I’m trying to get back into 3D after a very long time and feel like I’m starting from scratch again and I’m unsure on how to do a lot of things. I just can’t seem to grasp some things.
One thing I’m really trying to grasp is the best or proper way of building structures within Roblox utilizing Blender.
I’ve heard a lot of people say to utilize both Blender for smaller things and Studio for larger things as in buildings and whatnot, but I’m unsure what the best practice would be.
This is a concept my artist drew up for me for an upcoming project we are working on.
It will have an interior and an exterior for outside view as well.
Later on there will be more rooms and hallways connecting to other parts but for now, it is just this one room.
This is all made in Blender atm, and it’s really bad. Especially topology-wise.
It didn’t feel right doing it all in Blender like this, hence why I’m coming here to ask for in-depth assistance.
My problems with doing it this way is inconsistency in scale, getting lost in the mojo of other designs in the build rather than focusing on one thing at a time, and everything just being a huge mess.
Notation
I just need some in-depth assistance with the proper or best way of doing this as well as understanding specific workflows and pathways on how to do these things.
Another thing I’d like to note is I’d also like to utilize UV-Unwrapping to add texture trims to certain parts in the building itself.
Any help is much obliged, thank you!
Use Parts for ease of creation. Use Blender for more complex shapes. It sounds like using Parts would be a benefit, as you want to add more rooms that connect in the future.
This is for interior:
Concept art (which has its own steps I could get into)
White boxing - The interactable Geometry.
General walls, floors, and shape.
Snapping tools help a ton
Replace white boxing with Wall and Floor Assets
These have materials and textures. This is also where you could add textures. You can plan it out.
Large Clutter
Table, chair, big grandfather clock, bookshelf, carpets, chandelier, etc.
These objects usually have collision so the player can’t walk through them
Small Clutter
Lantern that goes on a table, books on a bookshelf, etc.
These objects usually do not have collision as they are small
Finishing Touches & Polish
Maybe a texture could be updated, or the use of animation like a fireplace, flicking lights, etc.
I assume exterior design is done in a similar way: starting with concept art, then basic shapes, and then refining.
Other notes:
Scaling Correctly
if you use Blender or Roblox Studio or make any creation/art, you likely will use something for scale. This is usually the character for your game in game dev, so a Roblox noob works perfect here. If a table looks like the person could sit at it, it’s good.
3D Modeling Pipeline
each individual asset has it’s own concept art, base model, further refinement, texturing/adding a material (or making one), and adding polish/finishing touches.
Generally, it’s best to use Blender for detailed or complex models—things like furniture, props, decorations, curved or organic shapes, etc.—and stick to Roblox Studio for larger, blockier stuff like walls, floors, and overall structure layout. Studio’s CSG tools and grid snapping make it easier to iterate on layout quickly, and it keeps your models optimized for performance.
Since your build has both an interior and exterior, and it’ll expand later with hallways and rooms, I’d recommend:
Block out the whole structure in Roblox Studio first. Just use basic parts to plan dimensions, scale, and flow.
Once that’s solid, go into Blender to make the more detailed bits—like arches, trims, windows, custom walls if needed, etc.
Try to keep Blender meshes modular if possible. Like, if you make a window frame, make it separate from the wall so you can reuse it.
Use textures and normal maps in Blender to keep geometry light. Roblox has limits on polycount and performance, so avoid going too crazy on the mesh detail.
Export as .FBX and import into Studio with SurfaceAppearance if you’re using textures.
Also, Roblox recently added Mesh Deformation, so you can actually rig things like doors, or have destructible pieces if that’s your vibe later.
