The Frostbitten Katana is both a 3D modeling project and a Blueprint project, focusing on custom materials, material transitions, particles, and the general layouts in UE4. The Katana itself starts as a base Katana in a lone temple in the snow. As the player approaches, it goes through a transformation, becoming the frostbitten katana, breaking its sheath, and settling, freezing parts of the table and stand it rests on. The project is based in 2 parts, one for the modeling, which was inspired by different games, and the blueprinting, which was inspired by different pieces of winter.
Software Used
Tools Used : Unreal Engine 4 - Material Node Scripting
: Photoshop - Texture Map Creation
: Substance Painter - Texture Map Creation
: AutoDesk Maya - Asset Creation
The first thing I made was a reference sheet and sheet for inspiration. The different types of inspiration came from different games, mainly the different Katana designs from PSO2 and historical pieces. I did a lot of research on the traditional creation techniques for the Katana style sword, such as the forging styles, the different curves of the blade, the way the tang fits into the rest of the handle etc... I used that information in the modeling process to make sure it reflects the actual styles.
For the environment styles, I used Square Enix's Tomb Raider games, as they often featured the run down Japanese traditional temples, sometimes in the snow as well.
These style guides were mainly useful for the texturing process, but some pieces of the modeling needed them as well.
Process
Katana Inspiration and Research Sheets
Environment Inspiration
After the reference sheet, I made the 3D models for the sword. I copied the traditional angles for the curve in the middle, the proportions for the handle to blade length, and finally the details on the handle and the ribbons. The handle was a single piece, with alpha channels and roughness maps for the detail of the wrapping in substance.
3D modeled katana base
I then created both the normal and iced version textures for the Katana. The ice version inspiration came from the way frost settles on steel and metals, with the handle being crusted over. The normal version colours, and the edge of the blade, came from research about the types of steel and types of grinding they would preform to sharpen them.
Normal Katana Maps
Frostbitten Katana Maps
I then went into Unreal Engine 4 and implemented them into a base level. I further went into the materials I created and made transitions for the katana, to be called with triggers in the sequencer. I made the transition maps by making a new UV for the blade and sheath in Maya then opened it in photoshop to give it a proper 0-1 scaling across the white to black spectrum.
Katana Transition Maps
Katana Transition Blueprints and Material Instances
I then setup the sequencer to call material instances and customize them based on the sliders and parameters inside the materials
Level Sequencer and Material Instances
After setting that up, I used my research to create a modular Japanese temple in the snow. This made my sword be grounded in the world. The modular pieces let me modify it to change based on the particles.
Modular Pieces implemented in Unreal
I the made the particle effects, the snow, sprite changes, and more was all created by hand in photoshop and applied to the level at the end.
Particle Effects
Finally, I created the lanterns, tables, and hanging lanterns in the map. I adjusted the lighting to make it appear to be night time and made a base landscape in the background to ground it in a location in the world. I did the physics on the hanging lanterns and on the waving papers in the wind.
Video
Final Image
