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How to build Organics | Axiom Tutorial & Guide
Calven
Overview
This tutorial guides viewers through building organic shapes in Axiom, a game modification tool. It progresses from simple to complex structures, starting with basic organic forms like mushrooms, then moving to more intricate designs like trees, and finally tackling challenging creatures such as dragons. The video emphasizes the use of Axiom's path and shape tools, along with modifiers and external tools like WorldEdit, to create detailed and realistic organic builds. It highlights techniques for shaping, detailing, and texturing these creations, encouraging practice and reference use for better results.
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Chapters
- Axiom's editor mode is accessed by pressing Right Shift.
- The path tool is fundamental for creating lines and curves, with options for different line types (straight, catenary) and control over points.
- Key path tool features include extruding points (E key), adding new points, and modifying path radius for thickness variations.
- Two primary path types, Catmull-Rom spline and Bezier curve, offer different smoothing behaviors: splines pass through points, while curves are smoother and don't necessarily intersect points.
Understanding these basic tools and their options is crucial for laying the foundation of any organic structure in Axiom, allowing for precise control over shape and form.
Using the path tool to draw a stem for a mushroom, adjusting its thickness with the radius override as it extends upwards.
- Mushrooms are presented as an easy starting organic due to their forgiving shapes.
- The stem is created using the path tool with adjustable radius.
- The mushroom cap is formed using the shape tool, starting with a hollow super sphere, flattened and rotated to resemble a cap.
- The 'magic selection' tool with a reduced limit helps select the top part of the sphere for the cap, which is then moved and placed onto the stem.
- The 'metaball' modifier can be used with shapes like cones or pyramids on top of the base cap to create more complex, blended cap shapes.
This section demonstrates how to combine basic tools to construct a recognizable organic form, introducing modifiers that blend shapes for more natural appearances.
Creating a mushroom cap by hollowing out a super sphere, adjusting its dimensions to be flatter, and then using the metaball modifier with a cone to add a more pointed, blended top.
- Trees are considered more challenging due to the need for realistic shapes, even in fantasy settings.
- The trunk is built with the path tool, starting thicker at the base and tapering upwards, with options for straight or curved designs.
- Main branches are added using the path tool, often angled to suggest wind effects or natural growth.
- Branching is structured in layers: a thick trunk, secondary thick branches, and tertiary smaller branches for detail.
- Leaf creation involves multiple techniques: WorldEdit brushes (e.g., 70% air, 30% green wool), Axiom's shape tool with metaball modifiers, and a stylized method using hollowed spheres copied and placed.
This chapter introduces layering and detail addition for complex structures, showcasing different methods for creating foliage, which is key to making trees look convincing.
Using WorldEdit brushes with specific block percentages and a mask to quickly fill the tips of branches with leaves, or using Axiom's shape tool with metaball modifiers to create leaf clusters.
- A faster, though less preferred, leaf technique uses the shape tool with a metaball modifier on branch tips, followed by noise painting for air gaps.
- A more time-consuming but stylized method involves creating multiple hollow super spheres, selecting their top halves, copying, and placing them individually onto branches.
- A sophisticated technique uses the shape tool with a metaball modifier over randomly generated terrain to create organically shaped leaf clusters influenced by the ground.
- Final detailing can include adding smaller branches, using noise painters for varied textures, and incorporating decorative elements like melons or ferns.
- The choice of leaf technique depends on the desired style, from cartoony to more organic and stylized.
Exploring advanced leaf generation methods allows for greater artistic control and the creation of unique, visually appealing tree designs that stand out.
Placing metaball spheres over generated terrain to create leaf clusters that naturally conform to the landscape, then copying and arranging these clusters onto the tree structure.
- Humanoid or animal-like builds are the most challenging due to the reliance on manual, block-by-block construction.
- Using reference pictures is essential for achieving correct shapes and proportions.
- The dragon's serpentine body is shaped using the path tool with a Catmull-Rom spline for control, with options to smooth later.
- Limbs, tail, and head are constructed using a combination of the path tool and shape tool (super spheres with metaball modifiers), carefully positioned and rotated.
- Details like horns, ears, and claws are added using the path tool or built by hand, requiring patience and trial-and-error.
This section demonstrates the pinnacle of organic building, emphasizing meticulous hand-crafting and the strategic use of tools for complex creature design.
Using the path tool to meticulously shape the long, winding body of a dragon, then adding limbs and a head using super spheres with metaball modifiers to achieve a cohesive creature form.
- The 'well' tool with a small cube shape can be used to add texture or round off surfaces, like creating hair on the dragon's back.
- Eyes and mouth are typically built by hand, requiring precision and placeholder blocks for easier adjustments.
- Horns and ears can be created with the path tool or built by hand, with symmetry being important for balanced designs.
- Whiskers are easily added with the path tool.
- Advanced detailing involves using blueprints saved with Ctrl+P and the stamp tool to add small, randomly rotated elements like extra hair tufts.
Fine-tuning details and applying textures are critical steps that bring a complex organic build to life, transforming a basic structure into a finished piece.
Saving small hair tuft blueprints (Ctrl+P), then using the stamp tool to randomly place them onto the dragon's back, adding depth and variation to the hair texture.
Key takeaways
- Mastering Axiom's path and shape tools is fundamental for creating any organic structure.
- Modifiers like 'metaball' are essential for blending shapes and achieving smoother, more natural transitions.
- Layering details, from main structures to fine textures, is key to building complex organic forms like trees and creatures.
- Using reference images significantly improves the accuracy of proportions and shapes in organic builds.
- Combining different tools and techniques, including external ones like WorldEdit, offers greater flexibility and creative potential.
- Patience and iterative refinement, especially for complex builds like dragons, are crucial for achieving high-quality results.
- Placeholder blocks are a valuable technique for planning and adjusting complex details before committing to final blocks.
Key terms
Axiom Editor ModePath ToolCatenaryCatmull-Rom SplineBezier CurveOverride RadiusShape ToolSuper SphereMetaball ModifierMagic SelectionWorldEditNoise PainterBlueprintStamp Tool
Test your understanding
- What is the primary function of the 'override radius' option in Axiom's path tool?
- How does the Bezier curve differ from the Catmull-Rom spline in terms of path generation?
- Why is using reference pictures particularly important when building complex organic shapes like dragons?
- Describe a technique for adding leaves to a tree in Axiom that utilizes generated terrain.
- What is the purpose of the 'metaball' modifier when used with the shape tool in Axiom?