Going to get cracking on this workshop in order to help me with my hard surface and high res modeling. Being able to compare workflows makes this very interesting and educational

Any tips on how to best present my model (for critiques AND for display) would be great. It is something I struggle with frequently.

*edit* - I should mention that I use Maya 2010 and ZBrush 3 - *edit*



As you can see, I chose to go with the single-plane-extrude method because it seemed to make the most sense.



Rounding things out, and trying to not get ahead of myself...

C&C is welcomed and much appreciated

SESO! SESO! SESO!



Going to finish this piece off when I can get this dern' tail-end part right...

Looks like you're progressing quite nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. At this time, I don't have any suggestions - you're still in an early stage - but your geometry looks clean. Nice work.

I'm getting there, I think...

Almost finished with this piece...

Still got some work to do around the bolt, but a majority of the main curves are done.

I believe this part is done. Moving on...

Before you move on I'd suggest re-checking your results vs your reference.
The left and right sides of the gun are not completely identical. Specifically around the bolt/action/ejection port. the reason its tapered down on the right is for the ejection port; lacking that on the left side theres no sever taper. Theres also no bolt cradle for the bolt handle on the left side.

[PDF] Winchester--Anatomy of a Bolt-Action Rifle <<-- In case you're wondering wtf I'm talking about.

It seems like you're trying to rush this instead of just working at a natural pace, and letting your speed develop over time.

Originally Posted by Grimm_Wrecking

Before you move on I'd suggest re-checking your results vs your reference.
The left and right sides of the gun are not completely identical.

It seems like you're trying to rush this instead of just working at a natural pace, and letting your speed develop over time.

Ahhhh, I see what you're saying :



Thanks for pointing that out

And if by rushing, you mean all the posts, then its just because I've had the past two days off ;) I wanted to start making a habit of uploading WIPs.

Fixed the side opposite of the bolt. Added screw grooves.

Sleep......

Okay, so maybe I was rushing

Trying to get faster as soon as possible, I missed a few details. I am realizing that I have to take my time for now. Rushing now, only to work backwards later, is not more productive ;)



I am having trouble with the "grip design" on the end of the stock. I think I'm going to have to check out SyncViewS's .obj for a tip on how to address that. Thanks, Sync

Right Side

Left Side


I've been cleaning up the mesh and blocking out the other main shapes. Its taking me a while, but I'm trying to be patient. Doing this workshop was a great idea. I'm learning alot!

Anyone know of any really good ways to get a wireframe shot in Maya (besides screen capture)?

As always, C&C is welcomed and appreciated

Working on the other shapes. I'll get back to it when I get home from work tonight. Mass Effect 2 will be hard to pass up, though ;)

Next, I have to focus on the barrel, action, and scope.

C&C is welcomed and appreciated

lookin really good, keep it up

Fixed the hard edge that used to around the grip. Cleaned up the topology and addressed lots of other little problems.

Still working on the scope and action. I'll show it when I get a little further...

Still looking for better ways to show off my wires, if anybody has advice ;)

Hey man it looks really good so far. I'm glad to see another maya user giving this a stab.

I'm really curious about your render setup....mind sharing secrets?

And check this out http://mayastation.typepad.com/maya-...rendering.html

hope that helps

Originally Posted by kyle.rau

I'm really curious about your render setup....mind sharing secrets?

Thanks for the wireframe tip!

Its actually a very basic setup, really. Basic blinn material (with reflectivity OFF) and a THREE POINT LIGHTING SETUP* (Key light, fill light, and back light all done with Maya spot lights) works pretty good for me.

I render it using Mental Ray (on "Production" quality) and render a separate ambient occlusion pass (Maya standard AO preset). I multiply the two passes together in Photoshop and, bada-bing, its render-tastic!

* - I try to use lights that have contrasting colors. It tends to add alot of "flavor" (for lack of a better word) to the shot. Try experimenting with a light blue for your key light, and a soft orange for your fill light. Remember to keep the saturation low. Different colors will be better for different shots.

I should mention that I am not "in love" with this setup, and will be completely open to any other techniques you guys would like to share

Ah spot lights. I was doing basically the same but with point lights. I'll give it a go. I'm really trying to perfect my 3 point lighting set ups.

I don't know if you'll find this useful, but a technique I have been using recently is mental ray's sun and sky. (example: http://www.kylerau.com/wip/WIP1.jpg). I'm sure you know how to make it (button in the indirect lighting tab...). Then, you need a ground/backdrop. For my render, I made a cylinder and chopped off the top, smoothed the sides, making a studio lighting type of backdrop. Slap a lambert on it, but make it really really dark... almost black. I added a little orange/brown in it, but its basically black. Maya's sun really brightens up the lambert. Turn FG on, and play with the sun direction. The soft shadow was achieved by turning up the Shadow Softness on the mia_physicalsun node it created and messing with the samples.

Thanks for the tips, Kyle. I really like the way you get a showroom feel with that technique. I'll give it a look.

Thats some nice high res work, too You know the images in your thread are broken?



Working the scope...

This scope is quite an obstacle! Having a tough time finding adequate reference. Chipping away at it, though...

C&C is always welcome and appreciated

I did not know that! They are fixed now.

Looking clean. The scope looks good, I bet the center part is tricky though. Have you attempting the grid pattern on backside of the shoulder pad on the stock?

A roommate of mine happens to have an airsoft replica of this gun (or something very similar), so I took a bunch of photos for you (including many of the optics). Let me know if you need any more. The offer will be good for only probably a couple days.

http://dim.blenderge.com/Images/Rifle_Images.zip

Originally Posted by kyle.rau

The scope looks good, I bet the center part is tricky though. Have you attempting the grid pattern on backside of the shoulder pad on the stock?

That middle part was a real toughie. Had to think about it for a while. As for the back-end stock grip, I tried it and failed miserably Put it off until later in hopes that I will find a better idea on how to address it. Thinking of floating it, but I wanted to avoid floating anything...

Originally Posted by Dim

A roommate of mine happens to have an airsoft replica of this gun (or something very similar), so I took a bunch of photos for you (including many of the optics). Let me know if you need any more. The offer will be good for only probably a couple days.

http://dim.blenderge.com/Images/Rifle_Images.zip

Wow! That's fantastic, thanks When I read that you said it was an airsoft replica, I had no idea how similar it was! Looks like it hurts.

Oh, and be sure to post this package on the GAWS #4 Main Thread. I'm sure lots of other people will appreciate your effort

edit* - That middle part IS a real toughie. ;)

Just a little update on the progress of the rifle's scope and action...

Awesome! Loving the pyramid grip on the scope. Keep it up man