Blitzgewehr  

Just finished texturing the model in 3D Coat. This software has an option to auto-unwrap a model and generate UVs, making texturing much easier, as everything is made within a single software.

Just modelled and textured a stand for the weapon.

A test render i've made in order to test the textures in Vray.

I've started to plan the scene and modelling props, for example, a vise for the weapon.

I'm starting to work on the scene. I'm happy with the overall lighting of the scene, but the enviroment still needs a lot of detail.

Experimenting with various enviromental effects. I really like the results produced by Vray's Enviromental Fog, but the volumetrics combined with the type of lighting produced by the electricity result in very long render times and a lot of noise.

Reviewed the table layout and completed the scene with details. Adding further models into the scene could result in an overly charged enviroment, so i'm planning on keeping the model's layout as it is for the final render. At least the general idea. I've also tried removing the fog and replacing it with heavy bloom in Photoshop, as i did in the attached render. However, i prefer the overall mood the fog gives, so i guess i'll have to deal with lengthy rendering times. 

I've changed my reference pictures from thunder lightning to Tesla coil arcs, in order to pursue a more realistic approach. Thus, I've changed the color scheme from pure blue to a violet-ish one and decreased its intensity. I've also animated the rays and added motion blur.

Having worked on the take, scene and rays for a while, I'm getting closer to a final image. I've also experimented with Vray's lens effects.