Home 3D Art Showcase & Critiques

WoW Style Weapons

Hi there all,

After spending more time than I would have liked on my first environment for my portfolio, I wanted to move onto something entirely different.

I'm doing a Warcraft (heavily) inspired weapon. I plan to do an in game model, no normal map, and hand painted texture. A very new way of working for me to be honest as I have 0 experience painting textures by hand.

So here's a few sketches I did quickly (scanned in and backed with obligatory old paper texture), I wont do all of them but possibly a couple at least depending on how I get on.

I will move on to color concepts in PS later I think, but thought I would post the initial sketches for some feedback.

The weapons are pretty generic I know, but for my first model, I wanted something kinda straightforward and not some OTT Epic weapon.

sketchsheet.jpg

Replies

  • MoP
    Offline / Send Message
    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Concepts look decent, I look forward to the models!
  • Killaball
    The ideas look cool, but I have one suggestion for ya. Wow is a game of exaggerated proportions. The players' muscles are huge, the shoulder armor is huge and the weapons would make Cloud from final fantasy 7 blush in comparison of how tiny his buster sword is in comparison.

    All joking aside, at the moment these weapons look like they are correct in their proportions for real life humans. Try to push the blades spikes and skulls bigger and larger then what you have.
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the replies.

    That's an awesome observation about the proportions and it highlights where my lack of experience is showing. As I mentioned i will take these into Photoshop to do some detail and colour on the concept so I'll definitely exaggerate things a bit in that phase.

    Thanks MoP, I'm excited to getting it blocked out in 3D but I wanna get the 2D down first because I have a nasty habit with portfolio stuff of rushing into Max and making something crap and losing motivation to continue with the project.

    Updates coming soon!
  • ralusek
    Offline / Send Message
    ralusek polycounter lvl 10
    i wouldn't say these are heavily warcraft inspired at all. they're a bit too basic and clean.

    don't get me wrong, they're cool, just not in the style you would find in warcraft.

    for the swords: there are very few straight single bladed swords in the game, most are pretty abstract and big. there also aren't very many crossguards, let alone symmetrical ones. i'd try to be a bit more insane with your blade proportions. the easiest way to do this is probably try to imagine a tauren holding it.

    for the axes: there aren't so many restrictions. the axes in game have quite a bit of variety, from floating pieces, to symmetical basics, to abstract and enormous. yours are fine, just a little basic and definitely too small.

    otherwise, your presentation looks nice, and they're only minor adjustments to get that stuff looking "warcraft"
  • Isaiah Sherman
    Offline / Send Message
    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    Yeah, I would say they're a bit closer to level 1 weapons from Warhammer Online: a bit more realistic and reserved. Keep in mind that that is not bad, though! You just hit a different concept style (in my eyes, at least).

    The main crit I have is on presentation. Each of the drawings kind of have an equal amount of spacing from each other and are the same distance away from the edges.... too much cushioning or something.

    Keep it up!
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the replies.

    I totally agree, the weapons were kinda inspired by the Northrend starter quest rewards. More believable and simple in shape than say a Sunwell drop. I did this intentionally since it's my first attempt at a wow style model, I wanted to keep it simple so I don't mess it up and lose interest in the whole project.

    Speaking of messing up, look at this horrendous excuse for a piece of crap painting. I was flicking through the Wrath of the Lich King art book and thinking, hmm this looks pretty, but tonally quite simple and there doesn't seem to be too much fancy brushwork. How wrong was I. I've never attempted digital painting in color in any way, and it's obvious I suck hard at it.

    So here it is... I seriously wanted to give up after the 100th attempt, and still kinda do when I see it. Offer crit on this if you like since it's clear that I need a LOT of help with painting.

    axe1.jpg
  • NoltaN
    Offline / Send Message
    NoltaN polycounter lvl 15
    I think it turned out well, I'm not a great 2d painter haha, but I would suggest adding more detail to the handle. It feels really plain compared to the some of the scratch details and what not on the blade. I'd also suggest being a little more consistent with your lighting values. I can see shadowing in some places and highlights in others but on the wood and the handle its virtually non existent or to uniform. I hope that helps haha :D. Also practice makes perfect, the next one will be easier for you i'm sure.
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the reply.

    I think to be honest, I rushed it, and as a result, missed a lot of details like the ones you mentioned.

    I'd love to be able to recreate that whole Blizzard art style which looks all painterly but I am such a beginner at the whole digital painting thing like I said and I don't even know which brushes to use! This was the kind of style I wanted to go for ( in terms of painting style ) but I missed the mark by a mile.

    WarCraft_Drawgoon062c.jpg
  • Isaiah Sherman
    Offline / Send Message
    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    A quick crit from me is you need to push your darks and lights further. Right now everything is floating very close to your 50% mid tones. Choose a light source and paint in some drop shadows along the handle.
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks Isaiah,

    I'm gonna have another go at it I think, just a quick question. I've just had a look at some of your concept work, which is incredible, what brush/settings do you use to get that nicely blended oil kinda style? Notably on the big dude with the wooden club.
  • Isaiah Sherman
    Offline / Send Message
    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    For most of my painting I use a standard 100% hardness brush.

    Go to the Opacity setting up top and drop that to about 80%, then in the brush options use the Opacity Jitter (Other Dynamics) and Size Jitter (Shape Dynamics) and change them to pen pressure. Also, in the Shape Dynamics I usually have my minimum diameter set to 50% or higher, that way I can control the size of my strokes more precisely using the [ ] keys.

    Those settings will get you a decent color blending brush which I use almost 90% of the time. You'll want to turn off Opacity Jitter and bring the Minimum Diameter to 0 or 10% if you're doing fine details like hair.

    Aside from that, just practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.

    Hope that helps :)


    Here is a screenshot of the locations of those options
    brushSettings.jpg
  • Tom Ellis
    Wow, that is perfect, just tried out the brush settings you suggested and they are spot on!

    Thank you so much!
  • Isaiah Sherman
    Offline / Send Message
    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    Great, glad it worked out for you :)
  • Tom Ellis
    Ok, here's the progress on version 2.0.

    I'm happy with the improvement, but any crit would be awesome while I'm still at this stage!

    The blade is mirrored for the sake of it looking better, it will be different in the final version.

    20765660.jpg
  • Slash
    Offline / Send Message
    Slash polycounter lvl 19
    I'm thinking if this is supposed to be wow-styled you could go way more flamboyant than this. Ask yourself what would paul bonner do? :P

    Did a little paintover to illustrate my point.

    flamboyantaxe.jpg
  • Tom Ellis
    Argh ok ok forget I even mentioned WoW. It's a plain old boring axe!

    Seriously though, I did mention, twice, that this is not supposed to be some level 80 epic weapon, think starting zones, think level 4 quests, where the best you get is a piece of wood with some mildly sharp metal.

    I know it would be far cooler to model some dagger with 19 floating pieces and more glowing orbs than one could ever wish for, but as it stands, I suck at painting, I've never attempted modelling a mel
  • Ged
    Offline / Send Message
    Ged interpolator
    I know it would be far cooler to model some dagger with 19 floating pieces and more glowing orbs than one could ever wish for, but as it stands, I suck at painting, I've never attempted modelling a mel
  • Isaiah Sherman
    Offline / Send Message
    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    You have some good detail in your painting, but you simply cannot see all the work you did because the painting came out a little blurry. You can fix this by creating a new empty layer then pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + E. This creates a visible duplicate of everything in your file.

    Then go Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

    I think you can leave all the settings on their default, but just adjust the strength.

    Anyways, here is a paintover of your work I did really pushing your darks and lights more. You're still being a bit too reserved and sitting around your 40 to 60%. Choose a few areas and paint in some 10%, 20%, and 80%.

    The image shows your original, my paintover with the sharpen, and your original with the sharpen.

    04.jpg


    See, the side you did is actually still pretty good. You just needed to sharpen it a bit. Paint in those darks and lights! :)
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the further replies.

    Haiasi- Really appreciate the time you took to do the paintover, and when you put the examples next to each other it does become quite clear.

    I'll hopefully get more done later and will post the results!

    Thanks again
  • Tom Ellis
    Ok here's an update.

    I'm pretty happy how it came out, it's certainly better than yesterdays effort.

    I think I'm gonna call it done on the concept for now just because I really wanna get into 3D and start making this thing. I really enjoyed practicing my painting though and at least I've got a few tips for my next attempt!

    Thanks again to Haiasi for the help.

    axefinal.jpg
  • Quokimbo
    I enjoyed reading the thread, watching you progress, and the finished painting...Can not wait to see it modeled, it looks nice!
  • LoTekK
    Offline / Send Message
    LoTekK polycounter lvl 17
    Painting level up! :) The shaft feels a tad flat, but aside from that, really nice improvement
  • ZacD
    Online / Send Message
    ZacD ngon master
    LoTekK wrote: »
    Painting level up! :) The shaft feels a tad flat, but aside from that, really nice improvement


    That's what she said!

    (sorry had to do it)


    But it does look great! nice paintover Haiasi.
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the replies and kind comments everybody.

    Right... onto the modeling! Kinda feeling the pressure now that all eyes are on me! I'll post progress as it happens!
  • Isaiah Sherman
    Offline / Send Message
    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    Much better! The handle does need to be pushed a bit more with some darks and lights, but the blade part is much better.
  • Tom Ellis
    Just got it modelled, it's currently about 350 tris. If anyone can spot anywhere to drop a few lines then feel free to point them out, there could well be loads but my mesh optimization skills are lacking usually.

    Any other crits are encouraged too, despite the fact there's not a lot to look at just yet!

    Thanks

    axewire.jpg
  • divi
    Offline / Send Message
    divi polycounter lvl 12
    looks great. maybe even add one or two loops on the handle to better represent the silhouette of the bands wrapped around it. but probably not necessary.
  • Tom Ellis
    Hey there, sorry for the lack or updated, had a crazy busy weekend. Sold a car, bought a car, gone shopping for my new motorbike :D

    Anyway,

    Here's what I have. It's at a stage where crit would be great!

    Many thanks

    axeh.jpg
  • NoltaN
    Offline / Send Message
    NoltaN polycounter lvl 15
    I'm really enjoying this thread haha, booked marked it for the 2d drawing tips!! Thanks haisai!

    Really awesome improvements here creationtwentytwo!! I've got to work on my 2d and now im motivated!
  • ZacD
    Online / Send Message
    ZacD ngon master
    Try putting it into Marmoset, its quick and painless and good for previewing stuff.

    The handle seems flat, and so does the detail in the middle of the axe, work on the bump/normal map for that.
  • Angharlech
    Hmm, the parts where the axe blades join the wooden handle seem odd, maybe you could add more shadow?
    Also, I think most axes have the hole in the axe head, with the shaft poking through instead of the other way around, which seems structurally weaker (wood gets too thin at the intersection of blade/shaft) :)
  • ZacD
    Online / Send Message
    ZacD ngon master
    Angharlech wrote: »
    Hmm, the parts where the axe blades join the wooden handle seem odd, maybe you could add more shadow?
    Also, I think most axes have the hole in the axe head, with the shaft poking through instead of the other way around, which seems structurally weaker (wood gets too thin at the intersection of blade/shaft) :)
    Yeah make the axe head thing all metal
  • Boonta
    Offline / Send Message
    Boonta polycounter lvl 13
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the comments/suggestions.

    ZacD, I agree it looks flat, but I'm trying to stay true to the whole WoW thing and not use bump/normal, just diffuse and spec. I've included the texture reference I was using (and ONLY for the texture reference, I know, I know, it's a lot more interesting looking weapon etc etc ;p) and while it obviously looks a great deal better than mine, it still looks kinda flat. I guess there's only so much you can do without bump/normal.

    I also totally agree about the axe head, it seems so unconventional. Part of me likes the whole level 4 WoW character 'omg that would so totally break if I hit that wolf with this', but yeah I agree in reality an axe made like that would last 2 minutes of use at most. I'm just trying to think of a way to keep that part looking interesting as simply making the whole upper shaft metal will look a little plain.

    Here's a Marmoset shot, and I always get carried away with bloom and sharpness in Marmoset.

    axemarmoset.jpg


    And here's the TEXTURE reference:

    axeref.jpg
  • Avanthera
    Offline / Send Message
    Avanthera polycounter lvl 10
    excellent, looks more like age of conan than wow, but I like it better that way. keep it up.
  • Tom Ellis
    Yes! That's exactly what I was thinking. It has turned out a little more like AoC, Guild Wars style. To be honest I think that's down to the fact I have always up until now created textures from photo ref, and a slight edge of 'realism' seems to have subconsciously guided my painting a little. The WoW style is definitely more painterly.

    I am pretty happy with how it has turned out, a minor deviation from the original concept I suppose but overall it's been a fun project.

    Thanks
  • natetheartist
    Offline / Send Message
    natetheartist polycounter lvl 9
    your latest update looks much better.
    I hear you about making it a simple weapon, rather than a level 80 epic whatever, but keep in mind, that adding interest is seldom a bad thing.
    Its looking great as it is, but you shouldn't rule out adding more uniqueness and flair.
  • torontoanimator
    not too shabby, though its VERY simple even for wow
  • Tom Ellis
    Thanks for the replies, yes yes I know it is a bit too simple, coming back to look at it now, I maybe coulda pushed it a little more.

    Next time I'll make something much more exciting!
  • Tom Ellis
    Right... round 2!

    I've come back with another of my original sketches, still fairly primitive but at least a little more exciting than the first one.

    I'm gonna scrap the hand-painted diffuse/spec only method for this one and take it a bit further, probably into ZBrush and using a little photo based texturing to give it a bit more detail.

    So here's my concept, really enjoyed painting this, while my painting skill has improved a little, I still suck so excuse that fact for now! I'd love to replicate the whole 'enchanted smoke' thing but my particle/fx skills are non existent so may have to give that a miss.

    axe2finalsmall.jpg
  • DnS
    Its kind of strange having the edge on the side of the blade you put it on. The end would chip off pretty easily.
  • Tom Ellis
    Could you explain a little further?

    I'm probably being dumb but the words 'edge, side, and blade' all together have got me a little confused as to what you mean!
  • ZacD
    Online / Send Message
    ZacD ngon master
    looks a little short.
  • Tom Ellis
    Yeah you're right ZacD, the length of the blade does seem a little short in relation to the size of the handle, I'll fix it in 3D :)
  • Kylen
    Offline / Send Message
    Kylen null
    Hey creationtwentytwo, I enjoy seeing your progress.

    I think what DnS was saying is the blade edge which is located on the left side of the main form should be on the right side. Basically just horizontally flip it.

    Also, this is my first post on Polycount. You motivated me to join the forums :)
  • DnS
    Yeah, you're right, my phrasing was terrible. I meant that you put the sharp side of the weapon on the weaker side.

    Look at almost any knife you own that isn't a santoku. The longer part of the knife is the dull side. This creates a stronger weapon. Looking at the sword you designed, the point is going to taper sharply and would be much more like to chip or break off if coming into contact with another weapon.

    I don't know if its really all that important, but I haven't seen many blades that aren't more than letter openers shaped like the concept.
  • Pavel Petrenko
    Offline / Send Message
    Pavel Petrenko polycounter lvl 8
    Hey, creationtwentytwo !
    You need to use more clean colours, not dirty colours, if you need WoW style.
    Read books of Colour theory , its give to you more colour mixing understanding.
    Good progress! Keep it up!
  • DrunkShaman
    Offline / Send Message
    DrunkShaman polycounter lvl 14
    I enjoyed looking over your preview so far....Nice work.

    3 suggustions though:

    I dont know if you used the logic of melted metal for the connection between the blade and the handle. But if you have, than make it more visible or solid.

    Extend the handle a bit so it wouldnt look like off physics in game holding the sword from half handle.

    Extend the sword which ZacD suggusted already.

    Overall, I believe that you are doing great!!.

    Good luck..

    Also are you hand crafting the render for maps? (sorry for this stupid question)
  • Baddcog
    Offline / Send Message
    Baddcog polycounter lvl 9
    Axe is nice, I don't think anyone mentioned.

    You could drop alot of polys by floating the spikes on the handle. Just make cubes at each end of the handle and put the spikes on top instead of extruding the cubes to get spikes. That's about 16 polys.

    Same with the cylinders at each end of axe head. another 20+, and maybe spike at top too.
  • Ghostscape
    Offline / Send Message
    Ghostscape polycounter lvl 13
    Where are the colors?

    You started to add some blues to the axe, which is a start, but look at that reference axe you have - look at the pinks and purples and blues in the 'grey' metal. The WoW painterly style adds a lot of color and hue variation, objects aren't just black and white shaded and then colorized later. You should be using color theory and making your shadows colder and your brights warmer, playing with contrasting and complimentary hues to enhance the contrast and flow of the materials.
Sign In or Register to comment.