I was planning on focusing on vehicles for the month of July for my own personal modeling challenge and it just so happens that the next CGC Challenge is also based on vehicles. That said I plan on participating. The vehicle I plan on creating is based off this: https://cgcookie.com/course/modeling-a-post-apocalyptic-vehicle
I'll be using the vehicle in that course as the base and add my own unique features to it. Ideally this would be game ready and include real time "renders" of this vehicle running in Unity. More high def still shots will be made in Blender.
The main theme of the vehicle will be a combat/apocalyptic vehicle. Something that you might find in Mad Max or Twisted Metal. Below are some references for the vehicles or vehicle modifications I'd like to incorporate.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KRkW9
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4bEvzl
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RYDODO
I will be breaking this down into 3 week chunks, each week covering a specific part of the vehicle.
Week 1 - Vehicle Modeling
With this being my first big vehicle model, I'm mostly focused on getting the base truck created from this course: https://cgcookie.com/course/modeling-a-post-apocalyptic-vehicle . After that if time permits I'd like to make the following modifications:
Week 2 - Vehicle Texturing
With the vehicle being apocalyptic I'm aiming for a grungy look. Rust and peeling paint, maybe even some bullet holes and metal that is being eaten away by the elements. Along with that I'd like to have some unique visual elements like painted decals. This will all be done within Substance Painter 2019.
Week 3 - Rendering
I would like to make this a game ready model and as such would like to experimental with real time rendering of this vehicle. Using Unity 2019 and HDRP to really enhance the looks. Using volumetric lighting along with some custom shaders for the tires to look slightly deflated. If time permits I'd like to create a vehicle controller to drive the truck around a desolate desert environment complete with usable .50 cal machine gun that can fire and aim in the direction of the mouse.
jgonzalez the difference is subtle but still noticeable on the rims. you can do so much with normal maps, but sometimes you just need the extra polygons to give the last push. :)
Added some more details. I spend a lot of time refining some details and end up redoing them a few times. Since this vehicle is going to be "apocalyptic" and a bit trashed I'm not too worried about it being perfect. There are a few things I plan on hiding or obscuring a bit with some additional meshes or fancy texturing.
I won't be adding a "mesh grille" to the bumper bars up front, but I'll add a texture of a mesh grilled to the portion attached to the truck. Right now I just added in a plan I plan on using with that texture. I added some detail to the wheel guards. I wanted the rear wheel guards to be wider, but I didn't realize they were so thin. I may opt for wider wheels in the back to make it look a bit beefier.
The rear is mostly complete. Not thrilled about the tail lights but I suppose they'll do:
I put them a bit lower than usual and with the current rear bumper it sits a bit low. I may just add some makeshift bumper bar in the back or get a little crazy and add some spikes to fend off any tail gaters. Next up I'll work on the weapon and the window grates. After that the rest will be mostly adding additional details to make it more unique and roughed up.
Ok so I think I'm done with the base of the truck. I'll model the weapon(s) separately but I wanted a nice base truck model that I can build upon in the future. I added some armor plates to various parts of the truck along with the window grates. I redid the bed of the truck a few times and decided to keep the door off. I'm not too thrilled about the barrels in the back so I may replace that with something else and/or throw a net over it to improve the look.
Other things I modified were moving the tires out a bit more as well as downward to give the truck more height. Now it looks more like an off road vehicle that you would expect to use in the apocalypse.
I'd like to add more to it, but next week I'll focus on texturing and add some little details to the truck through that process. I'll also be adding in at least one weapon for the top.
jgonzalez Nice work!! This is a versatile base model 👍🏻
Will you do some normal map & AO baking in the texturing phase?
ssmurfmier1985 Yeah I plan on doing quite a bit with texturing. I don't quite know how well it will turn out but I'll work on that this week. I may remake the tires to include more details around the side wall and also tweak the treads to look "beefier". Thankfully I still have the original tread mesh separated so I can redo that fairly easily.
jgonzalez smart to keep that :)
Looking forward to your results. Texturing and lighting is where the real magic happens!
Not happy with how the texturing is turning out. Realize I have a lot to learn in that regard. Nonetheless I'll keep working on it even if it's not as great as I'd like.
