3d Modelling: The Prison Buildings

The Prison Model

So here it is from the top view. 

I underestimated the difficulty of modelling this. I used the spline method with snap to vertex to ensure everything was to the same measurements as on AutoCAD but unfortunately I kept running into pitfalls. An example of this is when I used one spline for pretty much the entire main building but when I extruded the line the polygons and lines didn't behave as I thought they would. It was going to be to difficult and time-consuming to fix so I just started again.

In the end I used the same method but did each section with a different line, then extruded them straight after to make sure it was working before I moved to the next section, which is why all the areas are different colours.

To get a better idea of how everything comes together here are the buildings from a different angle.

The Living Quarters

This is for the members of staff to stay, there are 5 of these buildings. Each have 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a dining area.

My first thought for this was army barracks but I wanted them to seem luxurious to contrast with the inmates living conditions. 

The Cell Block

The cell block you see on the left has 10 cells along one wall then 5 along the adjacent walls.

These are the 2nd grade cells so are 1.8 m by 1.5 m by 1.8 m.

There will be a staircase in the centre to get to the 1st grade cells, which will be directly above.

The Offices and The Infirmary

The room on the right of the image is the infirmary. The small room on the left is the office for the head scientist, the bigger room around it will include desks for the other scientists and staff members. 

The Reception, The Mess Hall and The Staff Room

The title for this image shows the order from left to right what all the rooms are.
Part of the reception wall is connected to the cell block element at the moment which is why the gap is really big at the top of the image. 

Final Thoughts

I found it challenging working with such a large scale model, when moving the view around to see certain sections I could really feel the difference in comparison to other modelling I have done. Even though it was difficult and was frustrating at times I stuck with it because getting all the measurements exact is very important to me. 
I was worried that if I scaled the building down to make it easier to work on then scaled it back up when I was finished I may end up with more problems; so for now I will continue to work on it with the real-life measurements I decided on when working in AutoCAD.

Thanks for reading. X

AutoCAD: Prison Layout - Ground Floor

AutoCAD is Amazing

I've spent the past few days trying to properly layout the prison using old fashioned pen and paper and Photoshop but it wasn't going according to plan. I wanted to put exact measurements, down to the wall thickness, but Photoshop wasn't efficient for this because it isn't what it's designed for. Then I found AutoCAD from Autodesk! It took me most of today to get to grips with it but I finally produced what you see below. Once you know how to use the tools you need it becomes fairly easy. 

The Layout

So here is a very zoomed out version of the layout so you can see everything.

Once I have completed this blueprint I will import it into 3ds Max and it will make life so much easier modelling the building itself.

The Prison

So here we have the layout of the prison building, Cell Blocks on either side (10 on each), Mess Hall, Reception Area, Infirmary, Office Area and the Head Scientist's Office.

The lines that aren't connected, in the reception area, represent the stair case to the underground.

The Staff Living Quarters

There is something I have missed out in this section, I haven't put the door spaces in yet but that is next on my agenda.

The rectangle you see closest to the bottom is the staff room, which connects to the main prison building via a corridor.

Thanks for reading. X

3d Modelling: Another Table

Props for the Prison Level

The Mess Hall Props

There will be 2 of these in the dining hall for the guards to sit at. The table top is 1 m by 1 m and the height overall is around 0.8 m.


The polygon count is 206.
The vertex count is 264. 

I started with a box for the table top, inset the bottom polygon, created the stand then extruded out four polygons along the middle to get the seat parts which I connected cylinders to. I used the bevel, extrude and welding tools to create this.

Thanks for reading. X

3d Modelling: The Table

Prop for the Prison Level

The Mess Hall Props

There will be 6 of these within the mess hall for the prisoners to eat at. The table would fit 10 inmates, it is 3.2 m long and 1.2 m wide with an overall height of around 0.82 m.

The polygon count is 126.

The vertex count is 136.

This was fairly easy to model once I started. I wanted to have the seats attached to the table in some way so this is what I ended up with.

I started with a box and just kept connecting edges and extruding to get the shape you see.




Next up will be another table for the mess hall.

Thanks for reading. X

Level Planning: The Prison - The Mess Hall

Planning for the Prison Level

The Mess Hall

The room will include 6 tables with chairs that will be either attached to the floor or the table itself. There will also be a serving area that will have the grills down. In one corner there will be a different type of table for the guards to sit on whilst keeping an eye on the inmates.

The dining hall will be 15m x 15m x 5m, the image on the left is the box with those measurements that I will be starting with.

I wanted the ceiling to be pretty high as most dining halls I've been to have rather high ceilings and it will make a change for the gamer as he goes through the prison as a lot of the spaces will be small.

Next up will be the tables for the inmates.

Thanks for reading. X

3d Modelling: The Pit Cell

Props for the Prison Level

There will be 5 of these in an alcove and possibly more than one alcove with them in the underground area. The diameter is 1 m and the height is 4 m, only a small amount of that will be seen above the ground.





The polygon count is 1,023.
The vertex count is 1,250.

This was fairly easy to model just a cylinder with a couple of extrusions. The grill is just a plane with the lattice modifier, which I played around with after applying it.

Texturing

I am planning to texture this with a old grey brick for the cylinder and a worn out metal texture for the grill.

Thanks for reading. X

Level Planning: The Prison - The Pit Cell

Planning for the Prison Level

The Pit Cell

There will be 5 pit cells, which are cylinder cells that go 4 meters into the ground, covered by a heavy metal grill so the inmates can't get out even if they manage to climb to the top, unless the guards let them out. 

The pit cells won't technically be in a room they'll be in an alcove under the prison near the 3rd grade cells and the torture chamber.

They'll hear all the screaming from the torture chamber and the moans from the 3rd grade cells. They are designed for severe solitary confinement so that the inmates are very cooperative when they are taken out.

Thanks for reading. X