Around December 2023, MOTTLEDOG posted to the D4M and L4DNation Discords showcasing a series of weapon reskins that were more in-line with the style of Turtle Rock's texture work, being more "dOrK AnD gRitTy" in appearance. See here [discord.com] for the render of the modified AK texture they made alongside other in-theme textures for the Chrome Shotgun and the M1911s.

They even posted an in-progress screenshot of a before and after shot of the texture. I was specifically intrigued by the concept, however sadly they never released it.

While I'm not sure why they never did, all I know is for certain that I wanted to try my hands at recreating it. I could have simply just taken the in-progress texture that was sent by them in said discords, however I didn't do so as an act of respect. I took inspiration from their texture work however, even utilizing the same "waffle" magazine image they used making their texture.

Overall this is more of a mockup of what could have been, and it fits into the little mini-series with the one entry I have in it lmao.



UPDATE 1:

Decided to write briefly for the inspirations for the TLS skins, so here you go.

The Rural AK is based off CS:GO's alpha texture for it's AK (even using edited pieces of it's wood stock and sight adjuster decals.)

The Wartorn AK is based off the Chrome Shotgun, and utilizes unused layers from said weapon that give it a more "Brushed Blue Steel" coloration, the stock and grip are also edited pieces of the Chrome Shotgun's Stock and Pump.

They were both given a L4D coat of paint in this process, to keep in line with the theme of the original skin.