colt army revolver 1872

rockbox

hi folks im not sure where i should post this so forgive me if its in the wrong spot. im modeling this colt army revolver and i wandered if i could get some critique. its hi poly and no texture yet,not unwrapped.

Shogun3d

Screenshots would definitely help, feel free to edit your original post end throw some on their for some feedback.

jermaineb

post a picture :P

rockbox

oh wow i really didnt post a screenshot... haha whoops.
here:

rockbox

any crits?

ysalex

Not really much to crit. It's a black gun on a black background, so even if there was something to say nobody can really see it.

rockbox

its the first time i've posted anything on here to get help on how i could improve,what do you suggest i do as far as the background?

ysalex

Anything that makes the details easier to see. So if you have a black model, don't use black. Take a look around at what other people here are doing, and how they are presenting their work for critique.

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/6140/foldingmount1.jpg

Notice in how that image the artist uses a material that shows off the angles and surfaces well? Not too much specular and not too sharp, but enough to show curvature. Background could be lighter, but it works just fine, since it's light enough that the color never blends in with the color of the rifle.

sp0nge

If you're on max, just put a basic material on it and grab some viewport screenshots with wireframe on - might help us to get a warts-and-all look at the gun and offer some more relevant tips.

Polygoblin

50% grey background is a good start. Take you're time with the lighting and show off your model as best you can, even if only for critiques. The better we can see your model, the more feedback you'll get. Be sure to look at other people's work and seeing what works and what doesn't, both in wip and in the final shots.

This is an excellent resource for gun presentation - http://www.polygoo.com/

rockbox

sorry guys,i have no experience with lighting.i just put a white phong material on it and tried to angle it somewhat.i did try to change the background but with several attempts i couldnt find the right option to do so.

sp0nge, i tried to do the wireframe material by cloning the object and scaling it a little bit bigger to overlay the original model but it wasnt scaling right and the models couldnt line up..

Polygoblin

No worries. What software are you using? Maya? If you tell us, we can help you with your presentation stuff. If you save the render in a .png format, you can bring the render into photoshop w perfect alpha and create your own BG. Slight spherical gradients w shades of gray are my choice when showing wips.

rockbox

im using max,light tracer..im not sure what exact render option.

sp0nge

Hey, what I meant by wire-frame was literally just some screenshots of the window your working in with edges turned on - not necessarily a render. This render is a little clearer though so one thing I'd point out for now is the ends of the barrel and ejection rod or whatever its called look like the smoothing is going a bit crazy.

You could try just putting some of the edges along the barrel's length closer to the end to help mesh smooth (or whatever alternative subdiv your using) along. Take a look at the images attached and let me know if I'm not making any sense

Here, the edge is chamfered but not supported, resulting in a smoothing issue:



Here, with an edge or two closer to the end of the cylinder, the chamfered edge is supported and the smoothing looks a bit nicer.



It's not a major issue but just another discipline to hard surface modelling that's good to get your head around, supporting your sharp edges to get mesh smooth working in the way you want it too.

rockbox

sp0nge, i made a couple changes based on smoothing after reading your helpful tip,but im still trying to take a screenshot of the viewport...haha

edit: i downloaded the Grab Viewport script and took one with that.

Anthy9986

If you are using windows 7 you can use the snipping tool to grab a picture of the viewport otherwise PrtScn button works fine too.

As far as the model goes I would separate the handle from the body of the gun (sorry I have zero gun terminology knowledge) As the real gun would have a that as a separate piece most likely wood vs. metal. It will make modeling easier. You will also need the rivets that hold the gun together.

Could you post your reference that you are working from? Googleing 'colt army revolver 1872' gets a lot of different looking guns. If we had a picture of what you are working from we could better assist in telling you what looks off.

Anthy9986

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL925958D31D8D30C7

this is a good tutorial on creating a gun from start to finish

rockbox

heres the reference image im working off of:


and after seperating the handle from the rest of it and adding some supporting geometry:

Millenia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army

This is the revolver you're working on. Might help with getting reference images.

rockbox

yes thank you Millenia,thats a good reference image.it being darker helps.

rockbox

added some screws and the little rod bellow the barrel that pulls out to let the cylinder swing open.