I got the chance recently to create some drawings of ancient and medieval weapons for an RPG project. So I spent a good amount of time browsing reference images of authentic weapons from history.
I started with small blades, picking a few interesting examples ranging from the Viking age to the Renaissance. I began working on these after a break from drawing that had lasted a few months, so my first attempts were a bit rough and uncertain, but as I worked I a better sense of how to render them with my desired level of realism.
I then moved up to a higher level of detail but still somewhat unfocused in the composition. I drew whatever popped into mind. As I drew, I got the urge to be more systematic and focus on small collections of similar weapons.
At this point I began investigating historic weapons more seriously, trying to get a clearer idea of weapon terminology and answer certain questions. For example, what is the difference between a longsword and a broadsword, or a bastard sword and a claymore? This search helped to inform me a bit about how historians understand the weapons of the past.
This info appealed to both the history geek in me as well as to my inner gamer. Plus, despite what I thought was my fairly extensive familiarity with historic weapons, I discovered several weapon types that I hadn’t previously known.
Browsing images from medieval manuscripts showed me several lesser known weapons, like warbrands, featured frequently in the Maciejowski Bible. Though the most interesting weapons were godenaks, a strange “chopper” that I’d never come across before.
By this point I felt a strong urge to cover all possible weapon types, doing several drawing of each. This exploration proved interesting and quite satisfying. So continuing in this direction, curved blades came next.
Technically, these weapons offered a greater challenge due to the need for so few straight lines. With straight blades, the use of rulers are an easy shortcut for clean lines. But curved edges require much more freehand work, which is troublesome for the level of precision that I prefer with these drawings.
After exhausting most blade styles, I took a whack at axes. (pun intended)
Afte
After focusing on metal textures like reflections or tarnish, drawing wood grain was an interesting switch. Both are fairly amorphous but wood grain is a bit more patterned so requires that strange combination of form and chaos.
Maybe the best part of doing this series was the frequent satisfaction felt at the end of drawing each weapon.