Blending Modifieds

[SimDesigners]

Been toying around with Blender a little bit lately. A few of you may recall I released a Blender scene with the Whelen modifieds way back- I decided to revisit those scenes to see how things have improved.

Have to say- Blender has really matured. Top shot is what you can currently get from the SIModified downloads. Bottom shot is a completely re-done scene from the ground up in Blender 2.66.

 

[RP Motorsports]

Looks great Dan. Looks like you busted out a can of Mother's polish and the buffing wheel, and went to town.

I'm not familiar with Blender, as I went straight to 3ds Max, but is it anything like 3ds in terms of materials, lighting, ect...?

 

[SimDesigners]

I haven't used 3D Max since version 7- but I'm guessing it hasn't changed too much from that, in regards to materials.

Blender introduced the Cycles rendering engine in the last year or so and it takes a pretty unique approach. It offers preset materials like glass, reflective (mirror), and non-reflective (like clay) to name a few. The idea is that you can choose two materials and mix them together to create a new material, such as tire rubber or car paint. When you get the hang of how it works, it's actually quite slick. There's a few tutorials out on YouTube that show how the process works, and its pretty neat to watch if you have the time.

I think with a little more know-how, I could probably crank out a render scene in a good hour, after tweaking. The rendering speed seems to go pretty well on my computer (8-core, 8GB RAM Macbook Pro). The quick shot of the red car only took about 30 seconds, and that was still a bit in draft mode (you'll notice that shot still has some noise all over it).

 

[TOUGH]

It's not bad but its not great. you are working through a limited program. Thanks for sharing Dan...

 

[SimDesigners]

I think there's still a lot to go before this gets to any point that I'm happy with it. For the moment, I'm just impressed at how easy it was to get it to the point that it is. As it stands, I need to find a better HDRI studio map, figure out my lighting and materials a tad better, and learn how to create a shadow catcher vs. a plane that reflects white badly onto the model.

As I progress, I'd love feedback and suggestions. At some point, I think a release to the public would be in order, and I'd love to see this scene be the best that it can be.

 

[mje33]

The chrome on the nerf bars and wheels looks great. Is there a way to make the exhaust not so shiny but get the chrome on the air cleaner?

The tires look pretty nice too(y)

 

[SimDesigners]

Yeah- the air cleaner probably does need a bit more shine. I'm going through a more in depth tutorial on the Cycles engine and I'm hoping I can apply what I've learned to this. Hoping I can get more realistic materials and reflections overall.

 

[S. Yogurt]

Blender can be a really great tool to use - I use it to render my NW stuff. Not so much into cycles yet, because I was really happy with my scene in the internal engine. I might actually go work on a new scene now... Looks great!

 

[S. Yogurt]

Here is an example from a new scene I was working on. 25 samples. They really did a good job optimizing this engine in the newest release.

 

[SimDesigners]

Rendering it with Cycles? Looks pretty cool!

The one thing I'm still trying to figure out (and maybe you have), is how to create a shadow plane in Cycles. Right now, it's a floor that takes the shadow, but reflects up really badly onto the model.

 

[S. Yogurt]

Rendering it with Cycles? Looks pretty cool!

The one thing I'm still trying to figure out (and maybe you have), is how to create a shadow plane in Cycles. Right now, it's a floor that takes the shadow, but reflects up really badly onto the model.

Nope, lol, I've gotten pretty lucky with my limited knowledge of the program. If you play around a little bit with the roughness value of the car paint material, it won't reflect quite so bad. This also eliminates sharp edges of reflections.

 

[Bergie]

Any updates on scenes?SIModified whelen works great for me.
Thanks

 

[SimDesigners]

No new updates since the initial post. Real life and work has taken some precedence. I can certainly post that original scene if anyone wants to move it forward.

 

[Bergie]

Id would like to get it if possible.
Thanks

 

[SimDesigners]

Attaching my Blender file, as-is. Please note you'll need version 2.65 or newer to use it.

If you're downloading it, you're more than welcome to build upon it, improve it, use it for other scenes. I'd just ask for a link back to SimDesigners if you post it somewhere.

Thanks guys.

 

[Rogue]

I am very curious as to how this scene progresses, fine work so far. (y)

 

[Bergie]

I'm just going to do some painting,and work with it a bit,I turely cannot top what you guys have done. Thanks for all.
I had 3d max 5 and than 7 but that was a computer ago,never could get my files off old computer.

 

[SimDesigners]

I'll add this if anyone is interested. Blender is selling a DVD on car modeling and texturing. More info here: DVD Car Modeling and Texturing - Blender Store

 

[Rogue]

I'll add this if anyone is interested. Blender is selling a DVD on car modeling and texturing. More info here: DVD Car Modeling and Texturing - Blender Store

That is impessive work, high quality (y)

 

[SimDesigners]

I thought so too. I'll probably be waiting until a payday to consider it, but I won't complain too much on price, as it goes back into the Blender Foundation for further development.