Me
Hobbyist that dreams on leaving my day job (IT) and focus on learning Blender and doing 3D.
(53 y/o Kent UK, Originally from Israel )
Started with blender few years back and gave up after few days , did not get it back then, Came across 2.8 ,I think 6 month ago and been playing with it ever since.
I managed to complete few courses/tutorials but when I try to do something my own I get stuck .
This is why I was looking foreword to this type of training where I will be "forced" to meet deadline and can get feedback and advise.
The project
I chose the Barrel as I had no idea how to it , especially was not sure how to curve it and also keep each plank separated. Not sure if my solution is the best or if it will cause me issues down the line, but at least I managed to come up with a solution . Following tutorials is great but problem solving is the key , this is the skill I want to develop .
The ref image is just for inspiration , will try to add as many details from it ,the door thingy looks scary now , I might give it a go later.
My process
Mesh Circle , 24 V > Extrude in Z > adding loop cuts > manually added the curvature , separated top and bottom faces into their own objects , duplicate the main body as reference for later use.
Separated one plank, delete the rest and used Array Modifier using Empty rotated in 15 degree to get back 24 blanks. , for thickness used extrude and bevel and sharp edges
for the rings , used shrinkwrap modifier (thanks for one of the posts I read here ,never used it before)
used the duplicated object I kept earlier as the target , this way it kept the nice smooth shape.
modelled simple bolt (tried screw modifier but was over kill ) and used mirror/array to replicate it.
Cool. Did you sharpen your edges and turn on Autosmooth? Especially on the top it looks to rounded. Doesn't read like wood...
Good luck and have fun.
Thanks spikeyxxx!
Yes I have but I also added subdiv modifier ,removed it now , any better?
Thanks Again
avirozenboim I think this is much better, but what do you think yourself? After all it's still your work...
avirozenboim Be aware though: you've got some intersection going on with the second ring from the top!
avirozenboim I think the low poly version works better as well.. Glad to see more barrels getting the love :D
avirozenboim Hi, and welcome! Good effort on this scene! I like the door in the barrel. Kind of reminds me of one of those "hidden bars" sort of things. The wood slats could maybe use some more detail in the middle to help break up the overall smoothness, but that's up to you on how stylized you would like to go. Keep going!
Welcome to the class avirozenboim! Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself, your project of choice, and your process.
Only thing I might have done a little different is to use the data sharing approach like in the treasure chest course. Instead of an array, I'd find the value needed for duplicating and rotating my planks around barrel diameter (360 divided by the # of cylinder segments). Then I'd model unique wear and tear details into probably 4 planks. Finally I'd randomly duplicate the planks around the barrel diameter.
That's just an option though. The array modifier is entirely valid. Just potentially more difficult to hide repetition.
Ultimately, your final barrel is excellent! Maybe the most detailed barrel I've seen so far. Easily an A in my book. Keep up the good work!
silentheart00 Thanks so much for the feedback , I was not sure to be honest if I want to add cracks to the wood (as we did in the chest course) as my reference has a different type of wood , I think its called hard wood that simply looks different.
But you are right , this is down to me to choose the style I want to give it , as the reference is just for inspiration.
I was so overwhelmed by the technical bits that I did not actually made any artistic choices. - lesson learned.
@theluthier MY first A ... so excited Thanks!
You are so right , while doing it I realised that the array modifier has no real benefit as when I came to the dealing stage I had to apply the modifier and treat each object separately . I did at that point try to share the data , it just did not work , the objects moved randomly in space , I did try set the origin but noting worked. I might give it another go.
In the live stream you mentioned your rehearsals. It may sound weird for some of you but that sentence was a game changer for my progress, in the past whenever I failed to do something I just gave up. In this project whenever I tried one method and failed , I kept telling myself even Kent needed to do rehearsals to figure out the best solution and that kept me going .
So so happy I joined this class!
Quick update - I just re-watched the part where you did the top part of the chest with sharing the data ,and tested it on a new barrel , worked like magic (or black magic as one of the guys called it in one of the posts)
I kept telling myself even Kent needed to do rehearsals to figure out the best solution and that kept me going
avirozenboim I'm glad to hear that helped you 😅 And yes I have to rehearse every tutorial and stream I make. I'm always learning new/better methods as well as making/fixing mistakes. I'd say all 3D artists are the same in that no matter how experienced.
So so happy I joined this class!
Yes!! Me too :)
avirozenboim Hey, you gotta learn to walk before you can run. Or so they say. It's okay if you're focusing more on just how to get something put together. Once you're comfortable with that, you can start pushing the artistic expression. You got this.
Homework Submission- Week 2
I wanted to push myself further and go to in the direction I want to evolve in , imaginary places/fantasy art.
Found this image online (hope I am not breaking any copy writes by using it as a reference) , and immediately I knew , this is me.
Its been heard week for me , working until late nights , after my day job, to catch up with the modelling. but was so fun.
It's not even close to done , but ran out of time (10 to midnight here at the UK)
The barrel is the only object I have UVs on.
reference
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avirozenboim That's a cool reference, in your mind is the barrel section of the house normal sized and the house is very tiny, or is the structure life sized?
@ghujelk Its a real size house , the Barrel-like structure is 3x5 meters which in my mind , is a proper size for a small barn or guests house.
looks very cozy. This little House-barrel remind me on Empy´s Island-Titiwu and the home of the cleanly Wutz.
Or maybe a kind of hobbit home
I like this style.
avirozenboim Nice, it reminded me of these barrel saunas I've seen. Here's a pic:
@ghujelk Yes have seen these exact while researching. Thanks (BTW I just replaced the main image. On my work PC it looked too dark, its annoying that every monitor shows efferent results)
avirozenboim I 100% affirm your aim to evolve your project this way. Evolving creativity is the digital artists' lifeblood!
The model looks good and authentic for the most part. My only note there is to de-straighten some of the straight structural features as the art suggests:
As for the texture, my primary criticism is a lack of detail. If these are meant to be dwellings that humans/hobbits/elves/etc then the model and textures need to have enough detail to support the scale. Currently with the textures being more broad and less detailed, they look like miniatures. The art has a lot more fine detail like wood splits, roof tiles, and moss/grime at the base near the ground.
So it's a B for the lack of detail but I'm bumping it to an A since you're pushing yourself in a great way 👍
Homework Submission- Week 3
Got long way to go with texturing and shading , could not get the the objects to look good , I think I should have kept it simple and not do such a complex scene on my first course , but anyway this is what I got.
I was really disappointed to see that whatever I do , the render is always pixalated when I zoom in :(
Thanks for a wonderful course , learned a ton , especially with modelling .
