A few iterations on the Samurai sword design...

 


Now I had completed the design for the arms and hands of the Robo Samurai, I wanted to wrap up the upper half and design the sword. I searched Google images and Pinterest for references of classic Samurai swords. Here is some of what I found...


I used the photos above to draw the following designs...

Above, I started with the lightly drawn sword furthest to the left. Then looking at my mood board I realised these types of swords are slightly curved so I drew the design to the right. This had too much of a curve (looking more like a pirate sword) and again on closer inspection, I realised the handles also tend to follow the curve of the blade. 

Moving to the right I tried again, this was better but still quite simple. Next up I flattened the metal circle at the top of the handle, made the base of the handle thicker and added an engraved shape at the base of the blade. I also spent a bit more time rendering the pattern on the handle. 

I considered trying a different pattern or design on the handle but this is very iconic and I wanted the type of sword to be obvious and not be mistaken for a something else. So baring this in mind, I tried one final time, slightly shortening the blade, as well as the circular part at the top of the handle and I also made the base of the handle smaller this time round.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Mastering lighting and shading' - a new online course and illustration...

Image
After I reworked the facial features in the Briar turnaround Kieran suggested I also look into different types of lighting and try to improve the coloured Briar pose by creating a scene and adding some directional light.  This led me to watch another online course by 21 Draw... This was fantastic and gave me a whole new workflow to learn. I also researched some characters from Star Wars for reference... ...then went on to design the illustration at the top of the page.
Read more

Improving the faces in the Briar turnaround...

Image
  Above is an updated version of the Briar turnaround, after getting more good feedback from Kieran about the state of my portfolio he suggested I turn my attention to the face work in the turnaround - which was quite loose and suggestive at that point. It now looks a lot better and I'm happier with the result,  I'm now going to see if I can improve the illustration I did of Briar by looking at the lighting and possibly add some directional light, incorporating some of what I learned from my life studies earlier this semester. 
Read more

Adding colour to Maddox in pose...

Image
  Above is the finished illustration of Maddox in her battle outfit, it was a challenge and I still have a lot to learn about anatomy and rendering flesh and skin tones (and hair) but I feel this has come together nicely and is one of the final pieces to include in my portfolio. The sketch I started with can be viewed below...
Read more