Hello,
here is my new work. I used ZBrush and 3dsmax.
This sword is part of the ceremonial-equipment for an ancient temple i’m
working on.
Hope you like it.
Very nice. I like the materials very much. Did you work with displacement maps?
If so, how did this increase your rendering time? the reason I ask is because im looking into getting the LW package, which should allow for a similar workflow.
However bearing in mind im used to a very rapid workflow in Z, im not entirely sure whether such an allround “pro” package is suitable for a single person with no commercial background in the CG field.
It wouldnt make sense to buy stuff just to find out, that i need a renderfarm to get quick results with many details.
Thats where my question comes from 
Hope you dont mind.
Cheers
E.
Hello Erklaerbar,
normally i don’t use displacement maps.
In this case i used normal maps - because displacement maps don’t work very well in 3dsmax (this is just my opinion 
).
Here are the rendertimes:
without normal map: 2:14 min.
with normal map: 5:18 min.
PC used: 2x AMD Opteron 280 (2,4 GHz) with 2GB RAM
I know nearly nothing about LW, so i can’t tell you how fast it is. :o
thanks for the answer. Looks like that normal map plugin is in heavy use then 
I would go for Max myself if the price tag wasnt that high. Rendertimes appear to be in an acceptable range too.
Anyway nice pic. Im curious about the rest of the scene 
Cheers
E.
Here is a small update:
The sword is now finished.
The next piece will be a golden goblet for the temple.
Wow… since i see that, im see the trademark of your works:D , i hope some day make renders and models like yours. the model was made with z spheres again ?, can i see the z spheres? thanks for all, you are awesome.:eek:
Thanks for your kind words, DAVESTEEL. :o
Yes, the handle was made with ZSpheres, the blade was made in 3dsmax.
Here are your ZSpheres 
:
A Beauty! I would not have thought using ZSpheres for that. Great Idea and thanks for sharing!
small_orange_diamond
Lemo
hi there,
great modeling! maybe the texture or material of the blade could be a bit more metalic. seems a bit made of plastic.
greetz!
Checked out all of your different weapons and items you link to in your sig. Really great series of items! I’m sure they’ll look super when they’re all brought together in the temple. Keep it up! 
Thanks for your comments.
theXbucket: I see what you mean. The blade could really look a bit more metalic. I’ll try to fix it.
Here is a quick test-render of the goblet:
Now it’s time to build the temple!
Here is a quick test-render for the first room of the temple -
the “hall of the sword”.
Hope you like it.
I decided to make seperate rooms for each of the items instead of putting
them all in one room.
Tiene muy buena pinta esa escena. ¿Vas a dejarla así o piensas texturizarla?
saltapiedras:
Yes, i will add textures. 
It needs a lot more work before it’s finished…
Here is a small update:
Looks really good, an original use of the zspheres in max
Hope to see more
Man… when I first saw this I could have sworn this was all ZBrush…it just has that feel to it.
sirquadalot: I rendered it in 3ds Max 8 with finalRender Stage-1.
Here is a new test-render with textures.
Hope you like it.
Looks really nice with the textures! The sword seems a little blurry for being the focus of the picture, though- probably due to the fog. Maybe toss a sharpen on it in post and see what it looks like. Great work!