need the Blender program and the latest Talv m3addon tool:-
Also, make sure that you run the Blender program as an Administrator as it might return a permission error message when exporting the .m3 model.
So let's begin.
Firstly, you have the ZealotEX2.m3 model imported to Blender. Then, under Scene Properties, you can create a new animation -> M3 Animation Sequences -> Add Animation Sequence -> name it Morph (for example). See attached Animation Zealot 1a below.
Next, select the Animation tab on the top screen. See attached Animation Zealot 2a.
Say I want the animation to run for 1 second, then I put End at 30 frames (because Frame Rate is 30 fps) and I put the current frame to 5. See attached Animation Zealot 3a.
Next, under Pose Mode, select 3D View: Wireframe. See attached Animation Zealot 4a.
Next, make sure Bone Properties is selected, select the bones -> Hold shift to select the bones. See attached Animation Zealot 5a.
Next, click I -> Rotation. See attached Animation Zealot 6a.
Next, say I want the bones to straight out at say, after 20 frames, so I will put the current frame to 20. See attached Animation Zealot 7a.
Make sure Bone Properties is selected, then press R to rotate the bones forward. See attached Animation Zealot 8a.
Lastly, click I -> Rotation and you will get the rotation animation of the bones. See attached Animation Zealot 9a.
You can then press the play animation button to play your animation.
You now have a simple Zealot thrusting his arm forward animation in Blender. You can then save the Blender file and name the .m3 export model before exporting it via Quick Export under Scene Properties.
Lastly, to play the custom made animation in your Starcraft 2 Editor, create an ability, and under the Zealot Unit Actor, put in the .m3 export model under Art:Model and create a new Actor Event:-
Ability.Your created ability.SourceCastStart
AnimationPlay -> Name: Morph -> Animation properties -> Morph (this is the new animation that you have created).
Blender is definitiley the way to start for Animating - 3D skills transfer well from software to software, and I can learn everything important with blender.
Although Industry standard for animation afaik is Maya.
Hi, guys,
In this simple tutorial, I will show how to animate a Zealot in Blender version 2.83, assuming that you know how to export and import .m3 models from Starcraft 2 Editor to Blender and vice versa and how to install the addon.
You will need the Blender program and the latest Talv m3addon tool:-
https://www.blender.org/
https://github.com/Talv/m3addon
Also, make sure that you run the Blender program as an Administrator as it might return a permission error message when exporting the .m3 model.
So let's begin.
Firstly, you have the ZealotEX2.m3 model imported to Blender. Then, under Scene Properties, you can create a new animation -> M3 Animation Sequences -> Add Animation Sequence -> name it Morph (for example). See attached Animation Zealot 1a below.
Next, select the Animation tab on the top screen. See attached Animation Zealot 2a.
Say I want the animation to run for 1 second, then I put End at 30 frames (because Frame Rate is 30 fps) and I put the current frame to 5. See attached Animation Zealot 3a.
Next, under Pose Mode, select 3D View: Wireframe. See attached Animation Zealot 4a.
Next, make sure Bone Properties is selected, select the bones -> Hold shift to select the bones. See attached Animation Zealot 5a.
Continued...
Next, click I -> Rotation. See attached Animation Zealot 6a.
Next, say I want the bones to straight out at say, after 20 frames, so I will put the current frame to 20. See attached Animation Zealot 7a.
Make sure Bone Properties is selected, then press R to rotate the bones forward. See attached Animation Zealot 8a.
Lastly, click I -> Rotation and you will get the rotation animation of the bones. See attached Animation Zealot 9a.
You can then press the play animation button to play your animation.
You now have a simple Zealot thrusting his arm forward animation in Blender. You can then save the Blender file and name the .m3 export model before exporting it via Quick Export under Scene Properties.
Lastly, to play the custom made animation in your Starcraft 2 Editor, create an ability, and under the Zealot Unit Actor, put in the .m3 export model under Art:Model and create a new Actor Event:-
Ability.Your created ability.SourceCastStart
AnimationPlay -> Name: Morph -> Animation properties -> Morph (this is the new animation that you have created).
Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this! very helpful and useful.
Blender is definitiley the way to start for Animating - 3D skills transfer well from software to software, and I can learn everything important with blender.
Although Industry standard for animation afaik is Maya.
Houdini is also great for VFX and simulations
https://pctechtest.com/best-3d-animation-software.