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I'm going to be sharing 10 building tips on how to improve your maps on Roblox Studio. So, throughout this video, I'm going to be showing y'all multiple Roblox maps I have made in the past, and I'm going to give y'all tips on how I
Kingkade 3D shares 10 Roblox Studio building tips, using his own maps to show how to add color variation, block out large shapes first, cluster props, and vary heights.
Key Takeaways
- Layout structure should be established with large shapes before adding small details.
- Color and height variation, not asset count, is the main driver of visual quality in Roblox maps.
- Clustering and storytelling make props feel intentional rather than random.
What the video covers
- Tip 1: Add color variation to maps, using crates, grass swaps, vines, ponds, and contrasting plot colors to break up plain areas.
- Tip 2: Block out large shapes first and add detail only after the full layout is mapped out, rather than detailing one area at a time.
- Tip 3: Cluster props such as barrels and crates in groups of varied size and rotation instead of placing single scattered objects.
- Tip 4: Use multiple shades within materials like paths, grass, bushes, and trees so surfaces don't look flat.
- Tip 5: Use reference images, including real forests and AI-generated building concepts, especially as a beginner.
- Tip 6: Use high height variation in walls and structures by scaling and offsetting assets so flat repeated walls look richer.
- Tip 7: Add layered details and ledges to walls and edges, and avoid over-detailing the center of an area.
- Tip 8: Leave open space around key areas so the layout reads clearly, and remove clutter that doesn't contribute.
- Tip 9: Use landmarks that give the map identity and make it recognizable.
- Tip 10: Add environmental storytelling, such as abandoned items, boxes, and bridges, to imply a history for the map.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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made them and how to improve them to make your own Roblox maps. So, the first tip is to add color variation. And for that, we're going to be taking a look at this map right here. This is a spaceship
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map that I created a few weeks ago, and if you take a look at the inside, there is quite a bit variation. But, there's not as much as there could be, and that's why I added these crates right
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here. They look a lot better in the game, and they look much better whenever the lighting is added. But, just these crates right here actually add a lot of color variation to the map. Because if you go on the inside, it's pretty plain
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right now. But, by adding these crates, I can make it look much better. And that goes the same with other maps. Such as this one right here. This is a mining map that I've been working on. And as we
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can see over here, there's not a lot of color variation, and that's why I changed some of these dirt into grass to add a bit more color. That's also why I have vines hanging over here as well.
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Which this map isn't finished just yet. I still need to make a lot more of these things, place them around the map, and I'm also going to add little ponds as well just to add a little bit of blue.
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Because right now, the color is pretty plain. I mean, it is a mine, but I do still want to add a little bit of color to it. And also, I applied color variation to this map as well. So, as we
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can see, most of the map is green, but that's why I made the main player plots yellow. Because this sticks out a lot more, and it overall makes the map look better. And that's also why I added this
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little pond over here. The second building tip that I have is to use large shapes first. Which this area over here is a good example. Because if you go over to it, as we can see, there's a lot
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going on. Like there's a path right here, there's fences, barrels, and a whole pond and everything. But, whenever I was building this, I was making sure to just use large shapes. Such as these right here. I made these ground pieces,
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and I only made two different variations. So, I grabbed all these, and I put them together, and I used all the large shapes first. And after I had the full map mapped out, that is whenever I went in and add detail. Don't add all
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the details of one area at one time. Because then that makes the whole process just more difficult. and that kind of comes into my next tip which is to cluster props together. So after you mapped out the map and you're starting
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to go in and add details, make sure to add things in clusters which barrels are a good example. Like we wouldn't go around the map and we wouldn't place like a barrel right there, one barrel right there and then another right there
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because that just looks a little weird and they kind of don't really go together. And instead you want to cluster them together like how I have two up there. And if I were to place barrels in this corner, I wouldn't just
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want to place one and instead I would want to duplicate it, move it over, rotate it just a little bit and if you want to we can make this one a little bit bigger and then boom, that's a
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little cluster right there which I actually kind of like that. And that goes the same with all sorts of things such as crates for example. Crates look a lot better in clusters and if we jump back over to this map, as we can see I
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added a bunch of crates in a cluster right here because it would look pretty weird if I had one crate over here and just one crate everywhere around the map and instead if you want to crates all spread throughout the map, we would make
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little clusters. So this could be a little cluster right here, let's place another one, maybe scale it up a little bit. We could also add some smaller crates as well and then boom, that could be another cluster right there and this
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looks a lot better than just having a singular crate laying somewhere. The fourth tip that I have is color variation especially on these types of maps over here such as if you look at the path for example. As we can see we
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have three different colors. We have a super light shade as the base, we have a super dark one and then we kind of have a mid-tone right here and this makes the path look much better because let's say
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we have all of these right here and we make all of them the same color. we can see the path no longer has all that detail and it actually looks quite plain. But if we redo that and we add
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color variation, as we can see the path now looks much better and we also applied this effect to the grass. So as we can see we have two shades of grass, the main shade but then we also have a
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darker shade right here and that has a lot of color variation as well because look at this main area right here. This is with no color variation. It still looks pretty good but it is a lot more plain than this right here which has a
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lot more color and it also makes certain parts stick out a lot more. And color variation also goes with bushes. As we can see, it's not as noticeable, but there's multiple different colors that we use for these bushes, and that's also
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the same with the trees. If you look at the trees, I think there's like four different colors we used over here, which I made a whole video on how to make them. Once again, over here we have like four different colors, because if
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they were all the same, it just wouldn't look as good. And the next tip that I have is to use reference images, especially as a beginner. So, reference images could be things that are already made, such as while making this map, I
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was constantly looking back at the forest for reference, and that is how I made this map with all this detail. If you told me to just make a forest style map, I would have quite a bit of trouble
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at the start, but since I looked at that reference and I practiced, I'm now much better at it. And that's also good for buildings as well. Like for example, I have this image right here of a building, which I just generated this
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with ChatGPT. And what I did is I took a picture of this map, and I told it to make me a building in this style, and this is what it came up with right here.
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So, if I don't have any building ideas from the top of my head, I could use this as reference, and this is what I have so far. I kind of gave up on it because I decided I don't really need to
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make this, but a good example is this over here. This is also a building where I got reference from AI, and then I put it together, and it looks pretty good.
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The next tip that I have is to use high variation, such as over here. As we can see, all these things are at different heights, and it adds a lot more texture.
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And that goes the same with maps over here. Like if we were to grab this, and we were to just duplicate it, and then move it like that, and if we were to make it a big wall, as we can see, that
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doesn't look very good. Even if we rotate them so they don't all match up, as we can see, it just doesn't look as good as it could be. And instead, that's why I made these right here. These are a
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little bit of a different height, and it just adds a lot more variation. We can still duplicate this, and then we can just scale it up to still make it different than that. And we can also do the same with this, scale it down, and
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this just adds a lot of variation to the map, and makes it look a lot better while still using the same assets. Like look at that. That looks much better than that flat wall we had, and it still
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uses the same assets as before. We can also see that on this map right here.
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This is a mine map, so of course it has a lot more variation. If you look at this one for example, this is just a blocked out version that was given as reference. As we can see, there's still
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high variation, but not as much. You kind of just go forward, and then it drops straight down, and then it does that for each layer. But if we go back over to the map that I made, as we can
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see, there's a lot more layers. And although it still goes straight and drops down, there's still small layers in between, and overall make it look a lot better. That goes the same with the outside as well. And for my next tip is
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to not make everything the same size. I kind of mentioned this in the high variation, and also the tip about adding clusters. But basically for like these props right here, don't make them all the same size. You can make the same
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prop different sizes without actually remaking it at all. So I can grab the sparrow, and I can make it whatever size I want, and I can just rotate it, place it around, and there is no specific size that these actually have to be. Same
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with these crates over here. It's the exact same model, just different sizes. And I also showed that on the mining map over here, where I took the same crates and just made them different sizes, because there's no specific size that
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these crates actually have to be. The next tip that I have is to add details to the edges, and not the center. For this map, I did actually add five bit details to the center, which I think it's a little bit more than I need to,
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and I actually should probably clear up some of the space before the main details, such as this over here and all these other things, they're all along the edges. And that's because whenever we play the game, we don't want the
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player to feel clustered, unless it's like a horror game and that's what you're going for. But for the most part, we want the player to be in an open space, but for there to be plenty of details in the background, such as that
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mountain over there. It adds a lot of detail, and makes the map look much better without the player actually feeling clustered. Like over here in this area where I placed just a bunch of random props, it makes the player feel a
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little bit clustered, especially since this stuff right here doesn't really go together. I mean, it kind of does, but it's also just kind of random. But, if we go over here and see this open space, as we can see, it's nice and open while
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still having a lot of detail in the background, and also just a little bit of detail in the center, such as this small area right here. The next tip that I have, which I believe is the ninth tip, is to create landmarks. Landmarks
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on maps are very important. Like this right here, for example, this could be a landmark. Maybe this one over here. I still need to add a lot more detail to them for them to actually be a landmark, but we could definitely see that in some
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other maps. Like right here, landmarks can be pretty small, such as this spot right here. Same with this area over here. This is also a landmark, including the bridge. Even though this isn't like a main aspect of the game, like the
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player doesn't need to be over here at all, it's still a landmark that makes the map look a lot better. Like if you select all of this and we delete it, for example, as we can see, it's no longer a
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landmark and it doesn't look as good. But, if we add that back, it makes the map look a lot better. Once again, landmarks can also be small, such as this area over here. I would consider this as a landmark, and the player
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doesn't need to explore this area at all. Like the average player will just walk over here, go up the hill, and then reach this main landmark over here, which has NPCs and all that sort of stuff. But, this small landmark over
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here just adds extra decoration and it makes the map look a lot better. And that's basically what this area is. This is a mining area, but this is just a small part of a map that's going to be
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much bigger. And for my final tip, which is one of the most important ones, is to try to add a storyline. And that doesn't mean to add like lore to the game, but just make it look like the stuff in your
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map is actually doing stuff. Like this, for example, this over here is just extra detail, but it still has a storyline because some sort of person is using this crane that is lifting up the boxes from down here to up there, and
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the player isn't going to be using this at all. It's just extra detail that kind of adds a the Same with over here, this one is also lifting up a crate, but as we can see, there's a crashed tractor
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down here that is all rusty and it is kind of like inside the rock now. So, that is a little bit of story and that's the same with this map. It's not as noticeable, but like just the crates and
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the boxes, those also add story and same with the bridge. That just shows that someone has been here before and they started exploring the area and even put things in barrels and stuff and makes the map look a lot better. And on this
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map, it's not as noticeable because I haven't added too many details just yet. But, story could also be just like extra paths. Like this path over here, for example, that isn't even along the main path. It just shows that previously
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someone has gone up here, explored and even made a path and it just adds a little bit story. But, anyway, those are all the tips I have to improve your buildings on Roblox Studio and if this video helped you out, please make sure
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to smash that subscribe button and I'll see you all in the next video.
Topics:Roblox StudioRoblox building tipsmap designlevel designcolor variationprop clusteringRoblox tutorialenvironmental storytellinggame development
