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WIP-Female RoboCop- Auto .40

I am currently working on a new character, a female version of RoboCop. This project is going to be focused on coming up with a character whose design reflects the myhtos in which the character is based; as well as show the ability to fully flesh out new ideas based on an existing IP. I'll do an actual writeup of her soon when I get the basic design down; but for a quick project while I write her story (whom I'm calling RoboCop Z for now), I'm updating the classic Auto-9 to something a bit more modern.
sidearmcompare.jpg

The Glock is the standard firearm for police now, and since it's the only true machine pistol made now, I figure it was fitting. It's a combination of a few different Glocks, so for the rest of you guns nuts out there, I know some stuff is different :P The frame is a compact so it should fit her body size a bit better. I've just starting roughing out the highpoly in Max. Sub-D. I've spent a little over 2 hours on it. Any critiques are welcome!!
auto40_1.jpg

Replies

  • Titus S
    Proportionately I think there are some issues on the slide and needs to be a bit taller... http://www.enemyforces.net/firearms/glock17.jpg

    It may be because of the length getting to me (or the grip being too fat), but even after covering a part of it it still looked weird.

    That's all I have for now since you said it's only 2 hours in. Are you going to add that top fin part on the slide from the old design onto this one? It will break up that straight flat part at the top and help making it look a bit more interesting.

    Good luck!
  • Godemper0r
    Hey, thanks for the reply. I'll check out the scale, but I've been using the size information from Wikipedia and from the Glock FAQ; and I also have a glock 23 and a glock 18c physically in front of me (the 18 is the same size as the 17). However, since i put the longer 17 slide on the compact 23 frame, that might be why it looks disproportionate. But, I will check out my measurements as I keep working. Thanks!
  • gauss
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    gauss polycounter lvl 18
    Godemper0r: thanks for posting, I see you haven't posted a whole lot since joining and hopefully that will change with this project. Take the time to comment on other threads--it's one of the best ways to drive traffic to your own thread. Oh, and get an avatar :)

    I'll say first up that I've previously considered how I'd approach a project so difficult as updating such a classic design, and first of all I think you've made a good call in going with a gender swap. This will in many ways sidestep some of the inevitable griping or comparisons that will be made, simply because a lot of people find it hard when you mess with an icon.

    I was initially resistant to the replacement of Robo's classic extended Beretta with a Glock, but your explanation makes sense.

    And the more I think about it, the more I think the difference in thinking and manufacture of the two weapons might very well provide a kind of key, an angle on the whole presentation of this project. (btw I like the nonchalant disclosure of an 18c sitting on your desk.)

    To wit, Glock was really a huge departure in thinking for what a handgun could/should be like. Materials especially. If you think about what really made Rob Bottin & co.'s Robocop design so interesting is that it's essentially grafting car concepts and styling onto a person. Robocop is like a sculpture, in many ways more abstract/mechanical than a person, along with the clear callbacks to classic robot designs all the way back to Metropolis.

    So using your changeover of the Auto-9 to a Glock, I think you've got an interesting angle on the whole project. The Beretta was a very old school kind of weapon design, just as Robocop's styling is very tied to car styling. I would carry over the material

    Additionally it's hard not to tie socio/technological parallels in any attempt to reconsider a modern Robocop. Detroit is in even worse shape than before, and I think it's worth pondering the associations and how that's changed--or hasn't really changed, in terms of the car industry 20 years later. Now nothing so literal as Robocop Z being like I dunno, styled like a Prius (please don't do this), but I do think in terms of materials and manufacture, the Glock or even the Magpul model is interesting to consider.

    I would not go with the obvious route of making Robocop Z carry SWAT-style or even the current tacticool operator type accoutrements. Again, consider that the original Robocop design succeeds largely by transposing vehicle design elements onto a person. For Robocop Z, I'd look for a similar "hook" to frame your approach. Military vehicles or something? Not sure. If you're not strong on concepting I would consider trying a style board of vehicles or really anything that carries the elements of style you're shooting for.

    Additionally, thoughts on the gun: I think it'd be cool if you played with sophisticated or highly modified features that correspond to a weapon designed solely for use by a cyborg? I'm thinking of like a palm biometric or even simply electronic/electric ignition system (so no one other than Robo Z can fire the gun), or in some ways eschewing/modifying traditional control features for it being such a special one-off weapon. Does a cyborg need slide serrations? Or might they be shaped differently, corresponding with grooved pads on her fingers?


    Anyhow, good luck and keep the thread well updated, I'm very curious to see this shape up.
  • Godemper0r
    Oh man, got kicked back to page four, guess that means I gotta step up the updates!! Been trying to put time into this, hard to work on art when you have a job as an artist. But, I've worked a little during my lunch breaks. Up to about 5:30 hours on this. My goal is to do the high poly in 10 hours (was trying for eight, but doesn't look likely :/ )
    I've been a longtime reader of the forums, but I've been under NDA for 3 years, and am just really looking to push myself farther than what has been allowed at my job. Thank you Gauss for such a warm welcome, as well as good advice to ponder on! I thought about the cybernetic interface for the pistol; but I am leaning against it for two reasons; one, she was designed as a combat platform, so I didn't want to include anything that would be "one off"; so in other words, the gun is a tool, and she should be able to use any tool, she shouldn't have an advantage with any weapon; so it's sort of like NATO rounds for guns, she can use anything :P. Secondly, and this is something I will address after the pictures with regards to some of your other comments, I want her to retain a human arm. The ability to use a weapon like others do, even the tactile sensation, is something she cherishes.

    So, the pictures. I've gotten the slide done, and a few neighboring pieces, gunna start working on the barrel and chamber next. Any critiques are very welcome!!
    maxgrab01.jpg
    maxgrab03.jpg
    maxgrab04.jpg
    And a closeup to show how the detail holds up at scale...
    maxgrabdetail.jpg
    Well, I guess I'll write another post to go over the character since this seems rather long, but I wanted to ask sub-d-ers out there if my wire frame looks sloppy. Does it really matter how it looks, or is it frowned upon to have the n-gons so visible (like towards the front of the slide and in the middle of the slide)?
    maxgrab02.jpg
    I just get jealous looking at some of you guys' high poly work, I just wanna learn as much more as I can!!
  • gauss
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    gauss polycounter lvl 18
    You're welcome, and I also support your reasoning, seems solid. I'm a total sub-d noob seeing as how I'm still knee deep in 445's ak tut, but in the grand tradition of polycount and other online art forums, I as a relative noob will advise you :)

    I think you've done a great job with the all-important details on the back of the slide, and the overall look of the gun. I haven't handled a Glock in some time but because of the materials it has a little softness to it that metal guns don't, and I think you've captured that.
    Yeah to avoid n-gons and triangles wherever possible is important, but i know after working alongside EQ's lazy ass in person and from what other very high quality sub-d modelers say, the proof is in the pudding. The final say is always the look of the final output, period. So don't sweat the little stuff that doesn't show up as an obnoxious smoothing error or something, you won't get thrown out of the club once you post the hipoly wires and they see the n-gons.


    (oh please I hope we don't get thrown out of the club I just paid my membership fees)
  • Godemper0r
    So, been a long while, this post is WAY buried now. Since I've been freer from work and posting more, I figured I'd start back on this.I've put in about 8.5 hours in it thus far. Excuse the black background, my background wouldn't show up, and I didn't feel like rerendering. So the design was based on the SEAL's mantra of "One mind, Any weapon," so I wanted it to be a "factory" glock 23 auto with an extended barrel and front block. So I'm kind of stuck on getting the Glock barrel to pivot and work with the redirected gas tubes and the front block itself. I'm aware of some issues, but feel free to critque!!

    618HP01.jpg
    618HP02.jpg
    618HP03.jpg
    618HP04.jpg
    618HP05.jpg
    618HP06.jpg

    I feel like I'm posting too many pictures...
  • achillesian
    why does she need a handgun?

    austin-powers-fembots.jpg
  • gauss
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    gauss polycounter lvl 18
    I think with what you've come up with looks like a cool solution, visually anyway. I'm not familiar enough with the way the Glock action cycles to understand the issue you're referring to, care to elaborate just a little bit what you mean?
  • Godemper0r
    Yeah, see the reason the original Auto-9 worked well is because the beretta 92 has a fixed barrel, meaning the slide moves past it cleanly. On a Glock, the chamber actually sticks up some, so to get past it, the barrel actually tilts back so the slide can move over that.
    glock_20-slide_open.jpg
  • gauss
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    gauss polycounter lvl 18
    Ahhh yeah I thought it had to do with the barrel/slide lock-up but I wasn't sure--didn't know that the Beretta had a fixed barrel. Well, relatively fixed, I assume it's not actually fixed to the frame like on an HK P7?

    Anyway yeah this does present something of an issue doesn't it :\
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