Let’s truly explore the power of primitives by modeling an entire temple using primitive functions. To begin, let’s create a column that will be used to create the rest of the temple. Let’s start from the bottom up. Begin by creating a primitive cube. Resize this cube so that it becomes the flattened base of the column. Now copy and paste this flattened cube, and resize the new copy so that it is slightly smaller than the first.

Now, since the column is to be round, let’s create some round sections of the base. The best primitive for this is the cylinder. Create a cylinder and flatten it. Then, copy and paste this cylinder twice, and resize each so that they are progressively smaller in the x and z directions. Now group this base together as a group “Column Base.”

Now, continuing with the Cylinder tool, create another cylinder, and make sure it is long enough to be the entire shaft of the column. Don’t worry about the absolute size of this column shaft; it can always be altered once all the pieces are together. Now, to save time, just select the column base group created earlier, and copy and paste it back into the scene. Rotate the base 180 degrees along its z axis so that it can become the column top or capital. You may wish to rename this new group to “Column Capital.”

Position this new column capital on the top of the column. You could make a multitude of alterations and refinements to this column (e.g., making the top smaller, bottom larger, changing the relative proportions of cylinders to cubes on the top, etc.), but for now, we’ll leave it as is. Be sure now to group the column together into one group called “Column.”

To create the temple, begin by creating 11 copies of this column and spacing them evenly apart to make a row of 12 columns. Make sure that as you position them, that they do not move at all in the y direction. The best way to do this is make sure to position the columns from a top isometric view, and use constrained movement to make sure that the column copies only shift in one direction. Group all of these columns into one group. This allows you to now copy and paste this group to the other side. This saves a lot of time because the columns stay lined up and you only need to place one group of columns rather than 12 individual columns.

Now to create the frieze or triangular region of the roof, simply create a primitive pyramid. Resize the pyramid so that it is equal to the width of the temple, but very shallow. Then, rotate this flattened pyramid so that one edge of the pyramid is flat or perpendicular to the ground. This may seem like an odd thing to do, but once we place the rest of the roof over this pyramid, all we will see is the perpendicular plane.

One important key to 3D is to remember that the actual construction of the objects is less important than what is finally seen. Now, copy and paste this flattened pyramid. Rotate it 180 degrees and position it on the back side of the temple. Group these two frieze sections together and raise them up off the tops of the columns. Now create a cube that goes over the entire tops of the columns and flatten it.

Copy, paste, and resize this cube several times to create a profile. Group these new cubes into a new group called “Ceiling.” Reposition the frieze so that it sits just atop this new ceiling. To finish the top of the temple, we just need to put some slabs across the top of the frieze to create the roof. Again, a flattened cube is the tool of choice. Create and resize a cube so that it becomes the flattened cube. Then copy, paste, and rotate this slab so that it can be the other side of the roof.

The key here is to make sure that the slabs are rotated at the appropriate angle to the slope of the frieze, and that the apex where these two slabs meet is very tidy. If the connection is clean between the slabs, no one will ever know that they are actually two pieces. Repeat this process to create another set of slabs, only a little thicker. For the base of the temple and the stairs, all we will use are primitive cubes.

Create two cubes and resize. The stairs are made of other cubes (five, to be exact) arranged properly. Notice that even though the floor is made of seven different cubes, as long as they are lined up properly so that all of the tops match, the floor appears as one continuous shape. Make a few further fine-tunings by placing some extra pillars in the front and back of the temple, and the temple is done.

Jacob has been writing articles for quite a long time. Come visit his latest website over at http://contactlensesfor-astigmatism.com which helps people find the best Contact Lenses For Astigmatism and information they are looking for.

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Tags: Modeling, Primitives, Temple