This output follows hot on the heels of my recent Gulf Porsche 917K explorations. The more I studied Porsche racecar DNA during that project, the more I began to appreciate and understand the distinct differences in character between the earlier Gulf 917, and the latter 956/962 bloodline.
The 917 is raw and extreme, whilst the 962 is altogether more evolved and in many ways more subtle.
There were directions and ideas I uncovered during my original 917K project that I had to "park" as they just weren't suitable or relevant to that particular brief. Howevever, the geometries I built made me want to revisit this Porsche Racing concept again - to hint at what its logical evolutionary trajectory should be.
This second set of images & CAD geometry updates tap slightly more obviously into 80's era cars - taking my 917K concept, but tweaking key details such as the headlights, nose, wheels, rear wing and bodyside aero features - all wrapped up in the quintessential racing Porsche livery of the time - Rothmans colours.
OK . . so now I'm torn. I always felt that the Gulf livery couldn't possibly be bettered - but seeing essentially the same form in these alternate colours makes me start to question myself... this looks altogether sleeker and more polished in my opinion.
I was in two minds as to wether to lose the 917's visible fans above the engine in favour of a plain white cover - which would have been more consistent with 962 DNA - but I remained convinced they're way too cool a design feature to hide. I'm pretty sure there's gonna be Porsche purists out there cursing and ridiculing my choices - but I'm way past caring! It's really refreshing to set myself a project where there are no formal rules or constraints - as much of the work I produce professionally needs to be firmly rooted in reality.
It was fun in this image to take a static studio render and use photoshop to create a little bit of movement and context - to hint at how the vehicle should be used in anger. I don't claim to be a photoshop expert by any means - but it's nice to create the opportunity to push myself a bit further.
I was once taught by a very talented CAD modeller & Designer that you should always scrutinise how cars look in plan-view very carefully, as this view reveals much about how well the design will be working in 3D.
A riot of slats and louvers - definitely an 80's inspired racecar!
Yeah . . starting to get my head around using separate render-passes and working with render ID's - this lets me fine tune the post production lighting and contrast between different body elements - lets you tweak images to get a little more impact out of the source renders.
A little bit of lens flare and motion blur always go down a treat! (apologies to render purists who'd regard this as the imaging equivalent of Comic Sans) ;-) xxx
I'd love to be able to get more of a cinematic feel into my renders and lighting setup. I'm working with guys on a daily basis who take my CAD designs and make them look ultra realistic - helping to set a compelling vision for each project. I'm learning plenty from watching how they work to set up and post-process each rendering - but I'm mindful I've still got plenty of room for improvement!
The original 956/962 generation of racers were an altogether longer beast than the 917K they replaced. I originally considered totally rebuilding my model for this second study to reflect the fundamental differences between the two eras - but instead thought it'd be more fun (and quicker!) to do some basic edits to capture the key character changes without entirely reworking the proportions. Wheelbase on this second model has been extended, whilst overall height of rear wing has been reduced to pull it closer to main body form - giving an altogether sleeker silhouette. Windscreen line and front wheelarch details were also tweaked - as were the headlights and nose height.
. . . . and for those of you that really enjoy playing Spot The Difference - be my guest!
- Thats all, folks . . .
