Snow-Trac (WIP)

[unigami]

A couple views out of SketchUp...

[hellnbak]

Perfect. How did you get the soft ground shadows?

[Dave R]

Perfect! Almost looks like you set it down on fresh snow.

I bet I know how he got the soft shadows.

I was watching some videos of these things. I really want one although I have no place to drive it.

[unigami]

Perfect. How did you get the soft ground shadows?

I selected the shadow and added Gaussian blur in Photoshop. I also used a filter from Topaz Labs to give the red paint a bit of a rendered feel, and I put the profile lines on a separate layer so I could control them separately. That's about it...

I'm going to try some renders in Kerkythea next...I'd like to composite it on top of a nice winter landscape.

[bulbangs]

i love it! keep up the good work!

[EscapeArtist]

Well done. Super-clean model, fantastic detail.

[mitcorb]

Well, I am humbled yet again!

[unigami]

Here's my first attempt at a render for this model. I used Kerkythea with HDRI lighting + an omni light for shadows. No post-processing or any attempt to make things look grungy yet...

Any comments/advice from the render experts will be very helpful from this point on, because I'm such a newb with rendering and feel like I'm shooting arrows at a target in a dark room half the time...

My next step is to find a good background and see if I can composite this in some kind of realistic way.

render1-1000p.png

[Dave R]

That looks really nice. It would look great in my driveway and it would make my neighbors wonder.

[unigami]

That looks really nice. It would look great in my driveway and it would make my neighbors wonder.

Yeah...wouldn't that be great!!!! Thanks for nice comments Dave!

[Blah11]

WOW I been lurking this since day 1, it really looks real. GOOD JOB

[Marian]

Fantastic

[hellnbak]

Wow, this is looking better all the time! Your skills are impressive, to say the least.

My next step is to find a good background

Here's an idea....Dave's driveway
(or better yet, mine. Another Michigan winter getting ready to dump all over my parade )

[swagen]

simply perfect!!! stunning modeling technique!

[solo]

Nice model Rick, clean modeling, the way I like it.

I'd love to get a chance to render it if possible.

[unigami]

Here's the final image...Kerkythea render and Photoshop.

snow-trac_scene_1000.png

Last couple bits of trivia for you about these...info I found on a forum from a guy named Lyndon that collected them...

"Snow Trac's were built in "Batches". The factory made all the parts and "Stockpiled" them in a warehouse. The sales Division would request assembly of a "Batch" which would then be assembled from parts. Batches were generally 10,25, or 35. Their biggest single sale was in 1961/62 when the Canadian Phone company ordered roughly 100 machines. If you look at the production chart it's the only year that sales exceeded 200 machines."

"When VW discontinued the Beetle they figured that they wouldn't be able to get engines and discontinued the line. Later on it was indicated that had they known that VW production was going to continue in Mexico that they might have continued. The story is that the entire last year and a half of production was made from 'Spare Parts'."

[Dave R]

Extremely cool! Perfect!

I want a real one even more, now.

[SketchUpNoobie]

Excellent! The snow on the tracks is PERFECT!

[pbacot]

Beautiful. How did you put the snow on the tracks? (and tracks in the snow?)

[unigami]

Beautiful. How did you put the snow on the tracks? (and tracks in the snow?)

Thanks! I used the clone brush in Photoshop to clone snow from the ground onto the tracks, varying it with density, brush size, and shading.

For the tracks in the snow, I used some ski tracks that were already in the scene and moved them behind the crawler, and then used the clone brush to cover up the spot where they originally were.

[hellnbak]

This is amazing! Well beyond my meager capabilities. I'll give you five bucks to teach me your methods (not all at once of course, we'll have to work out a payment plan)

[numbthumb]

The best five bucks you´ll ever spend
Oh, and BTW, how much would you charge for your roadster?

[SketchUpNoobie]

The best five bucks you´ll ever spend
Oh, and BTW, how much would you charge for your roadster?

That's a bit OT but Hellnbak has posted his roadster model on the 3D Warehouse.

[numbthumb]

I was only joking

That's a bit OT but Hellbnak has posted his roadster model on the 3D Warehouse.

I know that - it wasn´t about getting his model for free. I was merely reffering to this part:

I'll give you five bucks to teach me your methods

And sorry if it was misunderstood.

[hellnbak]

I knew numbthumb was only joking -- you gotta have a sense of humor nowadays (especially nowadays)

[unigami]

This is amazing! Well beyond my meager capabilities. I'll give you five bucks to teach me your methods (not all at once of course, we'll have to work out a payment plan)

You've got to be kidding...that Roadster is waaay better than anything I've ever done!!!!!

[numbthumb]

Nice avatar, hellnbak (now that´s really OT)

And before I forget - congratulations, unigami!

[hellnbak]

You've got to be kidding...that Roadster is waaay better than anything I've ever done!!!!!

Thanks, but your Snow-Trac is so clean, so perfect in every detail...my models are ok, but I have not been able to achieve that level of amazingness (is that a word? ). I believe in giving credit where credit is due. So there.

Nice avatar, hellnbak (now that´s really OT)

Thanks. I don't normally smoke a pipe, but decided I'd go for it

[SketchUpNoobie]

I was only joking

My bad.

[solo]

Sharing model?

Great stuff mate, and good render.