Topic: Making rocks, caves and other natural structures

[kat]

Modelling a rock outcrop in Blender (time-lapse)

Shown above, a rock outcrop is made from a cube primitive in Blender for use with BSP/*.map style objects. Once a section of level has been blocked out (detailed to a minimal level) using mesh primitives (which are to be exported as brush volumes from Blender), a Cube primitive is added to the scene and positioned relative to the area that needs to be filled. It's shape is initially changed so it fits within the confines of the level and then in Edit Mode a series of horizontal and vertical loop-cuts are added ("Ctrl+P") so basic shaping can begin, largely using edge and vertex manipulation. As more structural detail is needed, additional loops are added, or specific edge selections are subdivided (click "Subdivide" in the Tool Shelf). It's then just a question of pushing and pulling elements to arrive at a pleasing shape (which is then assigned a temporary UV map and texture).

Additional Resources
 - Long (real-time) version of the above (no audio)

[kat]

Making a rock/cave passage between areas (time-lapse)

For BSP/*.map based modelling make sure the passage between areas is hulled with brushes (or mesh primitives that will export as such). Duplicate ("Shift+D") the inside faces of this hull and detach it as a separate object ("P"). Use the hull as a guide, an outer boundary, and start by adding a number of horizontal and vertical loop-cuts ("Ctrl+R") so basic shapes can be formed, working around any architectural features (steps shown above). Add more loops or select edges and subdivide (use the "Subdivide" Tool Shelf button not the "Subdivision Surface" modifier) to increase detail in specific areas.

Additional Resources
 - Long (real-time) version of the above (no narration)

[ratty redemption]

i missed this topic when you posted it, which is odd as i have notify for the forum section it's in. anyway, i'd really like to see more of these if you can record them in the future. also yt's feature of slowing down the video to 0.5 or 0.25 speed is helpful with these time lapses, when studying certain parts of the video.

[kat]

The 'real-time' versions are linked in each post... added them just so they'd be available but mentioning the slowing-down thing they might be more useful - the time-lapsed versions are produced by basically clipping frames to reduce their numbers so actions might be missing as a result. And yep will be releasing more as that particular project progresses.

[ratty redemption]

cool, so the real time videos would be better for slowing down even further or speeding up if need be.

and i'll look forward to seeing more of that map of yours.