3d art

Cockpit
Let’s add a frame and some glass
Problems
and solutions
One of the difficulties of
working with SubD is that in
order to refine a specific area,
you may need to add a ton of
edge loops. If your model is
one piece, it may lead to an
incredibly high-poly SubD
model. When I model an
aircraft, I use the major seams
on the body panelling to
break the model up, which
allows me to better control
the density of my mesh.
r Isolating the cockpit area in
order to cut out the windows
s Cutting out the rear
window of the cockpit
t Box modelling the canopy
area using edge loops to refine
u Adding depth to the canopy
using the Edge Extend tool (Z)
20 Place your window cuts
First we need to add some edge loops to control the mesh
when we make our cuts for the window opening. Using the
Slice tool (Shift+C), add two cuts, one to the nose at the
seam of the engine and then another in line with the
aerial. Select the faces in between and Copy>Paste to
a new layer r.
21 Adding depth
Now we can position the edge loops around the window
area to be cut out. Use the Edge Slide tool with Duplicate
on to position the new edges. In Polygon mode, Copy>
Paste the faces that make up the window to a new layer,
then extend the edges of the opening inward to give it
depth. Once again, add edge loops around it and the
corners to sharpen the shape s.
22 Begin the canopy
Now we can get started on the actual canopy for the
Spitfire. We’ll start off with a basic cube with two
segments added in X, Y and Z. Place the cube into
position and move the vertices to the general shape.
Now we’ll begin refining the shape by adding edge loops
to isolate the frame and window area t.
23 Divide the canopy
The next part of this construction will require us to
separate the front and sliding section of the canopy for
further refining. Select the faces that make up the front
area and Cut>Paste them to a new layer; make sure to
name it accordingly. Now we can continue on the front
section without having to add unnecessary subdivisions
to the rear section.
24 Focus on the details
Once we have refined our canopy to something close to
the real thing, we need to separate the glass areas onto
new layers and give the canopy frame some depth so it
doesn’t look too thin and unrealistic. I select edges and
use the Edge Extend tool (Z) to do this a few times,
constantly keeping in mind that I want the edges of the
canopy nice and sharp u.
Keep it plane and simple
Although I may not have been able to show how to create
every element of the Spitfire here, for all elements the
construction is the same. Start with a cube or cylinder
as a base and avoid adding segments initially as this just
creates problems. Building from a very basic primitive will
help you see where edges should go in order to refine your
mesh. Pay close attention to the flow of the aircraft and try
to use as many reference photographs as you can to help
with modelling accurately.
s
r
t
u
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