Member Avatar for mikeandike22

ok here is my smg just tell me what you think this is just a crude model i still have to put textures on it using something like photoshop or fireworks. [IMG][/IMG]

  • 7 Contributors
  • 13 Replies
  • 305 Views
  • 2 Years Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Killer_Typo

Dani AI

Generated

A concise expert addendum for 's SMG thread.

The model reads well at a glance but is still early-stage: improving proportions, mechanical plausibility, and base topology will give far greater returns than chasing high-res paint now. Early attention to scale, silhouette, and where parts must move or mate will make texturing, rigging, and rendering much easier later.

Recommended low-to-high workflow:

  • Block out primary volumes at real-world scale using orthographic reference images.
  • Keep the receiver a clean, unified mesh but make moving parts (magazine, bolt, stock) separate so pivots can be exact (echoing ).
  • Favor quad-based topology and continuous edge flow; route loops around the barrel, ejection port, and grip where subdivision or deformation matters.
  • Add supporting loops to control bevels/creases; avoid n-gons and long skinny faces. If booleans are used for hard cuts, retopologize afterward.

UV and texturing tips:

Lay UV islands by function, place seams on hidden or interrupted edges, and pack for the intended target (single atlas for real-time, larger sets for offline renders). Bake high-res detail into normal/AO/curvature maps and drive albedo/roughness/metalness with layered photo-grain and subtle wear. A clean UV + good bakes delivers convincing material without extreme texture resolution.

Export and final checks:

Set pivots at hinge centers, freeze transforms, use consistent naming, verify face normals and smoothing groups, and produce LODs if needed for real-time use. A note on the math side: modeling and basic rigging rely on spatial reasoning and simple trig; complex calculus is not required for most work. These focused fixes make the model more robust for texturing, animation, and pipeline export.

Recommended Answers

All 13 Replies

Member Avatar for YoungCoder

I beleive you provided the wrong link and meant to post ;)

Member Avatar for mikeandike22

yeah sorry i just posted a link from when i was viewing it in my filemanager.

Member Avatar for Killer_Typo

its an alright model for a beginer, but its in need of alot of work. i used to model in 3d...a whole lot. but i just got bored with it. anyways. i would recomend boxmodelling, and trying to make it all one single object except for moving parts (clip, arm rest. dun worry bout trigger, unless you plan on animating it. also the firing mode switch)

Member Avatar for mikeandike22

Thanks K_t, hey im just curious do you have a modeling program that you think is the best to use. Right now i am using maya 6 unlimited. Its ok it took me not much time to figure out how to do fairly simple modeling and animation. I tried 3ds max but i didnt like the setup.

Member Avatar for Killer_Typo

Thanks K_t, hey im just curious do you have a modeling program that you think is the best to use. Right now i am using maya 6 unlimited. Its ok it took me not much time to figure out how to do fairly simple modeling and animation. I tried 3ds max but i didnt like the setup.

boy do i sure have one for you :-D

its called anim8or. its a tiny tiny program, and considered one of the most powerful for its size and the fact that its freee.

http://www.anim8or.com its got considerable one of the best user communities out there. ask and ye shall recieve. i used to model with that program. its got a very very easy design layout, and any questions you may have, i can probably answer because of how well i used to be with the program.

Member Avatar for mikeandike22

That seems a little more complicated compared to alias wavefront's maya unlimited. It may cost money but (bittorrent hint hint) it was used on things like the lord of the rings, and some video games.

Member Avatar for Killer_Typo

That seems a little more complicated compared to alias wavefront's maya unlimited. It may cost money but (bittorrent hint hint) it was used on things like the lord of the rings, and some video games.

its actually a vary simple easy to use program.

Member Avatar for gideon655321

sori to change subject but im also a maya 6 unlimited user and i think its the best program for cg but im absolutly crap and i need a tutorial or a website with a demonstration on please can sum1 help me?

Member Avatar for MasashiMikamida

For the Alias-Wavefront Maya Software, you need to know a TON of Calculus; mostly for creating animations like what was done in Toy Story (1&2), LOTR, etc.

The gun design itsself is O.K. but I agree, it does need work. But the extent of which all depends on what you want to use it for.

Member Avatar for mikeandike22

if you want a good website to teach you maya try digital-tutors.com the can teach you the basics and you could buy their training kits if you really want to learn stuff. their tutorials are all quicktime video format.

Member Avatar for aeinstein

boy do i sure have one for you :-D

its called anim8or. its a tiny tiny program, and considered one of the most powerful for its size and the fact that its freee.

http://www.anim8or.com its got considerable one of the best user communities out there. ask and ye shall recieve. i used to model with that program. its got a very very easy design layout, and any questions you may have, i can probably answer because of how well i used to be with the program.

what about pov-ray? it's free, has a great user community & evidently produces great images - although i believe the learning curve is a bit steep.

(note: my 3D imaging experience is relegated to running through a few "Simply-3D" tutorials, so saying that i'm NOT an expert is quite a bit of an understatement. just posting an observation of my own.)

Member Avatar for jwenting

Discreet (Autodesk) have a free modelling tool called GMax you can download from their website (and is also distributed by many games these days).
Aimed squarely at computer game users and manufacturers to create objects for a 3D gaming environment it's highly powerful and relatively easy to use.

Not sure if you can easily export the models to other formats, if not you could just export them to your favourite game (check the game for instructions, it usually comes with the tools) and use that as a rendering engine.

As to povray, it's a nice tool. Didn't know it still was being updated, not used it in years.

Member Avatar for Killer_Typo

what about pov-ray? it's free, has a great user community & evidently produces great images - although i believe the learning curve is a bit steep.

(note: my 3D imaging experience is relegated to running through a few "Simply-3D" tutorials, so saying that i'm NOT an expert is quite a bit of an understatement. just posting an observation of my own.)

it's been a while since i have looked at pov-ray but i believe it is a powerful rendering engine with only a very simple modeling interface.


it is entirely scripting based too (or at least last time i checked...several years ago :P)

needless to say though if you can become very well with it you can create some very powerful renderings.

look into a piece of software called rhino3d last i remember it was pretty damn cheap and extremely powerful.

it works using NURBS (heheh thats one of the first websites i ever built right there). and has a rendering engine that can produce some sexy images.

its expensive to buy, but if you can prove you or someone you know is a student or teacher and then have the student/teacher buy its only 195...which is a steal for what it is. btw it also has a free trial.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.