Category: Blender Projects

Blender Project: Master Sword

thereccy2 Comments

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!

Blender Project: Jak and Daxter Power Cell

thereccy1 Comment

One of my goals this year is to make 12 Blender renders, and this is my first one. If you’re unfamiliar with the first Jak and Daxter game, the goal is to collect all of the power cells scattered throughout the levels. I always liked the look of these, and they seemed like a simple enough beginner project to practice modelling.

This took me about a week of working on and off during the evenings. I spent a bit longer on it than I would have liked and the results aren’t exactly what I hoped for. The hardest part was getting the model correct for the orbiting parts. I was able to setup the top one and use the same modelling data for the other three, so I wouldn’t have to duplicate my work. But as you can see below, I went through a few iterations before I could settle on a topology that worked.

I’m happy with how the model itself turned out, but I didn’t get much of a chance to add VFX, tweak materials and polish the animation to what I envisioned at the start of the project. In the future I think I’ll work on projects that focus on specific facets of 3D art. Such as a project with a simple model but complicated VFX, or a complicated photorealistic material.