Recent Vehicle Work
This blog post discusses work I have done lately in developing vehicles. Before I can share more of my work, I have to share how I got to this point.
Building Blocks.
This movement towards making vehicles began with me trying to learn to develop a vehicle controller for Unity3D. I properly followed a tutorial from Unity, and it got me to wonder how to develop more vehicles. The tutorial package from Unity had a car that would spin out too easily. Like, the tutorial couldn't handle sudden avoidance turns. That was besides the point of this blog post.I kept practicing making the same Blockbench truck in a tutorial. Rather than re-create it in Blender, I re-made it in Blender. Once I got down how to develop it, I wanted to animate it. So what I did was add on some wheels. As any vehicle to be animated in 3D, I separated the wheels from the vehicle chassis. The next challenge was to take the same vehicle scripts from the Unity tutorial but implement them to a custom vehicle. This was harder because I had to rely on being able to properly set up the custom vehicle. I had to do some editing because I didn't set the origin of each wheel to their geometry. Therefore, my early vehicle had wonky rotation with the tires. I then changed up 3D options in Blender and re-exported to Unity. The end result? This picture:
^ from: (my X/Twitter) - I developed this pickup truck and this simple oval race track.
I was so happy to get in enough of a groove to develop an interest for 3D modeling vehicles. My interests only pertain to low-polygon work. More to come.
The Low Polygon, Low-Spec Style
Let's get something straight. Low polygon can be very subjective. It is only as low polygon as one perceives low-polygon. Granted I never developed anything of seriously high detail, I have done enough to warrant some kind of attention towards low-polygon modeling. The most realistic 3D model I ever made was a human foot from a tutorial on YouTube. I lack the confidence to make a fully real vehicle. It didn't mean, however, I could not give full effort towards trying to make believable vehicles. Let me share with you some of my work.
Low Polygon Challenge.
Previous attempts at making a low-polygon vehicle haven't been too good. I fear not making things as detailed as possible, though I do not specialize in hyper-realistic and hyper-detailed models. It wasn't until one time that I made a true vehicle that could be perceived as "low-polygon."Previously, what was to be a low-polygon model ended up being something I further to being not low-polygon at all. One sports car model I developed in 2020 ended up with 2490 vertices, 1878 faces, and 4848 triangles. I made a low-polygon sport-utility vehicle (SUV) in 2021 that had 285 vertices, 221 faces, and 544 triangles. I surpassed both marks with a model I developed in June 2024. Here are the stats on my 2024 model: 183 vertices, 324 edges, 155 faces, and 340 triangles. The model I made in 2024 was a hatchback based on one of my old voxel vehicles. Here is a look at it:
^ from: (my X/Twitter) - This was one of my best low-polygon efforts to date.
Trying to come up with as few polygons as possible but with decent detail is its own challenge. I made it happen, though.
Low Polygon With Pixel Textures.
One of my best creations to date is another SUV I developed. The challenge was to make a vehicle and then it pixel art-style art. I still need to learn how to better detail things in pixel art. I actually thought of trying to learn how to bake lighting and shading into UV maps in Blender. I looked to old PlayStation 1 racing games for low-polygon insight. That is how I learned to make simple side-view mirrors. The work of about 3-6 hours to model and texture one vehicle led to this effort:
^ from: (my X/Twitter) - This was one of my best low-polygon efforts to date.
I had kind of a tough time thinking about how to texture this crossover SUV. I basically thought of it having a bold grill, lights with daytime running lights, and simple designs for the door handles and tail lights. I even had a bit of fun making a window banner saying "Pixelate." I used a blueprint of the 2006 Cadillac SRX in developing the side profile of it. Then, I used my imagination to make my own vehicle. This model is meant to be one of my 3D reimagined versions of one of my voxel vehicles.
My Latest Vehicle.
One vehicle I worked the past day or two (as of July 3, 2024) is this:
^ from: (my X/Twitter) - This microcar is one of my most recent works, and it is also one of my creations not based on any of my voxel vehicles.
This is a microcar I was working on. It is based on a blueprint of the 2015 smart fortwo. I did not complete a proper UV map for it, so that is why it has no texture to it.
Now that you have seen some of my latest vehicle work, I have to share what my plans are with these vehicles.
My Vehicle Plans
Originally, I developed these vehicles to be implemented into racing/driving games. I had the likes of GTR2, rFactor 1, and Assetto Corsa in mind. I may also just have them to be vehicles to use for nearly any game engine. The intent of these are to make vehicles that can be operated. However, I may develop some static vehicles that can be used as props.
TO DO.
I am slowly learning how to make better-quality 3D vehicle models. What I want to be able to do is develop vehicles with interiors as well as make vehicles with light housings. I have no plans to develop actual vehicles. My focus is on original, "generic" vehicles. Some generic vehicles of mine draw inspiration from actual vehicles while not being outright copies of them. Anyone who really knows vehicles may know what elements and machines my work spawns from.Remember earlier I talked about making my custom vehicles for Unity car controllers? Well, one plan of mine was to take the Unity Skycar from their long deprecated Standard Assets Library and swap out the meshes to suit my vehicles. Doing this will allow me to tune the Unity Skycar code to fit any number of vehicles. It also means I get to be able to have engine sounds and braking sounds implemented. What I COULD do is learn to swap out meshes for Edy's Randomation Vehicle Physics, but I am not so sure that would work too well.
What I Want For My Supporters.
If you have ideas of having vehicles you can control for games or media projects, just know I have you covered as best as I can. I want to provide such products to the public-at-large. While I may not have complete material immediately, I will work over time to improve my skills and make better material for you all.Wait, John... What About These "Blueprints" You Speak Of?
Oh, I downloaded a bunch of blueprints from a site called "The Blueprints." I have to do some adjusting to build them to a proper scale, but they have been a big help in modeling. Take a look at the blueprints offered in regular images and in vector images here: www.the-blueprints.com. Maybe you can create your own lovely vehicles with these blueprints! :)That's all for this blog post. I hope you got some insight from me. Stay tuned to my creative works to see what all I have for you! Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Support me further by connecting with me on social media; and if you are inclined, feel free to donate to me (donations are voluntary but would be appreciated). Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
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