In this tutorial the draw-overs provided the image planes in Maya and they acted as a rough guide as I blocked out the model, but the further we progress, the more we have to rely on our wits and intuition to get a good edge flow. To explain briefly the process, I firstly drew over the reference to get a basic topology before hitting CG: it’s preparatory work which in general stands you in good stead.

The more information I have, the less guess work I have to do when in Maya. I also used an Oxford Diecast model to have physical reference as well as numerous images and videos I have found online to help me piece the model together. I’m of the opinion that as a modeller it’s your experience, your perseverance and your eye which make the difference, not the tools you choose to use.įor my reference, I must give huge thanks to Graeme Jenner ( who kindly allowed me to use his beautiful portrait of the Rapier, which has been reproduced here. I’ll be using Maya, but it’ll be the techniques not the tools that will be the focus, and these techniques are easily transferable to other 3D software packages.

As we go there’ll also be an insistence on creating plenty of bevelled edges in order to stick closely to real world examples and avoid getting a flat CG representation of reality. Throughout we’re going to stick to basic modelling theories such as modelling in quads and achieving evenly spaced faces, which then allow for sculpting in Mudbox or Zbrush if you need to. This tutorial will run through modelling a classic car, namely a Sunbeam Rapier Mark IV, and the focus will be on using hard surface modelling techniques. The following zip file contains a Maya project with scenes and reference images:ĬaveAcademy_modellingAClassicCarInMaya_resources Introduction

Maya car modeling