How To Make Great Looking Models For Arma Starter Guide

[veles-zv 176]

Welcome if you are a complete Noob in making models for games I will teach you a few things ive learned, please feel free to add information on this topic for others to expand their knowledge ( 3d models only, no texturing, SDK, sound). 

 

1) you will need a 3d editing program, (there are two programs which I have worked with and that is 3ds max 2014 and Blender.) you may be asking yourself or me down in the comment section, "what is the difference between 3ds max and blender" well the difference between them are very minor in what they can accomplish however what makes Blender my preferred  tool is that blender is completely open sourced meaning that anyone can improve upon blender and its tools with scripts they even include all the good stuff later in future updates without the need to search on websites for them! another advantage to blender is that its completely free no bs licencing, student version ect ! it does everything that 3ds max does and more. tons of free tutorials on youtube for you to learn, dont forget  blender.com and similar websites have great step by step tutorials encase you forgot how to do something but be warned blender has had many revisions done to it which has changed some things around what ive found is that anything newer then 2012 should be relevant to the current version of blender. :)

 

2) I know you want to open Blender and start fooling around with making your model but first you will need to educate yourself. here are some great youtubers who are really great at what they do. 

BlenderForNoobs   > https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgg_IAVh6t8hV_Cd_6CNke7GPZ49NZado 

BornCG                  > https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLda3VoSoc_TR7X7wfblBGiRz-bvhKpGkS

Blender Guru          

CG Masters

CG Cookie Blender > 

Arrumus 3D            > he does very good videos on how to make models in 3d programs but he uses 3ds max still there is so much you can learn from his videos and I highly recommend watching his videos once you have a decent understanding of blender. 

 

https://www.blender.org/manual/contents.html

 

3) ... Ok so finally you are ready to start making models in blender, first is to choose what you want to make... I recommend that you should choose a weapon first. ok so once that is done start looking for high res images on the internet which encompasses a wide amount of angles of what you are trying to model the more the better... start working on the left or right side first depending on the reference image you are using.

 

be advised that some weapons have varying detail depending on a number of conditions for instance the SVD has a number of differences depending on year of production, the  SVD 1963 model first production has a 3 holed hand guard on each side, receivers vary on production and country manufacture there are two types of military receivers type one with lighting cuts, type 2 which are smooth without magazine cutouts on the outside, there are 2 versions of flash hiders on standard SVD one a common and the other a rare early production for the 1963 to 64 models. for receiver covers there are 4 types of covers, the most common is the soviet model ribbed with side pinchs on the rear, 2) ribbed cover without pinchs, 3) angle cuts) 4 irak model which is distinctly different from all other types again I would like to stress the differences between weapons can vary from a simple screw head found on the left side to something such as a shortened barrel version of the same weapon... 

 

Start making your Highpoly gon model, a high polygon is used for baking the models detail in a low polygon model which is used in game.  a good rule of thumb is to make anything that is made in one piece to remain in once piece on your model ( for instance a romanian akm has a ugly wooden forgrip made out of one piece this should be reflected in your model , however sometimes it can be beneficial do the complete opposite however this is rare. please do not make a model out of one single mesh this is a common rookie mistake! 

 

 

Low Polygon models are the in game meshes, the point of low poly models is to create efficient models for the game which reduce resource usage drastically, faux detail is baked on to the low poly model using the high poly/ floating geometry in the form of texture maps. low polygon models are in simple terms the silhouette of the model...

 

 

Tips

Always try to model your high polygon in Quads, tris are ok if no alternative can be made however can create issues.

 

Use Mirror or symmetry modifier to reduce work load

 

Use snapping for make repeating geometry

 

Use the subdivision modifier when you are making your high poly this will reduce work load by a large amount and create a nice smooth model.

 

Use Support edges when modeling a cutout such as a hole in a hand guard. this will make sharper detail when sub dividing 

 

modeling something cylindrical will always be close to scale when you use a reference image :D

 

Dont be afraid of using floating geometry for recessed screw heads, hand guard cut outs and a few other things this will drastically reduce time in modeling your high poly model. 

 

Things like stamped lettering and fine checkering on a pistol like a 1911 can be done in Photoshop or similar programs wtih little headache, make repeating checkering in blender and bake them on a plain and use the normal maps textures in photoshop. 

 

Create an archive of meshes which can be used for future projects such as bolt heads, hex, slotted, Philips ect... 

 

Do try not to model things which will never be seen, for instance the internally trigger assemble of a weapon will never be seen... however  a bolt head on a bolt of an automatic weapon will never be seen by the average player or if only for less then a second so go easy on the detail and try not to stress yourself on such useless detail. 

 

refer to your reference images ever so often

 

Make constant saves of your work  with different titles this is very easy to do in blender

 

 

I will be adding images in the future. 

feel free to add content to the topic 

and never give up on doing something because its hard... if anything keep pushing or try again another day :)

Low Polygon models are the in game 

[ineptaphid 6413]

Oh great!Thanks for this :)

[x3kj 1247]

Another advice: Do not try to model a specific thing you have in mind immediately. You will fail and it will take you verty long. Instead try and learn techniques. Do some random figures and forms, just to try out what the individual functions and features of the modelling tool do. Once you learned a bunch of functions you will have it much easier to do what you initially wanted.

 

If you jump right in on your <whatever you want to model> you will have alot of trouble getting the shape right and all that.

 

Also - practice, practice, practice.

[jimbop 25]

ive recently dabbled in 3ds max but noticed theres a lot of love for blender concerning arma. would it be an easy transition to switch to blender? 

[x3kj 1247]

If you haven't done alot in 3dsmax, it's still worth switching propably. You may have to unlearn alot (regarding how the controll and interface works). Modelling techniques are still the same however.

[Kydoimos 916]

@Veles_zv - thanks for starting this really interesting and informative thread! Really good to see a fellow Blender user active on the forums! I'll try and add my two penny's worth soon, for what it's worth :D

 

 â€‹I recommend that you should choose a weapon first.

 

I've been a bit apprehensive of tackling weapons myself - are they easier than they appear? To be honest, I guess it's more about the config and animations that scares me! I started with simple objects - think my first was a gun cabinet. I reckon something like a cardboard box or a book would be a nice opener :) I mean, sure, it's kinda boring - but it's rewarding to see something you've created in-game!

 

Again, thanks Veles, for creating the thread!

[veles-zv 176]

ive recently dabbled in 3ds max but noticed theres a lot of love for blender concerning arma. would it be an easy transition to switch to blender? 

well x3kj explained it very well however as i said above blender does not have any of that silly licensing garbage that cost as much as a used car per year mind you, no water marks for using a student version, 3ds max love to crash all the time and i had a number of corrupted files which I had to revert and redue all over again... not fun at all and autodesk can be an ass and just say "oh we are going to stop support of 3ds max and moving on to maya or some other program" which has been done before on an older program of theirs a few years back. and the biggest thing is that Blender does pretty much everything, you can sculpt with its and its almost as good as Z brush, it bakes textures much easier then 3ds max ever could, I find splines (curves) to be much more easier then in 3ds max however you do lose some advanced features that 3ds max has but maybe later this will be enhanced in blender as it is open sourced yet again I pretty much only use curves to make curved tubes and such.  you will have to relearn all the UI and how things are done in blender but the modeling is the same as with pretty much all 3d programs. just dont give up watch those tutorials and if you want o know how to do something in blender that you did in max just google it. I hope this helps I found blender to be the best and I wish i started with it first and ditched 3ds max years ago. 

[veles-zv 176]

@Veles_zv - thanks for starting this really interesting and informative thread! Really good to see a fellow Blender user active on the forums! I'll try and add my two penny's worth soon, for what it's worth :D

 

 

I've been a bit apprehensive of tackling weapons myself - are they easier than they appear? To be honest, I guess it's more about the config and animations that scares me! I started with simple objects - think my first was a gun cabinet. I reckon something like a cardboard box or a book would be a nice opener :) I mean, sure, it's kinda boring - but it's rewarding to see something you've created in-game!

 

Again, thanks Veles, for creating the thread!

Learn the basics first watch the tutorials and do what they do, mess around with making shapes and trying new techniques I use Arrumus 3D  style as he is the person i learned from. making models is easy, it just takes some time but it also vary on how much detail you want to accomplish, I can make a m16 in 2 hours but I like to get everything right so it ends up taking around 12 to 24 hours at the most. again this depends on how complex some thing im modeling is. reference images and looking through them will help you get an idea of how everything works, and I am very mechanically and electrically inclined  ; ) so I have very clear imagery of how something looks and works. the configing i cant see as being a huge problem you can always learn and there are people on the forums that will help you, animating is not hard, a weapon for a game has very little moving parts, the magazine, trigger, selector, bolt, iron sights, and the reloading character animation again if you feel like you dont want to do animation or the config you can always give the model to someone else or join a team. 

[Macser 776]

I think the biggest obstacle people complain about is the layout of Blender. At least initially. I know that was the case for me in the early days. Especially after experience with other applications. Pre 2.49. I even gave up on it altogether. But I came back eventually as 2.49 was reaching the turning point to 2.5x. I decided to leave preconceptions behind and just accept the fact it was simply different. Not bad. Once I did that, things moved a lot faster, and became more enjoyable.

 

It's by no means perfect. Many flaws still exist. As they do in any other software. But it's still a very powerful application nonetheless. Now with Alwarren's excellent toolbox addon it's become more relevant to the Arma series.

 

I think you've covered a lot of the things I would've mentioned myself. So I won't add much to it.

 

The good news is that the basic principles in modeling are universal. So most educational material can be applied to whatever you use.

 

Topology, especially when using sub-surface division, is very important. It's something I'm always learning about myself. Working with quads, for example, is not essential. But it does have advantages. The simplest one being neatness. It's easier to work with visually. And makes for faster selection.  Making the edge loops flow around certain areas will not only reduce shading artifacts, but allow you to isolate areas for added detail, without affecting the rest of the mesh.

 

Whenever possible only use as many loops as you need to get the desired result. Don't be tempted to start bunching up support loops to get a sharper edge. Most of the time it'll end with pinching and ripples in the mesh. It's not always intuitive, so it does need practice and some study. As horrible as it might sound.

 

What ever program you choose, it's very important to learn how to use it. Take time to study it. If you don't know how to use an application you'll quickly get frustrated. Not every tutorial assumes you are a novice.

 

And don't get bogged down in tutorials either. I know of people who spend hours watching tutorial after tutorial, but never seem to get around to actually applying it. Take a break from them occasionally and experiment. Make mistakes.

 

It's a pity the groups went bye-bye after the board change. While there's plenty of material elsewhere on the web, it'd be nice to have a more local source for information like this. 

 

Anyway. Although I'm not modding for A3 myself, it's nice to see a thread like this. :)

[jimbop 25]

well after downloading blender, I feel the same as you.....wish I had this before 3dmax!

 

think ill stick with max as at this time, I don't feel up to learning the ui all over again. maybe later.

 

cheers,

jim.

[Macser 776]

Quick tip on using subsurface divisions:

 

When using a sub surf modifier, let it do some of the heavy lifting. The base mesh doesn't have to be ultra detailed to get good results. So start with something reasonable and let the algorithm smooth it out for you. For example, in Blender, I'll go with 10,12 or 16 edges for a cylinder instead of the default 32. For certain objects a cuboid is often enough for smaller parts as it will automatically become spheroid once it's created.

 

Just remember the count per face is being multiplied by 4 each time you ratchet up the level. So it can sky rocket fairly quickly. Which in theory sounds like it makes for a great result. But often the difference can be minimal at higher levels. Really fiddly stuff like thin panel lines could easily be inserted into a normal map at a later stage.

[nodunit 397]

Since were doing tips and suggestions, I have three- Firstly and this is a huge one. Double tap G to grab an edge or vert but only have it move along a connecting edge or vert, this will allow you to make precision tweak without having to tweak the other two axis because your point may have gone slightly away from the body.aa

Secondly always use the mirror modifer unless the model is highly asysmetrical. Even if it is only slightly, use it and tweak it later, it saves a ton of work.

Finally, If you use subdivision to make a cube into a sphere to eliminate poles and allow for better face distrubtion, then be sure to use the "To sphere" command afterwards and fiddle to get the shape right, otherwise it will look a smidge deformed.

Also make sure that your subdivision modifer sits UNDER the mirror modifer, otherwise it will not "connect" to itself on the other side, and you'll be left with an ugly crease.

Also let subdivision handle those 'fluid' shapes, for example when building airframes now I build a very low poly, blocky model in a vague shape then let subdivision round it out for me.

Doing this lets you tweak the frame to your liking with so very few verts necessary.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee200/NodUnit/Mi-27subdiv%20phases_zpslfscxwo5.jpg

For example phase 1 on the far left is only meant to get a general shape, its subdivided counterpart sits below. Next shape add edgeloops to tighten the curvature or where there needs to be more change. When dealing wit holes use only eight sided circle gaps, it offers an even distribution of points and plenty of verts to expand from, and it autmatically becomes 16 at the first subdivision. This method is helpful for anything that has a 'fluid' form, organics, aircraft, and ship hulls.