From wiki:

"The Staff is wooden and has a golden dragon's claw at the top. The claw clutches an orb which can only be destroyed by dragonfire, which is where the light emanates from when the spell is cast. The orb is also used in a war-spell that creates light so powerful it was able to blind Chaos."

***

Thanks a lot mastone. Yes you're right. I have absolutely no experience in 3D. Maya is my first try (which I'm enjoying immensely).

Based on pictures of this unique staff on the net as well as its lore and how it looks in the official movie Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the gold claws at the top are a must (precisely how I modeled). Also, the wooden staff base itself can't have too many adornments. It's supposed to be very smooth.

My problem is one of design. What do I include or change to make the transition from shiny dragonscale-like gold to smooth wood? Also, how do I make the 'smoothness' factor of the base stand out without making it look bland?

What is erazerbrush and how do I access it?

This is a unique staff, so the overall look cannot be changed from what I have made, but I can tweak little things or add minor details. It's the texture and the 'joint' that's problematic. I actually used real snake scales for the texture of the gold part, but it doesn't seem... scaly enough.

Thank you again for your time and feedback!

***

PS: If anyone is wondering why I'm so enthusiastic about this, it's because I love dragonlance and this staff is an absolute icon for artifacts of that series. The staff has a very rich history and is partially sentient.