Silver Cross Pendant

Hi all.. I want to share my new pendant I received the other day. I got it in the standard silver with no gloss and not patina, took a picture of it before I added the patina and another picture after I added patina to it. Anyone else adding patina to their silver???? Below are some before and after pictures.


Final result




Before - standard silver with no gloss and no patina




After - Standard silver with patina and lightly polished

Gorgeous! Nice detail. The patina adds a lot. What do you use to get the patina?

I use the Liver of Sulphur XL GEL, they come in little bottles. Its easier to do then most people think. Im always looking for new ways to finish silver, you wont believe the crazy techniques that are out there and real. Ive been asked how I do this, im probably going to make some kind of step by step tutorial on this. I think adding patina to a piece brings out the detail.

That's very nice! I would also appreciate a tutorial from you on how you patina and polish. Really like your other designs too.

Ill be getting another cross shortly, Ive never done a video tutorial but Ill give it a shot, most likely with lots of editing. LOL... I'll do a step by step walkthrough on the entire process, post links to where you can buy affordable materials needed and most are easily accessible. Its a lot easier to do then I thought.

That would be real nice. I'll look forward to it.

Great model, post processing, and photography. Thanks for sharing.

While i'm not big on crosses in and of them selves.. i'm really digging the detail for this design!!! Fantastic work. What program did you use? And what was your basic workflow process for building this particular model?

Ray

Thanks, I use Zbrush 4r4, 3ds MAX 12 and Rhino 4 but mainly I use Zbrush 4r4. This cross was easier then youd think. The pattern and patina is what makes this pendant look nice. Its all in the pattern. I created a solid outline of the cross, masked the outer rim and added a tilable pattern inside the rim that I did on photoshop and with that pattern I was able to use it as an alpha/bass relief.

Alpha/bass relief, excellent.. I've been meaning to figure out how to do that recently in Blender. THANKS! Again, it looks great!

Ray

If you need help making any patterns into alpha/bass relief just let me know, I have photoshop, I can help you out.

sweet thanks! That will be awesome. I've been doing some research on displacement maps for blender

Ray

I recommend you watch this. Its meant for zBrush but it gives you a general idea on what those displacement maps do.

http://vimeo.com/2273521

Check your PM.

Awesome, Thanks! The help is MUCH appreciated!

Ray

What are the dimensions of this piece? I'm looking to do something in silver and want to get an idea of what level of detail is possible. You can get the tech specs, but once you see an actual piece and know how big it is, a picture is worth a thousand tech specs....

I try to push the level of detail to its limit on a lot of my designs. As long as you follow the design rules for silver, there shouldnt be any worries. I used to have the same concerns, but after getting my first silver piece, im confident in the accuracy silver offers.
The half spheres all over this cross are 0.8mm wide and the criss crossing lines are 0.5mm wide. In the picture, the spheres look smaller then the criss crossing lines, but thats only because the top round part of them are polished. You can go as small as 0.3mm and it will still show.
The loop that the chain goes through has small dimples surrounding my logo, I'll take a picture of it for you and update this post. I know most people don't look at the loop, but I know its there.
The bandana detail in my skull bead is 0.3mm-0.4mm and the ring has engravings as small as 0.4mm-0.5mm.
Check out my vampire skull ring. the gap between the front teeth are 0.5mm wide and the smallest tooth gap is 0.3mm wide and they are all crisp and clearly visible.
Engravings and embossing width should equal its height but if you plan on hand polishing your silver, a little more height and/or depth wont hurt and patina will make it look even better. I know I gave you more information then you asked for, but this would have helped me a lot when I first started.

This pendant is 2.5 inches tall, 1.5 inches wide and 1/3 inch thick
My next project will be a bracelet and each link will be ornately engraved, i'm also designing a custom clasp also detailed all over.

syncopator, I seen your other post about checking your model. I commented on that post, let me know if you need any help.

Sal, what was the poly count res on the model for such high detail using mapping?

This one has 978,262. Both sides are identical in detail. I can bring it down to half as much, but I don't want to affect the detail.