Hello guys
I want to feature a Chinese soldier from the second Sino-Japanese war(1937-1945). I anchor my time&space frame on a period of fast-paced changes. 1900 to 1950 has brought many changes in Europe, but the transition has been even more brutal within China, as the ruling system and weaponry switched from feudal and boxer’s cold-steel weapons in 1900 to modern-days like in 1950.
I thought this period is especially well-suited to answer the “over times” element challenge. My model would integrate archaic as well as modern assets to bring to the model the weight of history. I want my model to be middle-aged to old and old-fashionned. It would visual tension between the modern equipment and its bearer, by emphasising their different time-period context. The model would feature both a rifle and a blade. Blades and guns seem to me all there is about the soldiers through history, really.
As for historical reference for the blade, soldiers were then equipped with Dadao 大刀 . Its purpose on the battlefield was to break horse-mounted cavalry charges (cutting off a horse’s legs). Its overall shape varies a lot. Basically, it’s an arm’s length blade most times mounted to a rather lentghy shaft. No definite shape of hilt, shaft, or even blade. Few thrust moves, no hits with the shaft. Hilt is almost irrelevant, as Dadao versus any cold steel weapon fighting is very unlikely to occur.
I’m using Zbrush to model. I will do a quick render, as it’s not the purpose of the challenge. I will probably use Photoshop to composit the render passes.
Here is my base mesh, as well as a quick gather of my reference
