Cautiously, I put these renderings out there....

[Char]

I wanted to tear you down and tell you how much everything looks like shit, but I respect you for trying and the work isn't half bad.

Suggestion though - stop trying to add stupid design elements to be purposely quirky, instead go for bold strong lines, and the rest will speak for itself.

[2o6]

Thanks? I guess.



Since this thread is updated, I just released the Kenosha for racer.

http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/threads/2013-aviva-kenosha-automatic.59617/

[2o6]

Trying my hand at this shit again.

Protip: modeling glass separately never works out well; reflections generally end up looking odd compared to the actual metal.



Good start, though. I cheat the mesh by using modifiers; subdivision surface is a good way to add polygons. And with careful placement of edges and surfaces, you can get something fleshed out pretty quickly.

[sportyaccordy]

I remember the last one I did, you said I had too many polygons. Been really trying to keep that shiz to a minimum, deleting/simplifying faces wherever I can. I'm gonna put the glass back; I just wanted to get the cutouts right so when I put the glass in it would look good. The cutouts are pretty much perfect.

Couple of questions though. I might just fuck around and join the Blender board but if you can help that would be great.

What's your strategy for making wheels? I use the array modifier by rotating around an empty, but it seems pretty wonky. Lot of moving pieces

How do you create groups? I am working on a motorcycle and I made every piece of the wheel a separate object (tire, rim, spokes, hub, brake rotors- each with their own empty for the array modifier). I made it in a separate file and want to copy everything over cleanly + in one shot. Any ideas?

How do you paint + render to get colors? And how do you make glass?

Got a lot of things on the burner.

[2o6]

I will have to respond when I get  my keyboard is way too small

[2o6]

I remember the last one I did, you said I had too many polygons. Been really trying to keep that shiz to a minimum, deleting/simplifying faces wherever I can. I'm gonna put the glass back; I just wanted to get the cutouts right so when I put the glass in it would look good. The cutouts are pretty much perfect.


Your old model didn't have too many polygons, per se, but too many polygons in the wrong places. Some surfaces were pretty much flat, yet it had a lot of polygons for no reason. It also had the geometry duplicated several times, it was a lot more polygons than the models I make, but way less detailed.

Couple of questions though. I might just fuck around and join the Blender board but if you can help that would be great.

The boards are OK, but sometimes they can be a bit over the top on technique.

What's your strategy for making wheels? I use the array modifier by rotating around an empty, but it seems pretty wonky. Lot of moving pieces

I do one of two ways; the array method as you described; usually I model a spoke or a fraction of the wheel using the mirror modifier. Makes things simpler. With some careful rotation of the empty, and using the "first and last" unite tool, you can make it work. Or I just use a circle, and model out of that.

How do you create groups? I am working on a motorcycle and I made every piece of the wheel a separate object (tire, rim, spokes, hub, brake rotors- each with their own empty for the array modifier). I made it in a separate file and want to copy everything over cleanly + in one shot. Any ideas?

Usually I just separate objects, mostly because I tend to export into racer, so parent/daughter relationships don't matter to me. Usually I select faces or materials and use the 'p' key to do different objects. Some might not be necessary to be separate objects

How do you paint + render to get colors? And how do you make glass?

Using the materials, you have to set mirror and transparency in the "Mirror" and "Transparency" dialogues in the "Materials" tab. It looks like you have no materials, and probably only one small lamp from when the file was started. Also, set shading to smooth so you can start to see how the surface will be calculated in a rendering.

Got a lot of things on the burner.

[sportyaccordy]

Thanks man that about covers it

Gonna get cracking on a "naked" version (no sheetmetal... all the chassis + engine + suspension components and maybe the interior) once I finish with this one

[2o6]

Keep in mind about normals; it's whats calculated to render the car smooth instead of flat-shaded. Black boxes means your normals are backwards (easy fix with the 'w' key, IIRC), and backwards normals means your car will behave with light opposite of reality (dark will be light, light will be dark).


Only spot lamps cast shadows, and you need a plane of some sort underneath the car to cast a shadow.

[sportyaccordy]

Really getting a grasp of the interface. Here is the bike I've been working on.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Wheelbase looks a bit long
Tank looks a bit wide
Interesting front suspension
You should thow an extra cylinder on it and make it a V3
Damn, I wish I had time to figure out how to make cool shit on Blender.

[MrH]

Are you ever going to get Alias?  Hell, even I'm going to get it for fun.  It beats the hell out of this Blender program.

[2o6]

Are you ever going to get Alias?  Hell, even I'm going to get it for fun.  It beats the hell out of this Blender program.

I downloaded it, but it's hard to use with no formal training. The interface (like blender) has the learning curve of running face first into a brick wall. Blender isn't bad at all, don't know why you keep saying that.

[2o6]

Been messing around with Cycles. It's so much more dynamic in the rendering, why hadn't I used this sooner.

[MrH]

Now it just looks like you took pictures of melted candles with your cell phone

[2o6]

Now it just looks like you took pictures of melted candles with your cell phone

I only have10 or so passes on, light looks quite granulated.

[sportyaccordy]

Looks way better. Can you post some pics of your wireframes... I just can't get this shit right man.

[2o6]

Alias is way harder, mostly because its so different than what I'm used to.


Basically, here's a top of a car and a greenhouse. No real design here, just trying to get a handle on the program.

[sportyaccordy]

Ah damn you lost a ton of posts

Learning curve is tough but you just gotta churn through it. Once you know you will be better for it. Versatility never hurts

[2o6]

Ah damn you lost a ton of posts

Learning curve is tough but you just gotta churn through it. Once you know you will be better for it. Versatility never hurts

It's more so, now I don't have to really think so much about the mesh, so I have wayy more freedom to think about the design with no 'consequences'.


Here's another update. It's a small subcompact coupe, akin to maybe the Geely CD or Toyota Paseo. No small coupe like this really exists, and I am going to have a hard time with placing the wheel arches without it looking goofy. Not much thought was given to the design, I just really want to make something simple so I know how to work the program.

[2o6]

Since I'm starting to get a handle on the interface, here are pictures of a remodel of the B-segment Cil (a design that I like a lot, but probably is my worst model out there technically speaking) I also am using a design I have done before because it's easy to make blueprints out of it (instead of hand drawing something out)


It's just so different than polygonal modeling. It's going to take me a while to get used to the interface.

[MrH]

Are you using a tablet or just a mouse?

[2o6]

Are you using a tablet or just a mouse?

Yeah,im using a tablet.

[2o6]

Aside from boring texturing and other technical stuff, I made this RWD sedan.


I have to fix some proportional issues at the front of the car, but here it is


Last new model for awhile....I got too much stuff going and not enough creativity to get some good stuff going.

[hotrodalex]

Looks pretty good. 5 year olds in the back seat won't be able to see anything, but other than that the only thing I noticed was the semi-large overhangs.

[2o6]

Been experimenting a lot with more dramatic lighting and angles.

[SVT666]

Holy overhangs Batman.

[2o6]

Holy overhangs Batman.

I scrapped that model.

[2o6]

Been working hard on turning the rendering quality wayyy up because of my forthcoming portfolio date submission.


I'm putting the

A-segmement
RWD Coupe
Cheap B-segment hatch
regular B-segment hatch
C-segment sedan
B-segment low cost sedan

as my submissions as well as many sketches and other work I've done.


I turned up the amount of polygons; it's roughly 2X as many as the ones I had been showing. Allows for rounder curves and smoother reflections.