How to Create a Custom Sword for Mine-imator: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Are you tired of using the same old swords in your Mine-imator projects? Do you want to add some unique flair and personality to your characters' arsenals? Look no further! In this article, we'll walk you through the process of creating a custom sword rig for Mine-imator from scratch.

Before We Begin

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To follow along with these instructions, make sure you have:

1. Blender 2.82 or later installed on your computer.

2. The latest version of Mine-Modifier (formerly known as Rigify) and its dependencies (such as SLMagic) downloaded and added to your Blender plugins directory.

Step 1: Set Up Your Project

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### Create a New Empty Local Resource Pack

Open the Mine-imator program, then go to File > New..., select 'Empty' under 'Project Type,' choose an appropriate name for your project (e.g., 'Custom Sword'), and click Create.

Step 2: Download the Base Model

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Navigate back to this article's top section. Below the instructions, you'll find a link labeled ''Download''. Click on it to download a zip archive containing the base sword model in OBJ format (.obj).

Extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP file into your newly created Mine-Animator project directory.

Step 3: Import and Prepare the Model

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### Open Blender

Double-click on the extracted `.blend` file (e.g., 'sword_base.blend') to open it in Blender.

### Select All Objects and Convert to Meshes

With nothing selected, go to Object > Select All By Type, then click on any object in the Outliner panel. Press `Ctrl+A` or ⌃+A on Mac (or Command + Shift + A) to select all objects. Right-click anywhere inside the 3D Viewport and choose 'Convert To' > 'Mesh'.

### Apply Subsurface Scattering

With everything still selected, go to Materials > Material Properties, then click on any material with a small globe icon in its preview window (usually labeled 'Default Material'). In the Materials panel that opens up at right-hand side of Blender's main workspace:

1. Click on the little arrowhead next to 'Subsurface Scroughness' label.

2. Adjust the values as desired:

* Color: Set this value between 0 and 1, where higher numbers result in a more intense color (e.g., 0.5 for medium intensity).

* Metallic : This determines how much light reflects off of a surface like metal vs plastic; lower values give less reflection.

3. Click 'Apply' at bottom-right corner when done.

Step 4: Export as .rig and .obj

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### Save Your Rigged Model As A .RIG File

Go to File > Export Animation..., then select '.rig' from the dropdown list below it (make sure that you've enabled the 'export animations' option if needed), browse for a location on your hard drive where you'd like to save this file, give it an appropriate name such as `custom_sword.rig`, and click Save As.

### Save Your Rigged Model As A .OBJ File

Repeat step 4 but select '.obj' instead of '.rig', choose a suitable filename (e.g., 'custom_sword.obj'), then press Export Selected Objects Only when prompted to export only the rigged mesh without any other objects or data. This will create an FBX file that can be imported into Mine-Animator later.

Step 5: Import Your Rigged Model into Mine-imator

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### Open Mine-Animator and Create a New Project

Double-click on your newly created `.fbx` project folder (e.g., 'Custom Sword') to open it in Mine-Animator. If prompted, select the correct version of Blender that you have installed.

In the File menu at top-left corner of main window:

1. Click on Import...

2. From the list under 'FBX' section, choose 'Import FBX/OFF (.fbx)'

3. Navigate to where you saved your `custom_sword.fbx` file in step 4 above and double-click it.

Your custom sword rig should now be visible inside Mine-Animator's scene view!

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Congratulations! You have successfully created a fully functional, customizable sword rig for use with Mine-Animator using nothing more than Blender and some basic knowledge of rigged modeling. With this guide under your belt, the possibilities are endless - so go forth and create amazing animations today!

Rig mine imator