Photoshop rendering

[lae]

Hi all

I'm applying (finally, after three years of meaning to do it I've actually got around to it) to do a vehicle design course at Coventry university, I've got my interview on Tuesday (terrified). You've got to submit a portfolio, here's my first photoshop rendering:



It's not finished yet, there's a couple of things I want to do again and it needs some final highlights and colour radiosity. It's not going to be perfect but that's okay, I haven't even started the course yet

I drew the outlines by hand then took a photo (don't have an A3 scanner) and made a line drawing of it in a separate layer, then started rendering with the airbrush tool in lots of layers.

Comments, hints, tips etc would be appreciated guys.

FYI it's an environmentally friendly kit car, made from entirely recyclable materials running recycled/reused electric motors in the rear wheels. The chassis is made from wood laminate designed to be made at home (chassis members have no compound curves so it's very simple to make). And yes, it does have wooden transverse leaf springs

Also be kind, I've never had any formal art tuition since I was about thirteen years old

[montanna]

That looks pretty good, never tried rendering in photoshop befor looks like it would take ages! Have you seen this?

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-516687/The-worlds-wooden-supercar-faster-Porsche-Lamborghini.html

i like the wooden leaf spring idea used it in this as well i think!

[BenzBoy]

First off, that's a great design! And well done for getting to grips with Layers - they make life so much easier! I think that you could do with a bit more definition in the drawing, to make the car more "solid". Particularly on the sills where the edge meets the shadow beneath. I would make the sill shading darker and have less of a soft edge on the upper part of the shading (where it goes upwards twards the rest of the car). And maybe lighten the shadow beneath to give more contrast.

Have you tried using the marquee tool and selecting the "feather" option? You can constrain the feather to 2 or 3 pixels so you still get a soft edge to the shadow but it isn't as fluffy as the airbrush tool. This means you can get the shading (and highlights for that matter) exactly where you need them without having to be mega-precise with the mouse using the paintbrush / airbrush tool.

I'd be tempted to apply some tread pattern onto the tyres too. I'd probably just lift the tread from a suitable tyre photo and blend it in by playing with the opacity and adding shadow / highlights but there is probably a more accurate way than that.

Hope this helps. I use PS for work (not cars though) but after years of use I'm still finding stuff out and I probably only use a small percentage of the program's capabilities!

Best of luck with the interview!

[lae]

Yeah I'm really just getting to grips with it at the moment. I've watched video tutorials and seen people using marquees and gradients and all that, and I'm just sitting there clicking away with the airbrush like it's a physical drawing. I'm sure I'll get better (and much faster) quickly though, it's an absolutely amazing program.

Thanks for the tips, especially about the tyes, I was dreading going back in and doing it all manually.

[SeventyNine]

i did this:



cheated though as it was traced over an original

[captainmatt]

*Steps in*

Having used Photoshop for a number of years, I'd be happy to answer any queries you have, I.e "How do I do this?" sort of thing and what not.

I've drawn cars freehand and scanned in, then coloured in Photoshop, in fact thats how I colour all my cars since I don't like colouring straight onto paper (incase I make a mistake that spoils it all)

Any tips you'd like to know on freehand drawing, ask away

I noticed your perspectives a bit out when differentiating between the front and rear views, notabley the backs of the seats which appear at different angles.

Suppose I'll show some examples.
This is getting coloured at some point:


Looks better on paper really.

This is pure Photoshop:


And I can't find any sketches that I've coloured in PS, so watch this space I guess.

[lae]

^ cool stuff. Do they all have guns?

Yeah, the seats look funny, they looked fine when I drew it and it only started to look off when I coloured it. I might have a fiddle if I've got time (ahem).

[lae]

Oi Matt.

Metallic grey/blue mid-1980s bluebird on Hull Road about 2pm, was that you?

[captainmatt]

2pm Friday 17th? Nah matey, was at home then, only been out to work today and that was at 6pm.

Though I do live on Hull Road, hmm, n'other one around?

Mines classed as full silver apparently. Easily recognisible by the fact that its absolutely filthy, the horizontal bit of grills been chopped out (can find pics in my car thread) and theres a dirty great dent down the near side sill from the previous owner

[sparko]

to be honest mate if your going for a design course crack on with some drawinig. i know a lot of people who are on similar courses and they were shocked at the amount of drawing they had to do. the photoshop stuff will be a massive bonus that will help you out but I'm pretty sure they will want proof you arent afraid of picking up a pen.

good luck with it anyway pal, keep us up to date with designs etc

[lae]

^ yeah that's the only computery work I have done. Everything else is in the sketchbooks.

[gofasterpinch]

i would say you need to be able to draw perspective cracking the same 3 or 4 views over and over, and a nice photoshop rendering style.

theres plenty of photoshop tutorials on websites like, car and body design, car design news and designer techniques, and also lots of videos on you tube (search scott robertson and harald belker)

i'm in my final year at northumbria and if i could go back i would just be drawing perspectives of anything over and over. Even if you just draw cubes and learn to construct the drawing! it will all help!

heres some of mine just drawn randomly/quickly on the wacom









i'll even start a thread about my final major project i think!

[lae]

Well I got in, so I must have done something right

The lady said I had a very mature attitude to my designs, probably because I finished my a-levels about three years ago and have been working in a garage since. She said it was refreshing to have someone who didn't design 500mph supercars with no thought to the engineering behind them

I'm going to work on my sketching, I don't think any amount of nice photoshopping will cover up a slightly dodgy drawing.

[BenzBoy]

Apr 24, 2009 15:12:33 GMT lae said:

Well I got in, so I must have done something right

Well done!!! You must be over the moon. I think it often helps to have a bit of life experience before going to uni.

[rmad]

Well done!