We will begin building our crate with the primitive object that is closest to the finished shape we want. In this case, the default cube we start with works great. So what is a primitive and why do we start with one? Primitive shapes are your basic shapes, in the case of Blender: plane, cube, circle, sphere, cylinder, cone, and torus. We start with these shapes since they are the basic building blocks of all we see. Traditional artists start with these when they draw as well. If you take a look outside, you can see these shapes: poles are cylinders, buildings are cubes, and so on. That is also the reason why Unreal gives us a Shapes folder full of primitives to block out our levels with.
One of the easiest 3D modeling techniques to learn is Polygon modeling, or simply, poly modeling. It involves manipulating the vertices, edges, and polygons that make up a primitive shape to create something greater. Poly modeling uses the following tools:
The Tools panel
Extrude: This tool allows you to push a polygon in or pull it out and is very useful in creating new portions of an object:
Using the Extrude tool
Inset Faces: Inset is useful for creating details within an object, such as creating windows or doors on a building:
Insetting a face
Loop Cut and Slide: Another tool for adding detail, it cuts new edge loops into your object. The number of edge loops to be added can be adjusted by using the mouse wheel:
Loop Cut and Slide is a great way to add additional detail to an asset
The other tools in the palette are situational, but there is one more I would like to talk about that is not in this menu.
Bevel: Found in the specials menu (press W), the Bevel tool allows you to round an edge off. The number of additional edges to add can be adjusted by using the mouse wheel:
Bevel can create a rounded corner with ease
Time to start transforming our cube into something worthy of our level. The first thing we need to do is get the basic shape of our crate down:
- Select the cube and press the Tab key. This will switch you from Object mode to Edit mode. Object mode is used for adding new objects to your scene and arranging those objects using the move, rotate, and scale tools. Edit mode allows you to manipulate the vertices, edges, and polygons of the object you had selected when you switched modes:
The selection mode buttons
- Switch to polygon selection. The selection mode buttons can be found along the bottom of the 3D window:
Insetting the face that will be the top of our crate
- Select the top poly and press I to use the Inset tool. Inset the polygon to create the frame shape, like we have in our sketch. You can also type in a value (I used
0.177) and press Enter. - Press E to use the Extrude tool. Push the polygon in to give the crate top a good edge.
- We are going to Inset again. Inset the polygon again to create the space for our control box. I used
0.523as my value. Now extrude the small polygon up to create the control box:
Creating more detail with Loop Cut and Slide
- Now we need to cut the line to create the seam where the top fits on to the crate. Click the Loop Cut and Slide tool from the menu on the left or press Ctrl+R. Move the mouse over the crate until you have one purple line cutting horizontally across the lower section. Click LMB, this will turn the line orange and allow you to slide it up and down along the crate. Click again when it is in the location we want.
- Split this new line with the Bevel tool. Press W and select Bevel. I split mine by
0.05:
Creating our lid seam using the Scale tool
- One more step for the lid: select the four polygons around the outside of the lid (hold the Shift key to select multiple polygons) and scale them down a little by pressing S to use the Scale tool.
- Next we will add the detailing along the sides. Along the Y axis (the green axis), we are going to use the Loop Cut and Slide tool and cut four lines vertically around our object.
- Move the mouse to get the purple guidelines going vertically along our crate and then use the mouse wheel until we have four lines. Click the mouse to cut the lines and then click it again without moving the mouse to keep them centered:
Extruding polygons to add some raised areas to the crate along the sides
- Now we are going to select a few of our new polygons to create the bands along the sides of our box. Extrude those using the Extrude Individual tool and pull them out to a good size. Also Extrude the runners for the bottom of the box by pulling out the two outside polygons and the middle polygon:
Creating the latch
- Let's add the latch. Add a horizontal edge loop around our crate using Loop Cut and Slide. Then add two vertical edge loops to the front of the crate:
Finishing the latch
- Finishing the latch is a two-step Extrude process. Select the three polygons shown and Extrude them out. Then select the two on the top of the latch and Extrude those:
Using the Mirror modifier to create symmetry
- Now to make sure everything is even, we will use a Mirror modifier. Cut our object in half by using Loop Cut and Slide to cut a vertical line from front to back. Next, press B to do a window selection and select half of the crate. Press the Delete key and select Faces to delete half of the crate.
- Lastly, add the Mirror modifier by clicking the wrench icon in the Properties pane to open up the Modifier menu. Click the Add Modifier dropdown and select Mirror. Manipulate the settings until you have successfully made our object whole again. Once everything is set, go back to Object mode and click Apply in the Modifier menu. Modifiers cannot be added in Edit mode. Finished! Not bad for our first prop. It looks like it could fit just about anything, from food to horribly mutated genetic monsters that hunt you in the dark.