Tutorial on how to model a car. (Part 3)

The second 2d sketch this time is on the front plane and not in the top plane. The reason for this is simply the direction of curvature of the model. If you look at this from the top it would be a straight line and you would not accurately mimic the curve. It will be up to you to decide which views to sketch in and it will take a bit of practice to pick up on this. Be prepared to do it wrong several times. Some compound curves may also require you to try a few different methods. There is nothing wrong with trial and error, so don’t get frustrated if you have to get it wrong a few times.

  1. Step 1:

    The first thing I do is create a 2point spline. Before I mess with the handles I apply a coincident relation between the endpoint of the spline and the 3d curve (either by selecting the curve and converting, then using it as a construction line, or simply applying it to the curve. Remember it’s up to you to find out which works best. Making sure that both 2d sketches intersect the 3d curve at the same point will ensure your Projected Curve will be in the right spot. Go ahead and adjust the curvature to match the blueprint.

  2. Step 2:

    At this point you may be wondering “why aren’t we just using 3d sketches for this?” Well 3d sketches are very hard to control and your model will show this. Using 2d sketches and projecting the curves will be a much more stable method for you to model something like this. The end result will but much nicer as well.

    The next curve will be the back edge of the door. This is a tough curve because you can’t see it from the front view which is where the curve is most important. Start with the side view.

  3. Step 3:

    Again, and I won’t always mention this; apply that coincident relation with the 3d curve so you know the end point is coincident. When you try to drag the spline to the end of your 3d curve the little coincident icon will appear, but if you don’t convert the line, updates later may cause you problems, hint hint.

  4. Step 4:

    For the second sketch I’m going to give the front view a shot since there is some curvature in this view. We will not be able to do this for the part of the door below centerline because it is hidden in the front view, but for this edge it should work just fine.

  5. Step 5:

    Select the 3d curve you create from these two and have a look at it compared to the blueprint. You may notice a problem. It looks great in my top view but in the side view it doesn’t meet the bodyline where I wanted. This isn’t good so we need to think on it a bit.

  6. Step 6:

    Okay so it’s time to make use of rolling back the feature tree. Below the bottom feature in your tree is a dark blue bar, you can grab that and drag it up the tree. Drag that blue line above the last 3d curve we just created.

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