MKM Benchmark #3- 3D MODELING

Stylized Y2k Bedroom in Blender

I began the project by setting up the scene and camera first, since the camera angle was critical to achieving the isometric look I had seen in references online. I added a floor plane and positioned the camera before modeling anything else. I set the camera’s focal length to 200mm to create a compressed, isometric-like perspective rather than using true orthographic view. This helped establish the overall composition early on.

I then imported a reference image as a camera backdrop, which allowed me to accurately match proportions, scale, and object placement while blocking out the room. This made it easier to work consistently across the scene and ensured that the final layout stayed cohesive.

To populate the scene, I included a guinea pig and enclosure. The enclosure itself was modeled using basic geometry combined with a Wireframe Modifier, allowing me to create a clean metal grid structure without overly dense geometry. The guinea pig was made through procedural, IE, coding model generation. It is wrapped in a reference image for the surface/shading. It looks a bit like one of my old guinea pigs, Strawberry. The guinea pigs were duplicated.

The poster is an image I took on my last short film shoot. 

Throughout the project, I relied heavily on non-destructive modifiers, including Solidify for thickness, Bevel for softened edges, and Subdivision when smoother forms were needed. This workflow helped me keep the models clean and flexible while learning how modifiers affect final geometry.

For lighting and rendering, I used an HDRI for ambient house lighting and added Area Lights to shape the mood and draw attention to key objects in the room. All materials were created using Principled BSDF shaders, focusing on simple color, texture, and shading rather than realism. I also combined Ambient Occlusion with a ColorRamp to achieve soft, stylized shadows that fit the overall aesthetic of the scene.

The final result is a fully rendered isometric bedroom scene that demonstrates my growing familiarity with Blender’s interface, mesh modeling, basic surface techniques, material setup, lighting, and scene composition. More importantly, this project helped me build confidence in a new 3D modeling tool that I plan to continue using for future animation and visual storytelling work.