[WIP] Sci-Fi Gun

polymunkles

I just started working on this gun off a concept by Blaisoid. Hopefully with everybody's help I can make something nice out of it. I'm new to 3ds max as well as game asset modeling where polycount matters and the process of normal map baking. I'm sure there will be plenty of things I do wrong or could have done better so thats where I need your help.

heres the original concept art



and here is what i started with as a rough blocking out



and here is where my lowpoly currently is, im not sure how many tri's i should be aiming for so ive only tried to add edges to help with the silhouette when needed





any comments, suggestions, anything would be greatly appreciated like i said i'm new to all of this so thanks ahead of time

respawnrt

Don't rush it, even at blocking stage there is no need to have one mass if there are different parts in the model (orange, blue, green).Fix that flat area, post more.

polymunkles

sorry i didnt have the color seperated, they are already different chunks to make modeling and baking easier. heres an updated pic with the seperations showing and an updated flat section. i also changed the width of where that section was to give a little bit of a lip where the rounded part where the hole is on the other piece

polymunkles

Blaisoid

Hey, nice start. i really like the way you handled the transition from grip to body since on the concept that part is really flat and undefined.
The grip looks a bit thick at the moment, it seems like it would be uncomfortable to hold.

i know that in side view it's often hard to tell what's going in some areas on so i made a quick mockup to show you how i pictured the gun in 3D in my mind:

polymunkles

thanks that extra painting helps tremendously!

polymunkles

so based on the extra artwork i started rounding out the top of the gun where the ridged area is and also started to add detail to the trigger area and what i would call the ammo clip under the barrel. ive also thinned the handle and split it and the the upper back part of the gun into two pieces for easier modeling of the detail in the handle since the upper part is still pretty rigid looking.

right now the low poly is sitting at around 1900 tris is that okay so far? i have no idea what i should be aiming for. i know silhouette is key and ive only been adding to help add to the areas where it would make a nicer silhouette and also adding the initial lips and edges of things

Blaisoid

cool, looks much better now.

right now the low poly is sitting at around 1900 tris is that okay so far? i have no idea what i should be aiming for.

polycount depends on the destination of the gun.
FPS games require very detailed gun models, tpp and other genres not so much.

i recall that most weapons made for Darksiders 2 were somewhere around 1500-2000 tris, and that's a TPP game.
For FPS guns polycount of 5000 tris would probably be still pretty low.

polymunkles

Blaisoid wrote: »

cool, looks much better now.


polycount depends on the destination of the gun.
FPS games require very detailed gun models, tpp and other genres not so much.

i recall that most weapons made for Darksiders 2 were somewhere around 1500-2000 tris, and that's a TPP game.
For FPS guns polycount of 5000 tris would probably be still pretty low.

Thanks for the info, i think i might do a version for each just to practice the different levels of detail, the tpp low is almost done then lol and the fps ive got plenty of tris left to cut in more detail

polymunkles

currently stuck working on the high poly, obviously since im new to this i figured id run into some problems and heres my first one.

edge termination without ruining the nice smooth area of another part



i extruded in the ridges in the grip but i havent been able to figure out the best way to terminate the ends. in the concept art the gray piece between the brown grips has a nice smooth flow to it. if i continue the edges all the way across from one grip to the next theres no pinching as far as the grip ridge goes but then i lose the nice smooth flow of the gray part from the extra control edges in it. on the other hand if i terminate the ends into two triangles at the end the gray part keeps its nice flow but then theres terrible pinching where the ridges in the grip meet the gray part.

i need help lol ive spent quite a bit of time trying to figure this out with no success

respawnrt

No need to make that in one piece.Separate the parts just like it would be made in real life.

polymunkles

you know whats funny like 20 min after i posted this i thought about seperating them but i wasnt sure if that was the best way to go haha.

so for the high poly i can seperate out as much stuff as needed?

respawnrt

Sure, in this case u need to bevel that part a bit so it's not exactly 90 deg when you bake.Anyway it looks ok from the blockout concerning the angle.

polymunkles

so heres a current highpoly WIP









still a few areas im not happy with and then there will be some floating geometry added in for the bake as well

lightbird

Great progress. Im on same train, just trying to get into game art. It will be interesting to follow this. I might take some knowloedge with me from here and Im curious how it will turn out. Take care!!

LaurentiuN

Hi man good luck with this be carefull when doing your HP model, make your edges soft, it will help you when bake normal maps check attach for more info.:)