CRITS NEEDED...off road vehicle maybe?
polycounter lvl 12
Hello
I have been watching these forums for some time know and I am continually impressed by the knowledge and talent that is present.
This vehicle is intended to be an off road rig or a planes cruiser, the block out is very similar to formula 1 style which I don’t mind. I am trying to emphasize an off road feel, I have included beefier tires, and lifted the chassis. I am concerned that, A) model can not communicate the off road feel and that it will appear awkward
the guns appear cheesy in some fashion. Please comment on anything. I intend to make this vehicle futuristic inspired by borderlands and Unreal. Crits are much needed I have very little experience in creating concepts. Thanks
I have been watching these forums for some time know and I am continually impressed by the knowledge and talent that is present.
This vehicle is intended to be an off road rig or a planes cruiser, the block out is very similar to formula 1 style which I don’t mind. I am trying to emphasize an off road feel, I have included beefier tires, and lifted the chassis. I am concerned that, A) model can not communicate the off road feel and that it will appear awkward
the guns appear cheesy in some fashion. Please comment on anything. I intend to make this vehicle futuristic inspired by borderlands and Unreal. Crits are much needed I have very little experience in creating concepts. Thanks
Replies
Offroad vehicles and their tires pick up lots of debris, you wouldn't want to get it caught between the tire and a fender.
your geo looks pretty solid, and that's a good render to post, lots of views to get a sense of what your vehicle looks like.
and now to address your requested crits:
it doesn't really communicate off-road, but that's not much of a surprise, because you're going with the wrong reference. F1 cars are great for future-y styling, but completely wrong for off-road looking stuff. if you know anything about car and car design you know F1 are about as poorly suited for off-road as you can get--they're built for speed and near-perfect road surfaces.
so start looking at off-road rally vehicles, there's a lot of great stuff out there. for starters, as sir-knight mentions, raising the suspension considerably is a requirement, but you'll also want everything about the car to speak to it's off-road capacity. the farings are way too tight on the wheels (bad deal on rough surfaces), the tires should be big and toothy to grip the road. all elements of design should reflect that, with all it's off-road driving, you're getting dust and grit in, potentially fouling everything. which means you can keep those big side intakes, but they should have some heavy duty grills/filters on them.
the gatling guns do look cheesy, largely because they're so token as to be invisible. i've said it before on here that the idea with a concept is to avoid whenever possible your first inclination, because it's 99% of the time it's borrowed from existing designs and iconography. with the gatling guns, not only is it cheesy, but the gatling guns would also be prone to horrible fouling. think about a way to present the guns in a way that would reflect the harsh environment--how do tanks do it? how do our military equipment that serve in desert environments look like? look at reference and take inspiration from the appropriate sources.
bubble canopy also doesn't work for much the same reasons. they're associated with planes for a reason, since they're big and clear and great for visibility, but if it's constantly getting covered in dust or getting rocks and stray debris flung at it, not the best solution. think about something chunkier, especially with some heavy-duty wipers on it to clear out the diry and muck.
to better illustrate these points, here's a 5 minute paintover.
i haven't done all the work for you, but i've lifted the suspension, widened the stance of the vehicle somewhat, canted the chassis forward for a more aggressive stance, opened up the farings, and modified the cockpit area. i've also added a rollcage--this is often a concern with off-road vehicles.
another great detailing opportunity is to place all sorts of cool gear bolted to the outside of the vehicle--again, look at tanks, humvees, and rally vehicles.
with off-road vehicles, aerodynamics tend to take a back-seat; functionality (and easy access to repair/replacement bits) is at a premium. so bolt an extra tire somewhere, on the back. rope, rigging, an extra chain or something, a bedroll, the kinds of things that whoever's driving this around might need to use. let the vehicle tell a story about who owns it and what they use it for. once you start doing a concept thinking on these terms, you'll find they largely design themselves, the work is done for you
hope this helps, and be sure to post updates!
here are some ref pics of the seal team buggy and some other cars.
Gauss thanks so much for the advice! Its like going back to school and its much appreciated I will definitely re-work my model with paint over, and advice in mind. again thank you.
Jesse Moody thanks for the great ref! helps me to visualize the mechanics and practical structure a bit more
Sir knight thank you as well you nailed the core issue with my design.
rooster sorry for the rear gun it was just a rough block out, a bit too rough in comparison with the rest of the model. Thanks for pointing that out