Research and Planning
For my hero asset I decided to make a Victorian Mantle Clock, that has been smashed. This is to insinuate that this may have been used as a murder weapon, and also fits our steampunk/Victorian theme.
Victorian mantle clocks were often very ornate, and used as a decorative time piece in many homes and shops in the 1800s. Mantle clocks originated in France however were later popular throughout Europe and also in America.
Some examples of Victorian mantle clocks, that I have chosen to base my design on. The mahogany wood used in many of these examples fits with the design of the sweet shop environment. The gold plating used on these examples shows the ornate designs that many mantle clocks had. The clock faces using roman numerals are closer to a steampunk style, and I will be using these as reference for the clock face I make, as this fit my theme better than using standard numbers.
As my clock is supposed to show it may have been used as a weapon, it will look smashed and broken. This is also to add interest to my design and help it stand out against the rest of the environment. These images are references to a smashed victorian clock face.
As well as the smashed clock face, I plan on having cogs spilling out of the clock. Also possibly having the main body of the clock split in half so you can see the internal gears and workings of the clock. These are reference images of both broken cogs and clock mechanisms to use within my clock design.
As my clock face is meant to smashed to appear as it may have used for violence, I have found some reference images to base my broken clock face on. I want the smashed clock face to have a realistic smash pattern.
As the main clock body is to appear as it has been made of mahogany wood, which was typical of many mantle clocks of the era. I have found reference images for the main texture of my clock body.
Concept Sketches
This is a rough sketch of how I wanted the broken glass of the clock face to appear. I used the reference images above, as well as research on how glass shatters. I wanted the smash pattern to look realistic.
This sketch was to help work out the placement of the numbers on the face. As the numbers are meant to be in certain places about the face I used mirror lines to ensure numbers that were meant to be opposite each other were. I also used the clock reference images above for the roman numeral numbers.
Using both my previous sketches, I put together how the glass face may be laid in my final deign. The numbers would be broken up between the separate pieces of glass. I used the opacity settings with my previous two sketches to help me merge the two designs, and get an accurate scatter pattern for my broken clock face.
This is my guide for how I would’ve wanted the front of the clock face to before it has been smashed. A mahogany wood clock face with ornate gold detailing on it, as seen above the hands of the clock would’ve looked delicate, and would be worked out of. However in my final model they will be bent out of shape and damaged, due to the clock being used at a weapon.
The concept sketch shows how I want to break up the front of the clock. The wooden body snapped into multiple pieces as well as the clock face being completely smashed, which is also shown in an earlier concept sketch.
3D model
My attempt to create something that resembles a clock using Maya. I find the software very difficult to use and don’t really know what most of the tools actually do. Here I have used the cube and cylinder tools as well as the resize, move and rotate tools.