Ionized Gas Rifle

KSMO

Hey guys, this is another project for my modeling for games course. The assignment is to collect reference and create a gun in 3d. We have to come up with something other than a gun that shoots bullets.

I have decided to go with a plasma rifle. Im not much of a concept guy, but I have mashed together some elements from concepts gathered online.

still working out all the shapes but heres my latest drawing.

KSMO

OK, started to block in my weapon. Still trying to figure out how all the shapes should work together. Here are a couple progress shots of my block-in.

I plan on bringing the stock of the gun into Zbrush, and then back to Max to re-topo.

I have also included an image of the silhouette from the side view. Im wondering how well it is working.

Any feedback or suggestions are much needed.

KSMO

ok, So i have really been struggling with the design elements of this gun, because i suck at concept. but i think this is pretty good. the low poly is also modeled, but not at the baking state. so if anyone has suggestions, now is the the time

KSMO

Hey thanx for the feedback! just to make sure im on the same page as you... is this the area you are talking about?

and what do u mean by barrier, like a space between the handle and the metal piece?, i was already planning on making the piece connected to the back of the handle out of metal. can u give an example?

njc6425

looking good man

KSMO

Some progress shots from my high poly. I was thinking about adding the knife mounted to the back handle of the gun. what do you guys think? I'm not sure if its going to "make the cut" har har.

any ways... let me know if its good or bad.

today is going to be my last day of high poly modeling. I will probably be prepared to bake this prop by the end of the day.

Xelan101

I think agree with Saso, even if you don't want to make it a retractable bayonet, there's still better locations to strap a knife on this think. I'd say if you want to keep it strapped on rather than a piece of the gun it might be better to make it have a spot on the main body of the gun where it's clipped into place or something.

n88tr

don't you think it's funny you think in the future we use super advanced guns like this yet we still use melee bladed weapons?

Snader

Not really. We have plenty advanced gunnery compared to say... the mid 1800's, and we still use knives a lot. Knives are (one of) the most timeless tools in human existence.

KSMO

Finished the normal bake and all the shadow maps for my prop. I will be texturing for the rest of the day

Computron

DAT BAKE.

Jessica Dinh

Indeed a gorgeous bake :0

Snader

Sexy bake.

The mesh/grid/grip surfaces are rather noisy though. If your posted image is the actual resolution, you may wanna tweak the detail density of those parts, and make the shapes a bit softer. In any case, make sure you keep contrast and noise in check when working on the final materials/textures.

KSMO

Thx, I'm stoked on the bake. I realize there are defiantly some issues with the stock of the gun. It was a challenge for me, I brought a base mesh from Max into zbrush, where created the grips for the stock. This was essentially my first crack at hard surface modeling in zbrush. Unfortunately i am on a very strict time limit for this project, so i will have to work with what i have.

textures to come.... later tonight.

strobelite

I trust you remember the purple and pink color scheme I recommended for your gun.

Seriously though, awesome bake.

KSMO

interrogator_chaplain

How did you achieve the texture on the grips of your high poly?

KSMO

It was defiantly a challenge for me. I started by creating a high-poly version of the shape of the grips. then i imported the model into Zbrush. I don't know if you are familiar with Zbrush. But, essentially I masked out the parts that I wanted to have the bumpy grips and turned them into separate poly groups. i believe I used The expand function to push the grips in a bit. I then created the alpha map for the bumpy grip part, and hand placed the grips into position. I used a hard surface brush for the other details.

I hope that was not to vague. let me know if u have any questions

Computron

Are you using a spec texture or a gloss map? you should really put the oil stains into the specular, make your diffuse more plain and work on defining the materials through the spec and gloss.