Hello everyone, I'm [TWDEV] Volcol and I'm a 3D and 2D artist over here on the Traction Wars team. To round off our 2012 blogs I'm happy to introduce the Webley Mark IV.
Seeing its first action in WWII, the Mark IV replaced the heavy WW1 Webley MKVI. Designed in 1932, after many trials and tests it was found that the lighter Mark IV with a smaller calibre and double action was equally as good, if not better than the Mark VI at stopping an enemy. It was not the issued British side arm when WW2 broke out, this honour fell to the Enfield No.2, however due to a chronic lack of No.2's being produced for British personnel, mass numbers of both the Mark IV and Mark VI were commissioned. With over half a million produced, the Mark IV ended the war with a fierce reputation and was the official sidearm for British and Commonwealth forces during the war.
The Webley was a fun project to approach. Again, like the Enfield, it seemed deceptively simple. The model had a few tricky spots, namely the muzzle shape and revolving chamber; however I quickly found a way around them. As with the Enfield and P38, I went about creating the high poly version of the Webley first. From this I would go on to produce the normal for the low poly model.
With the low poly model produced, I then went about the task of optimising the model, removing unnecessary triangles and quads to ensure the best poly count for the in-game model.With the low poly model produced, I then went about the task of optimising the model, removing unnecessary triangles and quads to ensure the best poly count for the in-game model.
The high poly bake worked nicely with a few areas to tweak in Photoshop like the grip checkering. With the high poly baked out I went about creating the ambient occlusion, diffuse and specular maps. Using several layers of metal textures I painted in damage and details so the Webley finally started to take shape.
With the diffuse nearing completion, I added in markings, some dirt/wear and a few little details like muddy fingerprints. The texture needs to tell a story, hopefully I've achieved this.
With a solid piece mostly finished I went about fixing a few areas e.g. the diamond checkering on the grip and I produced the specular map. With a few items left to produce for the Webley, like the speed loader, we expect to have this weapon in game soon.
Until then, another big thanks for voting Traction Wars into the Top 100! We've once again been humbled by the response from the community.
The team are still looking for talented individuals. Head over to the recruitment page for more info!
Seeing its first action in WWII, the Mark IV replaced the heavy WW1 Webley MKVI. Designed in 1932, after many trials and tests it was found that the lighter Mark IV with a smaller calibre and double action was equally as good, if not better than the Mark VI at stopping an enemy. It was not the issued British side arm when WW2 broke out, this honour fell to the Enfield No.2, however due to a chronic lack of No.2's being produced for British personnel, mass numbers of both the Mark IV and Mark VI were commissioned. With over half a million produced, the Mark IV ended the war with a fierce reputation and was the official sidearm for British and Commonwealth forces during the war.
The Webley was a fun project to approach. Again, like the Enfield, it seemed deceptively simple. The model had a few tricky spots, namely the muzzle shape and revolving chamber; however I quickly found a way around them. As with the Enfield and P38, I went about creating the high poly version of the Webley first. From this I would go on to produce the normal for the low poly model.
With the low poly model produced, I then went about the task of optimising the model, removing unnecessary triangles and quads to ensure the best poly count for the in-game model.With the low poly model produced, I then went about the task of optimising the model, removing unnecessary triangles and quads to ensure the best poly count for the in-game model.
The high poly bake worked nicely with a few areas to tweak in Photoshop like the grip checkering. With the high poly baked out I went about creating the ambient occlusion, diffuse and specular maps. Using several layers of metal textures I painted in damage and details so the Webley finally started to take shape.
With the diffuse nearing completion, I added in markings, some dirt/wear and a few little details like muddy fingerprints. The texture needs to tell a story, hopefully I've achieved this.
With a solid piece mostly finished I went about fixing a few areas e.g. the diamond checkering on the grip and I produced the specular map. With a few items left to produce for the Webley, like the speed loader, we expect to have this weapon in game soon.
Until then, another big thanks for voting Traction Wars into the Top 100! We've once again been humbled by the response from the community.
The team are still looking for talented individuals. Head over to the recruitment page for more info!
(but again wish tessellation was the norm already).
