Asset Pack – Modelling a Bridge

For the last basic workshop in Maya the class and i was asked to model a bridge using the skills  i had already acquired from the basic column and archway workshops along with using a new tool, create polygon. In this post I will be documenting the process of creating the wall as well as what I found easy or difficult and any issues I encountered while modelling the bridge. Unfortunately i wasn’t able to record footage so i have had to lend images off my class mate.

Here’s proof of access to her images.

Before I began modelling the bridge I first had to download a reference image to use for my model and import it into the image plane. Then I began modelling a column using the same methods as the previous modelling workshops, however, this time I added more detail and paid more attention to the front and back faces of the pillar using the edge loops tool. In the edge loop options I adjusted the settings so that when I create a vertical edge loop it automatically creates 4 of them that are equal widths apart. I then repeated this to add 4 horizontal edge loops.

Now that I had the right amount of edge loops on my pillar I entered edge mode and selected the two centre vertical loops and adjusted their position using the resize tool to make the space between them greater than what it is now. I then did the same thing with the outer two horizontal loops.`

Then I selected the top and bottom edges that were in between the two centre vertical loops and resized them so that it created this wave shape at the top and bottom of the pillar.

 

Then by creating multiple extrusions inwards I was able to replicate the detail seen on the pillars in the reference image.

I found this bit to be quite difficult as it was pretty hard to try and create the same look as the reference image, I also had trouble with figuring out how many extrusions to create in order to do so.

With the column complete I created a incremented save and then duplicated my column and placed the first column at +4 on the x axis and the duplication at -4 so that they were an equal distance apart.

To create the archway between the two pillars I was taught a new method to use that was different than the one I had used in the archway modelling workshop. First I placed a cube in the centre of the two pillars and then scaled it up so that the left end of the cube was directly in the centre of the left hand pillar and right end was directly centre of the right hand pillar.