M40 Sniper Rifle

[Jedah]

Current Polycount - 3000 tri
Max Polycount - 5000 tri
Where are you looking to receive criticism - I've decided I want to include an m40 in my portfolio I am working on. As generic a weapon it may be, I've always been a sniper in every fps I've played. Mainly just looking to receive criticism on accuracy.

One question though: how often do people even bother making Hi-poly models for weapons like this ? in an FPS where you are looking down the barrel a normal map would appear pretty faked since you are looking down the side. Plus it already has most of the non texture details covered. I'm not sure if I should really go for a hi poly version or not.
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Note that it is rendered alongside the image I used for a visual source, in order to help critique accuracy.

[DarkDali]

Hi, your model looks great.
I have no Critic.



Now to your Question:

I dont think that you really need a Normal Map. I also love modelling Weapons, and for some Weapons I need to make a High Poly Version and generate the normal map and for some other Weapons not. It depends on the complexity of the Weapon.

Just make nice Texture and the Weapon will be really great.

Cant wait to see the Weapon with Textures applied.

Greetz

DarkDali

[Detachable Toe]

The general form is looking decent enough to me, though keep in mind I know next to zilch about guns.

Nothing major that I spy, but compared to the rest of the gun the sight is very high poly, I'd think that the polygons could have been better distributed. The gun itself looks rather low poly to be paired to a scope as smooth and detailed as the one there currently.

Apart from that, the mass of tightly packed polygons at the stock of the gun seem to be creating some shading errors, and I'm not sure how the intersecting geometry at the base of the barrel/below the scope works with how the real gun is constructed.

As for your normal map question, although they're not really great for adding too large detail at grazing angles, I would perhaps think they'd still be good at creating a smoothing effect to the guns surfaces. At any rate, if you are to make a normal map, I'd put in the time to create a highpoly.

Looking pretty good so far, keep it up.

[requiem2d]

From you speaking about it, it seems like this would be an FPS-oriented piece. Could you please provide the first person shot to see how it would translate? Cheers

[Jedah]

Alright, I've given this an update.

I decided to give it a different texture then my source image since the texture in that picture is kinda boring/bland IMO. So Ive given it green camo instead of desert camo, some padding, and a red scope.

So far its diffuse only. I will probably add a specular map to give it more detail and some scratches in around the dirt as well as a basic but not overdone normal map later on.

[AlexanderSmith]

Hm.... Texture looks OK, but there seem to be some big stretching problems with the UV. I know the red lens spices up the picture, but I think it looks out of place on a sniper rifle.

[Kaskad]

If you're only showing a diffuse render, you might as well set it to 100% self illumination. Right now it's very hard to see anything. If it's already on that, then at least make the background a dark gray as opposed to black so we can see better.

[fabiodan]

Dammit it looks so dark on the render!

[Jedah]

Alright, heres a better render. Im mainly looking for any crit on the basic design, since the bulk of the gritty details on the metal will be done by the specular.

[Kaskad]

I'm really sorry to keep nagging about how you render stuff, I know you just want crits on your model/skin, but really this will help us do that so I feel compelled to say it. Don't have a bright color for a background. If you must use a color keep it very desaturated. When you have a saturated color background, it throws off our color perception. When you have a bright background your texture will look too dark. If you use a black background however there are other problems, like the model bleeding into the background and general not-good-lookingness. Just a plain dark gray will suffice.

Anyway. I'd redo the camo, or at least tweak it. Right now it doesn't really say "camo" to me. Make sure you have some different hues and saturations represented in there, give it some contrast. Even the woods aren't pure green; woodland camo will generally have at least some bark-color in it and multiple shades of green. If you weren't going for camoflauge I'm sorry, but that's what it looks like you were going for.

None of the metal really looks like metal right now. I'm not even sure if the buttstock is supposed to metal or polymer or what from looking at it. Define the materials a bit better. I think you have too much blue in there for one thing, and also it looks fairly cloudy. Might be smart to get an entirely new base. If you don't know what I mean by cloudy look at the bolt - it looks almost like you render > clouds'd it (even if you didn't).

I sort of understand why you might want to have a bright red scope, but I strongly suggest you don't do it. It's totally unrealistic, and you really don't see it much in games any more.

Finally, get some wear and tear on it! Be subtle of course, as you can crank it up in the specular for a neat effect, but make it visible. Whole thing is really plain-jane right now.