The Grapple Hook - Modelling and Texturing

When it came to modelling the grapple hook I had a couple of designs I wanted to try.

The first was inspired by a snake's head:

The original design was intended to be a split snake's head and jaw, with it's teeth acting as the hooks.

I started with a cylinder, and used the extrude tool to begin shaping the handle.

I continued using the extrude tool, so that I could create the arms/prongs of the grapple hook.

I continued to try and curve the edge of the hooks, at the beginning to create a snake's broken maw.

I started extruding teeth , and added a small handle at the base of the model, to loop the rope through.

I started modelling the front prong into the top of a snakes head, embedding a sphere to act as a gem eyesocket.

However I wasn't particularly happy with this design. It wasn't being created as planned, and overall I got stuck on how to form it into a convincing model.

I ended up starting over and looking for a different design:

I was really taken by the intricate designs of the hook, and the sharp/thin edges of the blades.

I decided I wanted this design for our grapple hook, as it was unique and somewhat beautiful.

So after constructing the handle, I extruded the top and bladed arms of the grappling hook.

I continued to extrude and refine the edge as I went along, to give it a thin, blade like metal surface.

I also used the bevel tool to add some additional detail to the tip of the hook.

Finally I added a hole at the bottom of the handle for the rope to attach and beveled the bottom of it, to give it an end cap.

I exported to roadkill and uv unwrapped the model, before sending it back to 3ds max.

I did not do too much sculpting on the model itself, I most focused on finer details.

I concentrated on creating some embroidment on the blades and handle of the grappling hook. I used stamps and alphas mainly, focusing on a floral design, which juxtapositioned the desert canyon a bit.

Finally after baking my maps from the highpoly model, I followed with my quixel dDo work flow and created the materials.

I also used nDo to create a leather texture/wrap around the handle for the character to grip.

I was pleased with the model of the grapple hook.

I perhaps wish I could of gone with my original design of a snake's head, as the idea itself had some good character to it, however in terms of time constraints and deadlines, I feel it would of taken too much time to plan out properly.

I'm pleased with the detail of the materials, I feel the metal is very convincing, and the golden embellishments add a lot to the model.