For Tyeth Blender 3D Concept Sabers

[For Tyeth]

Hi guys,

Well you can see by my avatar and signature I haven't aged well  I look just like that if I let my beard grow.

Regards the films, I get confused now there are so many in the series. Fifth Element was very visually impressive I recall.

[scifidude79]

The Fifth Element had a lot going for it. Great story, great script, fantastic cast, really nice visual effects, costuming, creatures, etc. Fun fact: the animatronic heads used for the Mangalors were recycled for the Neimoidians in the prequel trilogy. When the decision was made to have the Neimoidians not be CGI to save costs, the heads were recycled.

[For Tyeth]

Hi SFD,

Great fact. I knew that a lot of recycling happened in the Star Wars franchise- that's one reason continuity was an issue. Didn't realise that the Fifth Element and SW had "crossed" as it were. I do recall seeing an article saying that the vines and foliage from Dagobah were also used in the temple sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark - as both were filmed on the same film set!

[scifidude79]

Yeah, the earlier designs for the Neimoidians were drastically different. I wonder if the design was altered to fit that head better. The original design was used as a base for the Geonosians in Episode 2.

[For Tyeth]

Hello Everybody,

Sorry it's been a few days since I posted anything but I got engrossed with trying out a new modelling function which would have made my life sooo much easier had I known how to use it earlier. But this is the beauty of Blender 3D, the more you use it the more secrets it reveals as bits of functionality make more sense!

However today I want to take you on a journey...."Jedi Knight (Rider). A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a saber that does not exist. Jedi Knight: a new saber on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of the Sith who operate above the law."
I'm slightly paraphrasing the show's intro but here is that saber .... Jedi Knight (Rider)...









Yes I have modelled a saber based on the famous Pontiac from Knight Rider. It is a hilt in a series of sabers I was challenged to build based off of famous TV and movie vehicles (and merchandise/toys). It was slightly difficult as with all solid coloured hilts getting details to stand out is tough! But hopefully you can make out the Sensor Light above the sloped emitter. The Activation controls are modelled on KITT's vocal display - I planned to use a Capactive Touch sensor panel. The handgrip area has two rectangular panels to replicate the Pontiac T-Bar roof famous for the ejector seat scenes (I may cut these panels out at a later date to form a crystal chamber). The pommel has tyre tread style knurling around the edges and is finished off with a "Knight Industries" stallion speaker cover decoration.

Oh and here is a SPOILER ALERT!!...



Sorry just kidding, this is me placing the spoiler onto the saber. I added it to give the saber more of a supercar look and match with KITT

Thanks for looking in on this design and for the support.

[Lord_S_Gray]

Unbelievable...Just when I think you can't come up with anything more out of the box and perfectly suited to the subject matter...so many great details as you described, the voice box activator, tyre pommel - very sleek look overall and really fits with the original car, can see it hanging off of David Hasselhoff's belt as he steps out of KITT backlit by some flaming warehouse in the cold night.

[scifidude79]

That's really cool. If I may make a humble suggestion, a bit of gloss mixed with diffusion will make the details in your all black hilts pop a bit more in your renders.

[For Tyeth]

Unbelievable...Just when I think you can't come up with anything more out of the box and perfectly suited to the subject matter...so many great details as you described, the voice box activator, tyre pommel - very sleek look overall and really fits with the original car, can see it hanging off of David Hasselhoff's belt as he steps out of KITT backlit by some flaming warehouse in the cold night.

Thanks Lord_S_Gray, I did also forget to mention the blade is yellow to replicate the headlights and there were turn indicators on the side! And seeing the Hoff wearing it on his belt would be cool...just as long as he doesn't sing "Jump In My Car"
 we'll be ok!

Again, thanks for the kind comments. +1

[For Tyeth]

That's really cool. If I may make a humble suggestion, a bit of gloss mixed with diffusion will make the details in your all black hilts pop a bit more in your renders.

Hi SFD, glad you also like the design. You must have been a child of the late 80's and remember watching Knight Rider on re-runs. And thanks for the rendering tips, I've just started getting into the deeper functions of the Node Editor and using "Mix Shaders" and "Glare" nodes to create effects. Knowing a Diffusion/Glossy mix brings out detail will help a lot. Thanks man!

point incoming.

[scifidude79]

I was born in 1979, but I've mainly seen Knight Rider on DVD.

[For Tyeth]

I was born in 1979, but I've mainly seen Knight Rider on DVD.

Hi again, I figured you might have seen it, you have a good knowledge of the popular shows such as Knight Rider.
And I have started messing around with the Voronin Textures and "Noise Filters" etc applying them to the blades, you get some really "Unstable" or molten Lava looks that way.

[Infinit01]

Tyeth, you out did yourself again.  Knight Rider has been one of my favorite shows as a kid and still is one of my favorite shows to this date.  I like the cowl hood design you used on the emitter and KITT's  voice box that you used as the activation switch.  The Knight industry icon pays homage to the show.  The yellow blade is awesome by the way.  (My apologies if it's supposed to be orange).

[For Tyeth]

Tyeth, you out did yourself again.  Knight Rider has been one of my favorite shows as a kid and still is one of my favorite shows to this date.  I like the cowl hood design you used on the emitter and KITT's  voice box that you used as the activation switch.  The Knight industry icon pays homage to the show.  The yellow blade is awesome by the way.  (My apologies if it's supposed to be orange).

Hi Infinit,

So glad I could help you relive some of the magic of the show. And the blade is indeed yellow this time which is funny...because when I built the first version to show my friend who challenged me, the blade was BLUE! I just re-used a blade from the last build and forgot to change the colour, however it bugged me that something seemed off. Then I watched the intro to the show again and I realised the headlights should be yellowish white! I really try to find little details that tie the design to the source inspiration and the Knight Industries logo just worked as a decoration.

Thanks again.

[Infinit01]

Kudos and I like the design from emitter to the pommel.  Every little feature has a history or a counterpart to it which is really cool. Thanks again and great work once more.

[For Tyeth]

Hello Everybody,

Well it's time I posted my latest design and it's about time I got back to the Star Wars Universe or the Expanded/Legends Universe at least! I have teased and mentioned a staff I was working on the last month or so and a few members started talking about staff hilts on the US Wishlist/What Do We Want thread and one particular staff belonging to Bastila Shan. Well an image of Bastila's staff was posted so how about a staff for a Grand Master?....Ok here is my tribute to Satele Shan's saberstaff....Satele-ite....








This is the best hilt(s) I have built so far technically. It has improved modelling in that I have smoothed faces and sharp edges combined in the structure of the model. There is "smoothed texturing" making the hilt appear more cylindrical than a polygon.
I used Modifiers to "mirror" the hilt so I only had to build one end of the weapon...half the work!

But Satele's staff is famous for it's beautiful scroll-work etching and my staff too has a tribal inspired wing like etching on it. And there are other little details such as the emitter head support rods, the activation switches and the buttons to couple/uncouple the two hilts on the pommels. (I did search online for the Satele pattern to use but everywhere I looked folks said "You need to draw it freehand" so I used a readily available tribal pattern).

This brings me roughly up to date with my current schedule so I will now be posting designs probably once a week rather than every 3-4 days so I am in line with my site schedule. But don't worry I already have a whole bunch of new hilts including a Destroyer, a series based on Stormtroopers, a hilt for a Senator and a rather nice CrossGard for a Norse God. Oh and two hilts I think are Qapla'!

Thanks for checking this staff out and your support and comments.