Okay, so I finally tackled that “paladin yacht” project I’ve been putting off. Let me walk you through the whole messy process.
First off, I spent way too much time just staring at the blank screen, trying to figure out where to even begin. I knew I wanted to create something cool, something that looked like a futuristic, luxurious yacht. But the details? Totally hazy.
So, I started by just grabbing a bunch of reference images. I’m talking yachts, spaceships, sci-fi concepts, anything that even vaguely resembled what I had in mind. Pinterest became my best friend for a few hours. Then, I started sketching – just really rough stuff, trying to nail down the overall shape and proportions. Think super basic thumbnails.
Next, I jumped into Blender. Yeah, I know, my 3D skills are still kinda rusty. I started blocking out the main hull shape with a simple cube, then just started extruding and scaling faces until I had something that resembled a yacht. It was ugly, real ugly, but it was a start. I focused on getting the silhouette right first.
The devil’s in the details, right? That’s where things got tricky. I spent a ridiculous amount of time just fiddling with curves and surfaces, trying to get that sleek, modern look. I added some basic windows, a couple of decks, and a rudimentary cockpit area. I tried to keep it relatively low-poly, knowing I’d be adding more details later.
Then came the fun part – adding the “paladin” flair. I wanted it to feel powerful and imposing. I added some sharp angles, some armored-looking plating, and a few glowing accents. Think something that could cruise the Mediterranean by day and fend off space pirates by night. Over the top? Maybe. But hey, it’s my yacht!
Texturing was a whole other beast. I messed around with different materials – metal, glass, carbon fiber – trying to find the right balance. I ended up using a lot of procedural textures, which saved me a ton of time. The trick was to make it look realistic without being overly detailed. I definitely watched a few too many YouTube tutorials on PBR materials.
Lighting was crucial. I wanted to create a dramatic, moody atmosphere. I played around with different light setups – spotlights, ambient lights, emissive materials – until I got something that felt right. A little bit of fog and some subtle bloom effects helped to sell the sci-fi vibe.
Finally, I rendered out a few images and did some post-processing in Photoshop. A little bit of color correction, some sharpening, and a few extra details here and there. And there it was – my paladin yacht! It’s not perfect, not by a long shot. But it’s a huge step up from where I started, and I learned a ton along the way.
Would I do anything differently next time? Absolutely. I’d probably spend more time planning and sketching before jumping into Blender. And I definitely need to practice my texturing skills. But overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Now, what should I build next?
