How To Use Simple Figures in Blender To Build a Small Town

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Updated on: October 24, 2022

Modeling in Blender is not only about learning the software techniques, but also about creativity and being recursive to capture, in a 3D space, what's in your imagination. You can exploit all your potential without making things too complex or extensive. You can create your kingdom and rule over it like a king out of Game of Thrones. You can do anything you want!... Okay. Perhaps we are going too far. But for now, you can learn how to use simple figures in Blender to build a small town. 

Keep in mind: it isn't necessary to have every single trifle of your town planned, and thank God we have Ctrl + Z to undo anything. You can always create any object you desire and remove what you think doesn’t fit. After all, you are the one who will build it. Or even, why not, 3D-print it as well! 

So, let's start thinking about the objects you want to create: trees, buildings, streets, cars, light posts, rocks, traffic lights, etc. You can make all those elements using basic figures that Blender offers, but you must compose them. 

After opening a blender scene, you need to create a physical terrain. Press Shift + A, select the Mesh Option, and choose the Plane. You can also do this with the base default cube Blender gives you: you can scale it by pressing S and Z (to fix the Z axis) and moving the mouse to adjust it to a proper size that allows you to work. 

Then, move this terrain just above the X axis. Use the Orthographic View to make this visualization more accurate. Now you can work on creating objects.  

Tip: Start with what you think is the biggest thing or what you believe is more significant than other elements, for example, a couple of buildings. 

Due to you working with basic objects, it is not too necessary to worry about creating hollow things. Instead, it is more important to give everything the best external appearance possible.

Let’s continue! Create a cube by pressing Shift + A, select the Mesh option, pick it and scale it by pressing S. Use the Orthographic Mode to make sure the object is on top of the ground you created. Now, the recommendation is to use cubes and scale them to build the doors and window frames. If it becomes a little hard to view what you are editing, don't forget to press the cavity option to visualize it better.

Image 21.1

You can use cylinders and spheres for the door knobs and trees, but do not forget to smooth them to give them a better look. Note that you don’t need to create each object but duplicate it by using Ctrl + D, then scale it by pressing S and rotating them.

Image 21.2

To conclude, this is about what you want to build and how to raise your 3D empire. What's more, if you want to create a castle, you can use cones and cylinders for the external towers. Another example would be if you want to make some rocks, you can use another type of sphere, and if you need to embed something, you can hide things in the terrain created to simulate the inlays. Anyway, your imagination is your limit. Well, maybe you will need some patience and passion too. Good luck!

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Lorena M. Rodas leverages her experience across film, writing, and production to make complex tech concepts accessible through storytelling. With a background spanning sci-fi, AI, and emerging tech, Lorena translates her depth of knowledge into engaging, educational content. She is an expert at decoding high-level topics to reach broad audiences.
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