I'll start off by saying that I am not a writer, and this is written from my own opinion and experiences. I am self taught, my ways might be different that others, but in the end the only thing that matters are the results. (and how long it took to get those results) I chose to write this, because I have had a number of people asking me: "What should I do to my models to make them realistic and impressive?" and "Teach me!" (paraphrased) Well, this subject is too large to simply teach in a few paragraphs, it takes along time to learn. Here are a few of my thoughts, and hopefully a little insight to my way of thinking, for anyone willing to listen.

Whether it is a vehicle, an electronic device, an instrument, or anything in-between, most objects have lots of little details. Paying attention to all these little details and creating them, is what makes a model impressive and beautiful. I am not saying that advanced rendering techniques do not play a roll in this (they do), but I am saying that advanced rendering techniques can not make a sub-par model that lacks detail, look very impressive. The model has to stand ground on its own; rendering is just the icing on the cake so to speak.

So, how do I go about making "the details"? Here are a few thoughts and techniques I have learned through the years. I will use vehicles for the majority of my examples, as I have a great love for vehicles, and vehicles seem to be quite popular in the 3d world.

A shell with no soul? A lot of vehicles I see on the web are modeled out as just the body with wheels & tires. For some applications, this is all that's required. And that's fine, but there is a lot more to a vehicle than just the shell and wheels. There is an interior, engine, transmission, drive line, wiring, tubes, hoses, bolts, and a whole other host of parts that make up the entire vehicle.

References: You will need a lot of references while tackling a project of this magnitude. Even if you are very familiar with the subject matter you will more than likely need photos to get most of the details down. www.google.com/images is a great source for images, and while I use Google a lot, there are plenty other places to find pictures or information. I for one, get magazines that pertain to the subject model. Magazines will give you pictures as well as information and write-ups about the subject. Don't over look the advertisements though; they usually have good pictures as well.

A digital camera is a necessity for me, taking a picture of something specific is a very good way to gather references. A high mega-pixel digital camera can capture a lot of detail, even if you don't stick the camera intrudingly close-up. (but sometimes, you just have to) I go to car shows quite often to browse around the beautiful machines, and to take pictures (both for artistic photography, as well as reference photos). Sometimes I am forced to go to auto parts stores, and take pictures of the parts that way. I bring my college ID with me, and I never have any problems taking pictures inside the store. I even keep old parts off my car (or new ones that I have not installed yet) as reference. Just keep them in a box by the computer, and pick them up when it's time to model them.

Having a dual monitor setup makes the process of modeling a lot easier. You can have a few reference pictures open on one monitor, and your 3d program on the next monitor. That, combined with magazines and parts strewn all around, should be plenty of reference.

Knowledge: Having a little knowledge about your subject matter usually helps out quite a bit. Being mechanically minded, I like to know how things attach to each other, and how they interact with each other. You don't have to know all this, but it sure does help. For instance, if you don't know how a particular part correctly attaches as it would be in real life, you can attach it convincingly enough using your knowledge of how other parts usually attach. That may be all you need.

Accuracy: Granted, most 3d programs are not geared to absolute real world accuracy; you can usually customize the units to SAE or Metric standards and get acceptably close accuracy. Most 3d programs are able to do this, but even then this is not enough to get perfect accuracy. Accuracy is being able to tell the distance and angle from one object to another, or the diameter of a bolt whole and angle in relation to the other holes, or bend angle and slope of a tube: and being able to do this quickly and easily. CAD programs and other mechanical design programs are more suited to accuracy, but for the most part, if you can make something believable, then it does not need to be absolutely accurate to the millimeter. Some jobs may require a higher degree of accuracy, but for the majority of models, being very close and believable is plenty good enough. I am not saying do not pay attention to accuracy, if you pay attention to accuracy as much as possible, there will be a lot less guess work and "eyeballing" to do.

Sometimes, "eyeballing" is the only practical way around something. Here, it is important to know the size and placement of object in relation to their surrounding objects. For example, look at pictures and see: How many tires long is the car? (6 and 2/3 tires long, for example) How many headlights wide is the grill? How many bolts fit in-between two header pipes, how many valve cover bolt-heads wide are the valve covers? When you start thinking like this, any guess work you have to do, will be done much easier.

Starting the modeling process: Starting a vehicle can be a very daunting task, especially if you plan to make the vehicle from the ground up: frame, engine, body and all. I suggest that you don't look at the vehicle as a whole, and don't even look at is as "the engine" or, "the interior". Break it down even further, down to the individual parts.

Think of it just as you would if you were to physically build or restore a vehicle in real life. If starting out with the engine, look at the block first, look to the next part attached, and the next part, and the next. Now model them out as you study them individually. All the while hiding parts that have been completed (except to get things aligned and scaled correctly). If you think of the engine as simply a set of parts, rather than a huge contraption, things will go a lot easier. This will ensure that you don't get mind boggled by the huge task, and also that you don't skimp over any details. Be sure and use "layers" in 3d Max (not sure if other 3d programs have this or not) so that you can keep things organized.

Back to the "physically building or restoring" example, would a vehicle run without fuel lines to deliver the fuel? Or breaks without a break line? Would the hood stay open with out a prop or struts? Would a door open with out hinges? Would the seats stay put with out seat rails? Would all those parts stay on if there are no nuts, bolts or welds? I think you can see the pattern here. Think of it literally, however ridiculous or insane that might sound.

Well, I hope that some of this information has been helpful to someone out there. If you would like to have me expand on anything else related to high detail modeling, or feel I have left out anything, please email me and I will try to expand on those items. Once again, these are my opinions, and what I have personally experienced over the years.