Part 1: Modeling
the Nissan R390 GT in 3ds max 5
>> Section 7: Finalizing
This last section will be quite fast. It's all about adding
small details to the car. I will just point out how i started,
then you can refer to the images to see the results. If you
arrived here, you should already know how to use poly modeling
and that's how i did the small details.
1) Windshield wiper
I did this part by looking at one of my car's wipers and making
it similar, considering that the one i had to model was a
single and slightly different one. As you can see from the
image (Fig. 52 and Fig.
53) it was quite easy (even if time consuming): i just
created and positioned some boxes with enough setments, then
fiddled around with the taper and bend modifier. I then edited
some smaller details and added other parts (alway primitives
anyway). Just try to be very precise where the wiper touches
the glass or you'll mess up the reflections: use a side view
to position you vertices correctly.
2) Antenna
This was the easiest part :-). Look at Fig.
54 and don't ask me anything :-P
3) Turning lights
Same as above, just a squashed sphere and an edited chamfer
cylinder, look at Fig. 55. Just
carefully position them!
4) Engine
I had very little references for this (just a shot from a
little plastic model) so i tried my best. I have now a nice
image of the real engine (without the car!) so maybe i'll
do it again from scratch in the future. So, i tried to figure
out the main parts and used primitives and splines with little
editing to add some details (anyway nobody will see them from
the ouside), and i also used the "grreble" plugin
on a couple of boxes to add fake detail. You can look at the
engine in Fig. 56 and Fig.
57.
5) Interiors (seats, roll-bar, wheel,
dashboard)
I found some references images of seats and driving wheels,
and modeled them with a medium detail as this will be enough.
The driving wheel is modeled with the same technique as the
rims, with an outer torus primitive and an inner cylinder:
the mesh in Fig. 58 should speak
for itself. The seats and small details are all built starting
from boxes and editing/cutting in poly mode as usual: there's
nothing very special about this parts so just take a look
at Fig. 59 and Fig.
60.
In Fig. 61 you can see the roll-bar,
which is never really well seen from the outside: it's just
a bunch of renderable spline. You can also see the other interior
parts: very easy box modeling with no particular detail: just
make them fit properly.
6) Rearview mirrors
Same story as the other simple part, a couple of edited boxes
and a couple of cylinders is all you need. Take a look at
the wire in Fig. 62 and a closeup
in Fig. 63 and Fig.
65. Just be really carefull in positioning the reflecting
surface so it doesn't intersect the outer mesh.
7) Screws
These are so small nobody will notice the difference, anyway
i found it nice to model these at an average level. Look at
Fig. 64 and Fig.
65 to see some screws (wow!).
8) Refueling inlet
I outlined the thing with circle and rectangles, joined them
and added a "bevel" and "bend" modifier.
The "bevel" doesn't add any geometry on the front
and back face, so i had to manually cut the mesh ("quickslice")
so i could use the "bend" modifier. It won't be
meshsmoothed so i didn't really care if the cage was a bit
messy so didn't waste time in welding vertices or such. I
added 2 chamfer cylinders inside the holes, with a snaller
radius. Look at the inlet in Fig. 66.
9) Additional surfaces (front grid,
bottom, inner mudguard)
These are low detail surfaces: nobody will ever see the bottom
(it's just there for the GI calculation to be right) and the
wheels are covering the "mudguard" parts.
The bottom (Fig. 67) is an extruded
spline, i then adjusted vertices and sliced where needed.
The mesh is a bit messy, i don't really care.
The mudguards (Fig. 68) are
chamfer cylinder primitives, converted to poly. I then deleted
the faces i didn't need and moved some vertices to make everything
fit correctly.
The front grid is simply a bent plane (i used 2 "bend"
modifier for 2 different directions) with many segments, then
i added a "lattice" modifier adjusting the settings
to have the less geometry possible. I also put 2 similar grids
under the small bonnet air intakes, but still i have to find
a view where someone can actually notice them ;-).
I also separated the engine area from the driver's area and
put a surface in the back under the engine (Fig.
69).
CONCLUSION
Wheeeeeww!!! This was harder (and longer) than i thought!
I really hope you found something usefull to you in this tutorial.
Modeling a car can take a very long time, and there's always
one more detail you want to add, but you have to come to a
stop. I felt this car to be complete for what i had in mind
(i actually modeled more than i expected in the end) when
i positioned the screws, and it has taken more than 2 months
of my spare time to complete it. Anyway when i finally saw
the final renders i was really happy for the time i dedicated
to this project: completing a big project is really difficult
when you come up with a new project idea every day, and that
happens to every 3d passionate, i think: i can understand
all those never finished wip we see around, i have a ton myself.
I found this tip usefull: from the start i decided that i
didn't want to post this car on any forum until it was 100%
finished. I just got some feedback from friends. In fact,
when i post a wip i often loose interest in it, i can't explain
why in a few words, anyway maybe it's the same for some other
guys.
Some final words of wisdom (not that i feel i am in a posion
to offer some, anyway after all this typing some more lines
won't hurt...):
If you find a very hard step in your project, keep trying
for some time and if you can't solve the problem, go on with
another part of your project or take a break and go outside
with friends and drink a lot of beers (and don't try to model
when you're drunk: you'll think you're doing a great job,
but the day after you'll see thousands of errors and you will
ask yourself who the hell came in your room at night to mess
up your surfaces! I tried it!). Than after a couple of days
get back to the problem: things will sometimes appear easier
than they did.
And ask on forums for help. There's a lot of great talented
people which are there to help (if you already tried it hard
by yourself, of course).
Another life-saving tip is: save your work. Now. My save folder
for this project has 155 files, for a total filesize of 0.97
Gb: today hard disk space is not a problem, and you will thank
god when you will realize you messed up a mesh and you can
recover it from a previous save. Moreover if i didn't have
those files i wouldn't have been able to get the images for
this tutorial!
If you find a difficult section or feel i can correct something
or explain better, or for anything you want to ask me, mail
me here.
I'll try to help as fast as i can.
That's it. Now i need some serious sleep. The next part (painting
the car) will be done in a near future (i am already working
on it) and will be really shorter (and easier) than this.
Stay tuned.
HAVE FUN !!!
A huge thanx goes to my gf for putting
up with me and my 3d illness, which takes up so much of my
life: my next short will be in her dedication.
|
