Dwarven Battle Hammer (C&C needed)

WarrenM

So the Darksiders2 comp got me thinking about weapons and that maybe I would try and make one. This is my first major sculpt of anything in ZBrush so I ask for a little leniency, but not too much of course.

At any rate, before I start attempting to paint/texture this is there anything glaringly awful that jumps out at you? I've redone the handle at least 5 times now, so I'm totally open to changing whatever.

Thanks for your time!

Turn table : http://dl.dropbox.com/u/161473/Polycount/Hammer/CC_Turntable.mov

Shots :

sybrix

Hey now, this is looking pretty sweet. Absolutely love the detailing and wear, especially on that handle. 5th time's a charm?

My only crit is the stone core of the hammer is reading kind of soft/doughy. Something about the way the side plates are inset I think is causing it the most. I think the extreme wear between the two edges, and amount of space between the two edges might be a little too much. It's most noticeable in the 2nd and 3rd images. Or I could just be a crazy person.

Either way, I drooled a bit. :shifty:

WarrenM

Working up the stone in the middle to look more rock like .. I think? I hope.

Steve Schulze

I think you've pushed it too far now. Find a happy medium between the angular version you have now and the more organic look you had originally and you should have something pretty good.

Alberto Rdrgz

honestly, the curve in the handle diminishes the strength of the hammer (look wise). It just doesn't promote a strong silhouette, imo.

WarrenM

OK, awesome crits, thank you!

Made a few changes - I re-did the rock in the middle and changed the handle to something more solid:

WarrenM

Started working on the textures for this. Coming to grips with learning poly painting and spotlight within ZBrush! I started on the middle rock block - I want it to be sort of a volcanic rock with a hot center that glows out from a few spots.

JoshC

Awesome work, I really chuckled a little with the polycount smiley face in the mace head. I could just picture it being stamped into someones forehead. Great work.

Donavonyoung

One thing that strikes me right away is that the damage and wear on the hammer look like it just got old and is falling apart. It makes me feel like if I hit someone with it, the thing would just crumble. Just like if you drop an old cinder block that has been out in the rain for a long time.

Autarkis

agree with @donavonyoung, all this damage and wear and tear on the stone itself makes me feel like it's going to crumble right away. I like the overall design of it, but would definitely add some sharp angles on the stone and cut it more to show real battle damage. To me the thing still feels too doughy to quote an earlier post. Like was said on the post right above mine it appears that the hammer has been left in the forest for a few years and rain, snow, have beaten it to death.
Although, that metal piece on the side of the hammer feels to me not very practical, just there for decoration, if it was banded all around the hammer, it would give the stone more strength?

Oh, and to tie in your volcanic rock idea with a core of magma, maybe dig the whole deeper in your sculpts to add more depth, that molten core idea will look much better that way when you do your self emissive map