July Art Contest - "Trek on the Track"

[Tiberius Jim]

Hey guys, thanks again for the votes last month. I honestly didn't think my silly little GIF animation would go over so well. And since it did, I'm tasked with creating the new contest. So here goes...

NASCAR is the second most popular sporting event in the United States, and that popularity grows every year. Companies from around the world will pay big bucks to have their logos and colors grace the sheetmetal of one of those 800HP rolling billboards. Some of the most well known brands can be found circling the track on Sundays.

Even Star Trek has found it's way onto the track. In 1996, Michael Waltrip drove the Citgo/Star Trek First Contact car to promote the movie. And just this May, David Stremme drove a Verizon/Star Trek Dodge to promote the newest film in the franchise.

Now it's your chance to create the next Star Trek NASCAR paint scheme. I've provided access to the templates (created by the awesome fan mod community for the game NASCAR Racing 2003 Season) and you guys provide the paint. This is wide open...you can make it look as close to an official race car if you want...with numbers, sponsor logos, etc. Or...go crazy and trick out your car however you see fit. It's all completely up to you. When you're finished, send your template to me at james@jhodgedesign.com in JPG format and I will create a 3D representation of your car for voting. The winner will get a high res, fully detailed rendering of their car.

Here's one of my paint schemes as an example.

Here are the links to the templates. Choose your make and have at it!
Chevrolet
Ford
Dodge
Toyota


The templates are in Photoshop format, but I think that GIMP will open PSD files as well for those without access to Photoshop.

I'm excited to see what you guys can come up with!

 

[Ptrope]

Interesting!

I just dl'ed the PSD (Dodge, of course! ), and I'm glad to see that it includes the wireframe on an inactive layer - that'll make it easier to attempt a 'wrap' from a vertical surface to a horizontal one.

Appropriate that this is the "Car of Tomorrow" .

 

[B.J.]

Cool! And I can confirm that GIMP can open it up just fine. I think the only difference there is GIMP doesn't have layer folders, so it's all spread out, but still manageable.

 

[Ziz]

Non
Athletic
Sport
Created
Around
Rednecks

 

[Ptrope]

^^ Not necessary - warning for spamming.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

More like trolling if you ask me...

 

[Ptrope]

^^ Which we also don't post accusations of ...

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Sorry, just an opinion. I don't see how it's spamming, that's all...but I do see it as someone trying to start a fight.

 

[Ptrope]

Back on track ... (no pun intended)

Does the finished artwork need to remain at the same resolution as the template, or can it be increased any in size to get a higher-rez result?

 

[Ziz]

In my own defense...

Saavik: Humor. It is a difficult concept.

There's a reason it's called a "sense" of humor and not an "empirical math equation" of humor.

 

[Ptrope]

OKAY, LET'S KEEP IT ON-TOPIC - THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO DISCUSS MODERATOR ACTIONS, FOLKS (AND I THINK YOU KNOW THAT ).
I DON'T WANT TO LOCK THIS THREAD.​

 

[B.J.]

Hey Flux, is there a 3ds model available that uses these templates? I'm not much into 3D rendering, but I am able to use Sketchup to import 3ds models and textures. The rendering isn't great, but at least I'd be able to see it in 3D beforehand.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Back on track ... (no pun intended)

Does the finished artwork need to remain at the same resolution as the template, or can it be increased any in size to get a higher-rez result?

As long as it keeps the same size ratio it can be increased. You're going to lose quality in the "parts" used on the templates though. These temps are used for the game and they look perfect at the res they're in now.

Hey Flux, is there a 3ds model available that uses these templates? I'm not much into 3D rendering, but I am able to use Sketchup to import 3ds models and textures. The rendering isn't great, but at least I'd be able to see it in 3D beforehand.

You can download this program which will let you view your paint scheme in 3D. Just open the .exe, select the corresponding make's .x file and then load your texture (which must be named XXXXCOT.jpg with the make of the car you're using in place of the X's) Let me know if you have any problems.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

BTW, here's some in-game shots of my BlackBerry car. I've been working on a fictional template...what if Honda joined the ranks of NASCAR car manufactuers?

 

[B.J.]

You can download this program which will let you view your paint scheme in 3D. Just open the .exe, select the corresponding make's .x file and then load your texture (which must be named XXXXCOT.jpg with the make of the car you're using in place of the X's) Let me know if you have any problems.

Thanks! That's very helpful, especially being able to see where the texture curves over the body.

 

[flightmech73]

This is sweet! I have a 24 scale die cast of Waltrip's first contact car. Im also a big Tony Stewart fan. This will be fun to tinker with. Ive never done a car like this so ill give it a try. Is there a dead line?

 

[B.J.]

^ You need to be done by the end of the month.

 

[Angry Angel]

Very original idea, I might join the fun if I can find enough time to photoshop.

 

[B.J.]

I sent my entry to Flux a while back. Just awaiting the renders now!

 

[Tiberius Jim]

^ Can you resend that BJ? I'm not sure where it is in my overly stuffed inbox.

The rest of you guys, send your paint scheme flat JPG's to james@jhodgedesign.com by midnight PST today and I'll do some quick CarViewer renders and make up the poll.