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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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This is my impression of a Mustang that will be another one of the props in the short (4 minute) CG cartoon being produced by our San Diego LightWave User Group for submission to the SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival (this August here in San Diego). Actually - it looks like we will miss the submission deadline for this year so we may have to shoot for next year, but - oh well!
This model will also start as a child's toy then morph into a real race car. Later the race car body opens up funny-car-dragster-style to reveal a massive engine, dual jets, the martial arts master driver and a collection of his weapons (all my modeling work is in modo). Others will do the final surfacing (modo) rigging (LightWave), animation (Motion Builder) and rendering (LightWave), as well as modeling the children and other characters/props.
My first model for this CG animation project was the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T - Transformer:
http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=14195
The Charger was my second 3D car. My first 3D car (and also my first sub-d model) was my 1997 Ford F-150 Lariat pickup truck that I modeled last year in LightWave 8.5 - then did all the surfacing and rendering in modo 201:
http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46883
http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=7776
I did the F-150 body using spline patch modeling. That worked, but was not very efficient - producing a lot of geometry that I later had to rework to get the flow right. For the Charger I used all box modeling, and that worked out great. It allowed me to plan, build and control the polygon flow from the beginning with very little rework.
Last night I started the Mustang using box modeling again. At least at the start I will try to document this process a little better so it flows a bit like a tutorial. This is probably simple basic stuff to most of you, but hopefully there will be a few newer folks who will learn something from it.
I will be presenting the making of my Charger project at our March 26th, 2007 san diego modo user group meeting, so this documentation process will help me prepare for that presentation.
http://www.sdmodo.org/
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 1/9/2008 - 5:45 PM
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2/16/2007 - 3:22 PM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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Step 3: Create bounding box using actual overall car dimensions - then fit inside that box backdrop items for the top, front, back and both sides (just flip one side image for the other side). The images found on the blueprint web sites are not always very accurate, so I don't depend on them too much. I just use them for backdrop items to get the basic body shape and proportions started. I also add a Platform item layer to reference where the floor will be (always at Y=0, X/Z centered):
Step 4: Adjust the bounding box to just the main body of the car (the biggest basic box shape). Slice this box up in all dimensions to very roughly follow the most fundamental lines (like the doors, wheel wells, windows, hood, etc.):
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 2/16/2007 - 4:03 PM
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2/16/2007 - 3:23 PM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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Step 5: Using the Element Move (T) tool, drag points around in the side, top and front views to roughly match the contours and fundamental lines of the main part of the body:
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 2/16/2007 - 3:37 PM
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2/16/2007 - 3:24 PM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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Step 6: Bevel out the bottom between the wheel wells and the top for the windshield, windows, roof and hatchback area. Bevel in the wheel wells. Use the Element Move (T) tool again to refine the shape in side, top, front and also in the perspective view:
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 2/16/2007 - 3:36 PM
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2/16/2007 - 3:25 PM
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Livonia, Michigan - USA
1603 posts
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Nice start, Jeff.
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2/16/2007 - 4:05 PM
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Wiltshire, UK
1444 posts
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Holy-moley!
Don't know how I didn't notice this before! Wow!
That's looking really good so far - Looking forward to updates!
Just one Q - Do you use box modelling on all your cars? I have been looking for a good (and reasonably fast) way to do it, and I'm not getting on with spline patching at all... Maybe I should give this a go.
Follow me on Twitter: SumimasenUK
PSN ID: Sumimasen / Xbox Live Tag: Sumimasen UK
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2/18/2007 - 9:36 AM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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When we (our local LightWave User Group) missed the deadline for the SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival, we decided to shoot for 2008. We immediately lost momentum until about October of 2007. I decided to do a different car for the animation project before returning to this Mustang – the 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic Coupe:
http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=21708
The Bugatti is now finished as far as it needs to be for the animation project. So I am now back (after a very long break) to finish this Mustang. I will try to continue in tutorial style...
Step 7: Make a "To Do List" of items required to finish the project. Maybe this step should be done earlier, but I like to get the basic body shape started first. Then I study my reference photos, decide on the level of detail I want to model, and list all the components in bite size chunks. I divide the list into exterior, interior, and finish stages, then try to order them in some kind of logical flow. I always do this list to help me gage progress and to make sure I don't forget anything. It also helps me "divide and conquer" so a big project doesn't get overwhelming. I usually refine this list as I go along, but I always delete items as I complete them so the list eventually grows shorter and helps motivate me to finish. Sometimes I don't feel like doing the next item on the list, so I skip to something else that I feel better about at the time. I get a sense of accomplishment whenever I can delete an item from the list. This helps me maintain the joy in a project that may take me several days or weeks to complete.
-Jeff
EXTERIOR:
basic body
wheels/tires
windshield
hood / hole for carburetors / latch ports
front grill / vents / headlights / bumper / extra lights / license plate
front horse logo plate
windshield wipers / vents
external gage on hood
front spoiler
rear window / louvers
trunk lid
rear spoiler
rear bumper / grill / taillights
backup lights / gas cap / key hole / license plate
exhaust pipes
rear fenders / wheel wells
front fenders / wheel wells
side front & rear turn signals
sideboards
side doors / windows
side view mirrors / door handles / key holes
side cursive name logo plates
INTERIOR:
rough interior - whole body
frame / roll cage
one seat / steering wheel / dash
engine with double tandem round carburetors
drivetrain
suspension
radiator / battery / fluid tank
rear view mirror
jet engine / fuel tanks
morph map for opened body (funny car dragster style)
morph maps for open doors, trunk, rear grill, jet engine exposed
FINISH:
general surfacing with bright yellow paint
hood / side / rear black stripes
air filter image map
license plate image maps
tire tread texture
front grill texture
rear grill texture
Mach 1 logo image maps
Ford logo image maps
Mustang horse logo image maps
test renders
scenes with characters & other cars from animation project
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 12/9/2007 - 12:11 PM
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11/25/2007 - 12:18 AM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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Tonight I just did the tires and wheels because I was not ready to dive back into body refinements yet...
Step 8: Make one tire/wheel, duplicate it for the front and back, then mirror for left and right. I start with a cylinder primitive, then bevel sides to form sides of tire, wheel, hubcap, lug bolts and rough axle on the inside. I plan ahead to start the cylinder primitive with a number of sides that is a multiple of the number of divisions in the hubcap - in this case 5 divisions * 4 (20). If there are no hubcap divisions I usually use 24 sides because it is a convenient number to reduce down to quads in the center of the hub.
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 11/26/2007 - 11:35 PM
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11/25/2007 - 12:45 AM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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Step 12: Front grill shaping... Bevel out chrome frame around grill. Bevel in front grill and two vents on either side. Sharpen center line (make it more pointy in the middle front). Bevel in headlight cavities, flatten the back of the headlight cavities - in the Z axis, shape the backs into a circles, then bevel out the headlights and shape the rims sides facing into the grill. Bevel in the slot under where the front bumper will go.
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 11/26/2007 - 11:32 PM
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11/26/2007 - 11:18 PM
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Ireland
202 posts
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Good to see how you go about this and the images of the mesh without the sub-ds turned on. Great detail. Like the little Mustang mascot!
Message edited by Glendalough on 11/28/2007 - 5:19 AM
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11/28/2007 - 5:16 AM
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Italy
270 posts
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Good flow of the mesh..clean but precise and detailed...compliments !!! :-D
Nemi Graphics
Expect something different
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11/28/2007 - 5:29 AM
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just westa Chicago
2402 posts
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Ah that's awesome dude, and you do the community a great service outlining your process so well as you go. I have only made one car for a tut series in LW using splines and patching and I never really retained those methods, as I didn't really practice them much at all after that first car.
I am not really a 3D car guy (which is kinda surprising to me as my bro and I were HUGE Mopar gear-heads, building a 440 dual-quad '70 Roadrunner and 440 six-pack '70 'Cuda back in our Car Craft Magazine Street Machine National days), but I had been wanting to build a Ford 427 Cobra (my fav muscle sports-car) using more traditional box-modeling subD methods as you are outlining here, so I will be watching this thread closely and attentively, as I really respect your design and modeling skills. Thanks for all your tut efforts on this dude. :)
Great work here and on the Bugatti. :)
deg
http://deg3D.biz
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11/29/2007 - 7:52 AM
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Norway
914 posts
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Impressive modeling Jeff.
Very inspiring. Lots of details. Love it!
The Mustang is one of my favorite cars.
Never modeled a car myself, but I started a project some days ago, and this wip is a nice kick in the butt. :)
Keep on keepin´on.
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11/29/2007 - 8:23 AM
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Livonia, Michigan - USA
1603 posts
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What a monumental task of a model!
Great job so far.
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11/29/2007 - 11:35 AM
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Chicago
419 posts
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Nice job Jeff,
It reminds me of the good old days when they were still makeing great cars before the "K" car. Thanks for the Great posts.
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11/29/2007 - 2:22 PM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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Thanks everyone! The Mustang is probably my favorite car, but I am a pickup guy, so I already drive my dream car - my 1997 Ford F-150 Lariat! ;-)
I hope my posting step-by-step details here will inspire others to try a significant project. This is hardly "monumental" - but it is a multi-week part-time project for me at this stage in my 3D skills development. I have worked on this a total of six days with a few hours each day. I think I am about half done now. I am trying to document as many steps as practical, but I know beginners will still see some parts as "magic happened here". Maybe someday I will get comfortable enough to do a real video tutorial, but I have to get this project done reasonably quickly and I am not that quick yet. If anyone wants more details on how a particular part is made, please ask and I will try to document that part better.
Step 15: Rear window and trunk lid... Did quite a bit of edge loop rework and tweaking to get better flow around the back. Beveled out a frame around the back window, then beveled in the window itself. Cut out polys for a trunk lid and pasted them into a new layer. Extended edges of body around trunk down and back into the trunk. Thickened the trunk lid - had to rework the part underneath with the inside-bend because the thicken function doubled back on itself there. Beveled in a thin seam near the rear - sharpening the upward bend for the integrated spoiler shape.
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
Message edited by Jeff Rutan on 11/29/2007 - 7:29 PM
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11/29/2007 - 7:12 PM
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Norway
914 posts
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One small suggestion, but I´m sure it´s on your "todo" list. :)
If you want to add details around the wheels, it´s easier with a loop of polygons.
More control.
Message edited by J.O.Rust on 12/4/2007 - 11:51 PM
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11/30/2007 - 10:00 AM
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San Diego, CA USA
2150 posts
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J.O. - Thanks! Yes I do plan to do the sides later per my To Do List, and I will use loops where you show. In fact, the fenders flair out a bit around the wheels, so there will be at least a couple of loops there. So far I have paid very little attention to the sides as I add loops as needed for the front and back detailing. If I worry too much about the middle too early, it will just get messed up over and over by what I am doing on the front and back, so all I do is make sure the loops are fairly evenly distributed and don't drift too far from the general shape. I will rework the flow on the sides before detailing there.
Step 16: Rear window louvers... Copy the chrome rim from the back window into a new layer. Thicken the strip and inset about half the thickness of the window frame. Bevel up and in a couple of times. Form a thin box into the first louver shape. Copy the first louver five more times and distribute over the frame - widening each as needed moving down the frame. Bridge between the louvers and the frame. Bevel out center support from all louvers and connect these to each other underneath by welding points together. Box model hinges and latches.
-Jeff
san diego modo user group: www.sdmodo.org
product design+development: www.jeffrutan.com
LEGO fun: www.aerospacebricker.com
business fun: www.timeitnow.com
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12/1/2007 - 12:55 AM
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Belgrade
123 posts
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Simply amazing thread! Great insight to modeling process!
Thank you very much for this great guide!
Your method looks great - logical and smooth... so much detail and it looks like you handle it so easy...
Will be watching this thread closely... I hope to see the texturing and rendering as well...
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12/1/2007 - 2:59 AM
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Italy
270 posts
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Ehi Jeff..this baby it's growing fast and well endowed !!! :-D
Nemi Graphics
Expect something different
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12/1/2007 - 10:46 AM
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