User blog:Jeyo/Reignition

So as everyone active here knows, I once started on a model called the X-Pack. It was my first complex Lego model. I modeled the bricks and assembled the bricks in blender. Everyone thought it looked great. Even I thought it looked great. With my ability to model any standard brick from a single 1x1 and then assemble them in a precise, accurate way, I would have been able to do almost anything in regards to making worlds. But as time went on, there were two small but glaring problems that were constantly nagging me. Because of those issues, I realized the more I contnued with the X-Pack and all the bricks, the more work I was creating for myself later. And yet I didn't have a solution. HOW do I make the perfect brick? The perfect minifigure? I didn't know, and so I slowed down and eventually stopped.
 * 1) My model was composed of bricks I had made from a 1x1. That 1x1 I had traced from a diagram/blueprint/thing. And while I had traced it to the best of my ability, the brick that came out of it was not completely accurate. That didn't sit well with a perfectionist like me.
 * 2) My bricks and models were made by me, from some diagram. They were not made from the same diagram as Allen's minifigure. Therefore, the proportions of my model and the minifigure of our game did not match. They were not fully compatible. Again, that really got to me.

But just the other day, I had a blinding cognition. I found out how to do it! SNOT is the answer. For those of you who don't know, SNOT is a building technique - Studs Not on Top. One of the most basic rules of SNOT is that five stacked plates laying down are equal to the length of a studs-up 1x2 brick. And because the top of a 1x1 bric is a square, all one has to do in Blender is make two cubes and attach them, delete the loop cut in the middle, then make four loop cuts to divide your rectangular prism into 5 segments - the five plate length. Then delete two of these segments and flip the thing so it's studs-up. And there you go, your perfect brick! Even devided into three plates for you! I've included some diagrams and pictures below to better illustrate this.

So now I can start over! I can make perfectly accurate bricks in Blender! I can help again-- or could, if the computer with Blender on it hadn't died. So you can say I've been reignited, but with that spark of ignition stuck in a container, unable to do anything. I don't have Blender anymore, but you do. BFN, Allen, Mvp - use this.

=Update 1 - October 11, 2014= Upon a request from Zax, here is the formula for making a 2x2 round brick. Keep in mind I calculate these on the spot, and with only real bricks and previous measurements to go on: I no longer have Blender.

NOTE: MOST OF THIS IS BEST DONE FROM A TOP VIEW.

So to make a 2x2 round, you must first have mastered the steps listed above. Use them to create a normal, square 2x2. Next you'll want to make it cylindrical. Your first step is to SUBDIVIDE THE OUTER EDGES OF THE TOP FACE. You should now have 8 vertices on the perimeter of your 2x2. 1 making up each corner, and 1 in the middle of each edge. (Gosh, this is hard to explain without images from Blender.)

Next - create a circle and place it over your 2x2. Over, but ABOVE. KEEP THE CIRCLE SEPARATE FROM YOUR 2X2. Scale it so the "quarter vertices" (the four verts that, if lines were drawn between them, would divide the circle into quarters) are directly over the vertices you created in the edges of the 2x2. The way you do this is by using the "snap" mechanism - a small red madnet icon near the bottom tools panel. Lean about that here if you are unfamiliar with it.

Once everything is lined up and scaled properly, extrude the circle downard. Extrude it to BELOW THE BOTTOM OF YOUR 2X2 BRICK. If all this was done properly, when you zoom out and view your 2x2 brick + cylinder from an angle, you will see the corners and a sliver of each stud sticking out through the cylinder. This is exactly what we want.

Then MAKE THE CYLINDER A SEPARATE OBJECT ENTIRELY FROM YOUR 2X2 BRICK. What we are doing is  setting things up to use the Boolean modifier. Lean about the Boolean modifier here and practice with its different settings, because it is essential for making this brick.

Use the Boolean modifier to cut off those corners and stud slivers. Delete the cylinder and the cut off pieces, and your 2x2 should now be round. In additon, THE STUDS SHOULD NOW HAVE THE OUTER EDGES SHAVED OFF. If you look at a round 2x2 in real life, you will see this is entirely accurate. Now, because the Boolean modifier can sometimes be screwy, you'll need to remove doubles and the weird triangular faces it creates. Do an inspection for irregular shapes and such. Once everything is fine, you may continue.

Now we must create the notches at the bottom of the brick. So use the Boolean modifier again. Create a 2x2 plate, attach it to the bottom of your brick just as you would put two bricks together (BUT DO NOT "ATTACH" IT BY MERGING THE VERTICES) and then make it a separate object. Use the Boolean modifier to make this plate plate CARVE THE NOTCHES FOR STUDS INTO YOUR 2X2 ROUND BRICK. Then delete the plate you used.

If you have done everything correctly, your brick should now look like this. The hole in the center is a calculation for another day (unless you really need itnow). If you have any questions, feel free to ask!