For my second blender project this year I wanted to try and make the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda. I’m very happy with how the model turned out, but I wish I could have made the render look a bit more polished. Currently I’m working on an underpowered laptop because of my move to the UK. This has made the iteration times very long between test renders, so I didn’t have the time or processing power to learn how to make more photorealistic materials.

I’m happy with how the glow turned out, although perhaps it’s a bit too much? Either way I think it looks pretty cool. I’m sure there’s a lot to be done with the lighting and composition to make it a more interesting render, but I’m happy with how it turned out from the perspective of a beginner.

I thought it would also be interesting to upload some WIP pictures where you can see how I refined the shape of the Master Sword and then began adding the simple BSDF materials.

The middle ones have quite subtle changes – they’re mainly subdivision surfaces and changes in lighting. I also was originally going to try rendering the Master Sword resting in the stone, but I decided against it since I didn’t have enough time. I got what I wanted from this project and overall I’m quite happy with it!