For now, I have mainly focused on edge and face modelling, using these aspects of shapes to model and it has worked so far. I have since decided to try vertices modelling, so making a mesh and manipulating the individual vertices of the polygons to emulate the form of the desired shape.

Using techniques previously utilised, I thought what I could make in order to try out this new method of modelling, what has a lot of shape and is almost fluid in its design. As a rower, I thought what could be intricate without being over the top and thought of the rowing oar. These have been refined over generations to become fluid in their design whilst still allowing the athlete to express as much strength as they can through the water.

Croker has become a well-established brand in the rowing scene, making blades for roughly half a century with their products seeing use in the Olympics. The main shaft and handle are fairly straightforward shapes only being cylindrical. The actual spoon of the oar has this fluid design to it to minimise the space it occupies in the air when it’s feathered but maximise the space it occupies when it’s in the water.

For the spoon I began with a cuboid and added the vertices where I saw fit, making a grid pattern on both sides. From here I could begin moulding the vertices to fit the shape of the rowing oar. Seeing as I didn’t have one in front of me for reference, it was quite difficult to get the proportions correct but I’m happy that I have tried this method and happy with the finished results.

Link to the finished product!

Creating what’s around me was getting fairly boring, following Simon Stalenhag’s work, I’ve been considering how I can reinvent things around my room in the style that I want to create. I decided to take the bin that I have in my room and updating it to the future. Because of this, I added all sorts of science fiction clichés, such as indented details, a screen, some buttons and tubes, stuff that can add to the theme without serving any sort of real purpose.

I started with making the bin out of a cylinder, adding the bevelled details to it as I went along. I then considered how the bin could be upgraded to fit tones of the future. As mentioned, buttons, indented lids, screens and some sort of extraction feature all emphasise that this is something taken from the present day and modified to fit a future requirement. This could be something related to processing waste in a more efficient way or a way of measuring a users’ carbon footprint in terms of how much waste they create and how much waste goes to landfill or is incinerated etc.

I used a lot of processes in the creation of this, such as extrusions, bridges, bevelling as well as removing parts of shapes and reforming them to make new solids.

Link to the bin model

Continuing my adventures into desk life, I decided to model my phone. It’s a generic iPhone 6S, looks and handles just like any other. I’m a fan of how it’s all one piece of shape that’s been deconstructed. I took this approach to how I made it in Maya. Starting with a rectangle and slowly carving it down to the shape of the iPhone. Whilst constructing this phone I learnt a little more about techniques I could use with the construction of my assets such as indentations through the use of Booleans > Difference as well as converting a .svg file into a usable 3D model.  I also learnt that different file formats display differently on SketchFab, with some displaying the model how I intended and others giving a weird and jarring appearance. This is slowly changing how I perceive 3D modelling as well as how I approach the construction of 3D assets. I’m hoping that my next model will be something more along the lines of what I’m hoping to do for the project in the sense of it being a reimagined bit of current technology. Following that, I’ll begin my work into texturing and Substance Painter. With both of these next things done, I can start to utilise both together and work on the assets I want to construct for my final project.

Model for iPhone 6S