The new ray length node in Blender 2.64 allows to fake absorption even without a volumetric shader. This tutorial shows you how to create your own absorption shader and make it re-usable.

This tutorial for Blender 2.64 or later shows you how to create an advanced particle trail in Cycles using new features like the particle info node.

The grand mantis series Part 2: Advanced Cycles materials! Learn how to set up advanced materials in Cycles plus even more lighting tips from Fredrik Steinmetz!

Frederik Steinmetz is back with a comparison of Cylces, Luxrender and Blender Internal. For that series he will use a praying mantis as an example. This first installment gives you an overview of the model and tips on modeling and rigging insects in Blender.

In this third part of the series covering the turbulence force field you will learn how to create a mesmerizing animated background using point densities and millions of particles. Another one of Nions cool effects!

Most people use very bright shaders when creating fire in Blender. But in many situations a more subtle approach works a lot better. This tutorial shows you how to get there!