A Katana is a deadly weapon. There's no doubt about it and I probably can't imagine how many people have died by such a sword.



Yet, forgive me, for I am fascinated of "this tool of death". It is such an elegant, wonderfully designed manmade object which combines strength and style. Aside the fact, that it is made for murder, it is a wonderful example of craftsmanship, of tradition and of culture as it is so tightly connected to the Samurai and their "Bushido".
A terrifying yet somehow admirable way to live - and the same goes for the Katana, too.


So, this is more or less the second Katana I have made. But actually not really - this one is based on the Katana mesh of my gift for Betelgeux: [link]
Still, the only thing that stayed the same was the blade, everything else was heavily revamped or modeled again.

This is by no means 100% accurate (it can't be, actually, since you find so many different versions of a Katana, it's quite impossible to determine the very "original", "traditional" one) but I stayed close to a lot of references I had, only the Tsuba (Guard) is based on my own ideas. Also, the Tsukaito (Wrapping) of the Tsuka (Handle) is my own "interpretation" of a real Wrapping since it was a little too hard to model that precisely and as perfectly as I wanted to have it. Same goes for the Wrapping on the Saya (Scabbard). This will probably be in Vol.2, someday...
I don't think that swordsmiths made perfect Katanas the first time they tried it, huh? So, I'll keep on learning, too, and one I WILL make a perfect Katana

Modeled in Blender, rendered in Indigo using a simple "Studio" Setup. After making "Japanese Steel" I always wanted to make a truly perfect studio shot of my Katana yet I never managed to make the right lighting setup nor did the model satisfy me. And perfect, well it is far from it, but for now, it is good enough...

For more Details (other views, etc.), please take a look here: [link]


I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Just the beauty of the sword itself, not the tragic purpose it has.


RELOAD: As some people suggested, I re-uploaded this thing with another version...the white one which comes rather straight from Indigo. This preview shows them both, hit Download to get a zip-file containing both styles.

Also, I'd like to add that I'm doing this since the focus lies on the model, not the presentation. Therefore, I do hope this change makes it even better for some of you