Based on people have designed by far i can draw one conclusion: almost all of your designs are based on bumper intakes and stuff like that, while the shape itself stays the same. Why not sketch something really unique and cool, something like a wide body kit design that is flows throughout the whole car so you can modify/replace everything that's in the way. What some of you have come up with is very basic and not designed well at all. It makes me think that some of you just open your 3d apps and start modeling whatever you can, cutting holes wherever you can and adding grilles and fins and shit everywhere. But a few people here have designed some unique ass kits that are definately original and not boring (not gonna mention any names here).
So what i wanted to do with this thread was to give some ideas/advices to those who keep on coming up with ugly designs.
See, when you look at a stock 350z you can tell that it's not as impressive as it could be, but it still has a lot of potential.
The most important part of your car is the wheels (unless you've already spoiled it with an ugly kit). Here is a perfect example of how shitty rims spoil the whole look (even with a nice kit like that): example_1
And here is one that is 100% hot because the wheels got style: example_2
The only thing that's different (design wise) is the wheels. And see how much difference it makes when you have shitty rims + tires versus bigger, better rims + tires.
So the first thing you need to keep in mind is: no matter how cool your kit is, if the wheels suck, the whole thing dies. Put your car on some tight wheels and see what happens to it. So the first thing is: wheels
The next thing that makes a big difference is how low your car sits.
Take a car that has 100% style (kit + rims + all the other shit) and let it sit high (stock springs): the whole car will look ugly. But if you lower it right to the point where it looks cool, then it gains a lot of style right there.
Here is a 350z that is not lowered: example_1
And here is the one that is lowered and has a lot of style cuz of that: example_2
As you can see, both versions are stock (except for the rims), but, when lowered, you know which one looks best.
The second thing is: lowering
The third thing that is very important is: your rear wheels have to be wide enough to fit your body kit. Since it's a rear wheel drive type of car the rear wheels should always be wider than the front wheels. Both front and rear wheels should be on the same level as the body (if looking from top). If you choose to lower ur ride extremely low, then u'll have to set the wheels inwards a little more so your tires can go under the fenders without touching them (for that you can tilt your wheels about 1 degree so ur car will look like this / \ (looking from the rear view).
Never make your front wheels as wide as ur rear ones if u want style (unless it's a front wheel drive car, not in this case).
Here is a perfect example of a bad taste in wheels and alignment and all that shit (see how the rear wheel sets in too far, that means the front and rear wheels are the same width-no style there). example_1
Your tires should be very low profile to gain more style. The lower the profile of ur tire is, the bigger you can make ur rims (the hotter it'll look).
Your brakes have to be decent too. No need to model anything fancy, but at least do some basic brakes. Of course, if u put something cool on it it'll look better.
And now, your kit: How to design your own kit...
Sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and have in front of you some pics of cool kit designs. Now, try to combine the elements that you like the most on those pics into one or two bumper designs (take an air intake from one and some other element from the other and put on one bumper). Now choose the bumper u like the most and add a few of your own elements to it. Now that you have something you like, it's time to think about originality. Come up with something that would look unique but still retain all those things that you like on the other bumpers. The best way to design a unique kit is to do a wide body one (unless you can come up with something unique + cool and still keep it standard). When u have a wide body kit there are a lot more things you can add/do to it that'll make it unique. What most people forget is that you can't just keep on cuttin out holes for your intakes everywhere and think it's cool: you have to come up with something that people would most likely buy. Do it as if you were doing it for a real car, your own 350z.
The rear of the car is the best part (i think) because you can put some cool exhaust pipes there. You can add carbon fiber parts (not the texture, just some addons). Well, i can't really help you much with the design part because that's what this contest is about, but remember to put some cool wheels on ur car.
Here are a few cool 350z's and other cars (attached). You can use some of those elements of design to come up with your own kit, but make sure u do not copy anything 100%.
