Look over XVIII century weapons

The time of action for my idea is 18^th century, so I wanted to give my character a significant, for that period , object. I think, showing Clarice fighting, not only with sword but with a gun as well, gives her more respect from the viewer side. It was my point, to make her capable of many challenging actions.

I was thinking of adding more accessories to my character. My mind immediately directed itself onto the weapon path. It was an instinct decision, at last that would be a strange view to see an 18^th century sailor without any protection tool. As for the choice, sword or rapier seems to be quite obvious but the period of time I chose, has it’s advantages. It is a century of gunpowder and we can move forward with the inventions. Here I’ll screen the references I’ve looked at and mention what features caught my attention.

Pistols

What I really like about pistols from that times is their shape and very ornamental trigger. Although , this model looks rather ordinary. The connection of  metal elements and dark wood doesn’t make big impression. Also, it’s shape is kept in a smooth, straight lines.

 

This one has a richer form than the previous.  As we can see, more attention was added to shape the barrel. It would suit some gentleman or a captain of the ship. If accompanied by a well cut jacket, it would create a very nice image. Although this model is another connection of metal and dark wood, it’s ornaments have a stronger outline, which makes them more visible. Also, those metal details are very precise and make a pistol more outstanding. 

This gun meets my expectations in every aspect. I really like the combination of wood for the handle and metal details and barrel. Moreover, this design is very  elaborate thanks to ornaments, not only on metal parts but on wooden ones as well. This type of gun would suit my merchant character, who can afford more expensive equipment and who likes fancy style.

 

Following this direction, here are some examples of unusual gun designs. Thanks to enriched color palette, above pistol becomes far from typical. Black color helps to highlight golden ornaments, which emphasize the probable price of this gun. Although, it’s a very great pistol, the overall impression forces me to think that it was playing only decorative role, not practical. 

Another, rich looking weapon. I really like how it seems to be fully made of metals. It looks very slim and, in comparison to previous ones, very delicate. This whole construcion seems light and kind of girly in some way. May be that would be a good choice for Clarice? Her gun would be different to the male one, which would make a nice contrast. On the other hand, I would like to show her carrying heavier equipment, for it makes her look stronger. Beside, using light colors, somehow dicreases the feeling of force, replacing it with purity and innocence.

 

Another example of efficient, however simple shaped gun. It’s slim body and lack of ornamentation makes it suitable for a bad character. It is designed to be practical and easy to hide in a robes. Covering it’s structure with a leather makes it very impressive. I think this is a great example how we can match materials and fabrics and make them fit the whole outfit. When looking at this image, I immediately imagine a pirate dressed in a black leather. There are a few things I’ve learnt and I should bear  them in mind for my further designing . Firstly - customizing objects can be easy and secondly – sometimes it’s good to design an object which matches the character and the connection between object and character can be easily spotted by the viewer. 

This type of pistols differs from the previous ones. It’s barrel is shorter and handle thicker. It looks very solid and It’s mechanism’s size is increased.  Because of it’s shorter barrel, a pistol looses the slim look and seems to be heavier. Although, I think this one is more handy than the guns I looked at before. The engraver on holder gives the pistol a royal and esthetic look. There doesn’t have to be many ornaments to make it look fancy.

 

 Although this design doesn’t have any outstanding features, I decided to reference it and point out it’s simple shape. I came to like it’s smoothness and lack of unnecessary details. Here is the beauty in a practical form. Another aspect that interested me was tone and gloss of metal used for this model. Those features were exposed thanks to getting rid of any other ornaments. This is a good point to remember when I’ll be creating a gun for a “practical” character. 

By looking at this example, I’ve noticed one interesting thing. Those shorter pistols’ holder ends with a big ball. This feature wasn’t used for the long versions of those weapons, it was replaced with a curved ending instead. I think ball at the end prevents hand from slipping off the handle and helps holding a solid grip. When I think about those long guns above, I start to wonder if this thin, small handle is actually comfortable to hold that long barrel. 

Here is an example of a different interesting design. The overall shape is quite familiar to a long pistols shown before, with one major difference, this one has two barrels.  I consider this one as a later version of one barrel gun. As two is always more than one, aiming at somebody probably would cause a lot of fear. All in all, vision of being hit by two, not only one bullet, isn’t very comforting. To me, this design would suit somebody who’s up to date with a new inventions and who has a lot of power in society.  

This image pictures some ideas for engraving the barrels. 

Now, let’s take a look at blunderbuss. This type of weapon has a characteristic trumpet shape barrel. This gun’s solid shape calls for a respect and submission. I think, if I decide to give it to my character, she will definitely look dangerous. This design contains something that wasn’t included in any screed here before. It has a round jewel in it’s holder, which is rather suitable for a conquistador or a pirate than a merchant. At least, not for my merchant. 

Small, pocket size version of a pirate blunderbuss. Probably a very early archetype for contemporary Walther PPT. Although, it looks unobtrusive, it can make just as much damage as it’s bigger cousin. Probably the only circumstance is the distance from which you can shoot. The great thing about researching those designs is the knowledge about different sizes of guns. It actually allows your mind to create any type and any size of weapon you can only imagine. It’s also very helpful in establishing the key mechanisms of the pistols and transferring them into different size designs. 

Another type of gun, popular at 18^th century is a rifle. This weapon was probably mostly used by soldiers and gave the advantage of shooting distance. I would consider giving it to my ship crew members. May be it would replace cannons at the ship, which I wasn’t sure about . It would the answer to my doubts. Although I would simplify their form, limit number of ornaments and may be replace them with the East India Company sign.  

I thought it’s going to be useful to research cannons as well, just in case I changed my mind about using rifles. This weapon is a significant sign of battle ships and who knows when and where I will need to use it for my designs. 

 

Now I’ll be looking for some ideas for a cold steel type of weapon.   

  

The best thing for designing in rapiers is the hilt. It can be shaped in a various ways and I’m going to point out some more interesting ideas. The above example is a classic style, very simple but elegant at the same time.   

This design is very familiar to previous one but it’s lines are thicker, which allows to engrave symbols or signs. In my case, this space would be filled with East India Company’s logo. 

Something more outstanding and unique. The hilt is kept in a very “light” style. I like the idea of using lines, instead of one piece of metal. This design is pretty futuristic and intriguing. Shaping perfect curves in metal isn’t an easy task and only rich citizens can afford a rapier like that. 

Searching for ideas, we can always look back at previous ages and styles. When we do so, we’ll notice that people has always been inspired by a world around themselves, in particular nature. Above image contains floral ornaments engraved on a hilt. It is also another example of leaving spaces between shapes, thanks to that the hilt looks very light. It is worth searching some natural textures, which will help coming up with a new designs. 

Hilt inspired by Asian influences.  It looks very much like Japanese katana. As we can see the structure of the hilt is much different to previous references. The main holder is slightly curving into an arc, which makes is fit perfectly in a hand. It’s surface is also divided into slightly sticking out discs which prevents a hand from slipping off. There is a lot of highly detailed ornamentation at each part of hilt. These are traditional Chinese textures and symbols that add more character to a rapier.   

The last thing I’m researching is a dagger. It was a common thing for sailors to always have a dagger or knife hidden somewhere underneath the coat. Even more common for pirates. This weapon would be used only in critical situations and normally it stayed hidden for the strangers eyes. The big advantage of daggers was it’s small size. Although, they would not be useful for fencing, it was always the last chance to stay armed. Sometimes, rich people used to decorate daggers with jewels but then they were playing a representative role rather than defensive. 

 

Example of the dagger for the bad character. Very simple change applied to the blade can change the whole impression about it’s destination. Irregular shape very often reminds us of something primal. There is no harmony in that shape, that’s why it wakes up anxious feelings.

All examples and references gathered here help me to come up with a new ideas for designs. Each type of weapon looked different and would be suitable for different character. Observations made at this research helped me in discovering some features that could match particular personalities. It is a great fun to design assets that match their owner and help in defining their identity. Now I can always come back to this page whenever I need inspiration.