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Somewhat Impractical Sword 3D
Published: 2009-08-03 04:48:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 70446; Favourites: 1625; Downloads: 3715
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Description
Finally got around to finishing this sucker thanks to a lot of prodding from my bro Dan. Here it is, boss! Now to get cranking on the ancient temple scene.The textures are all painted. As practice I didn't use any photo texture sources for this.
2,800 tris. Diffuse, spec, normals at 1024x1024. 3D modeling in 3DS MAX, textures in PS CS4, renders in Marmoset.
edit2: Updated with two more angles. Wires forthcoming.
edit3: Updated with better render and a wireframe view.
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Comments: 607
Hey do you paint ur textures directly onto the model or using a wire-frame later?
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I'm still a bit behind the times with the 3D painting apps unfortunately, so this was done the old-fashioned way of rendering out a UVW template that I used as a guide in Photoshop.
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doesn't matter if it impractical, it looks good and I love the metal on the pommel and crossguard....after all I believe that in real life you could kill someone with that, so its not so impractical. If you really want smth impractical look at my crossbow
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Thanks! Yeah, even though I originally planned to make a silly fantasy sword, I guess my instincts took over in the process and I ended up with something more restrained and practical, hehe.
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Ive looked through some of the things that could make this sword more impractical, BUT! these peoples have forgot to mention the GREATEST ATTACHMENT OF ALL:
CUPHOLDERS. think about it.
I love this. I dont quite understand how its impractical to you, I would weild it.
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That's true! The rightful place for a barbarian's mug-mount is on his oversized leather belt, for easy access (and less spillage).
Thanks, glad you like it.
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This piece is so inspirational. When I have access to my stationary PC again, my next project will be a hand-made texture.
Thanks for getting me to consider this ^^
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Hey awesome, glad I could make something inspiring. Hand-painting textures is a lot of fun, good luck on yours!
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Could you send me or upload some flats? (texture, spec, normal, ao)
You don't have too ofc, I'm just curious.
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No problem, I actually have them up already on my portfolio site. Here you go: [link]
The normal isn't up there, but it was straight from the high-poly model so it isn't all that interesting to look at.
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Okay cool.
I see that you use Marmoset - same engine I use for showoff.
But isn't your specular a bit... wrong? Looks like it needs a lot more contrast (levels adjustment) for instance.
Another advice would be to add an emissive map so that the orb:ish thing glows a little
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The amount of contrast you should put into a specular map depends on what kind of surface you're trying to make. For this blade I wanted the metal surfaces to look highly polished, not rusty and grimy.
There's an overabundance of glowy bits in game art these days. I felt that something more like a standard gemstone would be more interesting.
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The true badass has no need for practicality! 
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Wery beautiful.
You should sell your work here
Submit Photos to Shutterstock and make $$$!
Or here
Submit to yaymicro
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Hmmm, I think it has a great design to it, and it could be very deadly in skilled hands. Those extra blades near the grip could be used to disarm the enemy, all you'd have to do is get his sword in there and give a little twist, apply enough strenght and his blade might even shatter.
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking with the dagger-like extra blade and the big notches in the main blade: trapping and yanking or breaking your opponent's sword. And then the axe-like blade would be for fighting in close ranges where the full blade is too big to swing around. I guess I ended up making a much more practical design than I originally intended, hehe!
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whenuse say textures in ps do you mean coloring, als how long did it take to learn 3ds max cause i;m thinking about getting zbrush or this one day when i'm finally good at ps
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Sort of, yes. In the industry "textures" is a term used for any 2D image files used on models. Current game engines commonly use a diffuse texture for ambient light, a specular texture for reflective/shiny light, and a "normal map" to fake extra surface detail. The 3D engine combines the textures together to render convincingly realistic surfaces.
I've been using 3DS MAX since, hmm, about 2004. I still learn new stuff about it from time to time so it's hard to give a specific time on how long it takes to learn. Having someone already familiar with the program to guide you makes a huge difference. It would probably take a couple of months before you get the bare basics down and start feeling reasonably comfortable with it.
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Not sure how this is impractical. Looks pretty sweet though.
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Too many blades, very heavy! Hehe, thanks man.
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Many blades may or may not be impractical... Its all in how you fight... Weight tho... again it depends on how its made but out of carbon fiber and ceramic blades this would become quite the weapon.... then again I am being to technical... sry
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Haha, no problem. As a fantasy sword I'd rule out carbon fiber, but even then I suppose you could substitute a fictional lightweight metal like Mithril or something.
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Looks great! You could use a bit better textures on you leather grip though.
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Thanks! Yeah, I agree, there's something off about it.
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Hehe, glad you like it. Thank you.
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ok so... I'm very lost when it comes to texturing, these are all just painted in photoshop right? or is there any kinda of trick to getting metal to be scratched up and worn like that?
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Sorry for the delayed reply, but yeah this is all just painted in Photoshop. You can often use shortcuts like stock textures to get a similar effect more quickly, but in the end it still will need to be handled "by hand" to some degree. A lot of it is simply a matter of thinking about what edges and surfaces are most likely to get scratched and in what way. Broad surfaces can have gouging scratches, but smaller sharp edges often get worn down with lots of soft scratches that kind of blur together.
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ahh kk thanks, Ive been experimenting with dodge and burn and blurs and stuff
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First you must travel to Fetchenshire and hunt Squogs. Bring me 25 squog skins and I will tell you more about how to acquire this Vicious Blade of Impracticality.
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No fair! We both know squogs are a protected species in Fetchenshire!
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Very nice.
Impractical it is, seems like it would fit in any modern RPG game nowadays.
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Thank you, and I agree, your average modern fantasy game is pretty unconcerned with practicality at this point. Nothing like a steel bikini to protect you from savage minions!
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I actually don't find this that impractical by normal standards, and definitely not impractical by fantasy standards. Some fantasy swords look like they'd shatter on contact. This is pretty sweet.
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Yeah, I've gotten that from a few people. I think I concern myself with practicality a lot more than most people, so to me this is still quite impractical. All I could think of while finishing this up was the person using it accidentally slicing themselves across the chest or forearm. 
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