First Car Rendering... Chrysler Crossfire Coupe

[W.P. Rayner]

Below is my first car rendering. I picked a vehicle I am very familiar with (pictures of our real-life version here). There were several polygon issues with the imported 3ds model most of which I was able to resolve in Modo. There are also a few minor errors in the model but nothing but another owner would pick up on. Rendering was produced in Keyshot 3 Pro.



Paul

[finescalerr]

Fooled me. -- Russ

[mad gerald]

... Below is my first car rendering ...

... quite impressive artwork (as always), Paul ...   ... but I got curious about the road: it isn't located somewhere in the USA, I suppose it's of German or at least European origin?!?!?!

Cheers

[W.P. Rayner]

Thanks Gerald. I'm not sure where the environment photo was taken, but definitely not in North America... like you I suspect it's European, possibly Germany. Working on a second rendering now, same background but looking in the opposite direction.

Paul

[W.P. Rayner]

Latest car render, Crossfire again. Corrected several problems with the model though there are still some incorrect details. Much happier with this one... rendered as usual in Keyshot. Larger view available on site.



Paul

[Marc988]

Nice rendering ! Definitely one of my more favorite cars.

One question though, is the underside of the spoiler / front bumper correct ? (I have been involved in these cars years ago but cannot seem to recall this shape of the spoiler   )

PS, based on the roadside reflectors the road is in Germany.

[W.P. Rayner]

Thanks Marc... yes the underside of the front bumper is correct, at least to the North American version.

Paul

[michael mott]

Paul your Drawing skills never cease to amaze me,I can see that skills like these can lead to problems elsewhere in our monitored lives. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

michael

[W.P. Rayner]

Thank you Michael. And yes, truth has always been stranger than fiction...

I've been shifting my focus into other specialty and more lucrative markets, horological and automotive subjects. In the shameless plug department, the editor at Watchuseek wrote a nicely-written article about my recent work, published last weekend at http://blog.watchuseek.com/2012/08/remarkable-renderings-by-roughboy.html.

Paul

[michael mott]

Paul you just hit a nerve!
The whole horological thing has been one of my quiet studies from the time I was a young lad of 15. I used to go to the second hand stores in west London and pick up old clocks and watches, at one time I had a shoebox full of old pocket watches with enameled dials. In my bedroom I had 24 chiming clocks ranging from grotesque French marble mantle pieces to mahogany wall clocks.
A wonderful Book by George Daniels called "Watchmaking" is one of my prized possessions, it is full of the most exquisite line drawings of how to make a watch, by one of the most skilled craftsmen of his age, (and an award winning horologist for inventing movements that would make your mind spin) who makes you think that you could build a pocket watch.if you knew how to use a file...not.

Let us see more of your watch renderings sir.

Michael 

[W.P. Rayner]

Thanks Michael. I can certainly relate to your enthusiasm. I've lived surrounded by clocks and watches my entire life. My father, grandfather and great uncle were all watchmakers and I spent many hours as a youngster watching Dad work. I've been fortunate to inherit his and my grandfather's watchmaker's bench, a selection of equipment and tools along with a choice collection of clocks and watches. I flew home to Canada at the beginning of June to bring back the family 19th century jeweler's pin-wheel escapement walnut Regulator which now hangs proudly in our living room - drove it back across country in a U-haul truck - a great road trip. It survived the rigors of the road just fine and continues to run exceptionally well. On the future occasion when I need to perform cleaning and maintenance on the movement, I plan to photograph and measure it in detail to prepare drawings and renderings. The movement is absolutely gorgeous in its elegant simplicity. There is no maker's identifying mark (at least that I've been able to find yet), but we believe it to be English.

I know the work of George Daniels and am fortunate to own one of his other books. Someday I hope to add his Watchmaking book to the collection. It was a sad day for horology when he died in October of last year.

Below is a preliminary rendering of work-in-progress on one of my current projects, the "Classic" in red gold and Titanium by Vianney Halter, like George Daniels, a recognized independent watchmaker member of AHCI (Academie Horologere des Createurs Independants). I'm now working on the rear of the movement, with the unique clear sapphire winding rotor, which can be seen through another crystal in the back of the watch. Drawing is done in Autodesk Inventor Pro 2013, rendering in Keyshot 3 Pro



Paul

[finescalerr]

I can tell it's a rendering. But it's a darned good one. Once again, nice work. -- Russ

[SandiaPaul]

Paul,

The watch stuff is simply fantastic.  I too, am a "watch guy" I have played around with pocket watch repair and dream of one day making my own watch. I have Daniels' book and study it often.

My question for you is how are you getting the dimensions for these drawings? I'm guessing you are not taking apart these watches and measuring them and then putting them back together!

Same question would go for the automotive stuff too, though that I would guess is easier to find the dimensions of.

Paul

[W.P. Rayner]

Thanks guys.

Russ: I freely admit it's a rendering. I'm not striving for absolute realism, more a kind of hyper-reality that hopefully conveys some of the emotion and soul I feel in the watch's design. At this point, I'm not completely happy with the lighting environment so am making a new studio "set" to hopefully improve on that... don't like the hot spots in this shot.

Paul:  I work from reference photos and whatever dimensions I can find. For this project the only dimensions I have are case diameter and thickness. All the other dimensions are extrapolated from there through close study of the photographs and knowledge of watch construction. Obviously I don't maintain it's absolutely accurate. I just hope to make a satisfactory representation. This is part of a series of watches I'm working on, all by independent watchmakers. And yes, the cars are a little easier because general dimensions are usually available.

Paul

[eTraxx]

Paul .. great renderings. Are you familiar at all with the Antikythera Mechanism?

More than a hundred years ago an extraordinary mechanism was found by sponge divers at the bottom of the sea near the island of Antikythera. It astonished the whole international community of experts on the ancient world. Was it an astrolabe? Was it an orrery or an astronomical clock? Or something else?

For decades, scientific investigation failed to yield much light and relied more on imagination than the facts. However research over the last half century has begun to reveal its secrets. The machine dates from around the end of the 2nd century B.C. and is the most sophisticated mechanism known from the ancient world. Nothing as complex is known for the next thousand years. The Antikythera Mechanism is now understood to be dedicated to astronomical phenomena and operates as a complex mechanical "computer" which tracks the cycles of the Solar System.

The Anitikythera Mechanism Research Project