PH Newbie - My University Project
Discussion
Hi Guys, I'm Ben. I've been lurking around here for a while now, and decided to register yesterday. There doesn't appear to be an introducing section, so I felt posting here would give you guys a bit of background about me. I'm 23 years old and I graduated from my Automotive Design degree back in the summer of 2011.
For my final project, which ran pretty much over the whole academic year, I was allowed to set my own brief for what project I wanted to do. I would then have to do the design work and build a scale model of the design. I thought it would be fitting to create a thread about what I enjoy doing as my introduction
I've always loved MGs since a young age, it's not really something I can explain, none of my family have owned any, I've just had a fascination with them as a kid. SInce I've been old enough to drive I've wanted to own one, but the cost of insurance quickly put paid to that idea. The closest I got was a Facelift Rover 25, which in all honesty I loved. My mates laughed but I didn't care! When the opportunity arose I knew I had to do an MG for the project. I knew it was something I could easily get under the skin of, and not lose interest in because I love the brand.
So the brief was set. I was going to design a flagship coupe for the reborn MG brand. Taking inspiration from cars of the past, and the present. Once I got the idea past the tutors, it was time to get sketching.
Started off with side profiles of the vehicle, quite relentless, altering elements of lines and form as I went. I wanted the car to have quite an aggressive, sporty stance, but at the same time I wanted it to have a bit of elegance about it as well.
I did do some very rough three quarter views as well, but these were a bit tardy at this point. However once the initial ideas were signed off, it was on to the drawing board to do my 1/10 Scale Orthographic. This was important to get right as it would be blown up to 1/4 Scale and reference points taken off it to make a Clay Model.
I spent 4 days on the board, overlaying and plotting sections onto the different views ready for the model. Once I had this signed off, I scanned it and blew it up to 1/4 Scale and got cracking with the model.
Wooden base with foam. MDF Wheel Arch formers, and sections copied off the orthographic and cut to shape on some 5mm plastic. There was a little more foam to add at this point and then it was shaped back with a rasp, ready for the initial load of clay.
Clay was then built up around the Arch formers and built up the the edges of the plastic sections I had cut out from the drawing.
Each section was then completely built up with clay so that I then had the rough proportions of the car to work with. By this stage there is approximately 20mm of clay on top of the foam base.
Arch formers were then rounded off on a lathe to give me wheels, and I had started to shape the vehicle.
More features were added, as per the drawing. Some didn't look great, it was at this point I began to learn about the transition between 2D and 3D. I would often mark something with a pencil and forget about it, those things would be easily translated I thought. It was here I learnt otherwise!
It was at this point also that I had a review with my tutors, It was pretty negative. The general form of the car was fine, but features and details had to change. I already knew this though to be honest. So an emergency redesign took place.
I began being a bit more experimental with the clay, trying different things, and generally started getting new features in place.
The feedback was much more positive on this and a pressed on. The above image was used as a base for a basic photoshop render.
I continued to refine elements of one side of the vehicle for a bit longer, and once I felt that I had a good basis, I started to plot points from one side of the vehicle to the other.
For this I used a wooden "bridge" construction, with some rulers taped to it. This was clamped to the table, which also had rulers taped to it, and was also marked up in 100mm squares. I would move the bridge over every 100mm and plot the location of points, in X Y Z format, with an adjustable right angle, some clay for building up to correct height and tipp-ex to mark the exact location. Clay was then built up around the points and shaped back.
General refining then took place on both sides of the vehicle.
Painted di-noc film was applied to the vehicle to check light lines and reflections did not look odd
Rear was shaped in too
Model was then lifted and flipped over to tidy up the underside. It very heavy by this point.
All details were refined, checked, and refined again using fine slicks. The Clay was now finished and ready for the next stage.
It was then taken up the the workshops and I sprayed the model in Clay Peel. It acts in a similar way to plasti-dip, only its not quite as tough. In this case we were using it as part of a release agent mechanism.
The model was then split into sections in order to create several parts of the fibreglass mould. I used clay for the shuttering, held in place with old bicycle spokes. It was a bit gut wrenching pushing these in after my hard work on the clay.
Each part of the mould was layed up. This was was first experience using fibreglass.
After the front and back were done, the top was done next, I integrated a wooden support so once this part had cured the model would be flipped over to easily lay up the remaining parts.
Once all the parts of the mould were complete, it was time to release them off the clay. Which destroyed the clay, so much for the clay peel!
Over this period I had designed the Alloy Wheel design. I then made a model and mirrored it (they are sided) in CAD, and exported the file to the Uni's Rapid Prototype Machine to be made.
Back to the mould, even the clay was destroyed I got a decent mould of it. Here it is after a blast with a pressure washer and several layers of wax.
This was then layered up, to create the final body. The cast came out pretty decent. There was a small area to repair, and just general trimming, tidying and paint prep required.
Once prepared I then sent the body to a local paint shop to be painted. This was the only thing I did not do myself, as I would have done a shocking job! Initially I wanted MG Rover Firefrost Red, but after a few thought I felt the colour was a bit too pink under some lights, and in the end plumped for Ford Tango Red, which under sunlight shines quite an intense almost orange colour. When the picture below was taken I had already started applying vinyls to denote windows and trim, etc.
My wheels were hollowed out on the lathe, and as they were MDF I painted them with Duratec primer in order to stop them absorbing paint. At this point I had received my RP Wheels back, and they were used as masters and casts were taken off them to create a set of four, using some sort of resin, I cant remember the name off the top of my head, but there was a part a and part b.
Final details added and the wheels were painted by myself. It was finished ready for submission
It then went down to the Swansea Waterfront Museum for the Graduate Exhibition.
There was one particularly bright, hot day, so I took it out into the courtyard for a photoshoot.
I was really pleased with the result, a lot of people don't realise the scale of the thing, so here it is next to my current motor...
Recently, in my spare time I done a photoshop rendering of a mildly refreshed convertible version, I'd love to be able to do a model of it at some point, with working doors, roof, and modelled interior.
I'm really proud of the model, and it now takes pride of place on half of my desk. It was also featured in MG Enthusiast Magazine in August 2011, and I'm currently in the middle of sorting features with AROnline, MG Car Club, and MG Owners Club.
Not long after I graduated I managed to get a job in the Automotive Industry as a Graduate Model Maker. I had the opportunity to work on all sorts of full scale prototypes and show cars for various manufacturers. Unfortunately I was made redundant back in October 2012, so I'm currently job hunting again!
Feel free to be critical about my design, to me it was what I envisaged and wanted an MG to look like. I know my design work is not up to par with others, but since this project I enjoy the model making far more anyway. I like being able to bring sketches on a piece of paper to life.
So, yeah, thats me. A long first post I know, but I felt it an ideal way to start off here. I hope you've enjoyed reading it back as much as I did making it, I could keep writing forever as I have hundreds of photos of it through the stages.
Cheers,
Ben
For my final project, which ran pretty much over the whole academic year, I was allowed to set my own brief for what project I wanted to do. I would then have to do the design work and build a scale model of the design. I thought it would be fitting to create a thread about what I enjoy doing as my introduction
I've always loved MGs since a young age, it's not really something I can explain, none of my family have owned any, I've just had a fascination with them as a kid. SInce I've been old enough to drive I've wanted to own one, but the cost of insurance quickly put paid to that idea. The closest I got was a Facelift Rover 25, which in all honesty I loved. My mates laughed but I didn't care! When the opportunity arose I knew I had to do an MG for the project. I knew it was something I could easily get under the skin of, and not lose interest in because I love the brand.
So the brief was set. I was going to design a flagship coupe for the reborn MG brand. Taking inspiration from cars of the past, and the present. Once I got the idea past the tutors, it was time to get sketching.
Started off with side profiles of the vehicle, quite relentless, altering elements of lines and form as I went. I wanted the car to have quite an aggressive, sporty stance, but at the same time I wanted it to have a bit of elegance about it as well.
I did do some very rough three quarter views as well, but these were a bit tardy at this point. However once the initial ideas were signed off, it was on to the drawing board to do my 1/10 Scale Orthographic. This was important to get right as it would be blown up to 1/4 Scale and reference points taken off it to make a Clay Model.
I spent 4 days on the board, overlaying and plotting sections onto the different views ready for the model. Once I had this signed off, I scanned it and blew it up to 1/4 Scale and got cracking with the model.
Wooden base with foam. MDF Wheel Arch formers, and sections copied off the orthographic and cut to shape on some 5mm plastic. There was a little more foam to add at this point and then it was shaped back with a rasp, ready for the initial load of clay.
Clay was then built up around the Arch formers and built up the the edges of the plastic sections I had cut out from the drawing.
Each section was then completely built up with clay so that I then had the rough proportions of the car to work with. By this stage there is approximately 20mm of clay on top of the foam base.
Arch formers were then rounded off on a lathe to give me wheels, and I had started to shape the vehicle.
More features were added, as per the drawing. Some didn't look great, it was at this point I began to learn about the transition between 2D and 3D. I would often mark something with a pencil and forget about it, those things would be easily translated I thought. It was here I learnt otherwise!
It was at this point also that I had a review with my tutors, It was pretty negative. The general form of the car was fine, but features and details had to change. I already knew this though to be honest. So an emergency redesign took place.
I began being a bit more experimental with the clay, trying different things, and generally started getting new features in place.
The feedback was much more positive on this and a pressed on. The above image was used as a base for a basic photoshop render.
I continued to refine elements of one side of the vehicle for a bit longer, and once I felt that I had a good basis, I started to plot points from one side of the vehicle to the other.
For this I used a wooden "bridge" construction, with some rulers taped to it. This was clamped to the table, which also had rulers taped to it, and was also marked up in 100mm squares. I would move the bridge over every 100mm and plot the location of points, in X Y Z format, with an adjustable right angle, some clay for building up to correct height and tipp-ex to mark the exact location. Clay was then built up around the points and shaped back.
General refining then took place on both sides of the vehicle.
Painted di-noc film was applied to the vehicle to check light lines and reflections did not look odd
Rear was shaped in too
Model was then lifted and flipped over to tidy up the underside. It very heavy by this point.
All details were refined, checked, and refined again using fine slicks. The Clay was now finished and ready for the next stage.
It was then taken up the the workshops and I sprayed the model in Clay Peel. It acts in a similar way to plasti-dip, only its not quite as tough. In this case we were using it as part of a release agent mechanism.
The model was then split into sections in order to create several parts of the fibreglass mould. I used clay for the shuttering, held in place with old bicycle spokes. It was a bit gut wrenching pushing these in after my hard work on the clay.
Each part of the mould was layed up. This was was first experience using fibreglass.
After the front and back were done, the top was done next, I integrated a wooden support so once this part had cured the model would be flipped over to easily lay up the remaining parts.
Once all the parts of the mould were complete, it was time to release them off the clay. Which destroyed the clay, so much for the clay peel!
Over this period I had designed the Alloy Wheel design. I then made a model and mirrored it (they are sided) in CAD, and exported the file to the Uni's Rapid Prototype Machine to be made.
Back to the mould, even the clay was destroyed I got a decent mould of it. Here it is after a blast with a pressure washer and several layers of wax.
This was then layered up, to create the final body. The cast came out pretty decent. There was a small area to repair, and just general trimming, tidying and paint prep required.
Once prepared I then sent the body to a local paint shop to be painted. This was the only thing I did not do myself, as I would have done a shocking job! Initially I wanted MG Rover Firefrost Red, but after a few thought I felt the colour was a bit too pink under some lights, and in the end plumped for Ford Tango Red, which under sunlight shines quite an intense almost orange colour. When the picture below was taken I had already started applying vinyls to denote windows and trim, etc.
My wheels were hollowed out on the lathe, and as they were MDF I painted them with Duratec primer in order to stop them absorbing paint. At this point I had received my RP Wheels back, and they were used as masters and casts were taken off them to create a set of four, using some sort of resin, I cant remember the name off the top of my head, but there was a part a and part b.
Final details added and the wheels were painted by myself. It was finished ready for submission
It then went down to the Swansea Waterfront Museum for the Graduate Exhibition.
There was one particularly bright, hot day, so I took it out into the courtyard for a photoshoot.
I was really pleased with the result, a lot of people don't realise the scale of the thing, so here it is next to my current motor...
Recently, in my spare time I done a photoshop rendering of a mildly refreshed convertible version, I'd love to be able to do a model of it at some point, with working doors, roof, and modelled interior.
I'm really proud of the model, and it now takes pride of place on half of my desk. It was also featured in MG Enthusiast Magazine in August 2011, and I'm currently in the middle of sorting features with AROnline, MG Car Club, and MG Owners Club.
Not long after I graduated I managed to get a job in the Automotive Industry as a Graduate Model Maker. I had the opportunity to work on all sorts of full scale prototypes and show cars for various manufacturers. Unfortunately I was made redundant back in October 2012, so I'm currently job hunting again!
Feel free to be critical about my design, to me it was what I envisaged and wanted an MG to look like. I know my design work is not up to par with others, but since this project I enjoy the model making far more anyway. I like being able to bring sketches on a piece of paper to life.
So, yeah, thats me. A long first post I know, but I felt it an ideal way to start off here. I hope you've enjoyed reading it back as much as I did making it, I could keep writing forever as I have hundreds of photos of it through the stages.
Cheers,
Ben
Edited by BenRichards89 on Thursday 21st February 01:10
Red Firecracker said:
How long did it take you to get the symmetry to that level? I understand the plot points and building up to those, but did you use anything extra, such as guides or masks, to get the fine details/shapes so spot-on and symmetrical?
I cant remember entirely off the top of my head, but looking back at the photos I have it seems to have taken around 2 weeks. Which sounds about right.With the various measuring equipment I had and the bridge, I could plot points pretty much as close together as I wanted. I also had some 2mm and 5mm low tack tape to mark out areas. This was particularly handy for larger features down the sides of the vehicle and the sides of the bonnet as I could plot the most significant points and join them together with the tape.
If anything didn't look quite right then it was checked again and altered as necessary.
From the start of the clay to the finished model it took approximately 4 and a half months. Bearing in mind I had other coursework to complete in between and a part-time job back at home on the weekends.
Cheers Guys.
Thank you for all your nice comments. It kind of makes doing it even more worthwhile.
Once I have the funds I intend on making a model of the convertible and perhaps a DTM/GT3 Style Car as well. If that happens I will post build threads here for you guys to keep an eye on. That maybe for a while yet though.
In the meantime, while getting about publicising myself and my current abilities, along with uploading to online portfolio sites I have started a facebook page about my design work. If you do like my work and want to keep an eye on what I'm up to, please "like" the page. Not only will I be immensely grateful, but it will contribute to helping me building on my pubilc profile, and my efforts to get back into the automotive industry.
The page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/BenRichardsDesign
Ben
Thank you for all your nice comments. It kind of makes doing it even more worthwhile.
Once I have the funds I intend on making a model of the convertible and perhaps a DTM/GT3 Style Car as well. If that happens I will post build threads here for you guys to keep an eye on. That maybe for a while yet though.
In the meantime, while getting about publicising myself and my current abilities, along with uploading to online portfolio sites I have started a facebook page about my design work. If you do like my work and want to keep an eye on what I'm up to, please "like" the page. Not only will I be immensely grateful, but it will contribute to helping me building on my pubilc profile, and my efforts to get back into the automotive industry.
The page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/BenRichardsDesign
Ben
expensivegarms said:
Gotta say Ben, that's absolutely spectacular. Wish I could do something like that! I can rebuild a chainsaw from its individual components and know where all the bolts go, but what you've done there is an absolute talent. Nice one!
Haha, no chainsaw experience here, but I'm pretty handy at stripping and rebuilding laptops and desktops though!Cheers for your comment
JFReturns said:
'Liked'. Bloody good read that, nice design and 'shoppin. Best of luck with the job.
cjgreaves41 said:
Excellent write up pal! I did Automotive Design at Sunderland 3 years ago. Really enjoyed the write up! Good luck with the job hunting! If only MG had made something that looked like that....
Cheers Guys. Really appreciate the nice comments It seems looking back through the posts I could have engaged a bit better, apologies.
I don't know how to multiquote properly on here so :-
@Slomax
I have basic knowledge of Alias. Although the industry is going further in that direction I still prefer the hands on approach. I found it very frustrating, sometimes asking it to create what I felt was a basic surface, yet it would disagree and produce some of the most horrific shapes I doubt would be possible to recreate. I managed a very basic Audi TT rendered in showcase during my second year. I wasn't required to do it for the MG as I done the clay as "3d representation". Since switching to Mac from Windows I also don't have the software anymore, so I'm a little rusty.
Glassing the clay was relatively easy, just the same as glassing anything else. I was hesitant as it was my first time, but as long as you take your time there should be no problem.
Online folio wise most of my stuff which I still have is on my facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BenRichardsDesign), then I also have duplicates on Coroflot (http://www.coroflot.com/benrichards1989) and Behance (http://www.behance.net/BenRichards1)
A lot of my stuff is still at the university as I didn't get it back after submission.
@bigmacmoomin
Yes agree, looking back at it since completion, I do sometimes regret not putting a spoiler on it.
@les3002
Just practice, lots of practice. I'm still useless at 3/4 views now!
@laurasotherhalf
I did try a black A-pillar on early sketches, but in order to make it look right it forces alteration to the roof, and I didn't like what it looked like. It was something I implemented on the convertible though as it works well with the split between the A pillar and the canvas roof. Its also reminiscent of the RV8s and Early MGFs.
Cheers,
Ben
I don't know how to multiquote properly on here so :-
@Slomax
I have basic knowledge of Alias. Although the industry is going further in that direction I still prefer the hands on approach. I found it very frustrating, sometimes asking it to create what I felt was a basic surface, yet it would disagree and produce some of the most horrific shapes I doubt would be possible to recreate. I managed a very basic Audi TT rendered in showcase during my second year. I wasn't required to do it for the MG as I done the clay as "3d representation". Since switching to Mac from Windows I also don't have the software anymore, so I'm a little rusty.
Glassing the clay was relatively easy, just the same as glassing anything else. I was hesitant as it was my first time, but as long as you take your time there should be no problem.
Online folio wise most of my stuff which I still have is on my facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BenRichardsDesign), then I also have duplicates on Coroflot (http://www.coroflot.com/benrichards1989) and Behance (http://www.behance.net/BenRichards1)
A lot of my stuff is still at the university as I didn't get it back after submission.
@bigmacmoomin
Yes agree, looking back at it since completion, I do sometimes regret not putting a spoiler on it.
@les3002
Just practice, lots of practice. I'm still useless at 3/4 views now!
@laurasotherhalf
I did try a black A-pillar on early sketches, but in order to make it look right it forces alteration to the roof, and I didn't like what it looked like. It was something I implemented on the convertible though as it works well with the split between the A pillar and the canvas roof. Its also reminiscent of the RV8s and Early MGFs.
Cheers,
Ben
http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/blogs/blog-designi...
This was also put up today, and there is also hopefully going to be a 3 Page feature done by MG Car Club in the March issue of their magazine.
This was also put up today, and there is also hopefully going to be a 3 Page feature done by MG Car Club in the March issue of their magazine.
Thanks Guys,
I did report my OP and enquire to get it moved, as did another PH'er. Seems it's staying firmly here!
Anyway, the project has a 3 Page feature in MG Car Club's Magazine this month. Below is a link to it on their Facebook Page...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015154861...
Cheers
I did report my OP and enquire to get it moved, as did another PH'er. Seems it's staying firmly here!
Anyway, the project has a 3 Page feature in MG Car Club's Magazine this month. Below is a link to it on their Facebook Page...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015154861...
Cheers
moreflaps said:
Whats the head room for the driver?
Cheers
I can't give you an exact measurement as all my core work is still in possession of the uni (if they haven't binned it). I only have the model and graphic work on my PC.Cheers
What I can tell you is that when I was working on the vehicle packaging I designed it to accept a 98th percentile male in both the front and rear. This means that a driver of around 6 foot 3 inches can sit in comfort, and the vehicle will also accommodate another person at that height in the rear at the same time.
Hope this helps.
Gretchen said:
Only just seen this. Top work. Really enjoyed that. My Father is/was a design engineer (he's in his late 70's now but still at it) I wish I'd inherited some of those skills. Perhaps my boys have. But it's great to see a new generation of skilled designers. Good luck in the future.
Cheers.Really struggling to find a job at the moment. No one is interested because of my lack of experience. Then on top of that, trying to find a basic job to keep me going is just as difficult, they see my CV and what I've done up to now and wonder why I'm applying for such roles and it puts them off
Anyway, it's great to see people like my work, and the reaction and comments it evokes from most keep me going.
tom_loughlin said:
Very impressive mate! Liked on Facebook and Twitter!
Always fancied Automotive design, but ended up playing it safe and sticking with the mechanical side!
Seriously good work, keep it up,and all the best with the job hunt!
Always fancied Automotive design, but ended up playing it safe and sticking with the mechanical side!
Seriously good work, keep it up,and all the best with the job hunt!
carreauchompeur said:
Just caught up with this. Absolutely superb, good work.
Cheers Guys!CrashTD said:
I work with felt tip fairies every day and your work is well up to par. I can only imagine your cv/approach is bad. Your work is very good.
Are you trying OEMs or Styling Houses?
If you have not already got a portfolio sorted the I suggest you drop me a Message and I will point you in the direction of a PHer who is amazing at this kind of stuff.
Crash.
Mainly OEMs, I've had a couple of recruitment consultants contact me as well. As soon as I send them what they ask for they never get back to me again. I am looking more towards model making work to be honest, as I don't believe that my design work is up to scratch.Are you trying OEMs or Styling Houses?
If you have not already got a portfolio sorted the I suggest you drop me a Message and I will point you in the direction of a PHer who is amazing at this kind of stuff.
Crash.
I do have portfolios available, both online and ready to send. I'm also on LinkedIn, the content of that pretty much mirrors my CV: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ben-richards/59/8b3/19... - There are links to my online portfolios off that as well.
slomax said:
currently going through the same stages as you did ben- my design is well on the way and i have been modelling for 1 week. im on a truncated timescale though and my deadline is second week of may- i think that makes it a smidge under 8 weeks.
tempted to get a build thread on the go.....
Best of luck! I really enjoyed doing mine and would love to do it again. Once I have the funds available I'm planning to make a model of the convertible version with an interior. A build thread would be quite a good read I reckon tempted to get a build thread on the go.....
Ben
Edited by BenRichards89 on Saturday 16th March 16:31
Edited by BenRichards89 on Saturday 16th March 16:32
Update!
Managed to get a basic job back in October to keep money coming in.
I have since finished that as I landed a job in an OEM Design Studio as a Clay Modeller and I started at the beginning of this month. So I'm now doing what I done at the beginning of the thread on a much larger scale!
Managed to get a basic job back in October to keep money coming in.
I have since finished that as I landed a job in an OEM Design Studio as a Clay Modeller and I started at the beginning of this month. So I'm now doing what I done at the beginning of the thread on a much larger scale!
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