In this multi-part Blender video tutorial we are going to be taking a close look at how to model a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Due to the nature of the car the tutorial encompasses a lot of techniques from both organic modeling and hard-surface modeling styles. A particular emphasis is placed on creating good topology that will enable you to easily modify the shape but also to accurately create the details.
Part 05 of the this Blender video tutorial series we fill in the windows, head lights and such. Then we also begin adding depth and finalizing the mesh with a subdivison surface modifier.
Due to some changes in the original author’s Flickr album, we are now linking you directly to references. These links are available for everyone, regardless of Citizenship and are subject to the Flickr License linked on the authors photo page. Source files do not contain reference images.
Side | Front | Back | Front Perspective | Back Perspective
I’m loving this set if vids
will u possibly be making one on texturing the car?
Cooool. Soon I will try and make a 2010 Camaro again. With the Camaro, the front bumper is very tricky though. Seeing these videos got me interested in making a car in 3D again. Hey Jonathan, Will you be going over how to texture the car? I’m not very good with texturing in blender yet.
Keep up the great work
Maaaan. This is sick. Just like trinity I think I’ll give it a go after failing to complete my Bugatti project. Nice series Jonathan. Very amusing and packed with info. Thanks. But it would be better if you would include a texturing tutorial, it doesn’t have to be a long one, just enough so that we could get a close to realistic render.
Keep up the amazing work. Much appreciated!
Brilliant and Exciting.
It’s pleasant and amazing seeing all your tutorials, but I can’t keep thinking about how far I am of your skill. But well, practice and courage, I guess that what I need.
I don’t see the handle car door, maybe in the next session?
I am really impatient.
Adding some thickness to it at the end really helped it gain a better general shape and subsurfed it’s beginning to look really slick. I have one question though about smoothing out or on the contrary sharpening the areas where subsurf is applied – it often drives me mad when I want to separate part of the geometry or cut shapes inside of it, that subsurf subsequently reacts to such modifications by changing the general shape of the geometry, especially in corners. For instance, you want to cut a hole in something in order to then extrude it back to create a slight groove around a button. However, cutting the hole exactly where you need it requires additional geometry/loops which in turn sharpen up the geometry surrounding it closely, resulting in inconsistent sharpness in the model’s edge. Jonathan, you’ve demonstrated frequent use of the smooth tool which is indeed very useful but what if the geometry is too dense or vertices too close to each other, providing no room for smoothing it out?
This may have been dealt with previously but I haven’t noticed and unfortunately haven’t been able to figure out myself.
Regardless of that, thanks for the great pt5 and looking forward to the sequel.
I think I know what you mean and it can be a real mind-boggler at times.. In some cases selecting the cut-out edges and pressing Shift+E works. It doesn’t always give the desired result (like sharp corners) though.
Wow, thanks for the tip Patrick! Never actually used the Crease tool before despite being somewhat aware of that feature. It helped me significantly on one model, though bringing along some odd lighting issues but still doesn’t seem to be of help on the other one since what I need there is soften the edge, not sharpen it. Essentially, I have many edges crowded on small subsurfed area which cause the edge to be sharp. And I don’t know how to soften it because I can’t move slide the edges away (because they define the geometry of the holes).
Thanks a bunch anyway, you’ve been very helpful indeed! My Antonov model has finally gained some sharp looks without the need for insane amount of control loops. Wooot
Haha, glad I could be of help! The lighting issues sound familiar to me as well. =P Four things that -might- fix it:
1. In the Mesh panel, turn on and play with the auto-smooth.
2. Try using an EdgeSplit modifier.
3. Instead of setting the crease to +1, set it to +0.999.
4. Slightly adjust the angle of the edge with the weird lighting.
Unfortunately I have no idea how to fix your second problem, though it’s bugging me every once in a while as well. What you could try is slide away the entire loop except the controlling edge. =) Also, the Smooth option in Sculpt Mode might be of help.
Good luck!
-Patrick
I also hate that add edge loop and it create a pinched edge where you dont need it. Usually what I do is wait till im finished with the model basically then spend a bit of time optimizing the model since now you dont need to add loops anywhere and go in and merge any verts with nearby ones that you dont need to hold up edges. It has two advantages 1. lowers the poly count and optimizes the model for rendering. 2. gets rid of unwanted pinches in the mesh.(usually I do this modding in a new file with the model so you save the unoptimized mesh in its own file incase you ever do need to go back and add loops to get changes.)
Looks I can start with part 1 now
Man, I have a WEEKEND to build this baby! Wooohooo!!!
@john iam not sure that absolutely true
Hi Johnathan,
Great tutorials! I love how in-depth this series is, and I think you have the best cadence of all the Blender Cookie instructors. Two questions:
1. What is the exact cause of the problem that requires us to recalculate normals? I’ve had to deal with this for as long as I’ve been blending, but I’ve never understood why it happens.
2. Can you make a tutorial on how to rig the car, so it would “drive” like a normal car would (wheels turning in unison, car bouncing on frame, etc.)? I remember seeing one in the help menu of 3ds Max, but I haven’t done it yet, and I’d like to learn how to rig a car in Blender.
once again, Jonathan Williamson has brought us another awesome tutorial
this series has totally changed how i work, i think about the topology of the objects a lot more, and how i plan on building the objects. also using loops more than creasing now, which is good…
like Ross, i am curious to know what causes Normals problems… i had the problem for such a long time before learning the Ctrl-N shortcut, but i still don’t know why the Normals thing happens
anyway, these are maybe the best tutorials i’ve followed
thanks Jonathan!
Fantastic tutorial! This has a been a great primer for me transitioning from Alias possibly to Blender 2.5 for car design (no longer a student and can’t afford Alias!). Jonathan’s way in moving through the tutorial, describing each step of the process clearly, is amongst the best that I have seen. It made it very easy to follow along.
I have a couple of questions:
1. While this method will result in a surface that resembles the body of a car, as a car designer I am concerned about the lack of precise surface control you have. This method may make it difficult, if not impossible, to carefully control highlights/reflections. The density of the mesh in certain areas can lead to unanticipated surface anomalies (like small concave surfaces, bumps, or creases) that you wouldn’t care about for video games, toys/scale models, or general illustration, but are a huge deal when working with actual cars/products. Smoothing is a nice, quick way to clean some problems up, but as a designer you aren’t the one controlling those surfaces anymore. I know this isn’t intended to be a Class-A surfacing program, but are there alternative techniques for generating surface topology? Can NURBS curves/surfaces be effectively used in 2.5? How do you control adjacent surfaces (location, tangent, or continuity)? Or am I just hoping for too much with this tool? I am just so excited about how attractive and easy to use the 2.5 GUI is that I’m hoping I can make this program do what I need. Even if it won’t, great job to all of the guys and gals that worked on 2.5.
2. Related to point 1 above, are there any techniques for viewing surface continuity? Other programs use zebra stripes, environment map, and curvature analysis. The first two features allow you to watch highlights move across surfaces real-time to check for continuity issues. Any ideas?
3. Any recommendations for a good material and rendering tutorial? Obviously interested in automotive surfaces (shiny, metallic, multi-surface, HDRI), but would welcome any shiny surface tuts.
Again, thanks for a great tutorial!
-Brian
Hi Brian,
1/2. NURBs are still in the process of being reintegrated with Blender 2.5 but they may be of some help. I have very little experience with NURBs and so I can’t give you a sure answer there. As for methods of finding surface continuity and such, one such method that comes to mind is using a normal shader along with GLSL in the viewport. After turning GLSL on in the viewport you could simply move your lights around to see all the details in the surface. The type of shader I’m talking about can be found here: http://www.box.net/shared/fo74kz8mkm
It is very similar to the way ZBrush displays models in the viewport.
3. As for a metallic material/rendering tutorial nothing is immediately coming to mind. I would recommend doing a bit of Googling for things like “car shader nodes blender tutorial”. A node-based system will definitely be the way to go.
I hope that was of some help
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan
Great tutorail and thank you for your great effort !
One thing I’m wondering about: When you do loop cuts (Ctrl-R), why don’t you use the “P”-key option to get parallel and not a proportional cuts ? I guess it would end in a mutch more precise looking result, especially when you “sharp” the edges of the panels, .
Don’t you think so ?
Kind regards
Alain
Hi Jonathan,
Great tutorial and thank you for sharing.
i’ve noticed that your model looks a bit too smooth aft applyin’ subsurf modifier, as a product designer myself, having smooth and organic surfaces helped to achieve an aesthetically pleasing model, however, having too many surfaces that are in organic form feels a bit too kitsche.
At some point of time, you might wanna observe the difference between model cars (toys) and real automobiles, that’s how i feel. Real automobiles are mixture of sharp edges and organic surfaces, certain engineering factors limit the organic form of design, as for toys, not much engineering consideration is required.
Thank you and Best regards,
yuanjie
Hi avalanste,
Thank you for the feedback! Coming from a actual product designer this is excellent and very constructive criticism. I will be sure to take an extra look at the car soon and perhaps make some more adjustments as you have suggested.
Cheers,
-Jonathan
great tuts. i learned loads. i didnt have time to read all the posts. but there is a script in blender that makes a surface have volume. its been a major time saver for me. perfect for car bodies and clothes.
in edit mode> mesh> scripts> solidify selection