UPDATE! NEW WEBSITE

After nearly three years, I can now say that I'll be having my own website with all my work on it. The blog posts from this blog will be copied to my website, which will be great as the website will provide a story to each and every asset you can buy from it. I will be deleting this blog in December 2020 and the website will be launched in April 2016.

Modeling a Volkswagen Golf MK1 1975 in Autodesk Maya 2015

It's been over a year and a half. I upgraded from Maya 2011 to Maya 2015. The change is BIG! I want to go back to Maya 2011 but an error comes up telling me I should downgrade my Mac (which I mostly do my models on). I didn't want to reinstall Mac OS X Snow leopard so I decided to learn Maya 2015 for my benefit. I can't be using the same version all my life, I'll need to stay updated, so I decided to do so. I feel like an old person in the industry who has been around since the early days and has seen 3D modelling change. But I'm only 21 years old and have known Maya for around 2 and a half years. Plus I just have got my Mac working and shall Build more for this portfolio. I present you with the building of my VW golf 1975. enjoy!

I had to convert this file when I moved versions. This was annoying and also I haven't used Maya for 10 months before that. Note: the texturing will be a separate post. Take a look at it opened first time  in Maya 2015.

This is how it looked (see the picture above). I have screen shotted parts of the picture above and will show you how I'd normally model a car.

I firstly started with the from side door. This is because I will use a plane and keep on extracting in a the front view with the plain showing through, so I can see the images I am using to model the car. this way it is better and less annoying than box modelling where you make a box and extrude from it to make whatever your making. I do not find that helpful, even though I was taught to model using box modelling techniques by a teacher who didn't know how to model. I had to then teach my whole class how to model and he was learning a lot from what I taught myself in a month. 

I then moved onto the front side panel. I only model one side of the car and near the end I will copy and flip it and then join both parts together and then see the final model. I found the wheel part the hardest as I had to move the vertices slightly so it won't mess up the side panel. 

I then had to join the door the the panel. I firstly extrude a part of the panel and moved it close to the door. I joined them together and then make it all look like a cars front side by moving the edges till it was moved and curved enough to look like a cars parts.

I modelled the bonnet and then joined it to the side panel in a similar way to how I joined the side to the door and then i extruded the window from the bonnet and pushed it in a bit and joined the side to the door.

I then copied the front door and flipped it so the front was at the back and so on. I then extruded it out so I could cut out the back side panels. I then moved the vertices to make the wheel holes and then I filled that in.

I then made the front grill bumper and lights.

I then make the back.

I then made the side mirrors.  I had difficulty joining the mirror to the body as you can see there are a few areas that do not look good.

I then combined both parts and joined them up. 

I then modelled the wheel. I was tempted to make better rims. But I wanted to make an original VW golf 1975 and then make a from custom body kits and rims.

I then moved the wheels to the body and grouped it together. 

As I modelled this in smooth mesh view (press 3 on the keyboard to see models in maya in that mode), I could see it with quality. I then went and smooth meshed it to polygons so when I use it in my animated film I am working on and I go and render the scene to JPG, I won't have the car in a funny looking way.

I am deciding to open a new youtube account where I show my work off. I will look in my computer to find this and will show it off in a youtube video which will be available as a link in this post in the coming months.