General to Specific

The phrase “General to Specific” was one of the first things I learned in drawing class. I often repeat it to myself like a mantra when I begin a new project. Mandy Cano Villalobos, my professor and a visual and performance artist, taught us the phrase. She trained us to use broad, loose marks before honing in on the details. These simple shapes act as guides to help make sense of the space.

Caption: a simple house made with cubes (Blender 3.2)

I recently purchased Grant Abbit’s low-poly landscape course from Gamedev.tv, and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn 3D modeling. Thinking in simple geometric shapes was one of the first things Grant taught us. There may only be a handful of shapes to pick from, but with enough alterations, additions, and edits, they can become almost anything.

Try taking a look around and breaking down the things around you into simple shapes. I see ovals in my headphones, a cylindrical water glass, and cubes inmy keyboard. What do you see?

It gets wonky when you’re looking at plants, but remember: everything is really just stretched, pinched, and pulled shapes.

Caption: Duplicating linked plants. I started with square planes (Blender 3.2).

Caption: The (almost) finished 3D model before adding colors, lights, and renders (Blender 3.2).

I believe the General to Specific approach applies to life as well. It feels like kinder, and more productive, to start with a general idea of what you’re trying to accomplish rather than beginning a project by obsessing over specific details of the end.

Thank you for reading, and be kind to yourself! Have a great day/night wherever you are,