Summary

Time Well Spent? This project took me about 40 hours. Before starting, another 20 some hours was spent learning Blender. All in all, it was a fun project to work on, though there are still some things I'd like to improve. I'd really like to add some shrubbery. A large part of my time was spent working on the windows. Getting the indention just right, and then figuring out how to colour them was something I did about 5 times before I felt they looked good enough.
	First Try Truth be told, my first try was a bit of a fiasco. I received a recommendation that I simply use a picture as a template, and then create planes that would model the building. I tried it, but quickly realized that it wasn't going to give me the 3D look I wanted. This first try was an attempt at a 90 degree corner, but clearly, there is no corner to be seen! Understanding the 3D space took some getting used to. Embarrassing to admit as it is, every time the view swung to a new perspective I got lost!
Bricks and Roof As mentioned above, the window indentations were extremely challenging. But they were not the only difficulties. After the plane problems, I settled on extruding a single cube into the bulk of the building. This worked well. It gave a feeling of consistency and scale to my modelling. Another difficult part of this project was the roof. Discovering how to create the right angle was challenging. Once I got it I was chagrined at how easy it should have been! When it came to adding the glass canopy over the door, I had learnt my lesson and used a single block.
	Lights, Camera, Texture! After everything was looking okay, I started working on textures. At that point there wasn't much time left, so the textures I used came from the pictures of the courthouse themselves. This helped to make the colours more realistic. If I was doing this project again I would start with better pictures of the textures that I want to use. I think that alone would have helped to bring the picture to life in exciting ways.
Hey! I think I learned Something! One of the most important things I learnt working on this project is 3D perspective. I thought it would be natural, since we live in a 3D world. I initially found it very difficult visualizing the building when the perspective changed. Figuring out what happens when I rotate around the x, y, or z axis was exciting. I expect it to be helpful when working on other 3D projects.

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