Updated Gallery + new Audi improvements

So I've finally done a bit of cleaning up in the Gallery page, as well as a general clean-up throughout both my blog and my DeviantART gallery.  I'm trying to better showcase my best renders and projects, so as they tended to get lost among the test renders and lower-quality renders, I've removed quite a few images from both galleries.
For DeviantART, I've simply moved all the unwanted images into storage.  I'll deal with deleting them eventually, I just don't have the time at the moment.
Also concerning the new Gallery page, I've added five other shots of the Audi A5 to the list (I'll be adding them to the Audi's project page in a moment), so click the tab up top to check 'em out!

2012 Audi A5 - last updates and Render!

So, just another string of pictures!  There were 6 more updates since my last post, but they were mostly centered around tweaking and texturing.

WIP 18 - Still experimenting with materials

WIP 19 - Tweaking the model slightly

WIP 20 - More model tweaks, this time on the headlights, adding
detail on the lights themselves.

WIP 21 - More tweaking of materials.  Everything is starting to come together :)

WIP 22 - Textured calipers.

WIP 23 - The scene's coming together!

And now the final render!

The final shot was rendered on my Intel i5-2320 at 1250 samples.  Took 3 hours to churn out this 1080p image.  I'm still working on a few other shots, so I'll put those up once they're all ready and whatnot.

I think I can now say with certainty that this is my most complex project ever.  The vertex count is above 3 million at render time... anyway, now on to other projects!  I'll have a special post over the weekend about new developments, so stay tuned!

2012 Audi A5 Coupe - Update #2! (lots of pics!)

**A wild meme-face has appeared!**

(Lvl. 9001 Wy-yuno)

MeshWeaver, Y U NO POST MOAR UPDATES?!

Well, to put it simply...I was being lazy - posting on a blog is a bit more time-consuming than uploading on DeviantART, you know?

Anyway, last time I ended with WIP snapshot #04, which was a turntable render of the bodywork at it's then-current level of progress.  But...since then there have been thirteen new updates.  I'm that lazy, yes.

Geekness à la GTX560 Ti (long post!)

What's a GTX560 Ti, you may ask?  Put simply, it's awesomeness condensed into the shape of computer hardware.  Put complexly (because I can't resist talking about the details), it is the second generation of the nVidia GeForce 460 - the 400 series was replaced with the 500, so the GTX460 (apparently a very popular GPU) became the GTX560.  However, to bridge the performance gap between the 560 and the 570 (which was relatively considerable) nVidia came up with another "in-between" version, the GTX560 Ti.

Why am I talking about this particular GPU?  Well, waaaaaaay back in December 2011, I bought my current desktop PC, a Gateway DX4860 with an Intel i5-2320 processor @3.0Ghz, 6GB of 1333Mhz RAM, a DVD drive, about a dozen USB ports (you can never have too many USB ports) and finally a nVidia GeForce GT520.  Not the best card out there, truth be told - I looked it up on an benchmarking website and it was third from the bottom.

However, it was millions of times better than the GPU I have in my good-ol' laptop - an Intel 965 Express Chipset, which sometimes struggled to run even Age of Mythology - not exactly the most graphics-intensive game out there.  (I don't even know why Intel makes GPUs O_o)

2011 Golf GTI - Final Renders!

It's finally done!

Well, this angle was rendered in Blender's new render engine, Cycles, at 1000 samples - took just over five hours to finish.  I did have to erase a few "fireflies" (high-contrast pixels that appear with certain materials - hey, the engine's still in development, it happens) but other than that this is 100% Cycles :D

This one was rendered at 250 samples in roughly 45-50 minutes:

I'd also like to send out some thank-yous to everyone here who faved and commented on the WIP snapshots, as well as to DDD and TyrantMonkey over on BlenderArtists.org :D

...and now onto my next car model!

2011 VW Golf GTI - Updates 13-15

Hey,

So I've actually started working on this again...I guess buying a second monitor (Samsung 23" LED) kinda helps get the motivation going again ;)  I've actually been blending on two screens and it's seriously awesome.  I have to admit, though, I did have to prop up the 20" Acer up a bit so it would sit a bit more level with the 23" Samsung :P

Update #13 - Topology Updates

Update #14 - Cycles Test Render

Update #15 - New Topology Updates (a lot of tweaking going on)

Having a new computer certainly helps - I can now display all the layers without any problems, and the viewport remains nice and fast.  The tower I'm using (that I've actually had for over a month now, forgot to mention it before) is a Gateway DX4860 with a 3.0Ghz quad-core Intel i5-2320, 6GB of RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium (going to have to upgrade to Pro eventually) and a nVidia GeForce GT520 - not the best graphics card on the market, but over 9000 times better than the Intel 965 Chipset in my laptop...

Oh, the GT520 also has 1GB of VRAM :D  Only problem is, a CUDA-based Cycles benchmark render (Mike Pan's BMW M1) takes 5 to 10 times longer than with just the CPU... going to have to upgrade that as well, maybe get a GeForce GTX570 to run alongside the GT520, or something along those lines.

Anyway, this computer is fast.  I mean, my trusty dual-core Toshiba Satellite laptop was amazingly fast back when I first got it, but this PC blows it out of the water... I still feel attached to the Toshiba though, so I'm lucky it's still in great condition - might use it for network rendering or something.

Anyway, that's it from me for now.  See ya!

Amazing BlenderCookie video - a must-see for any Blender-Head!

Seriously, if you consider yourself a Blender-head then you have to see this:

http://www.blendercookie.com/2011/05/02/feature-preview-cycles-render-engine/

...yes, I know, this is my first post in who knows how long :P  what can I say?  I've been super busy with that secret project and haven't had much to blog about...  but that secret project will soon be secret no longer :D