Thanks. Yeah healights and stop lights are always pretty hard unless you have a clear idea from the start. I have to go through various shapes and ask opinions. I never abandon projects, but there are some models I work maybe once a year and others I make several versions of in that time. I also recycle geometry from some projects. It’s always easier to start with something than from scratch.
I’m using Google Sketchup for modeling so nurbs are out. Basically it’s poly/box modeling you start from something simple and just add.
For cars I normally start with the wheel placement because they are essential for good proportions, after that I draw whatever part I feel i have some idea, but the roofline would be easier to start with.
If you don’t have a very clear idea on how you want your car to look, the easiest way to go forward would be to use the outline of an existing car you like (e.g. Dodge Viper) and go from there and modify it.
Thats exactly what i did with the dodge viper 
(blue concept seen on the first page) i used the blueprints of that and went from there. Used different inspirations like a ferrari f430 and the rear was totally my idea, which backfired a little. A while ago i redid that model, although i have not touched 3dsmax for some time now… should be making some time for it 
… Forza 4 addiction ey 
ahum.
Ahh lol what a coincidence. Well it looks ok, and is modeled better than my models. I don’t have much patience for details . The back is a bit too Nissan 350Z.
I normally post my cars at local motors to get feedback on the design. Sometimes you become too blind because you’re content with your own work and level and need another’s point of view to bring you down to earth.
The back is indeed fugly, as i said… designing the rear completely without any reference, backfired (the whole model was more for practicing poly flow, not for a superb concept).
I have some great new design ideas for a integrated back wing for the new and improved model tho.
I’m especially concerned about details when it comes to my models, i keep on adding detail… i love detail :p. Thats mostly why i don’t finish alot of the models (the high poly ones)
Posting on cgcars.com is also a great way to get yourself back to earth, i post my high poly projects there (altough i haven’t done so for over 2 years 
)
and you always learn from the constructive critique they give there.
But you don’t need reference, that’s the beauty. You make stuff up and then open yourself up for humiliation or glory and then try again 
Ahh CG-Cars, seems like a nice place to lurk.
When I want to get critique on a design or make some changes of the design I tend not to post much on CG oriented forums. It’s not because the people are blind or stupid, but because they normally pay too much attention to the model, how it was modeled, with what it was modeled, small modeling errors etc.
I get comments sometimes that say to abandon Sketchup and try something else. I know they mean well and they may be right but I just want to make cool designs not to be a perfect modeler Although sometimes I wish I had also learnt maya or 3dsmax. I lost a job opportunity because of that… oh well.
So that’s why I mainly use Local Motors posting for my cars, most there are design oriented and will guide you in that sense, but if you want technical help for modeling or drawing there are people that are good at those too.
If you check my Sunbeam project on LM, you’ll see how much the car and me evolved in the last 3 years. Sometimes I can’t believe I really liked that first shitty blob 
That sunbeam got trough some pretty drastic changes .
But sometimes you just need to stop changing things because otherwise it can go on forever (in my case :p)
Thats the reason why i posted on cgcars, i wanted to learn (needed to learn as i learnt it all myself, not on a school or something) from my modelling mistakes.
They are very very good at pointing out all the modelling flaws, design wise they mostly say… its your model (although i got some heated discussion about a self designed bodykit for the Opel Astra when it wasn’t finished yet )
But its not to late to try 3dsmax, there is a free version if im not mistaken. And its always good to be better at modelling, also for making it faster to model things from your head which leaves more room for imagination instead of frustration.
[quote=“dread_darven”]That sunbeam got trough some pretty drastic changes .
But sometimes you just need to stop changing things because otherwise it can go on forever (in my case :p)[/quote]
Yup, indeed it has. To be honest If it wouldn’t have been for the support I got, I think I would have pretty much stopped at revision 5. I liked it, it was moderately detailed and ok overall, but I’m glad I continued. It’s the only one of my cars that got people’s attention like that.
Also, I tend to consider all my projects WIPs, sometimes I take a model I haven’t worked on in months or years and make something out of it.
That’s exactly what I was talking about. I mostly want critique design wise and not modeling wise. For one, most use 3ds max or other and they can’t really relate to how I do things, though it’s similar in principle. Also most of the flaws in my meshes are mainly down to not having enough patience or being lazy. 
I have been trying to learn 3ds max on and off for years. It was in fact the first 3d software I tried to learn. Some magazine offered a cd with all kinds of stuff on it and also had a trial version of max, I think Sketchup was on it too. That was in 2003, OMG almost 10 years ago.
I tried the learning by exploring aproach, the tutorial aproach and nothing…it’s just too frustrating to learn without someone to guide you. It has many small buttons/symbols, lots of tools and menus, it’s just very very confusing.
I wish they would improve their GUI and make it user friendly.
There is also the problem of motivation, sometimes when I think of modeling something I immediately know or have ideas on how to do it with Sketchup in minutes or a few hours while if I tried it with max I’d had to fumble around for days to get a similar result. I just can’t get over that.
Design and drawing by TwistedMethodDan and model by me.
twistedmethoddan.deviantart.com/ … /#/d4v2mqx
very nice marian87
Thanks
Thats a nice concept, good thing to model his concept as it deserves a good 3d model. Been looking at his other concept’s and like some of the ideas he has (the mercedes concept also looks nice)
[quote=“Marian87”]
That’s exactly what I was talking about. I mostly want critique design wise and not modeling wise. For one, most use 3ds max or other and they can’t really relate to how I do things, though it’s similar in principle. Also most of the flaws in my meshes are mainly down to not having enough patience or being lazy. [/quote]
But if you perfect model’s they speak out even more, bad meshes tend to distract from a nice designed model imo.
[quote=“Marian87”]
I have been trying to learn 3ds max on and off for years. It was in fact the first 3d software I tried to learn. Some magazine offered a cd with all kinds of stuff on it and also had a trial version of max, I think Sketchup was on it too. That was in 2003, OMG almost 10 years ago.
I tried the learning by exploring aproach, the tutorial aproach and nothing…it’s just too frustrating to learn without someone to guide you. It has many small buttons/symbols, lots of tools and menus, it’s just very very confusing.
I wish they would improve their GUI and make it user friendly.
There is also the problem of motivation, sometimes when I think of modeling something I immediately know or have ideas on how to do it with Sketchup in minutes or a few hours while if I tried it with max I’d had to fumble around for days to get a similar result. I just can’t get over that.[/quote]
I admit, 3ds max is realy hard to get into… but i also still don’t know what more than half of the buttons do as do most 3d artists out there. Its a matter of knowing which things you need and ignoring the rest of the features.
Also, the newer versions have had a big design change with the ui and it is now more customizable, although i prefer the older style which i am used to by now.
I use the box modelling technique which is a very hard technique to use on a concept car for the sake of just making a design from your own creativity, but i bumped into this tutorial
cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/max/concept-car/concept-car.html
which is a technique that could get some pretty fast results and also clean results… or you could use nurbs (never tried nurbs myself)
Finally been very bussy with 3D (after a few years of not finishing anything) because i have no job anymore.
Will be making a portfolio very soon and will be looking into going for freelancing in 3D… although it is a very big step which needs some carefull planning.
This is my most recent work:
Toyo proxes R888 semi-slicks (although sidewall says ct01, which is wrong ) with the wheels of a Nissan 300ZX
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/10.jpg
Same, but with Yokohama Advan Neova AD007 tyres
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/11.jpg
A wire of the scene,
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/7.jpg
Brake caliper of the 300ZX
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/18.jpg
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/21.jpg
And the car itself
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/25.jpg
http://brendel2.home.xs4all.nl/darc/CGI/300ZX/26.jpg
Still need to make some minor things for it but but next to this i already continued with a Civic Eg model
Starting to work on my model of the cargo bay of “Serenity” from the TV show Firefly, I started work on this way back in 2007 but never got around to finishing it.
Here is how a bit of it is looking after a few weekends and weeknights of starting work on it again.
I don’t have many still renders but I do have this short commercial I did for a driving licence company here in Norway.
Also the student film I made during studying in England.
My website is under development, but I do have a still picture of a plane I made there.
The plane is looking good, but I’m intrigued as to what plane it is? It looks mostly like a BF109, but it has the rounded under-nose scoop of a Hispano HA-1109 (Licence Built Bf109), but if its a HA-1109 the Exhaust stubs are on the wrong part of the nose, as the HA-1109 engine was the right way up, as opposed to the inverted V12 in the BF109. Not a big deal, but if you’re going for a realistic plane its worth noting. /Planenerd
Hehe, plane nerd goes well with car nerd though…
To be honest I didn’t pay much attention to details with this plane, so its a combination of just pictures I found. I was making a matchmove so it wasn’t going to be seen real close, more like 200-300 meters away from the camera. It flew over and got shot down and crashed and demolished a house. hehe
I’ve lost the footage though as my computer blew up during the transportation from England to Norway, its pretty sad as it was a piece I would like to add to my portifolio.
Ohh, yes from that distance/speed you’d never see it!
Yea, I may shape it up if I’m gonna use it at a later date though, if so I’ll come to you for details. hehe
Great work guys, I’am just doing some engineering projects in SolidWorks for my studies. Here is a brake disc I have made
Kubboz that is impressive!