Saturday at the Movies: How Firearms Work — 3D Animations
372,000,000 views! Today’s five feature videos have, collectively, been viewed 372 million times on YouTube. Today’s Saturday special features five remarkable animated firearms videos from Matt Rittman, a very talented computer graphic artist. Matt employs multiple software programs to create these incredibly detailed animations. His software tools of the trade include Cinema 4D, Substance Painter, and Corona renderer. Don’t think this is easy. Some of these videos took over 500 man-hours to create. Enjoy!
AR-15 Full Animation — Components and Function
While there are other AR-15 animations on YouTube, we think this is the most accurate and creative, showing the function of a wide variety of components, including the bolt carrier, extractor, trigger, stock buffer, safety system, forward assist, and mag release. It also shows modes of a military M16, showing 3-round burst fire, and full-auto, employing disconnectors and auto sear. If you are planning to assemble/disassemble an AR, this is definitely worth watching start to finish. This video has recorded over 2 million views in just three weeks!
| Elements of Video:
0:15 Ammunition Loading |
4:00 Auto Fire |
Mauser Kar-98K Bolt Action Rifle video
This elaborate 3D animation shows how a Mauser-type Karabiner 98 Kurz (aka Kar-98K) bolt-action rifle works. Substance Painter was used to create the wood stock texture. Creator Matt Rittman states that this 3.7 minute video took over 500 man-hours to create. You have to admire the dedication involved in that kind of hard work.
| Elements of Video:
0:21 Cocking the Action |
1:52 Extraction & Ejection |
Glock 19 (Gen 4) — Inside and Out and Function
This 3D animation video shows the popular Glock 19 (Gen 4) pistol. This modern, polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol has constant trigger pull for all shots. Some folks call this a DAO (double-action-only) trigger but that’s not really correct. Unlike the Model 1911, on a Glock there is no external safety on the frame or slide. The trigger “shoe” (the part that contacts finger) includes a central blade. This prevents the gun from firing unless the trigger is depresses normally. Glock calls this the “safe action”. The creator, Matt Rittman states: “Cinema 4D was used to create each individual part, as well as animating everything. Substance Painter was used to create the main textures. Corona renderer was used to render everything. This animation [with 84.6 million views] took me over 500 hours to create.”
| Elements of Video:
0:11 Basic Function |
1:40 Firing Pin Safety |
How a Pump Shotgun Works
Pump shotguns are essential firearms for hunting and home defense. The clever design of pump-action shotguns make them reliable even when feeding large diameter, blunt-ended 12 gauge shot-shells.
| Elements of Video:
0:26 Ammunition Loading |
2:17 Shotgun Shell Anatomy |
How a Full-Auto AK-47 Rifle Works
With 226 million views, this AK-47 video might just be the most-watched firearms tech video on YouTube. The video highlights the design features the account for the AK’s legendary reliability. For viewers with an eye to detail Matt adds this clarification: “The firing pin does NOT puncture the bullet primer. It just strikes it against the anvil, initiating the firing sequence.”
| Elements of Video:
0:17 Firing Sequence |
0:55 Ammunition Feed |
Forum member Preacher, whose bolt-action pistol is shown at right, states: “I buy my two-part clear-coat from the local NAPA dealer. They recommended Crossfire mixed 4:1. I really like the end results. There are six coats on that stock that were sanded down to bare wood for the first two, and then 600 wet-sanded for the other four coats. Two to three coats would be sufficient if the pores were filled first, but I would rather fill ‘em with the clear as it seems to make it appear deeper and I have the time to devote to it. I have PPG’s Deltron DC 3000 clear-coat on a few stocks of mine, but I like the NAPA better price wise, and it seems to hold up just as good as the Deltron.”
