Another handgun... Gallery-worthy?

# 1 12-04-2005 , 10:17 PM

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Hi there!

Maya never ceases to amaze me... This is the first time I have effectively used bumpmaps (and nothing but), and I have concluded that they rock.

This model (of a Walther P99 - roughly) is made up of about 1,000 polys, and the rest is just bumps. It's about as close to photorealism as I have got so far, and I was wondering if it might meet the requirements of the gallery...

So dear moderators, keep me posted!

Any suggestions, c & c are welcome of course.

Cheerz,
Mr. Deak

P.S. sorry for the corny choice of a handgun, but I happened to need one in a short I'm working on...
D.

user added image

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# 2 12-04-2005 , 10:27 PM

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Hey, that really is nice work. I suggest fixing the bluriness on the handle of the gun. The little rubber bumps dont have the 3d effect that it needs. But great work. Also just one quick question. Do you suggest any good tutorials on bump mapping. Im just a newb and have heard (and seen(as in this post)) some great stuff with them.

Last edited by alienscience; 12-04-2005 at 10:32 PM.

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# 3 12-04-2005 , 10:41 PM

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The quick response time of this forum never ceases to amaze me either...

Thanks for the comment, Alienscience!
The blurriness on the handle (and the slide) is caused by the DOF (something I hadn't use before either), but I agree that it hasn't worked out the way I wanted it to... Something I'll have to work on user added image

.

Any suggestions regarding the rubber bumps on the handle? I think they look okay, but that may just be the afterglow of finally finishing something I'm really satisfied with...

Thanks again!

Chrz
Mr.D.

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# 4 12-04-2005 , 10:57 PM

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Ow, about the tutorials... No, none that I know of. I'm sure they're around, but I just sort of messed about until I liked the result user added image

.

If you're any good with Photoshop (or something similar) you should be able to get decent results quite quickly. Just remember to forget about shadows and stuff like that, because Maya will do that for you! Bumpmaps tend to look really bland until you apply them to your model.

And just taking a look at other people's bumpmaps helps you to understand the technique too...

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# 5 12-04-2005 , 11:52 PM

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Hey, right back at you for the speedy reply. I have another question though. For bumpmapping are you supposed to create the mesh from one solid object or have several different primitives? And also are there any good tutorials you could think of that would help with single mesh poly modeling?

Last edited by alienscience; 13-04-2005 at 12:23 AM.

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# 6 13-04-2005 , 02:55 PM

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You can use several primitives for the mesh, as long as you join them in the end so they become a single object. Have you ever textured anything? It's exactly the same technique.... Bumpmaps don't change anything to the geometry of the model, it's only a matter of shading.

I've never used any tutorials so far so I can't help you there... I learned basic box modeling during a Maya course I took in college. Probably the best way to learn if you have the opportunity user added image

.

Just search this site or simply google on box modeling tutorials and I'm sure something will turn up.

Chrz

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# 7 05-05-2005 , 03:13 AM

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Frickin Beautiful

A stunning piece of work, very, very nice.

Could've fooled me into thinking it was a photograph on any other site.

If I were to offer a suggestion - and I'm hesitant because your work owns anything I've done - it would be that the material conveys more of a rubberish feel than the cold steel you're going for.

It may be the curvature where the grip meets the barrel, or the way the highlights diffuse out, but I get the feeling I could squeeze the weapon comfortably rather than meeting impossible resistance.

Could just be my perception, but look at your piece with that mindset and see if any possibilities for improvement jump out.

Good luck, and congrats on the incredible work.

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# 8 05-05-2005 , 05:16 PM

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can you explain what on the gun is bump and what is geometry?
through your eperience, what do you do to determine whether you will make it in geometry or bump mapped?

incredible piece, ill use this piece as the bar for my gun model

First year 3D Grad

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# 9 05-05-2005 , 08:04 PM

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Ye, can you post the wireframe.

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# 10 14-05-2005 , 01:37 PM

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Thanks for the compliments guys.

Brian, about the "rubberish feel": the actual P99 has some sort of polymer coating, giving it a sort of plastic-like appearance. The grip in fact consists of a lot of rubber. I haven't handled a real one though user added image

so I'm not sure how close I got... but I think the real deal looks a bit squishy too.

Turbo Dan: I would say use a bumpmap if you only need relatively shallow relief, especially if it's highly detailed. If you need parts actually sticking out, you should include them into your geometry.

And Frankenstein: here's the wireframe:
user added image

Chrz

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# 11 14-05-2005 , 03:58 PM

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damn! that looks realistic! although the textures could use higher resolution. good job! user added image

<a href="https://forums.simplymaya.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16675">May/June 2005 Challenge Entry</a>

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# 12 20-05-2005 , 06:58 AM

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Very nice work user added image

I would almost try to pick it up user added image

But I agree on the bit blurrish think.,... I hope you can fix it?!

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# 13 21-05-2005 , 08:56 AM

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Thanks, Orgeeizm and Mayatjuh.

As I said in an earlier post, the blurriness is caused by the Depth of Field. I used that on purpose to get the photographic effect - if I render without it, it doesn't really look like a photograph anymore... But since several people have commented on it it doesn't seem to work as well as I think it does user added image

I'll see if I can do something about it.

I bought a new digital camera, so I think I'll be able to get a higher resolution wood texture for the background. I'll simply use my own desk user added image

I'll keep you posted!

Chrz

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# 14 25-05-2005 , 05:46 PM

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Hi.. Just joined this community not too long ago and I'm still wading through these awesome forums. I was thinking, since I own one of this guns smaller cousins, that maybe if you lowered the shine on the plastic it might help a bit? It's pretty much a matte black plastic irl. Awesome model/bumps though!

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# 15 02-06-2005 , 06:25 AM

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Thanks Niasyn.
I suppose that makes you the authority on how this thing should look user added image

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Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to play with maya these days (I have about two months left to finish my thesis and I haven't even started writing user added image

) but as soon as I find the time I'll look into it.
Thanks again!

Chrz

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