I'll be using this thread to share the content I produce while attending CORE | Fundamentals of 3D Mesh Modeling in Blender.
The project is here; use that link to visit the project's web page here at CG Cookie to see the content rendered in Full HD and to inspect the models for critique. I'd appreciate help identifying any weakness(es) in my skill set, if you find them.
Following along with the course as instructed, here is the content produced during the first lesson:
03 | Modeling a Snowman with Primitives
I just got rocking and rolling on the final lesson of CORE | Fundamentals of 3D Mesh Modeling in Blender and I wanted some feedback with respect to my workflow patterns. The video is a little long, but any input is appreciated.
01 | Blockout the Primary Structural Components; i.e, Floor, Walls, Ceiling, and Stairs
Hi Derek,
Okay, I watched the video and I think you cannot really be too organized, You are doing really well, but you might be a bit more efficient in your Naming Convention...The main thing is to be consistent, so you're good there, but maybe leave the word Object out, it's a bit superfluous (leaving it out'll reduce your typing and it will also be easier to read for others) and if you make a Blockout Collection, you can get rid of the word blockout in each blockout Object...Also the word Collection in each Collection is overdoing it a bit in my opinion; it is completely obvious that they are Collections, without the word in the name (I myself write the names of Collections (apart from the Scene Collection, that can't be re-named) in all caps, but that is just a personal preference).
So, here's an example of what I would do:
Doesn't mean you'll have to do it this way, of course.
Absolutely. The organizational aspect of working in Blender has been the topic of a few sleepless nights, for me, haha. I suppose everybody is going to have their own preferences for naming, so maybe I am approaching this topic the wrong way by asking "Is this right, or is this wrong?" or "How would you approach this?" Instead, maybe I should be asking...
"What are the guidelines to establishing a good naming convention?"
You already mentioned the most important aspect, which is consistency, but do you have any other insight on how I might define a unique naming convention, or can anyone point me in the direction of a decent article that's been written about it?
edit:
Oh, yeah. I also wanted to ask you...why do you name your collections in all caps?
edit again:
I also think you're onto something by establishing collections based on the workflow itself, such as naming one of the collections "Blocking Collection". An obvious follow up to that would then be the "Modeling Collection".
P.S. The collection coloring tip is a total triumph; something that's definitely worth utilizing as the scene gets more complex.
Okay,
There are no hard rules to a a good naming convention apart from being consistent...and even then, you can change your naming convention along the way, when something works better for you and/or people you work with. But try to be consistent (at least within a project!).
The Capitalization of Collections is very personal, I also try to use all lower case for Materials, so i can have something like this for instance:
This makes sense to me, so it's a good convention for me.
Make as many (nested) Collections as you want/need! They are a great way of organizing your scenes.
You'll develop your namings as you go, but you're off to a great start! You're not doing anything wrong!
And yes, the Collection Colors are fantastic; I should use them more often!
Yeah just to add a little bit to what Martin said, Kent and Wayne always shortens the names of the types. So if it's a mesh object, they call it with the prefix of OBJ or a widget object its WGT, that way in the Outliner it's easy to know what object type things are. No need to call things with super long names.