Tag: Blender

Basic 3D Texturing, Colour and Lighting (UV Maps, Materials and Three-Point Lighting)

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Texturing is the process of adding surface detail, colour and material qualities to a 3D model, so a grey mesh looks like wood, metal, cloth or stone. Colour and surface qualities are stored in a material, often using image files called textures that are wrapped onto the model with a UV map. Lighting is the placement of virtual lights in a 3D scene to make objects visible, show their form and create mood. The classic starting setup is three-point lighting: a key light, a fill light and a back light.

This lesson continues from 3D Modelling for Beginners: Create Game Props and Assets With the Extrude Tool. For colour choices, revisit Colour Theory for Game Design and Animation.

Part 1: Applying texture and colour

Materials

A material describes how a surface reacts to light. Modern game engines use physically based rendering (PBR) materials with a few key settings:

Property / mapWhat it controlsExample
Base colour (albedo)The surface’s own colour, without lighting or shadows.Red paint, brown wood grain.
RoughnessHow rough or glossy the surface is.Rough = chalky stone; smooth = polished metal or wet paint.
MetallicWhether the surface behaves like metal.Gold coins (metallic) vs a wooden crate (not).
Normal mapFake small bumps and dents without extra polygons.Wood grain, rivets, brick edges.
EmissionMakes the surface glow.Lanterns, screens, magic crystals.

UV unwrapping

A UV map is a flattened version of a 3D model’s surface, like unfolding a cardboard box. U and V are the horizontal and vertical axes of the flat image (X, Y and Z are already used for 3D space). In Blender, you mark seams where the model should be “cut”, then choose UV › Unwrap. The flat UV layout can then be painted in any 2D art program or with Blender’s texture paint mode.

A checkered cube shown in stages from 3D to an unfolded flat cross shape
Figure 1 – UV unwrapping a cube: the 3D surface is cut along seams and laid flat, so a 2D texture (here a checker pattern) can be wrapped back onto the model. Image: Zephyris at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Simple ways to colour game props

  • Flat colour materials: give each part its own coloured material. Quick and perfect for a clean low-poly style.
  • Palette texture: one small image with colour swatches; each face’s UVs are placed on a swatch. Many low-poly games use this, because one texture serves hundreds of props.
  • Hand-painted textures: paint light, shadow and detail directly into the base colour for a stylised look.
  • Photo-based or PBR textures: use openly licensed texture libraries (for example CC0 sites) for realistic surfaces.
Four views of a small 3D house: wireframe, grey model, texture sheet and fully painted version
Figure 2 – Stages of a game prop: wireframe mesh, plain grey model, flattened texture and the final hand-painted textured house. Image: Drummyfish, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part 2: Basic lighting for a 3D scene

Types of lights

  • Point light: shines in all directions from one point, like a light bulb or candle.
  • Sun (directional) light: parallel rays from far away; lights a whole outdoor scene evenly.
  • Spot light: a cone of light, like a torch or stage spotlight.
  • Area light: light from a surface such as a window or softbox; gives soft shadows.
  • Ambient / environment light: general light from the sky or surroundings that stops shadows from being completely black.

Three-point lighting

  1. Key light: the main, brightest light, usually placed about 45° to one side of the camera and slightly above the subject. It defines the form and main shadows.
  2. Fill light: a softer, dimmer light on the opposite side that lightens the shadows the key creates.
  3. Back light (rim light): placed behind the subject, it outlines the edges and separates the subject from the background.
Photographic portrait of a young man lit from the side with soft shadows and a bright edge on his hair
Figure 3 – A portrait lit with simple three-point lighting. The key light models the face, the fill softens the shadows and the back light separates the head from the background. The same setup works for 3D characters and props. Image: Robert Judge, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This official Blender Fundamentals video shows three-point lighting set up step by step in Blender:

Lighting in games

Game lighting must run in real time. Engines combine real-time lights (which can move and change) with baked lighting, where light and shadow are pre-calculated and stored in textures called lightmaps to save processing power. Light colour temperature also tells a story: warm orange light for evening or firelight, cool blue for moonlight or tension.

Example

A student textures the treasure chest from the previous lesson. She marks seams around the lid and base, unwraps the model and paints a simple texture: brown wood planks with darker lines between them and golden metal bands. In the material, she sets the bands to metallic with low roughness so they shine, and the wood to high roughness. For the scene, she adds a warm key light from the front-left, a dim cool fill from the right and a strong back light behind the chest so its outline glows, then renders a portfolio image.

Exercise

  1. Give a model three flat-colour materials with different roughness and metallic settings. Describe how each looks under the same light.
  2. Mark seams, unwrap a simple prop and apply a checker texture to check for stretching; then paint or apply a real texture.
  3. Set up three-point lighting around your prop. Render three images: key only, key + fill, and key + fill + back. Compare them.
  4. Relight the same scene for two moods – a sunny afternoon and a spooky night – by changing light colours, strengths and positions.

Next: Persistence of Vision, Simple 2D Movement and the Bouncing Ball Timing Exercise

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 2: Interactive Design and Game Development, Module 3: Animation for Games – Specific Objective 6 (“apply texture and colour to 3D Object”); Specific Objective 7 (“use basic Lighting for 3D scene”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Cube Representative UV Unwrapping.png – Zephyris at English Wikipedia – CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Hand-painted house 3D model stages.png – Drummyfish – CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Portrait with simple three-point lighting, by Robert Judge.jpg – Robert Judge – CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

3D Modelling for Beginners: Create Game Props and Assets With the Extrude Tool

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

3D modelling is the process of building three-dimensional objects on a computer. A 3D model is a mesh made of vertices (points), edges (lines joining two vertices) and faces or polygons (flat surfaces enclosed by edges). In games, props are the objects that fill a scene – crates, barrels, lamps, trees, furniture – and assets are all the files a game uses, including models, textures, sounds and animations. The extrude tool is one of the most important modelling tools: it pulls out new geometry from existing faces or edges.

In Unit 1 we listed animation software in The 12 Principles of Animation, Tools and Sound Editing. Now we start using 3D software ourselves. The steps below use Blender, which is free and open-source, but the same ideas work in Maya, 3ds Max and other programs.

Screenshot of Blender with 3D models of a monkey head in the viewport and panels of tools
Figure 1 – The Blender 4.3 interface: the 3D viewport in the centre, the outliner (scene list) and properties panels on the right, and the timeline at the bottom. Image: UnnecessaryDecision, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Key ideas before you start

  • Primitives: ready-made starting shapes such as the cube, cylinder, sphere, cone and plane. Most props begin as a primitive.
  • Object Mode and Edit Mode: in Object Mode you move whole objects; in Edit Mode you change vertices, edges and faces.
  • Transform tools: Move (G), Rotate (R) and Scale (S) in Blender.
  • Polygon count (poly count): the number of faces. Games must run in real time, so props have a polygon budget. Low-poly models use few faces and are efficient; high-poly models are detailed but heavy.
  • Scale and pivot: model at real-world size (1 unit = 1 metre) and place the object’s origin sensibly (for example at the bottom of a barrel) so it sits correctly in the game engine.

The extrude tool and friends

Tool (Blender shortcut)What it doesProp example
Extrude (E)Pulls selected faces, edges or vertices outward, creating new geometry connected to the original.Pulling the legs down from a table top; the spout of a watering can.
Inset (I)Creates a smaller face inside a selected face.A panel on a crate or the rim of a cup (inset, then extrude inward).
Loop cut (Ctrl+R)Adds a ring of edges around the mesh.Adding bands around a barrel.
Bevel (Ctrl+B)Rounds or chamfers sharp edges.Softening the edges of a wooden box so it catches light.
Scale (S) after extrudeMakes extruded parts wider or narrower.Tapering a lamp shade or a tree trunk.
Four grey spheres showing different extrusion results with parts pulled outward
Figure 2 – Different ways of extruding in Blender: extruding a region, individual faces and edges from a sphere produces very different shapes. Image: WebBird, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Step by step: model a low-poly treasure chest

  1. Start with a cube. Scale it to the size of the chest base (for example 1 m wide, 0.6 m deep, 0.5 m tall).
  2. Add a loop cut near the top to separate the base from the lid.
  3. Shape the lid. Select the top face, extrude it upward a little, then add loop cuts and move them to make a curved lid.
  4. Inset and extrude the bands. Select the faces where the metal bands go, inset them slightly and extrude them outward a few centimetres.
  5. Add the lock. Select a small face on the front, inset, then extrude outward to make a lock plate.
  6. Bevel sharp edges lightly so the chest looks solid when lit.
  7. Check the poly count (enable Statistics in the viewport overlay). A game prop like this might be a few hundred faces.
  8. Name and export. Name the object (for example prop_chest_01), apply scale, set the origin to the bottom, and export as FBX or glTF for Unity, Unreal or Godot.
Low-poly 3D model of a baobab tree with a thick trunk and flat green leaf clusters
Figure 3 – A low-poly model of a baobab tree. The trunk can be made by extruding and scaling the top face of a cylinder, and the canopy from simple, flat-shaded shapes. Image: YuriNikolai (model by Skodvirr), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This Holotna 3D tutorial shows how to model a set of low-poly game assets in Blender, using extrusion and other basic tools:

Good habits for game props

  • Collect reference images before modelling.
  • Build the big shapes first, details last.
  • Keep faces as quadrilaterals (four-sided) where possible; they are easier to edit and animate.
  • Delete faces nobody will ever see (the bottom of a rock sitting on the ground).
  • Make modular pieces (wall, corner, door) that snap together to build many different scenes.
  • Save versions often (chest_v01, chest_v02).

Example

A team making a Caribbean village game creates a prop list: fishing boat, market stall, crate, coconut tree, lamp post and steel pan. The student modelling the market stall starts from a cube for the counter, extrudes four posts up from the corners, uses a plane for the roof and extrudes it down at the edges to make a canopy, then adds loop cuts to create striped fabric sections for colouring later. The finished stall has under 500 faces and is exported as glTF for Godot.

Exercise

  1. Install Blender (free) and practise moving, rotating and scaling objects, and switching between Object Mode and Edit Mode.
  2. Model a low-poly treasure chest (or a crate, barrel or lamp post) using extrude, inset, loop cut and bevel. Keep it under 1,000 faces.
  3. Make a prop list of five items for a game scene and model at least two of them.
  4. Export one prop as FBX or glTF and import it into a game engine (Godot, Unity or Unreal) or an online 3D viewer.

Next: Basic 3D Texturing, Colour and Lighting (UV Maps, Materials and Three-Point Lighting)

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 2: Interactive Design and Game Development, Module 3: Animation for Games – Specific Objective 5 (“use 3D software to create props, assets for games”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Blender 4.3.2 screenshot.png – UnnecessaryDecision – CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Blender3D Extrude Region Faces Edges.png – WebBird – CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Low-poly Adansonia grandidieri 3D model 1.png – YuriNikolai (model by Skodvirr) – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.