After applying the various maps on the visor, I could see that it looked up to my satisfaction, I advanced into making the weapons for my character. I deemed this a crucial element that was necessary step in regards to the whole project as it effectively showed my character as someone who is capable of combat, as well as portraying the narrative as combat-heavy, and the genre of the media if it were a game as I intended.
Using the various methods and techniques, I began to model the weapons out on ZBrush. I chose to model the weapons on ZBrush first so that I could make the higher poly details with more ease. I made sure not to make the same mistakes when approaching making the weapons, such as making sure there are no errors with the mesh. When making the sword and the gun, I wanted to make sure there was a good level of accuracy to them, and so, as I modelled the sword after rapiers and thinner swords, I made sure to compile a mood-board with a handful of references to aid my overall accuracy when making the sword.
When it came to making the gun, I wanted to make sure the guns were period accurate, as my some of inspirations for the aesthetics were around the 1700s and 1800s and less modern eras, and thus, I wanted to stick with flintlock-operated firearms. Like for the rapier, I compiled a selection of references, including ones that I had taken for primary research in the Royal Armouries, as I noticed that flintlocks have very distinct shapes and intricacies and I wanted to replicate that in my design. I also looked to my major inspiration, Bloodborne as they have gone a similar route in terms of their firearms. I used my previous concept as a foundation and built off of it, figuring out how the sword would lock onto the top of the gun and making sure it would look functional. I figured this would be easier to solve in a 3D setting and I proceeded to model.
I repeated the patterns and motifs that I sculpted onto the armour on certain parts of the shotgun, as I wanted the design to be consistent. When it came to the actually flintlock mechanism, I wanted it to make sense, so I made sure to look at the references and diagrams for how the contraption operated, as well as looking into a video that highlighted how it operated in the YouTube video ‘How Flintlock Firearms Work’ by MouseGunner.
I repeated the same patterns and designs for the rapier, but keeping the details more minor on it as I did not want to overcrowd the design and end up making it look too noisy. Due to my developed skillset, I was able to get both the sword and gun done fairly quickly. I made sure to already size my models appropriately so that they would match the high polygon version, making the baking more smooth. I reused the emblem I had previously made for the cape, and put it on certain sections of the weapons with height information so that it would make everything look more cohesive
I made sure to add various layers of dirt and grime to convey that these weapons have been through many battles- however, for the sword, I put slightly less blemishes on it, as narrative-wise, it holds something akin to holy power, and I wanted to convey this. I also added an emissive light to the sword to make it have a dull glow in the final render as it would further convey this idea of a holy blade. For the shotgun, I also decided to add written engravings on the side, on one side having the text: “Lucet Omnibus” meaning “the Sun/Light shines for all” and “Ad Solem” meaning “towards the Sun”, which is a derivative from “Arduus Ad Solem” found in Virgil’s Aenid.