My plan was to make something interesting and bespoke for one of the auto snipers. I had recently watched a documentary on the intelligence of octopodes (this one I think) and thought an octopus would be an excellent substitute for a dragon by having the tentacles flow around a weapons elements. To add weight to the deep sea direction there is also a subbase map by FMPone in the works -- the large scope lens on the G3SG1 is reminiscent of a periscope - all these things compounded to form the foundations of a solid sub-nautical idea.

Originally for aesthetics I toyed with the idea of 19th century book binding either soberly minimal or ornate in the style of a Hetzel/Jules Verne cover, featuring a vintage metal octopus ornament as the centerpiece on a muted backdrop. I changed direction once I started roughing out the outline on the 3D model - which is a process where I first work out out the outline by drawing, erasing and redrawing lines until the shape flows across multiple viewing angles, I added an inside fill to the outlines -- looking at the other finishes in the game red was under-represented - this was when I had the idea to abandon the muted style reference and instead go for something more ink based and bold as the linework was really striking, and then I could dub it the Red Octopoda, (for non-film buffs: it's a pun on the title of the excellent John McTiernan film Hunt for Red October.)

A single octopus wouldn't work across the entire mesh due to the length of the weapon so I added in several more flowing across and enveloping different areas of the weapon, eventually ending up with 8 (including the top insignia).

The scope I kept relatively simple, continuing the abstract wash from surrounding the octopodes below, however for balance I made it red, kind of like a crimson tide... (Sorry.) This gun may even elevate your performance, but I can’t guarantee one ping only… (Ok I'm done.)