Low Poly Forest

I have always wanted to learn Blender and 3D modeling, which is why I chose a 3D course at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Over the weeks, we learned about navigating Blender, physics, lighting, sculpting, rigging, and much more. For the final project, we could choose our own deliverable. I decided to create a low-poly world, a colorful art style that is visually striking yet approachable for beginners.

I began by sketching ideas for the scene. What would it look like? What objects should be included? In a short amount of time, I created several sketches in my notebook, envisioning a forest with trees, various objects, grass, and a house.

After completing the sketches, I was eager to start building my world. Fortunately, I had kept a list of all the Blender shortcut keys, allowing me to work quickly and efficiently—and yes, there are quite a lot of shortcuts to remember.

I began constructing the scene by modeling the larger props, including the house, fences, wood blocks, a lantern, and other key elements.

It was a solid start. Next, I focused on creating the trees. Since it was a forest, I wanted a variety of tree types, so I made several versions. I also modeled some rocks to be placed throughout the scene.

Grass was also an important element, as the scene would feel empty without it. Generating a large amount of grass was still a challenge, but I decided to address that concern later.

I placed the trees throughout the scene, varying their height and width and adjusting their rotation to create a more natural and dynamic forest layout.

Does the scene look a bit grey? It was time to add color! I began by creating a color palette. Since it is a low-poly art style, the colors needed to be vibrant and refreshing. It was enjoyable experimenting with different colors and refining the palette.

Next came the stage of texturing the scene, probably the most fun part. During this phase, it was a challenge to avoid overwhelming the scene with too many colors. The trees initially felt too dominant, so I adjusted their colors in a later phase.

I wasn’t satisfied with the house, as it didn’t fit the scene. I removed it and started from scratch, designing a log cabin that better suited the forest setting. After some time, I created a cozy log cabin in the middle of the woods.

The scene was nearly complete, with the next steps being lighting and adding grass. Generating a large amount of grass was challenging, so I used Blender’s particle system to distribute the objects efficiently. This approach prevented the scene from overwhelming the computer’s performance.

Next came the lighting. I carefully adjusted the settings, repositioned the light sources, and fine-tuned various parameters to achieve the desired atmosphere.

Finally, I reached the last step. This stage took a long time, largely because I wanted the shot to be perfect. I spent considerable effort refining the scene, replacing objects, and adding details such as fallen trees, broken fences, and other small elements.

In the end, I was proud of the final result.

I felt proud of my work. Having never used Blender before, I learned a great deal about the program and its capabilities in just a few months. I received a grade of 8 for the final deliverable and was very happy with the experience.