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Sci-Fi Assault Rifle

polycounter lvl 11
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Darkmaster polycounter lvl 11
Hey guys, first post on polycount! Looking forward to getting some good critiques from as many people as possible. I'm studying to become an Environment and Prop Artist for games, and I'm trying to learn as much as I can from places like polycount. Please be honest with me, and tell me how you see it. Sugarcoating never got anyone a job.

Here's a sci-fi rifle I've been working on. I drew a lot of inspiration from the marine rifle from Starcraft. This high poly version weighs in at 14,020 tri's but this is definitely still a work in progress. All crits are welcome.polycount1copy.jpg

Replies

  • kjell
    for a high poly it's hasn't got much details, all surfaces are pretty flat, also that cilinder thingy on the side sticking out is way to blocky!
  • achillesian
    yeah i'm a little confused myself about the polycount, is this for ingame, or for the bake? Because at the moment it looks somewhere in between.

    The beveling on the clip looks like its from a high poly, and pretty much all the tube things like Kjell said look blocky like a low poly.
  • odium
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    odium polycounter lvl 18
    High poly doesn't always mean the same to some people, dont forget that. To some people high poly just means "Its got a lot of polygons".

    To be honest, I still have to agree with the points presented. Its far too high poly for ingame use, without actually using the polygons as well as it could. With that polycount I shouldn't see any harsh edges in curves/tubes yet I see them all over.

    For an ACTUAL high polygon model that will be used to for bake, its far too low poly, with no edgework/chamfering done at all on anything.
  • sltrOlsson
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    sltrOlsson polycounter lvl 14
    Agreeing with what's all ready said, the handle looks to straight and the grip in the front is to wide. But i think the basic concept of the guns is cool. Good luck!
  • Asteric
    I think that the base of the gun, the receiver etc is just too blocky, there is no interesting shape to it. And i am reading it as more of a cardboard/hand made gun, or a toy one. I would try and get the base shape more intriguing.
  • doeseph
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    doeseph polycounter lvl 7
    That has to be the most uncomfortable handle I have ever seen on a weapon, especially with how big the weapon is. And I'm not seeing "Assault Rifle", I'm seeing BFG or some plasma-bio-dark-energy-shooting heavy weapon. I also agree with the other points made in this topic, up the poly count.
  • Darkmaster
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    Darkmaster polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks for the input guys. I am going to definitely up the poly count and create more details for this gun. Also going to change the grip for sure, because it does come off a little awkward. The reason that shapes are so blocky and large is because of the style that I am going for. Exaggerating some of the shapes and proportions like in Starcraft is the direction I am heading in, but if it's still not working after some iterations then let me know. Thanks for the crits guys, more to come.
  • brandoom
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    brandoom polycounter lvl 13
    Not a bad start Darkmaster,

    One thing i noticed you've add a bunch of detail, but some of it doesn't look like it belongs. In particular, the piece you have sticking out from the bottom of the gun, bellow the the barrel. The top rail/sight needs a little lovin too. It doesn't seem to fit the rest of the gun.

    As well, keep in mind that right now all your details are extruding from the gun, don't be afraid to 'dig' some details into the gun.

    Keep working :)
  • Sean VanGorder
    Ah, I remember the day someone showed me how to do the ol' clay render. I then proceeded to get a verbal ass whipping from the pros. ( I think they're just sick of seeing them). ANYWAY. There are a lot more appealing ways to present your work, such as these sweet materials created by SyncViewS. http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=69829

    They include AO, just like the clay render method.

    And I second everything that has been said in this thread. Great start though!
  • SouthpawSid
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    SouthpawSid polycounter lvl 7
    Galen, looking sick! Welcome to PC! Ok man, like everyone said, this needs a little bit of work to be a high poly. I do like that your starting your high poly model before doing your low poly! The right choice for more complex hard surfaced objects such as guns. As far as the amount of details go, I think this is doable, but of course you can always add more depending on your design. What you need to be taught is edge control in conjunction with the turbo smooth modifier. This done correctly means nicely beveled edges all through out your model on every piece. I shall give ya a run down of it all in class next week! (This is Brad btw) Keep up this awesome work man, it's good to see potential coming out of our school like this during the times it's going through!
  • Darkmaster
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    Darkmaster polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks for the crits guys, I'm really learning a lot in my first 24 hours of being on polycount. Here's an update with the gun I'm working on. Rendered with some different settings to improve presentation. Let me know what you guys think!polycount2copy.jpgpolycount2copy.jpg
  • Darkmaster
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    Darkmaster polycounter lvl 11
    nowire.jpgDid some smoothing and edge control here to get a much smoother looking surface. Polycount is now sitting at 44K. Let me know what you guys think!finalhighpoly.jpg
  • Raider
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    Raider polycounter lvl 9
    generally i find the best results for the high poly are putting in control edges and using a turbo / meshsmooth over the top of it..

    1. it gives a smoother surface and better curves
    2. you can see how well the control edges are actually working and get rid of any rigid surfaces where there shouldn't be

    polycount means nothing on the high poly, you want the best possible results for when you bake onto the low, if i need 1mil polygons to get the best hpoly i can, then it's going to get 1mil polys
  • Wyldcard
    This is just a style thing, but you say "assault rifle" and it seems more like a pistol.
    The front grip feels too small for someone to effictively grab,
    It just feels a tiny bit out of perspective.
  • Darkmaster
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    Darkmaster polycounter lvl 11
    Wyldcard,
    The part that you are referring to on the front of the gun is not a grip, its a guard/melee piece. The grip for the gun is actually behind that part and is held like an assault rifle. The angle of this render is probably what is giving it that look.
  • Kevin Albers
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    Kevin Albers polycounter lvl 18
    Looks pretty cool to me so far...much better now that it's not too low poly.
    +1 vote for using subdivision surface models for many parts of an object like this (using turbosmooth or some other subdivision surface technique).
  • GarageBay9
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    GarageBay9 polycounter lvl 13
    That pistol grip is really, really bugging me. 30 seconds of holding on to that pistol grip, and the user is going to be more inclined to throw the gun at the enemy than torturing his fingers by holding it any longer. Plus, the vents, piping and general detailing on the front suggests a LOT of heat buildup. There's not much there to keep somebody from cooking the skin off their support hand.

    And last, I think part of it is that so many my-first-gun-models and I-tried-3dsmax-today-at-school gun models have that square 90 degree grip, nothing you do to it will make it look right. It's going to drag down the rest of the model.

    I can see you're sort of going for a Warhammer / classic Quake type 'big brick fusion assault gun' look, but right now, along with the grip, there are bits and pieces that are keeping the design from working as a whole.

    The pistol grip is one, and it's probably the worst offender. The curved mags are another one - they don't mesh well with the rest of the design, which uses a lot of rings and cylinders and embedded rings and cylinders, but doesn't really have any terminated arcs. The mags are also oddly small compared to the rest of this huge, bulky weapon. Both of those make the mags look very out of place. Try experimenting with a big drum magazine or a dual drum, I bet one of those would fit with the cylinder aspects of the design and look very cool. Look at AK drum mags and Beta-C mags for good reference.

    The last thing I would revisit is the rail along the top. It looks almost decorative and the angled pointy part at the muzzle end looks particularly out of sync with the rest of the design. I can't even really tell what that rail is supposed to be - carry handle? Melee guard? Iron sights of some kind? Its purpose needs to be much clearer and the shapes need to work better with the rest of the design.

    My apologies if this comes across kind of harsh. You've got some very nice hard surface work there in lots of places, and the underlying idea has a lot of great potential, so keep pushin'!
  • Harry
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    Harry polycounter lvl 13
    its it made to be held by a human?
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