Bladesmithing with Polygons

[Saevio]

I usually use Softimage (and sometimes 3DS Max) for general modeling, particularly for hard surfaces, or zBrush for more organic modeling. But I'm currently in the process of learning my way around Modo--an endeavor I've been avoiding for a while now simply because I hate having to learn all the quirks of new software all over again. So, I figured I might as well model some stuff for RP to get my feet wet in Modo.

First thing's first: weapons! My character and I are new here, and while I have a general idea of what kind of weapons he has access to and will be using, I'd really like to have a more detailed idea along with a nice visual representation to include in his bio for reference. So with that in mind, the first task will be to make a menacing sword.

This was my first trial run blade from my first day (yesterday) of using Modo:

It didn't turn out quite to my liking; it's a bit too thick, I got a little too crazy with the blade edge, and you'll notice I also have some smoothing issues due to some wonky geometry in the mesh. So, I started over from scratch. Here's day 2's blade:

This one turned out much better, or at least, I'm liking it a lot more. The blade edge has a more consistent shape to it while still having a bit of character, and the geometry is much cleaner as well. So, assuming this blade doesn't give me any more trouble, or present any issues, I may stick with it.

Next up will be the hilt. Given that the blade is very asymmetrical, the hilt will probably end up being asymmetrical as well. I have a general idea of what I want to do with the hilt, but I'm not quite sure how to pull it off just yet, hopefully I'll have the time to figure it out tomorrow and post some more WIP screens. Once the hilt is complete, the next step will either be to bring them both into zBrush for some detail sculpting, or just jump right into texturing.

Updates:

Spoiler

 

[Ashin Varanin]

This is something I've tried and failed. I'm quite interested in watching where you go with this.

 

[Saevio]

This is something I've tried and failed. I'm quite interested in watching where you go with this.

What kinds of trouble were you having? Perhaps I can offer some advice.

 

[Saevio]

Just a quick update.

I've added a spine to the back side of the lower half of the blade; I'm thinking it could be made of some kind of organic material--maybe bone, tusk, or horn. I capped it off for now and left it as is until I decide if I want to snake it down into the guard and grip. I've started on the grip as well, but it still needs some work, so I'll post that later when it's closer to a final version. I haven't quite decided how I want to design and connect the guard yet, but I think once I get the grip finished I'll have a better idea about how I want it all to connect together.

 

[Saevio]

Another small update, just some grip work.

 

[Ignatius]

Very nicely done! I know that I will probably never be able to do this, and so I commemorate you for having the ability to do this.

 

[Saevio]

[member="Erin Darkstar"]
Thanks. It's coming along slowly but surely. I still have a couple of design choices to make, and a bit of detail work to do before slapping some textures on her. Hopefully it'll come together well.

 

[Ignatius]

Awesome! Well it's already looking to turn out pretty good. Since in your earlier post you said that the backbone of the blade looked to be made of bone, I would suggest that you keep the bone look for the blade? Alot of the swords we see around here are very metal and straight looking. So a blade with what looks to be a few curves and with a more biological look would be nice to see.

Now, I know very little about 3-D images, but I know that as a artist of 2-D objects, it is very hard to make a convincing bone look to items. and so I think it would also prove a challenge to you, and maybe something fun to figure out. That is if you have not already done it.

[member="Saevio"],

 

[Saevio]

[member="Erin Darkstar"]
Hmm, while I definitely want to try giving the spine a bone shape and material of some kind, the blade will probably be some kind of metal for IC/RP reasons, as that is largely what is guiding the design and composition of this blade. That being said, I do intend for the final result to look rather exotic looking as swords go. I haven't decided on a material for the grip or guard yet--I may end up making some of those components out of bone as well. We'll have to see when we get there. I don't think I've ever made a bone material before, so it will be something of a challenge to get right, and make it convincing. I foresee a good bit of trial and error ahead when I get to the texturing phase, especially since I've yet to mess with Modo's material editor, and particularly with getting the normal map for the bone just right.

 

[Ignatius]

[member="Saevio"],

That is true, the actual blade would be made of metal. What I was thinking is more of a forged look where the metal seems to be fused with the bone. Just an idea. but it's your blade.

Like I said before, this is good work. I look forward to seeing more of this.

 

[Saevio]

[member="Erin Darkstar"]
Ahh, I think I see what you mean. Yes that could be interesting. Might have to experiment with that idea.

 

[Linori Pryde]

This is so cool!!

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Looks really cool! I wish I had the patience to work with something like that.