Welcome to this tutorial on how to model Gothic arches in Blender 3D! Gothic arches are known for their elegant, pointed designs, commonly seen in cathedrals and other grand architectural structures. In this video, we’ll walk you through the process of creating a basic Gothic arch and how to make adjustments for more complex designs.
[Step 1: Setting Up the Scene]
Let’s start by setting up our scene. Open Blender and delete the default cube by pressing X and choosing Delete. We’ll be working with basic shapes to create the arch, so start with a clean slate.
Now, press Shift and A to bring up the ‘Add’ menu and choose Mesh > Circle. In the Popover menu, change the Number of Vertices to 64 so we will end up with smooth geometry. We’ll use this circle as a reference for the base of the arch. Use R + X + 90 to rotate the circle around the X-Axis by 90-degrees so it is in the correct position.
[Step 2: Adding the Arch’s Base Shape]
[Cut to the circle, and enter Edit Mode]
Narrator:
“Select the circle and hit Tab to enter Edit Mode. Next, we need to create the general shape of the Gothic arch.”
Let’s start by using B to Box Select the bottom half of vertices. With these vertices selected, use X to delete the selected vertices. Now we can quickly make the initial form of the arch.
Now, we’ll select the top center vertex of the circle. Use O to turn on Proportional Editing. Under the Proportional Editing menu, make sure to select the Sharp Falloff option. With the top vertex selected, we can begin forming the pointed shape of the Gothic arch.
[Step 3: Shaping the Arch]
Press G and Z and drag the top center vertex upwards. Use the Mouse Wheel to change the influence of the Proportional Editing. Turn Proportional Editing off so it does not interfere with the rest of the modeling.
Use Tab to enter Object Mode. Use CTRL and A to Apply the Transforms to the arch.
[Step 4: Creating the Arch’s Profile]
Now, press Shift + A to bring up the ‘Add’ menu and choose Mesh > Plane. We’ll use this plane as a reference for the base of the arch.
Select the plane and hit Tab to enter Edit Mode. Next, we need to create the general shape of the Gothic arch profile. Let’s start by beveling the vertices.
[Shows selecting the plane and subdividing it]
Switch to Vertex Select Mode by pressing 1. Use CTRL + SHIFT + B to bevel each of the vertices. Use the Middle Mouse Button to add more vertices.
Switch to Edge Select Mode by pressing 2. Now, we’ll select the four flat edges and use E + S to scale up the edges.
Switch to Face Select Mode by pressing 3. Select the Faces of the arch profile and delete only the Faces. Scale the arch profile to the appropriate size.
Use Tab to enter Object Mode. Use CTRL + A and apply all the Transforms. We now need to convert this mesh to a Curve. This can be done by Right-clicking on the mesh and choosing Convert to > Curve.
[Step 5: Adding Details]
At this stage, we have our basic shape for the arch. However, to apply the profile, we need to convert the circle to a curve. To do this, Right-click on the circle and choose Convert To > Curve.
We are now set to apply the profile we made using the plane. Under the Object Data Properties panel, open the Bevel options. Change the Bevel Geometry option to Object. For the Object field, choose the Plane.
And there you have it! You’ve now modeled a simple Gothic arch in Blender. By adjusting the number of subdivisions, adding additional details, or experimenting with different materials, you can create more complex arches to suit your project’s needs.