Island

CC-BY B3D101
In this tutorial you will learn how to model an island.
  • Watch the video or,

  • Follow the step by step instructions below.

Viewport shading

Enable the Rendered mode in Viewport Shading in the upper-right corner.

../../_images/blender-viewport-shading-menuitem-28.jpg

Basic shape of an island

We’ll use a plane to create the island.

  • Remove the cube.

  • Add a plane.

  • Make the plane 10 times bigger using shortcut S+10.

  • Go to Edit mode.

  • Go to Edge select.

  • Select Edge -> Subdivide.

  • Set the Number of Cuts to 15 in the Subdivide menu.

    ../../_images/blender-subdivide-menu-28.jpg
  • Select the inner set of 12 x 12 vertices and faces.

  • Enable Proportional Editing.

    ../../_images/blender-proportional-editing-28.jpg
  • Move the set of 12 x 12 faces up. Use proportional editing to make it look smoother.

  • Select the inner set of 7 x 7 vertices and faces.

  • Move the set of 7 x 7 faces up. Use proportional editing to make it look smoother.

Color the island

  • Go to Object mode.

  • Go to the Material tab.

  • Add a new material.

  • Select a base color for the island.

  • Give the color a name.

Add a green color for grass.

  • Go to Edit mode.

  • Go to Face select.

  • Select some faces that you want to give a green color.

  • Go to the Material tab.

  • Add a new material.

  • Select a green color and give it a name.

  • Assign the color to the selected faces by pressing ASSIGN.

Water

To add water we start with a plane.

  • Go to Object mode.

  • Add a plane.

  • Make it very big.

  • Put the plane just underneath the island.

  • Go to Edit mode.

  • Go to Edge select.

  • Select Edge -> Subdivide.

  • Set the Number of Cuts to 10 or 20 in the Subdivide menu.

  • Set the Fractal to 0.12.

Play around with the Number of Cuts and the Fractal to get a nice wave effect.

Color the water

  • Go to Object mode.

  • Go to the Material tab.

  • Add a new material.

  • Select a base color for the water.

  • Give the color a name.

Rocks and palmtrees

  • Watch the video or,

  • Follow the step by step instructions below.

Join the palm tree

In a previous tutorial you created a palm tree. Join the tree trunk and all palm leaves into a single object.

  • Go to the Palm Tree.

  • Select the tree trunk and palm leaves.

  • Press CTRL+J to create a single object.

Append the palm tree

Back to your island. We append the palm tree as a single object.

  • Back to the island.

  • Select File -> Append and navigate to your palm tree blend file.

  • Click on the blend file and select Object and then your palm tree object.

With Append Blender makes a copy of the palm tree to the island blend file.

  • Place your palm tree properly. You might have to resize it.

  • Duplicate the tree using SHIFT+D.

  • Create as many trees as you like.

Rocks

Let’s add some rocks.

  • Add an Ico sphere.

  • Make the Ico sphere bigger.

  • Go to Edit mode.

  • Go to Vertex select.

  • Select some vertices.

  • Pull them out.

  • Use Proportional Editing.

  • Continue moving vertices and create a rock-like shape.

  • Duplicate your rock using SHIFT+D.

  • Put the duplicated rock somewhere on the island.

  • Create more duplications of your rock.

  • Resize the rock to create smaller or larger rocks.

Color the rocks

  • Select a rock.

  • Give it a dark grey color.

  • Select another rock.

  • Give it a light grey color.

  • Give your rocks a dark grey or a light grey color.

../../_images/island-render.jpg