Knife Development

After modelling two different knives and taken into account their features, I have decided to go with the blade and handle shown in the two images below. This was however, a very difficult choice as both models were very detailed and high quality models. Ultimately, the definitive choice was the correct choice in my personal opinion.

I like the style and natural unique look of the two assets - they will definitely serve as two very realistic models for my project.

I have modelled and added a leather strap to the top of the blade, which will allow me to attach the two components together (the blade and the handle) perfectly. To do this, I simply created a cylinder polygon and altered the vertexes so that they fit around the knife appropriately. Although this was a fairly simple process, altering the vertexes was a very tedious process and took a fair amount of my time up. I didn't really overcome this problem, but I learnt new techniques in Maya which will hopefully make the process a lot quicker next time.
The strap will disguise the strange texture transition between the two assets - the blade and the handle.

As for the handle of the knife, I have added a top to it. To do this, I followed a very similar process to the strap - I imported a cylinder and altered the vertexes until they were in the appropriate position, also contrasting with the rest of the knife perfectly. I didn't encounter any problems with this as it was a very simple process, and learning new techniques from the strap model has allowed me to create it quicker.
The cut in between the two assets will be disguised by the second strap that I will create separately (this strap will also include a loose piece of leather which will contain wind and gravity physics).

The strap will be a completely separate object from the rest of the knife. This allows me to attach an extra shape to it, which will act as the loose piece of leather which will blow in the wind using wind and gravity physics.

Loose Strap Physics (nCloth)

For the physics on the leather strap, I used the nCloth feature to receive this effect. To do this, I created a simply polygon plane and moved it into position, underneath the upper strap. As you can clearly see in the image shown below, the shape is fairly narrow. This process was extremely easy so no problems I found were associated with this.

 



I then went over to the attribute editor of the plane and edited the subdivisions accordingly - a width of 20, and a height of 50. This way, I could receive very realistic looking physics without worrying about blockiness. After doing this, I cut the shape in half and separated the two objects, which would both act as a piece of loose leather hanging from the handle.

 To actually create the nCloth feature, I simply selected the object, clicked nCloth from the options listed at the top (the FX section), and clicked Create nCloth (again, a very simple procedure so I encountered no problems here). However, if the animation at this point was played, the loose piece of leather would simply fall onto the ground, so I need to attach it to the upper leather strap...

To do this, I simply selected the vertexes of the object and shift clicked onto where it will attach to. Then, rather than clicking nCloth from the list of options across the top, I clicked nConstraint, and from the drop-down menu, I clicked Point to Surface, which will then allow me to constraint the two objects together. I did the exact same procedure with the other object. I didn't encounter any problems with this due to my prior knowledge on the matter I documented beforehand.

This is the finalised model of my knife with all assets attached, including the nCloth physics (which I had learnt beforehand). I encountered numerous problems throughout the process of modelling, such as lack of knowledge on certain features of the software. I soon fixed this problem by learning new techniques in the software from my tutor and peers.