Bugatti Veyron (Maya): Chapter 1

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Welcome to the first part of a new tutorial series outlining the techniques used to create a car, from start to finish. The car in question will be the Bugatti Veyron supercar, but these techniques can be used to model just about any type of vehicle.

Before we begin modelling we must carry out the most important part of any 3D project - collecting references! Without reference images it would be very difficult to produce an accurate representation of whatever it is you're trying to create. So, use Google and any other websites necessary to collect as many pictures from as many angles as possible to aid you in the modelling phase (please visit www.the-blueprints.com for blueprints). Videos can also be useful (especially if you intend to rig your model), such as those found on sites like YouTube. Also, if money allows, an actual die cast model can be extremely useful, as well.

For this tutorial we will be constructing the Veyron from a curve network. This involves tracing the major lines of the car using the EP and CV curve tools to create a 3D guideline of your model, which we will use to snap CVs to. Try to use as few points as possible to achieve the desired shapes. Although this stage is a little time consuming and tedious, it greatly speeds up the modelling stage and yields very clean and tidy results, so try to spend as much time as possible getting the curves just right. Also, don't be afraid to modify and add curves during the surfacing phase.

1. The first step is to find some blueprints (if possible). I found these particular blueprints from www.the-blueprints.com, and they will need to be cropped in Photoshop (or a similar package) before we use them.

We will set the blueprints up so that they reside in a different camera to the one that we are working in. This can help to speed up performance when using high resolution images and is a good habit to get into.

For each of the orthographic viewports, select: Panels > Orthographic > New > and select the respective viewport, which in this case is 'Front' (Fig01).

Fig.

Fig.

2. Next, for each viewport select: View > Image Plane > Import Image (Fig02), and then locate the cropped image for each particular viewport.

Fig.

Fig.

3. Bear in mind that unless you rotate the top image in Photoshop, your 'Front' view will actually be displaying the side of your car. This is nothing to worry about (Fig03). Also note that the 'Side' view will need to display both the front and back images of the car.

Fig.03

Fig.03

4. Under View > Predefined Bookmarks, you have the option of Left Side and Right Side. The Left Side needs to display the front image plane and the Right Side needs to display the back. The back image plane also needs to be positioned behind the Left Side camera object in the perspective view (Fig04) using the CentreX attribute. This means that the front image needs to be placed behind the Right Side camera.

Fig.04

Fig.04

5. As a matter of personal preference, I like to darken the blueprints because it makes the lines easier to see. Select the image plane in the Perspective view and go to the Attribute Editor > ImagePlane1 (or whichever number/name it is), and move the 'Colour Gain' slider to a dark shade of grey (Fig05). Repeat this step for all image planes.

Fig.05

Fig.05

6. Both the front and back images need to be scaled so that they line up with the side and top views. We will use polygon planes as guides so that we know how much to scale by. To scale the front image, align the polygon planes with the major points of the car in the side view: the top of the car, the bottom and the bonnet. This then gives an indication of how much to scale the front and back image, by using the Width and Height attribute of the image plane's camera (Fig06). The three polygon planes have been selected in the side view so you can see how much bigger the front image plane is. You may also need to reposition the image plane using the CentreX, Y and Z attributes. Once all of this is done, repeat these steps so that all of the image planes are lined up and the correct scale. Once this is done, the blueprints are ready. The final step is to create a New Layer and add all the image planes into this layer, then Reference the layer so the images can be seen but cannot be selected. Finally, select the Four View in the Toolbox, and we're ready to begin the curve network.

Fig.06

Fig.06

7. The curve network is relatively simple and can be started anywhere you wish. I began by outlining the major curves of the roof (Fig07) and continued to build on this until a complete outline of the car was achieved. Make sure that you use all available views to line up the curves and use as few points as possible. Also remember that hardly any blueprints are 100% accurate, so you will either need to choose one image plane as "correct" and follow that one 100%, while following the general shape of the other images. The other way is to take averages between the images to create your curve network. Some of the stages involved can be seen in Fig08 and Fig09, while Fig10 shows the completed curve network which has been grouped and duplicated to get an idea of how the overall car will look. It is not necessary to keep these mirrored curves, so delete them - they are just to give an overall feel for how the car will look. Also notice that there are no curves for the front air intake and rear fins - they will be added later (if necessary) when we model them.

Fig.07

Fig.07

Fig.08

Fig.08

Fig.09

Fig.09

Fig.10

Fig.10

8. Fig11 shows the completed half of the car. It is easier to see how the side skirt vent has been outlined and shows the control curves. The two highlighted curves help outline the curvature of the car. The side vent was created using the reference images that I had collected, because not all features are present on blueprints.

Fig.11

Fig.11

9. Now we move onto the modelling phase, which should move a lot more quickly because we spent so much time and care setting up the curve network. All we are aiming to do in this section is to get the initial geometry in place. We will apply bevels and a smooth modifier in the next part of the tutorial. Using the Create Polygon tool from the Polygon menu, we will curve snap to each of the four corners of the door. Remember to always work anti-clockwise when using this tool, so that your 'normals' are facing outwards (Fig12).

Fig.12

Fig.12

10. Using the spline network as a guide, begin cutting and shaping more detail onto this polygon to get the shape of the door. Try and keep the polygons evenly spaced along the surface and follow the flow of the door (Fig13). If you add too much detail too early, it becomes harder to control and will lead to denting when a smooth modifier is added. Add the cuts slowly using the Split Polygon Tool (with magnets set for accuracy) and the Split Edge Ring Tool (for speed). My personal preference is the latter tool; I then go in and shape the verts, as required.

Fig.13

Fig.13

11. This process can be seen in Fig14, Fig15 and Fig16. Notice how the edges towards the top of the door are closer together? This is because the door has quite an extreme bulge at the top and then curves inwards slightly towards the bottom. A quick tip for finding dents in your mesh is to sight down rows of verts and look for verts that are unevenly distributed along the surface.

Fig.14

Fig.14

Fig.15

Fig.15

Fig.16

Fig.16

12. Looking at Fig17, you can see that the two highlighted verts on the surface on the left are breaking up the flow of the geometry. This will lead to denting. The surface on the right has a smooth flow of verts and will lead to nicer smoothing results.

Fig.17

Fig.17

13. The final thing to do on the door is to grab the top row of edges (Fig18) and extrude them outwards. It doesn't really matter where because we will be snapping them to the curve that outlines the top of the door (Fig19).

Fig.18

Fig.18

Fig.19

Fig.19

14. The next bit is really simple: we will create the little panel that comes off the back of the door. Grab all the edges along the back of the door, ignoring the top back edge (Fig20), and extrude outwards. Again, it doesn't matter where.

Fig.20

Fig.20

15. Then snap these new verts along the curve to shape the side panel (Fig21).

Fig.21

Fig.21

16. The final step is to select the highlighted faces and use the Extract command from the Polygons menu (Fig22). Notice that Separate Extracted Faces is ticked. This makes the selected polygons a new object. I reserve the right to add more cuts in the next section of the tutorial if I feel it's necessary, once I have bevelled and smoothed this panel.

Fig.22

Fig.22

17. The roof of the car can be a little bit tricky, so we will take it slowly. At the back of the roof is a little semi-circular dip. We will concentrate on that first, and then the rest of the roof will go a lot more smoothly. Start by creating a rough semi-circular shape, using the curves as a guide and checking your references. I started by creating one polygon and either appended or extruded until I ended up with about ten faces outlining the shape. The inner edges of this new shape should dip down slightly. All of this is shown in Fig23.

Fig.23

Fig.23



18. Select all of the inner edges, except for the very back two, and extrude them inwards. Try to keep all the verts evenly spaced and continue the downward curve. This can all be seen in Fig24, where the highlighted edges are the newly extruded ones.

Fig.24

Fig.24

19. Using the Append Polygon Tool, create the two faces, as highlighted in Fig.25.

Fig.25

Fig.25

20. Split these two new polygons in half with the Split Edge Ring Tool and snap the highlighted vert on the right to the highlighted vert on the left (Fig26), and then merge these together.

Fig.26

Fig.26

21. Shape these new verts until you get something similar to Fig27. The aim here is to keep the shape fairly circular with a uniform dip towards the centre.

Fig.27

Fig.27

22. Extrude the highlighted edges (Fig28) and snap them to the guide curves.

Fig.28

Fig.28

23. Continue extruding, cutting in detail and snapping to the guide curves until you get a similar surface to that shown in Fig29. Remember to sight down rows of vertices and adjust accordingly to keep a clean flowing mesh - don't let this consume too much of your time though, because we will address any major issues when we smooth.

Fig.29

Fig.29

24. Now select the edges highlighted in Fig30 and extrude them.

Fig.30

Fig.30

25. Select these new faces and Extract them, then snap them to the curve to get something similar to Fig31.

Fig.31

Fig.31

26. The next few pieces are fairly self explanatory and just use a combination of the techniques already used. So I will just show screen grabs for each new piece of geometry so you can see the poly flow.

The front panel (just under the front lights) can be seen in Fig32.

Fig.32

Fig.32

27. Fig33 shows how the front bumper was created. Just remember to use your guide curves and build up detail slowly and evenly. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with the geometry flow, so I reserve the right to amend it in the next section if it doesn't look right with a smooth and bevel.

Fig.33

Fig.33

28. The front fender is a little bit tricky, so pay attention and build it up slowly. We will start with a ring of faces to outline the wheel arch (Fig34). You should have two curves outlining the wheel arch, so snap to these.

Fig.34

Fig.34

29. The highlighted faces (Fig35) were created with an extrusion and the verts near the door surface have been snapped to it (keep these surfaces separate). Remember to shape the new verts as you go, paying attention to the shape of the front fender.

Fig.35

Fig.35

30. Two more extrusions should see you end up with something similar to Fig36. Keep shaping as you go along and snap to the door verts to keep a nice flow to the model.

Fig.36

Fig.36



31. If you look at references of the front fender, you will notice a crease in the surface. This is where we have extruded out to so far. I like to then extrude outwards and snap to the curve representing the end of the fender (Fig37), before cutting detail back in and shaping (Fig38). Remember to leave a gap for the headlight.

Fig.37

Fig.37

Fig.38

Fig.38

32. The final thing to do is to extrude the edges surrounding the headlight to get the highlighted faces in Fig39. Shape these new edges to follow the flow of the front fender.

Fig.39

Fig.39

33. The rear fender is probably the hardest part we have tackled so far, mainly because it needs to flow in many directions at once. Good references are the key here. Notice how the fender curves smoothly above the door before bulging out for the wheel arch (Fig40). This is quite a tough piece of geometry to get looking right!

Fig.40

Fig.40

34. Start off by outlining just above the actual wheel arch and the top most curve of the side air intake (Fig41). The two highlighted curves emphasise the previous point about the fender's curvature.

Fig.41

Fig.41



35. Extrude the front part of the fender upwards, following the curvature of the car (Fig42).

Fig.42

Fig.42

36. Next, extrude the back edges of the fender and shape, as shown in Fig43. Try to model the bulge of the wheel arch while keeping a clean distribution of polys.

Fig.43

Fig.43

37. Once that is done, it's just a case of combining the two surfaces and filling in the middle polygons, remembering to shape the bulge of the wheel arch whilst keeping the front part of the fender curving smoothly (Fig44).

Fig.44

Fig.44

38. To finish the rear fender just grab the edges surrounding the wheel arch and extrude inwards (Fig45), then snap to the curve.

Fig.45

Fig.45

39. The back panel is very simple: basically just lay out faces to outline the long thin strip (Fig46). The highlighted middle edges need to be pulled up slightly for some subtle curvature.

Fig.46

Fig.46

40. Just carry on working your way down to fill in the main back area, keeping the curvature nice and even throughout until the panel is completed (Fig47).

Fig.47

Fig.47

41. The panel underneath the rear fender is also very simple, so just use the techniques learned so far and try and get something similar to Fig48.

Fig.48

Fig.48

42. Model the thin strip that runs down the back of the car (Fig49); don't worry about the gaps in the mesh, this will be addressed when we smooth everything.

Fig.49

Fig.49

I think we'll leave the tutorial there for now because there has been a lot to digest so far. We will construct the last few panels in the next part of the tutorial and add a smooth modifier to all pieces. We will also give all of the pieces some depth and bevel the edges to create nice sharp corners, plus address any mesh flow issues and clean up the surfaces.

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