the 50$ sword i got from a shady flea market was diagnosed to be a wall-hanger rather than a prop so i spent today making it the prettiest wall-hanger in the land
That’s really impressive!
The art looks (and probably was) inspired by the borders and marginalia of a medieval manuscript, and the completed work is entirely in keeping with how real historical scabbards might have been decorated. The elaborate embossed and tooled-leather treatments often given to modern replicas may (or may not) be a bit excessive.
Other sources suggest that historical scabbards did indeed have elaborate decoration as shown on funeral brasses. Whether this patterning was three-dimensional or painted is impossible to say, but it’s a point well made.
Except for really wealthy owners, I think simpler decoration (painting, non-complex tooling) was more likely since scabbards were, by construction and by function, more perishable and subject to damage than the swords they contained.
They were usually two slats forming a wooden core, perhaps lined with raw fleece for grip and lanolin-greasy blade protection, then wrapped in leather or fabric and completed with ornamental metalwork. This would have been a locket for the top and / or a suspension band for the middle and / or a chape for the bottom. It varied by period, and often the only metal piece was the chape.
It’s likely, IMO, that this metalwork, especially if fancy, was the most expensive part of any scabbard’s decoration, and would be transferred from a damaged to a replacement one as required.
With the OP painted scabbard they’re not necessary, since getting them would require careful measuring then shopping around to get the right size, installing them at this stage would obscure some of the completed painting, and unless very lucky, they would probably cost more than the sword did.
So, no.
*****
I found some examples of impressive scabbards here.
Really ornate hilts and scabbards are often a result of being associated with a saint or by becoming royal regalia, and the three on the right are all in this category.
The first two are kept in Vienna, part of the Holy Roman Emperor’s coronation accoutrements. One of them scores double points since it’s also a saint sword, attributed to St Maurice - although since there’s another St Maurice sword in Turin…
…and since Maurice himself was supposedly a Roman soldier, I take it all with a certain amount of seasoning, mostly salt.
The rightmost is called “Joyeuse”, named for the sword of Charlemagne (which wouldn’t have looked like this, either), and was part of French coronation ceremonial. Here it’s being worn by Louis XIV in full “it’s good to be king” cosplay.
And here it is again.
I have no idea why “Last Crusade” picked this one rather than something plainer, especially since I’m pretty sure the prop-shop sourced it from here.
There are, IMO, several better choices in the Del Tin catalogue, but I suspect the bling of this hilt rather than any subtle in-joke was what won the day.
*****
Finally, the whole appearance of the OP sword is helped enormously by it being of realistic design and proportion, rather than an eccentric SLO (sword-like object) with a weird-shaped blade and improbably fantastickal hilt.
Does it have a name, and if not, might I suggest “Bluebird”?
I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the riverbed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees. All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness. All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom. By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better.
ID: 3D art of an old woman with tied back grey hair, wearing a grey sweater, bent over a large sketchpad and drawing a flower. she is smiling. it is dark and she is surrounded by flowers, and the shadow of a window can be seen. end ID
I’ve been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard
Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.
Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.
Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.
SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.
SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.
Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.
Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of “how to draw” videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can’t make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.
Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.
Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.
Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here’s a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.
This is my personal inspiration station! Any and all things that I feel fire my imagination or help me to grow- which include works of art, essays, tutorials and the like- can be found here. Please, if there is anything you see that is not properly sourced, hit me up!
Collections of an Art Student
