AK-47 for a Cry Engine 3 project
Hey fellas!
So i have began working on a AK-47 for a buddies game project and i'm going to make everything from start to ingame and ready with animations etc. Considering all the great feedback i have gained from my other threads i thought i'd upload my progress here on this gun as well to see if there is something you fellas notice that's wrong etc.
Feel free to come with critique i do appreciate it very much!
So here is a image from Day 1, still alot of details to add etc. Take them with a pinch of salt.
Day 2, i worked with the iron sight. Might add a rail beneath it 2mrw to make it look a bit more detailed.
Cheers!
//Johan
So i have began working on a AK-47 for a buddies game project and i'm going to make everything from start to ingame and ready with animations etc. Considering all the great feedback i have gained from my other threads i thought i'd upload my progress here on this gun as well to see if there is something you fellas notice that's wrong etc.
Feel free to come with critique i do appreciate it very much!
So here is a image from Day 1, still alot of details to add etc. Take them with a pinch of salt.
Day 2, i worked with the iron sight. Might add a rail beneath it 2mrw to make it look a bit more detailed.
Cheers!
//Johan
Replies
Proportions look good though.
Some parts are quite nicely done, especially the stock, pistol grip, trigger and trigger guard/mag lock.
Other parts, however should be revised. The front-sight and gas-tube (the gas-block is OK, though) are for example completely wrong. For some reason, the receiver is overlapping the dust cover, when it should be the other way around... The rear sight block is a bit weirdly modeled, too - it's correct on the side but the back and front are wrong (the back should overlap the dust cover a bit).
Basically, my advice would be to get a closer look at your documentation or find some more reference pictures. Right now, it's not too bad, but it would look much better if you fix those details.
And, as said previously, the edges are way too sharp. I have a tendency to make somewhat sharp edges myself and these are too sharp even for me - that tells.:)
besides those, the big soft matte white lighting makes it tough to see the technical side of the modeling, things like smoothing issues and edge widths which have a large impact on the final baked result. i'd really recommend a darker and glossier material
Things to change according to your feedback:
* Smoothen up the edges (Not too much or else will look like plastic)
* Rework the gas-tube and front-sight. Would appreciated if you could send me a image of accurate ones Stoy78 considering when i look up AK-47 on google most images got a pretty similar one to the one i have made.
* Make it into a milled receiver instead of stamped. Change the muzzle.
* The receiver is overlapping the dust cover, thanks for pointing this out!
* Could you expand a bit what you mean is wrong with the rear sight block? Thx!
Amsterdam: Could you give a tip of a good material? Been trying to find one on internet cause i am pretty new when it comes to rendering stuff in Max so would appreciate some tips of how to render weapons better, i do agree white matte ain't the best to show off weapons with.
For comparison:
AK type III (last production model and most common AK47):
AKM (this one has an AK103 polymer mag):
Here are some pictures of the rear sight block:
http://0.tqn.com/d/hunting/1/0/k/A/strip_06.jpg
http://aa-ok.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/k/ak-071.jpg
https://www.apexgunparts.com/images/AK47/Bulgarian%20AK47%20Rear%20Sight%20Block%20Complete.jpg
http://www.robertrtg.com/images/akm_rearsightblock.jpg
http://www.surplusgunnuts.com/images/part2/rear-sight-block-and-pin-lg.jpg
http://powercustom.com/store/images/MojoAK.jpg
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQtEzimROSUvoqHujpECjCzDqFFo63Bclj3ZLQivdEwmraNZDy5
Some of these are from the AKM, but it's the same for all AKs. As you can see, there's a lip at the back, that keeps the receiver cover in place. The front is closed on top and maintains the piece that locks the top handguard/gastube.
Some details for the gas tube:
http://www.robertrtg.com/images/ak47gastube.jpg
http://www.robertrtg.com/images/akmgastube.jpg
As you can see, the design hasn't changed much for this part either - the only difference between an AK47 and an AKM (and later) gas tube is the AK47 tube has eight vent holes (4 on each side), whereas the later models don't have these (the vent holes are on the gas block itself).
This is how the cross-section of the gastube looks like:
http://imagepicsa.com/img-51c1d88c30f43.html
Note also the details on the handguard retainer.
Here's also a picture of the lower handguard retainer:
http://www.surplusgunnuts.com/images/part2/handguard-retainer-lg.jpg
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTP5gGxOY5vZHG-ATVzmZqZqU4Rs64TwHMxracaUbhvmAxqYpy3
The things sticking out from the right side are the locking levers.
This is AKM and later, AK Type 3 (what people usually call an AK47) doesn't have a sling ring - on that particular version, it is on the bas block. However on earlier versions of the AK47 (AK Type 1 & 2), it is present.
The front sight block, now:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x309/scottmn_photo/auctions/DSC01906.jpg
This is from an AKM, the AK47's front sight is somewhat different :
http://browningmgs.com/T2T3/Photos/Sightposts_T2T3.jpg
The above is a comparison between Type 2 and Type 3 sight blocks.
And this is the front sight itself:
http://stores.homestead.com/polytechparts/catalog/70-01-32.jpg
http://www.northridgeinc.com/productImages/resizedItemImages/AK_47_PARTS_012.JPG
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41tnI3OzZ3L.jpg
It screws in the sight block and can be adjusted up or down.
On the last image only the one in the lower right corner is +/- standard, the rest are custom made replacements.
If you want to, you can also simplify the mag lock a bit, although the way you did it isn't wrong - it exists too, but takes a tad more polys:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41tnI3OzZ3L.jpg
About edges, you do have to exaggerate them a bit on the high poly, in order to get better results ingame. Otherwise it would almost look like as if there's no normal map at all. Not saying you should "melt" your AK ('cause I've seen people overdoing the "overdo" part - at least in my opinion
Today i have remade the receiver into a milled one and also i have added Carrier spring, i could not find a good image of a legit carrier spring so i kinda made one by just looking at different references. Didn't got too much done today unfortunately! I do have a few smoothing issues at some places that i have to fix also.
(Huge image)
Again thx Stoy79! This is the reason why i upload my stuff here, you guys give great feedback!
The Carrier spring is way simpler. Just a cube sticking out and cut at an angle.
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd293/LX_Kid/2012-12-29_20-15-40_332_zps82a58be1-1_zpscbecfd2c.jpg
Here's a picture of an AK cover, so you get an idea how big the hole should be (this one is from an RPK or AK100 series, the AK47 cover doesn't have that "lip" on the side):
http://www.dandbmilitaria.com/images/T/ak47-akm-top-cover--7191-p.jpg
One more thing, that usually can't be seen on pictures - the hand guards are larger at the back (the width of the receiver) but get narrower at the front (about 7 mm larger than the gas tube's diameter on both sides).
Here's a very good site for reference, especially for the AK47. It should tell you most of what you need to know on the subject:
http://browningmgs.com/T2T3/Kalashnikov.htm
Another great source, "THE" reference site for AKs - Tantal websites:
http://www.avtomats-in-action.com/
http://www.avtomats-in-action.com/pro21.html
http://www.avtomats-in-action.com/pro27.html
Unfortunately, some of the pages seem to be dead...:(
a material dark in the diffuse, higher in gloss, and higher in specular value will call attention to the modeling - with bad modeling, it exposes problems; with good modeling, it shows great, clean edges and curves.
with max this might be a straight up new material adjusted for these values; with maya, you probably want to create a new phong and then adjust the color map input and various specular properties
I wouldn't worry about it looking like plastic. If all the metal parts have the same chunky edge treatment, and all the plastic parts have a different (wide and soft) edge then there will be a clear separation of materials, and it will look killer.
Is it going to be one of those threads?
As i just said m8, working on it