Introduction
Hi, my name is Mattias Holsti, I'm a self-taught 3D Artist.
Goals
I didn’t have any specific goal in mind more than to find a bolt action rifle that looked interesting to model, modern and somewhat modular.
Softwares
Software used in this project.
•Blender
•Zbrush
•Substance Painter
•Marmoset toolbag 4
References
When I start a new project. I always start by looking for reference images on the model I’m going to create. I usually create two reference boards in PureRef, one for modeling and one for texturing.
The more reference you can your hands on the better, not always easy to find for both old and modern weapons, but sites like firearm manufacturers, google/different web browsers, blog/reviews sites, Youtube, firearm auction sites and more can really help.
Modelling
When it comes to the modeling part. I start with setting everything up in Blender, import my side reference image of the firearm and start modeling the cartridge, barrel and last magazine to help me with the proportion of the rifle.
I go from blockout/semi-blockout, high-poly to low-poly. I also use Zbrush for a lot of my complex shapes to polish and for the more simple shapes I use a standard subdivision modifier with support loops and creases. There are also some floating meshes I use too.
I sometimes use Zbrush to add more details to the high-poly like dents, edge wear, welds and other small details, but for this project, I decided to add those grooves back on the pistol grip with an alpha.
I also prefer to work non-destructively as much as possible, so that is why I use a lot of boolean shapes to cut away parts of the mesh to form it to the final shape in the end, but also so I can go back and change things if I need to.
Making the low-poly is just a copy of the high-poly with all boolean meshes, where I collapse, merge and delete all the unnecessary edges and parts that are not needed.
UVs and Baking
Since I want it to be modular, parts like stock, bipod, mag and so forth will be on their own UV map/texture set. I also look for parts of the mesh that I can use mirror/overlapping UVs or like a single screw that can be used in multiple places, so I then can maximize the texel density and UV space as much as possible.
I also use the UVPackmaster addon for both helping with overlapping UVs, but also packing my UVs.
Baking is nothing special. I use paint skew and look for other things that can cause issues and bake my maps that are needed for Substance Painter.
Texturing
Texturing is one of my favorite parts, and before I start texturing I spend a little bit of time working on my second reference board where I look for things like materials, interesting spots and micro noises you can add to give your model some character to it.
A good thing to have is a library of folders with all the materials references you could need, like polymer, wood, gunmetal materials, etc.
I try to keep things in balance when I texture, so not too much or not too little, or as we say it here in Sweden, Lagom.
It can also depend on the weapon, or look you’re going for. More modern keep more in balance and old weapons maybe have more wear and tear to them.
When that is done, I start from a blank layer and start adding layers to form my base material. When that is done I start adding interesting spots and other details to give it more of a used look. Or the look I’m after. I also use a lot of custom grunge textures and other stencils to push the textures more.
Rendering
When it comes to rendering, I use Marmoset Toolbag 4 for my render scenes. I start by going through all my render settings and start setting up folders with models, cameras, lights, etc. Rest is to position the camera, model and a with dark scene start to add lights to catch highlights on the subject and highlight interesting places.
For this project, I also used Megascans to add a wood floor, which I then took into Toolbag 4 to tweak further.
The last thing I do is to take the renders into Affinity Photo where I put the finishing touches to push render images a bit more. A good place to find inspiration for renders or even materials for your textures is to look for firearm/gun photographers’ sites.
Conclusion
That’s it! Thanks for reading and thanks to Games Artist for inviting me and letting me write this article.
