As an Industrial Design student, I thought it would be great to become a car designer. In the final year of my studies, I was allowed to work at SpykerCars as a graduation project.

This year I am taking it one step further. I am designing a car again, but this time the exterior, chassis and suspension of a car. There are technicians and mechanics walking around at SpykerCars whom I can ask a few questions. But this assignment I am doing within the walls of our studio, where no automotive techs are present. I am responsible for the preliminary research, design and execution in 3D.

The assignment

From Royal TenCate came the question to C4Real to design a car. Among other things, this car will be used in a 3D animation film that we are developing for them. With the help of this film Royal TenCate wants to present their new carbon 'TenCate Cetex' in the automotive industry. They don't want to align themselves with a brand, so it was up to me to design a representative, sporty car that conveys a sustainable feeling.

Step-by-step design

In the design process I went through eight steps;

1 - Reference material - Since I don't have any dismantled cars at work, unlike my situation at Spyker, I have to make do with my photo camera and the Internet. Shooting photos and collecting numerous interesting designs, both exterior and parts "under the hood," is a good foothold for me for the rest of the design process.

2 - Pencil and paper - Just hand sketching always still works great for me. Initially, I just set up a line pattern. I sketch shapes that appeal to me and make as many different designs as possible to avoid getting stuck on one idea. During this phase, I like to exaggerate a bit in my design to give the design more character, but too much exaggeration can make the car cartoony. Good proportions are the key here.

3 - Credibility - The car in this case will not actually go into production but it must be visually correct. So technically the design does not have to be exactly right. But distinctive parts must be integrated in a credible way. Just think about the placement of air intakes, wheels or part lines. A wheelbase that is too short will make the car unstable, and if the part lines are misplaced, the model will have to be made of plastic because otherwise it will be impossible to produce.

4 - Correct shapes - Before the sketches are further detailed, I sketch my chosen design from as many sides as possible. Skipping this stage can cause major problems later. A sketch angled from the front with quite a bit of perspective may look cool, but it tells nothing about the progression of the shape to the rear. When the car is later put into 3D, all the shapes will have to be correct in 3D space.

5 - Detailing - Now that the outline of the design is in place, it's time to start adding some details. Adding the right details makes the design a lot more believable. Think handles, turn signals and brake discs. This is also when I switch to digital sketching. Rendering such things as reflections and the details in the headlights make the sketches complete. Also, this of course presents a lot nicer to the customer.

6 - From 2D to 3D - With the sketches of different views, I have enough information to start in my 3D package. Modeling the design is a time-consuming process. In addition, linking from 2D to 3D is a fun but also an exciting phase. On the one hand, I find it fascinating to see my 2D design in 3D but on the other hand, a 2D design in 3D sometimes disappoints me. In this case, the shape turns out to work excellently in 3D and after a good week of modeling the design is in 3D.

7 - Physics! - Now that the model is ready, the driving behavior of the car can be simulated. It takes a while to find the right values. But when the car first tears through the corner, sinks through its suspension and tries to maintain grip, the design really comes to life.

8 - Sleep - To leave aside the production of the rest of the parts in the animated film, after more than 5 weeks of work, the film is fully rendered as a movie file on my desktop. I ran a fantastic project with a very ambitious deadline. It was worth all the effort, but I could use a few good nights' sleep now.