EPIC Sword
polycounter lvl 11
Here's a WoW style sword that I've been working on. This is a concept from a weapon in Lich King, so I kinda went with the icy blue color scheme.
The model weighs in at 376 polys which I know is high for WoW, but other than the polycount I wanna know what is working and what is not working. Thanks everyone!
The model weighs in at 376 polys which I know is high for WoW, but other than the polycount I wanna know what is working and what is not working. Thanks everyone!
Replies
Also, the experienced 3D Artists here will be the judges of what is 'EPIC' and what isn't ;D
i like the runes and the blue
The bottom half is suffering though.
I agree with the emissive maps.
Would your name be from the Warhammer Fantasy universe? "Belakor the Dark Master" ?
Which are probably copyrighted images, though I could be wrong.
Either way, I recognized them instantly and it ruined it for me.
If you are going for a low poly count, try baking this extra detail into a texture and make some modifications to avoid any transparency/normal maps if that's a requirement/choice. I feel that you could make the sword do the concept justice even in a low poly setting, but it needs more work. That's what's standing out here, the lack of character that is in the ref.
for what i know (at least if i recall right) the characters had something like 1200tris and the new characters like draenei are around 1.9k or something
so i guess weapons wont have sooo much detail in the lowpoly, but its just my guess
Overall - don't be afraid to go wild on the texture, you are seeming to be very conservative and tidy, while that will take away from the "epic" factor.
The texture looks very flat at the moment... it's a decent base, but you should paint in more lighting and shadows. If you keep things flat and simplistic then it looks like a plastic toy. Try to add more variation across the surface, like subtle gradients and vary the color temperatures in transitions between dark and light. Basically anything you can think of that will help give the impression of its scale and usage.
Forget for a moment that this is a 3d model and just think of how you would improve the image from a 2d stand point. Take a screenshot of a high end weapon from WoW and look at all the details: the scratches and dents, the bright highlights and the dark corners. That stuff is all painted on the texture, and should be on yours as well.
A specular map would help, but you should be able to get this to be 90% of the way there without it. Look at the model in your 3d app with only textures on and no shading- if it looks great in this situation then you're on the right track. 512 is probably a bit much for a WoW weapon, to be honest... I mean, I think the entire character models themselves are probably 512, and that's only with all the gear on and stuff.
I'm also not a huge fan of the orange, I would either tone it way down or change it to grey and make it look metal. Also, the spikes on the hilt look like crystals while in the concept they look like metal spikes. I'd suggest changing that
Here's a few I googled:
http://db.mmo-champion.com/static/img/screenshots/541.jpg
http://static.mmo-champion.com/mmoc/images/news/2008/december/Sword_2H_Ulduar_D_01Blue.jpg
And of course, Frostmourne: http://www.wowwiki.com/Frostmourne
It would also be a good idea for you to snag the WoW model viewer to check out the models up close and personal, rotate around them, look at how the details are painted and see the spec and emissive maps and effects in action. You got a lot of good advice in here, now run with it and finish it right, good luck.
Model Viewer:
http://www.wowmodelviewer.org/forum/index.php?topic=5135.0
Pretty much all of what Em said is true.
Also add some dents in there to give it some character. I'd also change the orange base colour to something nicer, maybe a dark/greyish purple base - but that's just me.