Creating ultra low block/pixelated polygon characters,objects. similar to lego universe, mega blocks etc. i understand building a ultra low poly models but how would i go about getting the 3d block look? seems like it would be hard to model blocky model. could i just build a really low polygon model and use hard sharp edges??
I am interested in a making a very basic 3d retro adventure game using very low ploygons or the lego block style but using modern lighting, shadows and physics.
Wouldn’t you just have to make a cube, then add cylinders to it?
Well, a quick test. I made a 2x4 block using six sided cylinders and ended up with 140 tris. And I used a cylinder with a radius of 0.35.
Edit: Though that is without the underside modeled. If I go more detailed and model the bottom as well it comes out to 264 tris.
You could always use LDraw. It’s an open library of lookalike Lego models. The official site, www.ldraw.org, has links to model editors and the like.
With experimentation, you can can get LDraw models to import into Blender. Unfortunately, all of the dedicated Blender scripts kicking around the web (or at least, all of the ones I’ve been able to find) are extremely old and don’t work in 2.49.
If you download a free program called LeoCAD, however, you can export LDraw models to 3DS and then import that into Blender. This method does leave you with ridiculous vert counts, though. This page here provides an invaluable tutorial on optimizing your imported models.
All in all, the LDraw route is quite labour intensive, but gives good results. Good luck with whatever you try, though!