Vehicle (Miata) Model

Modelling Challenge 2 from 3D Game Art 1. For this modelling challenge we were given the prompt to make a vehicle. I decided to make a car based on a Miata centered around the idea that the car has flip up headlights that make it look like a face when looking from a front facing view. I think I succeeded with this prompt but think maybe I could do a bit better on the texturing.

This modelling challenge proved difficult for me. I was still early in the learning process and had just learned about n-gons and the symmetry modifier in 3DS Max. I started this project by creating my reference planes and creating a large cube. After applying my edit poly modifier, I added a bunch of swift loops to create the geometry of the car. A problem arose during the middle of this project however, as I was starting to run low on my time limit, I realized that I should have used a symmetry modifier to get the basic geometry down a lot more efficiently, but I hadn't at the time, so my sides were slightly uneven and resolving n-gon issues on one side didn't fix them on the other, so I lost a lot of time to fixing those issues. Luckily, I was able to fix most of the issues before the time was up and was even able to create a separate wheel object that I cloned 3 other times for the other wheel positions.

This project really taught me the importance of time management in assignments like these. When under such a short time constraint it is important to make the most of each moment, so when working on something that is extremely symmetrical, at least starting with (if not using for the whole model) a symmetry modifier could boost my productivity by a large amount. I also learned when looking back at this model later about consistent poly count for a model like this. As an example, it doesn't make sense for the car itself to be so low-poly but then have really high-poly wheels.