Transportation [Car Design] 3D Rendering, Design, and 3D Printing for Automotive

A Sample of my 3D rendered Car Designs and Illustrations.

Transportation [Car Design]

3D Rendering, 3D Design, and 3D Printing for Automotive

Automotive design is what I was trained in at both CCS in Detroit, and finished up at Art Center in Pasadena California with a Degree in Transportation Design Fall of 1991. My first few jobs were sketching Car commercial mood boards and storyboard frames out of school, a typical path for many aspiring Entertainment Design seeking Transportation Design majors going into work in Hollywood. I worked on a dozen or so commercials in 2D for Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Lexus, Cadillac, Lincoln, Ford, and others. The directors liked to hire car majors as we were specifically trained to get the product right, the car. so we also ended up developing the futuristic set designs behind the cars as well as most of us were all Science Fiction geeks as well.

As time went on the development of 3D rendering has become photo realistic, with over 90% of the television and print work you see is actually not photography any longer, but 3D rendering of a Digital or Virtual Car.  For 3D Automotive work I have worked on Lotus, Mitsubishi[ again], Honda, Hyundai, Smart Car US, and a few others.

I have been working on virtual cars since my first full car in 3D back in 2003 for a pitch we made at The Cimarron Group to Lotus for the US launch of the Elise. At the time the cars were not in the US, though they did the show circuit and were at an LA auto show. I found a full set of pictures online as well as a blueprint for basic dimensions and proceeded to hand built the car from scratch in 3D.

As an advanced surface artist, 3D modeling a car was a virtual version of working in clay,. only the speed was much faster. A clay model was about 200 hours or work to finish, and I build out the full exterior of the Lotus in about 50 Hours. Mirroring objects that is available in 3D allows for perfect symmetry and you basically build half the car at a time and then modify each side for side specific details.

I have built my favorite car as well, a Vintage Volkswagen Bug for the rebooting of the Herbie franchise for Disney and got to build a 1963 Rag Top bug, from every part inside out and x-ray. This was used in the advertisements on TV and trailers in theaters.

Some clients like Honda wisely provide the model to you, so your time is spent dialing in the materials and lighting of the car. For this part a fellow ACCD grad and I were honored to visit a ACCD Grad Jerry Garns a master at automotive lighting, and translated his studio lighting into our 3D world.

My most recent adventure in 3D Transportation work and been to build out a full 3D asset for 3D Printing of a 1937 Sterling-J Pre War semi truck. The truck is currently being constructed out is Northern California, and I can't wait to see the final results.

 I have added a button on the right to quickly reference this in the future.

If you need a visualization or a 3D Model build or a piece of transportation design please contact me.

Cheers, THOM

NOTE: Blogger is limiting Image Size, a full size detailed image can be seen at this link.

Project Review; The TANK 2017 3D Design and 3D Modeling

 The overall full 3D Model I build and Designed in 3D for the film The Tank 2017[ Quad Base Model]

  The overall full 3D Model I build and Designed in 3D for the film The Tank 2017-Subdivided Model

   The end with the entry that I matched the practical set for on The Tank 2017-Subdivided Model

 The end of the Virtual Set built in Quads, Subdivided with 3 levels of meshsmooth.

 The base mesh of the far back side of The Tank with the annex building Lab[ removed for filming]

 Sub-D back on the final model used in the film the Tank.

 A back side Birds-Eye view of the roof details with antenna ladders cell array etc.[Low Poly]

 High Ploy count Birds Eye on the Prop for The Tank.

 Low on the ground viewing the feet of the Tanks[ low-rez 3D model]

 Subdivided Quad 3D Model of the Virtual Set for the Tank 2017.

Entry shot in Low Poly Base Model for faster 3D Animation visualizations.

 High angle on the main Door[ Set Match]

 One of the couplings connecting the various sections of the Lunar Base in 3D.[ Low Poly View]

 High Poly Ambient render of the connection point on the 3D Model.

 Overhead of the most complex connection area [ Low Poly View]

 The final resolution with Sub-D[ three levels of resolution increased]

 Screen-Grab from the film: Opening shot flying to The Tank.

  Screen-Grab from the film: Entering The Tank, the round entry is a Practical Set the rest is Virtual.

  Screen-Grab from the film: Mid Film Exterior shot The Tank.

 Mid Film Closer to the tank with more show activity.

  Screen-Grab from the film: The Tank is half buried by a blizzard in the Arctic.

 Here is the Credit roll, a surprise, as I did not know I got a film credit[ I usually don't]

Project Review

The TANK 2017

3D Design and 3D Modeling

Client: Glacier Films via Big Sky Laboratories
Art Direction: Matt Hartle
Project Date September 2015.

I was called in to assist with the 3D Design and 3D Modeling in the building of a virtual prop for a film Matt Hartle at Big Sky Laboratories was doing the VFX on, back in 2015. The concept was to build an exterior set to match the interior principal photography as well as a the entrance that was a practical prop as well.

I was given a simple layout and a few reference shots, and off I went. I built it out in stage and blocked the octagonal shape to match the interior sets first. Once approved I added a large amount of detailing all over the prop.

This was build all quads as a Sub-D model[ subdivision mesh] as I work in 3DSmax, and my client works in Maya so I exported as both a FBX, as well as an OBJ as a base mesh, with stills rendered out in Ambient for surface testing only.

I ended up building more than was used in the film, which is typical. They simplified it for the film and removed an entire wing I built.

A fun film with a surprise screen credit for me, when I screen captured it this week as it is currently on Amazon Prime.

If you need a bid for a model and or a design for one, contact me for a quote.

                                 Cheers, THOM

3D Interior Design Rendering

3D Renderings of Interior Design by Thom Schillinger 3D Conceptual Designer

3D Interior Design Rendering

Upon graduation from Art Center I immediately started doing Set Design for Television Commercials back in 1992 out of Hollywood, CA. I have always had a love for Architecture both Interior and Exterior Design, so getting to jump into this right out of College was a great area to hone these skills.

I eventually moved into working on some Restaurant Designs, and with a background as a cabinet builder this assisted me with designing functional interiors which was also a part of the design curriculum at Art Center when you a part of the Industrial Design[ ID] program, called Environmental Design.

I eventually started doing Theme Park design as a Show Designer, this furthered my contact with great Architects and Designers building themed entertainment venues. I worked on both interior and exteriors in this field.

During the Dot.Com boom in late 1999, I moved over to create virtual architecture for the Launch.com Launch City full design revision, this allowed me to fully use the past experience to create virtual environments to green-screen in live band performances for the DR CD ROM Magazine industry, though short lived as that industry was.

As I moved into Theatrical Entertainment doing Key Art for Movie Posters, this virtual set work continues to this day to be a large part of what I do on a regular basis. I will typically recreate a set piece from a film at a very specific angle for a one sheet, and this allows the client to have a pre-masked smart 3D asset, with total control for editing after the photo shoot is done. Also a virtual set is never taken down, so I can re-access it and adjust for new renders in the future[ Like a Home entertainment Key Art package after the film leaves theaters].

If you have a need for traditional Architectural rendering, or themed work, please contact me for a bid.


I also will have a new button to the right as well.

                                                   Cheers, THOM

NOTE: Blogger is limiting Image size in these posts, A full size can be seen here.

What is the difference between a 3D Artist and a 3D Conceptual Designer?

Traditional Sketching and Marker Rendering

 

What is the difference between a 3D Artist and a 3D Conceptual Designer?

     First off there is no hard-line difference per say, however there are big differences between these two titles. I myself, have worked as both and each position is a little different.

The title of 3D Artist usually is an artist who works in a 3D computer program to create dimensional work in CAD or one of the various 3D Software packages [ 3ds Max, Maya , C4D, Sketch Up,etc]. 3D Artists are primarily trained in the 3D Program or programs of choice , and work in a variety of industries to build out, light, texture, and animate their creation they have built. 3D is a dimensional world rather than a flat world like Photoshop and Illustrator tend to be. It is also not required as a 3D Artist to be trained as a 2D or 3D sketch artist, though many do this.

A Conceptual Designer is a trained designer that works on concept art, usually for the film and game industry. The first Conceptual Designer, or Concept Artist I met was back in 1986, Syd Mead. Syd did all the futuristic designs for films such as 2001, Blade Runner and Tron. His path took him through Industrial Design [ ID], and I followed this path myself. ID trained concept artists understand how things are made, and usually are builders in the real world on some level, and this real world training translates directly in the way they do 3D.

Once I saw Syd's work at a presentation in college, and more importantly, heard him describe his work back in Michigan in the Winter of 86'. I knew this was my path, so I transferred to Art Center in Pasadena to complete my training as an Industrial Designer with a plan to do Entertainment Design that last semester in Detroit.

A 3D Conceptual Designer is someone who is double trained in both of these disciplines. And this training takes place both in school and on the job. I have worked as all three, starting my career with 2D Concept Art, and now I do a bit of all three roles depending on the clients needs, but primarily I do 3D now.

The big advantage to being double trained is that, first I am open to more work opportunities, and second the client themselves get a two for one, in that I can design and build my own creations for them, cutting out the most expensive part in the middle of translating a design from one person to another so it can be accurately built as a final product. With me you get both. Finally, as a designer myself I can read and translate other designers work very fast, so I can build other peoples work much quicker and closer to their original concepts.

So today I am posting this link to my Traditional Hand sketching and Marker Rendering work that I do that is the basis for my title of 3D Conceptual Designer.

As a Industrial Designer trained in Transportation Design[ Car Designer], there is a moment in our education that we make a connection between our clay models and sketching. After this connection is made you sketch much more realistic, and accurately as the end product is real and dimensional. This is what happens when I sketch now, I draw more accurately now that I do a majority 3D.

If you have a need for 2D Concept work I still break out the velum, so contact me for a bid.

I have added a permanent button to the right menu like this.

                               Cheers, THOM

NOTE: Blogger limits file size, so for a full size Image from up top click here.

As to my 2D work here are some specific links for this work.
Phantom 2040 2D Animated:

Theme Park[ some 3D]:

Art Center[ some 3D]:

Napkin Sketching:

Frum-Unders 2D Character Development;