If you want to get yourself a Ranni, consider getting yourself the beautiful Dark Moon Greatsword. Empyreans love Greatswords...
In order to bring this massive sword to life and do it justice, I had to employ all of my recently gained Blender knowledge to properly sculpt the hilt and cross guard of this sword.
I started off by roughing out the basic shape using smooth simple shapes in my usual CAD software.
Next I loaded it as an STL file into Blender, where I used various sculpting tools to give it the prominent veins and rough texture that appear in the game.
I ended up having an issue where some of my strokes had continued onto portions of the two models that I needed to be smooth (in order to fit together).
In order to fix this, I created a kind of cuff using the original CAD software that would fit over this original Hilt. Using a Boolean difference operator in Blender, I was able to remove these extra little sculpting artifacts and return the hilt to its original smooth shape.
Lastly, I used a decimate modifier to bring the polygons down on the whole model to try and bring down the overall filesize. I ended up being able to cut it basically in half without effecting the fidelity too much.
Now that I'm done going on about my novice Blender experience, on to the main features of the sword
Major Features
Four Different Build Experiences
This sword comes with four major versions.
The first version is comprised of several blade segments that already include the crystal inclusions as cavities in the STL itself. This is the simplest version of the model and would make for relatively straight forward project where transparent filament would be your best friend.
The second version is comprised of several blade segments that include separate models for the crystals. This is meant for those who want just a plane, easy to print sword that may later be used to make a mold and resin cast with a separate crystal inclusion. In this case the separate, printable crystal inclusions would also benefit from a transparent filament.
The third version involves cutting the blade into flat hollow shells that slip over the central crystal core. Printing this thin shell in transparent PLA will allow you to more easily see the central crystals
The fourth version involves cutting the blade into angled V-shape hollow shells that slip over the central core. Printing this thin shell in transparent PLA will allow you to more easily see the central crystals
Sturdy Slide-On Design
All versions of this sword are meant to come together and slide onto a central core/bar that will give the overall sword rigidity. The first version has slightly more and can accommodate a 3/4 inch central core, while the second, third, and fourth versions slides onto a 1/2 inch core. The hilt and guard both accommodate a 3/4 bar so an additional sleeve model was included to print and slide over your 1/2 inch core if you decide to go that route when printing the model.
Additionally, all designs come with a separate printable "collar" that simulates the inner diameter of the sword. By printing this you can slide it over your bar to ensure the bar will fit before you print the whole sword, or to know if you have to scale the sword up or down to fit your central core.
Lastly, the sword come out to almost 6ft in length!
Optimized for Printing/Assembly
All versions of the swords come with some alignment features to help ensure everything slides onto your central core bar effectively. In the first version of the sword this comes in the way of individual ice crystals that fit in-between the seams to ensure that your two blade segments perfectly line up with each other when on the central core
Additionally, the sword with the crystal inclusions is meant to be printed "upside down", meaning the base of each blade segment is up and away from the build plate. This will allow for printing of each blade segment without the need for internal supports.
The .zip file comes with some additional instructions to help you understand how best to print the sword
Builds
I have not had the time to build this Sword myself as I am currently busy with a whole backlog of design commissions for helmets/props.
If you have a personal build and would like some recognition, go ahead and send me some pics!
What Next?
If you are looking to create you own models like this one feel free to checkout all of my tutorials on 3D modeling and prop making techniques.
If you are looking to purchase the model so that you can print your own you can find it in the store.
Lastly, make sure to check back in every once in a while to see what I've been working on
Thank you for your time