Been busy doing some sketches to get back into pencil drawing, so there's been only a little progress so far this week. Still, Christmas holidays soon, and I got a crap load done in the last two-week break.
I've changed the model of the pistol again,but it still isn't perfect. It's much harder to get the details right on a smaller weapon... the R.O.F.L.E. was pretty easy.
Render window on the left by the way, in case you were confused. You probably weren't but...
Rendered view of the side (OMG CURVED TRIGGER) Textures still look pretty crap on the curved faces, although the longer bit looks a bit better because I stretched the bitmap in photoshop.
Once again, Saturday comes swinging around to smash me in the face and show how slowly things are going.
Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh on myself, but 66 days sounds like a heck of a long time.
Anyway, this week I've been working on the 3d model for Failout's basic pistol. Modelled more closely to the conventional-looking 9mm from New Vegas, than to the unusual styling of the 10mm, the basic shape is coming along nicely. I think there are a few too many sharp edges at the moment, and everything just needs to be rounded off a bit.
Need to find a way of making curved triggers...
The pistol's iron sights. It's the picture that's squint, honest.
I haven't yet gotten round to animating the hammer movement yet, mainly because I found a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 (a legal one, by the way, with a registration key and everything) lying on a shelf in the house.
I've been playing around with it, and the first thing that looked fairly decent was stuck onto a wall in 3dsmax and rendered. So here it is, a whitewashed wall covered in graffiti. I'll probably use it in Failton somewhere - once I work out how to export 3dsmax materials to the UDK...
Boom, headshot! You're dead, Mr Grey Man With Massive Jaw... Guy.
Well, I've been working on a second weapon since Saturday: the pistol. Being as much the main weapon for the first part of the game as Fallout 3's 10mm, it's pretty important to get it right. I'll probably be using similar textures for the weapons, to keep a uniform feel, so I thought it best to make the pistol a grey metal with a wooden grip.
Ta-da! Done. Impressive, no?
Seriously though, this is as far as I've gotten at the moment. the blue bit at the back is still being worked on.
Going to put the trigger in, finish the back of the gun, add textures, put the hammer in and try animating it before Saturday.
It's Wednesday, and therefore time for me to write another post!
The past few days have been a little less productive than last week. But definitely not because I've been playing Black Ops. Which I haven't. Ok? Good.
I did manage to get a bitmap, together with reflective and transparency effects, to make a texture for the R.O.F.L.E.'s scope lenses which looks alright. I've also just started to make a metal shoulder thingy* for the stock, but rather unsuccessfully so far, because the stock is an awkward shape to fit anything on to.
"But that's just boring and see-through!"
Not when it's all rendered up, it isn't!
*Words escape me. Trust me, it's something hard to describe.
This week I've been using 3DsMax to make the R.O.F.L.E. (as seen in Wednesday's post). Creating basic shapes to form an object that resembled a gun was easy enough, however textures and advanced shapes are proving more difficult to master.
I've reshaped the stock of the R.O.F.L.E. into one block, with more rounded edges. I think this looks a lot better than the rather lego-esque version from Wednesday. Also, I've been looking into textures and have found out how to make the lenses in the scope reflective. However, circles are still playing havoc with my bitmaps, so I need to see if there's a better way of texturing them.
I haven't really started the small details on the weapon yet, but today I added a little plaque with the weapon's identity code and model to the side using a bump map texture. It'll probably only be visible when the weapon is on the ground, but I think it adds some needed character to the, so far, inanimate block.
Besides that, I had a very modest attempt at animating part of the gun. The reloading mechanism, which expels used cartridges and pushes a new one into place, can now move. I even made a short video clip showing it, although to be honest, that was mainly so I could try embedding a video.
Revised R.O.F.L.E. design
The more accurate shape of the stock
Small plaque showing rifle model and code
The new reflective lens. (purple sphere for demonstration purposes only, not included)
Introducing the iBlam R.O.F.L.E. from Capital Rifle Armaments Plc.!
Pre-production design. Subject to change.
The R.O.F.L.E. (or Rifle of Fairly Long Extent) is CRAP's most widely produced rifle model. As the name implies, the R.O.F.L.E. is a fairly long-barrelled rifle designed for accuracy at mid to long ranges. Coming equiped out-of-the-box with a 4x zoom telescopic sight, the R.O.F.L.E. is perfect for hunting, game-keeping and long-range personal defence in the case of a zombie apocalypse or Epic Fail incident.
Typically firing .44 hollow-point rounds, the R.O.F.L.E. is best suited against soft targets. However, compatable armour piercing rounds are also available from some retailers. Always remember to clean and maintain your R.O.F.L.E. regularly, after ensuring that the safety switch is set to "SAFE".
Safety first, please remember that the C.R.A.P. iBlam R.O.F.L.E. is a dangerous weapon! Do not attempt to use it as a toy, until you have removed the ammunition magazine and placed it safely out of reach!
The basic shape I started with, before magazine, scope, grip, trigger etc. were added.
A little further on, the finished design without a few details.
Completed design pre-texture.
Wireframe view.
Hopefully I'll get the texture/material stuff locked down soon, and will have tonnes of awesomeness to post by Saturday!
