Sketches for the fire and water weapon set. The water set will be painted right after I finish the challenge for Darksiders 2 (see my next post).
With the elemental sets I tried to stay away from making the weapons look like their respective elements, and instead make them seem affected by the element. Therefore the fire set is covered in melted material and blisters, and the water set is one that an island refugee would use/make.
A weapon set designed for CGHub’s Drawing Jam no. 70: Elemental Weapon Set.
While I picked Fire for the challenge, I fully intend to experiment with the other elements, as this was a great exercise. Because of time limitations, the entire design process (from sketchbook iterations to final product) took approximately 20 hours.
Weapon set design: organic weapons
Since so far I have only spoke of expanding into discussing firearms, as well, I decided to change the situation. The “organic” theme came about as I observed so many melee weapons designed after (or containing) organic elements: spikes and claws, which, for animals serve other functions than on weapons. However, they do make for compelling designs, and so the Crustacea set took form. A few notes on each of the weapons:
Karkinos:
This was the first design and less thought has been put into it than into the others (at first). The mobile claw serves as a storage device for the energy sphere. When it hinges upwards, the energy is released in the form of a beam. Additionally, the entire “claw” may be fired as a grappling hook, using the attached winch. Not only can the Karkinos be used as a climbing device in this way, but it may also be used to tear down light cover (such as metal containers, ungrounded concrete blocks, etc.)
Alpheus:
Based on the pistol shrimp’s claw, the Alpheus has a relatively simple firing mechanism. The lower claw (designated as the hammer) hinges upwards into the body of the gun. Pistol shrimp use this system to create an immensely powerful blast of air, which stuns prey several times larger than themselves. However, this only works under water. The Alpheus solves this issue by adding a secondary firing mechanism: as the hammer rises, a jet of fluid (different fluids may be used to achieve various effects) is pushed into the upper chamber, and then propelled through the primary firing mechanism. A fuel-filled hammer will result in a short-burst flamethrower effect, for example, while a thick gel will be more effective at knocking opponents prone and immobilizing them.
Thermidon:
Based on lobsters, the Thermidon uses a complex array of thermal devices and storage systems. It consists of two firing modes. If the “cilia” on the inside of the claw face backwards, the gun absorbs all heat emissions in a straight line, effectively acting as a freeze ray. The heat is stored in the sphere at the back of the claw. When the storage sphere becomes overheated, the user may reverse the direction of the cilia and release the stored heat with the Thermidon’s secondary firing mode. This firing mode has a shorter range, but a wider arc of fire. Because of the complex devices within the Thermidon, it is used with both hands safely away from the firing systems, with an additional clip over the shoulder (the segmented design of the shoulder clip allows it to be easily adjusted to various body types) for added support.
A very embellished hilt and pommel. This sword has clearly reached a “purely decorative” state.
(Source: lostsplendor)
During my last pitch, my evaluation of some weapons came into question: what did I regard as “good designs”? Dieter Rams has composed a great list of principles to follow, and one that coincides rather well with good weapon design.
1. Innovative
As demonstrated by the multitude of modern-day blacksmiths who still create original pieces, I would argue that weapon design can still be innovative.
2. Product usability
This aspect of design is at the very core of this project. Weapons that we see in museums are products of thousands of years of iterations and evolution. Their form reflects exactly what they were supposed to do. So should new weapon designs, as we have thousands of years of history to draw from.
3. Aesthetic quality
This point is rather difficult to argue, as it is the one I was specifically berated on during my pitch. However, I think a good, universal understanding of aesthetic quality can be drawn from the more traditional principles of design.
4. The product is understandable
Relates to point 2 above. A minimal knowledge of weaponry is required to understand its functions. One would expect a sword larger than a man’s torso to be held in two hands, yet many games show weapons such as these held in just one, for example. In games where weapons have stats, one would expect a long-barreled rifle to confer an accuracy bonus, for example.
5. Unobtrusiveness
Here, I somewhat disagree with Rams. While this is true for real-life weapons (where simpler is, indeed, more beautiful), weapons in games or films have the additional function of informing one of the character’s role or status. Decorations should be used on weapons in games, but with restraint and relevance.
6. Honesty
Again, with reference to games. A weapon that looks like it should do a lot of damage, should, indeed do that much damage. This ties a lot into animation and character design, as well as the design of the game itself.
7. Long-lasting
Along the years, swords have changed very little. Their form is so easily identifiable, that they have become iconic. The same can be said about other weapons, as well. Anyone can recognize a sword, a spear, an axe, a revolver. The reason their forms are so long-lasting is because they do what they are intended to do so well.
8. Thorough
Every detail must be carefully considered. This point speaks for itself, I believe.
9. Environmentally friendly
Unfortunately, this point does not really apply to weapon design in general, much less so to digital weapon design.
10. Minimalism
This ties in to point 5 above. Rams suggests here that use whatever deign gets the job done, and nothing else. As above, however, I would argue that weapon design in media should be a little over the top, to give the respective piece added character, especially in the appropriate setting.
“Invented by General Robert Melville and named after the foundry in which they were first cast, the Carron Iron Works in Scotland, the carronade was a short-barrelled gun capable of firing a very heavy shot at close range, and was consequently known by contemporaries as the ‘smasher’. They were also much lighter than ordinary naval guns and this allowed them to be mounted on the forecastles and poopdecks of ships where normal guns could not be placed. This dramatically increased the firepower of a ship without endangering her stability. A ship of the line could mount up to 10 such guns on her poopdeck and forecastle. The gun’s lightness also allowed it to be mounted on a simple swivel and to be manned by a small number of men. French gun-foundries were unable to construct similar carronades for 20 years and their ships were forced to rely on the much weaker brass obusier. Taken together, the introduction of copper sheathing and the carronade represented the first impact of the Industrial Revolution on the design and operation of fighting ships.”
Sam Willis, Fighting Ships 1750-1850
http://madartlab.com/2011/12/14/fantasy-armor-and-lady-bits/
Great article on women’s armour in media. Similar argument to my honours project: seeking a balance between practicality and aesthetics.
The beginning of the media analysis. I have begun with the first Conan the Barbarian film (John Milius), and continued with the 2011 version (Marcus Nispel). There were interesting weapon designs in both of them, but there more more, by far, in the 1982 version. Nispel’s film seems to have a lot of weapons that are not just impractical, but they are not particularly interesting, either. Even Conan’s sword, which is designed around a fairly recognizable form, has a very unappealing crossguard. This is an example of how form does not necessarily trump function, and that the two need to be in balance. Milius’ version has some bizarre weapons, indeed. I found one of the more interesting ones to be the triple (!) headed axe, which is beyond wild. The bizarre shovel-looking thing is also rather baffling, and, while it seems like it belongs in the setting of the film, it is not of a particularly appealing design. Luckily, it appears in the film for only a few seconds before it is discarded.
More project on the sword, as well. I fixed the problem with the normals by beveling some of the edges. This created some complications with the geometry, and most of my time with this model has been spent fixing that. It is now finally at a stage where I can UV map it without complication, however, I will need to take high resolution photos for this, as well.
Began adding textures to the axe, from the high resolution photos I took earlier this week. Because the various bits come from different source files, they need to be better blended with each other, which I will do next. A bit earlier than that, I began sculpting in Mudbox to get a feel for the tools. I am quite pleased with how the sculpt turned out so far, but I will have to redo it from scratch, as the geometry in Maya has changed slightly.
Decided to take a break from serious weapon design, so I ended up creating THIS atrocity, which just kept escalating.
Joking aside, however, it actually helped me out with defining forms in Photoshop, and I particularly enjoyed making the flanged pattern and also reinforced the modularity of the subject.
Texture fail.
Tried to scan bits of my two axes in order to get high resolution textures. However, they were of a less regular shape than I thought, so some areas were further from the glass than others, therefore resulting in blurred textures.
Hopefully, the photos I will take today will turn out better.
I am taking a modular approach to the axe designs. The blades themselves are fairly easy to modify, as well as the haft (although there is not much to be done with the latter). Texturing will be done tonight, as I shall be taking photos of real wood and steel, for authenticity.
This is a “Dane” axe (long haft, for use with two hands) modeled over the past two days. This took far less time to model than the sword. Rather than using an image plane (which is undoubtedly more useful for more complex shapes, such as swords or perhaps some guns), I worked by extruding faces from a modified cylinder (almost tear-shaped cross section - in reality, this is done to prevent the axe blade from twisting to either side, as well as to give the user a quick reference as to which way the blade is facing). I believe that this method will also allow me to make some modular designs for this category, as the blade can be easily modified or replaced, as well as the haft.
This happened to the final model after averaging the normals in Maya. The edges don’t look a lot like edges.
