DEBRIEFING: ANALYSIS OF THE M16A2 ASSAULT RIFLE MODEL FROM OUR SUBSCRIBER

We randomly selected one of the works that a subscriber sent us, and together with our artist we made a detailed analysis of it. We hope that the material will be useful and help you pay attention to some non-obvious nuances. Happy reading!

High Poly

The first thing that catches your eye is the chamfers. They are absolutely the same whether on metal or plastic. I advise you to make smaller chamfers on the metal to better differentiate the materials. And you shouldn’t make all the chamfers of the same size on the same part.

For example, on the lower receiver, the part near the trigger is much softer than the cut on the upper receiver, and this is due to different metal processing. But this is a separate big topic.

As for the geometry itself, despite the fact that it is stated that this is an M16A2, in fact we have a mixture of M16A1 and M16A2. The main differences between the A2 and the A1 are the fore-end and rear sight, a different shape of the rammer button and a cartridge deflector. If the last two - not so noticeable elements - were done, then the first ones were skipped.

I assume that this is due to the fact that there was no main reference, which is why it turned out that the M16A2 received some parts from the A1. Before starting work, I advise you to find a set of good quality photographs of the same machine and use it as the main reference. And if necessary, if some details are not visible, you can turn to other references, but at the same time carefully ensure that it is exactly the same weapon, the same model.

I would especially like to note the flame arrester, which is not at all similar to its real counterpart, and is also very small in radius. A bullet simply won't pass through it. Modeling must start from the bullet, because this is the only size that can be found without problems. The size of the barrel and magazine depend on the size of the bullet, and the rest of the gun is built on them.

Not everything is smooth with proportions and details either. It would take a long time to say this, so I’ll just note it, and readers can play the “find X differences” game themselves.

And on the butt there is not enough fastening for the strap, and on the other side of the receiver there are many inaccuracies, and the pins are not the same shape. Each such correctly repeated detail is a huge plus for interestingness and realism. All this must be done exactly, or at least very close to it.

I advise you to look at refs as much as possible, especially when you are just at the beginning of your creative journey. You grow as an artist only after you become more attentive.

Many people, when learning 3D, essentially learn to press buttons, ignoring the entire art component. In addition to the artistic base such as colors, composition, etc., there is another important thing that some people forget about - the ability to see.

This is exactly the same skill as the ability to move polygons, texture, render. And this ability is more important than others for an artist, because it is because of it that you see things that you have not seen before and begin to bring them to life. And while you are implementing them, your technical skills are already improving. This is best illustrated by the following picture.

Textures

On the whole gun I see only 3 materials, gray metal, plastic and dark metal. This is certainly not enough; more work needs to be done on the variety of materials. This does not mean at all that each metal should be absolutely unique, but it is worth dividing different parts at least by color and roughness, even a little, so that it is noticeable.

As an example:

It would seem like one machine gun, but the lower and upper receivers are very different in color. The same should be with all pins, buttons, etc.

The metal itself, in its texture and roughness, is more similar to plastic than to metal. If all plastic parts change color and slightly reduce the texture, then the materials will be indistinguishable. It is worth working more on the difference between materials, because they are determined not only by color and texture, but also by roughness and damage.

Each material has its own wear patterns, and I don't really see them here, but they would go a long way in adding interest and character to each material.

Hand scuffs on the plastic, scratches and chips on the metal, oil marks near the pins, small dents and uneven texture. I see that the artist tried to do some of these things - like small dents in the metal and barely noticeable scratches, but you have to look out for them.

Upon a quick inspection of the closeups, they are not noticeable at all. And the scratches that you added should be added not to the hight channel (after all, it’s difficult to make a scratch on metal that will be very deep), but to be indicated by color and roughness. This is both more noticeable and more realistic.

In general, there is a very lack of detail in the textures, and what is there is not very diverse. Even from an average distance, everything seems to be filled with one color. There is nothing to catch the eye. There are no accents, no interesting places that I would like to look at. When collecting references for textures, you can step away from your machine and look at others with the same materials.

The same M16A1. Interesting details can be borrowed from completely different guns, if they fit the logic and functionality of your machine gun. You can see what other guys were doing on ArtStation. All the top artists add a lot of interesting details, and the gun itself looks great due to interesting color and raff variations, they work well with texture, and work out large, medium and small shapes.

It’s worth looking for photographs at gun auctions, and taking for reference only those guns that have something interesting on them, something that immediately catches your eye. An unusual stain, an interesting scratch, a strange accumulation of dirt. All these are your points of interest with which you must litter your gun. But without fanaticism, it is important to show that this gun was in the hands of a person, that it was used, and not that it is a barely working piece of metal.

Find the closeup reference in very good resolution (like at the beginning of the article). Sit and look at him for 5 minutes in a row. Notice all the details that you can. Not a single surface will be uniform, there are some spots and colors everywhere. Somewhere it is dirt, somewhere it is a dent, somewhere it is a scratch, somewhere it is a stain, the origin of which can no longer be determined. All this gives the gun realism, life, and all this should be displayed on textures. Here is an example of such analysis in one of the articles.

Conclusion Well done for not being afraid and asking for a feed. Personally, my growth began only after I found reliable comrades in this field and began asking them for personalized feedback.

And many times my mistakes were pointed out to me, and many times I deleted the entire project in SP and started all over again, but all this was not in vain.

I wish you not to stop in the middle and continue your journey in 3D, we all succeeded, and you can too. But so that you move along your path faster, I’ll remind you once again: pay close attention to references. And only after you learn to see, will you learn to do and will grow as an artist much faster. Best wishes!