Creating a Model Step-by-Step - Part 1

A simple cube primitive can be transformed into a sophisticated model using a technique called Block Modeling .

In this tutorial we will transform a cube into a whale by application of the Operation-Extrude.gif (924 bytes) Extrude Operation and Operation-Smooth.gif (525 bytes) Smooth Operation.

As always, when modeling it helps to have a photo or physical model of the object you want to create to use as a reference. I based this model on a few photos of whales that I found on the Internet.

Click Button-Toolbar-RenderSmooth.gif (176 bytes) on the Primary Toolbar to turn Smooth Rendering off. Smooth Rendering is typically used for final rendering of scenes. During the modeling phase however it tends to obscure the details of an object making modeling more difficult.

Drag and Drop a cube from the Primitives Panel onto the scene. This will be the basis for our whale.
TutorialBlockModeling1.gif (14267 bytes)

 

Enter Face Selection Mode by clicking Button-Toolbar-SelectFace.gif (906 bytes) on the Edit Toolbar. Select a single face. Note that the appearance of the face selected may not be exactly as shown here. You may find that the select face is outlined rather than being painted blue.

Set the parameters for the Extrude Operation, on the Operations Panel, by right clicking on Operation-Extrude.gif (924 bytes). An Extrusion Amount of 1 and a Bevel Amount of 0 is required. This will extrude the face 1 unit and bevel it 0 units.

Click on Operation-Extrude.gif (924 bytes) to perform the Extrusion Operation.

 

TutorialBlockModeling2.gif (14710 bytes)

 

Select the face extruded.
TutorialBlockModeling3.gif (14758 bytes)

 

Scale it using the Edit Control as shown.

You will find that you have to rotate the scene as you work using the Navigation Control.

We are extruding the rear of the whale which gets progressively narrower as it approaches the tail.
TutorialBlockModeling4.gif (14785 bytes)

 

Right-click on the face and drag upwards to shift it up as shown.

This will give us a more attractive looking tail.
TutorialBlockModeling5.gif (12571 bytes)

 

Repeat the Extrude-Scale-Shift procedure of above to extend the body of the whale. We are now approaching the tail.
TutorialBlockModeling6.gif (12645 bytes)

 

Now we will start on the whale's head.

This is simply a Extrude-Scale operation applied to the front face of the whale's body. No Shift is necessary.
TutorialBlockModeling7.gif (12979 bytes)

 

Working our way towards the whale's nose. We Extrude-Scale-Shift again applied to the front face of the whale's body.

This time however prior to extruding, right click on Operation-Extrude.gif (924 bytes) and set the Extrusion Amount to .5.
TutorialBlockModeling8.gif (13425 bytes)

 

Repeat the Extrude-Scale-Shift again applied to the front face of the whale's body.
TutorialBlockModeling9.gif (13863 bytes)

 

Repeat the Extrude-Scale-Shift again applied to the back face of the whale's body. This is the point where the main part of the body meets the tail flukes.
TutorialBlockModeling10.gif (12254 bytes)

 

A final Extrude-Scale-Shift to the back face of the whale's body.

We have now completed the main part of the whale's body.
TutorialBlockModeling11.gif (11765 bytes)

 

The whale's body is a little bit too thin. It needs to be a wider than it is.

Enter Object Selection Mode by clicking Button-Toolbar-Select.gif (187 bytes) on the Edit Toolbar.

Select the whale and scale the object to 120% along the Z axis using the Edit Control.
TutorialBlockModeling12.gif (16020 bytes)

 

I frequently do test Smoothes of an object while block modeling to ensure that I am getting the desired effect. With experience, you will be able to predict what the end result will be, but is always helpful to do test Smoothes.

Apply the Operation-Smooth.gif (525 bytes) Smooth Operation from the Operations Panel two times.

Apply the Operation-Crease.gif (514 bytes) Crease Operation from the Operations Panel and adjust the slider to the far left so that there is no creasing.

 

TutorialBlockModeling13.gif (17715 bytes)

 

Click Button-Toolbar-RenderSmooth.gif (176 bytes) to turn Smooth Rendering on.

We have a pretty respectable whale's body.

Undo the Crease and Smooth operations prior to moving on to Part 2 of this tutorial.

Click here to download the model completed in this part of this tutorial.
TutorialBlockModeling14.gif (16020 bytes)