Project Background
The Galt Museum in 3D.  What an idea!  Overall, the project took me about 28 hours to complete.  After doing several different tutorials, including a chair, a light post, and a park bench, I decided it was time to get started on the museum.  I figured I would model the Galt Museum because it has a cool design, and I’ve been in and around the building several times before.  I took several different pictures of the building, hoping that the different angles would help me during the modelling process. Below are several images; click on any of the images to view the large scale version.

Project Methods
I took a subtractive approach to modelling this building; basically I started with a big block and shaped it according to the architecture of the building.  I used Google SketchUp to build this model.  One neat aspect about this software is that the size of objects can easily be scaled, transformed, or rotated.  However, while SketchUp is good for modelling, the software does not give a lot of room to play around with the lighting.  It does not allow you to change the position of the light, without rotating the entire model.  I had taken several dimensions of the building which I used throughout my project to ensure the accuracy of the model. Several different pictures of the building can be found below.

Project Results
Each of the pictures above are shown in the picture represented below (as a rendered version of my model). I did not model the back of the building, as the museum has had many new complexes added to it in the recent years, and a scaled model of the complete museum would be a much larger task to achieve. I think that with the amount of time I spent on the model, the rendered versions look really good. If I could change anything now, I would focus on the lighting, and possibly on changing the shades of the textures. In addition, I would have liked to make the glass appear more reflective, rather than a translucent sheet.

Project Process
I have divided the progress of this model into four different steps. Each step is depicted below (both figure and caption). The images represent some of the challenges I came across, and how I worked around them. Click on any of the following images to view an enlarged version:

1.

In this first step I tried to get the overall dimensions of the museum down to scale. This proved to be more difficult, in comparison what I had initially thought. I was under the impression that the basic layout would be the most simple. However, the exact opposite was true. The overall dimensions of a model are the most important, as everything else later in the model has to match in size.

2.

This step of project took the longest. In this step I built the windows, the different crowns, and some of the bigger features such as the pillars. While these major components added a lot to my model, they often had curved edges and beveled corners that made it challenging.

3.

In this step I mainly focused on some of the fine intermediate structures. In this step I created the stairs railings, the pillars, and several other smaller components that add to the overall complexity of the model.

4.

The last step of this project was to add the different textures to the project. This step was extremely challenging as it was difficult to achieve the correct lighting and shadows. As well, to get the different colour to match up to the colours of the digital images was also quite a task! The textures used on the model were all part of the SketchUp texture library. However, in conclusion, I am very pleased with the outcome of this project. It takes a lot of time to build a model, with easy to use software, the task becomes enjoyable and rewarding.