Hi everyone,
In the past few lectures we’ve been introduced to textures, the mapping node, and texture nodes. (Yay, we finally get to play with textures! 
)
I created a base for my board, which took a few attempts. Mikey introduced us to a subdivision surface modifier workflow while creating the chess pieces, so I thought I would try to model the board while doing that. Lots of control loops, creasing, new files, and a slightly sore hand (I hit my keyboard) later, and I realised this was a really stupid idea!
Finally, I abandoned the subdiv modifier and just bevelled my edges. It isn’t perfect (suggestions welcome!) but I can live with that.
I spent a while trying the different texture nodes and playing with them to see what was possible. I could not find something that I liked, but I did it because that’s the challenge!
This was a quite subtle “textured feel” look (it’s not visible on the white squares):
And I also played around with combining the texture nodes with the mapping node. I actually quite like this look, but it leaves the black squares too light. I’m sure there’s a node that would help with this, but I’ll try not to skip ahead.
I’ll probably remove the textures now as they’re not quite what I’m looking for. Once we’ve learned more about textures, I’m sure I’ll be able to go back in and find something I like.
Looking forward to seeing everyone’s creations! 
