Introduction

Have any of you noticed the proliferation of Sub-division surface tutorials and discussions lately?
How about low poly modelling? Well, now for something completely different. I find that NURBS are
ideal for building organic mechanical objects like cars. I feel there’s a level of control and precision
that you just don’t get with Sub-Ds or polys. There must be a reason why major car manufacturers
choose to design their cars with NURBS, often with Alias AutoStudio, a distant relation to Maya.
The first model I ever built with Maya (apart from Salty the seal and primitive man) was a Ferrari. I
used reference images from all over the web, but I couldn’t find decent orthographic plans. Well
when I stumbled across Thomas Suurland’s fantastic site, I knew it was time to do the job right. So
I downloaded some plans and reference images and off I went…

This is part-tutorial and part over-the-shoulder look at how I work. Building a car is a very
repetitive and time consuming task. I have detailed here every step I took to build this car from the
ground up, so many of you may get bored going through every step, and may want to skip forward
and back, as your attention span dictates. There is really nothing technically difficult here, and any
intermediate modeller should have no trouble replicating these steps. Hopefully some of you may
learn something about NURBS modelling.

I am a 3D animator based in Sydney, Australia, working full time for a small post production
company. I can be contacted at mikethomson@mac.com

Navigation

There are two ways to follow the tutorial. One is the list view with linked thumbnails, and the other
is the linear picture book. Be aware though, that if you follow this right through, you will chew
through about 15MB of images and 8500 words of text.

List View

Part I Main Panel Surfaces

Part II Panel Detailing

Part III Accessories

Book View

Part I Main Panel Surfaces

Part II Panel Detailing

Part III Accessories

Update 1-3-02 Test Render - texturing test, almost ready to
animate...
1. Set up image planes. This is probably the most
important step (along with the phantom previous step in
Photoshop.) Once the plans were downloaded, I took
them into Photoshop and aligned the fronts, wheels roof
etc. I saved the separate views into files that would be
easy to arrange. ie. The front is 512x512 pixels, the side
and top are 512x1024.

In Maya, I added image planes to the top, side, front and

back cameras. The image planes were ‘Fixed’ rather than
‘Attached To Camera’ so that I could pan and zoom
around the model with the geometry staying registered
with the image plane template.

2. Draw outline curves. In the front, top and side view,

I traced the silhouette of half of the car. As it is perfectly
symmetrical, I only had to build half the car, and at the
very end, mirror and stitch both halves together.

3a. Add character curves. These are the curves that

help to define the look of a car. They were easily
identifiable in all views, so lining them up in 3D space was
not too much trouble. I drew most of these curves in the
side view, and then moved the Cvs in the top view along
the x-axis only.

3b. Snap to grid. It was pretty important to have these

curves start along the origin of the x-axis, so I switched
on snap to grid for the end Cvs. To assist with tangency
issues later on, I kept the 1st and 2nd Cvs aligned along
the x-axis.
4. Select spoiler curves. The first panel I built was the
spoiler, so I selected the path and profile.

5. Extrude spoiler profile. I extruded the profile along

the path to get this basic shape. The extrude options were
‘Tube’ ‘At Profile’ and 'Component Pivot on’.

6. Tweak Cvs. On of the first things I do when modelling

is to assign a shiny blinn to any model I’m working on.
The defaulf Lambert shader doesn’t give as mush surface
information as a Blinn shader with diffuse and specular.
Here, I moved some Cvs to get closer to the desired
shape.

7. Get organised. It’s about now that things started to

get dis organised in the outlined, So I grouped the
construction curves together in a group called
Construction_Curves_GRP. I like to call my groups GRP
and layers LYR. This prevents duplicate naming. Eg the
surface ‘Bumper’ would be in Bumper_GRP on the layer
Bumper_LYR. Mhis may seem a little pragmatic, but in big
scenes with expressions, things are definitely less
confusing.
8. Align Cvs on bonnet. The next panel I built was the
bonnet. I started by snapping the edge curve’s end Cvs
together, and then snapping the middle curve’s end Cvs
to the edge curves. Wow… now I’m confused. Just make
sure that all the curves are touching. Maya’s curve
snapping takes some getting used to (particularly after by
background in CAD) but it does work.
9. Bi-rail bonnet curves. The Bi-rail 3+ tool is a tool
that is very useful for building cars. It’s like an extrude on
steroids. You can have as many profiles as you like and
two extrude paths (rails). Here I selected the three curves
running along the bonnet as the input profiles, and the
two boundary curves running along the bonnet as the
rails. As you can see, It’s not the best surface, but it’s a
start along the long road of ‘build and re-build’ as you’ll
see.
10. Select isoparm. I wanted to get more control of the
surface around the front of the bonnet, so I selected an
isoparm in the area of interest.

11 Offset curve. I used this isoparm to create an offset

curve. [Edit Curves > Offset > Offset Curve] with offset
distance set to 0.

12. Too many Cvs. The offset curve had far too many
Cvs and would have generated an uneven surface.

13. Clean up Cvs. I rebuilt the curve with the same

number of spans as the other bonnet curves. I aligned the
Cvs so that they would give a predictable result with the
next Bi-rail operation. I used the original middle curve as
a guide for locating the new Cvs.

14. Bi-rail again. I Bi-railed the bonnet curves again,

this time running the other way along the bonnet. This
gave a much better result than the first bi-rail.

15. Weird hulls. Closer inspection of the front of the

bonnet showed that there were some weird things going
on with the last Bi-rail operation. The Bi-rail tool seems to
want to keep the surface perpendicular to the profile
normals.
16. Hulls Deleted. I deleted hulls 2, 4 and 6 to get rid of
the profile tangency information from the Bi-rail
operation. This allowed the surface to flow much more
smoothly in the region.
17. Uneven isoparms. The next problem was with the
uneven spacing of the isoparms running along the length
of the bonnet.

18. Rebuild surface. I rebuilt the surface with 6 spans

each in U and V.

19. Clean surface. With the reduced number of Cvs, it

was easier to manipulate the surface into the exact shape
I wanted.

20. Load front mudguard curves. To build the front

mudguard, first I loaded the original curves.

21. Clean up and align curves. I adjusted all the curves

so that their ends touched. I also added another
prominent curve where the panel is highly curved.
22. Need more curves. Bleech! This was the result of
Birailing the 6 curves. Hmmm. Needs more work.

23. Create curves from surface. All was not lost with
the previous surface attempt. I selected a couple of
isoparms and generates curves. These will form the
profiles for a new Bi-rail.

24. Curves cleaned up. I cleaned up the Cvs on the two

new curves and made sure that their end points were
touching the other curves.

25. Bi-rail new curves. I bi-railed the new curves and

got a much better result.

26. Split bonnet surface. The next thing to do was to

get the panels tangents to be continuous. To do this I
needed to stitch the panels together. The first step was to
split the bonnet panel into two pieces, so that the
mudguard’s U and V axes (top and front edge) would
have an edge to stitch to.

27. Generate new curves. From the bonnet and light

panels, I generated new edge curves that would be used
to rebuild the mudguard.
28. Select new curves. I aligned all the new curves
together, making sure that I didn’t move the two newest
curves along the bonnet. I decided to build the new
mudguard in two pieces and then attach them together
later.

29. Bi-rail new curves. I bi-railed the new curves to get

the front section of the mudguard.

30 Rebuild and stitch. I rebuilt the panel to get a more

even distrobution of isoparms. Then I stitched the top of
the mudguard to the bonnet, and the front of the
mudguard to the headlight. This endured that the
surfaces were tangential.

31. Split door curve. To get the boundary curves for the
back section of the mudguard, I split one of the ooriginal
curves defining the front of the door.

32. Select curves. I made sure that the curves were

touching before moving on.

33. Bi-rail. I used the Bi-rail 2 tool to connect the curves

to form the surface.
34. Rebuild and stitch. The surface wasn’t well
constructed, so I rebuilt the surface to match the front
section of the mudguard. I then stitched the two surfaces
together to get a smooth join.

35. Attach pieces. Then I attached the two pieces with

the ‘Blend’ option to create a smooth single panel.

36. Create curves. To finish off the panel I had to create

the piece between the wheel and the door. In order to be
able to attach the pieces together, I had to create a new
panel as long as the top section. I created a curve from
the bottom isoparm of the top panel and duplicated it
down. I duplicated and simplified the lower door profile a
few times along the new rails. The shape of the panel
from the wheel forward was not important, as it was
going to be trimmed away.

37. Bi rail curves. I bi-railed these curves together,

paying particular attention to the area between the door
and the wheel.

38. Attach surfaces. I attached the upper and lower

panels to get one continuous smooth panel. The next
thing to do was to do a quick trom of the wheel arch. First
I selected the wheel arch curve, then the mudguard.
39. Project curve. In the side view, I projected the
curve onto the surface.

40 Trim surface. I selected the trim tool and clicked on

the area I wanted to keep.

41. Completed trim. Now it was starting to look more

like a car…

42. Extend panel. Things got a little tight around the

door seam, do I grabbed the end hull and extended the
panel back a little.

43. Prepare trim edge. I loaded up an old curve for the

door seam.

44. Trim. Again in the side view, I projected this curve

onto the surface and trimmed it.
45 Select trim. Now I wanted to split the trim into two
curves. First I selected the trim edge, and then offset the
curve.

46. Select curve point. Then I selected a curve point

where I wanted to separate the curves.

47. Detach curves. I then detached the curves to get

two new curves that could be used to build new surfaces.

48. Detach again. Using the same procedure, I detached

the curve again at the window sill.

49. Compare profiles. I loaded the other curve for the

door profile and compared their curvature.

50. Refine curves. After modifying the second curve’s

Cvs, I got the two profiles to match.
51. Detach curve. I split the second profile curve at the
window sill.

52. Loft. A first attempt at lofting the curves showed that

I had some rebuilding to do.

53. Create bi-rail profiles. In the side view, I traced

some prominent curve lines using the CV curve tool set to
degree 1.

54. Align curves. I then aligned these profile curves with

the two door path curves.

55. Bi-rail door. Using all the new profile curves, I bi-
railed them along the pathe and got a much better result.
56. It fits! A quick check of the three panels so far
showed no major problems.

57. Move back image plane. In order to see things at

the back of the car more clearly, I moved the back
camera’s image plane to the middle of the car where it
blocked out all the geometry at the front of the car. This
can also be achieved using the camera’s clipping planes, if
you don’t have image planes.

58. Create boot curves. I decided to create the boot

before the rear mudguard, and use it to generate
construction curves like I did for the front mudguard.
Usinf the top and back views, I created outline curves for
the boot.

59. Bi-rail boot curves. I bi-railed the boot curves and

found some weird isoparms in there.

60. Select Isoparm. I selected the worst isoparm…

61. Create curve. Then I generated a curve…

62. Too many points. Which needed rebuilding…

63. Match Cvs. I rebuilt the curve to match the CV count

of the other curves.

64. Tweak Cvs. I straightened out the curve, so that the

boot would be a nice even grid.

65. Bi rail curves. I birailed these curves to get a

surface that had similar problems to the bonnet.

66. Boot. I deleted the hulls around the profiles to get rid
of their tangency information. Like the bonnet, this
smoothed out the isoparms.

67. Split boot. The next step was to split the boot into
two panels.
68. Create curves. By selecting the end isoparms and
creating curves, I now has a starting point for the rear
mudguard.

69. Align new curves. Like the front mudguard, I

decided to build it in patches so I could stitch panels and
get their tangents aligned. Using old profile curves, I split
and aligned the curves to form bi-rail curves.

70. Bi-rail. I then birailed the curves together.

71. Rebuild and stitch. The surface paramaterisation

was uneven on the surface, so I rebuilt it and then
stitched the edged to the top and back of the bonnet.

72. Loft down. I selected the bottom isoparm and

duplicated a curve down. Then I lofted it to create a taller
patch.
73. Create and align. Using existing curves, and
creating new ones, I built up a network of curves aligned
in the top and side view, whilst still touching existinf
surface edges.

74. Bi-rail curves. I used these curves to birail the rest

of the panel. The isoparms were pretty uneven, but the
surface looked alright.

75. Rebuild and trim. Next, I rebuilt the surface to

match the back half of the panel. Then I attached the
surfaces together using the blend option. I projected the
wheel arch curve onto the surface and trimmed it away.

76. Create bumper curves. The bumper curves were a

combination of curves I made back in step 3 and curves
generated from the boot and rear mudguard isoparms.

77. Loft curves. I was getting some strange results with

bi-railing these curves, so I decided to loft them instead.

78. Window panel curves. The window panel curves

were easy to register in 3 dimensions, as they were so
prominent in the top, side and front views. Using the long
pathe and two short end paths, I birailed them together.
79. Roof curves. The roof curves were also a
combination of old and new curves. I duplicated and
shortened one of the curves for the window panel.

80. Roof. I bi railed the roof curves to get a nice clean

surface.

81. Panels. That’s it for part I. Here are all the basic
panels with the construction curved I used.
51. Detach curve. I split the second profile curve at the window sill.
52. Loft. A first attempt at lofting the curves showed that I had some rebuilding to do.
53. Create bi-rail profiles. In the side view, I traced some prominent curve lines using the CV curve tool set to
degree 1.
54. Align curves. I then aligned these profile curves with the two door path curves.
55. Bi-rail door. Using all the new profile curves, I bi-railed them along the pathe and got a much better result.
56. It fits! A quick check of the three panels so far showed no major problems.
57. Move back image plane. In order to see things at the back of the car more clearly, I moved the back
camera’s image plane to the middle of the car where it blocked out all the geometry at the front of the car. This
can also be achieved using the camera’s clipping planes, if you don’t have image planes.
58. Create boot curves. I decided to create the boot before the rear mudguard, and use it to generate
construction curves like I did for the front mudguard. Usinf the top and back views, I created outline curves for
the boot.
59. Bi-rail boot curves. I bi-railed the boot curves and found some weird isoparms in there.
60. Select Isoparm. I selected the worst isoparm…
61. Create curve. Then I generated a curve…
62. Too many points. Which needed rebuilding…
63. Match Cvs. I rebuilt the curve to match the CV count of the other curves.
64. Tweak Cvs. I straightened out the curve, so that the boot would be a nice even grid.
65. Bi rail curves. I birailed these curves to get a surface that had similar problems to the bonnet.
66. Boot. I deleted the hulls around the profiles to get rid of their tangency information. Like the bonnet, this
smoothed out the isoparms.
67. Split boot. The next step was to split the boot into two panels.
34. Rebuild and stitch. The surface wasn’t well constructed, so I rebuilt the surface to match the front section
of the mudguard. I then stitched the two surfaces together to get a smooth join.
33. Bi-rail. I used the Bi-rail 2 tool to connect the curves to form the surface.
35. Attach pieces. Then I attached the two pieces with the ‘Blend’ option to create a smooth single panel.
36. Create curves. To finish off the panel I had to create the piece between the wheel and the door. In order to
be able to attach the pieces together, I had to create a new panel as long as the top section. I created a curve
from the bottom isoparm of the top panel and duplicated it down. I duplicated and simplified the lower door
profile a few times along the new rails. The shape of the panel from the wheel forward was not important, as it
was going to be trimmed away.
37. Bi rail curves. I bi-railed these curves together, paying particular attention to the area between the door
and the wheel.
38. Attach surfaces. I attached the upper and lower panels to get one continuous smooth panel. The next
thing to do was to do a quick trom of the wheel arch. First I selected the wheel arch curve, then the mudguard.
39. Project curve. In the side view, I projected the curve onto the surface.
40 Trim surface. I selected the trim tool and clicked on the area I wanted to keep.
41. Completed trim. Now it was starting to look more like a car…
42. Extend panel. Things got a little tight around the door seam, do I grabbed the end hull and extended the
panel back a little.
43. Prepare trim edge. I loaded up an old curve for the door seam.
44. Trim. Again in the side view, I projected this curve onto the surface and trimmed it.
45 Select trim. Now I wanted to split the trim into two curves. First I selected the trim edge, and then offset
the curve.
46. Select curve point. Then I selected a curve point where I wanted to separate the curves.
47. Detach curves. I then detached the curves to get two new curves that could be used to build new surfaces.
48. Detach again. Using the same procedure, I detached the curve again at the window sill.
49. Compare profiles. I loaded the other curve for the door profile and compared their curvature.
50. Refine curves. After modifying the second curve’s Cvs, I got the two profiles to match.
17. Uneven isoparms. The next problem was with the uneven spacing of the isoparms running along the
length of the bonnet.
16. Hulls Deleted. I deleted hulls 2, 4 and 6 to get rid of the profile tangency information from the Bi-rail
operation. This allowed the surface to flow much more smoothly in the region.
15. Weird hulls. Closer inspection of the front of the bonnet showed that there were some weird things going
on with the last Bi-rail operation. The Bi-rail tool seems to want to keep the surface perpendicular to the profile
normals.
18. Rebuild surface. I rebuilt the surface with 6 spans each in U and V.
19. Clean surface. With the reduced number of Cvs, it was easier to manipulate the surface into the exact
shape I wanted.
20. Load front mudguard curves. To build the front mudguard, first I loaded the original curves.
21. Clean up and align curves. I adjusted all the curves so that their ends touched. I also added another
prominent curve where the panel is highly curved.
22. Need more curves. Bleech! This was the result of Birailing the 6 curves. Hmmm. Needs more work.
23. Create curves from surface. All was not lost with the previous surface attempt. I selected a couple of
isoparms and generates curves. These will form the profiles for a new Bi-rail.
24. Curves cleaned up. I cleaned up the Cvs on the two new curves and made sure that their end points were
touching the other curves.
25. Bi-rail new curves. I bi-railed the new curves and got a much better result.
26. Split bonnet surface. The next thing to do was to get the panels tangents to be continuous. To do this I
needed to stitch the panels together. The first step was to split the bonnet panel into two pieces, so that the
mudguard’s U and V axes (top and front edge) would have an edge to stitch to.
27. Generate new curves. From the bonnet and light panels, I generated new edge curves that would be used
to rebuild the mudguard.
28. Select new curves. I aligned all the new curves together, making sure that I didn’t move the two newest
curves along the bonnet. I decided to build the new mudguard in two pieces and then attach them together
later.
29. Bi-rail new curves. I bi-railed the new curves to get the front section of the mudguard.
30 Rebuild and stitch. I rebuilt the panel to get a more even distrobution of isoparms. Then I stitched the top
of the mudguard to the bonnet, and the front of the mudguard to the headlight. This endured that the surfaces
were tangential.
31. Split door curve. To get the boundary curves for the back section of the mudguard, I split one of the
ooriginal curves defining the front of the door.
32. Select curves. I made sure that the curves were touching before moving on.
1. Set up image planes. This is probably the most important step (along with the phantom previous step in
Photoshop.) Once the plans were downloaded, I took them into Photoshop and aligned the fronts, wheels roof
etc. I saved the separate views into files that would be easy to arrange. ie. The front is 512x512 pixels, the side
and top are 512x1024.

In Maya, I added image planes to the top, side, front and back cameras. The image planes were ‘Fixed’ rather
than ‘Attached To Camera’ so that I could pan and zoom around the model with the geometry staying registered
with the image plane template.
2. Draw outline curves. In the front, top and side view, I traced the silhouette of half of the car. As it is
perfectly symmetrical, I only had to build half the car, and at the very end, mirror and stitch both halves
together.
3a. Add character curves. These are the curves that help to define the look of a car. They were easily
identifiable in all views, so lining them up in 3D space was not too much trouble. I drew most of these curves in
the side view, and then moved the Cvs in the top view along the x-axis only.
3b. Snap to grid. It was pretty important to have these curves start along the origin of the x-axis, so I
switched on snap to grid for the end Cvs. To assist with tangency issues later on, I kept the 1st and 2nd Cvs
aligned along the x-axis.
4. Select spoiler curves. The first panel I built was the spoiler, so I selected the path and profile.
5. Extrude spoiler profile. I extruded the profile along the path to get this basic shape. The extrude options
were ‘Tube’ ‘At Profile’ and 'Component Pivot on’.
6. Tweak Cvs. On of the first things I do when modelling is to assign a shiny blinn to any model I’m working
on. The defaulf Lambert shader doesn’t give as mush surface information as a Blinn shader with diffuse and
specular. Here, I moved some Cvs to get closer to the desired shape.
7. Get organised. It’s about now that things started to get dis organised in the outlined, So I grouped the
construction curves together in a group called Construction_Curves_GRP. I like to call my groups GRP and layers
LYR. This prevents duplicate naming. Eg the surface ‘Bumper’ would be in Bumper_GRP on the layer
Bumper_LYR. Mhis may seem a little pragmatic, but in big scenes with expressions, things are definitely less
confusing.
8. Align Cvs on bonnet. The next panel I built was the bonnet. I started by snapping the edge curve’s end Cvs
together, and then snapping the middle curve’s end Cvs to the edge curves. Wow… now I’m confused. Just make
sure that all the curves are touching. Maya’s curve snapping takes some getting used to (particularly after by
background in CAD) but it does work.
9. Bi-rail bonnet curves. The Bi-rail 3+ tool is a tool that is very useful for building cars. It’s like an extrude
on steroids. You can have as many profiles as you like and two extrude paths (rails). Here I selected the three
curves running along the bonnet as the input profiles, and the two boundary curves running along the bonnet as
the rails. As you can see, It’s not the best surface, but it’s a start along the long road of ‘build and re-build’ as
you’ll see.
10. Select isoparm. I wanted to get more control of the surface around the front of the bonnet, so I selected
an isoparm in the area of interest.
11 Offset curve. I used this isoparm to create an offset curve. [Edit Curves > Offset > Offset Curve] with offset
distance set to 0.
12. Too many Cvs. The offset curve had far too many Cvs and would have generated an uneven surface.
13. Clean up Cvs. I rebuilt the curve with the same number of spans as the other bonnet curves. I aligned the
Cvs so that they would give a predictable result with the next Bi-rail operation. I used the original middle curve
as a guide for locating the new Cvs.
14. Bi-rail again. I Bi-railed the bonnet curves again, this time running the other way along the bonnet. This
gave a much better result than the first bi-rail.
Part II – Detailing Main Panels

The next step was to put some detail into the panels. These include rolling the edges
of panels to catch highlights, detail the lights and bumpers.

82. Create curve and extrude. The first step to create

a curved edge, was to create a perpendicular plane. I
selecter the end isoparm of the bonnet and extruded it
one unit along –Z and –Y axes.

83. Circular fillet. I selected the bonnet and the

extrude, and created a circular fillet between them,
creating curves on surfaces also.

84. More fillets. I did the same along the side of the
bonnet.

85. Create light surface. In the front view, I traced

around the light where it intersects with the front
mudguard. I then extruded it back so that it intersected
fully with the mudguard.

86. Fillet and trim. Duplicated the mudguard and hitd

the copy. I circular filleted the two surfaces and trimmed
away the area inside the light.
87. Fillet and trim. I showed the last object I hid and
filleted and trimmed it with the extrude surface.

88. Fillet between light. Using an isoparm on the light

panel, I created an extruded surface and did the same
procedure as the previous steps to create a seam
between the light and the front of the bonnet.

89. Project curve. In the front view, I traced around the

line of the air intake at the front of the bonnet. I then
projected this curve onto the surface.

90. Extrude curve. I extruded this surface along the Z

axis to create an intersection plane.

91 Select Curve on Surface CV. I then filleted between

the surfaces. This gave me a fillet that didn’t reach to the
end of the extrude surface because of it’s acute angle.

92. Drag CV to edge. I took the end CV of the curve on

surface on the intersection plane and dragged along it’s U
axis until it reached the edge.
93.Ready to trim. I was then able to trim the extruded
surface.

94. Delete fillet and blend. I deleted the circular fillet

and fillet-blended the two furfaces together.

95. Clean up fillets. If I was going to clean up the fillet

joins, I would fillet blend the ends of the circular fillets
like this. But I’m not. The purpose of these curved fillets
is just to catch the light in animation. They will end up
being less than one pixel across and more than likely
motion blurred. So this step is more like a FYI.

96. Create plane. I created a plane to intersect and fillet

with the light.

97. Curves. In the front view, I traced the outlines of the

events and light in the spoiler.

98. Refine and extrude. I extruded these curved along

Z so that they intersected with the spoiler surface.
99. Intersect and offset. This top hole was difficult to
fillet due to the curvature of the bumper. I decided to
intersect the two surfaces, offset curves from the
intersection and fillet blend them together.

100. Trim indicator. I then trimmed the indicator out.

101. Extrude blend isoparm. I extruded the edge

isoparm of the blend to create a new extrude surface to
intersect to create the actual indicator.

102. Trim indicator. I then fillet-blended the indicator

with the new extrude surface.

103. extrude and intersect I decided to break from the

plans a little here, and change the main driving light. The
plans had the light covered with a thin plastic cap, so I
decided to take off the cap and shoe the light inside. First
I extruded the circle to intersect with the spoiler surface.
Then I intersected the surfaces, creating curves on
surfaces.
104. Blend and Trim. Rather than use Circular Fillet, I
decided to Blend Fillet the two surfaces together, because
the two trims weren’t parallel. After the blend, I trimmed
the two surfaces.

105. Create sphere. To create the light inside the

housing, I created a NURBS sphere with the creation
parameters Start 0 end 180. This gave me a hemisphere
that I scaled into position.

106 Deform with lattice. Just because it’s in the

animate menu-set, it doesn’t mean you can’t model with
lattices. I find lattices (and clusters) very useful modelling
tools. To fit the light properly, I created a lattice with 2
divisions along xyz. Then it was simply a matter of
dragging the lattice points to get the light to fit.

107. Project curve on surface. To create the main air

scoop, I drew a curve in the front view and projected the
curve on to the spoiler.

108. Extrude and fillet. I extruded the curve on surface

1 unit along the z axis. Then I circular filleted the surfaces
and trimmed. I had to use a reasonable small radius for
the fillet as there were some tight curves around the top.
Maya would freakout and fail the fillet if the radius was
too big (0.04 in this case).

109. Draw curve. The notch inside the main air scoop,
was created by drawing a curve in the top view.
110 Modify curve. I then extruded the curve in the –ve
y axis and repositioned the surface. Then I modified the
curve and the surface updated as it still had history from
the curve.

111. Fillet and trim. Then I filleted and trimmed the two
surfaces to give a smooth corner.

112. Need to trim Spoiler. To finish off the front

spoiler, I had to trim the wheel arch to give a nice smooth
curve. I loaded up the original arch curve I drew back in
step 3.

113. Project and duplicate. In the side view, I

projected the curve onto the spoiler. Then I duplicated
the curve and offset it inside the spoiler.

114. Extrude curve. I extruded the curve a small

amount to give me a thin strip that ran parallel with the
wheel arch curve.

115. Blend and trim. The next step was to fillet blend
between the spoiler’s curve on surface and the edge of
the thin strip I created in the previous step. Then I
trimmed away the excess along the wheel arch curve.
82. Create curve and extrude. The first step to create a curved edge, was to create a perpendicular plane. I
selecter the end isoparm of the bonnet and extruded it one unit along –Z and –Y axes.
83. Circular fillet. I selected the bonnet and the extrude, and created a circular fillet between them, creating
curves on surfaces also.
84. More fillets. I did the same along the side of the bonnet.
85. Create light surface. In the front view, I traced around the light where it intersects with the front
mudguard. I then extruded it back so that it intersected fully with the mudguard.
86. Fillet and trim. Duplicated the mudguard and hitd the copy. I circular filleted the two surfaces and trimmed
away the area inside the light.
87. Fillet and trim. I showed the last object I hid and filleted and trimmed it with the extrude surface.
88. Fillet between light. Using an isoparm on the light panel, I created an extruded surface and did the same
procedure as the previous steps to create a seam between the light and the front of the bonnet.
89. Project curve. In the front view, I traced around the line of the air intake at the front of the bonnet. I then
projected this curve onto the surface.
90. Extrude curve. I extruded this surface along the Z axis to create an intersection plane.
91 Select Curve on Surface CV. I then filleted between the surfaces. This gave me a fillet that didn’t reach to
the end of the extrude surface because of it’s acute angle.
92. Drag CV to edge. I took the end CV of the curve on surface on the intersection plane and dragged along
it’s U axis until it reached the edge.
93.Ready to trim. I was then able to trim the extruded surface.
94. Delete fillet and blend. I deleted the circular fillet and fillet-blended the two furfaces together.
95. Clean up fillets. If I was going to clean up the fillet joins, I would fillet blend the ends of the circular fillets
like this. But I’m not. The purpose of these curved fillets is just to catch the light in animation. They will end up
being less than one pixel across and more than likely motion blurred. So this step is more like a FYI.
96. Create plane. I created a plane to intersect and fillet with the light.
97. Curves. In the front view, I traced the outlines of the events and light in the spoiler.
98. Refine and extrude. I extruded these curved along Z so that they intersected with the spoiler surface.
68. Create curves. By selecting the end isoparms and creating curves, I now has a starting point for the rear
mudguard.
69. Align new curves. Like the front mudguard, I decided to build it in patches so I could stitch panels and get
their tangents aligned. Using old profile curves, I split and aligned the curves to form bi-rail curves.
70. Bi-rail. I then birailed the curves together.
71. Rebuild and stitch. The surface paramaterisation was uneven on the surface, so I rebuilt it and then
stitched the edged to the top and back of the bonnet.
72. Loft down. I selected the bottom isoparm and duplicated a curve down. Then I lofted it to create a taller
patch.
73. Create and align. Using existing curves, and creating new ones, I built up a network of curves aligned in
the top and side view, whilst still touching existinf surface edges.
74. Bi-rail curves. I used these curves to birail the rest of the panel. The isoparms were pretty uneven, but the
surface looked alright.
75. Rebuild and trim. Next, I rebuilt the surface to match the back half of the panel. Then I attached the
surfaces together using the blend option. I projected the wheel arch curve onto the surface and trimmed it
away.
76. Create bumper curves. The bumper curves were a combination of curves I made back in step 3 and
curves generated from the boot and rear mudguard isoparms.
77. Loft curves. I was getting some strange results with bi-railing these curves, so I decided to loft them
instead.
78. Window panel curves. The window panel curves were easy to register in 3 dimensions, as they were so
prominent in the top, side and front views. Using the long pathe and two short end paths, I birailed them
together.
79. Roof curves. The roof curves were also a combination of old and new curves. I duplicated and shortened
one of the curves for the window panel.
80. Roof. I bi railed the roof curves to get a nice clean surface.
81. Panels. That’s it for part I. Here are all the basic panels with the construction curved I used.
116. Select trim edge. To put an edge around the front
mudguard wheel arch, I started by selecting the trim
edge.

117. Extrude and modify Cvs. I extruded this curve a

small amount in –ve x axis and then had to modify the
Cvs at the bottom of the arch.

118. Finished wheel arch. A circular fillet between the

two surfaces finished off the wheel arch.

119. Finished mudguard. Doing the same process as

steps 117 and 118 I finished off the mudguard edges.

120. Keep organised. All these little fillet and blend

surfaces quickly add up, so it’s important to keep
organised in the outliner. I put all the bumper surfaces
into the Bumper_GRP etc. When I’m finished with a
construction curve, I’ll file it under a
Construction_Curve_GRP and hide the group. I very
rarely throw out a construction curve. Only when I sign
off on a model, will I delete the curves, and save a new
scene file with onlu the finished surfaces.
121. Detatch door. As the door was created as a single
piece, it was necessary to separate the door from the
lower runner (or whatever it’s called). This was as simple
as selecting an isoparm where I wanted the split, and
[Edit NURBS > Detach Surfaces]

122. Finished door trim. Following the steps 117 and

118 I worked my way around the door, selecting trim,
extruding trim, circular fillet and trimming.

123. Rear wheel arch. I used the same process for the
rear wheel arch as I did for the front wheel arch.

124. Extrude surface. For the rear bumper, I used

exactly the same technique as the front spoiler in steps
113 to 115. Project curve in side view, extrude curve,
modify Cvs.

125. Finished rear bumper. Fillet blending between the

two surfaces and trimming finished off the rear bumper.

126. Make rear panel live. To create the rear lights, I

decided to draw the curves directly onto the surface. To
do this, I had to make the surface ‘Live’ by selecting the
object and clicking the little magnet icon.
127. Draw curve. Using the CV curve tool, I drew the
outline of the light onto the panel. Once the curve was
drawn on, I adjusted the Cvs so that they matched the
underlying template in the back and side views. It was
also important to make sure that the end Cvs touched the
edges of the surface. If they didn’t touch, then any future
trims would have failed. Once I was happy with the curve,
I duplicated the surface and hid the duplicate.

128 Extrude curve on surface. I extruded the curve on

surface a small amount in the z and –ve x axes.

129 Trim panel. I then circular filleted between the two

surfaces and trimmed away the panel.

130. Trim light. Then I [Display > Show > Show Last
Hidden] to get back the duplicate panel with the light
curve on surface. I then repeated the process from step
129 and circular filleted and trimmed between the two
surfaces.

131. Draw next curve. To do the other half of the light,

I had to make the rear boot panel live and draw a curve
on it. Again, I moved the Cvs into position and made sure
they were touching the edges of the panel. Then I
duplicated and hid the panel.

132. Trim back panel. I extruded the curve and filleted

and trimmed the panels.
133. Trim rear light. Next I Show last hidden to get the
other panel back and then filleted and trimmed the
panels.

134. Create curve on surface. To split the light from

the panel, I drew a curve on the surface, and duplicated
and hid the surface.

135. Trim rear light again. Like I had done so many

times before… I filleted and trimmed the surfaces.

136. There is no 136

137. Trim boot. To get the small seam under the light, I
repeated the previous steps… you must be sick of them
by now…
138. Trim rear window. The rear panel has a notch cut
into it by the window trim. I loaded up an old construction
curve, projected it onto the panel and trimmed it.

139. Blend panels. To get a smooth blend between

these two panels, I drew curves on them and fillet
blended between the curves. To get a smooth blend, I
tweaked the Cvs on the curves whilst the blend updated.

140. Trim blend. Using the same curve from step 138, I
trimmed the blend to fillow the curve of the window trim.

141. Select edges. For the profile curve for the window
trim, I decided to make a new curve, rather than use the
original curve I drew back in step 3. I worked my way
around the window frame and selected isoparms and trim
edged and created curves. Then I joined the se curves to
form one closed curve that matched the surfaces exactly.

142. Duplicate edges. I then duplicated and scaled the

curves to form the profiles for a loft.

143. Load pillar curve. Using one of the original step 2

curves, I loaded the pillar curve as a basis for an extrude.
144. Draw profile. In the side view, I drew a curve that
matched the pillar uprights.

145. Extrude profile. I then extruded this curve along

the path I loaded in step 143.

146. Load window frame. To generate the side

windows, I loaded the curve I used to create the window
trim, and split it into two pieces. I also loaded the pillar
curve from the last step.

147. Loft curves. A simple loft between the three curves

gave me pretty good windows.

148. Tweak curves. There were still holes in the

previous step, so I scaled the input curves a little, and
this made the glass fit the frame.

149. Create curve from isoparm. For the black strip

that runs along the roof, I created a path curve from the
window frame surface.
150 . Extend curve. To get the strip down under the
boot, I extended the path curves and adjusted the
resulting Cvs to fit under the bonnet.

151. Create profile. In the top view, I drew a small

profile curve that matches the dark strip.

152. Extrude needs rotating. I extruded the profile

along the path, but the profile needed rotating from the
first attempt.

153. Rotate profile. By keeping history live, I was able

to rotate the profile while the resulting extrude updated in
place.

154. Extrude curve. To do the edge at the front of the

window frame, I selected the trim edge and extruded it
into a surface along –x, -y, -z.
155. Fillet and trim. The usual fillet and trim procedure
finished off this edge.

156. Load windscreen curves. The windscreen curves

were partly old curves, and partly newly generated curves
from isoparms.

157. Bi-rail curves. The windscreen was created by bi-

railing the five curves.

158. Add trim to windscreen. I extruded the bottom

curve in the z axis to create the panel under the
windscreen wipers. I then drew a small profile for the
strip at the top of the windscreen.

159. Load rear window curves. The rear window was

much the same as the front window except I only used
four curves instead of five.

160. Bi-rail rear window. I used the Bi-rail 2 tool for

the rear window, ad it was a relatively simple surface.
161. Add trim. Like the front window, I added a small
strip above the window by extruding a small profile along
the top curve.

162. The story so far. Time for a break, I think…

163. Check mirror reverse. Just a quick look at how the

finished model is going to look before final detailing.
133. Trim rear light. Next I Show last hidden to get the other panel back and then filleted and trimmed the
panels.
134. Create curve on surface. To split the light from the panel, I drew a curve on the surface, and duplicated
and hid the surface.
135. Trim rear light again. Like I had done so many times before… I filleted and trimmed the surfaces.
137. Trim boot. To get the small seam under the light, I repeated the previous steps… you must be sick of
them by now…
138. Trim rear window. The rear panel has a notch cut into it by the window trim. I loaded up an old
construction curve, projected it onto the panel and trimmed it.
139. Blend panels. To get a smooth blend between these two panels, I drew curves on them and fillet blended
between the curves. To get a smooth blend, I tweaked the Cvs on the curves whilst the blend updated.
140. Trim blend. Using the same curve from step 138, I trimmed the blend to fillow the curve of the window
trim.
141. Select edges. For the profile curve for the window trim, I decided to make a new curve, rather than use
the original curve I drew back in step 3. I worked my way around the window frame and selected isoparms and
trim edged and created curves. Then I joined the se curves to form one closed curve that matched the surfaces
exactly.
142. Duplicate edges. I then duplicated and scaled the curves to form the profiles for a loft.
143. Load pillar curve. Using one of the original step 2 curves, I loaded the pillar curve as a basis for an
extrude.
144. Draw profile. In the side view, I drew a curve that matched the pillar uprights.
145. Extrude profile. I then extruded this curve along the path I loaded in step 143.
146. Load window frame. To generate the side windows, I loaded the curve I used to create the window trim,
and split it into two pieces. I also loaded the pillar curve from the last step.
147. Loft curves. A simple loft between the three curves gave me pretty good windows.
148. Tweak curves. There were still holes in the previous step, so I scaled the input curves a little, and this
made the glass fit the frame.
149. Create curve from isoparm. For the black strip that runs along the roof, I created a path curve from the
window frame surface.
116. Select trim edge. To put an edge around the front mudguard wheel arch, I started by selecting the trim
edge.
115. Blend and trim. The next step was to fillet blend between the spoiler’s curve on surface and the edge of
the thin strip I created in the previous step. Then I trimmed away the excess along the wheel arch curve.
117. Extrude and modify Cvs. I extruded this curve a small amount in –ve x axis and then had to modify the
Cvs at the bottom of the arch.
118. Finished wheel arch. A circular fillet between the two surfaces finished off the wheel arch.
119. Finished mudguard. Doing the same process as steps 117 and 118 I finished off the mudguard edges.
120. Keep organised. All these little fillet and blend surfaces quickly add up, so it’s important to keep
organised in the outliner. I put all the bumper surfaces into the Bumper_GRP etc. When I’m finished with a
construction curve, I’ll file it under a Construction_Curve_GRP and hide the group. I very rarely throw out a
construction curve. Only when I sign off on a model, will I delete the curves, and save a new scene file with onlu
the finished surfaces.
121. Detatch door. As the door was created as a single piece, it was necessary to separate the door from the
lower runner (or whatever it’s called). This was as simple as selecting an isoparm where I wanted the split, and
[Edit NURBS > Detach Surfaces]
122. Finished door trim. Following the steps 117 and 118 I worked my way around the door, selecting trim,
extruding trim, circular fillet and trimming.
123. Rear wheel arch. I used the same process for the rear wheel arch as I did for the front wheel arch.
124. Extrude surface. For the rear bumper, I used exactly the same technique as the front spoiler in steps 113
to 115. Project curve in side view, extrude curve, modify Cvs.
125. Finished rear bumper. Fillet blending between the two surfaces and trimming finished off the rear
bumper.
126. Make rear panel live. To create the rear lights, I decided to draw the curves directly onto the surface. To
do this, I had to make the surface ‘Live’ by selecting the object and clicking the little magnet icon.
127. Draw curve. Using the CV curve tool, I drew the outline of the light onto the panel. Once the curve was
drawn on, I adjusted the Cvs so that they matched the underlying template in the back and side views. It was
also important to make sure that the end Cvs touched the edges of the surface. If they didn’t touch, then any
future trims would have failed. Once I was happy with the curve, I duplicated the surface and hid the duplicate.
128 Extrude curve on surface. I extruded the curve on surface a small amount in the z and –x axes.
129 Trim panel. I then circular filleted between the two surfaces and trimmed away the panel.
130. Trim light. Then I [Display > Show > Show Last Hidden] to get back the duplicate panel with the light
curve on surface. I then repeated the process from step 129 and circular filleted and trimmed between the two
surfaces.
131. Draw next curve. To do the other half of the light, I had to make the rear boot panel live and draw a
curve on it. Again, I moved the Cvs into position and made sure they were touching the edges of the panel.
Then I duplicated and hid the panel.
132. Trim back panel. I extruded the curve and filleted and trimmed the panels.
Part III - Final Detailing and Accessories

164. Create indicator curve. In the side view, I drew a

curve to match the indicator light.

165. Extrude fillet trim. We’ve done it so many times

now. Extrude curve, duplicate panel, hide panel, fillet
outside, trim, show hidden, fillet inside, trim.

166. Create vent path. In the top view I traced around

the bonnet vent outline.

167. Duplicate and position. I then duplicated and

repositioned the paths to form profiles for a loft.
168. Intersect and trim. I lofted the curves, intersected
the surface with the bonnet and trimmed.

169. Fillet. A circular fillet creates a smooth blend with

the bonnet.

170. Add cylinder, scale and shear. I added a cylinder

and repositioned and scaled it into position to form the
crosspiece. In the channel control window, I added shear
to the list of keyable attributes, and sheared the cylinder
0.5 units in the YZ plane. This kept the ends of the
cylinder parallel with the outside piece.

180. Fillet and planar. WHAT THE?!?! That was quick! I

selected the inside isoparm and created a planar surface
to finish off the vent.

181. Air intake curves. Using all views, I drew and

positioned profile curves for the bonnet ait intake in
preparation for a loft.

182. Air intake surface. I lofted these curves to form

the surface.
183. Fillet. I then filleted the air intake to the bonnet.

184. Add grille planes. I placed simple NURBS planes

inside the other air intakes for the grilles.

185. Make mudguard live. The next step was to create

inside the wheel arch. I started by making the mudguard
live, and drawing a curve larger than the wheel arch.

186. Inside wheel arch. I duplicated this curve and

repositioned and scaled the curves to form the profile of
the surface.

187. Wheel arch surface. I lofted these curves together

to get a rough surface. I didn’t waste much time trying to
get a smooth surface, as it will never really be seen.

188. Door handle profile. For the door handle, I traced

the outline in the side view and projected the curve onto
the door surface.
189. Position and scale. I duplicated, repositioned and
scaled these curves to form the profile of the door handle.
190. Loft curves. I lofted the curves to form the outside
of the door handle.

191. Trim door. I intersected the handle with the door

and trimmed away the inside of the door handle.

192. Create cylinder. I placed a NURBS cylinder in the

rough location of the handle.

193. Tweak Cvs. I scaled and the Cvs to form a long

squashed cylinder.

194. Finished door handle. I adjusted the Cvs to form

the finished shape of the door handle. I started by scaling
the end hulls down to zero, and then moving the adjacent
hulls to be co-planar with the end hulls.
195. Create bumper strip. In the side view, I traced the
bumper strip profile.

196. Extrude along COS. I selected an isoparm and

created a curve on surface. I adjusted the Cvs to form the
path for the bumper strip.

197. Insert ISOs and reduce. I inserted some isoparms

on the bumper strip extruded surface around the area
where it ended. I deleted Cvs until the surface was
clipped back, and I then scaled the end Cvs down to zero
to form a curved end.

198. Create surface. In the back view, I traced the

curve on the lower bumper bar curve. I extruded this
curve so that it intersected with the bumper bar surface.

199. Fillet and trim. I filleted the two surfaces and

trimmed the bumper bar.

200. Trim license plate. In the back view, I traced

around the license plate and extruded a surface. I
manipulated this surface to form the shape that
surrounds the license plate. I filleted and trimmed this
surface with the bumper bar.
201. Add plane. I added a plane for the area behind the
license plate.

202. Fillet. Then I filleted this with the previously

created surface.

203. Create rear wheel arch. I created the rear wheel

arch the same way as I did in steps 185 to 187.

204. Rear wing upright curves. By using the top, back

and side views, I created profile curves for the rear wing
upright.

205. Rear wing upright loft. I lofted these curves

together to create the surface.

206. Rear wing low curves. Using the end isoparm, I

created curves for the lower part of the rear wing.
164. Create indicator curve. In the side view, I drew a curve to match the indicator light.
165. Extrude fillet trim. We’ve done it so many times now. Extrude curve, duplicate panel, hide panel, fillet
outside, trim, show hidden, fillet inside, trim.
166. Create vent path. In the top view I traced around the bonnet vent outline.
167. Duplicate and position. I then duplicated and repositioned the paths to form profiles for a loft.
168. Intersect and trim. I lofted the curves, intersected the surface with the bonnet and trimmed.
169. Fillet. A circular fillet creates a smooth blend with the bonnet.
170. Add cylinder, scale and shear. I added a cylinder and repositioned and scaled it into position to form the
crosspiece. In the channel control window, I added shear to the list of keyable attributes, and sheared the
cylinder 0.5 units in the YZ plane. This kept the ends of the cylinder parallel with the outside piece.
180. Fillet and planar. WHAT THE?!?! That was quick! I selected the inside isoparm and created a planar
surface to finish off the vent.
181. Air intake curves. Using all views, I drew and positioned profile curves for the bonnet ait intake in
preparation for a loft.
182. Air intake surface. I lofted these curves to form the surface.
183. Fillet. I then filleted the air intake to the bonnet.
184. Add grille planes. I placed simple NURBS planes inside the other air intakes for the grilles.
185. Make mudguard live. The next step was to create inside the wheel arch. I started by making the
mudguard live, and drawing a curve larger than the wheel arch.
186. Inside wheel arch. I duplicated this curve and repositioned and scaled the curves to form the profile of
the surface.
187. Wheel arch surface. I lofted these curves together to get a rough surface. I didn’t waste much time
trying to get a smooth surface, as it will never really be seen.
188. Door handle profile. For the door handle, I traced the outline in the side view and projected the curve
onto the door surface.
189. Position and scale. I duplicated, repositioned and scaled these curves to form the profile of the door
handle.
150 . Extend curve. To get the strip down under the boot, I extended the path curves and adjusted the
resulting Cvs to fit under the bonnet.
151. Create profile. In the top view, I drew a small profile curve that matches the dark strip.
152. Extrude needs rotating. I extruded the profile along the path, but the profile needed rotating from the
first attempt.
153. Rotate profile. By keeping history live, I was able to rotate the profile while the resulting extrude updated
in place.
154. Extrude curve. To do the edge at the front of the window frame, I selected the trim edge and extruded it
into a surface along –x, -y, -z.
155. Fillet and trim. The usual fillet and trim procedure finished off this edge.
156. Load windscreen curves. The windscreen curves were partly old curves, and partly newly generated
curves from isoparms.
157. Bi-rail curves. The windscreen was created by bi-railing the five curves.
158. Add trim to windscreen. I extruded the bottom curve in the z axis to create the panel under the
windscreen wipers. I then drew a small profile for the strip at the top of the windscreen.
159. Load rear window curves. The rear window was much the same as the front window except I only used
four curves instead of five.
160. Bi-rail rear window. I used the Bi-rail 2 tool for the rear window, ad it was a relatively simple surface.
161. Add trim. Like the front window, I added a small strip above the window by extruding a small profile along
the top curve.
162. The story so far. Time for a break, I think…
163. Check mirror reverse. Just a quick look at how the finished model is going to look before final detailing.
136.

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114. Extrude curve. I extruded the curve a small amount to give me a thin strip that ran parallel with the
wheel arch curve.
113. Project and duplicate. In the side view, I projected the curve onto the spoiler. Then I duplicated the
curve and offset it inside the spoiler.
99. Intersect and offset. This top hole was difficult to fillet due to the curvature of the bumper. I decided to
intersect the two surfaces, offset curves from the intersection and fillet blend them together.
100. Trim indicator. I then trimmed the indicator out.
101. Extrude blend isoparm. I extruded the edge isoparm of the blend to create a new extrude surface to
intersect to create the actual indicator.
102. Trim indicator. I then fillet-blended the indicator with the new extrude surface.
103. extrude and intersect I decided to break from the plans a little here, and change the main driving light.
The plans had the light covered with a thin plastic cap, so I decided to take off the cap and shoe the light inside.
First I extruded the circle to intersect with the spoiler surface. Then I intersected the surfaces, creating curves
on surfaces.
104. Blend and Trim. Rather than use Circular Fillet, I decided to Blend Fillet the two surfaces together,
because the two trims weren’t parallel. After the blend, I trimmed the two surfaces.
105. Create sphere. To create the light inside the housing, I created a NURBS sphere with the creation
parameters Start 0 end 180. This gave me a hemisphere that I scaled into position.
106 Deform with lattice. Just because it’s in the animate menu-set, it doesn’t mean you can’t model with
lattices. I find lattices (and clusters) very useful modelling tools. To fit the light properly, I created a lattice with
2 divisions along xyz. Then it was simply a matter of dragging the lattice points to get the light to fit.
107. Project curve on surface. To create the main air scoop, I drew a curve in the front view and projected
the curve on to the spoiler.
108. Extrude and fillet. I extruded the curve on surface 1 unit along the z axis. Then I circular filleted the
surfaces and trimmed. I had to use a reasonable small radius for the fillet as there were some tight curves
around the top. Maya would freakout and fail the fillet if the radius was too big (0.04 in this case).
109. Draw curve. The notch inside the main air scoop, was created by drawing a curve in the top view.
110 Modify curve. I then extruded the curve in the –ve y axis and repositioned the surface. Then I modified
the curve and the surface updated as it still had history from the curve.
111. Fillet and trim. Then I filleted and trimmed the two surfaces to give a smooth corner.
112. Need to trim Spoiler. To finish off the front spoiler, I had to trim the wheel arch to give a nice smooth
curve. I loaded up the original arch curve I drew back in step 3.
207. Rear wing low surface. I lofted these curves
together to create the rear wing lower surface.

208. Rear wing top curves. Using the end isoparm of

the upright, I created curves for the upper part of the
rear wing.

209. Rear wing upper surface. I lofted these curves

together to create the rear wing upper surface.

210. Roof vent curves. Using the front and side views, I
created curves for the roof air vent.

211. Roof vent surface. I lofted these curves together

to create the roof vent surface.
212. Fillet roof vent. I filleted these two surfaces
together.

213. Time to mirror. Now it was time to mirror the

other half of the car and stitch or attach the surfaces. Any
trimmed surfaces wouldn’t be able to be attached into one
piece, they could only be trimmed.

214. Mirrored half. This is what the car looked like with
the other half mirrored. There are many obvious seams
where the surface’s tangents aren’t continuous. Sone
serious stitching work was in order.

215. Show glass. The first objects I decided to attach,

were the windscreens.

216. Attach windscreens. As these surfaces weren’t

trimmed, I was able to use the attach tool to create a
single object for each windscreen. As with earlier work on
the panels, I made sure to use the ‘Blend’ function
instead of ‘Connect’. This created a smoother transition
across the seam, and removes the seam.

217. All panels. I worked my way around the car,

stitching and attaching all panels that were modelled in
half.
218. Get organised. Now that the bulk of the panels
were finished, I reorganised the groups.

219. Wheel profile. Now it was time to start building the

wheels. In the side view, I drew th e profile of the wheel.
I used the side view because if showed the most detail of
the wheel.

220. Wheel revolve. I rotated the profile 90deg around

the Y axis and revolved the profile around the X axis.
Then I modified the profile to adjust the width of the
wheel revolved surface.

221. Wheel hub profile. In the side view again, I drew

the profile for the wheel hub.

222. Wheel hub revolved. Following the same

procedure as with the wheel rim, I created the wheel hub
surface.

223. Tyre profile curve. I drew the profile for the tyre
in the front view, using the wheel rim as a guide. I then
adjusted the Cvs using the side view as a guide to get the
height correct.
224. Tyre revolved. I revolved the tyre profile around
the same axis as the rim and hub.

225. Create cylinder. For the spoke, I created a NURBS

cylinder and adjusted the Cvs to get the correct shape.

226. Fillet surfaces. I filleted one end of the spoke to

the wheel rim.

227. Fillet surfaces. And I filleted the other end to the

hub.

228. Group and move pivot. I then grouped the two

fillets and the spoke together and moved the group pivot
point to the centre of the hub.
229. Duplicate spokes. There are 15 spokes in the
wheel, so I need to rotate 14 copies 24deg around the X
axis (360 /1 5 = 24).

230. Make cylinder. My first instinct to make the wheel

nut was to create a 6 sided poly cylinder and smooth the
edges. But then I remembered that this is a NURBS car,
so I decided against it. So, I added a NURBS cylinder with
12 sections and positioned it.

231. Pick every 2nd hull. I selected every second

section hull.

232. Rotate hulls. Then I rotated these hulls so that

they almost touched the next hull.

233. Move other hulls. I scaled the end hull down to

zero, and moved the next hull up to be co-planar with the
end hull to curve the end of the surface.

234. Move centre. I moved the pivot point of the wheel

nut to the centre of the hub.
235. Duplicate 4 times. I then duplicated 4 copies
rotated 72 deg around the X axis to get 5 wheel nuts.

236. Brake disc. I drew a profile for the brake disc in the
front vire and revolved around the X axis.

237. Completed wheel. I added the brake pads to

complete the wheel.

238. Duplicate wheels. I grouped the wheel

components and moved the group’s pivot point X axis so
that it was at the centre of the car (world location X=0). I
duplicated the wheel and moved it to the rear wheel
position. Then I duplicated the two left wheels and scaled
them to x=-1.

239. Create mirror curves. To create the rear view

mirrors, I drew a series of profiles for lofting.

240. Loft curves. I lofted the curves together to form

the surface of the mirror, and created a planar surface
from the end isoparm to create the mirror glass.
241. Roof thingies. I revolved curves for the roof
antennae and modified a NURBS plane for the little block
above the rear windscreen.

242. Finished exterior. THAT’S IT!! All done. Well, the

exterior is finished anyway. The roll cage, seat and driver
would probably need to be modelled if this was to be
animated. But that’s for another day.

243. Wireframe. Here’s the wireframe of the completed

model. The dark blue surfaces are trimmed surfaces.
224. Tyre revolved. I revolved the tyre profile around the same axis as the rim and hub.
225. Create cylinder. For the spoke, I created a NURBS cylinder and adjusted the Cvs to get the correct
shape.
226. Fillet surfaces. I filleted one end of the spoke to the wheel rim.
227. Fillet surfaces. And I filleted the other end to the hub.
228. Group and move pivot. I then grouped the two fillets and the spoke together and moved the group pivot
point to the centre of the hub.
229. Duplicate spokes. There are 15 spokes in the wheel, so I need to rotate 14 copies 24deg around the X
axis (360 /1 5 = 24).
230. Make cylinder. My first instinct to make the wheel nut was to create a 6 sided poly cylinder and smooth
the edges. But then I remembered that this is a NURBS car, so I decided against it. So, I added a NURBS
cylinder with 12 sections and positioned it.
231. Pick every 2nd hull. I selected every second section hull.
232. Rotate hulls. Then I rotated these hulls so that they almost touched the next hull.
233. Move other hulls. I scaled the end hull down to zero, and moved the next hull up to be co-planar with the
end hull to curve the end of the surface.
234. Move centre. I moved the pivot point of the wheel nut to the centre of the hub.
235. Duplicate 4 times. I then duplicated 4 copies rotated 72 deg around the X axis to get 5 wheel nuts.
236. Brake disc. I drew a profile for the brake disc in the front vire and revolved around the X axis.
237. Completed wheel. I added the brake pads to complete the wheel.
238. Duplicate wheels. I grouped the wheel components and moved the group’s pivot point X axis so that it
was at the centre of the car (world location X=0). I duplicated the wheel and moved it to the rear wheel
position. Then I duplicated the two left wheels and scaled them to x=-1.
239. Create mirror curves. To create the rear view mirrors, I drew a series of profiles for lofting.
240. Loft curves. I lofted the curves together to form the surface of the mirror, and created a planar surface
from the end isoparm to create the mirror glass.
241. Roof thingies. I revolved curves for the roof antennae and modified a NURBS plane for the little block
above the rear windscreen.
242. Finished exterior. THAT’S IT!! All done. Well, the exterior is finished anyway. The roll cage, seat and
driver would probably need to be modelled if this was to be animated. But that’s for another day.
243. Wireframe. Here’s the wireframe of the completed model. The dark blue surfaces are trimmed surfaces.
207. Rear wing low surface. I lofted these curves together to create the rear wing lower surface.
206. Rear wing low curves. Using the end isoparm, I created curves for the lower part of the rear wing.
208. Rear wing top curves. Using the end isoparm of the upright, I created curves for the upper part of the
rear wing.
209. Rear wing upper surface. I lofted these curves together to create the rear wing upper surface.
210. Roof vent curves. Using the front and side views, I created curves for the roof air vent.
211. Roof vent surface. I lofted these curves together to create the roof vent surface.
212. Fillet roof vent. I filleted these two surfaces together.
213. Time to mirror. Now it was time to mirror the other half of the car and stitch or attach the surfaces. Any
trimmed surfaces wouldn’t be able to be attached into one piece, they could only be trimmed.
214. Mirrored half. This is what the car looked like with the other half mirrored. There are many obvious
seams where the surface’s tangents aren’t continuous. Sone serious stitching work was in order.
215. Show glass. The first objects I decided to attach, were the windscreens.
216. Attach windscreens. As these surfaces weren’t trimmed, I was able to use the attach tool to create a
single object for each windscreen. As with earlier work on the panels, I made sure to use the ‘Blend’ function
instead of ‘Connect’. This created a smoother transition across the seam, and removes the seam.
217. All panels. I worked my way around the car, stitching and attaching all panels that were modelled in half.
218. Get organised. Now that the bulk of the panels were finished, I reorganised the groups.
219. Wheel profile. Now it was time to start building the wheels. In the side view, I drew th e profile of the
wheel. I used the side view because if showed the most detail of the wheel.
220. Wheel revolve. I rotated the profile 90deg around the Y axis and revolved the profile around the X axis.
Then I modified the profile to adjust the width of the wheel revolved surface.
221. Wheel hub profile. In the side view again, I drew the profile for the wheel hub.
222. Wheel hub revolved. Following the same procedure as with the wheel rim, I created the wheel hub
surface.
223. Tyre profile curve. I drew the profile for the tyre in the front view, using the wheel rim as a guide. I then
adjusted the Cvs using the side view as a guide to get the height correct.
190. Loft curves. I lofted the curves to form the outside of the door handle.
191. Trim door. I intersected the handle with the door and trimmed away the inside of the door handle.
192. Create cylinder. I placed a NURBS cylinder in the rough location of the handle.
193. Tweak Cvs. I scaled and the Cvs to form a long squashed cylinder.
194. Finished door handle. I adjusted the Cvs to form the finished shape of the door handle. I started by
scaling the end hulls down to zero, and then moving the adjacent hulls to be co-planar with the end hulls.
195. Create bumper strip. In the side view, I traced the bumper strip profile.
196. Extrude along COS. I selected an isoparm and created a curve on surface. I adjusted the Cvs to form the
path for the bumper strip.
197. Insert ISOs and reduce. I inserted some isoparms on the bumper strip extruded surface around the area
where it ended. I deleted Cvs until the surface was clipped back, and I then scaled the end Cvs down to zero to
form a curved end.
198. Create surface. In the back view, I traced the curve on the lower bumper bar curve. I extruded this curve
so that it intersected with the bumper bar surface.
199. Fillet and trim. I filleted the two surfaces and trimmed the bumper bar.
200. Trim license plate. In the back view, I traced around the license plate and extruded a surface. I
manipulated this surface to form the shape that surrounds the license plate. I filleted and trimmed this surface
with the bumper bar.
201. Add plane. I added a plane for the area behind the license plate.
202. Fillet. Then I filleted this with the previously created surface.
203. Create rear wheel arch. I created the rear wheel arch the same way as I did in steps 185 to 187.
204. Rear wing upright curves. By using the top, back and side views, I created profile curves for the rear
wing upright.
205. Rear wing upright loft. I lofted these curves together to create the surface.