Nothing bad on the modeling front, that all looks very solid.
Design-wise, though, it's much more lacking. The first thing that strikes me is how awkwardly your main shapes and materials are arranged. It looks more like a kitbashed monstrosity than a coherent design product. Shape-wise, the gun is spread into what feels like three unrelated areas: the front with all the round barrels/tubes, the middle with all the repeating vertical lines from the double rails (?) and the grenade launcher grip, and the back which is smooth, boxy, and has a lot of screws. I think the design would be a lot more coherent if you focused on some specific shapes, and made sure they repeated throughout your model in an interesting way (for example, maybe the front tubular elements are repeated somewhere at the back, or could add a boxy barrel element so all of your clean boxes aren't stuck in the same place). All of the rails sitting at the same level with the grenade launcher grip also creates an undesired tangent (where elements aren't intended to blend, but do because they're too similar).
Materials has the same "kitbashing" issue. I'm counting a good 8-9 different materials, with no good justification for it. You should start by defining one material for metals, one for plastics, one for rubber, one for cloth (your strap), and then adding variations only when absolutely necessary (to add contrast, when the shape of the design calls for it). A good example of where this went wrong is the gun body + accessories. You have a base green-ish matte metal, then some shiny, polished metal elements. However, on top of that, you have a different, slightly darker kind of matte metal (the rails and the front sight), a black metal for the barrels, two different kinds of camo (why would a gun even mix forest and desert camo together?), and that's without counting your other, non-metal materials! That's just way too much.
The last thing I don't get is the functionality of the design. There doesn't seem to be any sort of actual trigger (or related grip) on the gun. Aside from that front grip, how is it held or fired? The shoulder stock also has an awkward shape, and doesn't seem like it would provide much support. Lastly, a grenade launcher and silencer both feel pretty out of place on a LMG, and only serve to add confusion rather than reinforce the identity and purpose of the gun.
fhurtubise, the actual M249 SAW ("Squad Automatic Weapon") -IS- awkwardly arranged - it's a real weapon. He just added the chainsaw forward handle, and replaced the grip with a chainsaw grip.
fhurtubise first of all. thanks for you feedback. really appreciate it. The main problem with many weapon artists that I see on an artstation for example is that they dont define their materials well. the thing is that weapon is not made with 1 material like 1 kind of metal 1 kind of wood and 1 kind of plastic. Especially when there are so many moving and replaceable parts.
On this image you can see at least 7 different materials.
In tripple A game industrie you will want to have you materials slightly exaggerated. If it shines then let it shine more then in real life. If its matte then let it be really matte.
For the main shape I took a real weapon that was presented as a prototype machinegun on a weaponry exposition. Its a custom build
And again, Thanks for your feedback and happy new year
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the materials aren't accurate. They're fine on that front! The issue comes from what I find to be a lack of coherence.
You can find all sorts of "tacticool" weapons in real life - weapons modded with so many different aftermarket parts they start looking like LEGOs. Honestly, I don't think because those exist, we have to model them exactly the way they are. The great thing about 3D is we have absolute freedom to change our designs however we want - a part might not exist in a certain color in real life, but we're free to make it that color if it helps fit with the design of the gun better. Variation is important, but designing any sort of object composed of too many materials that exist only in one part of it is a bad design choice. Unique materials (like that silencer, or that ammo box) are good for accents, but if you put accents everywhere, they start to lose their impact.
There would still be ways to convey the sense of a gun being "modded" while keeping it attractive.
Replies
Design-wise, though, it's much more lacking. The first thing that strikes me is how awkwardly your main shapes and materials are arranged. It looks more like a kitbashed monstrosity than a coherent design product. Shape-wise, the gun is spread into what feels like three unrelated areas: the front with all the round barrels/tubes, the middle with all the repeating vertical lines from the double rails (?) and the grenade launcher grip, and the back which is smooth, boxy, and has a lot of screws. I think the design would be a lot more coherent if you focused on some specific shapes, and made sure they repeated throughout your model in an interesting way (for example, maybe the front tubular elements are repeated somewhere at the back, or could add a boxy barrel element so all of your clean boxes aren't stuck in the same place). All of the rails sitting at the same level with the grenade launcher grip also creates an undesired tangent (where elements aren't intended to blend, but do because they're too similar).
Materials has the same "kitbashing" issue. I'm counting a good 8-9 different materials, with no good justification for it. You should start by defining one material for metals, one for plastics, one for rubber, one for cloth (your strap), and then adding variations only when absolutely necessary (to add contrast, when the shape of the design calls for it). A good example of where this went wrong is the gun body + accessories. You have a base green-ish matte metal, then some shiny, polished metal elements. However, on top of that, you have a different, slightly darker kind of matte metal (the rails and the front sight), a black metal for the barrels, two different kinds of camo (why would a gun even mix forest and desert camo together?), and that's without counting your other, non-metal materials! That's just way too much.
The last thing I don't get is the functionality of the design. There doesn't seem to be any sort of actual trigger (or related grip) on the gun. Aside from that front grip, how is it held or fired? The shoulder stock also has an awkward shape, and doesn't seem like it would provide much support. Lastly, a grenade launcher and silencer both feel pretty out of place on a LMG, and only serve to add confusion rather than reinforce the identity and purpose of the gun.
The main problem with many weapon artists that I see on an artstation for example is that they dont define their materials well.
the thing is that weapon is not made with 1 material like 1 kind of metal 1 kind of wood and 1 kind of plastic.
Especially when there are so many moving and replaceable parts.
On this image you can see at least 7 different materials.
In tripple A game industrie you will want to have you materials slightly exaggerated. If it shines then let it shine more then in real life. If its matte then let it be really matte.
For the main shape I took a real weapon that was presented as a prototype machinegun on a weaponry exposition.
Its a custom build
And again, Thanks for your feedback and happy new year
You can find all sorts of "tacticool" weapons in real life - weapons modded with so many different aftermarket parts they start looking like LEGOs. Honestly, I don't think because those exist, we have to model them exactly the way they are. The great thing about 3D is we have absolute freedom to change our designs however we want - a part might not exist in a certain color in real life, but we're free to make it that color if it helps fit with the design of the gun better. Variation is important, but designing any sort of object composed of too many materials that exist only in one part of it is a bad design choice. Unique materials (like that silencer, or that ammo box) are good for accents, but if you put accents everywhere, they start to lose their impact.
There would still be ways to convey the sense of a gun being "modded" while keeping it attractive.
Please share you thoughts