Then i moved to the neck ornament. Always in starting i try to figure out what is the simple shape of the whole geometry. for the starting point i choose a cylinder. then give it a nice shape according to the shoulder and neck. as its a hard surface object i add 2 division for smoothness then started the detailing.
assign multiple polygroups and extrude from the surface to gain crystal look. for the small diamond like crystal i create a simple mesh > turn that into a nanomesh >create a copy of neck base mesh > assign poly loop into desired area > assign a polygroup >
select zmodeler brush> nanomesh > drag brush on to the polygroup to get the desired result.
For braided brush i pick a custom imm braid brush >create a copy of neck base mesh > assign poly loop into desired area > assign a polygroup > select polygroup mesh border> Imm brush curve on > tap on the border > adjust brush size to get the desired result.
For the small area i need to scatter some meshes, with the help of micropoly and dynamic subd i create that details. have a look into the image for better understanding.
76% of original size (was 659x19) - Click to enlarge76% of original size (was 659x19) - Click to enlarge