Sketchbook: BlazefuryX
polygon
Hello everyone, my name is BlazefuryX and I will be sharing daily updates on my modeling journey. I would love to get as many constructive criticisms as possible. I will be working on simple models around me and I hope I can work on something complex later on.
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About 32 days ago I started a personal challenge of 180 days topology improvement. In this 180 days, I will only be working on the topology, there won't be texturing or rendering. So, far I have worked on a chair, a mathematical set and seven days ago I started working on a gaming mouse. Here are some images. If you need more images to give better feedbacks, PLEASE ASK and I will share more.
Hello there! Today marks my first day using this platform, but it's already day 32 of my 180-day topology challenge. I've been making progress on blocking out a mouse model, but I ran into some confusion on how all the pieces would come together. When I shared my wireframes, I received feedback on Discord that the topology needed a lot of work. That's when I decided to seek out more information. About 24 hours ago, I started studying FRANK POLYGON's sketchbook.
Now, I'm back at it and continuing my studies of FRANK POLYGON's sketchbook to improve my understanding of topology.
Today, I had the pleasure of delving into Frank Polygon's sketchbook and discovered a wealth of knowledge on edge extrusion modeling, artificial limitations, and how adjacent geometry can affect the smoothness of models. Frank also shared his wisdom on manual topology routing, revealing that using automatic tools is preferable wherever possible to create usable topology. Inspired by his advice, I turned to Josh Gambrel's video on HardOps (
to learn how to work faster and automate various processes. I applied what I learned and saw a significant improvement in my progress with the topology challenge.
I am always eager to learn and grow as an artist, so please feel free to share any material or links that you believe could be beneficial to my journey. Thank you for your continued support!
Greetings everyone, I hope you're having a great day. Today marks my second day using this platform and also the 33rd day of my 180 days journey to improve my topology skills. To kick-start the day, I resumed studying a video by Josh Gambrell on the use of HardOps and Boxcutter, which I successfully completed. I also watched several other videos on how to merge meshes faster, which I found to be really helpful.
Furthermore, I delved into another video by Ponte ryuurui on the same topic and conducted various tests on HardOps and BoxCutter. Despite experiencing some intense back pain from sitting for long hours and my mouse giving me some trouble, I made a second attempt at modeling my mouse, and included an image below for reference. Though I must confess, it doesn't look as good as I wanted it to be, but I won't give up and will keep trying to improve.
I'll appreciate any feedback you may have on how to further enhance my work. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day ahead!
Hello everyone! It's day 3 since I joined Polycount Sketchbook and day 34 of my 180-day topology improvement journey. I'm determined to take my topology skills to the next level! Today, I started off by writing out a list of 23 things I could do to improve my skills. The first thing I did was reach out to some amazing artists for feedback on how to enhance the topology of my mouse model. I received feedback from one artist who wasreally kind, and I'm grateful for his input.
After taking a break to read some mangas, I resumed my work and made an effort to study the topology of my mouse model. I researched on Sketchfab to study the works of more experienced artists. Later on, I explored structures in Pinterest and attempted to model them. Modeling simple shapes was the highlight of my day, and I learned a lot from it. I've attached some of the images from what I did today. Please feel free to give feedback or share any tips that you think could take my skills to the next level. I hope this post inspires you to work on improving your skills as well
Hello everyone! It's DAY 4 since I joined Polycount Sketchbook and day 35 of my 180-day topology improvement journey. Today was all about connecting with other hard surface modeling artists. I created a Reddit account and reached out to a bunch of them. I also made sure to take care of my back with some targeted workouts, as I've been experiencing some serious upper back pain lately.Even though I only got feedback from a small percentage of the artists I contacted, I'm still grateful for any advice I can get.
On the less productive side, I did spend a few hours indulging in my love for manga, but hey, everyone needs a break sometimes.Back to the hard work, though. I spent several hours watching TOPOTALK by John Dickson and practicing what he was teaching, even though some of it was in Cinema4D. I learned about rotating edges and how to handle edges that don't flow properly, and even got a bit of experience with diamonds. It was so simple and fascinating! This is why I love 3D modeling, it's all about practice and experimentation.
Here's a screenshot of my progress on one of my studies. The plane on the right is more even than the one on the left, which is full of rectangles. I'm slowly gaining confidence and learning what to do when I get back to my mouse model. Feel free to DM me for advice or to share your own tips. Let's keep improving together!
Greetings, fellow 3D and Blender enthusiasts! Today marks day 5 since I joined PolyCount and day 36 of my 180-day journey to improve my topology skills, and I'm happy to report that I'm making steady progress. I received some feedback from other artists yesterday, which taught me some valuable lessons. This journey has made me appreciate real-world objects more, knowing how difficult it can be to create them in 3D.
I spent some time on Sketchfab today, examining models and analyzing their topology. Unfortunately, most of the models were triangulated, so I couldn't learn as much as I hoped. But it did make me wonder why some hard surface models had over 3 million vertices - a far cry from the simplicity I've been taught.
In other news, I finally received the laptop stand I ordered from Aliexpress 20 days ago for a bargain price of 0.47 USD. It's the little things that make me happy!
Later on, I dove back into the TopoTalk series by JOHN DICKINSON, and it was fantastic. I enjoy taking screenshots of the references and attempting to create my own topology before watching the tutor's approach. I find this learning style to be both fun and effective.
That's a wrap for today, folks. Although I didn't accomplish much, I still learned a lot. As always, my DMs are open for tips and advice, and I'm always happy to help fellow 3D and Blender artists. Thanks for taking the time to read this update!
Greetings, fellow 3D artists! Today marks the 6th day since I joined Polycount and the 37th day of my topology improvement journey, and I'm happy to report that I've made some progress. As always, my goal is to level up my topology skills, and today I continued with the John Dickinson topotalk playlist. However, due to the unexpected rain, I had to deal with a power outage which resulted in a low battery. Nevertheless, I persisted and kept working until my battery almost ran out. Check out some of the images below to see what I've been working on.
Since I couldn't continue with the practical exercises, I decided to dive into some theory. I stumbled upon an excellent blog post by Frank Oczus on Artstation (), and I was blown away by how edge flows can affect pinching and smoothing errors. I also learned how little and excess geometry can affect the mesh during subd modeling. Frank is truly a master of hard surface art, and I highly recommend checking out his content if you're interested in learning more.
Even though I'm currently typing this in the dark, I won't let that stop me from pursuing my passion for mastering topology and becoming a better 3D artist. If you have any tips or advice that can help me on my journey, please feel free to share them. I'm grateful for any assistance I can get. Thanks for reading, and keep creating!https://www.artstation.com/frankpolygon/blog
Greetings everyone! It's day 38 of my 180-day journey to improve my topology skills, and I'm excited to share my progress with you. Today, I completed a topotalk video, which taught me that there is something to learn from every shape. I decided to challenge myself by modeling a simple key, which was both frustrating and exhilarating. Despite making mistakes, I kept pushing myself to improve my topology skills, constantly deleting, fixing, and repeating the process.
In addition, I went through some old discord messages to learn from others' topology problems and see how they fixed them. Here's what I was able to create, and although it's not perfect, I'm proud of my progress so far. As always, I welcome any feedback or suggestions that can help me improve my skills. Thanks for reading, and happy modeling!
Hello everyone, welcome to day 39 of my 180-day topology improvement journey! Today, I started my day at 5 AM and downloaded several videos by John Dickinson. He has many HOW TO videos that I believe will help me learn a lot. I watched one of his TopoTalk series videos and gained valuable insights into directing edge flow. Although the video was focused on Cinema 4D, I learned a significant amount about topology.
Later in the day, I attempted to model my gaming mouse again, but I still found it confusing. So, I decided to switch to a different type of mouse. I gathered 20 reference images and began modeling. While I didn't make significant progress, it's still something. I'll keep working at it by trying, deleting, editing, and repeating until I get it right. If you have any tips or advice, please feel free to share. Thanks for reading!
Greetings fellow 3D artists! Today marks day 40 of my 180-day topology improvement journey. I was delighted to wake up to some valuable feedback from other talented artists. Even though I had some setbacks with power and mouse issues, I still managed to make progress in my Blender project. It's ironic that I'm modeling a 3D mouse while my real mouse is acting up, but nothing will stop me from pushing forward! Today, I was able to collect references of mouse wireframes, and my brother is helping me to procure a new mouse. I also made some headway with my mouse model, and most importantly, I gained the insight that no one knows it all, and we're all still learning.
Please take a look at the wireframe image and perspective view of the reference image that I've shared below. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my work and any tips you may have to help me progress further in my journey.
Greetings everyone! Today marks day 41 of my topology improvement journey, and boy was it an interesting one. The weather was gloomy and cold due to the heavy rainfall that persisted throughout the day. But that didn't stop me from resuming work on my mouse model, which I began two days ago. I had originally started working on a more complicated mouse, but it became too overwhelming, so I switched to a simpler model to gain insight and learn new approaches.
Today, I spent several hours doing manual tweaks, even though Frank Oczus warned against it. But I believe that with time, I'll discover faster approaches and automate some of the processes. I also watched some videos on modeling a mouse and received some valuable feedback from my friend, Gallus.
Check out the image of my progress below, and feel free to give your honest opinion and feedback. I will be working on it again tomorrow to make it even better. Thanks for reading!
Hello fellow 3D artists! Today marks day 42 of my 180-day journey to improve my topology skills. Today, I tackled three tasks that I'm excited to share with you all.
Firstly, I had the opportunity to explore the DIGITAL ART LIVE platform. I joined it just yesterday, so I spent 1-2 hours familiarizing myself with the platform and all the amazing opportunities it has to offer.
Next, I focused on improving my skills based on the feedback I received from Gallus. He introduced me to the Laplace smooth modifier, which was completely new to me. I spent some time studying it and found it to be a valuable tool in my topology arsenal.
Lastly, I spent most of my time in the Blender viewport, trying to solve a pesky issue with my model. The side view had a concave look that just wasn't right. I spent hours scouring old messages on two different Blender Discord servers and watched multiple videos on modeling a mouse, but to no avail.
I believe the problem stems from a lack of understanding of the form and function of the model. That's where you all come in! I'm attaching an image of my model and would greatly appreciate any feedback or advice you have on how to make it better.
Let's keep pushing ourselves to improve our skills and create amazing art together!
Hey guys, it's day 43 of my 180-day challenge to improve my 3D modeling skills, and I've got some exciting news to share with you! Today, I got a brand new mouse and it's amazing how much of a difference it made in my workflow. Sadly, my old mouse decided to stop working while I was in the middle of a project, but the new one came just in time to save the day.
To improve my mouse modeling skills, I spent several hours scouring the internet for pictures of different types of mice, and even took some time to sketch them out on paper. With all that knowledge under my belt, I put my skills to the test and spent the rest of the day working on remodeling my mouse from scratch. Starting with just a simple plane, I worked hard to make it look even better than my previous attempt. It's not perfect yet, but it's definitely progress.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my progress so far and any tips or advice you might have for me. Thanks for all your support, and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!
John DIckinson's Discord channel: https://discord.com/invite/CSrkXt4CXS
Hey there, it's day 48 of my 180 Day Topology Improvement Journey! Today, I continued working on my mouse model and made some much-needed improvements. I also reached out to the community on various social media platforms to get their input on how to tackle a particular challenge. It's always great to hear different perspectives and approaches from fellow artists!
One thing that has really helped me along the way is the APPEND tool in Blender. This nifty function allows you to easily import data from other blend-files into your current project. This can save a lot of time and effort, especially if you're reusing objects or assets that you've created or downloaded from other sources.
To use the append function, simply go to File > Append and select the blend-file that contains the data you want to import. From there, you can choose the specific data-blocks you want to bring into your project. It's a powerful tool that can really streamline your workflow and improve your efficiency.
Thanks for joining me on this journey, and I hope this information helps you as much as it's helped me. Keep creating, and don't forget to share your progress with the community!
Hey there, fellow artists! We've reached day 49 of my incredible 180 Day Topology Improvement Journey. Today, I dived right back into my mouse model and dedicated several hours to honing my craft. But hey, a little break for some learning never hurts, right?
I stumbled upon an enlightening tutorial by the talented John Dickinson, all about the art of crafting a door knob. And guess what? It made me realize a potential blunder I've been making all along. Brace yourselves, folks, because here's the scoop: I shouldn't have applied the subdivision at the plane stage of my model. Yep, that's a big oopsie on my part. I got carried away and started beveling those edges while it was still a plain ol' plane. Silly me!
But fear not, my friends, for I have rectified my mistake! I've corrected the error and boy, oh boy, do I feel like I'm truly making progress. It's a journey that requires time and dedication, but the sense of accomplishment is oh-so-sweet. Feast your eyes upon the current state of my masterpiece. Oh, and I also captured some up-close shots of those intriguing holes. Gotta appreciate the details, right?
Your support means the world to me, my wonderful Polycount Sketchbook community. Keep those encouraging vibes coming, and together, we'll conquer the realm of 3D art!
Hello everyone, it's day 51 of my 180 Day Topology Improvement Journey, and I had an epiphany. I realized that I've been relying too heavily on blueprints and it's stunting my growth as a 3D modeler. So, I decided to challenge myself today and model something from my mom's room - a simple honey container. While the basic shape was easy enough to create, I struggled with the intricate thread pattern. Fortunately, I had previously saved some YouTube tutorials on how to model screws using the screw modifier. I applied this technique and was able to successfully create the thread pattern.
If you're a 3D modeler looking to improve your skills, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. It may take some trial and error, but that's how you grow and develop your skills. Keep pushing yourself, and who knows what you might be able to create next!
UPDATE: I've received some feedback from various platforms regarding a common problem that can occur while using Blender. It's highly recommended that you set your save versions to 1 or 2 and never turn off the feature completely (by using 0).
Greetings, fellow Polycounters! It's Day 57 of my epic 180-Day Topology journey, and things are getting iron-hot! I've dived headfirst into exploring ideas for my iron model, but this time, I'm steering clear of a pesky mistake that caused me heaps of trouble in the past. The key to success? Studying, studying, and more studying! I'll be immersing myself in references, crafting a crystal-clear mental image of the form I aim to achieve.
And guess what? I've learned my lesson the hard way—no more adding those holding edges prematurely while still in the 2D stage. Can you believe I used to do that? 😅 But fear not, my fellow sculptors, for growth comes from acknowledging our mistakes and pushing forward with newfound wisdom. Join me on this adventure as we conquer the challenges of topology, one model at a time! Stay tuned for more updates and let's keep those creative sparks flying! 💪🔥
Hey there, fellow artists! It's Day 59 of my 180-Day Topology Improvement Journey, and today I dived back into my iron model. But guess what? I wasn't feeling the previous approach, so I decided to start from scratch. Yeah, sometimes you just gotta hit that reset button, you know? The result? Well, it's not exactly what I hoped for, but hey, that's part of the process. I'm not giving up! I dedicated several hours to this, and I'm determined to turn it into a masterpiece. Take a look at the image of my progress, and I'm all ears for your valuable feedback and suggestions on how to take it up a notch. Remember, it's all about the journey, folks. Keep creating, keep improving!
