This is my very first post as a New Member and I dont even know if this is the right section to write my topic in. Anyways, I was just wondering how I could become a better builder. In the past, I have asked some experience builders these questions:
How did you start off in building, any tips?
They answered: Usually just a lot of practicing and attention to detail.
Dont get me wrong, this helped me a lot, but I still felt stuck and didnt know where to start. Since Im very busy with high school, I dont have a lot of time to spend on studio.
So, I have been taking this into my own hands and just looking up pictures of downtown city blocks, countrysides, and skyscrapers. I do this just to take notes of the building detail and how I can add that to my game.
I guess Im just asking if this is a good starting point and morw importantly if any developers can give me some helpful tips.
I have been building on Roblox for only 3 months, I knew nothing about building prior. The biggest thing I would say that taught me how to become a better builder, was being able to identify what parts where used in games on Roblox.
What I mean by this is, whenever you load into a game on Roblox, try to learn what was used to give off the effect of a slanted house for example. Learn to identify if a wedge was used, learn to identify which parts were placed.
Reason I say this is not to duplicate someone elses building, and copy them. BUT, to learn and identify how for instance a few brick slabs get sprinkled on a building and then that building looking 10X better.
As mentioned, practice is key. That being said, here are some other tips that might help you:
Look up reference material when you are building things you are not familiar with. Having an example right next to you will allow you to spot some details you might otherwise not have known and it will help you build things more accurately.
For tasks that get repetitive, see if you can find a plugin that helps you. Most experienced builders use multiple plugins to accelerate their workflow.
Speaking of workflow, play around with different tools and see which one fits you best. If you can develop a workflow you feel comfortable with, it will help you get things done more quickly and fluently.
Lastly, try focusing on something you like. Most builders are known for a specific style or a specific theme they like working on. If you spread out your effort across wildly different themes and types of assets, it will make it difficult to get good at a specific type of build. If you instead focus on a single aspect you will see improvements on that front quicker. You can always expend your building skill set later on.
The most helpful thing in my opinion, is not to wait for commissions (if you’re taking ones) to build, you can go ahead, build whatever you like, and learn from it.
Below you will find my first ever car, made purely for experience, and then a car I made for a commission, which was my second ever car. You can easily spot the unbelievable difference in quality.
This tip goes for everything, scripting, building and modeling.
The most important thing to do before starting to build huge projects is to take a step back and PRACTICE… You must look up images and copy in studio to perfection
Don’t be afraid to use your own techniques.
Techniques I Reccomend
Use an r6 normal-sized npc in studio to scale your buildings. Just add it in at the start of every build
Have a certain number of assets created that may be repetetive throughout the build or that are really important to the build, before starting it.
Have an idea of your time frames… you must know yourself and how long your attention span for building is before you get bored… Then, create a schedule that reflects that
Create your own “building kit” of things that could be useful to you- it could be filled with anchored brickparts or full-on complex shapes
Start re-creating smaller scenes, then move on to larger scenes, and then, after you are comfortable, don’t even rely upon images: start sketching up your own builds.
Pinpointing Weaknesses
I’m guessing a part of your issue, as mentioned in your post, is coming up with ideas. Just practice at first by planning out whatever pops out in your head. Then, once you are comfortable with designing, move on to more specific builds that fit your needs.
If you feel like you have any other weaknesses, you need to take a step back and THINK about what they are… then come up with a tactic to battle them. Message me here on devforum if you got any issues I guess.
And finally:
There are amazing devforum tutorials…
And others available right here on devforum, just use the search bar!
Being a builder can come fast to you, or it can take some time, the more you do it the better you get. You can then begin to work faster and produce good work.
Tips:
-Watch Development streams (Builders)
-Take a look at some tutorials
-Try attempting to build a showcase, even if it looks bad, go back each day and improve, constant improvements will improve your building quality
-Build with a range of materials, roblox supports a range of materials, use the ones that work with you
Moving Forward:
To improve, follow the tips above, you might not see improvement right away but take your time and you will begin to see a vast improvement. Good luck and welcome to the developer community!
These other tips are all pretty great, but I have some suggestions as well.
Don’t get caught up in trying to look like any other builder; people like to see new styles develop different than the norm. However yeah, learning from their techniques and developing it into your own style isn’t a bad way to go. First and foremost, you’re a 3D artist and are creating in an art form, whether it be map design or prop design. So I always feel like my builds are better:
stylized with less detail rather than high detail with nothing that makes it stand out.
Honestly though, you’re gonna find yourself learning the basics and going through the design process and then developing a style and improving your workflow. The workflow is important for when you’re working on commissions and have a deadline to meet. If you take way too long on a single part of the build, it’ll just make it harder on yourself. Also keep in mind while Roblox Studio building and modeling are both 3D art forms, they have very different workflows.
(P.S., I’m guilty of many of these mistakes myself even today).
My best tip on how to become a better builder is simply to build, if you have an idea try to make it, these impulses of ideas and creativity help you develop and advance your building skills. Apart from that other recommendations I have include:
Look to those who inspire you and see how they build.
Try to create a style, how do you want to build.
Don’t try too hard, the best ideas come naturally not forced.
Develop your detail, don’t go out of the gates trying to create ultra-realistic builds, because over time you’ll learn and understand how to create one.
Where do you see yourself in a year? Setting goals is very important.
If you have any questions on building I’m also available to help you and so are others on the forum, feel free to shoot me a message if you need any help!
Well you see, practice does make perfect. I know this isn’t the answer you’re probably looking for, but try branching out and building all sorts of things! You would be surprised how far you could get.
You should also use plugins, most builders use them, they are very useful. I would highly recommend using a plugin called gap fill.
If you don’t have much time on your hands, build small models like beds, chairs, weapons, machinery etc,
Look at images for references.
Those are all my tips, I hope I helped you on your quest to success, good luck.
For me, I watch my developers build or if I want to learn something, I ask for help and to be taught. This goes for anything really, if you want to be better; you practice and you learn. Don’t be shy to ask for help.
Sometimes using concept arts gets you a good practice.
When you are starting to build try and learn new things about Roblox Studio when it comes to stuff like building in it. You can also use plugins like F3X to make the work much more faster and eaiser.
