Vehicle: Corvette C6

[PhantomDesign]

If you want to get advanced at car modeling (with NURBS), before you model a car, try to visualize how the original 3D modeler would have done it. If possible try to spot the largest and most basic supporting surfaces. I'll post some reference photos in a little bit, but as you will see I'm starting with a panel that stretches front the side vent to the back of the car.

If any of you want to follow along, it will not be easy. I am using NURBS techniques which may be foreign to many of you, and I’m also modeling in Rhino.

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=655&password=

You'll need to register to the site for those pictures, but that's the best collection I've found.

[PhantomDesign]

Since I have no blueprint diagrams, this is mostly approximation based on the best pictures I could find. You may want to note where the horizon reflection is in pictures.

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-001.JPG

[PhantomDesign]

When modeling the back I made careful notice what was part of the main surface and what wasn't. I also noticed a dip between the headlights, and a bulge a little bit lower. These are the details I see a lot of car modelers miss. You don't see this stuff when you model using blueprints only.

Obviously make sure your surfaces are tangent across the very center of your car so you don't get a ridge or weird reflections when you mirror it.

I’m not doing this tutorial style, but some of you car modelers may want to pay attention.


http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-002.JPG
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-003.JPG

[PhantomDesign]

There are a few updates. What I mostly did here was make sure the surfaces intersected at the proper line and did the proper amount of fillet (check reference pictures for accuracy of fillet line and fillet radius).


http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-005.JPG

Looks like I need to do a little bit more work to the lower area of the fillet.

[PhantomDesign]

Small update. Some further notes about what you may miss in reference pictures is some indented details. For example this license plate area is pushed in too far.


http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-006.JPG

[PhantomDesign]

Nothing specail. Just cleaning the form and adding more of the larger surfaces.

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-007.JPG

[Pete81]

Nice to see nurbs modeling with rhino :). I will keep my eye on this topic. Maybe I get inspired by you and will start new car model with rhino.

[PhantomDesign]

If you want to join in the topic and even do a completely different car....I'm not going to be selfish with the topic. If you want a real challenge, try to do a car which hasn't been done before, and you can't find any blueprints for. It will do you good to get use to things like judging curvature by looking at photos.

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-007b.JPG

[Pete81]

No way man... I'm not going to come ruin yours topic ;). My models are plain crap compared to yours smooth and clean models :(.

[PhantomDesign]

It's totally fine. Post your stuff in here, and I'll give you pointers! This may be your only opportunity to get help from me on this subject. At worst, you may learn something ;)



...back to the C6....

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-009.JPG

When you start adding details, you want to be SURE that all primary surfaces (think largest surfaces) that are touching the details are exactly how you want them. I'd do any fillets, blends or tangency matches also first (smoothing between surfaces) Once you add details, it is a huge pain to go back and modify the main surfaces.


Edit

For those of you wondering where this joker is going, this is how the last one turned out. 11 days (7 for modeling), no ideas for any bodykits when I started, no time to do a neat job, no blueprints, nothing :)

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114417

[PhantomDesign]

Updates...
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-010.JPG
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-011.JPG
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-013.jpg <-rendered
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-013b.jpg <-rendered
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-014.jpg

Still working on the car :D

[Tylerb59]

Good start, man.

I liked your fictionals vehicles, I'm eager to see you work on 'real' vehicles. :thumbsup:

[PhantomDesign]

I prefer to call them designs, not fictional vehicles :) Just because they don't exist right now doesn't mean I won't build them later.

Don't be fooled by it's appearance...it won't stay default for long. What I'm doing designing a variety of body kits for it. Right now I have a wide-body kit planned and a regular kit planned. Both of them are likely to be exotic and smooth in style.

Well, thanks for the compliment :D

[PhantomDesign]

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-015.jpg <-1 body kit idea sketch
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-016.jpg <-progress on the nose

[PhantomDesign]

Moving towards the front....
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-018.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-019.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-020.jpg

[PhantomDesign]

More front work....
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-023.jpg

[Criogen]

You're great modeler!

I'm just a beginner in rhino, but i hope that someday i'll be as good as you are :)

[PhantomDesign]

You've got to start somewhere. It isn't easy to get this far.



I did some more cleanup work & I decided to show the sketch in 015 on top of my current progress.
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-025.jpg

[PhantomDesign]

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-027.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-029.jpg

[PhantomDesign]

*Mumbles about the 900 views and almost no replies*

Comments/Questions anyone?

[XxBrianxX]

lol yea im surprised, usually this type of thing gets people all worked up.. but hey awesome job, the new corvette looks damn sweet, cant wait to see the finished model, great job so far!

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks for the compliments!! I think people need a little nudge to get the conversation started. ;) Hmmm….I’ll try something.


http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/c6.jpg


Corvette C6...
The Corvette C6 was only unveiled very recently. Looking at my progress you can probably get a decent idea of the proportions & general shape. From reviewing comments at various places, this car looks a ton better when you see it in person.

Overall, the C6 is smaller than the C5 (the C5 is the newest corvette you'll see on the streets currently). It's shorter, not as wide, and overall less bulky. The lines are sleeker and more defined. The C6 does not have popup lights, but instead uses a more exotic shape. The Corvette C6 will be available to consumers in the fall of 2004 (this year).

There are various current criticisms of the C6. First, it doesn’t look that striking in pictures, but many say it is much better in person. Second, many seem to think that it is not enough of an upgrade or change from the C5 to last until the C7. On that note, the large back end is basically the same as the C5, which I just think is laziness on the part of the designers. Third, the nose is stylistically weak & receives a lot of criticism. Fourth, it is smaller, which goes against the current corvette taste. Lastly, it achieves the look of speed just fine, but doesn’t look very muscular.




What I’m going to do when I finish making the 3D model of the C6 is create some body kit designs. I’ll probably do 4 different designs, but focus primarily on whichever 2 people like best. The main idea of these body kits is to make the Corvette look more exotic and muscular. I will be avoiding “ricy” styles (think “Fast and the Furious”), and will be going for a much smoother style, something you’d expect to see from a company like Ferrari, Porsche, or Lamborghini.

[PhantomDesign]

More progress....

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-030.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-034.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-035.jpg

[ToddD]

That has turned out beautifully! Nice to see the progression, you are a very capable rhino modeler for sure, impressive! I agree about the lack of response, people need to speak up, I find it discouraging when work of this caliber is overlooked for no apparent reason. Finish it up!!!!! ;)

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks TbonZ for the compliments. I looked at your WIP & yours is looking nice also.

I'll wouldn't worry about me giving up on this project. I have so many ideas for some exotic looking body kits for this that I won't let myself give up.

[quyeno]

i think no-one is responding is because there is nothing to crit, it damn good, i'm watching this one and look forward to seeing it finally rendered.

quyeno

[PhantomDesign]

i think no-one is responding is because there is nothing to crit, it damn good
AHHH!!! I need to start sucking & people will reply. he he



Thanks for the compliments! I always appreciate compliments. Hopefully the render will eventually live up to the quality of the model....without taking up too much of my time.

[swee7an]

maaan, i like how your model is precise and accurate.

good job, keep it up http://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

ps: I would really appreciate your help "click here" (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1097298#post1097298)

[PhantomDesign]

Help has been delivered :)

Thanks for the compliments. It takes a lot of time & effort, but it is worth it.

[EighthDecay]

keep at it man your doing a very good job on this, can't wait to see what you have in store for it.

[sabaman]

nice going phantom, very accurate,...

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks for the compliments sabaman & EightDecay.

Both of you do excelent 3D car work too!!!! Keep on rocking!!!

[PhantomDesign]

Starting the Headlights
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-039.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-040.jpg

[AdamantiumKnot]

Looking good so far, can't wait to see a finished product. What are you references?

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks! Glad you like it.

I am using photographs for reference....just photographs.


Edit: More work on the headlights.

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-041.jpg

[swee7an]

its all coming along very nice :thumbsup:

keep it going man

[ToddD]

Simply beautiful-it keeps getting better!

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks for the compliments! I appreciate them.


More work: Finished the headlights.
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-042.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-042b.jpg

[The Armenian]

I am liking this a lot. That's some really nice solid modeling there. I can't find anything wrong, looks pretty close to the real version.


Keep it going man, it's an excellent one.

(ps, how many polies is it?)

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks Armenian!

Polys? It's NURBS, meaning it is as many or few polys as I want it to be.

[The Armenian]

Originally posted by PhantomDesign
Thanks Armenian!

Polys? It's NURBS, meaning it is as many or few polys as I want it to be.

lol, I know what NURBS are. I was just wondering how many it would be if you turned it into polies say with the settings you had for your last update. (Please forgive my ignorance, but I've only used NURBS with C4D so I may be asking something not possible with Rhino)

[PhantomDesign]

With some special techniques I could proably get it under 2000 polys without losing much detail.

[Pete81]

Originally posted by PhantomDesign
With some special techniques I could proably get it under 2000 polys without losing much detail.


Hmmm...
Could you tell more about this technique? I have been fighting with high poly count and want to make my models not so high polycount but still keep the details. I'm using rhino 2.0.

You have done excellent job with the model ;).

[WChestnutt]

looks v cool!!!! keep it up!!!

[swee7an]

hey PhantomDesign,

can you please post the wire ? i just wanna see who did you go and have an idea about the model and modeling .......

[PixelVampire]

looking good

[JDMedia]

Damn I guess I have to learn Rhino too, so much better then Poly Modeling...

How did you learn it? Any good tuts around?

Thanks and keep it up!

[maxmanjake]

car looks great. I wish 3dsmax nurbs were as good as rhinos!

[Criogen]

well i know 2 tutorials, only they are in russian :D
so if you don't understand russian you have to translate them somehow
http://andklv.narod.ru/tut1/ak_tut1.html
and
http://ru.meta3d.com/pr/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=49&page=1

[PhantomDesign]

Could you tell more about this technique?
Look up modern techniques to control poly counts in video games. ;)

Thanks for the compliment UnkLimit! The M3 in your avatar doesn’t look bad. I have a BMW M3 I haven’t finished yet.
www.GryphonAuto.com -> Vehicles -> BMW M3 MOD

hey PhantomDesign,

can you please post the wire ? i just wanna see who did you go and have an idea about the model and modeling .......

I use a specialized NURBS technique that I developed. I always develop my own techniques and only look for help as a last resort. It can be rather painful to do, but consider I’ve only been modeling a little over 2 years. http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-042c.jpg

With cars…

Do it right the first time. Tweaking forces you to rebuild sub-details, adjacent surfaces & sub-details on adjacent surfaces.
If modeling something real, get a lot of reference photos & COMPARE OFTEN.
Build your objects IN ORDER. Like a tree, you usually build the trunk first.
See the object as if it’s a 3D model. This is more important since modern cars often come from a 3D model. If you really have problems, draw the wires on top of photographs(in MS Paint/Photoshop), noting the edges of each surface & how the wires in-between flow.


looking good
Thanks vampire :)

Damn I guess I have to learn Rhino too, so much better then Poly Modeling...

How did you learn it? Any good tuts around?

Thanks and keep it up!
Software doesn’t make the model. Rhino works well for me, but I could do this in 3DS Max also.

I have never used a tutorial for car modeling, but there are a number of them floating around. Take a look at the Porsche GT3 project by shaddrix. Last I checked, he was doing a good job.

You could use an Internet translator and check out those tutorials that Criogen posted, but I know there are more around (and in English). Ask some of the other car modelers.

[PhantomDesign]

I'll be gone for a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to work on this. I'll make sure to reply to any more comments when I get back...but don't worry about my lack of responses for the next few days.

[PhantomDesign]

Project Juggling :)
Back to work on this one for the moment.

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-050.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-051.jpg
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-051b.jpg

51b is an overlay picture. I didn't feel like messing with the lens zoom...I'll do that at a later time.

[PhantomDesign]

Wheel Updates
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-052.jpg

[PhantomDesign]

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/000-052b.jpg


Time for trims & cleanup. Next comes the interior.
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/001-004.jpg

[simonvb]

Curious to see this finished. Keep em coming phantomdesign !

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks for the compliment simonvb! These cars will always keep comming.

Fixed the rear wheel area some (Thanks to Sabaman for the tip/critique)
http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/001-005.jpg

[XLNT-3d]

Originally posted by JDMedia
Damn I guess I have to learn Rhino too, so much better then Poly Modeling...

How did you learn it? Any good tuts around?

Thanks and keep it up!

Here's a few;
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Horizon/4419/cardemo.html

http://members.shaw.ca/axeman/magtut.html

http://3drender.com/rhino/index.html

[PhantomDesign]

http://www.gryphonauto.com/Extra/C6/1-5-001.jpg

[swee7an]

am speechless man :thumbup:

[PhantomDesign]

Thanks. This still has a long ways to go.

[swee7an]

i got inspired by ur design and others.

so i think am gonna carry on and rework my old plane :D

and after that i'll try to design a car

http://swee7an.hypermart.net/plane/top.jpg

[PhantomDesign]

EVERYONE!!!


New thread. Please go to the link below.
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=120483

[WChestnutt]

u jus linked to this thread.....

[PhantomDesign]

Correct, I did link to the OLD THREAD (this thead) for those who are interested in the progress. Please go here ( http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=120483 ) for updates and to reply. Thankyou.



Go There for newer stuff -> http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=120483


Edit: fixed url

[WChestnutt]

now u just link to this thread twice....

[PhantomDesign]

I just misunderstood what you said the first time. I thought you were saying that my other thread told you to go here....not that this thread was linking to itself. Must be late at night ;)

Thanks, links fixed.

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