VALORANT: Ion Phantom
Ion was our first take at what we've been calling a "pure scifi" weapon skin. Inspired by the works of Syd Mead, Daniel Simon, and George Yoo, we aimed to have a very sleek, clean classic scifi weapon. Building on the aspect of evolution or upgrading a weapon or technology over time, we wanted to use this space to showcase that there is a complex mechanism underneath. The turbines, the orb power unit - to every beautiful shell of a mechanical design there is always complex machinery underneath, and we found the ability to transform the weapon to showcase this similar to how you might want to show off the inner workings of your computer by having part of the case be made of glass.
The idea was to mimic an evolution similar to what you see in the Iron Man suits from the MCU, where over time it becomes more technologically advanced but still keeps the same classic look.
Original concepts for this skin set were done by the amazing Timur Mutsaev
https://www.artstation.com/timur
VFX by Stefan Jevremovic
https://www.artstation.com/stefanjevremovic
This was the pattern used as a base for the effects in the Ion line. From the subtle normal on the glass to the material transition, muzzle flashes, and of course the energy orb. I modeled this pattern in maya :) and Stefan used it to make VFX magic
I made a few height maps and set up a node for artists to use in substance painter to easily add and edit normal map details. This gave a consistent look across all weapons in the line