March 22, 2006 | Stryker 
This image was created for a personal project to brush up on my high-end skills, having only been working on lower poly game art for the past few years. The mesh is approximately 1.5 million polygons and Brazil r/s was used to render out the model. The back ground and the environment map is a photo I took whilst on a trip to the Lake district. I thought it would be nice to try and comp the car into one of these photos and here are the results. The PC used to do the work was an AMD 3200+ with 1GB of
Ram
The beginning This is were this project began using top, side and front profiles mapped onto a box, the box has had its normals flipped and unused faces removed. One of the most important things when setting up your guide is to ensure that your blue print images have equal widths and height, and the box you use to map them onto is at the same proportion to the blue print images. If you get this wrong your car will be out of proportion!! You must also be aware that most blue print data isn't 100% correct and should be used as a starting point for your work. 
A good library of photographic reference is essential for creating detailed work, although you can't really use any top side or front shots to trace profiles due to perspective ect they will give u a true interpretation of your subject. It is important to develop skills in reading the shape of an object from a photo, reflections on the surface is a very good way of understanding its shape as well as the subtle shadows cast on the shape. Once again there are issues with this, advertising art work is very useful but some images have been enhanced or altered slightly via photo editing and aren't always easy to read, the best sort of photo ref are standard shots from owners or enthusiasts. In total I collected over 40 images using google and although it takes time it will help make a more accurate model. Below are some shots of the ref and a screen grab showing reference of the rear car open while the rear of the car is being worked on.   
The first image shows the side view of the car under construction, it is important to note that although the doors are not yet separate from the body there is a set of edges that follow the profile of the shut lines. This makes it quicker and easier to separate the door at a later stage, it is an essential part of the construction process to make the side of the car as one object initially as it ensures the door profile will flow correctly with the rest of surrounding profile.
The second image shows a small increment of the construction using the extrude edge function, more geometry is created around the door and wheel arch area. In the second image the geometry around the rear wheel arch is being cleaned up before the separate wheel arch geometry profile is added to the main body shape. (black arches) 
| 
