Creating weapons is different from other types of gameart by how they tend to be very prominent in a game, usually taking up a good deal of screen space and usage by characters. Regardless of the game type, things like shape language and silhouette are paramount. The designs are often approved long before a weapon artist is tasked but I always enjoy having design input. As a specialist, there are often opportunities to use my expertise to influence design. Even if only within the gaps not specifically outlined in concept art.

I approach each new weapon project by first nailing down the shape language with a thorough blockout. In this earliest stage, I am mindful of how the high poly, the low poly, and its’ projected cage will need to work in harmony. That step is vital to saving time during the baking process that’s otherwise spent adjusting the hipoly/lowpoly models or tweaking the cage. If done correctly, you’ll bake a normal map with a default cage projection resulting in no errors. Which also means if anyone on your art team needs to edit and rebake your weapon, they can do it themselves without any hassle, further proving your value.

3d Modular Structure

There are many schools of thought on how to properly create a weapon. Personally, I feel it’s better to model weapons how they’re constructed in real life. As separate components which are machined to fit together snug. This modeling approach makes more logical sense to me workflow-wise and end results tend to look more authentic that way.

Every weapon has its’ own anatomy and it’s important to figure that out at the beginning. How was it manufactured? What kind of ammo does it use? How is it reloaded? How is it aimed? How does the character holster it? What features does it have to dissipate heat, recoil, and noise? All important factors to understand from the beginning in order to make a weapon feel authentic.