I based this work on my latest project, a coupe-convertible Citroën C5. If you’re allergic to this brand, or to cars in general, don’t worry : this material applies to any manufactured project : no matter it’s big or small, no matter it’s cheap or high-end.

The tutorial is a on-going series of posts. It starts from the very beginning of modeling and covers every aspect : hard surface modeling with a focus on high-end quality and accuracy, best meshing practices to create a nice polyflow, tips to soluce most common issues. More than just the body, it will deals with all other parts creation : tires, rims, wheel details, windows, grilles, chrome and rubber trim, with also a fully detailed interior.

It already exists in two different languages, english and french. It’s also an interactive process : you can follow the progress of the tutorial as I write it, and you can comment, critic or ask for any complement you want. Please head to the following forums :

• English version is at SMCars.net : http://www.smcars.net/forums/tutorials/34591-modeling-car-high-end-detailed-tutorial.html
• French version is at BlenderClan : http://blenderclan.tuxfamily.org/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=27941&forum=5

Both forums requires sign-up to post comments or questions, but it’s free and worth the time it will take you. If you want to contribute with translations in other languages, let me know in a comment.

Stay tuned for more, and meet you there for your feedback !

As requested, I also committed an up-to-date studio render :

Let me know what you think !

Anyway, I worked as much as possible and even if my project isn’t done yet, I have some significant updates worth to share with my fellow readers. Here are the latest renders of the most insane cab’ I’ve imagined :

Feel free to post your thought about the model in a comment !

But I didn’t refrain the urge to do a test render, to see how the car will look. It’s a simple test : only a white plane above the car to light it, scratch-made shaders. The white areas are still clay-rendered because of the lack of shaders for those parts.

Model progress is different on the two pictures, the second is the latest : it shows headlights and details in air intake (radiators, grilles, bumper)

What do you think ?

I needed some time to decide if I should do a simple targa version, like a Toyota Supra (i.e. with minimum roof removal) or a more open version like a Porsche Carrera GT. The simple targa would have been more easy, as the Lotus Elise is already one. But I hope I will be able to achieve a better design, at least let’s say more elaborated. Well, something like nice engine cover (like Carrera GT or Bug’ Veyron) with amazing air intake (like Zonda Five Roadster)

So before drawing my concept, I will focus on getting a spline cage right. No blueprints for this one : I asked Hennessey a couple of weeks ago, no answer but they were kind enough to add my e-mail address to their mailing list

I started then to fully remodel the hood, front bumper, front fenders. Then time has come for sides : doors, side skirts, rear fenders, top air intakes. I just keeped the previous rear end, as it was already good enough in my opinion, and the engine cover.

Here are some clay renders of the model, I hope it shows the new surfaces quality clearly.

It’s definitely a long-term project : I started it almost 2 years ago. But I’m still fascinated by this car : so impressive, so powerful, so extreme. I think I will get back to it soon

For an upcoming tutorial, I created a wire cage of my C5 Tourer (that is, the wagon) using this blueprint :So I studied a lot of DTM reference pictures, and modified the wire cage to turn it into a DTM Coupé.

Of course I changed some stuff during modeling, and more will be changed until the contest comes to an end. Here’s the current state of the model :

This model once won the “Light is Right” contest at www.SMCars.net, but only with one vote ahead !

You’ll find it in the Free Models page, as well as my previously released car, the Marcos 1800 GT.

A .zip file is available for download. It contains a .blend file, which is a Blender file. Download and install Blender first to read the file. The .blend file is organized using layers :

• Layer #1 contains body panels and interior.
• Layer #2 contains chassis with technical stuff attached to it.
• Layer #3 contains wheels.
• Layer #4 is just a test of a chassis with welds on it. No need for it, only layers 1 to 3 are required to gather the full model.
• Layer #5 are my blueprint box and a wire representation of the chassis.

All required shaders are included. Please pay attention that this project was conducted using YafRay 0.0.9, so it won’t render “out of the box” properly without it (YafaRay won’t do the job here)

Feel free to post your thought about it below, please just keep in mind I didn’t have enough time to complete the model : for example, the engine is missing.

First and second pictures present some details in the door bay. Third one shows the beginning of the windshield.