Concept Car Modeling with Plasticity | How to Lay Out Curves and Surfaces for Complex Shapes

[@ys7221]

Your videos are by far the best plasticity tutorials available. Kudos!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Wow, thanks! I have a few more planned as soon as I get time. Is there anything you feel isn't covered?

[@jbavar32]

This is exactly what I needed to see, working with solids gives you great mechanical contours but to get truly sculptural geometric forms you need to master sheets. Thank you for your tutorials.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You're very welcome!

[@billclark5943]

I'm voting to continue on with this. A lot of valuable technique just in this video. I'll bet the developer would cough up a seat of 1.2 if he saw this one. Appears to be quite a bit more functionality in the new version

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

1.2 is close. the last video I did used the beta which is what 1.2 is and there are some nice updates. As soon as 1.2 is public ill go back to this.

[@elissitdesign]

I’d love to see this updated in version 2024. Lots of new tools!

[@sdimaging7854]

💯 the best plasticity tutorials available - great stuff!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Wow, thanks! I have another car modeling video I have been working on that I hope will be out soon.

[@overseastom]

Great tutorial mate, thanks for the upload! Just adding bookmarks to come back to later, when I wanna remember steps: - 10:40 he lofts the wheel well bases, then imprints their side shapes.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad it helped! I have been working on a new concept car video but its not ready yet. With version 1.2 there are some things that are easier so some "work arounds" in this video are no longer needed. For example you can patch or loft with a guide that extends past the profile.

[@overseastom]

Nice, can't wait to see the new one then! This one is excellent so far, and I only wish I had 2 monitors, so I could watch this full screen while actually following along :)

[@chromaticworkshop2669]

This is a great tutorial. Thank you for posting!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks. People asked for more so there is a whole car modeling playlist on here if you are looking for more on this subject. kzbin.info/aero/PLBDfGh8A8kXXglEZA2MGsn-U8z2pNCPny

[@MetalGearMk3]

The patch hole tip was super userful :)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SteveJones-uf9hs]

great video, very useful! would love to see this as a series through to completion 👍

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks Steve

[@WhiteDjayanegara]

Great video! I learn a lot from this! Anyway: which preferable method to achieve sophisticated surface like in this tutorial between the one in this video or subdivision (or TSPLINE in F360)?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

It all depends on the end use case. Right now Tspline in fusion is quicker to create and easier to edit if you need to make minor changes to the shape. So for a concept I would go that route for sure. The quality of the surfaces in Plasticity are great and I hope the tool will evolve even more. For me I would still use Fusion 360 of Plasticity for this.

[@4D_art]

Great vid. Definitely the hardest part about nurbs modeling. Slowly coming around to it though. Actually the beta version u can loft between edge and curve but thats only for studio users , so hopefully 1.2 will be out soon.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks! Yeah I am in the studio users, but always forget to update the beta version! That is good info so fingers crossed!

[@crimsonorc]

I'm very interested in having a go at Plasticity thanks to videos like this. Just seeing this tutorial, its made off the cuff but I would like to know if its possible to 'project' a jpg sketch on to the grid axis and work from there as a guide? Thank you for the video.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

for sure. check out my getting started with sheets in Plasticity kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWPEp2Ocrpefbbs I take a blueprint of an FD rx7 and put it into plasticity as references

[@joesweeney6152]

Hi, I'm wondering why I don't see the option for G0, G1, G2 continuity when lofting. I'm using 1.1.0. The only option I get is for selecting the guides. Thanks for the videos.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You won't see G0,G1,G2 if your profiles are curves. If you make surfaces ensure that the curves are hidden or deleted and try selecting the edge of a surface. then you should see continuity issues.

[@bigfilsing]

Having watched many of your excellent video's, I'm interested to know why you have started to use Plasticity ??

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Of course. I have used most CAD programs over the years and always play around with whats available. Even though this channel is mostly Fusion 360, I have been exploring Rhino, Solid Edge as well as others like Shapr3d. Since I have done Blender videos there are a lot of users that use Fusion for "hard" models that go to Blender. But Plasticity is more inline with Blender than Fusion is. I started Beta testing the program last year and its a great piece of software. Its not a replacement CAD program for me but I think it offers a lot for the $99 price tag. So I was using it to provide info during the beta for critical tools for someone using it for say 3d printing. I am hoping the surface tools evolve and maybe it gets SubD one day. If so it would be a powerhouse.

[@bigfilsing]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Thanks. I use AutoCAD & Inventor for my job and Fusion for hobby stuff. I used the pandemic created downtime to brush up on Blender and between the latter 2 there's not much that can't be achieved! Still, always interested in other software packages and have your back catalog of plasticity vids on a playlist for the weekend. Thanks for sharing your insights. Cheers

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@bigfilsing No Problem! I started in AutoCAD back in the 90s.... and used mechanical desktop and still support Inventor. I have an inventor course on the autodesk website and some on eLearning sites, but don't coverer it here. Plasticity is very much like a CAD add-on for Blender. Its a stand-alone program but the shortcut keys and some of the workflow are very "blender" on purpose. It is meant for those people working in blender that want to explore creating hard surface models easier without the need to worry about edge flow and topology. I think AutoCAD and Inventor are both very powerful, and if Fusion could get some more of the tools like sheet metal that Inventor has(or at that level) it would go a long way.

[@Tecboy08]

Thank you for sharing this video! Greatly appreciated! Been working this all day, & enjoying every minute! 🫡 I hope you do more tuts on cars 🚗.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks! I will be keeping an eye on the tools as they evolve. Right now its possible but a lot of work. I have no association with him but this channel has several videos showing his process. I believe the videos have no audio or music but maybe would give you some ideas. www.youtube.com/@Kuechmeister

[@instg8r007]

Would love to see you finish this out please! :)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I am playing with the updates now and determining the best path forward. I will either finish this model, or provide an updated car concept model. The changes to 1.2 make a lot of what was done in this video a bit extraneous and I don't want people to get stuck using a bad workflow. Look for an update or new video next week!

[@ThreeDCreateTutorials]

Very Helpful Thanks

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

you are welcome

[@keithdevereux4046]

well done and thanks!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You bet!

[@3lbsObacon]

I cannot get the grid to rotate on the x axis like you do at about 7:45 in the video. Is there a specific way to do that?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

it isn't really rotating about just X, I am just orbiting left/right which appears like its just rotating around X. I do have a video I did just on the UI where I talk a bit about navigation and the different elements, but there is no specific way to just rotate about a vertical axis like that. If you are on a windows machine you can hold down alt, then the middle mouse button and move a direction and it will snap to a standard plane like Front, Right, Top. That is about the closest to a true rotation about an axis that I know.

[@paindavoine_design]

Thanks for the video ! I'm blocked at "select the top guide, hold down shift" 14:54 I think you forget to say something that could be obvious for you (but not for us) but the surface just dissapears

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I think everything is in there. I just rewatched it. When doing a loft you want to preselect the profiles, in this case the back edge of the front fender lip, and the front 2 edges of the back fender lip. Then hit L to start the loft. From there you can select the first guide curve, but in order to select more you have to hold down shift. If your surface isn't there, there is a good change that your guide you just selected doesn't intersect with the loft profile. Try skipping the one that is making it disappear(if its the middle one) or try to recreate it again and see if that works.

[@abdulrahmanalhajri4429]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Hi, first, What a great tutorial, I enjoyed every second. I got the same problem in lofting, particularly when choosing the middle path the lofting sheet disappear. I tried to re-draw it couple of times and getting the same issue. for now I'll skip this step and will continue the tutorial.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@abdulrahmanalhajri4429 hmmm. can you tell me which version of the software you have installed so i can try that? it should tell you in the menu at the top right. I am on 1.1.0 which i am pretty sure is the most recent non-beta version.

[@abdulrahmanalhajri4429]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign yeah I'm using same version 1.1.0. I'm using 30 days free trial. overall the tutorial is great and clear, I love it and a big thumbs up for you. Update: I found another way to do it. Now I'm good. thank you

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@abdulrahmanalhajri4429 Glad you found a solution. That seems strange but since there are no constraints to keep the ends of curves tied together i imagine a gap could form. If you get stuck again feel free to email me the file and i will take a look.

[@xThree65x]

What is your opinion on how this workflow compares to doing something like this in Fusion 360?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

For me I prefer the freedom of freeform modeling to for laying out concept shapes. Its quick and easy. What I have seen is that the quality of surfaces in Plasticity is actually better than what we see in Fusion, but the curves/control don't have the same level of control. For me I still prefer Fusion because I know I can tweak and change it easier, but I imagine in the future that Plasticity will get even better.

[@xThree65x]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Thanks for the feedback, I am a big Fusion 360 user and have been exploring adding Plasticity to my workflow. Uisng forms and sheets in Fusion is pretty amazing and having the ability to go back and edit them easily is a big plus for me.

[@TitusKrakenDesigns]

Nice tutor Mister, keep goin! :D

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks!

[@pentooldesigner]

Can you do a concept car modeling or whatever car surface modeling course? I’m ready to buy

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I have been working on it but haven't released anything yet. I don't think I will be doing any Plasticity content for pay just yet until the releases are a bit more stable. What i mean is the workflow change to 1.2(after this video) changed some options and ways to do this. 1.3 is just around the corner and putting the effort into a course on a workflow that might change is tricky, and i certainly wouldn't want someone to pay for it. I am going to push hard this week and hopefully get some more plasticity content out on car modeling so stay tuned.

[@pentooldesigner]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign I have a mad passion for cars and 3D modeling it, I purchased some of car modeling courses last months but the thing is all that polygonal modeling in blender, but I actually wanted to try out nurbs modeling methods for smoother surfaces, that's the reason I started learning plasticity, So yeah if you can do more contents based of car surfaces it will be more helpful and whenever you released a course based on car modeling in plasticity I'll be the first customer for sure, thank you again for you comment 🙌

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@pentooldesigner If you were able to follow along with the Blender content, you could try freeform modeling in Fusion. I have 3 car courses on that on this channel. kzbin.info/aero/PLBDfGh8A8kXW2KBn0b7pMsH5q6FLfSYql Its a push/pull style of modeling like Blender, but the result is a NURBS surface and you can do additional surfacing on that. Plasticity is very powerful and you can model cars, but there are still a few bits of the workflow that are harder in Plasticity than would be in a CAD program. Mainly the constraint system. You have to be very mindful of curve tangency and in some cases make temporary surfaces that later get deleted and patched with smoother ones. What is your end goal with the car models?

[@pentooldesigner]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Thank you so much for your suggestions. My end goal is to model concept cars and render them on a nice backdrop or maybe export them to Unreal Engine 5 for some cinematic animations. I don't have any plans to create game ready car models or film ready models. I just want to practice some blueprint models and then move on to modeling my own concepts. What are your suggestions?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@pentooldesigner Honestly, probably stick with Blender. When doing renders or animations the designs will get tesselated. Even though you might not want to make game ready assets, there are some benefits to modeling them in a poly program like that. Generally what I say is if you 1. need precision or 2. are trying to manufacture something, say cnc machine a mold then stick with a CAD program. If you are doing it for visualization there are tons of resources for Blender. I made this video quite awhile ago but maybe some info in there helps. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIW3poSQmd-AbK8

[@ianmcleod8898]

Everything made in Plasticity can be printed? Are we looking at a solid or a mesh in Plasticity?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Plasticity is NURBS modeling so you are looking at either a solid or surface, not a mesh. The only way you get a mesh is if you export the design as an STL. I have a video on plasticity for 3d printing with a simple example on how to design something and 3d print it.

[@rcguy2175]

I want to get the program but whats the difference between the 99 dollar version and the 299 version.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

The Indie license $99 is version locked for version 1.xx it will get the updates but not up to the next version. the Studio license $299 will let you get a year of updates, so if the 2.x version comes out in that year you will get it. You will also get access to the beta version of the program which is testing new features and helping the community with feature requests and pointing out workflow/program issues. That version I believe has some additional file import/export options as well.

[@seddmir5631]

I want to know how to enter text or numbers into a shape or how to enter vector text and then fill it with an extrude as in Cinema 4D and Blender

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I think right now that is a bit difficult. I believe some work is happening to make it easier to import things like SVG or other graphics for text. If you hit "F" on the keyboard you will bring up a search dialog and there is a tool called "Text" which lets you type out your text. That text can be directly extruded. You can also project or imprint it onto a complex face if that is what you want to do. There is also a Wrap tool. Pixel Fondue has a lot of short vids on specific tools that might help such as this kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqepfZtvfKZkh68

[@StatusGrilles]

Do you do widebody kit design for hire?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I have a lot of videos on how to do it with Fusion 360, and i have given people some starting points but at this time I don't know if a one off design widebody is worth the money. Feel free to email me [e-mail] and we can chat about it.

[@StatusGrilles]

I will get back to you. Thanks.

[@seddmir5631]

Our Lord, how much do you have previous experience with a similar program, so you did not find it difficult to work on it with such skill, but what is the similar program to it?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Plasticity is setup very much like Blender. so if you have used Blender it will feel familiar.

[@billclark5943]

I'm in a position where I need to either stick with my 10yo Bobcad software, which is labor intensive for this type of work, learn Catia, which seems daunting or use something like Plasticity. Hmmm....

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

BobCad and Catia are on some different spectrums for functionality and price. If you are doing precision/parametric based design AND possibly doing simulation, CAM etc. Fusion 360 is free for hobby users. If you work in a more conceptual capacity. Things like animations, VFX, game design. Plasticity is a good companion to that work. It isn't a parametric modeler per say. You don't make a sketch, extrude something, then go back and edit the sketch. Once a body is created from a sketch(curve), there is no link between them. Just something to keep in mind as you explore options.

[@billclark5943]

@LearnEverythingAboutDesign thanks for taking the time to reply. Although I spend a fair bit of time designing and making highly constrained mechanical parts I have a need to make small, curvy widgets that will be resin 3d printed, receive a fancy paint job and only have one small feature that would be considered a constraint. Outside of that the designs are free, focusing on visual appeal. Plasticity seems like an efficient tool for making something like that with a shallow learning curve. What do you think? Ps, Catia and bobcad are certainly at opposite ends of the cost range but I have access to catia through my job. I use it mainly for machining existing models though. My owned version of Bobcad has some issues that limit its ability (and buggy). Its also very limited on its ability to modify curves. Although In its defense, it's designed as a machining software. Not so much for modeling

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@billclark5943 No problem! I think Plasticity would fit your needs just fine. Again just remember going in there are no constraints or post creation dimensions. So you make a line and tell it 100mm, once you have created it you can't change it to 150mm without scaling, but you really have to know how long it was. And there are no constraints. When creating curves you can snap and get projected snaps but there is no coincident, tangent, parallel constraint that can keep curves with those relationships. If you make a square corner, add a fillet, then move one of the lines, the fillet won't be tangent anymore. It just takes a little getting used to that workflow. Once you understand how it is setup and works then you should have no problem. Currently in 1.10 version there is a scaling issue when exporting an STL. That is fixed in one of the beta versions and hopefully the full release update will have that as well. If you buy the Indie version you get the updates for all 1.X and you own that software. The studio version gives you access to the Beta and the discord server for suggestions/requests and access to updates for a year including into the 2.x versions. on the pricing. yeah Catia is $$$$$. Bobcad i think is on a subscription based scheme now and honestly the only reason I would go Bobcad would be as a CAM addin for Rhino. BobCad pricing around $250/year is under Fusion, but Fusion 360 has way more functionality and you can get access to multiX positioning in the base commercial license and pay for daily/monthly/yearly access to more advanced multi-x toolpaths while BobCad pricing for 5x is nuts. I am getting off topic:) $99 Perpetual for Plasticity $250/year for bobcad $310-$500/year for Fusion(depending on when you buy in you can lock the price) Fusion does have a free hobby license which is the full program but there are active file limitations(you can archive stuff) and there are limitations for some functionality. For example CAM Gcode post processing can't include tool changes. I guess they assume hobby users would be on single tool desktop machines and the need for ATC would come at the commercial level. Either way I would give plasticity the free 14 day trial a go and ask questions to make the most use of the time. feel free to email me [e-mail]

[@billclark5943]

@LearnEverythingAboutDesign been a long week, hence the late reply but thanks for the offer to help and for the information. It's all quite useful, actually. I'm spending some time now with plasticity. Kinda jumping in the deep end by over drawing/surfacing a poly Raven skull. It's the next task at hand. Since I own a couple older versions of bobcad (at least until those computers die) I can use plasticity to make up for the surfacing shortcomings of bobcad. Looks like I can create points, splines, solids, etc in bobcad and import into plasticity (which offsets at least one of the things plasticity can't do, as you stated) . I have been using bobcad almost exclusively for over 20 years so in those instances where I need better surfacing capability, plasticity may fill the void. After so much time with bobcad, and the fact that I'm getting older, learning new modeling software is a real challenge. I was backing up my CAD files a while back and have over 11k files. Many are cnc programs, and some models from customers (back when i owned a machine shop). Some imported components and some related to the same project but I created a significant amount of them. No to say "look how impressive that is" lol but just to show how ingrained that software is in my methods and modeling style. Hard to learn something like fusion or catia after that. Hopefully plasticity won't be too bad.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@billclark5943 I completely understand! I started with Autocad in 1996. moved through all the big name softwares at certain points in time. Its a jump in the deep end situation. Importing CAD files into Plasticity, especially with the precise dims you need is a great work around! feel free to reach out if you get stuck along the way.

[@haylspa]

can you update using xNURBS????

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I will have some xNurbs content soon. We do have an entire car modeling series before xNurbs was released so not sure if I would do another full series just yet since the tool has just been released. The rate at which these things update makes content out of date quickly and a full series is a huge time investment with honestly not many views. This series could be done a bit easier with xNurbs in the toolbox kzbin.info/aero/PLBDfGh8A8kXXglEZA2MGsn-U8z2pNCPny

[@haylspa]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign hmmmm well a little encouragement, I bought the Studio version for XNurbs, after watching your one video on getting started series yes used your 10% off code... Thank You (happy using your code helps your channel as well!!)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@haylspa Thank You! There will be some more xNurbs content coming soon. as soon as i can get to it:)

[@georjaum12]

Nurbs is a challenge for me

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

different mindset for sure. Think about it like building a curve networks without the faces between it in Blender. It is tricky for sure.

[@ivomirrikerpro3805]

I was hoping Plasticity had the fidelity to change the shape without have to edit the original curves and rebuild each affected surface. Can anybody tell me if it can do such a thing?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

it can't. you can trim and rebuild sections of a surface, but the original curves used to create say a loft are not linked after creation.

[@nelspotts5311]

I can't use the knife tool. 'k' doesn't work and there is no knife tool that I can find......

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

knife is an option during curve creation. When you start a new curve you should see the options in the bottom right corner. You can hit K for the knife tool, but it won't show up in the F key command search. Only when creating a line, spline, circle etc.