hi. When i first started learning 3D software, I would follow tutorials or videos and also went out and got books on the software I was using. I would suggest you do some tutorials and not worry about being awesome just yet. This sword requires that you have a stronger modeling and texturing foundation. Its great that…
Actually in your screen-caps we can't see anything because there is too much geometry relative to the distance of the camera. I think your Mentalray renders are fine, just composite them together as someone else suggested and maybe use a dark grey color instead. If you need more hints on presentation renders, there's a…