We're going to look at some of the most common modeling tasks you need to know about. There is no dark art to any of these, but just good common sense and proven methods of modeling. You will be able to use these techniques time and time again:
Windows and doors
Roofs, flashing, and ridge tiles
Curtain walling
Masonry
Roads and pavements
Don't model these! Have a search on the 3D Warehouse and see what you can get. There's a plethora of windows, so you should be able to find what you need. If not, you can use the techniques introduced in this chapter to model a door from a photograph. This also adds important texture details.
Once you are happy with the door or window component you have obtained, you need to decide how to use them in the model. This will depend on the kind of architectural visuals you want to produce (which you have already decided on in Chapter 2, Collecting a Toolset). If it's non-photoreal, it doesn't really matter how you...