Cars WIP Sports Cars

[Scholesy46]

Hello all,

I have a number for different cars that I am currently working on with the hopes of bringing them to Assetto Corsa. I've been working on some of them for a while now and am hoping to try and complete them some point soon however as I have a tendancy to bounce from car to car making smaller progress on each I have no clue how long it'll take.

I'm still newish to 3D modelling and have reached a point with most were I need to start backing the cars body panels up. I'm a little unsure on the correct work flow as I've seen many tutorials indicating one way however the body panels never look quite right and so am constantly on the move to try and learn the proper workflows.

Anyways without further ado here are the cars.

Ford GT GT1

The 2009 Ford GT GT1 created by Marc VDS for the FIA GT1 World Championship

Jaguar XJR-9

1989 Jaguar XJR-9 Le Mans spec

Jaguar XJR-12D

Daytona varient of the Jaguar XJR-12. Redesigned rear end for the 1993 Rolex 24 at Daytona

MG Lola EX257

MG branded Lola B10/60 designed with the aim of taking on Audi and the other LMP900 cars from the LMP675 class

Nissan NPT-90

The successor to the GTP-ZX Turbo. A complete redesign however still just as potent on the race track debuting in 1990.

Porsche March 89P

A joint venture into CART between Porsche and March. Racing in the 1989 season it took Porsche's only CART/Indycar victory.

Porsche 962C Joest

A Joest developed varient of the 962 aimed at keeping the aging model competitive against the rising Group C competition. Developed for the 1993 season

TVR Tuscan T400R

TVR's attempt at the N-GT class.

Vauxhall Firenza "Baby Bertha"

Designed for the British Super Saloon Championship, this monster destroyed the competition

There's a long list of other cars that I want to also get round to modelling that I have the assets ready for so I can begin creating them however for now these are the ones that have the most progress to them. I'm sure as time goes on I'll add them to the list!

As mentioned I can't give you a deadline as to when they'll be done and I'm sure I'll bounce from car to car. I also am not working on these constantly as life events get in the way and take priority.

 

[Stereo]

My usual method for adding gaps is, after making a backup of the smooth model, apply any relevant modifiers (turbosmooth, booleans, yadda yadda, anything that prevents direct polygon editing) and add an edge loop along the intended gap. From there, several combined extrude/bevels turns it into a gap.

If red's a vertex on the line down the middle of the panel gap, first bevel it with 3 rows (orange) then extrude the middle row inward (green). Typical game models run slightly wider gaps than irl because modeling things too thin causes graphical artifacts, so you'd expect the orange bevel to be about 10-15mm wide, where on an actual car it could be as low as 6mm if the panels are fitted well.

If you want the panel to be removable (eg. opening doors) you delete the extruded face and continue modeling from there, otherwise, just make it a separate smoothing group with a plain black material on it.

You can't really use this before applying mesh smooth because it just won't look very good, this way you get a sharp edge with the efficient amount of edges. If the panels are very soft edged then you can go in after the extrusion and bevel it again.

To get the smoothest possible outcome you also want the outer vertices to keep their normals matched, that's where the backup of the original model comes into play, you can copy normal data from that. If you don't do that, any method you try is going to cause at least some amount of visible fold (which is technically not wrong, especially on handbuilt cars... but tends not to be exactly that)

In terms of actually finishing a model I guess my advice is, pick your favourite, cause you're not likely to ever complete more than 1-2 of these. By the time you know enough to finish the first one, the rest will look hopelessly outdated and then the easiest option is starting over.

 

[Scholesy46]

My usual method for adding gaps is, after making a backup of the smooth model, apply any relevant modifiers (turbosmooth, booleans, yadda yadda, anything that prevents direct polygon editing) and add an edge loop along the intended gap. From there, several combined extrude/bevels turns it into a gap.

If red's a vertex on the line down the middle of the panel gap, first bevel it with 3 rows (orange) then extrude the middle row inward (green). Typical game models run slightly wider gaps than irl because modeling things too thin causes graphical artifacts, so you'd expect the orange bevel to be about 10-15mm wide, where on an actual car it could be as low as 6mm if the panels are fitted well.

If you want the panel to be removable (eg. opening doors) you delete the extruded face and continue modeling from there, otherwise, just make it a separate smoothing group with a plain black material on it.

You can't really use this before applying mesh smooth because it just won't look very good, this way you get a sharp edge with the efficient amount of edges. If the panels are very soft edged then you can go in after the extrusion and bevel it again.

To get the smoothest possible outcome you also want the outer vertices to keep their normals matched, that's where the backup of the original model comes into play, you can copy normal data from that. If you don't do that, any method you try is going to cause at least some amount of visible fold (which is technically not wrong, especially on handbuilt cars... but tends not to be exactly that)

In terms of actually finishing a model I guess my advice is, pick your favourite, cause you're not likely to ever complete more than 1-2 of these. By the time you know enough to finish the first one, the rest will look hopelessly outdated and then the easiest option is starting over.

Thank you for the reply and pointers.

To use the Ford GT GT1 as an example, as that's the one I've cut up the most, I've done some of what you mentioned with regards to cutting out body panels.

For the front bonnet section I used the method you mentioned to cut out the bonnet and a couple other pannels no problem, the main issue and struggle point comes with cutting out on curved surfaces where creating a gap would interupt the flow of the bodywork and create sharp and weird edges. Another car where I've made this cut and the panels really don't form a smooth surface is the Porsche 89P at the front. There's a panel that sides on a curved surface and when the turbosmooth is applied it really goes wrong. I've had a similar issue with the XJR-9 when cutting out the rear wheel covers.

I had been loosely following a "guide" someone made where they created an Audi R18 e-tron and they mention about turbosmoothing the surface with 2 sub divs and then drawing a ribbon on the surface and extruding to create the gap, from there they tidy it up and then conform the edges to pre-cut version so as to keep a nice smooth and consistant surface.

Making of Audi R18

3D Modeling,CGI,Automotive Design,Autodesk 3ds Max,3d-coat,Adobe Photoshop,Corona Renderer

www.behance.net

Another area where I'm slightly iffy is adding in bodywork details, such as holes. I typically model them in on the base version and then begin the turbosmooth however these can result is slightly warped geometry, and I've debated about leaving that in and then using the conform tool to help smooth it out, so I've been wondering if I should make the first low poly version and then perform a turbosmooth with one iteration and then model in more detail before applying another turbosmooth on top of that to tidy up the mesh more.

In this example the mesh doesn't actually look too bad but sometimes it seems more warped especially when on a curved surface like this one.

Thanks again for the feedback though, it's been interesting and helpful to read and I wasn't properly aware of leaving the extrusion in and not removing it so I will work on that. As a whole I'm pretty confident on my modelling abilities to get the rough shape of the car in it's just when it comes time to cutting the car apart and knowing when or where to add in details it falls apart for me or how to detail with certain body panels, which I can explain in greater detail in another post.

 

[Stereo]

There are two modes of weighting normals for shading and this applies more to the one that weights all edges leaving a vertex equally. But what you can do to manually make the normals behave correctly, is make sure the internal angle is the same on your new vertices as the original one.

A few ways of looking at it, so whatever makes most sense for you - the 3 red angles are the same, there are parallel lines (| and ||), and the 2 red arrows should have the same normal.

If you don't have a reference object with smooth normals then this'll still work.

I do holes after the mesh is smooth for the most part. Unless it actually interrupts the lines on the original car (like holes over the wheel arches on prototypes)

 

[Scholesy46]

There are two modes of weighting normals for shading and this applies more to the one that weights all edges leaving a vertex equally. But what you can do to manually make the normals behave correctly, is make sure the internal angle is the same on your new vertices as the original one.

A few ways of looking at it, so whatever makes most sense for you - the 3 red angles are the same, there are parallel lines (| and ||), and the 2 red arrows should have the same normal.

If you don't have a reference object with smooth normals then this'll still work.

I do holes after the mesh is smooth for the most part. Unless it actually interrupts the lines on the original car (like holes over the wheel arches on prototypes)

Ahh ok, I follow. Is there a way to perform that type of shape within the software or would you have to manually edit the vetrex/edge positions in order to achieve that type of smoothness?

I performed a double chamfer and then extrude as you recommended then detaching the the black ribbon so it's no longer apart of the main body and it seems to work well, thank you. I did perform a Set Flow after each chamfer so as to hopefully avoid having as jarring of transition between the panels. I'm just a little unsure if the two "edges" of the body panels meet flush and give a nice curved finish though it is looking better then the porsche nose cone example I shared above.

 

[Stereo]

Ahh ok, I follow. Is there a way to perform that type of shape within the software or would you have to manually edit the vetrex/edge positions in order to achieve that type of smoothness?

I don't know of an automatic tool for that. In Blender I'm using a "data transfer" modifier that copies normal data from another object (using 'nearest interpolated face' for reference of anyone with Blender), I don't see a similar option though.

I would say it's pretty common to just not worry about that, and have the good shading start the next vertex outward from where you made the cut. You'll see that on lots of game models.

 

[Ryno917]

(using 'nearest interpolated face' for reference of anyone with Blender)

I've been using "projected face interpolated" on my end. Do you know what the difference would be, if any?

[EDIT] Was able to find and understand the difference. Nearest is the point on the source object's face that is closest to the destination vertex, whereas projected uses the point of the source face that intersects with the destination vertex's normal. In most cases I think these would give pretty similar results, but where the source and destination have a large angular difference I can see how they would give different results. For the purposes covered in this thread I don't think there'd be much difference in the majority of situations.

 

[Stereo]

Yeah, either one of those will really work almost all the time, more of a difference doing high-to-low detail meshes or something.

 

[Formula24]

Hello all,

I have a number for different cars that I am currently working on with the hopes of bringing them to Assetto Corsa. I've been working on some of them for a while now and am hoping to try and complete them some point soon however as I have a tendancy to bounce from car to car making smaller progress on each I have no clue how long it'll take.

I'm still newish to 3D modelling and have reached a point with most were I need to start backing the cars body panels up. I'm a little unsure on the correct work flow as I've seen many tutorials indicating one way however the body panels never look quite right and so am constantly on the move to try and learn the proper workflows.

Anyways without further ado here are the cars.

Ford GT GT1
View attachment 666391
The 2009 Ford GT GT1 created by Marc VDS for the FIA GT1 World Championship

Jaguar XJR-9
View attachment 6663921989 Jaguar XJR-9 Le Mans spec

Jaguar XJR-12D
View attachment 666393
Daytona varient of the Jaguar XJR-12. Redesigned rear end for the 1993 Rolex 24 at Daytona

MG Lola EX257
View attachment 666394
MG branded Lola B10/60 designed with the aim of taking on Audi and the other LMP900 cars from the LMP675 class

Nissan NPT-90
View attachment 666395
The successor to the GTP-ZX Turbo. A complete redesign however still just as potent on the race track debuting in 1990.

Porsche March 89P
View attachment 666396
A joint venture into CART between Porsche and March. Racing in the 1989 season it took Porsche's only CART/Indycar victory.

Porsche 962C Joest
View attachment 666397
A Joest developed varient of the 962 aimed at keeping the aging model competitive against the rising Group C competition. Developed for the 1993 season

TVR Tuscan T400R
View attachment 666398
TVR's attempt at the N-GT class.

Vauxhall Firenza "Baby Bertha"
View attachment 666399
Designed for the British Super Saloon Championship, this monster destroyed the competition

There's a long list of other cars that I want to also get round to modelling that I have the assets ready for so I can begin creating them however for now these are the ones that have the most progress to them. I'm sure as time goes on I'll add them to the list!

As mentioned I can't give you a deadline as to when they'll be done and I'm sure I'll bounce from car to car. I also am not working on these constantly as life events get in the way and take priority.

The cars look great so far. Did you plan to make the physics by yourself or were you going to outsource them to someone else?

 

[Deleted member 223075]

The cars look great so far. Did you plan to make the physics by yourself or were you going to outsource them to someone else?

Actually nothing is released and only one guy want to release around 10 cars alone ?..... LOL

 

[Formula24]

Actually nothing is released and only one guy want to release around 10 cars alone ?..... LOL

I never said anything was released and the amount of cars was why I was interested who would be doing the physics. He doesn't mention anybody else in the OP and his wording sounded to me like he wanted to do it himself but obviously that is a lot of work.

 

[Eugene Abramoff]

Oh really excited about that Ford GT1!

 

[DaBoriman]

You've chosen some awesome subjects! Have fun with the development!

 

[Scholesy46]

The cars look great so far. Did you plan to make the physics by yourself or were you going to outsource them to someone else?

As it currently stands I'm just making the models as that's my primary goal. I would like to have them brought into AC, hence why posting here, however I would indeed need to outsource that aspect of the work. Who knows maybe RSS, URD or VRC might be interested in them?

One of the key things I was looking for when posting here was some advice regarding 3D modelling as I have a tendacy to hit a road block with trying to make them as I don't quite do it right but that's apart of learning.

 

[Scholesy46]

Some progress on the Jag XJR-9 LM