Third Generation Firebird - Update

[ChrisPitts]

I haven't shown an update in so long, the thread vanished. Here are a few progress shots, along with the latest render. This is my first foray into 3d, and I've been using this project to learn Lightwave.

[ChrisPitts]

Here's an interior shot. Ignore the lack of steering wheel or dash in any of the shots. there's a VERY GOOD reason I don't have those modeled in. :D :jam:

[ChrisPitts]

I've been using this project as a learning tool, to be able to understand more about 3D. I'm a PC tech, by trade, and I'd never done 3D before working for NewTek. I'm finding this to be quite addicting, and my personal copy of Lightwave at home often gets more play than my games do. :D

Now, I'm wondering where to go next. Should I keep working on texturing and lighting, or should I start modeling a different scene, like a parking lot or cityscape, to play with it some more?

Or should I call it done for now, and move on to try to conquer my fear of animating? :compbeati

[prospector]

Texturing first done in bright daylight, then the city for the lighting as the texture should never change after that, and the city lighting will set the mood, then animate the street movement.

As they said in 'Contact'...tiny steps

[ChrisPitts]

Texturing first done in bright daylight, then the city for the lighting as the texture should never change after that, and the city lighting will set the mood, then animate the street movement.

As they said in 'Contact'...tiny steps

Yeah, I hope I'm not messing up my overall technique by trying to take these huge bites out of a trade that takes years to become truly proficient at. It seems like every time I change the lighting, I have to go tweak the textures. That's getting less common though, so I may be doing something right.

I'll be going back to school soon. I'm pretty sure 3D rendering and animation will be part of my course of study. Is it strange to sit at work and stare at a piece of software for 8 hours (and tell people how to scan plugins), then want to stare at it for another 4 or 5 on your free time? Please tell me that's not wierd. :stumped:

[edit] BTW, Contact is one of my favorite movies. Now i have to go rent it again. Thanks alot..

[ChrisPitts]

Here's another shot of the front end. I simplified the geometry of the nose recently, and corrected some inconsistencies.

One thing I can't get past is how to set specularity on car paint. In all my latest renders, I have it turned almost completely off, but then the paint looks fake. Or, I could be completely off base, and it's something totally different. What am I missing?

[ChrisPitts]

Here's the scene, by the way. Instead of trying to do reflections with the Lightwave lighting, I decided to do simple white polygons with the luminosity turned way up, to simulate florescent light fixtures. Critiques on technique there are always welcome, because I can't seem to get it to be as realistic as I'd like.

[ChrisPitts]

:bangwall: :bangwall: :bangwall:

Duh, Chris. Nothing is that red. I had the color channel set to 255-0-0. I changed it to 220-0-0, and here are the results.

I set that color as maybe the second thing I did with Lightwave, and as much as I've played with the specularity, diffuse, reflectivity, and such, I don't think I ever changed the stinkin' color. :screwy:

[Gettarobox]

looks really nice.

[Rastus]

It's looking good Chris :)

[ChrisPitts]

The real car's in the shop getting a MASSIVE overhaul right now. New motor, suspension, brakes, etc. The real-life project's been an inspiration for the modeling.

I have a wrecked '88 GTA (super awesome luxury package Trans Am) that's being used as a parts car for the project. It's got the hottest drivetrain, suspension, and interior package that can go in a Trans Am of that era. The reason I haven't modeled the dash is because I don't have a solid idea of what the dash that's going in the car really looks like, since it's all in pieces right now. It's the digital, Knight Rider inspired dash that only went in a couple thousand cars.

I'll have to wait till I'm driving the car again before I can get a feel for how to model it, since I've been doing all of the modeling from memory.

Thanks for the good crits. I'm rendering a nice 8-second animation right now, but i won't be able to post it until monday.

[ChrisPitts]

I could really use some advice about HDRI. I've seen alot of good images, but I'm not sure where to find any. Where is a good place to start? I'd love to find out where to get one that would fit this car like a glove.

P.S. I have the animation. I'll see about getting it up in something besides uncompressed LOL

[Titus]

You can start here:

http://www.debevec.org/Probes/

[ChrisPitts]

Thanks a ton for the HDRI info. That'll get me started with the techniques. :thumbsup: