Hey guys, first time posting on the forums! I’ve been working on this for about a week now, and I’m learning alot. This is my first vehicle. It’s coming along pretty nice, but I’m thinking there is probably a better way to do the windows. If you look close you’ll notice that I modeled them separately from the body. It’s having some issues with smooth shading. Any suggestions?
You have flat facets all over the image. In the tool panel, in object mode, you can set “Smooth” to get rid of the quad edges. Take a look at Smooth Shading (second heading).
BTW, in a solid screen shot, there is no way to tell how you modeled something, no matter how close we look. To show details of your modeling, use wire frame, edit mode, and select the part you want to highlight, then take the screenshot. If it is a really tricky bit of modeling, or doesn’t display well, consider attaching a copy of your blend file so people can take a close look at how things are put together.
The smooth shading issue is often a source of my own frustration. If only Blender had pixar subdivisions like modo :no:
But since it doesn’t, you can try the edge split modifier. That helps save me some time. It actually splits the edges so there is a sharp corner and you do not have to add additional geometry. Secondly, there is the Bevel function. Beveling edges will also help, as will adding an edge loop and then pushing it near to an edge.
A model does not have to be a single piece either, it just has to look like one. The windows can actually be a separate element (and probably should be) you just have to make them line up well. One technique to do this more easily is to select a Face/vertex/edge and duplicate it, then immediately separate it into a second object. Everything is lined up perfectly and you can extrude from there. There will also be no shading issue at the seam because there are two separate geometries instead of one.
Hope this helps. If all else fails 10 bucks to CGcookie.come will buy you a month of tutorials, and that is where I learned how to model cars. It’s worth the money for a single month, you will learn tricks that you would never have thought of on your own.