SIG P226 DAX (highpoly)
polycounter lvl 18
This is a pistol that im working on at the moment that will eventually be used to generate a normal map for a lower poly version. Its a SIG P226 DAX. I choise a simpler object first cause I've never attempted to normal map something before. I figured why not practice on a prop for the character I was to eventually going to make anyways. As of right now I only have the lower portion finished. I still need to model a clip and slide with barrel and hammer. When modeling for harder edges I found it easier to simply chamfer edges on the lower poly end than to tinker with weighting vertices and edges in the high poly end. Let me know what you guys think and any sudgestions you might have for when it comes time to normal map it. I'll eventually post the low poly form once I get it finished.
And the two main reference pics I'm using.
And the two main reference pics I'm using.
Replies
Besides that, not much else to say at this point since its pretty early. Get it finished and repost it.
and here's some other views
Open action
Left
Back
Let me know what you think.
theres no firing pin when its open , and no cartrage ejection arm on the slide, dont get me wrong , it looks really nice
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The firing pin is an internal component of the pistol that you wouldn't be able to see unless you disassembled the firearm. Are you referring to the 'hammer' (the part that cocks back and strikes the firing pin)? That part of the gun is attached to the frame, and doesn't move with the slide when you pull it back. You're right about the ejector, though.
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you should model it with the clip out, then position the spare inside, as when it animates with the clip coming out, it would look weird if it was still full...no?
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I think he did model the magazine seperately, and he put that second one in there so you could actually see it unobstructed by the pistol.
My only criticisms, besides the ejector that Thermidor has already pointed out, is that some of the edges look too soft (which kind of make the gun look like it's made of clay... but that might also be due to there not being any materials applied to the model yet) and the mag release button doesn't look quite right. First of all, the button should only protrude on one side (left side), and the edges shouldn't be soft. I think it would look better if it was just a simple cylinder without the edge chamfered at all.
Otherwise, it's a pretty accurate looking model
Just to let everyone know, this model is meant to be used for normal mapping. I left out the firing pin inside the action simply because adding the detail to a part of the gun you'll almost never see is a lack or time management. I figured I'd just leave that to the texture to supply that detail.
gir: the clip is seperate. I took the extra time to make sure they fit together right. Looks like it was worth it if I made someone think it was all one peice.
Thermidor: There is a magazine release right next to the trigger, if thats what you mean by cartridge release. The only thing I think you might be getting it confused with is the hammer docking level. This part lets you return the hammer to its default postion without having to supress the trigger. Most pistols of this kind are single and double actioned. Single action meaning after having been fired once, the slide automatically leaves the hammer in a "cocked" or pulled back position so that the next suppression of the trigger is easier and will result in less movement of the hand and a more accurate shot. Double action is where the hammer is in the default postion (forward) and in order to fire weapon you can manually pull back the hammer till its cocked and then squeeze the trigger releasing the hammer or pull the trigger fully to get the hammer to move back and then release. Most however perfer a single action option cause using the trigger to both pull the hammer back and release it requires more strength and results in a jerking of the hand once the hammer gets to its firing postion. Think of a tug of war contest where you're using alot of strength to pull but the other team just lets go of the rope. The sudden lack of required strength would cause you to fall over or in the case of pulling a trigger in a double action mode would cause your hand to jerk or flinch, which is not wanted when trying to be accurate. This model of the 226 is a DAK model or aka "DAO" which stands for Double Action Only. With this the hammer is never left in a "cocked" postion when the slde is forced back so there is no need for a hammer release level. They developed this for police and military origionally to prevent against accidental firing. Like this the only way to fire a round is to pull the trigger. I guess people were forgetting to uncock their hammers after use and having the gun go off without pulling the trigger. Here's some pics I put up to show the different parts. Is the lever im talking about the lever your thinking of?
It's a sweet firearm.. The newer version (which all the rookies have) is the blued version with nickel trim on certain parts, like the magazine release, slide release, barrel and grip screws..
Nice work so far man.. keep it going..
Hunter: I've always been an avid rifleman myself and enjoyed using them. If it wasn't such a pain in the arse and costly to get a pistol permit here in NYS, this is defiantly the pistol I'd get. I was also looking at the Walter P99 and the new Baretta PX4 Storm looks pretty mean if you ask me.
Here's some pics of the low poly version to be normal mapped. As of right now the gun and clip is at 1536 tri's.
Not sure if that's high or low, but I'm guessing that for any engine that supports normal mapping (like HL2), that that isn't too bad for a fully functioning and animate-able weapon.
Thing to know about the models are this:
-High Poly model is result of edit poly with 2 mesh smooth iterations.
-Low poly model was formed from welding verts and simplifying the high poly model(before meshsmooth was applied).
-Both models' faces are all in one smoothing group
-Both models' X-formes were reset after completion and the center point of both models are the same when models are overlayed.
-Both models were exported with Max's default gray material at its default settings.
Ok now in the first image there's a render of the hi and low poly versions of the clip and the normal map that was generated using the ATI renderer. The second image is of the settings I have for the ATI renderer (which are pretty much default). As you can see, the area inside the red box of the normal map should be one color and not an even gradient of multiple colors due to the hi poly's underlying normals all facing the same direction (this from what I understand of normal maps anyway). Does anyone know and use any of the normal map generators for Max7 and can help me fix or input the correct settings that will produce a correct normal map? I've tried breaking up the model into different files for the differnt parts and gotten similar results. I've even tried moving the different elements (clip, grip, slide etc) away from eachother to prevent interference from one another. As of right now I'm stuck and am getting very fustraited. Help me out please if you know anything on this subject.
Just to note, this normal map was created with Max 7's normal generator. I am going to try out this solution with both Nvidia's and ATI's apps and I'll let everyone know how it came out.
Its true , ATIs normal mapping tool dosnt like smoothing groups to be different on the model.
As far as the coloring process, I had to stop and think a little about what I wanted to paint because I'm use to faking volume by painting highlights. I kept looking at the texture and thinking that it was very bland and that something wasn't right.