Skinning with Photoshop/3ds Max

[Narciss]

I've modeled a simple rifle in 3d Studio Max, but it always ends up looking horrible, even though the textures are of high quality. Am I doing something wrong in the rendering stage that makes the textures look bland, and what should I do about lighting?

 

[mikeandike22]

post some of the renders, and the uv maps for the guns.

 

[Narciss]

UV Map? I should probably have done my first try with a tutorial, since I have no idea what that is. ;(

 

[Narciss]

One more question: Is there a way to subtract space from an object, i.e. if I have a cylinder that's inside of a block, and I want to make a cylindrical hollow space inside of the block the same size as the cylinder.

 

[Sir Phoenixx]

It's basicly where you translate the parts of the model from 3d to 2d, removing as much distortion as possible, then arranging these in a square. Then you can generate an image (512x512, or 1024x1024, etc.) of this mapping to paint over in Photoshop, for example.

To cut shapes/holes/etc. in an object, you'd select the object, and under the Geometry tab, in the "Compound Objects" section from the drop down menu, you'd click on "Boolean", then "Pick Operand B", and click on the object you want to use to cut in the other object. ("Subtract" is already selected by default.)

 

[HiroProtaganist]

though you want to avoid using boolean cuts as the make your mesh extremely messy to say the least. They add huge numbers of polygons and are generally more of a hassle than building the hole in the first place.