Calling all 3D Modelers

Calling all 3D Modelers

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gbpackRs250

Original Poster:

13 posts

126 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
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I hope that I am posting this in the right spot, I don't know if this would be a common subject on here!

For any fellow car enthusiasts who are interested in 3D modeling, I've just started a new YouTube channel creating Tutorials to help people create 3D cars starting with the 2019 Audi R8 Spyder.

The videos should be able help anyone regardless of software as the same rules will apply just different tools and a different interface.

Here is a link to the channel if anyone is interested.

And this is what the final model will look like if you make it through the whole series!


ReverendCounter

6,087 posts

183 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
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Pretty cool idea for a channel, good luck with it. Would it be very impractical for the model to be built up in sections, with each section optionally being saved as an STL/DXF etc? I was wondering if the parts could then be 3D printed. Maybe you could sell the files to anyone who would prefer to print your models rather than draw them - might make some additional income.

The_Jackal

4,854 posts

204 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
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I dabbled a few years ago with 3dsmax after seeing with the artists at Codemasters.
These tutorials would have been so useful back then. There weren't many car specific tutorials back then.

hairy v

1,297 posts

151 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
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That's impressive! How long would that take to model starting from scratch?

gbpackRs250

Original Poster:

13 posts

126 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
quotequote all
ReverendCounter said:
Pretty cool idea for a channel, good luck with it. Would it be very impractical for the model to be built up in sections, with each section optionally being saved as an STL/DXF etc? I was wondering if the parts could then be 3D printed. Maybe you could sell the files to anyone who would prefer to print your models rather than draw them - might make some additional income.
Thanks, sounds like a cool idea, might be nice to do for some of the cult classic cars that are less likely to be able to buy a kit for.

gbpackRs250

Original Poster:

13 posts

126 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
quotequote all
The_Jackal said:
I dabbled a few years ago with 3dsmax after seeing with the artists at Codemasters.
These tutorials would have been so useful back then. There weren't many car specific tutorials back then.
Yea, I did my first video about four years ago, it was the first full build on YouTube, now there are a load of people doing them. These young guns don't know how good they've got it.

gbpackRs250

Original Poster:

13 posts

126 months

Saturday 13th February 2021
quotequote all
hairy v said:
That's impressive! How long would that take to model starting from scratch?
Thanks! Depends, if I'm doing them for a video, probably about 20 hours. If I'm just doing one myself maybe double that.

lufbramatt

5,425 posts

141 months

Monday 15th February 2021
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Really interesting seeing the differences between modelling this sort of thing in 3DSmax and a parametric CAD package. I model similar things using Creo and ISDX surfacing and the workflow is very different! takes a bit more than 20 hours!

Psycho Warren

3,087 posts

120 months

Tuesday 16th February 2021
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lufbramatt said:
Really interesting seeing the differences between modelling this sort of thing in 3DSmax and a parametric CAD package. I model similar things using Creo and ISDX surfacing and the workflow is very different! takes a bit more than 20 hours!
its a nightmare in my experience, to go from one to the other. I' have found that often its easier to draw from scratch if you need a parametric model rather than use a mesh or similar imported from 3DSmax or similar "graphics" orientated modelling software.

lufbramatt

5,425 posts

141 months

Tuesday 16th February 2021
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Yes, I often have to reverse engineer lidar scanned meshes of aircraft and vehicles and you literally have to start from scratch to get anything useable. We do have more luck going from creo to 3dsmax via a STEP export though to create artwork.

Derek Smith

46,466 posts

255 months

Tuesday 16th February 2021
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I've spent 8 months trying to learn Blender.

I've made a few people, the idea being to produce animated intros for my videos. The main problem (apart from losing track of the number of vertices; about four week's work wasted there) is that it is addictive. I go off on tangents.

Work in progress:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd33F3u-PUU

And one that highlighted errors I made:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u93BQjqCksQ

I'm building a WWII Jeep but the number of vertices means that rendering an animation is a pipe dream.

I've got a bloke that I'm satisfied with, but a woman I'm doing, so to speak, is not going well. Story of my life.

3D modelling is fascinating.

Tempest_5

604 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
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Yes Blender is addictive and annoying at the same time. It's not the most intuitive package to use, however it is very capable.It's also free!!

I've been using it since 2006. I have to admit I have learnt it to the point that it fulfills my requirements but in reality I have barely scratched the surface of it's capabilities.

I started using it to create cardboard models for my children when they were younger and have since moved on to creating models for my 3d printer. Some of these are models in their own right and some are accessories for more traditional models. I had a dabble with adding animation bones to figures to get them to walk etc. It was fun but time consuming and not what I was using Blender for so I have rather left that aspect alone.

The more you use Blender the more efficient you become with the vertices. Have a play with the various surface modifiers. These can help save vertices. Subsurface Division is quite powerful but can have a mind of it's own if you are not careful. Edge loops are needed a lot to help keep edges of car panels etc correct.

I also use traditional CAD packages, Solidworks and Turbocad in particular. As others in this thread have said the file transfer between Blender, a 3d modeler, and the CAD packages isn't great. I sometimes transfer files from Turbocad to Blender to smooth out the facets on circular Items created in Turbocad but it's a faff and I'd rather not do it unless I have too.

Keep at it, you'll get there. There is plenty of help on the forums when you get stuck.

AER

1,142 posts

277 months

Friday 26th February 2021
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I normally model in Solidworks but tonight I decided to drag some of the stuff I've collected over the while of the S1 Elise and get it together into X-Plane via Blender. The first stage is:



(not sure if this image link will work...)