Fandom interview Cruciform Sword Keychain and Animation artist @jennywdland
Jenny @jennywdland, Warrior Nun fan and 3D artist, took the time to answer some questions about her recent projects. Her first release was the cruciform sword animation for the fandom’s 10 million tweet celebration. Two weeks later, she released the 3D model of the sword which she has kindly offered as a free download to the fandom. See details below:
First, how much is a fair price for the 3D plans?
I give my models out for free, so $0 is a perfectly fair price! If anyone would like to tip, it is of course appreciated (it would help me out as a student haha), but I like to make it so everyone has access because when I first started learning 3D, I always appreciated when other artists were generous enough to share their projects for free.
Second, for people without knowledge or access to 3D printers are you planning to make them and sell them?
I only have access to my school’s 3D printer where I can make one print per day, so unfortunately I don’t have the means to make a bunch of models and ship them out. Many public libraries now have 3D printing services though, so those may be a good place to look for people who don’t own a 3D printer or have access to one through their school.
Can you tell us a little about yourself? How did you get into 3D animation and 3D printing and how long have you been doing it?
I first started learning 3D rendering after I got really inspired by the visual effects in the Star Wars movies. My first project was making Luke’s lightsaber! I’m a pretty terrible drawer and painter but 3D art comes a bit easier to me because it’s a lot more technical. As a math major, I love the problem-solving aspect of it. I don’t always have time to practice 3D because I’m focusing on school at the moment but I’ve been learning it on and off for about 3 years and it’s my dream to be a VFX artist someday, perhaps working on a super cool project like Warrior Nun Season 3 :D
As for 3D printing, I’m actually a complete noob! The sword is my first time printing. I thought I’d give it a try since a few people had asked on Twitter. A huge thanks to @GoulliSara, @sixinaboxdesign, and @RKCSyd on Twitter for helping me run some test prints and giving me some general advice!
I know you first created the amazing sword animation before the keychain. What research did you do to create the sword?
I looked at a lot of reference shots from the show. Something interesting I found was that the design of the sword is actually a bit different between seasons 1 and 2 and on the promotional posters from season 1. I chose the parts that I liked from each design and looked up some general measurements for short swords to make my version of the model.
How were you able to design this in the program with so much detail?
To make the models I used Blender, which is an amazing open source 3D software that’s available to everyone. Blender’s modeling tools are especially powerful, so it was actually quite easy to create all the details.
How many hours did it take you to create the animation?
I would say the animation took about 30 hours to complete. Before this project, I had only been making still images, so a lot of the hours were spent learning camera animation for the first time as well as learning how to create the smoke simulation for the wraith demon, which was quite challenging.
Hours for the 3D model?
3D modeling in much more my strong suit. The keychain model took about 2 hours and the full sized model about 5 hours. The most time consuming part of making the 3D printable model was waiting for the test prints to come out.
Is the model blue because of the plastic you used?
Yes. I only had access to blue filament but I think it turned out to be a fitting color for the cruciform sword :) If anyone decides to print the model in a different color or has the skills to paint it that would be super cool to see!
How long did your model take to print?
The print of the keychain took about an hour, but this can be sped up or slowed down depending on the print settings and the printer.
Any Warrior Nun animation projects in the future?
Absolutely! I really love the unique designs of each characters’ weapons—Beatrice’s staff, Mary’s shotgun, Camila’s crossbow—and would like to do some more animations with these. Hopefully they won’t take as long to make now that I have one animation under my belt!
One last thing I’d like to say is that the Cruciform Sword animation is the biggest project I’ve pulled off so far and I couldn’t have done it without the support of the fandom. Usually when I tackle a project this complex, I stop halfway through because I lose motivation. The cruciform sword is the first time I’ve posted my process online and the kindness and encouragement from everyone on Twitter gave me the spark to finish it and create something really cool. I’m so grateful for how supportive the Warrior Nun fandom is and I can’t wait to keep making more art <3
3D keychain plans: jennywdland.gumroad.com
Cruciform Sword Animation:
Glanq @glanqix, has kindly offered to print these 3D keychain swords for a giveaway and the fandom. If you want yours now all you have to do is pay for shipping. Just DM on Twitter for more details.