Modeling Fundamentals
Introduction
You've learned to navigate Blender, read perspective, and document your work. Now you build. But "building" in an investigation is not the same as building in film or games. A cinematic model only needs to look right from the angles it's filmed from. An investigative model needs to measure right from every angle — because the whole point is that it can be checked.
This module covers the modeling workflow and the core techniques you'll rely on. It's a survey, not an exhaustive tutorial — the deep detail lives on the reference pages, and you'll return to them as your cases demand.
The Investigator's Modeling Workflow
Most reconstruction modeling follows the same arc:
- Reference first — import your source (photo, scan, measurement) before you model. The reference drives the model, never the reverse.
- Establish scale and origin — set a known distance and a known floor. Without scale, your model is a toy; with it, it's evidence.
- Block out the large forms — get the big shapes and proportions right before any detail.
- Add detail where it matters — detail is expensive (in time and in error). Spend it where it affects the conclusion.
- Verify against the source — check your model against the reference from the same viewpoints.
The Key Techniques
| Technique | What it's for | Reference page |
|---|---|---|
| Reference modeling | Modeling a clean, editable mesh from a photo or scan | Reference Modeling |
| Direct modeling | The core vertex/edge/face operations (extrude, bevel, inset, …) | Direct Modeling |
| Boolean modeling | Cutting and combining shapes (doorways, intersections) | Boolean Modeling |
| Precision modeling | Hitting exact dimensions from measurements | Precision Modeling |
| Mesh repair | Fixing broken geometry from scans or imports | Mesh Repair |
Note the pattern: strategy (how to approach the problem) vs. technique (a specific operation). Reference modeling is a strategy; extruding a wall is a technique. Keep those two levels distinct and you'll never get lost.
Destructive vs. Non-Destructive
A critical habit: keep your work reversible. Use modifiers, keep original objects, and avoid baking in changes you can't undo. In an investigation you will be asked to change an assumption — a wall that was 3m might be 2.7m. If your model is built non-destructively, that's a one-number edit. If it's baked, it's a rebuild.
Exercise
Model a simple room from a photo (a corner with two walls and a floor is enough):
- Put the photo behind a camera in Blender (as a background image) and match the camera to it.
- Block out the two walls and the floor as three planes/cubes, using the perspective to get proportions right.
- Set a known scale: assume one wall is, say, 3m tall, and scale accordingly.
- Add one doorway using a boolean cut.
- In your decision log, record the scale assumption and the wall dimensions you used.
The goal is a clean, scaled, editable room — not a beautiful one.
Resources
Core Reading
- Modeling Workflows — the standard approach
- Managing Complexity — keeping scenes tractable
- Destructive vs. Non-Destructive — keeping work reversible
- Modeling Phases — block-out to detail
Key Techniques
- Reference Modeling — model from a source, not from scratch
- Direct Modeling — the core operations
- Boolean Modeling — cutting and combining
- Precision Modeling — hitting exact dimensions
- Mesh Repair — fixing broken geometry
- Evaluating Mesh Quality — judging whether a mesh is usable