User Documentation
From K-3D
Overview
If you haven't installed K-3D yet, please consult Getting Started for build / install instructions on many platforms.
- FAQ - User's Frequently Asked Questions!
- Version Numbers - What do those numbers mean?
- Online Tutorials - Step-by-step instructions for common operations.
- Support - Where to go for help when good software goes bad ...
User Interface
- Running K-3D
- The K-3D Window
- Default Document
- Opening And Saving Scenes
- Working With Panels - Most of the K-3D user interface is broken-down into Panels.
- Tools - Tools are used to modify a document interactively, by clicking-and-dragging the mouse in a viewport.
- Hotkeys
- Tutorial Menu
- Command Node Inspector
- Script Editor
- SimpleWorkFlowExample
- Managing External Files
- Recording Tutorials - Getting confident? You can record tutorials for other users!
Plugins
- See Plugins for a list of all K-3D plugins and links to reference documentation.
- Plugin Status - What does (Experimental) or (Deprecated) next to a plugin's name mean?
Rendering
- Materials - Working with surface materials in K-3D.
- Render Engine - An overview of render engines for K-3D.
- RenderMan
- RenderMan Controls - Tips on how to control the quality of your RenderMan output.
- List of Shaders
- RenderMan Light Shaders
- RenderMan Displacement Shaders
- RenderMan Shading Language
- Writing Surface Shaders
- Writing Displacement Shaders
- Writing Light Shaders
- Writing Volume Shaders
- Writing Imager Shaders
- FrankenRender - Tips for using Aqsis with BMRT as a rayserver.
- Shadow Map Tutorial
- Hardware Rendering - Why can't I preview lighting and shading in the viewport?
- Network Rendering - About network rendering.
- Texture Tutorial - How to texture a scene.
- Yafray - Using the Yafray render engine
Modeling
- Symmetric Modeling Tutorial - modeling just one side of a symmetric object, with automatic updates to the mirror side.
- Mug Tutorial - creating a mug with a handle.
- Snap Tutorial - some samples of the new interactive snap system.
Animation
- Animating Properties - (Very) basic explanation of animation in K-3D.
- Creating Videos - Tools to generate videos from K-3D images.
Scripting
- ScriptEngine - Introduction to K-3D scripting.
- Python - Documentation for the Python script engine used for most general-purpose scripting tasks.
- K3DScript - K-3D tutorials are recorded using K3DScript metafiles.
- RenderManScript - Injects arbitrary RenderMan API calls into the rendered scene.
Subdivision Surfaces
- Subdivision Surfaces - Description of subdivision surfaces.
- SDS Tutorial - Basic subdivision surface modeling tutorial.
- SDS Creases - Variable sharpness creases on subdivision surface models.