Less Frequently Asked Questions
About this project
Why temples?
Why 3D models?
Why share it?
Where can I go to learn more about what a temple is?
How do you make the models?
How long does it take to make a model?
How many more till you are finished?
Are you trying to model them all?
What are you going to do when you catch up?
Why did you make the infographic?
Why don’t you hire someone to help keep up and update the site?
Why can’t I find ______ Temple?
When will you make ______ Temple?
Why Temples?
Well, because they are temples, of course.
There is always more to it than that though, right?
My fascination with the temple goes back a long way. There was a point in my life where I was struggling. I was in a bad relationship I was afraid to leave, and a bad job that I also could see no way out of. I was not, at that point, able to enter the temples. The temple became a representation of what my life should be, but was not. So I used Temples as my north star, my fixed point to work towards.
About that same time I became interested in photography. As I was focused on temples already, what better subject to hone my skills on than temples? I decided I would sharpen my skills by visiting nearby temples. Back then, nearby meant Manti, Provo, Mount Timpanogos, Jordan River, Salt Lake, Bountiful and Ogden. 15 years later, I have visited 78 temples and taken over 30,000 images. Not all of them fantastic, but still.
Why 3D models?
I love picking up new skills and learning new techniques for things. In 2005, I picked up the open source 3d modeling software Blender. Just to see what I could do, I made a very basic model of Mount Timpanogos Temple. So excited was I at making it look kind of correct, I then spent several months rebuilding the Salt Lake Temple in 3D. Is it any wonder I was single until the age of 32? Eventually I started making models for display in Google Earth. These are the 3D buildings people see when they navigate around the Google Earth Software. For some time, these models were created and submitted by people all over the world, including me.
Google discontinued the process, but continues to use the hand made models where they have not made auto generated building models. At one point, I had 83 temples made by me that had been accepted in Google Earth. So I took these models, increased the detail, and made videos on YouTube. I am blessed to have a wife who enjoys my fascination with the temple. We have temple photos throughout the house, and take crazy road trips with our 2 kids just to photograph temples. Those pictures then become the reference and surface for the models.
Over time I have become discouraged by the amount of negative, hurtful and wrong information there is about the church, especially on YouTube. There are so many who seek to tear down, so I began to create.
What Software do you use?
3d Software:
I use the increasingly powerful and always free Blender. So far, all of my work, including modeling texturing and rendering are done there.
I have recently begun to poke around Unreal Engine.
Video Editing:
Originally, I was using a rather old version of Adobe Premiere for video editing. More recently, I used the free version of Davinci Resolve for the video compilation process. As Resolve is limited in the output abilities when using the free version, I have more recently moved on to using the video editor built directly into Blender.
Where can I go to learn more about what a temple is?
My Fellow Temple loving site, ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org has compiled several videos into categories to answer several temple related questions:
What happens inside a temple?
Can I go inside a temple?
What is a temple “endowment?”
What are “baptisms for the dead?”
What are temple garments?
What are temple weddings like?
How do you make the models?
In order to make an accurate model, I have to know height, width, and length, or at least be able to estimate it. I can usually find good reference material. For temples that are announced or under construction, the church render usually shows most of 2 sides of the temple. Sometimes, you can find a landscaping plan from the church as well. This will give you estimates for all 3 dimensions. Not always, though. Take Tijuana temple for an example. The church render only shows the front of the temple. This means I have the Height and Width, but not the length, and no information on the landscaping. Tijuana had to wait until it was finished before I could make the temple model. For most other temples, I can usually estimate height from photos, and height and length from satellite images. I also get color and tree placement from photos as well.
How long does it take to make a model?
There are 2 stages to making a temple model, and each one has its own timetable.The first stage is modeling. This is where I build the temple, model the landscaping and add trees, lighting, and all the textures that give color to the model. For one of the small mass built temples, I can make the model in about 2 days. This is because I can start with the same base model. For more complex models, the more detail there is the longer it takes. Manaus took 4 days to model. Meridian took 5 weeks. Typically, though, a complex model will take 2 weeks to model. The second stage is rendering. This is the process of turning a model into a series of images and eventually video. It is both easier than and takes longer than modeling. To make a movie, the computer has to create, or render, a series of images that, like traditional animation, are then combined in order to make an animation. The videos that I make need 30 images, or frames, for each second video. This means a one-minute movie needs 1,800 frames of animation. The good news is the computer does not need my help to do this, just time. So I can work on my on one computer while my special render computer chugs away at making images.
My small temple models are not complex models, as there is not a lot of details on the temple. They take 20-40 seconds PER FRAME to render. This means that the small temple videos, which have 1200 frames of video, take about 6-12 hours for the computer to make.
The more complex larger temples and videos are different. They can have up to 12,000 frames of video, and can take between 5 to 15 minutes per frame to render. This means that a large temple video can take between 41 and 125 DAYS to render out. My average is about 3 days now.
Unfortunately, I have other commissions and projects I need or want to get done too, so lately I have begun to fall behind the pace the Church is releasing renders at.
How many more till you are finished?
There was a time a couple of years back that I was caught up and keeping even with new releases. Then in 2021 The Church started releasing renders at a much faster pace. At the same time, I began to get frequent commissions for 3d work from various groups and companies. So these days, I am falling farther and farther behind.
Are you trying to model them all?
I would love to, but I am just one individual, and temples are bing added at a rapid rate. We will have to see how it pans out.
What are you going to do when you catch up?
I want to go back and do historical variations. For example, Cardston and Boise have both been expanded multiple times since dedication. I would like to do a model of the temple at the time of dedication, plus one for the changes made during each remodel of expansion that affected the exterior look. That will leave me with multiple models of each of those temples and a fun historical reference. There is also the possibility that I will model relandscaping, and night versions with the lights on. Some individuals have asked if I could do versions featuring all 4 seasons, so that is a thought on my mind as well.
Why did you make the infographics?
I created the first infographic to fulfill a requirement for a class at Utah Valley University. It was the only thing I could think of, and delighted my professor. It turned out that one of his grandfathers founded Cardston, and had once owned the land the temple sat on. The plan, until life got in the way, was to create a new info graphic near the end of each year with updated information and including new models. But then I added more infographics, and a book, and then the Historic Temple versions series….
Why don’t you hire someone to help keep up and update the site?
I am a stay at home dad, and while I do get commissions, My children and family come first. As such, I don’t actually make enough money to do more than occasionally update my computer equipment, I most certainly cannot manage a business that gainfully employs another individual.
So unless you are volunteering to help manage the site for no pay, I really can’t.
Why can’t I find [a specific] temple on your site?
Probably because I have not made it yet.
When will you make [a specific] temple?
When I get it done. I don’t actually have s schedule. It depends on how much information I can find about the temple, and which one I feel I can adequately make, and which one I feel motivated to do. At this point, I think it is now conceivable that I may never get caught up again. The rate we are building temples means I could, statistically speaking, never finish all the temples.