Exclusive: Modeling an M4 Rifle – Part 02

by Jonathan Williamson

In this Citizen exclusive Blender 2.5 video tutorial series, we go through a hard-surface modeling exercise by creating a highly detailed M4 assault rifle.

In part 2 of this modeling series we begin doing some detail working, starting with the front section of the gun.

What is covered in this section:
- Using mirror and array modifiers to replicate detail.
- Whether to use edgeloops or edge creasing
- Cutting hole in a rounded surface with clean topology

Reference Images were collected from various sources, all licensed under CC Attribution or Public Domain.

Thank you for the support and more education is on the way!

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m4_rifle_02_ss_01

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Modeling an M4 Rifle<>

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Discussion

12 Responses to “Exclusive: Modeling an M4 Rifle – Part 02”
  1. sylvester
    Posts: 14

    cool part 2 is already out :)

    hey jonathan mabey give us a treat and post a render of kara packing a few of these :D

    great tut as always

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    1
     Sep 28, 2010 at 12:13 am
    Reply
  2. Serpent36
    Posts: 80

    Woah, already a new tutorial. And lots more coming.. can’t wait for the modifier series and the new halloween tutorials.

    2nd.

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    2
     Sep 28, 2010 at 7:38 am
    Reply
    • wesburke
      Posts: 319

      :) – We have been working to increase our frequency a bit. Yah, I am super jazzed for the halloween ones as well.

      #
      2.1
       Sep 28, 2010 at 4:16 pm
      Reply
      • Serpent36
        Posts: 80

        I’m guessing scarecrow. :D

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        2.1.1
         Sep 28, 2010 at 4:56 pm
      • Mitchel
        Posts: 17

        im guessing….. whitch! thatd be cool

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        2.1.2
         Sep 28, 2010 at 5:11 pm
  3. hallowedking
    Posts: 19

    I am making an M110 because I got some good results from the tutorial so far but for some reason this time around I am having some difficulties making the end cap,when I extrude and try to scale in the mesh start splitting and artifacting quite a bit,I am not the best or anything but your tutorials are helping me learn allot,I tried to get a few pics to share so link to the M110 progress so far.

    http://img822.imageshack.us/g/blender2011011604474474.jpg/

    I only applied one level of subsurf though.

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    3
     Jan 16, 2011 at 4:12 am
    Reply
  4. joshhhhh
    Posts: 2

    when i add the subdivision surface modifier and then smooth it the hole turn black around them and i have tried like 8 different ways and cant get it right.am i doing something wrong?

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    4
     Oct 30, 2011 at 3:06 pm
    Reply
    • jonathanwilliamson
      Posts: 1761

      Hi Josh,

      You just need to select everything in Edit Mode and press CTRL + N to fix this problem. The black you’re seeing is due to adjacent faces pointing in different directions. The normal refers to the direction the face is pointing for rendering.

      -Jonathan

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      4.1
       Oct 30, 2011 at 4:05 pm
      Reply
      • joshhhhh
        Posts: 2

        thanks it worked, and another thing, when i add the subdivision surface modifier the flat parts on the front grip diamond like shapes appear in the mesh how can i fix this?

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        4.1.1
         Nov 1, 2011 at 5:13 pm
  5. silverness
    Posts: 8

    I’ve learned a lot from this part. Snapping in Blender is such a powerfull tool!

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    5
     Nov 25, 2011 at 4:33 am
    Reply
  6. grove
    Posts: 6

    When I use the seperate PKey function it leaves behind like a ghost of the part seperated and it cannot be selected or deleted . What am I doing wrong?

    Thanks

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    6
     Apr 2, 2012 at 4:33 pm
    Reply
  7. jarhead
    Posts: 1

    Hi, very new to blender so maybe this isn’t a big deal. I noticed the faces above and below the hole have points that don’t all exist on the same plane. Is that generally not a big deal, or something you can only get away with when using subsurf modifier?

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    7
     Apr 28, 2012 at 6:55 pm
    Reply

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