I have started another hard-surface project whilst I wait to get a new pen tablet to do some more environment work. This is an FN P90 I am currently modelling. It is my all time favourite submachine gun. I love the unorthodox approach to ergonomics, the general looks of it and the design for the magazine and feeding system. I tried modelling this 3 years ago when I just got into 3dart and was learning Maya. That was a bit ambitious at the time to say the least! Now I have returned to model it properly.
With my current skills and knowledge or 3d workflow after graduating, I am a lot more comfortable at tackling the challenges that come with this model. The trickiest part of this model is definitely the flow of the body and all the intricate curves that flow into larger and smallers curves which then flows into more curves! This model to put it in current-gen terms, is THICC and getting those smooth curves right is important to getting this right.
I aim for maximum detail in this model which means creating an exponentially intricate high poly to bake onto my lowpoly asset. I am currently using Blender and modifiers to create the highpoly which I will then duplicate and retopologize for the low poly asset. I want to model not only the base gun but some interesting attachments for the rail on the barrel to add even more detail and contrast between the very smooth shell and the harsher, tighter details on the barrel and scope, etc. Current progress is going well!
Cycles Render in Blender with base material applied.
19/07/2021
Modelling the barrel was quite difficult as there are lots of curves that flow into more rigid and tight corners/lines. I took some creative freedom with the underside of the barrel and bits from different models of P90s whilst modelling. It's very interesting to see how the gun actually works just from looking and modelling from reference. The magazine was also a very complicated shape as there are lots of ridges and details that I will showcase later on after I have added the thickness to it. I still have the side rail to model and then attachments of my choosing which will be exciting! I was thinking along the lines of an ACOG scope or maybe an advanced/interesting red dot sight? But before that, I still have quite a bit of detail to do on the top of the body where the magazine sits above, and the magazine feed system, where the bullets rotate 90°C into the receiver. How cool is that!!!! One of the reasons I love this design so much. Such a unique feeding system that allows a lot of bullets to stack in just one magazine.
04/08/2021
I have made a little more progress on the magazine for this gun. I've added thickness to it and I believe the feeding system for the magazine is now entirely modelled. The magazine ejection button is also modelled. Very soon it will be time to retopologize this high poly model to create the lowpoly mesh. The entire time I was modelling the high poly, I was using more divisions than I usually would if I was just going to make a high poly for the sole purpose of saving time in the creation of the low poly. This is because I already have most of the geometry I need for the low poly already. I just need to turn off modifiers and clean up edge loops I don't need to optimize the poly count of the low poly mesh.
There are very few select areas where I wasn't able to add more divisions in the high poly where it would be too difficult to work with a dense mesh and achieve the shading I needed and those will be the areas I will need to maybe apply a few more divisions but other than that, shouldn't take too long. Before I get ahead of myself though, there are still the matter of attachments that need modelling. That would be the ACOG scope that will sit on the rail, and potentially any other attachment I feel like producing to the side rails. Maybe a flashligh or laser pointer.
11/08/2021
I have made a start on a red dot sight. Not too sure if I am going to stay with this choice. Compared to the rest of the gun, it's quite small and doesn't stand out too much. My other option I had in mind was a larger scope but I wasn't sure how it would look or fit with this gun. I might model both just to see how they compare or stick with the red dot sight for now whilst I start retopologizing for the low poly version.
Instead of the more square shaped sight, I think a rpunded sight would be more fitting for the overall shape of the gun itself. Might feel more at home and less out of place looking than this current one. P.S. I know, the sight is the wrong way around!!!
12/08/2021
Started modelleing a scope. I think this will be the final attachment I use for this project. I would like to incorporate a fabric/textile strap into the project too, as I think it will break up the materials abit from metal and plastic, showcasing that I can model and texture all sorts of media.
13/08/2021
Current progress on the scope. Just need to model the cantilever for the scope to attach to the rail of the P90 and then I believe I can start retopology for the low poly.
16/01/2022
I have returned! After a long break from 3d, I have returned to try and finish off this project. Since last time, I have baked my gun in Marmoset Toolbag, maknig use of the'paint skew' tool to correct the normal information around the scope details and screws, as well as texturing the entire model. During the texturing stage, I had a lot to consider and think about as the majority of the gun is made from a polymer which isn't very reflective, I needed to make sure to get believable and also interesting details in the roughness to make it pop and look good. I tried adding wearr, damage and fingerprints where I think it would make sense for it to go,which meant adding it around where you would hold the gun, the trigger area, the handle where you would cup, almost caress the gun into your shoulders when aiming down sights, and the eject button.
Around the rest of the body, I added what I would call "battle damage" which could occur from debris flying around, dropping the gun, dragging it across a rough surface, etc. For the metal parts, I added edge damage, but I didn't want to go overboard which is very easy to do with procedural texturing, so I painted a lot of the damage out using a paint layer in the mask. Overall, I think it looks good. It's not perfect and I'm sure I could reiterate for days or weeks, but I think I have achieved something that looks relatively believable and aesthetic.
The details on the scope were done by adding fill layers and alphas I created in photoshop, sourcing images from the internet.I also used these alphas for the engraved/depressed areas where writing is stamped into the metal, also adding a height>normal filter so that I could capture that detail in the normal information instead of height.
The magazine was a tough decision whether I wanted to make it transparent or not and in the end, I went with it being slightly transparent with bullets loaded inside, just to make it slightly more interesting and less bland. I also made sure to add roughness on the plastic too to break up reflections slightly and add more texture and story to it. This gun has been used for a while and it shows.
