Polygon Modelling

In the second weeks design session, I learnt to how model polygons into something more than just a primitive object. I learnt about tools such as: extrude, inset, bridge, chamfer and connect. Extrude allows you to move a polygon within or out of the rest of the object, creating an extrusion. Inset creates a smaller polygon within the selected one, using the selected polygons vertices as a shrinking point. Bridge takes two selected edges and bridges the gap in between with a new polygon. Chamfer creates new edges on the selected area and can be used to smooth edges. Connect will create a new edge from one edge to another, splitting the polygon they're part of in two.

I was tasked with using all of these new tools to create a house model from a single box object. In order to have a plan to work from, I was provided with a house model sheet that had perspectives of each side of the house on. I attached it to a plane and then duplicated the plane at a 90 degree angle, creating a cross shape. I could then build my house to the correct dimensions using the pictures on the planes as a template. Something else I learnt to do was how to make an object see-through, effectively like a ghost. This was necessary to allow me to see the image through the object and use it as a template.

Finished house model with template in place

Once the house was finished, the next objective was to add more objects to our scene. Since the template had a wall on it, that was my next plan of action, with a gate, pavement, road and lamppost to follow after. Each of these were new objects rather than extensions from the house object since they were more for detail and filling out the scene.

Completed scene with all objects added

Now that everything was finished I could add lighting in order to create renders of my scene. I wanted to use the lamppost as a light source rather than simply have it as scenery. I remembered the use of the spotlight in my work the week before and thought this would work excellently for a lamppost. However when I rendered the scene for the first time, the spotlight was far too pinpoint for my liking, so I changed the spotlight parameters to increase the falloff. This gave a much wider spread of light and made the scene look more realistic. An omni light was added to slightly brighten the scene in general for aesthetic purposes.

Night scene using spotlight on lamppost

Finally I was taught by a friend on how to use a daylight system, which allows me to set the light on my scene as it would be at a specific time of day and month. This allowed for much easier control of making the scene appear as I liked it and I'll definitely use it again in the future.

Shot of back of house during daytime