01. Overview

This project, created in Blender, is a recreation of 'Officer K's Spinner' from the film Blade Runner 2049. Though this was not my first time hard surface modeling, this had been my first attempt at modeling something only from reference images and without guided instruction. The project as a whole took roughly four weeks to complete, with about three weeks dedicated to modeling the vehicle, and one week spent on texturing and rendering the final images.

02. Skills Used

I first utilized my modeling skills to create an untextured model of the Spinner and a basic environment. I then made use of my texturing skills to create unique procedural materials for the body of the vehicle, glass windows, and tires of the vehicle. Finally, I used my composition skills to render several images of the vehicle with appropriate lighting and framing.

03. Outcomes

For this project, I learned how to make use of subdivision modeling to maintain a beveled look to the mesh without having to manually bevel edges. While I was not intending to use this model for animation or game development—I did not worry about maintaining a low polygon count—I soon discovered that the high polygon count and numerous subdivisions made manipulations to the mesh rather difficult. Adding to this was my decision to use a plane mesh coupled with a solidify modifier to create a custom shape, which proved to be another very difficult challenge to navigate. This meant that many other modifiers, especially boolean modifications to the mesh, often altered the mesh dramatically and created severe visual artifacting at the site of the modification; a problem that was only overcome by painstakingly redoing parts of the mesh after the application of modifiers. I also learned that procedural materials, though convenient and easy to work with, are very computationally expensive, especially when the mesh contains a very high polygon count. Fortunately, my model contained many [unapplied] subdivisions, which allowed me to manipulate the number of polygons and lessen the computational load on my GPU when using the Cycles render engine. Though, I did find, frustratingly, that Blender crashed many times whilst in the viewport when the Cycles render engine was in effect and procedural materials were applied.

04. Reflection

When compared to the other projects I have completed in Blender, this stands out as the most challenging, and conversely, the most instructive. Because I could not rely on guided instruction as with prior projects, I had to explore and discover ways to overcome the challenges I encountered throughout the modeling, texturing, and rendering processes. In the end, I am glad to have navigated the challenges I faced in completing this project, and cannot wait to apply the knowledge I gained to future projects.