Hard surface modelling, as I mentioned in part 2, really tested my skills. Knowing what you want to create and bringing it to life are two completely different challenges, connected only by knowledge and experience. Designing the swords and the gold hilt was a labour-intensive process that took far longer than I expected. Adding to that, the more research I did along the way, the more my approach evolved. To be clear, I’m not an academic—I used my research primarily to guide my artistic decisions.
I started modelling the swords with only a basic understanding of the saga’s historical context, specifically the early migration period. Let’s just say I jumped in headfirst—“eager beaver” style. Initially, I found some Celtic sword designs that seemed to fit my vision of a warrior’s sword for the period. But as I began working, I discovered that the references I’d used were wrongly attributed to the period. This left me questioning just how historically accurate I needed to be. With so many translations of the original manuscript and interpretations of its themes, I decided to focus on how the swords could tell the story I wanted to portray.
Hrunting
The first sword I designed was Hrunting, the blade given to Beowulf by Unferth, a thegn of Hrothgar. Hrunting famously failed Beowulf during his fight with Grendel’s mother. Initially, I referenced a modern Celtic battle sword, which I later realized was out of place for the era. Despite this, I stuck with the design—it felt like something that could’ve been crafted by an ambitious blacksmith ahead of his time.
Hrunting is described in the poem as an ancient, blood-baptized weapon, its iron edges etched with poison twigs. For my design, I kept it straightforward and unadorned to reflect its role as a functional warrior’s blade.
Naegling
The second sword, Naegling, is the king’s sword. I wanted to create a strong contrast between Naegling and Hrunting. While Hrunting is practical and utilitarian, Naegling, described as old and dull in the saga, needed to feel more ornate to reflect its royal status. I added embellishments, a folded blade, and intricate details to show its elevated craftsmanship.
Naegling was given to Beowulf by Hygelac, king of the Geats, and it’s the sword he used in his battle against the dragon. For this reason, I leaned into a more ceremonial and grand design, with hints of age and wear.
The Giant’s Sword
Designing the giant’s sword hilt was an adventure in itself. The poem describes it as depicting scenes of an ancient flood and the demise of giants estranged from God. To bring this to life, I studied Celtic knots and migration-period art to ensure the design felt authentic to the time while incorporating the great flood and drowning giants. The combination of storytelling and intricate detail made this one of the most challenging but rewarding parts of the project.
The Dragon’s Head
For the dragon’s head, I started with a concept of glowing eyes and an abstract shape behind the skull and swords. Working digitally gave me the freedom to experiment with different compositions and refine the details until I was happy with how it all came together. The result was a centrepiece that tied the swords and the story together.
The Beauty of Digital Workflow
One of the joys of working with digital assets is the flexibility to revisit and refine. Once the elements were modelled, I had the freedom to play around with their composition and tweak the designs to better fit my vision. While this part of the project took much longer than anticipated, it allowed me to fully explore and express the saga’s themes in a way that felt both personal and meaningful.
The Process
I started with the easiest of my sword designs, but wow, the learning curve was steep. Using the ZModeler tool in ZBrush gave me precise control over points, edges, and polygons, which is fantastic—but also a bit overwhelming at first. I began with a single cube and worked from there, expanding, extruding, and stretching it until I had the shape I wanted. Sounds simple, right? Spoiler: it wasn’t! But it was incredibly satisfying to see the blade take shape step by step.
The second blade was a whole different challenge—a sword fit for kings. That meant I had to take everything I’d learned from the first sword and level up. In addition to shaping and refining, I incorporated masking and projection techniques to build up simple Celtic-inspired designs on the gold hilt. The extra layer of detail added complexity but made the sword feel truly regal. Each step was a lesson in patience and problem-solving, and it definitely pushed my skills to the next level.
There were several moments in this project where I could really see my concept coming to life, and adding the swords to the skull and crown was definitely one of the highlights. It was such a satisfying step, watching the individual elements come together as a cohesive piece.
One detail worth mentioning is how I positioned the swords, pointing down. This wasn’t just a design choice; it was symbolic. Swords pointing downward traditionally represent peace, a moment of rest after battle. In contrast, swords pointing upward symbolize war or readiness to fight, like being en garde. This subtle touch added another layer of meaning to the composition and tied into the broader themes I wanted to explore.
I started the giant hilt by crafting simple Celtic patterns and then building on them, expanding and refining the designs as I went. This step was all about layering and adding complexity to make the hilt feel both intricate and authentic to the era.
In the example above, you can see how I used different textures to bring out the raised details, giving the patterns more depth and prominence. At various stages, I exported these designs into KeyShot to preview how they would look with a gold material applied. Seeing the contrast and shine of the gold really helped me visualize how the final piece would come together and guided my adjustments to the textures and details. It was exciting to watch the hilt transform with each iteration!
I scoured the web looking for different ways to draw out the Celtic designs. Not as easy as it looks. After sketching out the basic design I kept refining it over and over again until I was happy with the layout. Then it was a matter of cleaning up the line work and creating a black-and-white version to use in Zbrush. One of the things I was surprised with at this stage was the “jaggies” created when projecting the design onto a surface in Zbrush. If I needed a more refined edge I’d have been screwed. But due to the hilt being small in my overall design, it wasn’t a problem. Something to keep in mind when working on my next project is the document size in Zbrush.
Creating the giant hilt sword was one of the most challenging parts of this project—there were definitely moments when I felt like throwing in the towel. But I kept pushing forward because this piece is the heart of my composition. I wanted it to convey the overarching theme of paganism versus Christianity in a visually impactful way.
The technical challenges were no joke. I experimented with several methods to project or extrude the intricate design onto a cube, and many attempts didn’t quite work out as I’d hoped. But persistence eventually paid off, and I was able to get the result I was aiming for. The hilt tells the story of the giant’s demise and features the tau cross, tying it to the Christian elements of the saga.
While working on the design, I remembered reading something about the symbolism of mystical objects, particularly the parallels between Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, and the giant sword hilt in Beowulf. That inspired me to shape the hilt like a hammer, as it felt like a fitting nod to this connection. I could easily imagine a giant swinging the sword like a hammer—though probably not with a gold hilt! Still, the hammer shape gave the hilt a powerful, otherworldly quality that fits perfectly with the narrative and symbolism I wanted to evoke.
Adding texture and material to the objects in KeyShot was one of those stages that I truly enjoyed. It’s where everything started to feel real and tangible. Spending time experimenting with the materials, playing with light, and composing the objects in the scene made such a difference.
Tweaking things like the camera’s depth of field and angles brought out the details and gave the composition a sense of presence and drama. It was incredibly satisfying to see all the elements come to life, transforming from raw models into something that felt rich and polished. This stage really made all the effort leading up to it worth it.
Creating the dragon’s head was a much simpler and more enjoyable process compared to the swords—organic sculpting is definitely more my style. Starting with a basic sphere, I used the clay buildup tool and the move mesh tool to gradually shape the head. It’s such a satisfying process, adding layer upon layer until the design really starts to take form.
Once I had the basic shape nailed down, I dove into the details, refining the textures and features to bring the dragon to life. By the time the head was fully designed, I couldn’t wait to see how it would look in KeyShot. Adding mood lighting in the render was the cherry on top, it gave the piece a dramatic and atmospheric feel that really brought out its character.