Unit 2 - Designing and Making : Blender

During the first Lockdown, I started teaching myself how to use Sketch-up because I wanted to learn how to build virtual environments. In the blender tutorials, I noticed there are similarities between the two software in terms of mouse controls and shaping the objects. Overall I found this part of the unit to be very fun and interesting.

The most difficult part of using Blender was learning how to UV un-wrap objects properly. UV un-wrapping means creating an open net for the object. This is to make sure the textures you apply can wrap and stretch around the object properly.

I would often forget to do simple things like making sure the whole object was selected instead of one edge or a few vertices. I made sure to write in my reflective notebook some short cuts and functions to remember

After creating the main objects in class, I made the plate and table in during my winter break. I went back and created new objects that better suited my setting. As previously mentioned I couldn't quite wrap my head around UV unwrapping the ladle, so I set out to create a wooden spoon instead. It is not a replacement ladle but rather just a spoon with a deeper bowl section. I wanted it to look very handmade and primitive. To show this I made sure the handle wasn't too smooth or perfectly flat. There is also an extruded edge where the handle meets the bowl section to show the rough cut edges/ the imperfections that would be present in a hand-carved spoon. The bottom of the bowl section is also not “perfect”, it is rather bumpy.

I recreated the plate as a hand-carved wooden bowl. The rim isn’t smooth, it has dips and bumps to show the uniqueness of a handmade object. This was the first object I successfully UV un-wrapped by myself outside of the class tutorials.

The table was the easiest object to create. All I had to do was insert a plane, extrude the top face, and apply a wood texture. Experimenting with texture was so much fun because I could edit the settings to make the surface look smoother or rougher to suit my needs.

Unfortunately, my laptop was unable to keep up with the final steps. Therefore I could not to render my objects or add enough lighting without it crashing. These images show my attempt at trying to adapt to my situation. I experimented with distance, bulb intensity, and direction.

I could not use the HDRI's suggested by my blender tutor, Molly, so I made a "studio back-drop" to help further reflect the light and hide the gridlines below.

I am rather disappointed I was not able to view my objects in their final form however I am still proud of the images have been able to build. I started this Unit with very little knowledge of building virtual settings and I have been able to learn the basics whilst creating my own unique objects.