Race Vehicle Concept Design

Blender, Photoshop, Illustrator & After Effects Workflow with Chris Beatty

Design a near-future racing machine in this conceptual vehicle design workshop by veteran 3D artist and concept designer, Chris Beatty. Over the course of 8 hours, Chris guides artists through his entire design process, which he has honed over two decades of experience working in the industry designing high-profile concepts for motorsports such as for the world-famous Indy 500. 

Chris shares his extensive knowledge, skills, and techniques with artists of all levels who are looking to master a practical “form follows function” creative process. Grounded in real-world engineering considerations, you'll learn how to style a race vehicle with a touch of science-fiction for added artistic license.

This workshop uses Blender as the primary production tool. Chris demonstrates his Blender modeling techniques to sculpt the vehicle's form, showing how to maintain maximum creative freedom throughout the process. He also details how to extend the commitment point as far as possible before reaching the final modeling and rendering stage. The creative process is also complemented by Adobe Creative Cloud’s Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.

By completing this workshop, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of how to create vehicle concepts that balance function and artistic flair, leading to greater believability in the final results. These principles can be applied to any vehicle genre, whether a real-world race car or your next spaceship project. You should emerge from this workshop feeling accomplished and knowledgeable in the art of vehicle design.

The Scene Asset Animated Environment, Bike In Studio, and Bike Studio Turntable are provided as learning resources with this workshop. All HDR images are sourced from HDRI Haven; the rigged body model was sourced from CGTrader, and the motorcycle shock absorber model also came from CGTrader.