Right, this is my first serious attempt at making an almost photo realistic model, so it doesn’t look all to great in terms of realism, but hopefully I am getting there.
I have adapted the design of the sword way too many times, but have decided to go along with the current one.
The basic idea is that it is a mythical sword so it doesn’t have to be too realistic like the general size and appearance, but I don’t want to go along the lines of Final Fantasy swords.
As you can see in this render, the hilt of the sword has feathers, which are retractable into the golden part which holds them. At the moment all the feathers are the same and care hasn’t been taken in texturing them as this is just a proof of concept render.
I am planning on having slightly larger and more varied feathers, as well as more of them attached to the underside of the guard type feature.
One question I do have however, is the design of the handle. I have never held a sword of this type, so I am a bit curios as to the possibility of having a rectangular cut handle as opposed to a circular one, or would that be impossible in real life due to handling problems with regards to the weight of the sword?
You mean like sequentially curving the feathers towards one side like they are arranged on the wings of birds?
I’m glad someone like the wings, one of my friends kept on telling me to get rid of them (although it was an earlier design) because she didn’t like them:( .
Just to show you guys where this sword idea came from, I have attached some sketches as well as two images from which some of the designs I have dervided.
I really liked the type of blade used for this sword, well the part of it that meets the guard of the hilt: Conan Sword
When searching for sword images, I came across this one which caught my eye.
However, the hilt in my opinion had a demonic/satanic design, and the myth that my sword is based upon is a folk hero of christian origin so I decided to replace the hilt design with a similar one, but with wings.
I’ll post some of my sketches for the original design later, (when I have a chance to scan them) which have been scrapped for now, however I still feel like modifying the wings.
Very nice modelling you have going there.
One crit: having the cross on the hilt of the sword in such a manner makes it positioned upside-down when brandished - a very pagan symbol. However, I also realize that, were you to flip it over, the cross would also be upside-down when sheathed… I guess I have no real solution to that issue…
other than that, great work!
Well, chances are that a sword like that would not see combat, so I would assume the cross should be shown when sheathed, not drawn. But also when you look at it, a sword of that style also resembles a cross when sheathed, so I’d say the cross is fine.
Here’s a small update, a close up render of the hilt with some finer details added on, (sorry no wood texture on the handle, and the feathers are still the same 2d concept versions).
Also, I have attached small versions of my eariler concepts, including the wings being the other way around.
Has anyone modelled feathers before, because I can think of two ways of doing it, however one will take more time to do, but will look really good in close ups, whilst the other is simple to do, but upon closer inspection, might look poor.
First version would involve me having to model each feather seprarately, so that would be mean working on the barbs of the feathers adding partings to make it look more natural.
The second cheap way is to use an alpha map for the feathers as well as a colour map to give the impression of a feather, (but it would invariably be very flat).
(The reason why I chose to have the wings this way, is because the only time the feathers will be on display is when it is sheathed or is used in my logo animation, but during swordfighting, it would be hidden inside the hilt. So, the wings would look weird sticking out upside down when in the two situations).
Very nice, but I’ve got to say I’m in the lose the wings camp. Otherwise, beautiful. Well, on second thought, the design of the sword is derived from a myth, so if the myth has wings, so must the sword. It might be kind of interesting if you could somehow present the myth with the sword, when it’s done. They seem intertwined.
If you’re going for photo-realism, you’re going to want a chrome material for your blade. Set the color to black, Spec=1.4, Hard=240. Set the reflectivity to 0 and turn on Ray mir to .7. Use an HDR probe for a world texture then put a plane with a shadeless material behind the sword to hide the background from the camera.
I_am_lime, that is the most amazing render I have ever seen. (Post #8.)
Nice design. It looks real good. I would vote to keep the wings (if there was a vote to be made). Very unique.
When a sword is made, the metal that eventually becomes the blade also runs the length of the handle. It is one piece of metal all the way from the tip of the blade down to the bottom of the handle. Usually. Especially with this kind of design. The construction then usually consists of a handguard slipped over the shank that stops at the blade. A wooden handle is fastened to the shank and then usually wrapped in leather to provide a better grip (the idea is that in combat the handle will be covered in sweat and/or blood so you need a good grip). After all of that, the pommel is attached and secures it all very tightly. Again, a sword like this rarely sees combat, so the pommel is usually decorated with a jewel or something fancy. If it is not tight, it would fall apart in combat… which is very bad.
This kind of sword would be “ornamental” or decorative and would probably never actually see any kind of combat… in real life… but in your story, I’m sure it is instrumental in combat.
I said all of that to say, if you want, you can certainly make the handle rectangular but in actual use it would be very awkward. The weight and balance of the handle would have little bearing on its use. A large sword is meant to be swung more like an axe. Using the weight of the blade to crush as well as cut.
I’ve handled swords of this type and I own a few. As far as actually using one this size, when handling a sword it will spin a lot in your hand(s) as you position and reposition it… swinging, slashing, blocking and parrying. The round handle lends itself to spining in your hand(s). A rectangular one would not and would slow you down… which is very bad.
Hope that helps. Sorry for the long post. Nice sword. Very good design.
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