Mindmap

Here I've set out and labelled my rough ideas of the project so far. As you can see, I've labelled, the different types of knives, such as a bayonet, flip knife, machete, throwing knife etc. I've also labelled the different types of materials, specifically for the handle or for possible straps hanging from the knife. As well as this, I've labelled the different sizes and shapes for the knife to rule out unwanted ideas. For example, should the knife be big or small? Futuristic or vintage? These ideas are definitely something to take note of when drawing my ideas and actually creating the knife itself. In addition to this, I've written a few ideas involving the history of knives in general. For example, could the knife come from the Cavemen Era? The Egyptian Era? The Qijia Culture? These ideas could spawn a unique idea during the process so it's good to write down these things.

I also began looking at different images of knives on the internet, and gathered two solid mood boards. The two boards consist of a variety of different knife shapes and sizes, some vintage, some modern, and some even futuristic. These allow me to take into account different types of knives so I can alter take inspiration from them when sketching my ideas.

Reference Images

These are images of a beach that I personally captured in the Isle of Wight. They show in full detail the sand and the sky, which will serve as inspiration for when I go to model and texture in Maya. 

Knife Diagram

As part of my research, I took into account the different parts of a knife, so I can look back at this when modelling the actual knife itself. Key parts of this diagram to take note of is the tip and the belly. Its curvature is an interesting concept and will most likely inspire me to incorporate this idea into my own model. Another key feature is the ridges in the handle; most combat knives lately have this feature, and my idea in this project involves modern weaponry, so again, this feature could inspire me when modelling my knife.

Research on Knives

Knives are small yet dangerous weapons usually very sharp at the tip of the blade. It consists of a handle, and the blade itself, however knives used in the military have specific names, as they can hold gadgets and tools. The typical kitchen knife, however, simply consists of a handle and a blade. Knives go back thousands of years to the Egyptian era, when simple men forged simple weaponry, ultimately creating a sharp blade to hunt with. Over years, they have changed massively in shape, size, and threat, with the newer military knives capable of penetrating human bone and slicing through raw flesh. Although knives are simple weapons, they are commonly used in gang, urban and modern warfare as a form of sidearm – they are typically used in close combat, however highly trained users are capable of throwing them accurately at a target. Knives have been a massive part of previous world wars, such as World War 1 and 2, where it was clipped onto the end of rifles, commonly the M1917 Enfield. They called this a ‘bayonet’. They produced these through the 1910s to the 1930s, and then produced again in the 1960s.