[Weapon Swap] – Jat Kittag – Messorem Iudicii

avenali312

I've been trying to focus more on hard-surface lately and this looks like a great contest, so I couldn't pass it up. I've recruited my good friend Matthew to be my concept artist and motivator on this one.

We've chosen to do a weapon swap in the flavor of the Jat Kittag. He pushed me a quick, rough sketch and some details so we could get our thread started and get rolling. I'm sure he'll chime in at some point in the thread if there is any feedback, criticism, or questions about the design.

From Matthew:
Messorem Iudicii (The Reaper's Judgment)

"Imbued with the eternal power of Death itself, this two-handed gavel is comprised of the Reaper's remains. Harnessing the powerful energy of the necro-matter contained within the elder Tenno skull fragment, Messorem Iudicii is a formidable weapon capable of extreme damage. Several exhaust ports allow for the effective dispersion of excess energy while propelling the indestructible skull of death into the wielder's enemies. The large and elongated handle resembles that of a spinal cord."

Initial sketch:


We are both relatively new to the Warframe universe, so we're really relying on the guidance of the community to help mold our design and its backstory.

As always, feedback and critique is welcome. Good luck to everyone!

Thanks,
Adam

matt_included

Awesome opportunity, big thanks to Polycount & Warframe.

Not super familiar with Warframe, but getting there. Initial concept inspiration might be a bit out there, so please feel free to right the ship if I'm out in left field somewhere.

This rough concept sheet shows the direction of the design...

Stosh

This looks great so far. Really like the design. If you haven't already, take a look at some of the Warhammer 40k art or models, particularly the Tech Priests, Techmarines, Tech servitors, or from I believe the new army Adeptus Mechanicus. These references could give you some other ideas to supplement the great foundation you already have for your Jat Kittag. What you are making overall definitely favors it being a Grinner weapon, so maybe check out more of their units and weapons for more inspiration to reel it more into the Warframe universe.

matt_included

Thanks Stosh!

Glad you're digging the initial vibe. I hadn't (up until now) checked out any Warhammer 40K character art and without question my design reflects the  tech-y aesthetics of the adeptus mechs. Really cool and very inspiring! Also, I think your right about this particular weapon design being Grineer-centric.

The more I delve into the WF universe the more questions I have...

Are the Grineer a "once human" species? 

Thanks!

avenali312

For future reading: http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Grineer

kary

I like the narrative, but as per @avenali312I would definitely look at Grineer lore and try to fit into that.  Alternatively look at the Nekros character and tie tightly to him. http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Nekros_(Warframe)

Your design as is might work 1:1 with a Grineer mask in place of the skull   

matt_included

Kary - Thanks for the input, really appreciate your feedback.

After reading through some of the Grineer lore as well as looking into Nekros (awesome) and his abilities, I was able to make some changes to the initial design that hopefully reflect those aesthetics.

Again, this is just a quick rough sketch, but hopefully enough to start a base model.

avenali312

Super pumped on the adjusted direction. The excitement should help increase my motivation to actually finish this haha.

I've adjusted the proportions of the sketch a bit (just the handle, really) to match the original Jat Kittag so engine implementation goes smoothly.

avenali312

Initial blockout is pretty much done. Going to be continuing with the high poly for the next couple of days.

avenali312

After talking with Matt for a while about the concept, it would seem I misinterpreted the face mask portion of the helm, so I rebuilt it using more reference, mostly from a Grineer Lancer. I think it will mesh with the Warframe universe better, so high poly modeling shall continue.

avenali312

High poly progress:

Chase

Lovin this Adam! It's like Twisted Metal and Warframe had a baby

Demeios

Awesome design! I hope you intend on keeping the little bend at the bottom of the handle, that little detail looked really good to me. Keep up the great work!

avenali312

Chase said:

Lovin this Adam! It's like Twisted Metal and Warframe had a baby

Thanks! The design is all Matt, I'm just the production guy haha. 

Demeios said:

Awesome design! I hope you intend on keeping the little bend at the bottom of the handle, that little detail looked really good to me. Keep up the great work!

Thanks! I was experimenting without it, but I think you're right; it should be there for some detail at the bottom. 

avenali312

Some progress on the low poly conversion.

avenali312

Sorry for the lack of progress. Once I started texturing I got tied up in the work haha.

_Connor

This is so great, I actually stopped working on my submission for the jat kittag because i'd rather see this in the game. I really hope you win, or at leaast have DE accept this design.

avenali312

_Connor said:

This is so great, I actually stopped working on my submission for the jat kittag because i'd rather see this in the game. I really hope you win, or at leaast have DE accept this design.

Thanks! We really appreciate the kind words. We both had a great time working on it.