3d art

Transport
h Cosmic Motors Camarudo
Mono Sport Pod
“Built for junior racers to
compete for lucrative spots in
more powerful racing classes”
In total, work on Cosmic Motors took
about seven years – two years full-time.
It took forever! It was both fun and torture.
But I wanted the book to be more than a
quick brain fart – it had to be a timeless,
quality showcase.
Scott, a concept designer himself,
became a good friend and an endless
source of inspiration.
What work is involved in the creation
of your hyper-real concepts, and how long
does the production of one of these images
generally take?
DS: For each Cosmic Motor I would say oneto-six
months per vehicle. It’s not about the
modelling – that’s the fast part. It’s the
design work. Some are easy; some drive me
crazy. I do many revisions, render daily, try
different versions, go back to the drawing
board… For example, I’m still not happy
with the Gravion Racer on the cover: there
is something weird about it in front view,
so I am still fine-tuning it. Also, I don’t reuse
parts or download stuff. Everything is built
from scratch to fit perfectly into the design
look. The extensive research also takes up
quite some time.
Per published vehicle I would have
about five unpublished, different versions.
Then, to render one image I need a few
days to find the right angle and lighting.
All maps are custom-made; logos have to
be designed. Graphics take days to finish.
If it includes a real human model, add a
week or so for costumes, location and
postproduction. Most images are 10,000
pixels in true resolution, which equates
to about 66 megapixels, so there’s lots of
work to do.
On a feature film it’s different: it’s all
about speed. Sometimes I have a day for
a model, sometimes up to two months.
How long did it take for you to perfect
your technique?
DS: I wish it were perfect. I am learning
every day, but sometimes I get stuck with
old techniques. It was 2003 when I started
3D modelling. I built a teapot in three days
and I immediately saw the power of the tool.
At that time I was a car designer at
Volkswagen, dealing with full-size clay
models. I was dependent on modellers –
extremely gifted talents – but I struggled
with the process. 3D software was a
blessing for my creativity.
What hardware and software is essential to
your workflow, and why?
DS: I rely on Autodesk Alias on a Windows
7 workstation, 64-bit, dual quad-core
processor, 16GB RAM and a Quadro FX4600
graphics card (it will be fun reading this
again in a few years!). I model NURBS. For
creative lighting and rendering I like mental
ray through Autodesk Maya. For
fast visualisation on productions I run
Bunkspeed Shot and Move. I also run a Mac
for administrative work. But basically, I hate
computers – I’d rather be the singer of a
famous band – but hell, I was born with a
thrill for design, so I guess I’m stuck behind
a 30-inch monitor trying to model and
machine my ideas. Bummer!
You seem to be happy in the old-school world
of drawing as well as the computer world of
3D modelling. Can you tell us more?
DS: A pencil is a great tool to throw ideas
out quickly – I am not even saying on
paper; could be digital. I believe somebody
who can draw can work more efficiently
in 3D. Most people rely on happy accidents
on the screen, but I am not a fan of that
(although some accidents I’ve had have
led to cool results).
In my work on movies I’ve found that
every director is different, so it’s great to be
able to make adjustments with either more
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