Principles

I think that it applies not only to vehicles, but basically everything what you work on: do your homework and do as much research as you can. It’s that simple… and it’s harder than it looks at first glance, it’s time-consuming, but believe me, it’s worth it.

Trying to understand how a vehicle is made, what era it is from (no matter if it’s a real car or a fictional one), what is its purpose, where does it come from… basically knowing as much as possible about the whole process – from an idea, through designer’s desk and marketing strategies, to the final product – is one approach that gives a full picture. 3D is only a medium that allows to execute the vision.

It’s really important to know the basics of mechanics, human anatomy or perception, as vehicles are built around them. Ergonomics and packaging are the keywords that might help here.

Even if it’s ‘only’ a video game, things that were worked out in reality, even if simplified, will apply to video game graphics. You wouldn’t want to see your character being cramped inside because there isn’t enough space, or not really fitting at all due to skewed proportions. Same for mechanical parts: even if they are invisible, we still subconsciously try to figure out how things work, and the easier to understand the design is, the better the job was done.