It seems that blender is losing more and more of its limitations, but sometimes having limitations can push creativity. so let’s take it back a step or two. try modeling an object, any object using just cubes. some ground rules might help to further limit you:*
10 RULES FOR 10 CUBES
Use only 10 cuboids.**
You can move them around any way you’d like
You can rotate them around any way you’d like
You can scale them any way you’d like - just keep the corners square.
The ground plane is free (if you need one)
Keep the lighting and materials simple
All 10 cubes must have the same material
Modeling and composition must be the focal point of the project
Post your entries in the #10-cubes-challenge-2022 category; on social media please use the #BA10cubes hashtag.
Have fun! Be creative! Make art!
We will be posting 10 prompts throughout the month to add another layer of limitation/inspiration. Create your own topic for each prompt - but feel free to post as many pieces in that topic as you want! Here is the current prompt:
* This introduction is taken verbatim from the original post, over 14 years ago. Take a moment to consider all of the limitations that have been lifted over the past 14 years.
** A cuboid is a rectangular prism, that is a 3d shape with all 90° corners. a cube is a subset of cuboids where the width, depth, and height of the shape are all the same. the “10 cubes challenge” is technically a misnomer, but “10 cuboids challenge” doesn’t quite have the same ring.
*** Notice how many submissions are missing, lost forever to the imageshack hole. The internet is different now, and hosting an image is no longer as much of a hassle as it was 14 years ago. Take a moment to consider all of the art that has been lost over the millennia. It’s easier to lose art than you’d think.
No modifiers, so no booleans, but it shouldn’t make any difference for the final image either way. Can you tell which one of these I used a boolean modifier on?
If your framing / composition blocks the view to any of your cubes, you can use that cube elsewhere. So if you really just need one more cube, see if you can adjust your angle to hide one.
Since it can only show 1 thumbnail per topic, it pulls the first image from the first post in the topic. If you have multiple submissions, and you want to change the thumbnail, just edit your first post by clicking the pencil icon at the bottom of the post.
I’ve been loving everyone’s work so far, feel free to post as many submissions per prompt as you would like!
As digital artists, we tend to take resources like this for granted. Sure, keeping your polycount down is nice, and uv unwrapping takes some skill to efficiently pack, but cubes as a resource are practically unlimited.
When you set a strict limit on the number of cubes you’re allowed to use, cubes become a super valuable commodity all of the sudden. You start to think about how you’re using the cubes, and whether certain details are worth the cost, or if they could be applied elsewhere. It’s actually quite difficult to create something that’s recognizable with such a limit. It’s a really refreshing challenge, and I’m looking forward to the next few prompts!
I’ve said it a few times in individual threads, but just to reiterate: The rules are made to be bent.
Do try to follow rules 1-4, as those are the core of the challenge. But if you want to get a little creative with materials, effects or lighting, that’s fine. The goal is to enhance creativity, not suppress it.
And if you want to do a couple versions, one following the rules strictly, and one with more bells and whistles, that’s awesome!
Even more important than rules 1-4 is rule 10: Have fun! Be creative! Make art!
If you haven’t gotten a chance to post your High-tech art yet, do it soon! Or If you’re just stuck and don’t know what to do, see if mashing the prompts together gets your juices flowing. High tech nature? could be fun…
I missed a couple prompt prompts, but I wanted to let everyone know that there is no rule on following the prompts.
The most important part is having fun making art and being creative. If none of the prompts excite you, ignore all of them. Just make a cool 10 cube piece of whatever you want.
