Making Of Speed Demon

Software Used :

3ds Max, VRay and Photoshop

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For this scene my initial idea was to model a realistic car, but I wanted to make an old one, such as you see in the exhibitions. I started searching for references and blueprints on Google, to find one that was interesting to model, and after a long search I chose the Aston Martin Ulster.

Whenever I go to model a car, as well as references, to me it is essential to have blueprints to make an accurate model. I was fortunate to be able to get one, because there are not many blueprints of this 1930s car.

My intention was not to make an exact copy of this model, since there are different versions. I chose the ones I liked and added some personal changes (Fig.01).

Fig.01

Modeling :

The first step was to make the main body. I started with a box, editing one to get the approximate shape, and then I added the turbosmooth modifier and fixed the shape to be accurate to the plane. Next I added small details like the joints of the body through extrusions (Fig.02).

Fig.02

In this model, I used an unusual method for the realization of some model details such as the grilles on the hood and others, as shown in Fig.03.

Fig.03

I used the VRay Displacement Mod along with a displacement map. This utility is very useful and fast, and it allows you to model precise details that otherwise would have been much more difficult to model (Fig.04).

Fig.04

I also used this method for the details on the tires (Fig.05).

Fig.05

For other parts of the model polygonal modeling was used, similar to that used for the main body (Fig.05b).

Fig.05b

Here is the finished model with turbosmooth applied (Fig.06 & Fig.07).

Fig.06

Fig.07

Background :

Originally my idea was to only make the car, but later I decided to make a background as well. In this case I wanted an old street and I used the same modeling methodology described above, along with a displacement map on the street and some of the houses to create the scene (Fig.08).

Fig.08

Texturing :

For the car, I used mostly two VRay materials. The parameters that I used can be seen in Fig.09.

Fig.09

For the background I used textures available on the internet, consisting mostly of the facades of old houses. I also used a vraymtl with a small reflection to simulate the wet effect after it’s rained (Fig.10).

Fig.10

Rendering :

I used VRay for the render. The scene had one omni light, and an HDRI map for the lighting and reflections. Fig.11 shows the render setup; all the other parameters were left to their defaults.

Fig.11

Here are a few renders (Fig.12 – Fig.14).

Fig.12

Fig.13

Fig.14

Composition :

The rendering was done separately, one for the background and one for the car, to give me more freedom to adjust the final image in Photoshop. I also made an ambient occlusion pass to add more depth and a dirt effect (Fig.15).

Fig.15

The values were adjusted for brightness, contrast, intensity, saturation, and this is the final result (Fig.16)!

That´s all; I hope you enjoyed this Making Of and if you have any questions then please contact me.

Fig.16