Sakai No Arashi - Ghost of Tsushima fan art

This project named Sakai No Arashi (the storm of sakai) in reference to Jin Sakai's katana from the game Ghost of Tsushima - The katana is named Arashi (Storm) - as i enjoyed the game so much i've decided to create a piece inspired by it - this is not a reproduction of the sword nor a fanart , this is just an attempt to create a piece that tells a story of the katana and its owner.

The goal here was to highlight the subject and make it pop out of the background using light and color/contrast , all while giving the environement it's proper place in the scene to feed as much informations as possible about the story i'm trying to tell.

This was intended at first to be an exercice in substance painter using different techniques and applying techniques i've learned from some professionals to solely paint the katana, but it evolved into a whole scene in which i had to model most of the assets and environnement (except the sword, the helmet in the background and the small wood logs), i wanted create a composed image to highlight my subject and try to tell a deeper story through elements in the image and for a bonus why not add one or two easter eggs referencing the game.

* STORY : The sword has been abandoned by its owner or maybe was placed by another person in honor of the samurai insinuating either the samurai renounced his "bushido" and moved on, or he passed away (notice the absence of the Wakizashi - the short sword used for Seppuku if the samurai has to end his life) - either way , details on the sword (blood and scratches) are the tale of his last battles : brutal and intense, i tried to add as much story telling elements on the sword as possible through the damage, dirt and blood.

The environement is overtaken by nature which indicates the presence of humidity and water in the surrounding area (maybe an abandoned house or a room in a temple ...) - also the growth of the grass, ivy and moss is an indicator of how much time has passed since the sword was placed there, as well as the logs of broken wood that fell from the roof - all of this says that at least 5 years to a decade has passed to render the place in that state - Now i was tempted to add dust everywhere but i made it subtle to further emphisis on the humidity of the location. And finally the fireflies are kinda the embodiment of the samurai's spirit inside the place.

I hope you guys like it