Mid Production changes:

During the production phase of my project I ran into a wall that felt like my design looked bland with little detail to a character's background and looked really symmetrical. I had some conversations on how I could positively progress my designs and the project as a whole, so I looked into ways I could add to the project and push myself. I looked into Japanese family crests that I could draw inspiration from to create my own symbol, as my design is based on eastern Japanese samurai armour. From these I learned they are very simple in design yet represent something about that clan/family, for example the car company Mitsubishi’s logo is a combination between a family and clan crest: the three-leaf Tosa clans crest and the Iwasaki family crest (Mitsubishi). Then I had a conversation about what I could add to my design, we talked about how items define a character, colour combinations and adding something special to the design. In the end I decided to add a slashing glove to one hand. This would also help break the look of symmetry with my character whilst adding something that will add personality as the character is supposed to be both good and bad and this glove will add that evil element whilst the overall characters block like design adds that neutral/good element. 

 

Mitsubishi

Nippon

Black Knight Armory 

Torso:

To start off the production of my project I went for the torso that covers the upper chest in a hard material and the lower torso in a soft material. The process started with a simple plane object that I applied a mirror modifier to so that the topology would be consistent throughout. I then proceeded to extrude the plane object in various directions to match the design to the sketches I had previously done, so that the rest of the model could fit into place. I also applied a mark sharp to each part of the model I wanted to not be smooth and those are the areas where there is a sort of edge in the model. I did this to match the aesthetic I was aiming for from my sketches. After I had created the shape I wanted I moved onto the frame that surrounds the upper chest piece, which I had created through the use of a cylinder object. Similar to the method I used for the chest piece I applied a mirror modifier to the cylinder then extruded and rotated each side till I had made a full frame. Then for the holes the leather straps would later go through I used the knife tool to cut 2 rectangle shapes into the topology of the model and then deleted the faces to create the holes. Then for the leather backing I first started with the straps that connect the holes I just created to the back itself, using a plane object and mirror modifier yet again. Starting off at the holes I wrapped the plane back into itself after going through the hole to give the look like it's being tied up, I then proceeded to wrap the plane around the shoulder heading towards the back. After I wrapped the plane around the shoulders I connected the object down the centre of the back to the lower half of the torso. After some feedback I had decided to create a form of protection for the lower part of the torso, as it was pointed out to me that someone could just aim for the large unprotected area. So I used the same method for the leather backing on this lower torso section to finish off the modelling portion of the torso. Then I textured the model with a texture I created through images and nodes in the shading tab, where I used colour nodes to create a darker version of the base texture image. I then used UV mapping to unwrap the model and apply the texture strategically so that you can't see if the texture is cut off or from a different section of the image.

A problem i ran into during this was during the leather backing part where some of the polys where facing the wrong way creating distortions in the model when shade smooth was applied. The solution to this was very simple so i was not set back for any significant amount of time, all i had to do was select all the faces of the model whilst in edit mode, go to mesh-normal and then select recalculate outside. This fixed the issue I was having with the topology when applying shade smooth.

Gauntlet:

The gauntlets are an outlier when it comes to overall design as they do not match the look of other parts of this model as they are smooth and not square. I did this to decrease the amount of repetition in the look of the design, this is also a non threatening shape that goes with my idea that this character is both good and evil. 

To start this part i created a plane that i then rotated on the y-axis, then i proceeded to extrude around to form a cylindrical shape that gradually gets tighter on one side to signify which side would be the part with the wrist and the side that is near to the elbow. These were the easier sections to create and after I had created the shape I wanted I spent some time cleaning up the topology before moving onto the frame. With the frame I used the same method that was used for the torso, which was using the mirror modifier and wrapping a cylinder around the bases of each side. 

During the building of the gauntlets I encountered no problems.

Shin:

The shin is my favourite piece of this set when it comes to the overall design and tidiness of the topology. I decided to go for this design for the shin after I was inspired by the look of armour samurai wore along with dragon scale armour from fantasy media like anime, video games and movies. The design of this section influenced the overall design of the project and led me to this outcome. 

First I started with a plane like the previous sections, however this time I did not apply a mirror modifier as legs are not symmetrical like the chest or back. I first started from the front and worked my way around the side of the legs and I used a low amount of polys for this section as I wanted a sharp jagged look to each piece. After I had one plate done I would duplicate the object and use it for consistency and I would alter each poly separately so I could monitor the shape while moving down the leg, so I would get a human leg shape. I repeated this process for each plate moving down the leg making sure they overlap to give that scale plating feel and look. After I had completed each plate for the front of the leg I moved onto the backing which was going to be smooth, sort of matching with the gauntlets I previously made and I feel as if doing the backing in the fronts style just wouldn’t go well together. Yet again I used a plane to start off with and extruded it in medium sized even intervals to each side of the leg as it didn't matter if the base model wasn’t smooth as applying shade smooth would take care of it giving a better version than hand crafting it yourself freeing up polys. With the backing I lined it up with the highest point of the front pates side and the lowest point before filling in the gaps from creating the outline. After the front and back was created I moved onto the frame which is split into 2 pieces and uses the same method as the previous frame. The front frame covers the front plating till it hits the side of the leg where it wraps down towards the foot, then the backings frame wraps around both the highest side and lowest side but instead of going up the side of the leg it connects into the lowest and highest point of the front frame. When I got to the texturing of this model I decided to use the same texture for consistency, however during the project I got feedback that said I could play with the textures a little to get the good and evil point across and what colours can mix together. So I have one leg that uses the old texture and the other uses the same texture but the grey and white is swapped with black and red giving a cool effect.   

The problem I ran into on this section was that when I would shade smooth the front it would lose that jagged look I wanted to go for that I think would have ruined my motivation if I didn't find a solution. The solution I found was to add Mark Sharp seams every 2 polys so that when I applied auto smooth it wouldn't smooth out the areas I had marked.   

Upper Leg:

For the thigh of my model I decided to imitate what I had created for the calf with the plated scale look so that there would be a form of consistency for the lower portion of the model. This area is also inspired by the armour samurai would wear into battle but this is made out of a harder material than their flexible leather. 

I used the same method and process here that I did for the lower leg, starting with the plane, creating the shape and look to match the lower leg through extruding. Then once again as soon as I had a shape I was satisfied with I duplicated the product 5 times and with this bit as the thigh area doesn't change shape much I had to modify the polys less than I did the lower legs. After I made the plates overlap each other I created the final piece of the thigh cover by adding the frame, which uses the same extruding and rotating methods previously used. For the texturing I used both the grey/white and the black/red texture for each leg to have consistency with the texturing and pushing the good and evil idea. 

I encountered no problems while creating this model.

Shoulder:

With the shoulder I had mixed feelings about the design, I wanted to have scale armour like the legs but moulded to fit the shoulders. However I didn't want the model to be too repetitive so I decided to switch it up a little while keeping those sharp edges that define my art style for this project and these also match the look of the chest plate.

This was a very simple piece to make as it only has 9 polys in total. I started with the plane object and extruded it on all four sides, where I then joined each corner to the adjacent corner to create a triangle in each corner. After I had this shape I moved onto the frame which used the cylinder extruding method yet again, keeping up the consistency with the legs, arms, chest etc. For the texture I used the black and red marble texture after I considered using the basic grey and white.

No problems were encountered during this section.

Mask:

The mask had not turned out as I thought it would have, the polys were too tall in my opinion and I feel like I could have spent more time on it to try and get it closer to my desired look. The mask however does replicate the look of the chest piece which helps my feelings towards it not looking like the image I had. 

I started the model off by adding a plane shape along with the mirror modifier, then I extruded the shape to the right and below to create a T shape while moving the edges back to form an arch to fit a face. After I had the arch around the face as a frame I filled out the remaining gaps within the model. Finally when the main faceplate was done I created the frame using the same method as the previous frames I have made.   

Faulds:

This section I did not consider doing until I received feedback mid way through the project. To start off like any other part I created a plane object that I applied a mirror modifier to, that I then extruded around into a semi-circle shape to mimic a waist. Once I had the shape I wanted I added a series of loop cuts along the model so that I could give it the look of the chest piece by manipulating the faces created. Then after I had the shape I wanted, I added the frame once again by adding a cylinder object and applying a mirror modifier to it. When the mirror modifier was applied I extruded the cylinder around the outside of the object whilst rotating each face to get a clean look and when I wrapped around the whole model, I connected both sides by merging the vertices closest to each other.

In this section I encountered no problems.

Symbol:

The symbol was an idea I had scrapped before I entered the production stage, however towards the end I had received some feedback saying that a marking would give the character more originality so I revisited the idea and came up with a double moon design.  

To create this moon design I created a cylinder and scaled it along the x-axis so I would have a slimmer shape to work with. Once I had the first cylinder I added a second cylinder so I could use the Boolean modifier that allows you to use an object to cut a hole into another object which allowed me to turn the first cylinder into a crescent moon shape. Next I applied a loop cut to the outside of the crescent moon and I joined the vertices at the centre running along the spine giving it that sharp look. I then proceeded to add another cylinder that I scaled to sit within the crescent shape. After I had the shapes created and situated in the correct areas I moved to texturing, which I used as a chance to express the good and evil idea by having the outside be the purity of white and the inside moon being bloody and impure. 

The problem I had with this model was how to create the crescent shape of the first moon where I couldn't create the shape. The solution I found to this was the Boolean modifier then I was able to cut out the shape I wanted which resolved the problem.

Wakizashi:

With the weapon section I decided to go with a Wakizashi, the reasoning behind this choice of weapon was based on my character design that is eastern (Japanese)  in nature. I also wanted a weapon that would be proportionate to the type of character I am creating and a wakizashi is easily manoeuvrable using one hand and would be the ideal choice for a character of this armour type. 

First I started off with a cube object that I extruded into a blade-like form, after I had this shape I created a series of loop cuts along the side of the object so I was able to better the look of a sword. With the loop cuts in place I merged the vertices along the bottom of the model to create that sharp blade look, then I had to scale the model along the y-axis to slim down the blade as wakizashi are quite thin. Then once I had the blade complete it was time to create the collar that covers the blade and handles meeting points. I created it very fast as it is just a cube object scaled slightly on the y-axis to be slimmed so it could fit the blade and to give it extra depth I bevel the edges. I then moved onto the handle section of the wakizashi, which I had created using a cube that I extruded free hand to be proportionate to the blade. Then to give it more shape I used the bevel again just like on the collar to give it more shape than just a plane rectangle. Then to finish it off I needed a sheath for the wakizashi to fit into and to save time I duplicated the blade part of the model and resized it to fit over the sword and to perfectly align with the handles edge.

A problem I encountered during the blade creation part was I didn't know how to create the sharp edge and keep the iconic line that marks where the blade extends to. I had assistance from a peer that helped talk me through the process of the loop cuts and vertices merging so that I could create the blade. 

Gloves:

Finally for the gloves I decided to do something that looks evil to show how my character has two sides to them whilst being functional. Started off by making the sharp tip of the fingers by using a plane object that I created a loop cut down the centre of, that I removed the lower to corners of to create a triangle. Once I had the triangle I created a series of loop cuts down the side so I could curve the shape and make the tip look more aggressive. I then added plating to the top of the fingers by creating more planes that have loop cuts down the centre of them so I can mould it to match the look of wrapping over fingers. I then duplicated and manipulated them to fit all other fingers/thumbs to save time. Then I created the hand plate using the same plane method and creating loop cuts along both sides so I could create a shape that would cover the top of a hand. Then to finish off the model I added the symbol I had created by resizing and rotating it into the correct position.

I encountered no problems in this area.

Below are renders of the final outcome of this project thank you for taking your time to read this.