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                                         Basic Buildings for Beginners
                                               by Geno Ruffalo

                      This tutorial is a very basic method for modeling buildings and houses very quickly 
                      in Blender. We will cover Walls, Roofs, Windows & Doors, and Columns. The first 
                      thing to do is to select the default plane that Blender starts with in top view 
                      (NUMPAD 7) and go into edit mode (TAB) and delete all vertices (XKEY). Staying in 
                      editmode add each vertex in the appropriate place with CRTL+LM button. To close the 
                      polygon select the 2 open vertices and press the FKEY. Try to match the image below. 




                    Go into Front view (NUMPAD 1) select all vertices (AKEY) then extrude upwards (EKEY). 




                   To make a peak on the side of the walls place the 3D cursor as seen below. Go into edit 
                   mode and with all vertices unselected add a single vertex (CTRL+LM) near the cursor. The 
                   new vertex can be aligned by engaging the SNAP MENU (SHIFT+S) and selecting 'Sel->Curs'. 
                   Connect the vertex to the two below it by selecting 2 at a time (SHIFT+RM) and pressing 
                   the FKEY. 






                  Place the 3D cursor as shown below (use the SNAP menu as much as poosible) and add a vertex 
                  connecting to the last vertex we added with the FKEY. 




              Connect the new vertex to the other ones on the walls until you end up with a wire frame 
              similar to the one below. Again, use your SNAP menu (SHIFT+S) as much as possible for perfect alignment. 





                   Use the border select tool (BKEY) to select the upper vertices and press the YKEY to 'Split' 
                   the roof from the rest f the house. This automatically puts you in GRAB mode, so move the roof 
                   up and out of the way. Now make the roof it's own mesh by pressing the PKEY to 'Separate' it. 




                    Select the new roof and TAB into edit mode. Select all vertices (AKEY) and extrude the Roof 
                    (EKEY) and enlarge it slightly (SKEY). 




                   Select the roof and lower it (GKEY) on top of the walls. Now assign each mesh a different color 
                   in the Material Editor (F5) and preview in solid mode (ZKEY). If any faces are missing all you 
                   have to do is select the surrounding vertices and make Faces (SHIFT+F). 




              To add some windows we are going to start off with a Curve: SPACEBAR - ADD - Curve>>Bezier Curve. 
              Go to the edit buttons (F9) and press the 'Poly' button in the 'Convert' section. 
              1: Delete all but 4 vertices and arrange them into a rectangle and press CKEY to make whole. 
              2: Duplicate a vertex (SHIFT+D) and place it in the appropriate position. 
              3: CTRL+LM to make a small rectangle by adding 3 more vertices. 
              4: Duplicate the small rectangle 3 times and arrange them as in the image below. 




                1: In the edit buttons (F9) set the extrusion to 3.00 
                2: Convert the Curve to a mesh (ALT+C) and assign the new window frame a material (F5) 
                3: Place the 3D cursor at object center using the snap menu Curs->Sel and add a Plane. 
                4: Join the two meshes (CTRL+J) while they are both selected 

                You can duplicate the new window as many time as you like rescaling the new ones or even use them for 
                Doors as you will see in the finished product. 




                    We will now add some support Columns. 
                    1: Add a 32 vert. circle (SPACEBAR - ADD - Mesh>>Circle) and duplicate it (SHIFT+S). 
                    2: After scaling down the circle select two vertices and connect them with the FKEY. 
                    3: Repeat the process around the entire circle. 
                    4: Select all of the uneeded vertices and delete them (XKEY) 
                    5: This is a cross-section for our column (and can use this for Gears also!) 




                    1: In side view (NUMPAD 3) select all vertices (AKEY) and extrude (EKEY) upward 
                    2: Scale down the top (SKEY) 
                    3: With the 3D cursor placed as shown, add a circle (SPACEBAR - ADD - Mesh>>Circle) 
                    4: Extrude the circle (EKEY) upward, and duplicate the new base for the top (SHIFT+D) 

                    That basically it. This, of course, is just a starting point, but all types of buildings 
                    can be modeled this easily. For practice you can scan in a floor plan from a Better Homes 
                    and Garden Magazine and use it as a background to trace around (SHIFT+F7).