First Sci-FI Gun

Artelios

I've gradually been improving since college and I'd like to create a concept model mixing the two concept images below and trying my hand at baking and texturing.


Here's what I've made so far.I feel like it needs more detail/decals/edges since it appears flat from the top/bottom perspectives. I'm happy with where it's going though. I'd love to hear feedback.

Xazas

While you chose two interesting concepts to combine I have a few problems with your outcome. Have you thought about how it would actually work as a gun?
I mean where and how is the ammunition fed in and how does the breechblock work? Also the caliber looks a but small compared to the bulky design of the weapon and the hinge where the stock attaches looks a bit weak.

Cactus on Fire

The designs look amazing. Know the artists name ?

Artelios

Xazas, thank you for your feedback!
I did a paintover my render with your critiques to hopefully address your concerns.
My thinking was the canisters could be a plasma'esque substance that are screwed and locked in place.

As for the breechlock, it was supposed to be a plastic tube that leads to the muzzle, so I guess that's a fail on my part. Have any suggestions how I could clarify that? Maybe some ring indentations?

I agree with the stock 100%. It's actually the reason I added the small support structure underneath rather than following the design in the first image.

Artelios

Cactus on Fire, the second image is from Vitaly Bulgarov. I forget who the first image is from.

http://vitalybulgarov.blogspot.com/

Xazas

With the paintover it looks much more funtional and by switching the grip position also more ergonomic. As plasma gun the question of the mechanism is of course a bit different because you have more freedom. Some ring structures as cooling mechanism or magnetic accelerator might look cool. With a sci-fi plasma gun you have much more freedom over how it would work as long it looks like it would work somehow, which of course it does now much more.

For the stock, it looks more stable now but is it still itended as a folding stock?

Your render and the paintover is so much fun to look at. It looks like a 3d print lying on a blackboard and now you glued on drawed on paper snippets and wrote with chalk on the board.

I am eager to see you progress.

Artelios

Xazas, haha, thank you. I'm glad I have someone here to give me feedback. I had meant it for a folding stock but I'm starting to think that given the size of the main gun, having it just be an extended stock might be better. I'll play around with how it could 'plug' in after work. As for now, I'm inhaling breakfast and need to be on my way. I'll have something up again tonight.

My girlfriend also mentioned that the grip should be higher up or the trigger somehow lower since it's too high for your fingers to naturally curve around it. What if I inverse the grip or would that make for too odd of a silhouette?

Xazas

Now that you are saying it, I have to agree that the grip is a bit out of proportion to the trigger. I can imagine two things, either the grip is to long and big and you bring it down sp you have a smg sized gun. Or you size up the trigger and bring it in proportion to the grip and have a a very bulky heavy assault rifle. But with the overall appearance I would go for the first option or meet the two part sizes somewhere in the middle.

Artelios

Alright, I've ridged the tubing inside, moved the grip, re-sized the trigger and grip, moved up the muzzle (it was lower then where the tubing was directed), fixed the hole inside the gun so it was just a deep indentation, and added a stock insertion to hopefully give it a more bulky appearance. Let's not forget the tube insertion either. I'll be redoing the canisters anyways. I'll play around with an oil can (as seen in Dishonored) versus a battery type appearance. Hopefully it looks more functional now.

Xazas

It gives a much better feeling now, good job. Waiting for more .

Artelios

Had been waiting for some feedback but I hadn't expected any soon given Thanksgiving, so I went ahead and did a low-poly bake just to see what I got. There's some issues, but they can be ironed out. I also have been commissioned to make a character so I'll be posting that in the coming weeks. As for now, I'll go ahead and finish this up- then take more feedback into my upcoming projects. Yay for time constraints. -__-

Artelios

The low-poly with a light in the scene.

Cglewis

Artelios great start bubba!!

Take what im about to say with a grain of salt i understand you are making a hybrid of the 2 guns on top, and also changing the type to plasma, you need to show that in the gun more than just a canaster also i would say you need to change the look of your barrel, right now your gun doesnt convey a plasma weapon type
I also did a quick paint over, the grip is a functionality idea, if you have a plasma canister in that location you might be inclined to use it as a grip and grenade laucher is just an idea i had to help you break up your shape and give it a more interesting silhoete, moving the iron sight to the back of the gun make the gun more usable, and then the vents on the top aid in the functionality of the gun, i hope this helps man! keep at it!

Xazas

I can't agree with you suggestion of the irosight placement. Take the scale of the weapon and the lenght of the stock into accout. If you set it to far back a character aiming with this fun would have the ironsight at a place that would make aiming very uncomfortable.

@Artelios
Why did you remove the grip structure on the front part?

Cglewis

@Xazas It looks roughly the size of an MP5, which its iron sights are roughly that far apart.

Artelios

Whoa Nelly. As for the grips, whoopsies! I forgot to unhide the layer in Max. That can be fixed easily.

As for the vents, I can rebake part of that back in, or attach external vent flaps. It'd give it more of a silhouette from the front/back too.

As for the sights, do I move or no? That's an easy fix as well. Obviously I'm not a pro at how guns work, so would it be better to start with a real one? XD

If you guys don't mind though, I've been commissioned to make a cartoony troll and one of my friends has a rifle I might be allowed to model shortly. Would you mind all critiquing that once I post it too? I'm loving having feedback so no worries about critiques.

Happy post-Thanksgiving too.

DWalker

Especially when starting out, it's best to work from a real design (or at least a detailed concept) rather than creating from whole cloth. Just as with people, guns have their own 'anatomy', ratios and proportions which have only gradually changed over the last 6 centuries. I'd recommend spending some time looking at and modelling real weapons.

Artelios

Well, I've done a few guns; a lo-poly MP5, a glock, a FN-SCAR and M590 shotgun. However, compared the awesome Lonewolf3d, they're nothing haha. There's a difference between modeling what I see though versus knowing the function of what I'm sculpting. Research, research, research. I'll have to start doing more of it. Thanks for your input DWalker. Love the goblin/troll you've started. Can't wait to see more

Artelios

So, the forward grip was baked on; but obviously didn't retain the silhouette. Here's the grip back in place on the lo-poly. Vents, soon to be added!

Artelios

Vents, like this?