How To Add A Tank Tread In Blender - Without Deforming The Links

Download the example files here: gum.co/YlqqG
0:00 - Overview
1:00 - Simple Example
2:30 - Actual Tank Tread Example
Let me know if you have any questions in the comment below!
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[@JaredOwen]

Great video! I have used a different technique to add the treads but this looks easier. I will have to give it a try

[@scatterbrainart]

2.93 has an option "Align to Vertex Normal" that now gives you rotation data for each instance.

[@GetOffMyKittieNuts]

Thank you for explaining this in such a simple way. I've watched about 15 different videos x.x you are my savior.

[@Nitram-xw9ei]

Your tutorials have been so insightful in getting me started in rigging my mechanical models. I doth my cap to you, good sir!

[@highpolyhuman9812]

I was just about to add treads to a tank, KZbin's algorithm was helpful for once lol.

[@IshBosamiya]

Thanks, I was looking for this.

[@koganboss4874]

Very good explanation! Thank you so much!

[@hbert06]

Thank you for this tip! Helped a lot! 🙂

[@romaneberle]

nice :) i was looking for this. thanks!

[@zana3d]

Awesome tutorial! Thank you.

[@pierpaoloandraghetti]

This is great info. thank you very much

[@bushbushchickhon]

what a legend haha! Awesome tutorial

[@vilenius187]

Great! Thank you!

[@WahidRezgui]

Great idea I've been struggling with the unrealistic effect of array/curve modifiers

[@davisburnside9609]

underrated channel

[@Vneckvideos]

I love your channel

[@user-ul3xm5so8q]

BIG TANKS! i never knew about instancing and now a whole new world has opened for me :D

[@user-ul3xm5so8q]

oops realized it doesnt work anymore :(

[@joshmelnik9884]

Elegant and beautiful solution.

[@LevelPixelLevel]

Thank you sir :)

[@ranguy1379]

Never heard of this feature in Blender before. Really cool.

[@ClutchGen]

Brilliant.

[@RegenerationOfficial]

Took me two hours but I have functioning t90 tracks with physics thanks

[@lln6123]

Its the exact same look I need. :D Now I have to steal, hate that... Thank you very much!

[@gurubhaitube]

you r genius 😂

[@MrKingJohnAnimations]

Very good tutorial. I like it a lot. Your channel will grow up really fast for sure. And have you seen my Minecraft Animations made in Blender by the way?

[@LevelPixelLevel]

Nice looking cool, and great that it is all made in Blender! Congrats on 1000 subs.

[@brogs-gaming1538]

Cool

[@killrblue]

Smart!

[@jamesalphonse2377]

When I change the position of my bezier circle in either the x or z axis then it messes up the location and scale of the treads. Have you found a way to fix this? I am trying to add treads for my tank, but I cannot move the treads to the appropriate x and z position because of this.

[@Groffili]

There's so many useful tricks for Blender that take people like you to dig up and present to the awestruck audience. Fantastic and very helpful little video. I was working with instances just the other day, and this will help my approach enormously. Though there is a problem with instances that I haven't found a solution for: you cannot, in any way, modify the instanced object... like, give them different materials or such. I found a method to solve that using particle systems instead... but it's very clunky. You wouldn't have an idea to make that work?

[@LevelPixelLevel]

hmm, for this you can use a random color input for this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXiTgKuCZ9GZgtU&ab_channel=BlenderSecrets This might let you place a random color, or texture on some of the instances. If you're looking for something more direct you may want to make the instances real and then parent them to the other objects using a vertex parent: docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/scene_layout/object/editing/apply.html#make-instances-real kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHXafoKGoLNpiKs

[@Groffili]

@@LevelPixelLevel Thank you for these infos. Yes, these work fine, but only for random variations. I am trying to get a regular pattern transferred... explicitly: a am modelling a mesh of coloured beads. My solution was: Define vertex groups for each single variant, then use these vertex groups in different hair/object particle systems. Problem is: you need to set up a new obeject, a vertex group and a particle system for each variant. It gets clunky rather quickly, if you use three different colours and four different shapes. But it does work, and I was just looking for a simpler method to achive this.

[@LevelPixelLevel]

@@Groffili Yeah, I think if I wanted that level of control I would do something similar to what you did here, that is always the trade-off in Blender with procedural set ups vs full geo set ups. You may want to check out the animation nodes though as there might be a solution in there for what you're trying to achieve (although they do take a while to learn) kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaG6p4GGm7l6eq8&ab_channel=JenAbbott%2FOldeTinkererStudio

[@VoidGecko]

For some reason mine is shearing the track pieces Edit: It was the type of curve Edit 2: When I use a different object, each instance has a different angle

[@djmnx01]

Great to learn about instancing. The only issue is that it seems that the animation of the tread only works with the curve fixed in place; i.e., you cannot animate the movement and move the tread forward at the same time. So, you would have to move everything else backward past the tread to give the illusion of movement? I'm relatively new to blender, so I'm sure there is something I have missed . . . can you advise?

[@glitchii_uwu]

obviously i'm a bit late, but if you still haven't figured it out you can just parent the curve to the track. this way the curve will move with the track and the track will stay on the curve's path.

[@Oleg_Kio]

Thank you very much! And greetings from Ukraine! 💛💙

[@oswynfaux]

Are the planes the the tread is instanced to not also going to be rendered, what if you wanted to hide the planes, if you toggled off Show In Render does that turn off the instanced object as well.

[@LevelPixelLevel]

Yeah, those two options, show viewport, and show render will turn off the original plane geometry.

[@Zeriel00]

I can never get this to work, the track align but once they start going around the curve the start twisting

[@instantmemes647]

u didnt show how u made the 1st tank track, bu thx anyways, also my tread only curves around half of the bezier, help? edit: nvm i found out i just had to increase the count in array modifier

[@lln6123]

When you have problems with the Rotation and Size after applying the Instances: You have to keep the Transform of the Object you want to have on the curve at its Origin values (1,1,1) and change the transforms in Edit Mode.

[@Zeriel00]

Thanks! This is what I was missing, I was applying "All transforms" but I needed to apply "Rotation and Scale" as well.

[@radhinnasywanabyasa1673]

If i rotate the curve, is it will be deform or not

[@BlueBerryFTW]

when i use the curve modifier, it isnt wrapping the tred aroud it, it just "pins" the tred to it and it remains a straight line of treds, not a curve. Does anyone know why? Thank you.

[@BlueBerryFTW]

I am usig a bezier circle, is this the issue?

[@LandersWorkshop]

This is all good and helpful, but how do you get it to do this once you move the finished asset away from the XYZ crosshairs / world center area?

[@LevelPixelLevel]

For this you can parent this set up to a bone and have that be your main controller. Then you can drive the x axis with the forward axis on the bone. This is similar to an auto car set up, but it's a little easier on a tank. Let me see if I can make a more advanced video on this in the future!

[@LandersWorkshop]

@@LevelPixelLevel The bone that would be the main controller; is that something that would be located in the main center xyz point?

[@LevelPixelLevel]

@@LandersWorkshop Yeah, this would be at the center of the tank or the center differential of the treads.

[@LandersWorkshop]

@@LevelPixelLevel What I mean is, when making constraints to objects to do things, I've found that once they are moved away from the world origin point they all go crazy and off-center etc. Unless I keep it near to the world origin point it that is. But I've a big project with so much stuff going on I can't keep constraints only going on at the world origin point etc.

[@LevelPixelLevel]

@@LandersWorkshop Ahh gotcha, I think for something like this I'll have to make a video. I have a couple of topics coming up where I'll go in-depth into rigging an asset rather than just smaller tips and tricks. Hopefully, I have something for a tank or a car coming up soon.

[@BedroShadow]

It's not working he it give me a weird look

[@chrispridemore5562]

Is there a way to hide that plane you are using, to emit the instances, from render? Without just giving it a transparent material. Thank you for making this video.

[@LevelPixelLevel]

Yes, under the face option there will be a Show Instance - Viewport, Render. You can turn these off to adjust viewport and render settings.

[@chrispridemore5562]

@@LevelPixelLevel Thanks so much man. :)

[@Savenya_Amari]

Is there a way to not have the plane show up in the render?

[@nitinsharmax129]

Very informative tutorial... thanks a lot

[@LevelPixelLevel]

Good tip! I'll try that out.

[@stefancargoski5871]

Can you please do a tutorial how to animate the treads to move along an axis and how to rotate as well. Thank you.

[@999ooo999ooo999ooo]

I made a tutorial like this one a long time ago and many others are now being replaced from scratch, and I'm doing it for version 2.9. Here is a link to my old tutorial with a full animation in xyz direction . I plan to repeat this tutorial, but not now. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmOrXqlqZ5iciac

[@stefancargoski5871]

@@999ooo999ooo999ooo Thanks for your reply, I saw this one you made: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIa2ppZ_jdF5fK8 would be nice if you can do how they can rotate not along the x axis only, but also when the treads rotate on the Z axis.

[@Alstrak]

How do you convert that instances to a mesh?

[@Alstrak]

Okay so I found an answer. Here is a link to where I found it: blender.stackexchange.com/questions/187915/convert-vertex-instancing-to-single-mesh

[@imnotumine3643]

thanks! but i still not found this option for 2.7 version Edit: nvm i solve this😅

[@BossTony]

How can you make them become individual objects?

[@LevelPixelLevel]

Hey, select on the parent object, go to the object tab - go to apply, and choose make instances real: www.levelpixellevel.com/uploads/1/1/7/8/117873610/instances_orig.png

[@BossTony]

@@LevelPixelLevel Thank you very much!

[@SwordToothTiger]

too quiet... but deserved a like and thanks!

[@SamTurboV]

Can this animation be exported to unity

[@LevelPixelLevel]

You might have to bake this down first to actual objects, to export this to unity everything needs to be objects, the object instancing will note work.

[@instantmemes647]

plz help

[@philippetoupin01]

The look of suzan instanced to the sphere is absolutely gross. Great tutorial !

[@bomaryniuk3639]

Actually ngons aren't deformed. More interesting how to prevent rotation go bonkers. Because this is only good to move along Y axis. As long as you rotate this or move upwards/downwards, this be ruined.

[@erantron]

i am the 667th Up

[@Bryan-bh7cy]

what is wrong with your audio it's soooo quiet