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New to modelling, would love some critiques of my first models(knives)

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  • pmiller001
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    pmiller001 greentooth
    Hey partner, a few things
    -Show us the wireframe
    -Show us the reference. 
    -These look like screen grabs, not actual renders. Am I correct?
    -If you've got any maps, go ahead and show us those too. 

    As far as critique, right now its pretty bare bones. Its not bad, but its definitely not where it needs to be, nor is it super interesting to look at. Fortunately you're at the phase where you can just keep adding. So I say go back to the drawing board on these, and focus on ONE you want to look really good. 

    GOod luck partner!
  • Anchang-Style
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    Anchang-Style polycounter lvl 7
    Also remember, that your models doesn't have to be one solid piece (so keep that in mind before trying to get it all made out of one mesh).
  • allengingrich
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    allengingrich polycounter lvl 2
    Also remember, that your models doesn't have to be one solid piece (so keep that in mind before trying to get it all made out of one mesh).
    This. Think of meshes as real life objects. In real life, the handle of the knife is separate from the blade, so model them separately then combine them at the end.
  • MediumSolid
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    MediumSolid polycounter lvl 8
    Looks like to me that the knives blade isn't sharp enough. Don't be so hard on yourself, you've just started modeling, you can't expect much, it takes years of dedicating yourself to modeling in order to model anything with good amount of detail and really good topology. Are these done in blender? All in all, not bad for a beginner.
  • MethCat
    Ah thanks for the excellent advice fellas. Made in Blender yes, no idea what I am really doing but I enjoy it!! Yes, lot of features I have no idea does what since I started out about 1 week ago. Everything is done pretty much just starting with a box then shaping the box into a knife by manipulating the verts, suffice to say I am sure there are better and more efficient ways of doing it. I especially felt like I had some serious challenges with the sharpness of the edge and the 'roundness' of the curved parts of the edge. Which is why I ended up doing some rather 'angular' knife designs. 

    Not sure whats maps or references mean though but yeah I probably should have showed wireframes!!
  • allengingrich
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    allengingrich polycounter lvl 2
    MethCat said:
    Ah thanks for the excellent advice fellas. Made in Blender yes, no idea what I am really doing but I enjoy it!! Yes, lot of features I have no idea does what since I started out about 1 week ago. Everything is done pretty much just starting with a box then shaping the box into a knife by manipulating the verts, suffice to say I am sure there are better and more efficient ways of doing it. I especially felt like I had some serious challenges with the sharpness of the edge and the 'roundness' of the curved parts of the edge. Which is why I ended up doing some rather 'angular' knife designs. 

    Not sure whats maps or references mean though but yeah I probably should have showed wireframes!!
    Always have adequate reference -- images of what you're trying to model. You want as much as you can get from as many sides and angles as you can. Even pros model from reference photos.
  • robochrish
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    robochrish polycounter lvl 9
    I couldn't aggree more about reference. It's extremely important when initially planning out your model. It's also important to think about the silhouette of the shape because if it doesn't look interesting in silhouette, it won't when it's finished.
    Also keep an eye on how detailed your mesh is. One good rule of thumb is to keep the mesh as simple as possible for a long as possible whilst you're blocking out the shape, then you can start adding details etc.
  • Maffyland
    I concur with the rest of the posts here with regards to separating parts of the mesh. If the real item is supposed to be separate, then keep it separate. Putting everything in a single mesh can give the overall model a moulded plastic look, which you don't really want for knives. At this stage it's probably worth thinking about the materials that the separate parts are supposed to be made from and making cuts and divisions based on that too.
  • MethCat
    MethCat said:
    Ah thanks for the excellent advice fellas. Made in Blender yes, no idea what I am really doing but I enjoy it!! Yes, lot of features I have no idea does what since I started out about 1 week ago. Everything is done pretty much just starting with a box then shaping the box into a knife by manipulating the verts, suffice to say I am sure there are better and more efficient ways of doing it. I especially felt like I had some serious challenges with the sharpness of the edge and the 'roundness' of the curved parts of the edge. Which is why I ended up doing some rather 'angular' knife designs. 

    Not sure whats maps or references mean though but yeah I probably should have showed wireframes!!
    Always have adequate reference -- images of what you're trying to model. You want as much as you can get from as many sides and angles as you can. Even pros model from reference photos.
    I couldn't aggree more about reference. It's extremely important when initially planning out your model. It's also important to think about the silhouette of the shape because if it doesn't look interesting in silhouette, it won't when it's finished.
    Also keep an eye on how detailed your mesh is. One good rule of thumb is to keep the mesh as simple as possible for a long as possible whilst you're blocking out the shape, then you can start adding details etc.
    Maffyland said:
    I concur with the rest of the posts here with regards to separating parts of the mesh. If the real item is supposed to be separate, then keep it separate. Putting everything in a single mesh can give the overall model a moulded plastic look, which you don't really want for knives. At this stage it's probably worth thinking about the materials that the separate parts are supposed to be made from and making cuts and divisions based on that too.

    Ah right, I get it now!! Yeah I had bad references, low res pictures taken an bad angles(one angle) meant I had to fill in most the 'blanks' myself. Def something to keep in mind!

    Yeah I noticed that myself that when jumped in right from the start and made all the little details, the model would usually turn out bad. Also, I am not sure if 9 hours on one model is even enough, what do you guys think? I feel like I might be rushing this. 

    And yeah, it makes sense that the blade and the grip are supposed to be two different entities and not moldel from the same block. Good tip on the materials, never really thought about that. 
  • MethCat
    Screwed up the quote thing; here is what I said in normal format;

    Ah right, I get it now!! Yeah I had bad references, low res pictures taken an bad angles(one angle) meant I had to fill in most the 'blanks' myself. Def something to keep in mind!

    Yeah I noticed that myself that when jumped in right from the start and made all the little details, the model would usually turn out bad. Also, I am not sure if 9 hours on one model is even enough, what do you guys think? I feel like I might be rushing this. 

    And yeah, it makes sense that the blade and the grip are supposed to be two different entities and not moldel from the same block. Good tip on the materials, never really thought about that. 
  • MethCat
    MethCat said:
    Ah thanks for the excellent advice fellas. Made in Blender yes, no idea what I am really doing but I enjoy it!! Yes, lot of features I have no idea does what since I started out about 1 week ago. Everything is done pretty much just starting with a box then shaping the box into a knife by manipulating the verts, suffice to say I am sure there are better and more efficient ways of doing it. I especially felt like I had some serious challenges with the sharpness of the edge and the 'roundness' of the curved parts of the edge. Which is why I ended up doing some rather 'angular' knife designs. 

    Not sure whats maps or references mean though but yeah I probably should have showed wireframes!!
    Always have adequate reference -- images of what you're trying to model. You want as much as you can get from as many sides and angles as you can. Even pros model from reference photos.
    I couldn't aggree more about reference. It's extremely important when initially planning out your model. It's also important to think about the silhouette of the shape because if it doesn't look interesting in silhouette, it won't when it's finished.
    Also keep an eye on how detailed your mesh is. One good rule of thumb is to keep the mesh as simple as possible for a long as possible whilst you're blocking out the shape, then you can start adding details etc.
    Maffyland said:
    I concur with the rest of the posts here with regards to separating parts of the mesh. If the real item is supposed to be separate, then keep it separate. Putting everything in a single mesh can give the overall model a moulded plastic look, which you don't really want for knives. At this stage it's probably worth thinking about the materials that the separate parts are supposed to be made from and making cuts and divisions based on that too.

    Ah right, I get it now!! Yeah I had bad references, low res pictures taken an bad angles(one angle) meant I had to fill in most the 'blanks' myself. Def something to keep in mind!

    Yeah I noticed that myself that when jumped in right from the start and made all the little details, the model would usually turn out bad. Also, I am not sure if 9 hours on one model is even enough, what do you guys think? I feel like I might be rushing this. 

    And yeah, it makes sense that the blade and the grip are supposed to be two different entities and not moldel from the same block. Good tip on the materials, never really thought about that. 

    Appreciate it guys, this forum has proven real helpful. 
  • MethCat
    MethCat said:
    Ah thanks for the excellent advice fellas. Made in Blender yes, no idea what I am really doing but I enjoy it!! Yes, lot of features I have no idea does what since I started out about 1 week ago. Everything is done pretty much just starting with a box then shaping the box into a knife by manipulating the verts, suffice to say I am sure there are better and more efficient ways of doing it. I especially felt like I had some serious challenges with the sharpness of the edge and the 'roundness' of the curved parts of the edge. Which is why I ended up doing some rather 'angular' knife designs. 

    Not sure whats maps or references mean though but yeah I probably should have showed wireframes!!
    Always have adequate reference -- images of what you're trying to model. You want as much as you can get from as many sides and angles as you can. Even pros model from reference photos.
    I couldn't aggree more about reference. It's extremely important when initially planning out your model. It's also important to think about the silhouette of the shape because if it doesn't look interesting in silhouette, it won't when it's finished.
    Also keep an eye on how detailed your mesh is. One good rule of thumb is to keep the mesh as simple as possible for a long as possible whilst you're blocking out the shape, then you can start adding details etc.
    Maffyland said:
    I concur with the rest of the posts here with regards to separating parts of the mesh. If the real item is supposed to be separate, then keep it separate. Putting everything in a single mesh can give the overall model a moulded plastic look, which you don't really want for knives. At this stage it's probably worth thinking about the materials that the separate parts are supposed to be made from and making cuts and divisions based on that too.

    Ah right, I get it now!! Yeah I had bad references, low res pictures taken an bad angles(one angle) meant I had to fill in most the 'blanks' myself. Def something to keep in mind!

    Yeah I noticed that myself that when jumped in right from the start and made all the little details, the model would usually turn out bad. Also, I am not sure if 9 hours on one model is even enough, what do you guys think? I feel like I might be rushing this. 

    And yeah, it makes sense that the blade and the grip are supposed to be two different entities and not moldel from the same block. Good tip on the materials, never really thought about that. 

    Appreciate it guys, this forum has proven real helpful. 
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