125CC SHINERAY 4 stroke dirt bike

This started as a specialisation project for a uni assignment. The idea to make a dirt bike started after hearing that motorbikes are “must-have” assets in a hard-surface directed portfolio, as there are many different shapes and it shows the various modelling skills.

The aim is to have done by the end of May at worst, and have it as a magnum opus for my portfolio and submit it for the Rookies Awards 2021. This means I will be putting my absolute best foot forward. I also decided to record the whole modelling process and make a timelapse out of it and add it to the personalised YouTube playlist shown below.

The plan is to first block it out, add cables and chains, polish it, UV it, and texture it. I will use the UDIM method for the UV layout.

Link to the whole timelapse playlist: 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1p6yasS7JUL-qQptDqjFDUaX2U51SB8F

Here was at the very start, when I was still worrying about the size and position of the major parts and trying to match perfectly the reference images (link below). Before starting the block out, I spent a while researching images of different views of different sections of this dirt bike. This proved to be one of the most important parts to model this, as many of the images weren’t of high quality.

From there, the plan was to block out the major parts that are easily visible, then, refine a big part, like the wheels, as things seemed to start slowing down.

Images:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/cheap-110cc-125cc-PIT-BIKE-DIRT_876804562.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normal_offer.d_title.779d339dDFL4pG

This is how far I’ve gotten after 36 hours of work. Obviously, there has been a lot of development, and many parts, including all the major pieces, have been at least blocked out, like the tires and a good portion of the rest of the wheels, as well as the top part. Now, the problem is that, if you were to apply physics, it would fall apart and not be able to sustain itself. My plan is to continue on what I was doing and make sure that there are no floating pieces.

Two major things I did to improve the speed is to properly customise the hotkeys, and I made a spreadsheet to map them out, and start creating a kitbash layout. Unfortunately, for the latter, most things are asymmetric and require particular pieces, which is good to show complexity, so, in the kitbash, there are only the major primitives (a cube and a cylinder), bolts and screws.

After blocking out, I will start UVing all the repetitive parts, like bolts and spokes. Then, I will refine the engine part and start adding cables, using Maya 2022 Sweep tool, and chains. From there I will continue following the initial plan.

Finally, the blocking is done and some parts are completed!

The engine was the hardest part, considering the images being a bit low-quality, thus losing some detail. So, I had to research references as close as possible of both the engine and the bike.

Hopefully, I won’t need to add too many details in the polishing step. I also need to consider that I still want to texture it and I have about a week and a half left. By the end of the week, polishing and cables will be done. Hopefully, the UVing won’t take too long. It’s really good to see this coming along