Multiple ropes

[ComputerGraphics]

Hi, I want to do something like the following:

for a ballista. I have the rest of the ballista complete, and I had a couple ways in mind to actually do this but they’re all proving to be really complicated or with poor results (stretched polys, or not being able to move things in quite the right way).

I’m looking for advice on how to go about this without just cheating it and covering it in leather or brass (although that’s my go-to if I can’t achieve this). Notice that the ropes actually collide near the top and wind around eachother, then have to go around the arm bar and then back into a wind. Please help.

[Altea]

I would model a thick core with dynamesh of one of groups of ropes around the cylinder and then adding in the surface lots of ropes with curves brushes attracted to the surface.
Then I would model another dynames core for the other group of ropes and repeat the same operation, with the curves being aware of the surface of both the new core and the older one with the ropes.

This technique is not very different to what I see done many times for stylized long hair. As this one from one of the Pixologic streams from Danny Mac. But instead a plain curve brush one with rope texture.