Maya: Creating a Combat Knife (CGA Year Two)

This post looks at a practice model We began working on in class, this was in order to better understand Maya and the workflow used when creating a high poly asset. We used this model of a Gerber Lock Knife to prepare for our winter submission of a high poly asset of our choosing.

I followed the tutorial given to us by one of our tutors to create this model. I began by creating a plane in Maya then placing the reference image onto it. I would use the reference image to aid Me when modelling.

Reference Image.

Reference image applied to a plane in Maya.

I used the quad draw tool to create the blade. Since this model is high poly I can use as many edge loops as I want to build the shape of the blade. I tried to stay as close to the tutorial as I possibly could, I placed key edge loops along the blade as specified in the tutorial. I've highlighted them below. These loops will help to create the shape of the blade.

I then extruded out the faces contained within these loops. This gave Me the basic and rough shape of what the blade will look like.

After the basic parts of the blade were complete I moved onto the handle. I will return to the blade later.

Once again I used the Quad Draw tool to create the shape of the handle using the reference image. I then extruded the face created and the handle. The Quad Draw tool is very useful when creating high poly objects/ assets, it keeps everything in quads meaning no triangles or 5+ sided faces appear. This is crucial if you want to take your object into a sculpting package such as Z Brush. After the main grip had been created I added in the screws and then the buttons on the back of the hilt.

Once the side of the grip was created I built the center of the grip. This connects the blade to the handle. I did this by copying the side of the grip I had already built, flattening each side and merging all of the vertices together removing the bevel I used on the grip. 

After the center of the grip had been created I added the buttons, merging them to the handle.

Now that the center of the grip had been created I could piece the handle together. I mirrored the outside of the grip that I created earlier then placed the central piece between the two sides; sandwiching it together.

The grip was now complete. I then went back to the blade to create and build up its shape.

Finished knife, ready to be taken into Z Brush.

I think the part of this model I struggled with the most is definitely the blade. I followed the tutorial as best I could however I still ended up with a slightly different blade. The part I struggled with was the end of the blade, specifically on the flat side where I built up to try and create a smooth groove down the length of the blade. Towards the end of the groove the surface becomes slightly uneven and bulbous in places. Looking back on this project now I would use the sculpting tools to even out the surface and space out the edge loops, I would also use the multi cut tool to alter some of the edges to adjust the angle of some of the loops and create a more even topology.

However that being said I am very pleased with the grip. And this tutorial did really help teach Me new techniques and tools to use in Maya.

Wire frame of final model.

Wire frame of blade.