With this project, I wanted to challenge myself with the level of realism that can realistically put into a computer generated image and improve my general workflow and skills. It all started with a set of sketches  – and even though it had evolved from the original idea, there is still a lot that remained. Personally, I think that achieving realism in an image is not a process, it’s a mindset. For me, there are never enough reference photographs and no detail is too small to be studied or to left out. Gathering and sorting the right references is therefore vital part of the creative process.

Personally, I think that achieving realism in an image is not a process, it’s a mindset. For me, there are never enough reference photographs and no detail is too small to be studied or to left out. Gathering and sorting the right references is therefore vital part of the creative process.

The next step is modeling every part using a 3D modeling software, starting by blocking out the general shape and slowly progressing to details. In this case, it meant to model 1228 individual objects – because I couldn’t decide if I liked the stock or racing version more, I modeled both of them, complete with full interior and all the small details like hood pins or bulb filaments. Then everything is painted, not just with color but also to define material properties like roughness, cleanliness and so on. I like to add each object a story – was this bolt tightened an loosened thousands of times? Then there are going to be scratches all over it. Dirt and grime will accumulate in shut lines and stickers will have a tad different glossiness than paint. It’s easy to overdo it, so I need to watch myself to hit just the right level of detail.

Once the model is ready, it’s time to pick the right angle and render it – create a 2D image from the 3D data. As I wanted to make relatively large posters, the output resolution was chosen accordingly – up to 10000 pixels wide. All this is done in several layers that are then composited together (achieving maximal control over the result). A lot of retouching and error correction happens even in this phase. Final step that happens in the computer is designing appealing layout into which the finished renderings are placed. Given the unique and bright-colored paint scheme of the racing car, it was relatively easy to come up with several designs.