[WIP] SRS99AM

AverageAce · Apr 2020

Hey guys! A little late in the development of this project but I feel like there's still a lot of room for improvement. I started this project as an homage to my favorite game series of all time and one of my favorite weapons from it. Along the way I tweaked some of the original design's features to make this thing look more realistic and more like an evolution of today's modern distance rifles. I'm very happy with how it's coming along but I still think it could be better, though I feel like I've been staring at this thing way too long and I'm missing somethings. If you have any ideas on what I could improve on this technically, artistically, textually, or any other -ally you can think of, please let me know! Help me tear this thing apart and make this thing the best it can be. All feedback negative or positive is greatly appreciated. Thanks for visiting!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/oc/i2dmdvibrh8c.jpg

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Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/gj/m77aoagfw0tm.jpg

kanga · Apr 2020

Looks super. Just the right amount of grime. Are you going to do a game ready version?

teodar23 · Apr 2020

Looks game ready to me!
But i do see your point, about how it could be improved.
Modeling wise, i cant fault it for anything, seems pretty well done. You could post some wires if you would like some feedback on that front. Also, i dont know what game you are reffering to or what was your reference so i cant say anything about accuracy or likeness.
The material definition is hit and miss with the biggest problem being that metal doesnt look like metal, its more like a dull plastic. The rubber end for the stock looks also like plastic. Bipod legs seem to have some rust on them but the roughness looks the same everywhere. That seems to be the case in other parts as well.
As for the presentation, it looks like you are using marmo but not sure. The shadows have a stairstepping effect like they're low rez. The lighting is mostly from above and not very interesting. I would suggest using a good hdri and rely less on scene lights.

AverageAce · Apr 2020

kanga said:

Looks super. Just the right amount of grime. Are you going to do a game ready version?

Thanks Kanga! Not really sure. I started out wanting this to be game-ready, but it ended up coming out to 110k tris. I ship out for basic training soon so I'm not sure I'll have much time to improve the polycount before I go but it's definitely on the docket when I get back!

AverageAce · Apr 2020

teodar23 said:

Looks game ready to me!
But i do see your point, about how it could be improved.
Modeling wise, i cant fault it for anything, seems pretty well done. You could post some wires if you would like some feedback on that front. Also, i dont know what game you are reffering to or what was your reference so i cant say anything about accuracy or likeness.
The material definition is hit and miss with the biggest problem being that metal doesnt look like metal, its more like a dull plastic. The rubber end for the stock looks also like plastic. Bipod legs seem to have some rust on them but the roughness looks the same everywhere. That seems to be the case in other parts as well.
As for the presentation, it looks like you are using marmo but not sure. The shadows have a stairstepping effect like they're low rez. The lighting is mostly from above and not very interesting. I would suggest using a good hdri and rely less on scene lights.

Thanks for the feedback, Teodar! I'll address your points in order:
- Cant believe I forgot to post wires, I'll fix that!

- This rifle is the sniper from Halo: Reach, I should have added that

- I did break the rules a bit in regards to metalness. I wasn't getting the look I wanted with full 1 metalness so I followed the lead of Stefan Engdahl and used a grey metalness to try and achieve a kind of non-metal finish since I wasn't really finding a way to achieve the look of an alloy that has non-metal properties in addition to metal ones

- This isn't the first time the rubber has been called out, I'm having difficulty achieving that one :P

- The bipod legs have a lot more dirt on them since I figured they were the component touching the ground more than anything, but the fact that it's reading as rust isn't a good sign.

- I am indeed using marmo. I'm using a high-contrast HDRI with 21 EVs with added directional lights. Admittedly, lighting isn't my strong-suit and the jagged shadows have plagued me a lot in Marmoset. I'm unsure how to deal with them

I've tried adding width and length to my lights, but whatever I'm trying isn't working.

Thank you so much for your feedback!! I hope this doesn't come across as rejection of your input, I just wanted to offer my thought process behind the decisions I've made. Much appreciated!

AverageAce · Apr 2020

What are your thoughts on how the lighting could be improved?

AverageAce · Apr 2020

Wireframe:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/ty/mzirrljf5egl.jpg

kanga · Apr 2020

The wireframe looks super. Looks like you only put edges where you need them.

Top job!

teodar23 · Apr 2020

Good looking wires! A bit on the heavy side as far as polycount but i guess its ok for a portfolio piece.
About metalness, i believe that painted metal is somewhere in between metal and plastic but its hard to determine where exactly is a certain material and its even harder to generalize. It depends very much on the type of paint and the method of application, layer thicness, etc. So, it is fair to say that, in lack of scanned real world measured surfaces, we just have to eyeball it. Looking at loads of pictures of guns, i noticed 2 types of surfaces: 1) one that is anodised soft painted with a powder coat, wich has a high roughness and high metalness (but not 100% - nothing is absolute metal or absolutely rough) because the underlying metal comes through the thin layer of paint, and 2) second type that is heavy painted and almost like plastic with low roughness and low metalness.
As for rubber, its even harder to nail down, for me at least. I think the secret of making it look not like plastic is to add a bit of metalness to it.
Regarding rendering, i tend to avoid marmo because i think its not the best medium to showcase a model. I use it because its above max's viewport capabilities and rendering stuff every time i make a small change is no fun. I suggest setting up unreal to do renders because it has greater flexibility and improved rendering capabilities or using something like keyshot. But if you prefer marmo i would use cascade shadows and contact shadows, at least for some of the lights. Also, crank everything up to 11 even if your framerate sucks.

lluc21 · Apr 2020

teodar23 said:

one that is anodised soft painted with a powder coat, wich has a high roughness and high metalness (but not 100% - nothing is absolute metal or absolutely rough) because the underlying metal comes through the thin layer of paint.

I always thought metalness should only be set to 1 or 0 for a material to be PBR, as there is no material that is between a metal and a dielectric. Maybe what you're referring to is a clearcoat layer?

teodar23 · Apr 2020

Well no. Think about it, you have your bare metal, almost chrome like and you apply a thin layer of spray paint on it. What happens is that the base material properties blend with the paint layer so there's no 0 to 1 transition, its more a value in between. Of course this depends on the type of paint, number of layers, etc. Think of dye and how it tints the object being painted. So some of that metal comes through the paint. A clearcoat layer is a thick layer of transparent paint, basically. It shows the underlying surface, like glass, but it doesnt change its properties.
Most gun parts are anodized which means the metal is oxidized on purpose in order to increase resistance to corrosion. In that process the surface becomes more porous aka rough. So higher roughness in general, as a side note. Another thing that is usually done during anodization is dyeing the part. A lot of options here but usually gun makers go for the matt black. Also some metals oxidize more dark so no dyeing neccessary.
Yea, so this is me procrastinating on wikipedia instead of working...

lluc21 · Apr 2020

teodar23 said:

Well no. Think about it, you have your bare metal, almost chrome like and you apply a thin layer of spray paint on it. What happens is that the base material properties blend with the paint layer so there's no 0 to 1 transition, its more a value in between. Of course this depends on the type of paint, number of layers, etc. Think of dye and how it tints the object being painted. So some of that metal comes through the paint. A clearcoat layer is a thick layer of transparent paint, basically. It shows the underlying surface, like glass, but it doesnt change its properties.
Most gun parts are anodized which means the metal is oxidized on purpose in order to increase resistance to corrosion. In that process the surface becomes more porous aka rough. So higher roughness in general, as a side note. Another thing that is usually done during anodization is dyeing the part. A lot of options here but usually gun makers go for the matt black. Also some metals oxidize more dark so no dyeing neccessary.
Yea, so this is me procrastinating on wikipedia instead of working...

Could you post a reference image of what you mean with the metal with a thin layer of spray paint on top, so that it lets through properties from both materials? I couldn't find a reference online and I'm having difficulty trying to visualize that lol