I got to thinking recently about all the wonderful beautiful creations that people have been... well, creating, and it is quite obvious that the best suits and weapons have a considerable amount of detail. Upon further consideration, though, thinking about the ideas and concepts on which our replicas are based, it occurred to me that all of these pieces have a "military" function, which are ostensibly designed to either keep a fighter alive, or help them deal out damage to their adversaries. I started pondering the actual, functional purpose behind just about everything, and it makes me wonder... what is the purpose behind all of that detail?
Some things are quite obvious. Armor, in general, protects the wearer from damage. Using Master Chief's Mjolnir armor as an example, the helmet has a lot of features that such a warrior would find useful, such as the lights on the sides to help illuminate dark areas. The cheek hoses improve airflow and help the wearer to breathe in potentially hostile environments. The hand armor doubles as a "brass knuckle" type apparatus to deal more damage when punching. The undersuit prevents the armor from chafing the skin. Even the brim of the visor, while it may restrict vision, somewhat, still shades the wearer's eyes from the sun.
Some things, though, while they may certainly look cool, have no apparent purpose. For example, why does the face shield have two layers? What are those boxes sticking up out of either side of the Chief's back? Why are the forearms segmented like they are? Why are the cheek hoses exposed? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep them concealed and protected? And, of course, the main question behind this thread, what is the purpose of detail lines? What are the recessed areas all around the thing? Why does the "snout" have that odd "M" shaped pattern in it? Why do the handplates have those circular dents on them?
Obviously this question doesn't have a lot of import but, for me, knowing how and why something works, and why it is the way it is, helps me better understand how I might achieve the look I'm going for. For example, some detail lines (but certainly not all of them) could denote manufacturing processes and/or assembly points, and knowing why they work may translate to better overall detail, improved segmentation, more effective strapping assembly, or even a more modular (and hopefully more efficient) build process.
I don't know, just a thought.
Some things are quite obvious. Armor, in general, protects the wearer from damage. Using Master Chief's Mjolnir armor as an example, the helmet has a lot of features that such a warrior would find useful, such as the lights on the sides to help illuminate dark areas. The cheek hoses improve airflow and help the wearer to breathe in potentially hostile environments. The hand armor doubles as a "brass knuckle" type apparatus to deal more damage when punching. The undersuit prevents the armor from chafing the skin. Even the brim of the visor, while it may restrict vision, somewhat, still shades the wearer's eyes from the sun.
Some things, though, while they may certainly look cool, have no apparent purpose. For example, why does the face shield have two layers? What are those boxes sticking up out of either side of the Chief's back? Why are the forearms segmented like they are? Why are the cheek hoses exposed? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep them concealed and protected? And, of course, the main question behind this thread, what is the purpose of detail lines? What are the recessed areas all around the thing? Why does the "snout" have that odd "M" shaped pattern in it? Why do the handplates have those circular dents on them?
Obviously this question doesn't have a lot of import but, for me, knowing how and why something works, and why it is the way it is, helps me better understand how I might achieve the look I'm going for. For example, some detail lines (but certainly not all of them) could denote manufacturing processes and/or assembly points, and knowing why they work may translate to better overall detail, improved segmentation, more effective strapping assembly, or even a more modular (and hopefully more efficient) build process.
I don't know, just a thought.