In order to create a reworked version of my project, I would need to completely refresh my knowledge of 3D modelling, texturing and rendering. To do this, I watched a series of tutorials.
I started by installing the latest version of Blender on my personal laptop. This was quick and easy to do. The advantage of using Blender is that it’s completely free to use and is installed on the college computers, which allows me to use it at home and at college. The first tutorial showed me how to navigate the user interface (UI) and use shortcuts, which I was already familiar with.
The second tutorial showed me how to create models in Blender. This was the barrel tutorial I completed last year, but re-watching it allowed me to refresh my knowledge of the UI and techniques used for modelling. The technique used to create the barrel involves adding shapes, using edit mode tools such as extrude and subdivide to edit the geometry of a shape, using wireframe for editing shapes, using the mirror modifier to make a shape symmetrical, merging shapes together using the join function, and creating a basic material using flat colours. Because I already knew how to use these functions, I could create the barrel quickly, but the tutorial helped me to remember some shortcuts I forgot about. The following screenshots are of the barrel I made.
The third tutorial showed me how to texture an object in Blender. Despite having done this before, I still have some trouble with remembering the process, so the tutorial helped me to relearn texturing at my own pace. This tutorial taught me how to mark seams, UV unwrap, create a colour map and generate an ambient occlusion texture. I completely forgot this process after the first time I learned it, because at the time, I had only just learned how to create 3D models, and I was taking in too much information to remember it all.
The fourth tutorial showed me how to render and export in Blender. This involves using nodes in cycles render to edit the material, create light emitting materials, and using the render function to create a fully rendered image in Blender.
Overall, these tutorials were very effective, because I’m a visual learner and prefer video tutorials. They reinforced my existing knowledge of Blender and helped me relearn texturing, which I didn’t fully understand upon learning for the first time. This has also given me a chance to reconsider my approach to the project, and I will now use video tutorials to learn how to create everything I need for my speakeasy.
Elliot's blog 