Casita was so fun to recreate and was also relatively easy compared to the other designs I had recreated so far. I've been asked twice now how I do it, so here is a quick guide to my process:


1) Get the basic/broad structure down. This step actually takes up the most time. I usually source reference images from songs because they show the largest view of the space! For example, below is the reference and the basic recreation/blocking of some of the doors.

Just looking at these pictures side by side tells me I still have some refining to do. For example, the doors of Pepa, Abuela, and Julietta aren't as centered as I thought they were so I'll have to move them. I should also add the other open air doors soon to help with aspect ratio.

Here's a common struggle you may come across. Abuela's head is blocking some the shot, making it hard to tell where that wall near the window actually ends. You could either find another angle of this space, or just guess. I just guessed. I still have more smaller structure details to add.

Right here is the biggest reason that just building the structure of Disney homes takes so long! Tiny little detials like these short steps and any other things like small doors/windows, wall niches, and even wall height (wich I can't change now... 😢) are factors that have to be established before we get to the furnishing!


--I am still only in the first phase for the interior, so I will be using Casita's outside for this next bit--

2) Basic furnishing/customizing/texture+furniture hunting!!!

A great way to keep track of all your furniture, textures, and anything else you'll need to reuse throughout the design is to make a folder for it. I know it sounds kind of obvious and everyone probably already always does this anyways, but yeah, make a folder. 

During this phase 2 you'll be doing a lot of looking back and forth between your pictures and the design. This is also the part where you start doing a lot of speed renders to beta test colors and composition. I'd say that 1) it's too late to change this but my house is too tall/narrow. 2) This is the part where you start adding (in this case) some trees and other larger, more obvious details. This part can go pretty quick if you know what you are looking for and how to find it. Being a quick navigator of this program is a good skill to have.


3) Final tiny details.

This would be the part where you do a lot of zooming in and finding just the right decor (in my case, plants and flowers) to make the place not just recognizable, but iconic! Casita has SO MANY PLANTS AND FLOWERS!!! 😂 😂 😂  Finding the exact flowers in the exact colors you need will be impossible, so you'll have to do some material replacing to get everything as close as possible. 

At this point you take notice of super tiny details like the planter boxes in the red balcony, the actual types/shapes of the flowers and where they are/how tall they are/the color of the flowers, hanging planters, the chimney and weather thingy, the little topper things (don't know what they're called) on the roof of Isa and Bruno's dorms!!! There may be some details that are too hard to replicate, Link most of the arches and the flower swirls on the red window shutters (I realize I could have just used some flower bushels and shrunk them super small and then "draw" with them by arranging several into the shape, but I'm too lazy to do that and re-render all the pictures 😅), but I'd say that MOST of the details can be recreated one way or another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope this helped and that y'all will like and follow!

~ Grace River ❤️