Preparing references

This section covers the first two steps of the modeling workflow from Chapter 1, Introducing Hard Surface Modeling. In the first two steps, we will find and prepare references, before breaking down our projects into parts in the second step. This will allow us to keep our work organized.

References are photos or images used as a basis for 3D modeling. We use references to look at and copy from when we try to create a model. References are important for proportions and dimensions, but they also help us place details correctly. If we work from memory and without a reference, we will soon run out of ideas, and our model will look different from how we intended it.

References can be real-life photos, diagrams, blueprints, or any images that help us imagine what we are trying to create. Blueprints are usually highly accurate and help us create realistic proportions, but real-life photos help us understand some shapes that are difficult to see in 2D images such...