Breakdown: How to Create a Hard-Surface Philips Radio with ZBrush & Substance 3D

Introduction

Hello, fellow artists! I'm RaviKanth Gupta from Hyderabad, India, and I'm a Hard-Surface Prop Artist with over five years of experience. My journey into 3D art actually started long before I discovered 3D. I've been passionate about art since childhood. During my school days, I loved sketching, painting, and organic sculpting.

One day, while scrolling through Instagram, I came across some amazing 3D artwork created by my cousin. Curious, I asked him about it, and he introduced me to Blender. I immediately installed it and started experimenting. My first sculpt was completely random. I had no idea what I was doing! But I was thrilled with what I created, and that moment made me realize I wanted to pursue 3D art as a career.

When it comes to developing my skills, I completed my bachelor’s degree in 3D Animation, but most of my learning came from online resources. YouTube became my primary source of learning. After I got my first job as a 3D Modeler, one of my friends introduced me to 80 Level and Games Artist. These platforms helped me not only improve technically but also develop a much stronger understanding of the artistic side of 3D.

Talking about my projects, I began by creating assets for YouTube content. I then moved to an AR/VR studio, where I had the chance to work on projects such as Urban Ballers, Benz(VR), Beautyque (VR), etc. I also contributed to VR simulation projects by creating game-ready 3D models. Currently, I am working at Little Red Zombies Studio.

Philips Radio

I started this project with the goal of improving my texturing skills. Texturing was one of the areas I used to struggle with, so rather than choosing a complex asset, I decided to work on a radio. Its relatively simple form allowed me to focus more deeply on the texturing part.

This project was a personal challenge to push myself out of my comfort zone, experiment with different texturing techniques, and strengthen an area I wanted to improve.

Gathering Reference

References are the foundation of creating realistic assets. Take time to gather high-quality references that help you understand the object’s materials, functionality, construction, and story. Never underestimate the importance of small details. Always use real-world references instead of relying purely on imagination or memory.

Along with your primary references, choose a benchmark asset that represents the quality you want to achieve. Use it as a visual target throughout the workflow to maintain direction, consistency, and quality.

I started by exploring the internet to gather references for the material breakdown. I used the Philips RL384/94 Radio from Amazon as my primary reference, and for studying wear and tear, aging, and surface damage, I referred to a Philips radio repair video.

Here are the reference images I gathered for my radio.

Modeling

For modeling, I primarily used Maya, with ZBrush wherever sculpting was required. I started with a poly-modeling workflow, beginning with a blockout based on my primary references while constantly checking the reference images to maintain accurate proportions and shapes.

Once the blockout was complete, I started adding details while maintaining clean and proper topology. This is especially important for high-poly modeling, as poor topology can lead to pinching and other surface artifacts during subdivision. So, I made sure to maintain proper edge flow throughout the modeling process.

Once the mid-poly model was complete, I previewed it with subdivision to ensure the shape was clean, smooth, and free from pinching or artifacts. After confirming the topology was working correctly, I proceeded to create the high-poly model with clean and controlled edges.

For areas that required more organic detailing, such as the wire soldering and Insulating tape  details, I used ZBrush. I also used ZBrush to clean up some unwanted pinching and surface imperfections from the Maya model, mainly using the H Polish brush.

I used time-saving techniques by creating details like the horizontal ridges as separate floating geometry instead of adding unnecessary complexity to the main mesh. During baking, their depth and shape were transferred to the low-poly through the normal map.

For the interior, I used the same approach for screw bosses and mounting posts, beveling their base edges so they blend naturally with the surface and appear properly integrated.

Topology

Once the final high-poly model was ready, I moved on to creating the low-poly version. I used the same mid-poly file that I had prepared before subdividing it for the high-poly and began optimizing it for a game-ready workflow.

Since this is a game prop, I focused on optimizing the mesh while maintaining the overall quality and silhouette. I added geometry where needed, especially around curved areas, to preserve smooth shapes, while reducing it on flatter surfaces. This helped maintain a good balance between polygon efficiency and visual quality.

Note: It is very important to keep your model clean and well organized. Before moving forward, always perform a final cleanup and quality check. Make sure to check the following:

• Keep the Outliner properly organized
• Perform Cleanup to identify and remove any unwanted geometry or issues
• Unlock Vertex Normals
• Freeze Transformations
• Reset Transformations
• Use proper and consistent material naming
• Clean up and edit namespaces
• Delete construction history
• Make sure there are no unnecessary nodes, objects, or unused elements

UV Unwrapping

For the UV unwrapping, I used Maya and created six UV sheets to ensure sufficient texture space and maintain a high level of detail and quality across the asset. For the back section,  I used UDIMs to provide additional texture space for the larger surface area.

Tip: In UV Statistics, enable “Percentage of Used UV Space” to monitor the efficiency of your UV layout. Aim to utilize at least 70–80% of the available UV space, whenever possible, to make efficient use of the texture resolution.

Note:

• For 4K texture resolution, maintain approximately 16–32 pixels of padding between UV shells to prevent texture bleeding and ensure clean results.
• Maintain a consistent UV direction and orientation across similar parts. This helps create a predictable texturing workflow and reduces the chances of unwanted texture artifacts.

Quick UV Checklist:

• Check for UV stretching
• Check for overlapping UVs
• Make sure there are no unmapped UVs
• Check for back-facing UVs
• Ensure all UV sets have the same name
• Remove any duplicate or unnecessary UV sets

Baking

I baked all mesh maps in Substance 3D Painter, fixed AO and Normal map artifacts, then exported and reimported them for texturing.

Texturing

I used Substance 3D Painter and Photoshop for the texturing process. Before starting, I set up the project in Substance 3D Painter with the following settings:

• Environment: Studio Tomoco
• Base Surface: Ultra (256 SPP) for higher-quality reflections
• Environment Alignment: Camera
• Normal Map Format: DirectX — selected based on the target project/engine
• Compute Tangent Space Per Fragment: Enabled for accurate normal-map evaluation in the viewport
  

With the project properly configured, I then moved on to the texturing process. I started by adding the height details, keeping the high-poly stage free of surface detailing. Since it's a simple asset, I planned to add these details during texturing for more flexibility in Substance 3D Painter.

Note: Manufactured objects have subtle imperfections like seam lines, punch marks, depth variations, and forming marks. Adding these details makes the asset feel more authentic, realistic, and believable. Go through this website for more information.

I divided the texturing process into multiple passes, gradually building the materials and realism of the asset.

1. Base Color Pass

I started by applying the base color to establish the asset’s overall visual direction and create a foundation for the following texturing passes.

2. Base Material Pass

After establishing the base colors, I defined the materials based on real-world references, focusing on roughness, reflectivity, surface variation, and color response to achieve realistic results. 

3. Color Variation

Next, I added subtle color variations using procedural methods to break up the uniformity of the surface and make the materials feel more natural. Even new objects can have subtle color variations from manufacturing and surface conditions, which I kept controlled to add realism without creating unnecessary noise.

4. Gradient & AO

I used gradients to create visual separation between closely placed parts and to draw attention to specific areas. Along with this, I have also used it to demonstrate sunlight-induced UV defects. The Position map provided a good starting point for creating these gradients. At this stage, I have also used the AO map as a mask for creating depth in the particular area 

Using a gradient to simulate sunlight-induced desaturation.

5. Wear & Tear  

For the wear and tear pass, I added purposeful damage based on usage, handling, and environmental exposure, focusing on high-contact areas while varying the intensity and distribution to create a natural and believable history for the asset.

6. Dirt & Grime

For the dirt pass, I added grime to high-contact areas of the radio to suggest frequent handling and usage. I also added dirt accumulation in the interior areas, where dust would naturally collect over time. Alongside this, I used roughness and color variations to create subtle fingerprint impressions, helping communicate the radio’s usage and history while preserving the existing surface details. 

7. Final Color & Roughness Adjustments

This stage is optional and can be used if the overall texture needs adjustments to areas such as hue, roughness, or metallic values. We can use a Passthrough Layer to fine-tune the texture and make any necessary adjustments.

After finalizing the textures, I moved to Unreal Engine to fine-tune the materials and achieve the best possible visual output. I created a Master Material to efficiently control and adjust the texture parameters and material properties.

Enhancing glossiness by adding a subtle color tint to the roughness channel.

Lighting and Rendering

Lighting is an important part of the project. No matter how good the texturing is, it won't matter if the details aren't properly showcased. I spent a significant amount of time experimenting with different lighting setups and making adjustments until I achieved the desired look and quality.

I used Unreal Engine's lighting system, creating separate levels with customized lighting and camera setups for each scene. I also tweaked a few camera settings to achieve the desired visual result. 

Note: Focus and aperture are important settings for enhancing realism and achieving a more cinematic look. You can also use Panini Distortion or lens distortion to add subtle optical imperfections and further enhance realism.

Unreal Engine Lighting Breakdown

I used lighting, contrast, and camera composition to emphasize key details and guide the viewer's eye toward the main focal points of the asset. 

Post-Processing 

For the images, I finalized the composition in Photoshop, while for the videos, I used DaVinci Resolve. I added the final color grading and finishing touches to both the renders and videos.

Unreal Engine camera post-processing:

 Final image post-processing:

Video post-processing in DaVinci Resolve:

Conclusion

For creating appealing props, strong references, keen observation, a proper blockout, and a good understanding of materials are essential. Along with these, storytelling through props is what truly makes an asset stand out. When small details tell the story of an object's use and history, people can connect with the prop and feel that the artist has thought beyond the surface. That sense of thought and story is what can turn a good prop into a memorable and believable asset.

The main challenge was reaching my quality benchmark, which required several rounds of iteration and refinement. This project taught me the importance of reference study, material behavior, and patience. Also, there is always room for improvement , but you have to know when to stop.

For beginners, my advice is to start with a simple prop, set a clear quality benchmark, and focus on achieving it. Smaller assets take less time, allowing you to pay attention to every detail and learn the complete workflow. Completing these projects builds confidence, motivation, and interest to take on more challenging projects, instead of getting overwhelmed by complex concepts. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my breakdown. I hope you found something useful that you can integrate into your own workflow. I would also like to thank Emma Collins and 80 Level for giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my work and process.

Ravikanth Gupta, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Emma Collins