Hello and welcome to this Blender modeling tutorial by Ben Simonds!
In this two-part video tutorial you will learn how to create a Greek temple in Blender 2.6. Ben will show you how to model this temple with smart techniques that make for very fast modeling, quicker and more efficient rendering and great results.
What you’ll learn:
- You will learn how to model the columns by starting with a curve circle and later converting it to a mesh.
- After modeling the columns learn how to easily replicate the columns with DupliFaces, allowing Cycles to render them much faster.
- Learn how to quickly replicate a single tile mesh for the roof to create the whole surface with variation in a matter of minutes.
- Find out how to set up a simple lighting environment to render the scene in Cycles with a background sky
The techniques Ben shows in this tutorial can be applied to many, many other projects, enabling you to quickly created detailed structures with great variation in very little time.
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1
Modeling the Temple
Download HD Video
(44:58)
2
Rendering the Temple in Cycles
Download HD Video
(22:29)
Just when I was looking around for some more modelling tutorials to practice with along comes this – great work, thanks!
Video 1 broken ,when unzipping gives unexpected end of archive error.
Yep, same for me.
Me 2
same problem “unexpected end of archive error”
Oh, no texturing ?
It’s a principal difficulty for old temples…
Same problem
may be there is a mistake in the zip_file. Tried it three times but there is a message “unexpected end of the archive zip”. The second one seems to be o.K.
This’ll go nicely with the Antikythera mechanism model I’m currently working on.
I think I’ll be having a Greek theme in my models for a little while.
This is only interesting if the mechanism is fully animated.
In all the details…
Haha!
Ok, I’m just kidding…
My hair stands on end when I think of animating this ancient masterpiece of mechanics.
I get dizzy when I think of just making the 3D model!
Good luck with this project!
I actually do intend to animate it. As you said, the project is a complete mental drain; it doesn’t help when no two sources seem to agree with each other.
Currently working on the Greek text. I don’t understand Greek, so this could be challenging.
http://cgcookie.com/blender/images/antikythera-mechanism-wip/
Current state of my model if you’re interested.
Hey guys – just getting in and working to fix up the downloads. Downloads first then coffee.
UPDATE: Okay download of the video files should be good to go!
why would we use blender bevel tool. Its terrible. I am using the GSOC Sushi Build.
One would assume it’s not wise for CGC to make tutorials on things that may or may not make it into the official blender build. ;]
However, it would be cool if CGC made short Video Reviews of potential tools and features that people are working on…
Very cool tutorial Ben, thanks! I had never used the face dupli technique before, that is NICE!
Thanks. I find myself using it more and more, its a very handy method of duplication in my opinion, and well suited to cycles too!
Cool. Will make a nice change of pace with what I’ve been modelling atm.
Do you think you could make a quick tip on how to model this building again but in low poly form. That would help me out a lot.
Thanks!
you could do it the same way, but then add simple geometry and bake the details to that. For example make the columns and then put simple cylinders there and bake the detail over. That way you could also do a sculpting pass to add in cracks, symbols, etc. You could do that for the frieze as well.
Just managed to watch this tutorial – really great.
Didn’t know about dupli-faces/verts; love the tuts, so often get some new tips.
Nice tutorial Ben, but you scared the life out of me when you coughed. I nearly jumped out of my seat. You also sounded a bit echoed too, but thank you for doing this.
Sorry! I thought I edited them all out but one cough must have slipped through!
Newly subscribed to Blender Cookie and new to blender! Thanks for the great tutorial!
Thanks so much, I’m glad you like it!
Thanks!
I’m having trouble mimicking the duplifaces for the roof tiles. When I apply the duplafaces fo the roof sections my tiles distort badly.
Like so: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mf4gtoqho88u0uy/duplifaces_problem.jpg
Thanks!
Looks to me like you havent set the origins of your tile objects and the roof sections to be the same. The easy way to do this is just to do Ctrl-A > Apply Location to set the origin of your two objects to the world origin. This should make the tiles duplicate correctly in line with the parent mesh.
Enjoyed this tutorial and learned a lot. Thanks.
I was happy to be able to complete this tutorial. A little too advanced for me, but it’s hard to find tutorials at my level. One thing I couldn’t do was duplicate one half the roof to get correct orientation of the tiles. You just went to fast for me to follow. Still, I do have a temple and I did learn a lot. So thanks. Now it’s on to part two.
Here’s my final render: http://fav.me/d5ho3z7 Looking at the user submitted renders inspired me to change some stuff. I learned a lot doing this tutorial (not just the duplifaces). Thanks.
Sorry for my bad english
Hi,
I like to become citizen to unlock the full series,
but i have a problem, When I fill in the information on the form and I continued it more valid.
I tried several times and nothing. What to do?
What code should I put this in: Discount Code
Best reagards
Cameroon
Hi there,
You don’t need to put anything into “Discount Code” if you don’t have it. That’s for using discounts that we send out with our physical products and such.
Anything else I can help with?
Cheers,
Jonathan
Whoops the video is not displaying for this tutorial…
Does refreshing the page once or twice help?
sorry for my bad english
Hi,
I appreciate learn” Modeling of a Greek Temple.”
What techniques can do if the roof had several pan and how cut tiles that boils at pan roof?
best regard
morandi http://www.morandi.ch
http://www.tuiles-bardonnex.ch
OK I guess I’ve got more to learn on getting around in Blender hard to follow commands used when he’s going through the steps. Deffinetly not for those of us that haven’t memorize the shortcut keys. But looking forward to getting this done!
I am currently using ver 6.4a for my modeling app. No matter how hard I try, I cannot find the multi-face command. I’ve watched that portion of the video a dozen times, searched the web, and have no luck. Watching the video closely, I see that yo use Shift A to bring up the dialog box. In both OM and EM, I find nothing even remotely similar to this. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? I am fairly well advanced in Blender, but this is driving me absolutely insane! Any help much appreciated. I have the column finished and have already learned some new techniques.
TIA
Charlie~
multi-face command?
what time in the video is it?
-Alex
It is mentioned at 14:59 – if I am understanding him correctly, he is calling it “dupe faces”. All my research in the wiki’s and through Google give me no info on this function. It is very unclear as to what he is doing.
C~
Can someone explain me how to make those duplicates?
I have parented plane to my column. But i don’t get any duplicates and when i use shift+d on plane it makes copy only for a plane.
Edit Mode.. God. I was like 15 minutes doing it and nothing. Just coz i did not enter to edit mode. Sorry, right after commenting i made it..
Hi Ben,
I have two problems 1) At around 32:30 when I used Ctrl+M to mirror then rotate the sides of the roof, I found that afterwards I was unable to select both top faces to make the roof mesh, I was limited to selecting the top right and bottom left face. That was corrected by redoing the duplication by using Shft+D instead of Ctrl+M. 2) Creating the tiles using duplicating faces; as far as I know I’m doing everything you’ve said, including “Ctrl-A > Apply Location to set the origin of your two objects to the world origin” as suggested above but my tiles are still showing up as oddly shaped and vertical??? I must have tried this process 5 times now and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong??? I’m using Blender 2.65 and you’re using 2.63 could that have anything to do with it?
Thanks,
Nathan
Hi Been,
Ok, I went ahead and made my own tiles and moved on to the second part of the 2nd part of the tutorial. Now for some reason all pillars render with the exception of the Original front left pillar??? Any idea what I did wrong?
Thanks,
Nathan
it could be disabled during render (the little camera icon in the outliner)
-Alex
Just double checked and the render is enabled. I have no idea why the original pillar won’t render with the rest of them… I’m pretty sure that I followed along. Stumped…
Thanks,
Nathan
Great Tutorial.
I’m using 2.66a and my Dupliface Parent objects are showing up when I render (and also in 3D viewport). I posted this on blenderartist last week but no one has offered any advice. I’m trying to finish up my project and am about to just move the children objects and delete one child so the parent object takes its place. This is going to get complicated as I have 19 different repeating forms that fit together as a cohesive puzzle so if there is an easy way to fix this issue without having to do that, I’d love to know what it is. Thanks. Dev
They should not show up, parents are supposed to be hidden, though you could have a 100% transparent material, on it would work or simply apply your duplicates as real with ctrl+A
-Alex
Thanks for the ideas Alex! I have over 5000 objects so the reason I used dupliface is because blender kept crashing when I first used Alt D to create my objects. I have not tried ctrl+A. I give it a try … and also the transparent material option, but I think that might interfere with the rigid body animation I’m adding to other objects in the scene??? Thanks again.
I seem to be having a parent issue Ctrl+P to the roof obj; after selecting the tile and then the roof Ctrl+P I’m not seeing the tile projected onto the roof. video time 38:10. Any suggestions?
I had a problem when starting the ceiling of not being able to get the duplicated “steps”, which were now the ceiling to be actual “single user”. Every time I’d edit them, the real steps would change to mirror them. (blah). Finally, Using the user menu ( u key) and selecting objects AND data made it usable (that’s for everyone else’s benefit).
My question is at 00:025:17 (in temple_01) where we’ve editing the blocks above the columns, you made an edit to the blocks to “fatten them up on the inside a bit”, but didn’t show how you managed it. Something about “trick fatten levels”. You completely lost me there.
Shrink/Fatten found under Mesh Tools (after selecting the inside edges of the blocks. #FacePalm (DOH!).
Nathan,
I ran into the same problem with that left front column. I couldn’t find the answer as to why, but I simply duplicated the column next to it and placed it in the exact same place as the original and it rendered fine.