New Audi A5 update

I've already fallen behind with my blog posts - I originally had planned to do a post every ten days or so, since I wanted to have double the number of posts in 2013 as I did in 2012.  However, I've been quite busy and haven't had much time to think about new posts or subjects.
However, I do already have one subject to post about, I just have to get around to it.  Last week I (finally) finished watching sci-fi anime series Steins;Gate, so I'll definitely be doing a post about that.  In the mean time, I'm happy to say it has happy ending - I had my doubts during the last few episodes.

For today, I'll be posting all the new updates on the Audi A5 project.  I've mostly been posting about it on BlenderArtists.org, so the last image I posted here was of the new bumper panel.  I've made quite a few changes to it since then.
These images start from August 21st last year up to present day - on a side note the HTML has messed up and not all the images are 100% centred, but I can't figure out how to fix it :|

A new bumper and front wing.

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.

All the geeky, geeky things...

So, I haz moar updatez for youz :D

First off, the Audi A5 Coupe.  To be perfectly honest, I haven't worked on it since I rendered that last WIP update, the model turntable.  I've been much busier with setting up Linux Mint (more on that later) and a bunch of other things like Minecraft, Star Wars Battlefront II, and Gran Turismo 5 :P  I'm planning on getting back to it this week, so keep an eye out (...gross) for those updates :D

So...From Freedom came Elegance, and from Linux Mint 12 came headaches and over six re-installations.  To be fair though, I love the interface and how the menus and so on work in Mint 12, and oddly enough it feels a bit more professional than Windows 7.  Maybe it's the absence of a few graphical flourishes Win7 uses, or maybe it's just that I'm expecting a Linux distro (aka distribution package/version) to be more professional since it's what they use over at the Blender Foundation in Amsterdam.  Who knows?
Anyway, about those multiple installations... they're all due to FAILs on my part.  Half of those fails were due to my crappy disk-partition management - deleting partitions that had the GRUB loader (what asks you which OS you want to use when you start up your computer) and therefore, I got GRUB errors that I couldn't fix by any method except re-installing everything.  So yesterday I finally got all my disk-partitions setup properly and Linux Mint 12 installed, updates installed and Nvidia GeForce GT520 drivers also installed - which means I also have my two screens setup awesomely.  I'll post a picture of my setup sometime :)
I'm still in the process of installing my essential programs, but hopefully I'll soon be regularly switching between Mint 12 and Win7 to do all my work :D

Yumm, minty chrome...

Two gaming-related updates too!  Yesterday I finally got my hands on...

New Project - 2012 Audi A5 Coupe

Hey Blender-heads!

So, about a week or two back I started working on a new model - a 2012 Audi A5 Coupe.  Yes, it's another German car.  What can I say?  I like German car designs...and most European designs, actually (most of the cars I have in Gran Turismo 5 on PS3 are European)

So far, I haven't even mentioned this project over on BlenderArtists - I'm trying to go it alone on this one and see if I can avoid any nuclear detonations of problematic-ness, but I might just start a thread over there a bit later in the process, I don't know yet.
Anyway, here come the snapshots:

WIP #01 - Outlining important topological features

WIP #02 - Some completed panels with slightly messy topology.

Just a quick post

Hello World!

So, this is just a quick post to prove I'm still alive*, and I just wanted to mention that I'll be posting some new project snapshots tonight or tomorrow - I've begun working on a model of a 2012 Audi A5 Coupe :D  So yeah, I'll be posting a few WIPs tonight, as well as maybe talking about a few new things I tried out recently.

See ya later, Blender-heads!

* No, I'm not actually referencing the ending song from Portal ;)

Latest Golf GTI updates

Getting really close to the final render! (*finally*)  Check out these latest updates, they're awesome:

Reworked and tweaked topology - big thanks to TyrantMonkey and DDD over on BlenderArtists.org for all their help with this stuff!

Within an hour of this snapshot, I'd done a complete overhaul ofthat section, so this is no longer accurate.

And, last but not least, a quick-and-crappy render of the car as a whole! :D

Like I said, quick-and-crappy.

Anyway, there's just a few finishing touches to add to this model, so afterwards I'll be moving on to developing the materials necessary in Cycles and then the final render, plus a bit of compositing (hopefully Blender 2.62 will be out by then, could use the upcoming Render Layers in this project)

I'll also be recording another video tour a bit later on, so stay tuned!

2011 VW Golf GTI - Updates 16&17

New updates!  Reworked the door, plus a few more little things - mostly mesh tweaking and whatnot.
I'd been tweaking the mesh, trying to finish up the model, and I noticed that I'd overlooked the little inset on the bottom part of the door and area just in front of the back wing.  So after an hour or two of tweaking, more tweaking, remodeling and yet more tweaking, we have the results below:

Update #16

Remodeling the door... that handle is a real pain in the neck, but it (thankfully) seems to be working okay.

Update #17

New topology VS "Old" topology

That's it for now - I'm going to go clean up the mesh a bit more, there's a bit of potentially problematic topology above the tail-light, and I also have to figure out how I'm going to add in the petrol-tank's cover.

...and yeah, I'm saying petrol instead of gas or gasoline.  What can I say, I prefer the British terminology (we use British spelling in Canada anyway, so why not?)

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!

Blog Redesign!

Okay, so it's time for a redesign!  I'll be using a more standard template and getting rid of this horrible blue-and-orange...thing...going on.  I'll be using a new banner as well, which I'll see if I can whip up quickly... I'm thinking of using the NES render, since it's my best so far.

Yeah, I liked the blue-and-orange design back when I first redesigned, but now I've grown tired of it - I need something more up-to-date, you know?

Other news, I've got another Golf GTI update coming within the next week or so - I think it's nearing completion!

Stay tuned!