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Sarspax — Zenn Weapon Study
#weapon #zenn
Published: 2017-02-07 17:19:27 +0000 UTC; Views: 5989; Favourites: 346; Downloads: 33
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Description
I actually have a big page of weapons sketched out like this one but grabbed this one to use as an example for the Throw Me A Weapon commissions. This is the quality bar but detail may depend on the weapon. Details will be available in a journal soon. Zenn headworld info for weapons will happen when I have the whole sheet done.Related content
Comments: 32
Ahh I love the style of this, clearly fantasy but still believable and practical looking!
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Hey there! Love the design, a really cool concept.
Because you seem interested in world building judging by the comments I would like to present an observation.
For this to be effective the handle would have to face the body in the sheath. Based just on the drawings, if the blade is facing away it would be too long to pull out of the sheath without a huge hassle. He wouldn't be able to extend his arm out far enough to unsheathe it easily. If someone is coming at this guy hes going to have to reach back and lift his tail all the way up, maybe jiggle it a bit to get that out. Even if its a tool it seems weird that they would use something that's such a hassle. Plus if someone sneaks up on him they can just grab it and hack him in the back. However in the same position but facing his body he can quickly reach back and access the sword for use as a tool or weapon, and anyone trying to take it has to come from the front or side and therby be seeable.
Other than that though this is quite dope! c:
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Have answered this a few times now 
comments.deviantart.com/1/6621…
^Theres other reasons as well but this explains the main ones
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I dunno about the proportions to humans but I used to have my character Baz haphazardly throw around a giant hammer. I imagine she would have a similar grace (er lack thereof) when trying to wield something like this. xD
I LOVE how you have it sheathed on the tail! o: The materials and carved details are so great!!
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Roflmao nice. Oversized weapons are just flat out fun.
These species overall is very strong and robust and lives on a planet with a bit higher gravity than us. They're between 7 and 9 ft typically if standing with a natural posture. For us this weapon would be massive and unquestionably unuseable haha. They DO have bigger weapons/tools than this one! Those ones are definitely less graceful in their use xD
Thanks! 
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Yes they are!
That's awesome haha! Makes it all the better~
So if their gravity is different, how's their atmosphere?
I look forward to seeing what else you got! 
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Atmosphere is only a little bit denser. Oxygen level is much higher overall but it can vary depending on the biome.
Thanks! Glad you're looking forward to it
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I really enjoy those kind of works, especially from you!
The sketches, and clear explanation done through he drawings is awesome
Also throwing in the shadow behind the weapon makes it pop very well!
I was wondering that when I saw it on tumblr, how come the handle is facing away from the body? Wouldn't that make it hard to grab?
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It's actually harder to reach behind you to grab something from that angle. The Zenn flip it around so that if they whip their tail around themselves defensively they can easily draw their weapon in the process. Shorter blades can be stowed on the lower back or against the chest but something this size doesn't work slung over the shoulders the way humans would because of the environment they're in and the importance they place on mobility. This allows them to land and roll from high falls, climb, or fight. They could even draw the weapon with one of their legs if they needed to.
Glad you enjoy these! Been getting a lot of positive feedback on world building even if it isn't characters. Good news is there's more coming.
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Ohhh that is super well thought out! I really appreciate that, and you're good at it.
I'm honestly excited to see more! Awesome storybuilding and quality art!
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No problem! And thanks, super glad you're excited for more. This world is pretty close to my heart and a lot has gone into it so far. Im glad there's interest and investment in it besides my own. I'm open to questions any time.
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Is it used primarily as a hacking weapon or wood clearing? Why the choice to have it dense, yet flexible. From a materials perspective, flexibility and malleability often go hand in hand, so shaping would be easier. However, a more flexible piece of material will take less force to deform it than a harder piece of the same material. But iirc, the zenn homeworld is cold?
If you've got time I'd like to hear about your material haha :^)
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Good questions! Yes, it's primarily for hacking and suitable for softer foliages and young plants, and prey no larger than two adult Zenn. Like most hatchet type tools the momentum generated at the end of it's length is crucial for a clean cut. The material is purposely left thicker to accommodate repeated rehoning. The secondary cutting edge retains a wider angle except for the last finger length which is narrower and kept sharp for peeling, scraping, and slicing The most common use for this tool is in quickly breaking down animal carcasses, removing ice or snow pack from around cavern entrances, trimming young branches from trees for raw materials, opening up rotten logs, or using the spine or pommel to crack bones, seed pods, and shells. It's on the larger end of the scale for general purpose tools but can be used as a stand-in for a proper weapon if they need to travel more lightly for gathering supplies in a hurry.
As for materials! This one I don't have entirely figured out just yet. It's flexible in that it will allow some amount of give if struck and retain it's structure with strong vibrations. The material's structure won't allow it to be easily knapped. High heat will make it easier to dent with a dense enough tool. Low enough temperatures can reduce it's malleability far beyond an ideal range, making it more prone to chipping. Two of the things I'm researching are Wurtzite Boron Nitride and Lonsdaleite. Things generally change as I do further research but for now I'm seeing if I can figure out a feasible way to make a really stupid material that is excellent for a few select things and then just completely worthless because of it's inconvenience. With how this one is right now this thing can't be used after it's been left in subzero temperatures. Once it receives a big chip or fractures it's impossible to mend. They actually just take the most useful piece and do the minimum to make it serviceable. Taken care of right it will stay sharp for a long time. It's biggest enemies are rocks, 'stone' trees (really big ancient trees that may as well be made of rock when their bark freezes), and the bones/armor of anything larger than a moose. That's why it's not used for fighting/hunting. No sense in risking it when you can't be sure you won't accidentally strike something that'll break it.
Most weapons they use for hunting or fighting are actually less durable but easier to repair or replace or light enough to have backups. Bone, stone, and wood mostly. As far as pre-city-state Zenn tools go.
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That is so cool that you've thought through all this, :^)
I'm more familiar with metals than ionic/covalent compounds like stones and what not. I imagine if the blade were struck at cold temperatures you'd get massive internal fracturing of the material if it didn't break. However, if left at a cold temperature, let's say on the ground, and not tampered with, then slowly warmed up (by slowly I just mean by air contact, not flash heating), I can't imagine that there would be any significant structural changes that would render it unusable.
Thank you for the write up! It's always a pleasure to hear about a thought out head world.
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Oh yeah of course xD It'd be like letting a pyrex pan return to room temperature versus dumping it into a kiln.
Theres research being done on crystals that are 'flexible' which is what has most of my interest right now. In some cases the molecules seem to shift their arrangement in response to certain types of stresses. Theres also something on a type of glass that is flexible like that as well. There was also a fabled ancient material that was like glass in every way except that it would dent like metal and could be reshaped again, but like the recipe for Roman concrete that was lost. (In this case the creator was killed because the invention would destroy the value of metal refining. I'll have to check some other sources to verify but a funny story either way).
I'll be sure to heckle you for some feedback on metals as I learn about them if you don't mind
Glad you enjoy the headworld talk! Ask any time. I won't always have an answer right away but it'll certainly be something I investigate even if I can only offer a speculative answer at the time. I'm compiling all of my unanswered headworld asks while I go back and revise what is currently available headworld material in my folders. Man its been so long :'D
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Oh mate, if you can find links, please send me, I'd find that very interesting to read about. Took a smart materials course last semester, and there was some interesting stuff on materials that have different elastic moduli (how much stress can be applied to stretch a certain distance, don't know how familiar you are with the terms), that change at different temperatures due to phase transformations. Uhh Shape memory alloys. Really cool.
But flexible crystals would imply that the crystal lattices are distorting far outside their normal range. I'd be so down to read about those, especially if it's with light materials, because it could have ramifications for aerospace which is my area. Haha.
But yeah, feel free to shoot me notes, I'll do my best to tell you what I can, there's a lot of cool new fields in materials science.
Working out headworld stuff is a tonne of fun. Honestly, I think it's really easy to get lost in sci-fi headworlds as you try and work out this and that and make it both consistent and believable. If it means anything to you, the depth of thought that you've already invested in the zenn really shows.
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Yeah! I'll shoot you some links later/tomorrow. I'm not familiar with those terms but I'm a quick study. I can pick up a general sense through context and I'm quick to look stuff up. Shape memory is super rad. I'll get back to you via note or something and we can figure out a better way to pass information back n forth from there haha.
Don't ever feel dorky. I've got my share of weirdly specific interests/knowledge sets. Its what makes us good at world building. Its something that fantasy worlds benefit from as well. I'm all for alternative technology based in fantasy worlds whether they use magic or not.
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Ah, whenever you get time. I'm happy to explain terms and if I can help any, it's fun to talk about sci fi stuff and make up things with some kinds of roots in reality.
I looove worldbuilding fantasy worlds. I'm doing one right now but I keep getting stuck on politics, borders and trade. But magic systems and consistency are a lot of fun, especially when you have them next to those alternative technologies, or have a technologically developing world and still have magic in it.
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It's so fun to see new Zenn stuff, I love the thoughts and detail you put into your world and it's inhabitants. Very gorgeous blade, looking forward to the info sheet^^
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Thanks! I'm glad you're interested. With the number of hiatus' I've had and life slowdowns I was worried the interest would fade but I'm excited to see its still there and just waiting for it to happen. I didn't think I'd get the overwhelming response that I did. I'm going to be doing another stream sometime tonight. I'll add this to the queue for tonight. I tend to rotate through a handful or projects instead of doing one image at a time. I've found it keeps me engaged and I get stuff done faster and generate new ideas more quickly. If I can get a few weapons done I'll see about releasing them in batches rather than as a single field guide.
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Personally with all the stuff going on irl, time passes so quickly I tend to think "omg they're back already" when someone returns from a hiatus. Then I realize they might have been gone for a year or more. xD It's fun to hear people are interested, your stuff is amazing and I'm happy every time I manage to catch one of your streams!^^
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Roflmao. Too true! A bunch of people didn't realize I was gone because I didn't really pop up any more than they did either. Time passes quick as you said, haha. Lot of folks off at college or getting ready for college or getting into their first jobs too on top of it all. So many of us basically grew up on DA.. its kinda funny in a good way.
Oh nice! What's your picarto account name? I know not everyone uses the same account names across platforms. No wait nvm I found you. Hahaha. Derp. I'm glad you've been around for so many! I'm going to be trying to do a much more headworld focused stream tonight. The last couple were sort of semi-distracted and sleep deprived or me jumping about places.
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Sorry for late reply, I'm terrible at replying xD But yeah, I'm going by Insignasus on all other sites. Gotta get into the habit of using my new main account on da since I've decided to post art on da again.
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Very clever putting it on the tail for carrying!
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Weapons are so much fun to do ;////; this one is quite lovely
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what a neat-looking weapon :0
i love the details on the handle <3
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Really like the placement on a tail! And very original design tho
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