Tutorial: Creating a Sci-Fi Pistol for Games
The Gnomon Workshop has released Creating a Sci-Fi Pistol for Games, a guide to creating a production-quality weapon model, recorded by Riot Games associate art director Sean Marino.
The workshop provides over two hours of video training in Maya, ZBrush, Rizom UV, Substance 3D Painter and Marmoset Toolbag, taking the pistol from concept art to final textured model.
Create a production-quality weapon asset from real games concept art
In the tutorial, Marino shares his workflow for creating a weapon asset for use in game development, starting from real concept art created by Eldar Safin for Forgeborne Games‘ Terminus Frontier.
The work begins in Maya, where Marino demonstrates how to create a rough blockout of the weapon, using the concept as a starting guide and taking artistic liberties to adjust the model.
The low-poly blockout is then taken into ZBrush for hard-surface sculpting to create a final high-poly model, before unwrapping the UVs in Rizom UV and baking textures in Marmoset Toolbag.
Marino then textures the model in Substance 3D Painter, covering both the basics of creating a master material template and the detailing work required to create the final look.
The techniques covered can be applied to other 3D software, and to first- and third-person games.
About the artist
Sean Marino is associate art director at Riot Games. He has over a decade of experience in the games industry, working mainly as a hard surface artist.
He has extensive experience creating first-person weapons and hero vehicles for AAA titles, including Borderlands, Call of Duty and Valorant.
Pricing and availability
Creating a Sci-Fi Pistol for Games is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, providing access to over 300 tutorials. Subscriptions cost $54/month or $499/year. Free trials are available.
Read more about Creating a Sci-Fi Pistol for Games on The Gnomon Workshop’s website
Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.