1 picture every weekday

[astrapho]

@Joe: it'll be at 12 fps, does that count?? x'D

click for larger


Made some designs for it this is probably going to be an on and off based on free time clip. i mixed some different cultures in both but it's largely viking girl vs slavic dude ;9

something lineart

[astrapho]

Layouting

[djizomdjinn]

Ooh that focusing effect + parallax looks lovely.

The girl's shotgun bugs me, but that's probably because I'm a gun nerd. Has a Nausicaa vibe to her.

[astrapho]

I know nothing about guns, would actually love to know what you think would make the gun look more legit! I was basing it off of this rifle btw but I'm pretty sure I'm missing some important stuff when I tried to simplify it:

[djizomdjinn]

Alright, so the rifle picture you've posted is a modern production muzzleloader, as evidenced by the ramrod under the barrel. That's the stick you use to ram black powder and a bullet down the barrel, just like people did 400 years ago. You'll notice there's a spur above the firing hand's grip. That's a manually operated hammer, which, when you pull the trigger, smacks a small impact-burning substance that throws flame down a tiny drilled hole into the powder, which then sets off the gun.

I won't get too much into all the different firearm actions, but most modern guns stick the impact stuff, powder, and bullet all into one neat brass-cased package called a cartridge. And basically every modern gun is a variation of how do you stick that cartridge into the barrel, what holds the gun together while it's firing, how does it come apart to get fired cases out, and where do you put the other cartridges so you can repeat the process.

Anyways, so the main thing is that it's a style thing. Her hand is way too vertical and the stock (basically the wooden or plastic parts that you hold onto to grip the gun) shape is all wrong for that to be a traditional-style rifle like you've posted. It looks more like she's carrying some sort of thumbhole style stock (which automatically makes it feel much more modern, as those didn't really come into vogue until the acceptance of and widespread use of plastics and plywood laminates for guns) Something more like this.



Or something fancier.



For the area where her cheek goes, there wouldn't be that large hump on the stock behind the barrel, simply because guns kick and that would deliver a nasty bruise. The barrel would typically just end a few inches behind the trigger, and the shoulder would absorb the entirety of the recoil.

The other big thing I noticed is the sight (what you use to aim the gun). Basic sights are ludicrously simple. It's a little metal notch in a metal block in the back, and you line it up with a little metal blade on the end of the barrel. The front sight you have is really big proportionately to the rifle. Now, there are some that are like that, but usually because there's some sort of protective housing or something. Personally I don't see them as integral to the silhouette of a rifle and don't need to be emphasized to that degree.

Anyways, I've tried to keep this short, but I get the feeling I'm already rambling on far too much and hijacking your thread. If you'd like to know more, I'd be happy write plenty more on firearms functionality and how that affects designing brand new guns as an artist.

[astrapho]

Did not disappoint djinn! thanks for the detailed breakdown, i'll definitely be making some changes to try to make it look more functionally sound. I really want to know what else there is to designing a believable gun, but I actually would suggest you to make a thread in the tutorials section instead and unleash it, because I think that info would be really useful to a lot of artists in general. It's kind of hard to find info out there that explains a gun's functionality so succinctly if you're not already a gun nerd, at least it was for me! would urge you to consider it

[astrapho]

Photo study, messing around a bit with the blending brush :9

[astrapho]

Doing 3d in school and not having fun ;/

[astrapho]

Listening to Skyrim soundtrack

[djizomdjinn]

Aw... sad to hear that, why 3d no fun?

Love the atmosphere of these last few. The last one though... the guy on the left's values are fading away a bit too much I feel, the only thing saving him is the hot specular on his helmet. I'm not even sure those speculars should be there; while great for material identity, it's a cloudy-looking day.

Also re: artist's guide to guns tutorial... still organizing what I want to say and how to say it. I originally wrote up this big outline covering the entire developmental history of guns from invention to present-day and short notes on how exactly each one functions, and then I realized a) it's covered much better elsewhere, b) while it's nice to know for artists, it's not really necessary and far too much detail for a Draw Guns Gud 101.

But I am working on it.

[Grieverjoe]

I agree with Djinn on the speculars, but for a sketch, I think it reads just fine.

I wish Skyrim had spears. :(

[astrapho]

@Djinn and joe: thanks for the comments I agree with the guy getting a bit too lost, think I made the foreground too dark.I made some changes, is it better? It's a sketch but I'll be doing it in color so I want to make sure he won't get lost later :9



The tree behind the guy lightened more, specular less aggressive



Also o mg Joe you made me realize there were no spears. Now I feel like I'm missing something in life T_T

@3d: My group made a massive mistake in the beginning with not taking care to make sure all our referenced files have different names, so when we reload models with the same name we lose all our animation :/ For a while we had no idea, so we would inexplicably lose animation all the time and we lost soo many hours of work >-> It was a very painful rookie mistake... We've finished it, just rendering and comping left, but omg when it was happening it was hell :s

@gun tutorial: I don't know if my opinion would be useful, but I think while we probably don't need an exhaustive history, it will be nice to have an outline of their evolution to know how the technological/material limitations and advancements affected their designs. that, and important landmarks/knowing what is required of them in making a gun design work... I thought I could just sort of copy a design but I didn't understand it and it totally showed x'D Hope you'll make it soon

/I totes have a color and perspective tutorial in the works, hope I have time to finish them in the summer...

[astrapho]

Today I discovered that I love animating villains...
version with sound!

[astrapho]

Summer vacation is finally here x)



I wanted to make it look like he's going for a hard left turn but the horse is probably still facing too much to the front and I might need to give more space between him and the rock so it doesn't look like he'll crash into it ;/


I redesigned the rifle, it fires plasma from a little cartridge. I wanted it to look kind of like an outdated cheap transitional weapon but still futuristic. Come rip it apart Djinn!

[djizomdjinn]

Mmmm shining steel. Always love seeing these B/W sketches of yours, I should do more value studies myself.

Gun person is pretty good, there's only one semi-major and one minor thing I would change.

a) The sight axis is too low. I need to remember to add that in when I get around to the create-a-gun part, but basically how you index your face on the gun is the bottom of your cheekbone. The eye (and therefore center of the sights) is usually ~2" above that, and generally people adjust by tilting their head back and forth (and if that doesn't solve it, balancing their head on their chin or mashing their face into the rifle) Bullpups and AR-15/M16/M4 rifles are notorious for having really high sight axes, due to their low barrels relative to the stock.

b) Can't tell if the finger is supposed to be off or on the trigger (experienced vs. novice), but most instructors do not like resting the finger on the trigger guard, and will tell their charges to either rest finger along the side (most people), or grip the rifle with all fingers below the trigger guard (more relaxed, carrying stance)



Not sure if you were using it for reference, but you've more or less recreated the Tavor. Not bad, not bad at all.

[Grieverjoe]

Originally Posted by astrapho Summer vacation is finally here x) I wanted to make it look like he's going for a hard left turn but the horse is probably still facing too much to the front and I might need to give more space between him and the rock so it doesn't look like he'll crash into it ;/

woo, vacay!

I think in order for it look more like he's going for a hard turn, his hand holding the reins should be sticking out more, like he's forcing the horse to turn, and jerking its head up and to its right (the way the rider wants to go). Bonus points, because it gives the horse a bit more character than simply going along with what the rider wants to do.

Like so!

[astrapho]

Thanks guys for the crits!! xD

@Djinn: Oh gosh I see, I'll make that change, thanks for pointing it out! Yes it'd be a useful addition to the tutorial I think. My ref was actually a mix of the G3 rifle and a bullpup, it's pure coincidence that it happened to look a little like the Tavor. I really have your guide to thank there, very comprehensive so far. x)

@Joe: Thanks for the paintover! I meant a hard left to his left but I see what you mean. I made a change here but I think the horse's head needs to be pulled more to his left and probably make his legs less far apart in z space to avoid that scale problem with the tower... Still a work in progress, just trying to get the local colors down for now (oops i forgot about his stirrups)

[astrapho]

Took a break from that other pic. My Dark souls 3 char x)

[Grieverjoe]

Petty Nun is tired of your shit

[astrapho]

She's gon come for u B)



Gonna color, looks tough x'D