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I have need to do some 3D fluid piping simulations, and I am seriously considering Blender.

The last time I attempted to learn Blender (for another project), I found the UI difficult to use and slow to learn. This time, I want to skip the UI as much as possible and instead use python to carry me initially.

My goal is to avoid many of the Blender GUI tools and set my self up for automation by building on Python right from the start. I am coming from AutoCAD, and I am hoping for a similar experience to AutoCAD command line with LISP (meaning, I don't have to touch the mouse if I don't want to).

Note: I don't want the GUI gone completely, but rather a strong interactive console side-by-side with the visual aids provided by the GUI

  • Are there any libraries that assist with an interactive blender workflow via python?
  • Are there any good references/tutorials that document this effort?

I am really looking for anything that will help generate simple models (representing various pipe networks) and then running some particle generators along those models for some simple water effects.

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Within Blender you have access to a python console where you can type any python command you want. Blender uses an operator system that is accessible through the python interface giving you access to the same operators that the interface calls (the interface itself -since 2.50- is displayed using python).

You may also want to use the built in text editor to type out a python script and run the script to do more complex tasks.

This playlist has a series of short videos showing creating objects using a python script.

Also of interest is the interaction presets (the keyboard shortcuts have been editable for a few years now), currently there are options to imitate the keyboard shortcuts of 3dmax and maya. You may want to create your own to imitate AutoCAD.

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