Alright, so I got this bug in my head about ’90s Ferraris the other day. You know, the ones from the posters? The F355, the 512 TR… that whole vibe. Decided I’d try and recreate one, digitally, just for kicks.
Getting Started
First thing, I fired up my old workstation. Needed references, obviously. Spent a good hour just browsing images online. Looking for blueprints, side shots, front shots, the whole deal. Found a decent set for the F355, decided to go with that one. Love those clean lines.
The Actual Work
Okay, opened up my modeling software. Pretty basic stuff, nothing too fancy. Started just blocking out the main shape. Like, literally just cubes and stretched-out shapes to get the basic boxy form and proportions right. It looked pretty rough, like a kid’s drawing made of blocks.
Then, the slow part began. Refining the shapes. Pushing and pulling vertices, trying to get those curves smooth. The rear end and the engine cover vents took ages. Getting the C-pillars to flow into the body nicely was a bit of a headache. Had to redo that section maybe three times.
- Body Shape: Lots of tweaking vertices. Trying to match the reference pics.
- Details: Started adding things like the pop-up headlight outlines (kept them down, easier), the side air intakes, the grille at the front.
- Wheels: Modeled one of those classic 5-spoke wheels. Then just copied it four times. Getting the tire tread pattern was something I skipped, too much work for this quick project. Just made ’em black and round.
Adding Some Color (Virtually)
Once the shape looked kinda sorta like an F355, I started messing with materials. Didn’t go crazy deep here.
Main things I did:
- Slapped a bright red material on the body. Tried a couple of reds before settling on one that felt right for that era.
- Made the windows dark, slightly reflective.
- Basic materials for lights – red for taillights, orangey for indicators, whitish for headlights.
- Black rubbery look for the tires and some trim pieces.
- A simple metallic look for the wheels.
Didn’t bother much with the interior. Just blocked out some dark shapes for seats and the dashboard so it wasn’t empty looking through the windows.
Seeing the Result
Okay, time to see what it looked like. Set up a super simple scene. Just a basic floor plane and a light source. Hit the render button. Waited a bit for the computer to do its thing.
And bam! There it was. A shiny red, kinda-looks-like-an-F355 thing on my screen. It’s far from perfect, pros would probably laugh. But hey, it captures that ’90s Ferrari feel I was going for. Was a fun way to spend an afternoon, messing around and bringing back some nostalgia.
It’s rough, but it’s done. That’s the process, pretty much from start to finish. Just messing around, really.
