We want to thank @joonyoung_koo, the winner of the Challenge, for bearing with us through the whole process and providing valuable feedback 💪

A look at our process: creating a digital car

We had one goal: create a 3D model of a race car that met the strictest professional standards, while maintaining the look and feel of the original sketches.

Four people embarked in this amazing journey: the designer who won the CryptoMotors Challenge, two of our professional 3D modelers and one visualization artist.

Since this was a conceptual car, we had a huge challenge ahead. When you design a real-life car there’s a solid ground to step on. There are thousands of designs out there you can search for to have a clear reference of the volume, spaces, shapes and any other detail.

We didn’t have a point of reference from where to start from. And we wanted to create a race car that could comfortably transport a human-size VR avatar.

So, the journey began.

Sketching & Design

As you may already know, the Design and Sketching stage was the CryptoMotors Challenge. More than 90 designers participated in the competition, submitted their works and the community voted for the best design.

The winning design included three key sketches.

A side view

A ¾ frontal view

A ¾ rear view

GEN1 — Key sketch Side view

GEN1 — Key sketch Rear 3/4 view

GEN1 — Key sketch Front 3/4 view

These three key sketches are very important for the 3D modeling process. They allow our team to have a full view of the car the designer imagined. This way, when creating a three-dimensional model of the race car, we can preserve the intended aspect and feeling of original design.

3D Modeling

The first step in the 3D Modeling stage was to create a package drawing, which included all the hard points and main characteristics of the car:

Wheels size

Wheelbase

Overhang

Car width

Driver position

Dummy 95th percentile

The package drawing is a crucial step because it allows us to create a car that meets fundamental engineering and design requirements.

Package preparation in Autodesk Alias

Early Stage 3D Modeling in Autodesk Alias

Of course, feedback is also essential in this part of the process. During this stage, the designer and the 3D modelers have to work side by side. This is important because 2D sketches are a great way to express design ideas and feelings but they are not geometrically accurate.

That’s why we conducted two instances of feedback with @joonyoung_koo in order to review the work in progress of the 3D model and polish the details.

Online Design Review with @joonyoung_koo

Side View — Feedback by Designer

Perspective — Feedback by Designer

After four weeks of hard work, we finished the final product. Ladies and gentlemen say hello to our first GEN1 race car!