Modelling The Axe

The next model for me t create was the axe. This was going to be used to kill the goose in a scene quite late on in the animation. It would be involved in actual animation during the project however no biped was required due to the shape and demands of the model and animation.

I started off by creating the handle using a simple box standing on its smaller end. I split the box into 3 segments so that I would be able to work on the top part to create the blade.

After converting this to an editable poly, i extruded out from the top segment 3 times to create the actual metal part of the axe. i extruded 3 times so that i could change the angle and sharpness of the blade.

I also then played about with some of the vertices at the bottom of the handle. This was because most axe's in real life do not just have a straight part of wood, they have a groove in them for where you hold it. This creates better grip and I wanted to add this to the model.

I then added a Turbosmooth modifier to the axe.

After applying the Turbosmooth, I noticed that the blade was looking very fat at the end. This was because of how I had extruded it out from the box. The blade on an Axe is very sharp so I was going to need to create the same effect for realism.

To do this i moved the 2 sets of vertices on either side towards each other. With the Turbosmooth on it created an effect of going from thick metal to a thin edge, which was perfect for what I wanted.

The final step was to colour the axe to make it realistic. I selected polygons and used the "Set ID" to give me different sections to apply materials to. I then created 2 materials, 1 for the wood and 1 for the metal. I then applied these to my model.

The Finished Axe