Blender To Unreal Live Link is built around a simple promise: push models, materials, and textures from Blender into Unreal Engine without bouncing through a traditional export and reimport loop. The workflow centers on a Blender add-on and Unreal-side Python scripts that sit inside your project so the handoff happens from inside your normal working tools. The add-on supports one-click sending, and it also offers an auto-sync mode for iterative work.

Milad Kambari (Artstation) sells the add-on for $18 on Superhive.

Getting connected without guessing

After installing the Unreal plugin and the Blender add-on, the two applications connect through a Start Live Link action on each side. In Blender, the workflow uses a Start Live Link button. In Unreal, the workflow uses a Blender Live Link menu with its own Start Live Link action.

The first connection can take longer than later runs because the network communication between the applications establishes itself for the first time. A connected status indicates the link is established. If you want to confirm the setup path executes correctly, the workflow suggests checking the log and watching for errors shown in red. If you do not see red errors, that indicates the path was set up correctly, and the instruction is to keep the plugin and scripts in the right place and stay patient while the connection finishes.

Send selected, send full scene, and why one is a trap

Once connected, the basic transfer flow centres on selecting assets in Blender and sending them across. The add-on offers two transfer options: Send Full Scene and Send Selected. Send Full Scene is positioned for smaller to medium scenes, and Send Selected is positioned for larger scenes where you only push what you need.

The usage guidance recommends not leaning too heavily on Send Full Scene because real scenes can be heavy, with a large number of objects. The suggested working method is to proceed with Send Selected so you keep control of what moves over, and to transfer heavier scenes piece by piece. The stated goal is better scene management while avoiding the need for extensive hardware resources.

The workflow description also demonstrates sending multiple objects at once using Send Selected, where selecting multiple objects and running the send results in both arriving in Unreal.

Materials, textures, and the two-lane road

Material transfer is included alongside geometry transfer. The tool is described as able to send materials along with textures, including transferring a model together with its texture. The product listing also states that simple physically based materials transfer automatically with textures for base color, normal, roughness, and metallic.

When materials get more complex, the workflow shifts to a different option. The add-on includes a Bake and Send Selected mode intended for complex materials that need baking before they can be sent. The listing describes complex shader setups using nodes such as the Mix node as examples that can require this path. In this mode, materials are baked into clean textures for transfer, and the workflow is described as non-destructive, restoring original materials after the send. The tool detects whether a model has UV maps. If UV maps exist, it does not alter them and uses them for baking. If a model does not have UV maps, it can generate UV maps as needed for baking.

Live sync, but with a leash

Live sync mode sends changes automatically, but the workflow has a specific rhythm. For edit mode changes, the flow relies on exiting edit mode. After you make an edit, you exit edit mode and return to object mode so the edit becomes visible in Unreal.

Live sync is also framed as “something to use carefully”. The developer does not recommend using it extensively because it can require hardware resoruces due to the different graphical structures of the two applications.

Hierarchies, pivots, and scale sanity

On the scene-structure side, the listing describes parent and child support. Selecting a parent object can include its mesh children automatically, which matters when you are working with grouped meshes or hierarchical scene organisation.

It also preserves pivots. Object origins from Blender are preserved in Unreal, so the pivot behaviour you author in Blender carries through after transfer. Scale handling is called out too. The listing describes a 1 to 1 scale relationship between Blender and Unreal, aimed at avoiding the classic scale mismatch workflow pain. Transforms are part of the transfer. Location, rotation, and scale are sent and applied in Unreal.

What is included and what it needs

The package includes a Blender add-on file and Unreal Python scripts named blender_livelink_addon.py, livelink_unreal.py, and init_unreal.py.

System requirements list Blender 5.0 or higher and Unreal Engine 5.5 or higher, plus Windows 10 or 11, with the condition that both applications must run on the same machine.

Pricing is listed as $18.

Practical takeaways for production artists

If your daily loop includes moving assets from Blender into Unreal for lookdev, lighting, layout, or realtime checks, this tool focuses on reducing the friction in that handoff. It provides Send Selected for controlled transfers, Send Full Scene for smaller setups, and Bake and Send Selected for complex material cases that need baking. It also includes live sync for iterative updates, with workflow notes about exiting edit mode so edits propagate.

As with any new pipeline tool, test it in your own environment before you rely on it for production.

https://superhivemarket.com/products/blender-to-unreal-live-link

The post Real-time Blender to Unreal Live Link first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In nuce: Assimilate has released Live Assist 9.5. Live Assist is a software for recording, playback, grading, comping and live streaming. The software works with Windows or Mac operating systems. According to the developer, the new features included in version 9.5 are based on feedback from Assimilate users. Below are the new features that Assimilate has highlighted in its announcement.

• Clip & Grade list view including search and filter options: with a new design
• New multi-camera view: see all camera views simultaneously
• Framing menu with flip-flop options: has been given an update
• Improved 3-layer composite with new Comp A & Comp B menus
• ACES (cc/cct) workflows: full support
• Notch LC playback: full support
• Improved video-io: colour matrix and level per channel adjustable
• Multiple in and out points during a recording: full support

Tutorial videos: To mark the new release, Assimilate has published three short video tutorials (see below). The first video introduces the user interface, demonstrates how to set up video-io, channels and simple recording and playback tasks. The second video shows how users can place a logo in the image or carry out watermarking – and how to exchange backgrounds in the green screen. The third video shows how users successfully create a three-layer comp.

Ten per cent discount for IBC 2022: As part of this year’s IBC (International Broadcast Convention), Assimilate is offering a ten per cent discount on Live Assist. The discount is offered up to and including 12 September. Those who are undecided can test Live Assist with the free Personal Learning Edition .

Click further: Assimilate’s announcement of the release of Live Assist 9.5. Digital Production last reported on Live Assist on 19 July this year, when the software emerged from the beta phase.

Live Assist Quick Introduction

Live Assist: Logo overlay and green screen comp

Live Assist: 3-layer comp

The post Live Assist 9.5 from Assimilate released first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In a few hours Blackmagic Design will present us with new information about the Live Production and camera product range. You can watch the live stream held by CEO Grant Petty here (via YouTube), on the Blackmagic Design website or on the Facebook page. We will summarise all the new features here afterwards.

Further information: To the Blackmagic Design website

The post Blackmagic Design: New announcements in the livestream first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

As the NAB show in Las Vegas has already been cancelled, Maxon will be streaming the originally planned NAB programme online on C4D Live from Monday 20 April. Right at the beginning, David McGavran will announce news and announcements from Maxon. You can look forward to various tips, tricks and techniques from a number of well-known 3D artists up to and including Thursday (23 April). The line-up includes

• Andrew Kramer from Video Copilot with “Andre Kramer Live”
• Angie Fere Motion Graphic Designer at Scarab
• Mike Winkelmann with the talk “Beeple! Dailies, Creativity, Madness”
• Stu Maschwitz Chief Creative Officer at Red Giant
• EJ Hassenfratz with “Highlights of Cinema 4D S22”
• Chris Schmidt with “Ragdoll Characters & Dynamic Crowd Simulation in C4D”
• Kelcey Steele Motion Designer at Primal Screen
• and many more!

Further information: To the official Maxon website C4D Live

The post C4DLive: Maxon with virtual NAB Show first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

After the recently released Affinity Photo and Designer 1.7 updates, the next major release is now coming. With Affinity Publisher, the development studio Serif is offering a third subscription-free alternative for the market. According to the keynote (below), the number of customers has already doubled to 2 million since last year. As the name suggests, Publisher is geared towards desktop publishing and therefore competes with tools such as Adobe Indesign. What does Publisher have to offer on release?

Affinity Publisher feature overview

With its tidy interface, Publisher has all the usual functions that no software of this type should be without. In addition to document setup, the most important basics are covered with typography, design and layout tools, raster and vector graphics integration, master pages, baseline grid, as well as proper export and import formats. But there are also some exciting additional workflow features.

• Design tools with drawing pen, node tools, Boolean operators, bitmap fill methods, stroke panel, layer effects, automatic alignment,
• Layout tools including double-page layouts, (nested) master pages, customised text frames, text wrapping and wrapping, table options
• Typography features with live preview, path support, styles, OpenType, initials, graphic text, flow options, glyph browser, baseline grid, placeholders and more
• Graphics import for linking, embedding and editing PSD, AI, PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, EXR, DNG, EXR and Affinity file formats
• Colour management with support for RGB, LAB, CMYK and grayscale colour spaces, Pantone, ICC colour management profiles, Smart Color Picker and more
• Adjustment layers for adjustments such as blur, shadows, gradation curves, glow and much more
• Performance with up to 60 fps, real-time preview for object transformations, gradients, effects, font adjustments, aperture modes and more
• Export to PDF, PDF/X, PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, PSD, SVG, EPS, EXR and HDR
• Additional features such as a history slider, transparency tool, asset management, smart colour picker and more.

A detailed overview of all functions can be found in the technical data sheet.

For all those who are concerned about compatibility with old templates: It looks like Publisher can’t convert or output InDesign documents yet, but AI files can be imported with PDF Stream and rebuilt accordingly.

StudioLink – Workflow Integration

One of the most exciting workflow functions is“StudioLinK“. With Affinity Publisher, you can directly access the features of the other two software tools in order to use photo editing from Affinity Photo and the vector tools from Affinity Designer. You can see exactly what this looks like in the keynote video above.

Availability

Affinity Publisher is available for Windows and Mac – an iPad version is also planned. The software currently costs €43.99 (20% discount), the regular price is €55. For an introduction to the range of functions, you can watch a selection of over 50 tutorials on the official website.

Further information: To the Serif website and the technical data sheet

The post Affinity Publisher released first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.