Basic Operator

This entry covers scripting a basic Operator in Blender.  An operator essentially is an operation which can be performed in/on your project.  Some existing examples are Smooth Shading, or moving objects in the scene. The move operator is one of many ways of integrating custom functionality (or add-ons) into Blender.

For this example, I'll just show a conventional "Hello World" approach.  Below is an example of all the basic code required for a custom operator.

Curve Handles

This entry covers the details of the types of Curve Handles.  The type of curve handle affects how the curve will be shaped with respect to the other handles.  There are four types, and we'll cover each of them and how they behave.

Before we begin, note that a single curve can have multiple curve points (hence multiple handles) and each curve point can have a different handle type.

The first handle we'll describe is the Free handle.  All curve points have three selectable points on them.  The center of the curve point, and the ends of the curve handles.  In the Free mode, the ends of the curve handles can be manipulated independent of each other.  This can product a sharp point at the curve point.

Mesh of a Curve

This entry will cover the function of both displaying the wireframe of a curve solid over the solid view.  This makes it easier to adjust the level of detail or resolution in the mesh of the curve.

For this example, we'll start with a curve solid that is generated by assigning a circle curve as the bevel to a the standard bezier curve.  Extrude along Curve

Instance Along Curve

This entry covers the concept of duplicating a mesh (cube in this example) along the path of a curve.  This is a very useful animation ability when trying to grow a curvey line or path.  

To start off you'll need at add [SHIFT+A] a curve and a mesh (cube).  It is worth noting that the direction of the curve matters for this example.  To have the cube follow the path of the curve directly, you'll want to situate it at the beginning (curve arrows are pointing away from cube) of the curve.

Python Macros

This entry covers the creation of Python Macros.  These are basically the same as python scripts, however these are much simpler scripts that encapsulate actions.    In this example we'll show how you can combine the action of adding a Sub-Surface Modifier along with the Smooth Shader operation.  An example macro can be seen below.

Copying Attributes

This quick entry covers the Copy Attributes Add-On.  This simple add-on allows you to take the transform (and many other attributes) of an object, and apply it to another object.  So first, enable the add-on through the user preferences menu.

Python Interpreter

This entry will be the starting point for any and all Python Scripting in Blender.  What's nice is that Blender also installs a full fledged Python interpreter/compiler so you can test regular python scripts (not just Blender ones) in this environment.

Blender has a view dedicated to Python Scripting which can be found by [Ctrl + Left] or by selecting Scripting from the drop down menu at the top.  The scripting view looks like the image below.