## Co-Lab 5 (Games Art) (1J6Z1071_2324_9F)
### Introduction
I am teamed up wih 4 people in this colab team. We decided to pick the 'Whimical Worlds' theme to base our collaborative project on. As a group, we decided to make a game based on shooters. This game will be set in the future which means we will be creating characters, props and enviornments fitting for this theme as a group. It was concluded that I will be creating weapons for this game idea. I will base weapons on real-life guns with a futuristic twist combined with mecha. I will demomstate research and my responses to achieve my goal.

### Communication

Communication has not been the best in this collaborative project. I have had some interactions in the beginning of the project

Alex suggested some gun I could look at via Discord. After researching and seeing how these guns look, I decided not to go with them since I was not sure how I was going to recreate them.
During the middle of the project I messaged Jack to know if there is anything he can suggest since no one has really communicated about anything at this time. I had to explain I am getting and extension due to personal reasons. This did affect my contribution to the project. I blocked out some text since it is confidential.

### What is Mecha?
Mecha originates from Japan and is short for the word mechanical. It is a genre mainly used in anime. Although this is usually based on robots, it can also apply to guns, cyborgs, buildings etc.
*Figure 1:* Mecha Design (Source:Wired,2021:online)

In *Figure 1:* Mecha Design (Source:Wired,2021:online), it shows a robot entirely based on Mecha. Here we can see that its made from different shapes. These shapes are quite angular with sharp edges rather than rounded. This feature is important since I will be needing to consider this in my weapon designs.
### Weapon Research
I will research 4 types of guns from different weapon classes to create a variety. The 4 gun classes I will look into are:
* Pistol
* Assault Rifle
* Shotgun
* Sniper Rifle

Each of these classes offer different damage, range and recoil in each gun. I believe this will be great for a shooter game so players can use different weapons for different combat ranges.

#### Pistol: Desert Eagle
A Desert Eagle is a pistol that is semi-automatic that works on gas. This gun is know for using .50 Action Express caliber rounds which is one of the most powerful calibers for a pistol. Originated from the USA, this weapon is recognised to be one of the most iconic firearms to ever exist and is loved by many.
*Figure 1:* Desert Eagle Pistol (BullsEye Country Sport,no date:online)

In *Figure 1:* Desert Eagle Pistol (BullsEye Country Sport,no date:online) is shown to be a Desert Eagle. The design is rather simple since it is a small gun.

I will be referencing this gun to use on my work. Experimenting with shapes on the handle is something I am aiming to do.

#### Assault Rifle: M4 Carbine
The M4 is an assault rifle also known to be another version of a gun named M16. This gun uses 5.56x45 NATO cartridge and is a 20 round magazine.
*Figure 2:* M4 Carbine (Source:GunDigest, 2023:online)

In *Figure 2:* M4 Carbine (Source:GunDigest, 2023:online) shows how the M4 Carbine looks. It is medium sized weapon and has a rounded guard rail.

This will be an excellent mid range gun base on for my work.

#### Pump Action Shotgun
This gun is a fast-paced shotgun that provides close range combat. This type of shotgun is operated by pulling the fore-end backwards to reload after every shot. This must be done consistently or it will not work.
*Figure 3:* Pump Action Shotgun (Source: Gun.deals, 2020:online)

In *Figure 3:* Pump Action Shotgun (Source: Gun.deals, 2020:online) shows a type of pump action shotgun. It has got minimal details. Below the second barrel is the fore-end.

I like the simplicity of this type of shotgun because I can be imaginitive and add detail on plain areas.

#### Sniper:GOL Sniper Rifle
The GOL sniper rifle originated from Germany. This sniper rifle is equipped with 7.62 mm NATO cartridge magazine.

*Figure 4* GOL-Sniper (Source: IMFDB, no date:online)

In *Figure 4* GOL-Sniper (Source: IMFDB, no date:online), is how the GOL-Sniper looks like. Compared to other sniper rifles. this one has an interesting shape on its stock which is located behind the handle.

This unique shape intrigues me to make my own kind of stock shape.

### Mood Board

Here is the mood board I created. I gathered a range of guns that are both from real life and video games. This is to get a general idea of how I want to create my weapons. Some of these guns consists of mecha designs. Despite the mecha changes, the guns are still easily recognisable by weapon class.

### Sillhouettes
To begin drawing my concepts, I will create sillhouettes of each gun class I researched about. I will make slight variations in each one and then pick the one I like the most.
#### Desert Eagle
Here are my sillhouettes for the Desert Eagle. I added different scopes to see how it would look. I also added shapes to the handle to give it a mecha look.
This is the sillhouette I liked the most. I am going to pick this design as my final choice.
To create the lineart, I made the sillhouette transparent then added a new layer on top and traced over it with more detail. I will be doing this for all my weapon design as it is time saving.

#### M4
Here are my M4 sillhouettes variations. I specifically made variants of the guard rails.
I picked this variant as my final choice for the assault rifle.
Here is how I created the lineart.
#### Pump Action Shotgun
For the shotgun, I made variations of the handle.
I liked this one the most so I will be using it for my shotgun design.
Here is the lineart process.
#### GOL Sniper Rifle
For the sniper rifle, I wanted to make the handle and underneath the gun different. Here are the variations.
I picked this one. This weapon design looks the most abstract as it has hard edges and shapes.
Here is the lineart process.
### Colour Swatch
I am going to begin colour swatching all my weapon designs. Bright colours and dark colours will be experimented as it connects to a futuristic style.
#### Desert Eagle
Here is the colour swatch for the pistol. I added a combination of bright colours and dark colours. Black usually goes with any colour so I included that in every swatch.
I like this swatch better than the other ones. It gives off a fierce mood because of red and black put together.

#### M4
Here are some swatches for the assault rifle. I wanted to make this gun more brighter than the others. On the left has purple with yellow and on the right has orange and blue, but I did not like it as much because it looks out of place and too saturated for a gun design.
This swatch stood out to me because it is not too bright with the help of black on the body of the gun. The green adds a splash of colour and gives it a fantasy look.
#### Pump Action Shotgun
Learning from the trial and error of using too much bright colours, I have decided that black should be used more since any other colour can be a good accent colour.
I made 4 swatches for the shotgun.
The yellow and black swatch reminds me of a wasp so I picked this. A wasp feels metaphorical to the shotgun because it shoots quick and close range, just how a wasp will sting at close range with all its power.
#### GOL Sniper Rifle
Here are my sniper rifle swatches. Again, black is used as the main colour.

Black and blue with some yellow looks like a good swatch. Being a sniper means you need to be in long range distance in areas that are calm and quiet. Blue reflects a calm mood so this would be a good colour for a sniper rifle.
### Final Concept
Here are my final concept artworks. I included the name of the gun, gun class type, caliber type and the stats of how it works such as the damage, fire rate etc.
#### Desert Eagle: Rage
This is the finished concept art for the Desert Eagle. I named this weapon 'Rage' because of its red colour. Red represents anger and violence which is why I chose this name for the pistol. Below are the stats of the gun. It does quite a good amount of damage but has a lower fire rate. I gave it a fairly mid range but it more better for close-range combat. The accuarcy is neutral since it is only a semi-automatic pistol.
#### M4: Emerald
Here is the finished concept art for the M4. This one turned out better than I thought since I was not too confident in its design because of the guard rail. I named this weapon 'Emerald' because of its glowing green colour, just like the gemstone. Despite giving this a neutral damage, it has a high fire rate since assault rifles are fully automatic. The accuracy is slightly high since it is a mid to long-range weapon. I also given it some mobility since it is a medium sized gun.
#### Pump Action Shotgun: Stylet
Here is the finished concept for the pump action shotgun. I name it 'Stylet' which refers to a wasps stinger. Since I based the name on a wasp, it would perfect to name it after a wasps stinger. I added glows to give it a cyber punk theme which does match with mecha since they are similar themes. The damage is quite high since shotguns are only close-range guns. However I gave it a lower fire rate due to having to pull the fore-end after every shot. This does take time to do.
#### GOL Sniper Rifle: Hydro
Here is the finished concept for my sniper rifle. I gave it the name 'Hydro' because of its blue colur. Hydro means water in Greek. Water can be seen as blue in oceans and some rivers. Being in combat using a sniper rifle requires you to remain calm and steady so I believe Hydro is an excellent name for it.
The damage and accuracy is insanely high which makes it one shot to eliminate enemies with ease. I made the fire rate low on this gun since snipers use heavy power to fire a bullet.

### Conclusion
Overall, I believe a created a standard amount of work independently. I researched 4 weapon classes and implemented them on my own work. The colours of my weapons look very different to any generic designs. I wanted to move away from generic gun bases and and a twist by changing the shapes and colours of how a gun would normally look. I achieved a mecha look for all my weapon concepts which fits with the theme of Whimsical Worlds in a sci-fi shooter game.
For improvement, I could have created these in 3D in Maya Autodesk. This could have proved my designs more further to be in a 3D game. Making them in 3D would allow me to showcase my weapons in diferent angles including a 360 degree view.
Another thing that could have been better is the communication of the group. Not many of us really communicated well enough to know the progress of the entire project. Although we created a Discord group to share progress and communicated, it was hardly ever used. I did message some peers individually about our project but that is about it. In future collaborations, I should try and make everyone engage by talking first whether it be in person or online. This will help everyone overall to be social which is key to making a greater project.

### Bibliography

**What is Mecha?**
Amanda Pagan. (2019) *A Beginner's Guide to Mecha.* New York Public Library. [Online][Accessed on 5th January 2024]https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/04/04/beginners-guide-mecha-manga-anime#:~:text=What%20is%20Mecha%3F,are%20usually%20the%20primary%20focus.

*Figure 1:* Mecha Design (Source:Wired,2021:online)
https://www.wired.com/story/how-realistic-video-game-mecha/

**Weapon Research**

Shooting Range Prague. (no date) *Desert Eagle.* [Online][Accessed on 5th January 2024] https://shootingrangeprague.com/arsenal/desert-eagle

*Figure 1:* Desert Eagle Pistol (BullsEye Country Sport,no date:online) https://www.bullseyecountrysport.co.uk/tokyo-marui-desert-eagle-50-chrome-gas-blow-back-pistol-15912-p.asp

Rail Scales LLC. (2023) *Differences Between an AR-15 and M4.* Rail Scales. [Online][Accessed on 5th January 2024] https://railscales.us/blog/differences-between-an-ar15-and-an-m4/#:~:text=The%20M4%20could%20be%20more,States%20%E2%80%94%20and%20for%20good%20reason.

*Figure 2:* M4 Carbine (Source:GunDigest, 2023:online) https://gundigest.com/rifles/ar-15/m4-carbine

Military.com. (no date) *M4 Carbine.* [Online][Accessed on 5th January 2024] https://www.military.com/equipment/m4-carbine

Dave Coustan. (no date) *How Shotguns Work.* How Stuff Works [Online][Accessed on 5th January 2024] https://science.howstuffworks.com/shotgun5.htm

*Figure 3:* Pump Action Shotgun (Source: Gun.deals, 2020:online) https://gun.deals/product/remington-870-express-12-gauge-tactical-shotgun-store-academy-available-now-35999

Maxim Popenker (no date) *GOL-Sniper.* Modern Firearms. [Online][Accessed on 5th January 2024] https://modernfirearms.net/en/sniper-rifles/standart-caliber-rifles/germany-standart-caliber-rifles/gol-sniper-eng/

*Figure 4* GOL-Sniper (Source: IMFDB, no date:online) https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/GOL_sniper_rifle