McLaren F-Zero Rendering Tut [by MK211]
Hey guys,
I originally posted this on PSU right after I did the chop (Gotta love imageshack btw cos these are THE original images I uploaded almost 2yrs ago!
.
Follow this tutorial if you wish to gain an insight into 1 of the various methods to go about rendering a car in Photoshop. Sure it may seem there are a bunch of steps, but don't let that stop you! I tried to be as explanatory as possible and hopefully you will learn a thing or two
For those of you who can't wait here's the finished result:
First things first, here you'll see how I setup my settings of 2 of the main tools used. This will make it easy for you to work in PS and follow along this tutorial/walkthru.
Eraser - pressure 20% | mode: airbrush | brush setting type: round 'soft' airbrush
Airbrush/brush - mode: normal | pressure 100% | brush setting type: round 'soft' airbrush
Step 1: Define - Get Your Ideas Down
First of all we mark out our a basic ideas. (This is where a graphic tablet may come in handy for those of you who have one, however I'm using a mouse in this case, which works just as well
). The best advice I can give you here to use the pen tool (P) and make a path where you want the line to appear and then Right Click > Stroke Path > Airbrush, as this will save you alot of effort and gives you accurate lines if you don't have a steady freehand. So the main purpose of this step is to put down the basic bodylines and main lines of the vehicle so you have a rough guideline to the shape and lines of what you want to create. Another point to note is now is the time to get perspective 100% correct! Because it's too much hassle trying to correct perspective issues once you've begun brushing!! So its worth the extra time/effort to get it spot on now early on in the project.
Step 2: Refine - Get Perspective Accurate
Once you've got the rough outline down on the canvas now is the time to refine it and neaten it up, as this will make our work easier and neater to do (note: the markup 'red and green' lines are to help determine perspective as well as wheel placing/alignment). So here in this step, you can see how i've tidied up the lines by erasing them to make them neat etc
Step 3: Base Fill (Primer)
Now we are ready to get the airbrush out! Make a selection (use the pen tool and make a path around the body of the vehicle, Right Click > Make Selection) and choosing a colour such as #AAA592 you can then proceed to brush in the body. Once you've done that its time to add some basic depth to the side of the vehicle, to do so make a selection of the appropriate curvature where we want it to be a darker shade and copy to new layer (CTRL+J) then press (CTRL+U) and adjust the darkness by around -10. For the body highlight (the white streak) make a selection and brush this with pure white)
Step 4: Add Composition/Structure
Now we can continue to add depth and structure and basically build up the base by creating more highlights. Make the appropriate selection and on a new layer paint this with white once again. Note: I've also blackened out the wheel arches.
Step 5: Add Detail
Continue to add depth and build up the base by brushing the cockpit window (a purple or blue colour will do fine here). From there mark out the appropriate bodylines (note: use the original rough outlines you created in step 1/2 for reference)
Step 6: Continue to Add Detail
Add more detail, this time by adding in the vents. To do so we need to add some shading. So make the appropriate selection around the inside of the vent and on a new layer paint in black with the airbrush tool.
Step 7: More Detailing..
Once again continue adding in detail. Do this by adding fine highlights around the perimeters of the bodylines (brush fine white lines). Add the skirt line in (use a fine white line)
Step 8: Shine and Blend
Add some shine across the window by marking out the proper selection and using a large diamater brush, brush in a white gradient. Add in a highlight to mark out the tyre. Continue to soften in the edges of the bodywork and blend them in by zooming in up close and erasing them slightly etc.
Step 9: Begin the Background and Multiply the Body
As you can see I've added in the beginning of the makeup of our background. Do this on the bottom most layer and brush in a dark bluish colour. From there copy the entire car and paste to a new layer. Change this new layers blending mode to multiply to darken it up and and more 'depth' to the body.
Step 10: Add Contrast/More Shine
This step involves the creation of more highlights/shadows etc to add contrast within the bodywork, thus giving us the appearance that the vehicle is more shiny. A tip here is to brush in highlights on a new layer using white and changing that layers blending mode to soft light)
Step 11: Refine with More Shine
This step is much like the previous step in that we are continuing to refine the design and add more detail
Step 12: Create Some Background Effects
Here i've experimented with various blending modes (such as color dodge, overlay etc) and painted different colours (blue/white/purple) on new layers as well as used various filters (such as motion blur). To get the tail lights to look like a streak of light and give the impression that the car is in motion, what you need to do now is paint the red in the shape of a streak and then above that layer paint white on a new layer with blending mode set to colour dodge. I've also gone ahead and added in the front rim in this step. This was done using the airbrush tool and various different selections where appropriate.
Step 13: Render Rims and Add Reflections
Here I've added in the cars ground reflection (copy vehicle and paste to new layer (CTRL+T) to Free Transform > Flip Vertical. And then erase the lower section so only the rims reflection etc is close to the car. Note: I've also added in some texture for the road.
Step 14:
Nows the time to brighten up various elements giving it that artistic element to it, add in a bit more 'shine' to the tail lights as well as streaks in front of the car to give it a 'dynamic' effect.
Step 15: Finish any Outstanding Areas
I've shaped the rear of the car and also duplicated the red taillights and placed them just above the road to give it the impression that the lights are reflected on the road surface.
Step 16: Finalise and Take a Step Back!
Finished off the rear rim and added completed the rest of the background then continued to neaten it up and also add in the corresponding logo work! Nows the time to take a step back and admire your newly create masterpiece! Congrats!
Cheers guys, hope this helps you. I may revisit this tutorial/walkthru and make it a bit more comprehensive by goin more into detail when I have the time
Peace out, and write me back if this has helped you!
-MK211
I originally posted this on PSU right after I did the chop (Gotta love imageshack btw cos these are THE original images I uploaded almost 2yrs ago!
.Follow this tutorial if you wish to gain an insight into 1 of the various methods to go about rendering a car in Photoshop. Sure it may seem there are a bunch of steps, but don't let that stop you! I tried to be as explanatory as possible and hopefully you will learn a thing or two
For those of you who can't wait here's the finished result:
First things first, here you'll see how I setup my settings of 2 of the main tools used. This will make it easy for you to work in PS and follow along this tutorial/walkthru.
Eraser - pressure 20% | mode: airbrush | brush setting type: round 'soft' airbrush
Airbrush/brush - mode: normal | pressure 100% | brush setting type: round 'soft' airbrush
Step 1: Define - Get Your Ideas Down
First of all we mark out our a basic ideas. (This is where a graphic tablet may come in handy for those of you who have one, however I'm using a mouse in this case, which works just as well
). The best advice I can give you here to use the pen tool (P) and make a path where you want the line to appear and then Right Click > Stroke Path > Airbrush, as this will save you alot of effort and gives you accurate lines if you don't have a steady freehand. So the main purpose of this step is to put down the basic bodylines and main lines of the vehicle so you have a rough guideline to the shape and lines of what you want to create. Another point to note is now is the time to get perspective 100% correct! Because it's too much hassle trying to correct perspective issues once you've begun brushing!! So its worth the extra time/effort to get it spot on now early on in the project.Step 2: Refine - Get Perspective Accurate
Once you've got the rough outline down on the canvas now is the time to refine it and neaten it up, as this will make our work easier and neater to do (note: the markup 'red and green' lines are to help determine perspective as well as wheel placing/alignment). So here in this step, you can see how i've tidied up the lines by erasing them to make them neat etc
Step 3: Base Fill (Primer)
Now we are ready to get the airbrush out! Make a selection (use the pen tool and make a path around the body of the vehicle, Right Click > Make Selection) and choosing a colour such as #AAA592 you can then proceed to brush in the body. Once you've done that its time to add some basic depth to the side of the vehicle, to do so make a selection of the appropriate curvature where we want it to be a darker shade and copy to new layer (CTRL+J) then press (CTRL+U) and adjust the darkness by around -10. For the body highlight (the white streak) make a selection and brush this with pure white)
Step 4: Add Composition/Structure
Now we can continue to add depth and structure and basically build up the base by creating more highlights. Make the appropriate selection and on a new layer paint this with white once again. Note: I've also blackened out the wheel arches.
Step 5: Add Detail
Continue to add depth and build up the base by brushing the cockpit window (a purple or blue colour will do fine here). From there mark out the appropriate bodylines (note: use the original rough outlines you created in step 1/2 for reference)
Step 6: Continue to Add Detail
Add more detail, this time by adding in the vents. To do so we need to add some shading. So make the appropriate selection around the inside of the vent and on a new layer paint in black with the airbrush tool.
Step 7: More Detailing..
Once again continue adding in detail. Do this by adding fine highlights around the perimeters of the bodylines (brush fine white lines). Add the skirt line in (use a fine white line)
Step 8: Shine and Blend
Add some shine across the window by marking out the proper selection and using a large diamater brush, brush in a white gradient. Add in a highlight to mark out the tyre. Continue to soften in the edges of the bodywork and blend them in by zooming in up close and erasing them slightly etc.
Step 9: Begin the Background and Multiply the Body
As you can see I've added in the beginning of the makeup of our background. Do this on the bottom most layer and brush in a dark bluish colour. From there copy the entire car and paste to a new layer. Change this new layers blending mode to multiply to darken it up and and more 'depth' to the body.
Step 10: Add Contrast/More Shine
This step involves the creation of more highlights/shadows etc to add contrast within the bodywork, thus giving us the appearance that the vehicle is more shiny. A tip here is to brush in highlights on a new layer using white and changing that layers blending mode to soft light)
Step 11: Refine with More Shine
This step is much like the previous step in that we are continuing to refine the design and add more detail
Step 12: Create Some Background Effects
Here i've experimented with various blending modes (such as color dodge, overlay etc) and painted different colours (blue/white/purple) on new layers as well as used various filters (such as motion blur). To get the tail lights to look like a streak of light and give the impression that the car is in motion, what you need to do now is paint the red in the shape of a streak and then above that layer paint white on a new layer with blending mode set to colour dodge. I've also gone ahead and added in the front rim in this step. This was done using the airbrush tool and various different selections where appropriate.
Step 13: Render Rims and Add Reflections
Here I've added in the cars ground reflection (copy vehicle and paste to new layer (CTRL+T) to Free Transform > Flip Vertical. And then erase the lower section so only the rims reflection etc is close to the car. Note: I've also added in some texture for the road.
Step 14:
Nows the time to brighten up various elements giving it that artistic element to it, add in a bit more 'shine' to the tail lights as well as streaks in front of the car to give it a 'dynamic' effect.
Step 15: Finish any Outstanding Areas
I've shaped the rear of the car and also duplicated the red taillights and placed them just above the road to give it the impression that the lights are reflected on the road surface.
Step 16: Finalise and Take a Step Back!
Finished off the rear rim and added completed the rest of the background then continued to neaten it up and also add in the corresponding logo work! Nows the time to take a step back and admire your newly create masterpiece! Congrats!
Cheers guys, hope this helps you. I may revisit this tutorial/walkthru and make it a bit more comprehensive by goin more into detail when I have the time
Peace out, and write me back if this has helped you!
-MK211
