Kraken Pirate Cutlass (Critique/ feedback)

e_manual

Hi everyone, I was hoping for some Critique/ feedback on this 3D asset, subD modeled in 3ds max (including all ornamental detail) and textured in subtance painter with some preliminary marmoset renders . Any feedback is greatly appreciated. 

kanga

Nice asset and renders! Didnt notice the skull. Perhaps more wear on it (less black) would make it more of a feature.

Pav3d

The handle and guard look really nice, the modelling and texturing are great.

Imo I would remove the filigree from the blade since it a) looks streched and b) you want some areas of rest so that the detail on the handle can be focused on.

A side note you would have that kind of detail engraved on a blade rather than embossed.

Agreed about the skull, its also needs to be brought up to the same standard as the rest of the detail, it looks a bit rushed in comparison.

e_manual

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated @kanga and @Pav3d . I will revise the textures. 

I agree about the skull, do you think it will also require revising the modeling aspect or would ajusting the textures suffice to bring it up to the same standard?
 

Pav3d

Brightening the skull texturing and giving it some brighter spots of colour around areas where it would be scuffed and brushed against (such as the forehead) would certainly help.

But if you want to go a bit further..

I think looking at some reference of filigree skulls and investigating some way to make the skull look more like its part of the same piece.

At the moment the pattern on the guard which should be supporting the main skull outshines it.

On this helmet for example the main embossed piece is supported by the patterns around it and everything feels like the same amount of time and thought has been dedicated to it.

Im not saying do this exactly but in this you can see how the filigree works with the skull, particularly on the right image:

btw are you you sculpting that skull or making in 3ds max?

e_manual

thanks for the going in depth  @Pav3d .

I used 3ds max for everything, the original props backstory was a plundered sword and the design intention was to show a juxtaposition between a ornate sword and a retrofitted rough pirates skull to denotes its new owner with a similar look to this:

 https://youtu.be/2XbugraZ3kc?t=608 

However now I am not sure whether my original concept was missguided as I would like to convey this as a deliberate design choice rather then an inconsistency in the asset?

thanks for your assistance and feedback!

Pav3d

e_manual said:

the original props backstory was a plundered sword and the design intention was to show a juxtaposition between a ornate sword and a retrofitted rough pirates skull to denotes its new owner

Ah interesting! The concept is cool it just could use better reference. The sword in the video has these intentionally vague phantoms coming out the metal.

In that case I would suggest, making the skull more "piratey" roughly cast, damaged, have it slightly askew/offset, maybe even having the blade coming out of one eye instead of the centre, experiment with it. Basically make it more intentionally at odds with the rest of the sword.

Its a bit of an obvious choice of reference but this pirates of the carribean poster has some cool ideas:

patterns, beads, feathers, different style of patterns.

I would suggest playing with it in Zbrush, would be a lot easier to mess around with.

e_manual

I haven't finished the texturing yet, but I have removed the embossed detail on the blade and added a more subtle engraving at the base of the blade while keeping the middle section clean 

I have also twisted the skull to be more asymmetrical, rebaked the normal map and increased the roughness of the base metal to distinguish it more from the rest of the prop, although I still need to add more grunge roughness and height deformations to it.
I have also done some quick tests and made two deviation of the model, to see if the sword would look better with or without the skull. At this point I am rather split on which would benefit the asset the most?

e_manual

Posted to my Artstation! https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aRx3lJ