I started modelling my objects last week. I modelled my “awl” and I moved on to my Mortar and Pestle. For this set of objects, I had two reference images which I quickly realized would not be enough. I went online and googled a number of reference images. I was surprised that there were substantially less images than I had imagined that there would be. So that was a bit disappointing. Onward. I modelled some basic versions of these objects in Maya using the references I could gather up and then exported the files to Zbrush where I tinkered around for quite some time. I created my low and High-res versions in Zbrush. I was unsure of how to replicate the details of the mortar and pestle as almost all of the images I found were quite low res. I was uncertain if I should model them as less detailed and then add the textures. I was unsatisfied with my versions of the mortar and pestle so I tried to find some better reference imagery. This was a research ‘rabbit hole’. After quite some time I stumbled upon “COWAN’S” auction site. This site is a veritable treasure trove for this project and likely any other projects in which texture and detail research would be involved. If you have read this far into this post, I would recommend having a look at it. https://www.cowanauctions.com/lot/haudenosaunee-iroquois-wood-mortar-and-pestle-3966421. Today I will be re-working my models using this site for reference for my mortar and pestle and also for my beads, which are next on my list of objects to model.
longhouse5.ca 