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Weapons Part I
By Rio
Types
Weapons vary from sharp metallic objects to dull-edged staffs.
(Modern weapons excluded...) The most important info you
need to know about weapons is that they are mainly rigid.
If you look at the lineup above, most weapons are can be
drawn using a ruler. Of course, there are some blades that
are curved and for the machete, it's practically the whole
thing!
Shapes
The basic shapes of these weapons are as shown above. They
aren't extravagant for a reason - they show the basic makeup
of their type of weapon. From left to right: wooden staff,
sword, axe, (magic) staff, rapier, machete, scythe (or sickle),
and spear.
Weapons not drawn to scale with each other, btw. :)
From these basic shapes, you can add your own creative touches
and embellishments. I recommend that you are at least familiar
with these basic shapes before you begin changing them.
Sizes
Regarding the size of a weapon, if you change and play with
it, you get a different look for the same item. Look in
part A on the right. The sword is much wider and and is
a lot shorter than in the previous page. Considering it's
new size, it would be called a "short sword" than
just "sword" as they are much longer. The axe
next to it also is more in the line of your average garden
axe. The distance of the blade from the handle and its design
was redone. Even though they are the same weapon, they are
different.
I must mention that one of the most popular trends these
days is to "supersize" small weapons into big,
huge hunking ones. If you've never seen one before (^_^;;)
just think of a shuriken drawn much larger and is basically
the same height as the person wielding it.
Design
Design is one of the most obvious effects that seperates
your own weapons from another artists weapons. Section B
in the drawing above shows various designs based on the
base weapons in the past page.
The scythe, for example, is much more stylistic and has
more character than the base weapon. With just a few bends
on the blade, an attachment from the blade to the handle,
and even the slight bend of the handle gives it that distinct
look.
You don't have to make something as completely different
from the base form. Even simple additions as the grain and
wear of the wood to a staff adds character. Just a slight
change of a swords handle from cloth wrapped to coil wrapped
adds that slight difference. The end of a magical staff
is all you really need to change, for instance, to make
that difference.
Go to Part II