Quickly kitbash your 3D models

Pascal Blanché uses a combination of techniques.

Kitbashing is a technique used for building scale models for films. It was pioneered during the making of Star Wars, and essentially uses commercially available model elements to create new designs. By adapting this approach in 3D software, an artist is able to create complex designs relatively quickly.

This workshop will show you the simple steps I use to expand the possibilities of your designs. Here I’ll be focusing on pieces of armour, but you can easily extend the technique to vehicles or creature designs as well. Kitbashing has two main advantages. First, it enables you to explore new shapes and designs you wouldn’t have thought of right away. It’s like working out shapes and structures using custom brushes. Second, it doesn’t require a high level of technical knowledge or time.

I view this technique as a useful first step for exploring shapes before getting to the real thing. For 2D artists it can become a powerful means of coming up with new ideas and designs. For instance, this technique could then be combined with a 2D paintover stage to achieve concept art pieces.

Kitbashing requires a bit of research to start with. There are plenty of collections of 3D elements to be found online. You can look for greebles, nurnies or basic 3D models that already contain useful elements, such as tanks or motorbikes. You can download the 3D objects used in this workshop free from my Gumroad page: https://gumroad.com/l/RMmv.